bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dictionary Use
Authors: Healy Heidi
Published: January 2018

Dictionaries provide a valuable tool for helping students learn about words as they encounter unknown vocabulary in their reading. There are many different types of dictionaries, such as learner, bilingual, and bilingualized dictionaries that offer valuable information to non‐native speakers about words and their definitions as well as how to use the words appropriately in a variety of contexts. Some dictionaries contain information about grammatical use, common collocations, and register. In the case of online dictionaries, they also provide audio files to help students with pronunciation. Teachers should help their students learn both when and how to use these valuable tools and the many resources that they contain.
Computer‐Mediated Communication (CMC)
Authors: Bekar Mira , Christiansen M. Sidury
Published: January 2018

Computer‐mediated communication (CMC) has entered every aspect of our professional and private lives and, consequently, it plays a notable role in learning and teaching practices. This article presents a brief overview of the development of CMC and situates it within the literature on language acquisition and language use. It then discusses some pedagogical implications for CMC language use and awareness for both teachers and students.
Assessment Norms
Authors: Sadeghi Karim , Ghaderi Farah
Published: January 2018

Norms in educational assessment are the reference points against which performances of candidates can be compared and their scores interpreted. Different meanings and types of norms, the way norm groups are produced, issues related to sampling and population, and interpreting frameworks for scores (norm‐referenced versus criterion‐referenced) are key concepts requiring attention. Issues related to target language norms in English proficiency testing in the context of English as an international language (EIL) and World Englishes (WE) are gaining increasing importance and pose challenges for future research in the field.
Using Textbooks
Authors: Tajeddin Zia , Alemi Minoo
Published: January 2018

Textbooks are regarded as a central and universal element of ELT. Textbook use is shaped by many variables, including learners' age, proficiency level, and learning purpose. All multilevel textbook series attach labels such as “beginner,” “pre‐intermediate,” or “upper‐intermediate” to the volumes in the series so that teachers will know how each volume suits a particular proficiency level. There are continued debates on the usefulness of textbooks. This entry addresses the major issues related to textbook use and provides suggestions to overcome the major objections.
Native American Youth and Language Learning and Use
Authors: Galla Candace Kaleimamoowahinekapu
Published: January 2018

In the 19th century, an assimilationist movement swept across the United States to remove cultural evidence from Native American people—American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Boarding schools and language policies created long‐lasting impacts on this minority population, contributing to a language shift toward English. Children were forcibly removed from their homes and taken to residential schools where their Native languages were forbidden and English encouraged. These factors disrupted intergenerational language transmission, resulting in a rapid decline of speakers. Despite drastic measures by colonizing powers, Indigenous languages still exist. In some of these communities, thousands of speakers prevail, while in other communities less than a handful of last speakers remain. Language educators and speakers have breathed life back into these endangered languages, providing opportunities for children and youth to learn and speak their Indigenous language in communities as well as schools—institutions that once suppressed their voices.
Teaching Vocabulary in Content Classes: A Multiliteracies Approach
Authors: Kaufman Dorit
Published: January 2018

Globalization and the burgeoning of advanced multimedia technologies, coupled with the increased linguistic, social, and cultural diversity of learners, have guided and driven much of the research in language teaching and learning and in the acquisition of academic literacy across the content areas. Language teaching has been transformed accordingly and academic standards across the disciplines combined with collaborative paradigms in the design of curricular modules and team teaching have become the norm to ensure academic success for learners.
Home–School Partnerships
Authors: Coady Maria R. , Yilmaz Tuba
Published: January 2018

Few can deny the important role of parents, caregivers, and family members in the educational success of children who are learning English. Research confirms that parental involvement facilitates academic achievement, bolsters school attendance, and decreases drop‐out rates of English learners substantially. However, definitions of “parental participation” and “parental involvement” vary greatly, and this is further compounded by different cultural views of what constitutes parental involvement (PI). Here, we frame the issue of parental involvement by reviewing various definitions of PI and describing several divergent cultural views of parental involvement for families whose children are English learners. We review research on parental involvement and the preparation of teachers to work with families. Finally, we outline pedagogical implications, discuss successful models of parental involvement, and offer suggestions for preparing teachers to work with parents speaking other languages.
Lower Primary School Readers (K‐3): Foundational Knowledge and Skills for Second Language Reading
Authors: Kim Koomi , Fahrenbruck Mary L.
Published: January 2018

This entry explores critical aspects of emergent bilinguals (K‐3). Also, it presents an overview of socioculturally responsive current research to support emergent bilinguals' early literacy developmental processes. Relevant and effective teaching implications and resources are also included.
Teaching English Through Music Videos
Authors: Marone Vittorio
Published: January 2018

Since the early 1980s, music videos have become one of the most pervasive means of entertainment and enjoyment in youth life. Their popularity has grown throughout the decades through the channels of television, computers, portable video players, the Internet, social media, and smartphones. Music video clips have also entered the classroom, allowing teachers to explore their multimodal features (music, lyrics, and moving images) and their multilayered meanings to increase students' linguistic and cultural competence. Their brevity, variety, and accessibility make them cost‐effective authentic materials that can be leveraged for intercultural language learning. This entry discusses their multifaceted pedagogic potential for teaching English and illustrates practical ideas for their integration in formal and informal settings.
Motivating and Engaging Vocabulary Development
Authors: Gehsmann Kristin M.
Published: January 2018

Vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated with reading comprehension and other measures of academic success. Researchers estimate that English learners' vocabulary is often two to three years behind their English‐speaking peers, which may account for the persistent achievement gaps that exist between language minority students and their English‐speaking classmates in the United States. Motivating and engaging English learners to participate in vocabulary instruction can help ameliorate these differences.
Transnational Learners andTESOL
Authors: Cervantes‐Soon Claudia G. , Kasun G. Sue
Published: January 2018

This entry offers a multifaceted definition of transnational learners relevant to TESOL educators and leaders that considers nuances and complexities of these learners' experiences across borders. The discussion emphasizes that without a school‐policy terminology that more accurately reflects the multidimensionality of transnational lives, these students are often misunderstood. Thus, important facets of their lives often become invisible and even diminished. Two helpful typologies of ways of conceptualizing transnational learners in TESOL contexts are provided, including categorizations by global/local social location and categorizations by the types of engagement across borders. Key recommendations are offered, including the use of appropriate terminology to describe students, e.g.,transnational English learners, as well as supporting students' multilingual development and consciousness of language shift, strengthening the hybridity of identities, providing opportunities for transnational families to shape institutional policies and pedagogy, and including the study of transnationalism in the formal curriculum.
Teaching Speaking in Language Arts Content Instruction
Authors: Levine Linda New
Published: January 2018

Oral academic language development in the Language Arts classroom can promote achievement levels of ELLs. Oral language is a necessary prerequisite for reading and writing in academic English. Specific instruction of academic language forms and functions is recommended for the Language Arts classroom. Specific instruction involves the development of language objectives, scaffolding for comprehension, and specific pedagogical techniques that encourage student interactions and extended discourse.
Role of Phonetic Alphabets for Teaching Pronunciation
Authors: Allegra Mary
Published: January 2018

Phonetic alphabets play a very important role in contemporary pronunciation teaching for adult learners. Although the first phonetic alphabet was created in the late 19th century by the Reform Movement, there exists a great variety of phonetic alphabets with different systems of transcription for teaching pronunciation in formal academic contexts. These phonetic alphabets are part of the analytic‐linguistic approach resources to pronunciation teaching used by the communicative language teaching (CLT) approach for learning second languages.
Role of Listening for Learning English Pronunciation
Authors: Dodigovic Marina
Published: January 2018

This article examines the role of listening in the learning of English pronunciation. While research has yet to pinpoint the exact link between listening and learning pronunciation, assumptions have been made that it exists. This article first examines the views of second language acquisition (SLA) theory with regard to the role of listening in the learning of speech and pronunciation. It then consults the teaching methodologies and their respective solutions for the inclusion of listening in pronunciation instruction. It concludes with the acknowledgment of the positive impact of listening practice on the learning of English pronunciation.
Teacher Leadership
Authors: Okilwa Nathern S. A. , Robert Catherine
Published: January 2018

Teachers are the single‐most influential factor, among school factors, directly associated with student learning and academic achievement. They instruct and interact with students on a daily basis hence their influence. Teachers' influence is more critical among culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students because these students are often vulnerable in many dimensions—psychosocial, emotional, economic, and academic. For teachers to positively impact the learning process of CLD students, they have to become cultural brokers by demonstrating a level of cross‐cultural competence that understands and serves the needs of students from CLD backgrounds. Successful teachers of CLD students often incorporate culturally responsive teaching strategies that acknowledge diverse student backgrounds and ways of knowing.
Rural
ESL
: I Only Have Two Students!
Authors: Hansen‐Thomas Holly
Published: January 2018

English language learners in rural and small areas are a rapidly growing population throughout the English‐speaking world. ELLs in rural areas face challenges—not the least of which is that they are demographically and geographically isolated. Because there are usually very small numbers of ELLs in rural schools, teachers and administrators often do not have the appropriate background or experience in working with them. Faced with an inadequate educational situation, many ELLs in rural schools struggle to learn the language, academic content, as well as the cultural and educational norms of their new community.
PD
in Developing Biliteracy Skills in
ELT
Authors: Espinosa Cecilia M.
Published: January 2018

Professional development (PD) in developing biliteracy skills needs to be ongoing and needs to place teachers at the center. It needs to reflect the complex realities in which they teach, as well as the needs of bilingual students in the 21st century. Bilingualism or biliteracy need to be viewed as the norm, and therefore a resource to capitalize on and sustain. PD in developing biliteracy skills involves an examination of the impact of language ideologies and the role of translanguaging in leveraging bilingual students' full participation. It matters that biliterate teachers inquire into their own practice to fully understand the complexities of their pedagogy.
PD
in Testing Preparation for University
ESL
Authors: Huang Becky H.
Published: January 2018

This entry discusses professional development in testing preparation for university‐level English as a second language (ESL) assessments. To allow for a more in‐depth discussion, the entry focuses on speaking assessments. It covers professional development in test preparation for both high‐stakes standardized English language proficiency tests, such as Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and for classroom‐based formative assessments in university‐level ESL classes.
Needs Assessment in Professional Development(PD)
Authors: Widodo Handoyo Puji
Published: January 2018

The main goal of professional development (PD) is to energize and enhance teacher professional learning in order to have an impact on the quality of educational practices and student learning. In response to this, this entry addresses key issues in needs assessment in PD in the field of TESOL. It begins by landscaping the importance of PD and then moves on to sketch contextualizing needs in PD. The remaining section of the entry provides a practical guide to needs assessment in PD that will help teacher‐educators, teacher trainers, and PD providers to design and enact meaningful and high‐quality PD programs.
Mainstream and
ESL
Teacher Collaboration
Authors: Peercy Megan Madigan
Published: January 2018

As the number of English language learners (ELLs) in settings around the world increases, so too does their presence in so‐called “mainstream” classrooms. To support the learning of ELLs in mainstream classrooms, one solution has been to draw upon earlier work on inclusive approaches to special education, pairing mainstream teachers with ESL specialists. This entry explores the challenges of ESL‐mainstream teacher collaboration as well as characteristics of successful collaborative relationships.
Professional Development for Intensive English Program Teachers
Authors: Tannacito Dan J.
Published: January 2018

Professional development for teachers of intensive English programs (IEP) is broadly affected by three frameworks: the historical, the regulatory, and the disciplinary. Language teaching at IEPs was closely associated with a single approach and method initially but by the beginning of the 21st century, IEP teachers drew upon numerous procedures. The regulation of IEPs after the Accreditation Act of 2010 focused on the quality of instruction at US IEPs, raising the prominence of learning outcomes in teacher development. Finally, the disciplinary affiliation of IEP teachers—whether in applied linguistics, TESOL, or education—significantly affects the content learned for, and applied in, this community of practice.
Second Life and Professional Development
Authors: Fies Carmen
Published: January 2018

This encyclopedia entry discusses the use of one of the more prominent virtual worlds, Second Life, for the purpose of professional development (PD), and particularly teacher professional development (TPD). Considering the affordances and limitations inherent in Second Life and specific to teacher professional development at a distance, the pedagogical implications point to powerful benefits when intertwining social constructivist practices with the highly participatory nature of the learning platform. Although the use of Second Life (SL) requires attention to logistics, including aspects of human resources and infrastructure, as well as awareness of the potential risks associated with using an open platform that is accessible to the broad public, the potential benefits are substantive. Particular attention is drawn to learning environments that are not only learner‐centered and rich in reflective practice, but also highly situated in meaningful contexts and focused on participatory models in a community of learning.
Adaptability in Teaching—Responding to Challenging Situations Appropriately
Authors: Margolis Douglas Paul
Published: January 2018

Language teachers frequently face challenging situations that require adaptability, also referred to as “flexibility,” “resilience,” or “agility.” Examples of the need for adaptability include being asked questions to which you don't know the answers, the technology that your lesson depends on failing or being unavailable, multilevel classrooms that demand differentiated instruction, students not responding to the lesson as planned, and supervisors scheduling you to teach classes for which you lack training. These situations are not unfamiliar to anyone who makes a career out of language teaching. Developing an attitude that embraces such challenges and supports deftly adapting to fit the need makes teachers critical players in their organizations and in their students' education. This entry discusses the concept of adaptability, offers a framework for assessing adaptability, and describes specific strategies to aid teachers in developing their adaptability and preparedness for responding to challenging situations appropriately.
Writing Program Administration at the Tertiary Level
Authors: Blazer Sarah
Published: January 2018

College writing programs engage with social justice issues in a variety of ways. Programmatic efforts to address racial, cultural, and linguistic justice are now evident in curricula, course placement practices, assessment, graduate level teacher education, faculty development, and writing center staff development. In writing centers, professional development is often an integral component of tutors' work experiences as they are expected to participate and are fully compensated for it. Thus, sustained and collaborative inquiry into social justice issues is possible. Tutor education toward socially, linguistically, and epistemically just and productive writing center praxis unfolds in diverse ways. Often, a focus is on facilitating development of critical consciousness through approaches that account fully for tutors' own frames of reference and are carefully situated within a particular institutional context.
Refugee Concerns and Students With Interrupted Formal Education (
SIFE
)
Authors: Gutiérrez Leslie Clement
Published: January 2018

This entry offers a brief historicized and contextualized overview of the unique instructional and non‐academic needs of refugee and asylum‐seeking students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) that are often underserved in US classrooms. SIFE are often identified as a result of several factors such as: not having prior school transcripts or by visible gaps in their education records, demonstrating low literacy levels in their home language(s), and difficulty understanding grade‐level content. SIFE are distinguished from other English language learners (ELLs) due to the short period of time in which they are required to move from a pre‐production or emergent level to achieve secondary grade‐level literacy skills and content knowledge. Pedagogical implications and effective strategies employed by teacher‐scholars are presented.
ESOLfor School Psychologists, Counselors, Building Supervisors, and Administrators
Authors: Arbelaez Paula A.
Published: January 2018

The implications of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) for school psychologists, counselors, building supervisors, and administrators have an individual as well as a collective level of significance. Pupil personal professionals, supervisors, and administrators have a dual level of responsibility: an individual responsibility to develop one's own cultural sensitivity and a supportive one that leads into modeling and mentoring this cultural awareness to students and to instructional staff. In their guiding role, school administrators and building supervisors facilitate a culturally competent curriculum to all instructional staff, and school psychologists, social workers, and school counselors are instrumental in the development and execution of a comprehensive and culturally competent socio‐emotional academic instructional practice.
Virtual Pedagogical Agents for English Language Teaching and Learning
Authors: Park Sanghoon
Published: January 2018

A pedagogical agent is an animated talking head that is used to deliver multimedia content to learners through its appearance and voice narration. In English learning, a pedagogical agent can support multimedia‐enhanced English lessons with embedded human‐like speech, gesture, movement, and behaviors. English teachers can use a pedagogical agent as a tool to promote students' interests and motivation as well as to improve students' listening and speaking skills through social interactions. A pedagogical agent can be customized to provide a context of English usage and reinforce learning that occurred in previous lessons. This entry introduces what a pedagogical agent is and how it can be used in English learning. It also showcases four selected pedagogical agent design tools and examples. Readers will discover the benefits of using a pedagogical agent in multimedia‐enhanced learning and practical tips to design and implement a pedagogical agent before, during, and after an English lesson.
NESTs
Authors: Galloway Nicola
Published: January 2018

Not all who teach a language speak it as their native language. Notwithstanding the fact that many “native” speaker teachers are suitably qualified and experienced, in the case of English, simply being born into a “native”‐speaking country can often lead to a lucrative career. The concept of the “native” speaker teacher has been problematized for many years within the field of TESOL, particularly with regard to linguistic imperialism, native‐speakerism, and, more recently, Global Englishes. This entry critically explores the concept of the “native” speaker teacher in TESOL and provides an overview of the key theoretical and empirical debates in the field. It questions why the “native” speaker teacher has assumed a superior status in TESOL, whether being born into a country where the language is spoken as a “native” language provides one with a superior mastery of the language, and whether being a “native” speaker makes one a more credible teacher of that language. It ends with an overview of recommendations for pedagogical practice.
Critical Pedagogy
Authors: Glodjo Tyler
Published: January 2018

This entry explores the historical development of critical pedagogy, with particular attention to its emergence from Marxist critical theory. Foundational theoretical components of critical pedagogy from the work of Paulo Freire, such as critical consciousness, praxis, and dialogue, are discussed in relation to their application in other educational contexts, and alongside examples of critical teaching and scholarship in TESOL. A section covering pedagogical implications includes tensions between theory and practice and concludes with an emphasis on principles in process rather than specific methods or strategies.
Technology to Teach Vocabulary
Authors: Ballance Oliver James
Published: January 2018

Effective use of technology to teach vocabulary requires an understanding of both vocabulary acquisition and computer‐assisted language learning, and potentially related fields such as mobile‐assisted language learning and computer‐mediated communication. This entry discusses technology from the perspective of affordances and illustrates this approach to technology in relation to three conditions of effective vocabulary learning: retrieval, noticing, and generative use.
Low‐Bandgap Methylammonium‐Rubidium Cation Sn‐Rich Perovskites for Efficient Ultraviolet–Visible–Near Infrared Photodetectors
Authors: Zhu Hugh Lu , Liang Zhifu , Huo Zhengbao , Ng Wai Kit , Mao Jian , Wong Kam Sing , Yin Wan‐Jian , Choy Wallace C. H.
Published: January 2018

Solution‐processed and low‐temperature Sn‐rich perovskites show their low bandgap of about 1.2 eV, enabling potential applications in next‐generation cost‐effective ultraviolet (UV)–visible (vis)–near infrared (NIR) photodetection. Particularly, the crystallization (crystallinity and orientation) and film (smooth and dense film) properties of Sn‐rich perovskites are critical for efficient photodetectors, but are limitedly studied. Here, controllable crystallization for growing high‐quality films with the improvements of increased crystallinity and strengthened preferred orientation through a introducing rubidium cation into the methylammonium Sn‐Pb perovskite system (65% Sn) is achieved. Fundamentally, the theoretical results show that rubidium incorporation causes lower surface energy of (110) plane, facilitating growth in the dominating plane and suppressing growth of other competing planes. Consequently, the methylammonium‐rubidium Sn‐Pb perovskite photodetectors simultaneously achieve larger photocurrent and lower noise current. Finally, highly efficient UV–vis–NIR (300–1100 nm) photodetectors with record‐high linear dynamic range of 110 and 3 dB cut‐off frequency reaching 1 MHz are demonstrated. This work contributes to enriching the cation selection in Sn‐Pb perovskite systems and offering a promising candidate for low‐cost UV–vis–NIR photodetection.
Diversified Photo/Electronic Functions Based on a Simple Chalcone Skeleton: Effects of Substitution Pattern and Molecular Packing
Authors: Cheng Xiao , Wang Zhaoyang , Tang Baolei , Zhang Hongyu , Qin Anjun , Sun Jing Zhi , Tang Ben Zhong
Published: January 2018

Structurally simple chalcone derivatives 1–2 are prepared and their diversified emission behaviors are deeply investigated. Two polymorphs (1G: λem = 536 nm, Φf = 0.08, τ = 1.81 ns; 1O: λem = 573 nm, Φf = 0.19, τ = 10.82 ns) with distinctively different emission behaviors are constructed by finely controlling the crystallization conditions of compound 1. 1G exhibits typical amplified spontaneous emission while 1O shows an interesting blue shift under smashing process (1O‐S: λem = 562 nm, Φf = 0.23, τ = 6.42 ns), which is ascribed to their different molecular packing structures and intermolecular interactions. Notably, simply introducing a fluorine substituent effectively endows the crystal with red emission (crystal 2: λem = 598 nm, Φf = 0.16, τ = 18.77 ns). Thus multicolor emissions including green, yellow, orange, and red emissions are obtained based on this simple chalcone skeleton.
High Lithium Ion Conductivity LiF/GO Solid Electrolyte Interphase Inhibiting the Shuttle of Lithium Polysulfides in Long‐Life Li–S Batteries
Authors: Ni Xuyan , Qian Tao , Liu Xuejun , Xu Na , Liu Jie , Yan Chenglin
Published: January 2018

The “shuttle effect” that stems from the dissolution of polysulfides is the most fatal issue affecting the cycle life of lithium‐sulfur (Li–S) batteries. In order to suppress the “shuttle effect,” a new strategy of using a highly lithium ion conductive lithium fluoride/graphene oxide (LiF/GO) solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) to mechanically prevent the lithium dendrite breakthrough is reported. When utilized in Li–S batteries, the LiF/GO SEI coated separator demonstrates significant feature in mitigating the polysulfide shuttling as observed by in situ UV–vis spectroscopy. Moreover, the restrained “shuttle effect” can also be confirmed by analysis of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and characterization of lithium dendrites, which indicates that no insulating layer of solid Li2S2/Li2S is found on lithium anode surface. Furthermore, the LiF/GO SEI layer puts out good lithium ion conductivity as its lithium ion diffusion coefficient reaches a high value of 1.5 × 10−7 cm2 s−1. These features enable a remarkable cyclic property of 0.043% of capacity decay per cycle during 400 cycles.
A Single‐Molecule Propyne Trap: Highly Efficient Removal of Propyne from Propylene with Anion‐Pillared Ultramicroporous Materials
Authors: Yang Lifeng , Cui Xili , Yang Qiwei , Qian Siheng , Wu Hui , Bao Zongbi , Zhang Zhiguo , Ren Qilong , Zhou Wei , Chen Banglin , Xing Huabin
Published: January 2018

Propyne/propylene (C3H4/C3H6) separation is a critical process for the production of polymer‐grade C3H6. However, optimization of the structure of porous materials for the highly efficient removal of C3H4 from C3H6 remains challenging due to their similar structures and ultralow C3H4 concentration. Here, it is first reported that hybrid ultramicroporous materials with pillared inorganic anions (SiF62− = SIFSIX, NbOF52− = NbOFFIVE) can serve as highly selective C3H4 traps for the removal of trace C3H4 from C3H6. Especially, it is revealed that the pyrazine‐based ultramicroporous material with square grid structure for which the pore shape and functional site disposition can be varied in 0.1–0.5 Å scale to match both the shape and interacting sites of guest molecule is an interesting single‐molecule trap for C3H4 molecule. The pyrazine‐based single‐molecule trap enables extremely high C3H4 uptake under ultralow concentration (2.65 mmol g−1 at 3000 ppm, one C3H4 per unit cell) and record selectivity over C3H6 at 298 K (>250). The single‐molecule binding mode for C3H4 within ultramicroporous material is validated by X‐ray diffraction experiments and modeling studies. The breakthrough experiments confirm that anion‐pillared ultramicroporous materials set new benchmarks for the removal of ultralow concentration C3H4 (1000 ppm on SIFSIX‐3‐Ni, and 10 000 ppm on SIFSIX‐2‐Cu‐i) from C3H6.
Detection of mitochondrial haplogroups in a small avar‐slavic population from the eigth–ninth century AD
Authors: Šebest Lukáš , Baldovič Marian , Frtús Adam , Bognár Csaba , Kyselicová Klaudia , Kádasi Ľudevít , Beňuš Radoslav
Published: January 2018

Objectives

In the sixth century AD, Avars came to Central Europe from middle Eurasian steppes and founded a strong Empire called the Avar Khagante (568–799/803 AD) in the Pannonian basin. During the existence of this empire, they undertook many military and pugnacious campaigns. In the seventh century, they conquered the northern territory inhabited by Slavs, who were further recruited in Avar military and were commissioned with obtaining food supplies. During almost 200 years of Avar domination, a significant influence by the Avar culture (especially on the burial rite) and assimilation with indigenous population (occurrence of “East Asian”cranial features) could be noticed in this mixed area, which is supported by achaeological and anthropologcal research. Therefore we expected higher incidence of east Eurasian haplogroups (introduced by Avars) than the frequencies detected in present‐day central European populations.

Materials and methods

Mitochondrial DNA from 62 human skeletal remains excavated from the Avar‐Slavic burial site Cífer‐Pác (Slovakia) dated to the eighth and ninth century was analyzed by the sequencing of hypervariable region I and selected parts of coding region. Obtained haplotypes were compared with other present‐day and historical populations and genetic distances were calculated using standard statistical method.

Results and discussion

In total, the detection of mitochondrial haplogroups was possible in 46 individuals. Our results prooved a higher frequency of east Eurasian haplogroups in our analyzed population (6.52%) than in present‐day central European populations. However, it is almost three times lower than the frequency of east Eurasian haplogroups detected in other medieval Avar populations. The statistical analysis showed a greater similarity and the lowest genetic distances between the Avar‐Slavic burial site Cifer‐Pac and medieval European populations than the South Siberian, East and Central Asian populations.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that the transfer of Avar genetic variation through their mtDNA was rather weak in the analyzed mixed population.
Unexpected terrestrial hand posture diversity in wild mountain gorillas
Authors: Thompson Nathan E. , Ostrofsky Kelly R. , McFarlin Shannon C. , Robbins Martha M. , Stoinski Tara S. , Almécija Sergio
Published: January 2018

Objectives

Gorillas, along with chimpanzees and bonobos, are ubiquitously described as ‘knuckle‐walkers.’ Consequently, knuckle‐walking (KW) has been featured pre‐eminently in hypotheses of the pre‐bipedal locomotor behavior of hominins and in the evolution of locomotor behavior in apes. However, anecdotal and behavioral accounts suggest that mountain gorillas may utilize a more complex repertoire of hand postures, which could alter current interpretations of African ape locomotion and its role in the emergence of human bipedalism. Here we documented hand postures during terrestrial locomotion in wild mountain gorillas to investigate the frequency with which KW and other hand postures are utilized in the wild.

Materials and methods

Multiple high‐speed cameras were used to record bouts of terrestrial locomotion of 77 habituated mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda) and Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda).

Results

We captured high‐speed video of hand contacts in 8% of the world's population of mountain gorillas. Our results reveal that nearly 40% of these gorillas used “non‐KW” hand postures, and these hand postures constituted 15% of all hand contacts. Some of these “non‐KW” hand postures have never been documented in gorillas, yet match hand postures previously identified in orangutans.

Discussion

These results highlight a previously unrecognized level of hand postural diversity in gorillas, and perhaps great apes generally. Although present at lower frequencies than KW, we suggest that the possession of multiple, versatile hand postures present in wild mountain gorillas may represent a shared feature of the African ape and human clade (or even great ape clade) rather than KW per se.
Chemically clean synthesis and characterization of graphene oxide‐poly(acrylic acid–sodium styrene sulfonate) composite thermostable elastic gel encapsulating copper nanoparticles for efficient catalytic reduction of 4‐nitrophenol
Authors: Paul Guin Jhimli , Bhardwaj Y. K. , Varshney Lalit
Published: January 2018

The thermostable chemically blended elastic poly‐(acrylic acid–sodium‐styrene‐sulfonate–graphene oxide) super‐absorbent hydrogel was synthesized by additive‐free gamma‐radiation induced polymerization followed by crosslinking method. It showed the best swelling ratio in water due to its porous nature. The composite material adsorbed 98 mg/g Cu(II) at room temperature from the aqueous solution of Cu(II) at pH 5 by the chemi‐adsorption of Cu(II) ions at several energetically heterogeneous functional groups. The copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) of size 12 ± 8 nm had been synthesized in situ by chemical reduction of the pre‐adsorbed Cu(II) ions. The functional groups of composite hydrogel served as complexing agent and nano‐reaction sites. Avoiding any pre‐reduction induction time, the inexpensive CuNPs catalytically completely decolorized the aqueous solution of 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP) within 60 s in the presence of NaBH4 at a promising calculated rate constant (9.0 × 10−2/s) ever reported in the literatures. It is in contrast to the commonly noticeable phenomenon for other CuNPs‐based catalysis of 4‐NP. The composite hydrogel matrix helped to retain the catalytic activity of CuNPs and simultaneously it helped in the osmotic inclusion of 4‐NP into the reaction cites. This composite hydrogel synthesized through a chemically clean method could be utilized for efficient conversion of hazardous chemical 4‐NP to industrially important chemical 4‐aminophenol. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46200.
The Role of Autophagy in the Degradation of Misfolded HLA–B27 Heavy Chains
Authors: Navid Fatemeh , Layh‐Schmitt Gerlinde , Sikora Keith A. , Cougnoux Antony , Colbert Robert A.
Published: January 2018

Objective

To determine whether autophagy is involved in the degradation of misfolded HLA–B27 in experimental spondyloarthritis.

Methods

Bone marrow–derived macrophages from HLA–B27/human β2‐microglobulin (hβ2m)–transgenic rats were incubated in the presence or absence of interferon‐γ and proteasome or autophagy inhibitors. Immunoprecipitation, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence analysis were used to measure HLA–B27 heavy chains and autophagy. Autophagy was induced using rapamycin. Macrophages from HLA–B7/hβ2m–transgenic and wild‐type rats were used as controls.

Results

HLA–B27–expressing macrophages showed phosphatidylethanolamine‐conjugated microtubule‐associated protein 1 light chain 3B levels similar to those in both control groups, before and after manipulation of autophagy. Blocking autophagic flux with bafilomycin resulted in the accumulation of misfolded HLA–B27 dimers and oligomers as well as monomers, which was comparable with the results of blocking endoplasmic reticulum–associated degradation (ERAD) with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. HLA–B7 monomers also accumulated after blocking each degradation pathway. The ubiquitin‐to–heavy chain ratio was 2–3‐fold lower for HLA–B27 than for HLA–B7. Activation of autophagy with rapamycin rapidly eliminated ~50% of misfolded HLA–B27, while folded HLA–B27 or HLA–B7 monomeric heavy chains were minimally affected.

Conclusion

This study is the first to demonstrate that both autophagy and ERAD play roles in the elimination of excess HLA class I heavy chains expressed in transgenic rats. We observed no evidence that HLA–B27 expression modulated the autophagy pathway. Our results suggest that impaired ubiquitination of HLA–B27 may play a role in the accumulation of misfolded disulfide‐linked dimers, the elimination of which can be enhanced by activation of autophagy. Manipulation of the autophagy pathway should be further investigated as a potential therapeutic target in spondyloarthritis.
Integration of Open Metal Sites and Lewis Basic Sites for Construction of a Cu MOF with a Rare Chiral Oh‐type cage for high performance in methane purification
Authors: Meng Lingkun , Niu Ziyuan , Liang Chen , Dong Xinglong , Liu Kang , Li Guanghua , Li Chunguang , Han Yu , Shi Zhan , Feng Shouhua
Published: January 2018

A Cu metal‐organic framework (MOF), [Cu4(PMTD)2(H2O)3]⋅20 H2O, 1, (where PMTD is 1,4‐phenylenebis(5‐methyl‐4H‐1,2,4‐triazole‐3,4‐diyl)bis(5‐carboxylato‐3,1‐phenylene)bis(hydroperoxymethanide)), with a rare chiral Oh‐type cage, and dual functionalities of open metal sites and Lewis basic sites, based on a designed U‐shaped ligand, was synthesized by hydrothermal methods. It exhibits high CO2, C2, and C3 hydrocarbon storage capacity under atmospheric pressure, as well as high H2 (1.96 wt.%) adsorption capacity at 77 K. Methane purification capacity was tested and verified step by step. Isosteric heats (Qst) studies reveal that CH4 has the weakest van der Waals host–guest interactions among the seven gases at 298 K. Ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) calculation reveals that compound 1 is more selective toward CO2, C2H6, and C3H8 over CH4 in further calculating its separation capacity, as exemplified for CO2/CH4 (50:50, 5:95), C2H6/CH4 (50:50, 5:95), or C3H8/CH4 (50:50, 5:95) binary gas mixtures. Breakthrough experiments show that 1 has a significantly higher adsorption capacity for CO2, C2H6, and C3H8 than CH4. The selective adsorption properties of 1 make it a promising candidate for methane purification.
A novel sentence similarity model with word embedding based on convolutional neural network
Authors: Yao Haipeng , Liu Huiwen , Zhang Peiying
Published: January 2018

In this paper, we propose an effective model for the similarity metrics of English sentences. In the model, we first make use of word embedding and convolutional neural network (CNN) to produce a sentence vector and then leverage the information of the sentence vector pair to calculate the score of sentence similarity. Considering the case of long‐range semantic dependencies between words, we propose a novel method transforming word embeddings to construct the three‐dimensional sentence feature tensor. In addition, we incorporate the k‐max pooling into the convolutional neural network to adapt to variable lengths of input sentences. The proposed model requires no external resource such as WordNet and parse tree. Meanwhile, it consumes very little time for training. Finally, we carried out extensive simulations to evaluate the performance of our model compared with other state‐of‐the‐art works. Experimental results on SemEval 2014 task (SICK test corpus) indicated that our model can achieve a good performance in the terms of Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman correlation coefficient, and mean squared errors. Furthermore, experimental results on Microsoft research paraphrase identification (MSRP) indicated that our model can achieve an excellent performance in the terms of F1 and Accuracy.
ATF: A generic directive‐based auto‐tuning framework
Authors: Rasch Ari , Gorlatch Sergei
Published: January 2018

We describe the Auto‐Tuning Framework (ATF) — a simple‐to‐use, generic approach and its implementation, as a framework for automatic program optimization by choosing the most suitable values of program parameters such as the number of parallel threads, tile sizes, etc. ATF combines four major advantages over the state‐of‐the‐art auto‐tuning: i) it is generic regarding the programming language, application domain, tuning objective (eg, high performance and/or low energy consumption), and search technique; ii) it can auto‐tune a broader class of applications by allowing tuning parameters to be interdependent, eg, when one parameter is divisible by another parameter; iii) it allows tuning parameters to have substantially larger ranges by implementing an optimized search space generation process; and iv) it is arguably simpler to use, eg, the ATF user prepares an application for auto‐tuning by annotating its source code with simple tuning directives. We demonstrate ATF's efficacy by comparing it to the state‐of‐the‐art auto‐tuning approaches, OpenTuner and CLTune; ATF shows better tuning results with less programmer's effort.
KeyValueServe†: Design and performance analysis of a multi‐tenant data grid as a cloud service
Authors: Das Anwesha , Iyengar Arun , Mueller Frank
Published: January 2018

Distributed key‐value stores have become indispensable for large‐scale cluster applications. Many cloud services have deployed in‐memory data grids for their enterprise infrastructures and support multi‐tenancy services. However, most services do not offer fine‐grained multi‐tenant resource sharing. To this front, we present KeyValueServe, a low overhead cloud service with features aiding resource management. Results based on Hazelcast, a popular open source data grid, indicate that KeyValueServe can efficiently provide services to tenants without degrading performance. Providing consistent performance to all tenants for fluctuating workloads is still difficult. Performance problems occur at scale with diverse tenant requirements. To address this, the paper provides insights to contention and performance bottlenecks. Through experimental analysis, we uncover scenarios of performance degradation and demonstrate optimized performance via coalescing multiple clients' requests. Our work indicates that a Hazelcast cluster can get congested with multiple concurrent connections when processing client requests, resulting in poor performance. KeyValueServe can reduce the number of parallel connections maintained for client requests, resulting in improved performance.
N‐Modified NiO Surface for Superior Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution
Authors: Zhang Le , Liu Peng Fei , Li Yu Hang , Zu Meng Yang , Li Xu , Jiang Zheng , Wang Yun , Zhao Huijun , Yang Hua Gui
Published: January 2018

Boosting the sluggish kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline environments is key for the large‐scale application of water–alkali and chlor–alkali electrolysis. In this study, nitrogen atoms are used to precisely modulate electrochemical active sites on the surface of nickel oxide with low‐coordinated oxygen atoms, to achieve enhanced kinetics in alkaline hydrogen evolution. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that surface charge redistribution after modulation facilitates both the initial water dissociation step and the subsequent recombination of Had from low‐coordinated oxygen sites and desorption of OHad− from nickel sites, thus accelerating the overall hydrogen evolution process. The N‐modulated nickel oxide enriched in low‐coordinated oxygen atoms exhibits significantly enhanced activity with a small overpotential of −100 mV at the current density of −10 mA cm−2 and a robust stability over 90 h for hydrogen evolution in 1.0 m KOH.
Cumulative risk exposure moderates the association between parasympathetic reactivity and inhibitory control in preschool‐age children
Authors: Giuliano Ryan J. , Roos Leslie E. , Farrar Jessica D. , Skowron Elizabeth A.
Published: January 2018

A child's cumulative risk for early exposure to stress has been linked to alterations of self‐regulation outcomes, including neurobiological correlates of inhibitory control (IC). We examined whether children's ability to engage the parasympathetic nervous system impacts how risk affects IC. Children ages 3–5 years completed two laboratory measures of IC while respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured, indexing parasympathetic activity. Children with greater risk demonstrated lower IC; risk also moderated associations between RSA reactivity and IC. For children with less risk, greater RSA withdrawal during IC tasks was associated with better IC. In contrast, greater risk was associated with poor IC, regardless of RSA withdrawal. Effects of risk were more pronounced for cumulative than individual measures. Results suggest that cumulative risk exposure disrupts connectivity between physiological and behavioral components of self‐regulation in early childhood. Parasympathetic withdrawal to cognitive tasks may be less relevant for performance in developmental samples experiencing greater life stress.
Dual Intermolecular Allylic C–H Functionalization of the Tetrasubstituted Alkene Scaffold
Authors: Martínez Claudio , Muñiz Kilian
Published: January 2018

Activation of chloramine‐T (TsNNaCl) with a Brønsted acid generates an active reagent for the double allylic C–H functionalization of tetrasubstituted alkenes in an intermolecular manner. The reaction generates a carbon–nitrogen and a carbon–chlorine bond, and proceeds with complete regio‐ and chemoselectivity. A total of 14 examples demonstrate the applicability of the dual C–H functionalization process. The mechanism involves the intermediacy of a 1,3‐butadiene derivative; 1,3‐butadienes can also be used directly as substrates.