bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
g‐C3N4/BiYO3 Composite for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Authors: Ma Rujun , Dong Lihui , Li Bin , Su Tongming , Luo Xuan , Qin Zuzeng , Ji Hongbing
Published: June 2018

g‐C3N4/BiYO3 composites were prepared by an electrostatic self‐assembly of g‐C3N4 and BiYO3 and were used as photocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The UV‐vis DRS revealed that the band gaps of BiYO3 and g‐C3N4 were 2.58 eV and 2.96 eV, respectively, and the g‐C3N4/BiYO3 composites showed stronger visible light absorption than that of g‐C3N4 because the composite with BiYO3 served as a narrow bandgap catalyst. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) proved that the g‐C3N4/BiYO3 composites exhibited a better electronic transmission capacity and a larger photocurrent than that of g‐C3N4 or BiYO3 because the BiYO3 acted as an electron acceptor in the composites. The PL spectra showed that g‐C3N4 combined with BiYO3 inhibited the recombination of photo‐generated electron holes in g‐C3N4 and enhanced the photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activities for hydrogen evolution with the g‐C3N4/BiYO3 composites were higher than those of the individual g‐C3N4 or BiYO3 alone due to the transfer of photogenerated electrons from the conduction band of g‐C3N4 to the conduction band of BiYO3 and the transfer of photogenerated holes from the valence band of BiYO3 to the valence band of g‐C3N4. The composite with a g‐C3N4/BiYO3 mass ratio of 2 showed an optimal hydrogen evolution rate of 37.6 μmol⋅h–1⋅gcat–1, which was 8.4‐ and 6.4‐fold higher than that of g‐C3N4 and BiYO3, respectively.
Electrochemical Charge Transfer Through the Supramolecular Discogen‐DNA Hybrid Multi‐layered Assembly
Authors: Pandey Rakesh K. , Pandey Himani , Nayak Alpana
Published: June 2018

In the present work, charge transfer phenomenon through the films of an ionic discotic liquid crystal (discogen) that is pyridinium tethered with hexaalkoxytriphenylene (PyTp) and its complex with DNA (PyTp‐DNA) was studied by using electrochemical methods. The PyTp and PyTp‐DNA hybrid films were first formed at the air‐water interface and then transferred onto the gold substrates by Langmuir‐Blodgett (LB) technique. Electrochemical measurements carried out on these films in three different redox systems, namely, ferrocene, hexaammineruthenium (III), and ferrocyanide, revealed that the ferrocene and the hexaammineruthenium (III) systems allow the electron transfer reaction between redox probes and metal, whereas the ferrocyanide system completely blocks it. The electrochemical response of the films, in the former two systems, has been attributed to the bridge mediated electron transfer process, whereas, in the ferrocyanide system, the impermeability of redox ions through these LB films is responsible for the complete blocking of electron transfer. Based on the observed results, this work highlights the possibility of novel charge transfer properties of discogen‐DNA type hybrid films for applications in molecular electronics.
Gas Phase OH Radical Reaction with 2‐Chloroethyl Vinyl Ether in the 256–333 K Temperature Range: A Combined LP‐LIF and Computational Study
Authors: Kawade Monali N. , Srinivas Doddipatla , Upadhyaya Hari P.
Published: June 2018

The absolute rate coefficient for the gas phase reaction of OH radical with 2‐chloroethyl vinyl ether (H2C=CH–O–CH2CH2Cl, 2ClEVE) has been measured using the laser photolysis (LP) – laser induced fluorescence (LIF) technique. The kinetics measurements were done over the temperature range of 256–333 K. The bimolecular rate coefficients obtained, k(T), showed Arrhenius type behaviour which were fitted to the expression k(T)=(4.18±0.55)×10−12 exp[(700±70)/T] cm3 molecule−1 s−1. The room temperature rate coefficient shows pressure independent behaviour in the range of 10–40 Torr. The reaction shows weak negative temperature dependence. A detail computational studies involving the energies and structures of the reactants, transition states and products were performed using Complete Basis Set (CBS) and Quadratic Configuration Interaction with Single and Double substitutions with a Triples contribution to the energy, QCISD(T), method to elucidate the reaction mechanism. The results suggest that the major pathways for the reaction proceeds through addition of OH radical to the C=C double bond and the H atom abstraction from the –O–CH2– group and they are competitive in nature. The tropospheric lifetime, radiative efficiency (RE) and the global warming potential (GWP) for 2‐chloroethyl vinyl ether (2ClEVE) have been also determined.
Expatriates' identity salience, work stressors, and work–nonwork conflict: Moderating role of gender and marital status
Authors: Vijayakumar Pooja B. , Cunningham Christopher J. L.
Published: June 2018

Drawing from identity theory, we proposed individuals with high work salience experienced high work stressors (interpersonal conflict, workhours, and workload), resulting in positive work‐nonwork conflict (WNWC), and individuals with high nonwork salience experienced lower work stressors, resulting in negative WNWC. Furthermore, we tested for the moderating role of gender and marital status in the relationship. The sample for this study consisted of 415 Indian expatriates working in the U.S. information technology (IT) industry. Findings supported the proposed model where work stressors completely conditioned the relationship between work/nonwork salience and WNWC. Work‐salient men worked longer hours compared to work‐salient women and were more prone to WNWC. In married individuals (in both work‐ and nonwork‐salient individuals), increased workload was positively associated with WNWC and long working hours were negatively associated with WNWC. These findings further suggested nonmarried individuals faced more WNWC when compared to married individuals when managing long working hours. Therefore, being married does not necessarily lead to higher levels of all forms of WNWC. Additionally, the participants in this study identified themselves to be more nonwork‐salient. We argue that identity salience predicts role behavioral intentions and emphasize the importance of differentiating expatriates based on their salience. This in turn could help organizations contextualize various challenges faced by work‐ and nonwork‐salient individuals and manage issues in a cost‐effective manner.
Active vertical vane control for stabilizing platform roll motion of floating offshore turbines
Authors: Yang Zhongzhou , Li Yaoyu
Published: June 2018

For floating offshore wind turbines, control of the platform roll motion is important for performance, load, and structural stability. This paper proposes an active control strategy for stabilizing the platform roll motion of downwind wind turbine via a vertical vane installed underneath the nacelle bedplate. The aerodynamic lift induced by the vertical vane from the incoming wind renders a lateral force imposed on the tower top, which leads to a significant stabilizing torque on the platform via the tower height as moment arm. Such control authority can be manipulated by the vane pitch angle. The proposed idea is evaluated with a 5 MW turbine model combined with the Hywind platform, using the Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence software. The vane models are implemented based on slight modification of the tail furling module in Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence. Simulation study is performed under different feedback measurements, vane areas, airfoil designs, wind speeds, wave heights, wind directions, and wave directions. The feedback of tower‐top velocity feedback is shown to be more effective than the acceleration feedback. For all cases, the variance of platform roll angle shows reduction of approximately 73% to 95%, the damage equivalent load for the tower‐base side‐to‐side bending moment can be reduced by 20% to 61%, and the power consumption of vane actuator is up to 0.075% of the turbine power generated during the simulated periods. The proposed actuation scheme promises a low‐power and high‐bandwidth solution to floating offshore wind turbines roll motion stabilization, more advantageous especially for higher winds when the structural stability is of greater concern.
Reactivity of Trivalent Ate Complex (thf)LiCe[N(SiHMe2)2]4 toward 1,1,3,3‐N,N,N′,N′‐Tetramethylguanidine
Authors: Schneider David , Schädle Christoph , Maichle‐Mössmer Cäcilia , Anwander Reiner
Published: June 2018

The ate complex (thf)LiCe[N(SiHMe2)2]4 reacts readily with 2–4 equiv. 1,1,3,3‐N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylguanidine (HTMG) via a tandem protonolysis/HTMG monoinsertion/HNMe2 elimination reaction, affording [Ce{N(SiHMe2)2}2(μ‐LTMG)]2 [LTMG = N=C(NMe2)N=C(NMe2)2]. Reaction of (thf)LiCe[N(SiHMe2)2] with 1 equiv. HTMG gave a silylamido/guanidine mono‐exchange, leading to the isolation of the dimeric compound [Ce{N(SiHMe2)2}2(μ‐TMG)]2, which could be converted further into [Ce{N(SiHMe2)2}2(μ‐LTMG)]2 by addition of another equiv. of HTMG. The mechanism of formation of complex [Ce{N(SiHMe2)2}2(μ‐LTMG)]2 are discussed.
Scalar dark matter search from the extended νTHDM
Authors: Baek Seungwon , Das Arindam , Nomura Takaaki
Published: June 2018

Abstract

We consider a neutrino Two Higgs Doublet Model (νTHDM) in which neutrinos obtain naturally small Dirac masses from the soft symmetry breaking of a global U(1)
X
symmetry. We extended the model so the soft term is generated by the spontaneous breaking of U(1)
X
by a new scalar field. The symmetry breaking pattern can also stabilize a scalar dark matter candidate. After constructing the model, we study the phenomenology of the dark matter: relic density, direct and indirect detection.
Hidden conformal symmetry in tree-level graviton scattering
Authors: Loebbert Florian , Mojaza Matin , Plefka Jan
Published: June 2018

Abstract

We argue that the scattering of gravitons in ordinary Einstein gravity possesses a hidden conformal symmetry at tree level in any number of dimensions. The presence of this conformal symmetry is indicated by the dilaton soft theorem in string theory, and it is reminiscent of the conformal invariance of gluon tree-level amplitudes in four dimensions. To motivate the underlying prescription, we demonstrate that formulating the conformal symmetry of gluon amplitudes in terms of momenta and polarization vectors requires manifest reversal and cyclic symmetry. Similarly, our formulation of the conformal symmetry of graviton amplitudes relies on a manifestly permutation symmetric form of the amplitude function.
Mating, births, and transitions: a flexible two‐sex matrix model for evolutionary demography
Authors: Shyu Esther , Caswell Hal
Published: June 2018

Models of sexually‐reproducing populations that consider only a single sex cannot capture the effects of sex‐specific demographic differences and mate availability. We present a new framework for two‐sex demographic models that implements and extends the birth‐matrix mating‐rule approach of Pollak. The model is a continuous‐time matrix model that explicitly includes the processes of mating (which is nonlinear but homogeneous), offspring production, and demographic transitions and survival. The resulting nonlinear model converges to exponential growth with an equilibrium population composition. The model can incorporate age‐ or stage‐structured life histories and flexible mating functions. As an example, we apply the model to analyze the effects of mating strategies (polygamy or monogamy, and mated unions composed of males and females, of variable duration) on the response to sex‐biased harvesting. The combination of demographic complexity with the interaction of the sexes can have major population dynamic effects and can change the outcome of evolution on sex‐related characters.
Can MOOCs Reduce Global Inequality in Education?
Authors: Pollack Ichou Rachel
Published: June 2018

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been hailed as means for unprecedented access to education, crossing divisions of race, class, age, gender, and geography. Yet empirical studies have demonstrated that students of MOOCs are primarily those already advantaged in terms of education and socioeconomic status. Drawing on recent academic literature and a theoretical understanding of the role of technology in education, this article examines whether MOOCs can indeed reduce global inequality in education. The paper concludes that while MOOCs can provide a novel form of learning through technology and remove a significant cost barrier to education, they will do little to reduce global educational gaps until they are able to reach and retain those most lacking education.
Validity, Reliability, and Responsiveness of the Spanish Version of the OPTIMAL Instrument
Authors: Pinto‐Carral Arrate , Fernández‐Villa Tania , Guccione Andrew A. , Cuadrado Federico Montero , Cancela José Mᵃ , Molina Antonio José
Published: June 2018

Background

The Outpatient Physical Therapy Improvement in Movement Assessment Log (OPTIMAL) is a self‐report instrument developed to measure the ability to perform mobility actions.

Objective

To validate a Spanish version of the OPTIMAL instrument.

Design

Cross‐cultural adaptation and validation study.

Setting

Primary and specialized outpatient care settings.

Participants

Three hundred seven patients beginning physical therapy treatment and 30 subjects from the general population.

Methods

A 2‐part study was designed based on guidelines for cultural adaptation of patient‐reported outcome measures.

Outcomes

Reliability was estimated by internal consistency (Cronbach α), SE of measurement, and test‐retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient) at 2 weeks. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine structural validity. The association with the Physical Functioning Subscale was assessed with Spearman correlation coefficients. OPTIMAL scores across different groups were compared with Mann‐Whitney U and Kruskal‐Wallis tests. Effect size, standardized response mean, and minimal detectable change were determined for responsiveness.

Results

The Spanish version of the OPTIMAL instrument showed a similar structure to the original English questionnaire. Cronbach α was 0.95 for the difficulty and confidence scales. Intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91 (95% CI 0.87‐0.94) for the difficulty scale and 0.90 (95% CI 0.85‐0.93) for the confidence scale. The SE of measurement was 5.11 for the difficulty scale and 6.54 for the confidence scale. The association with the Physical Functioning Subscale was strong and significant (P < .001). The 2 scales showed significantly different scores for each of the established patient groups. The effect size was 0.61 (95% CI 0.48‐0.74) for the difficulty scale and 0.53 (95% CI 0.38‐0.69) for the confidence scale. The standardized response mean was 0.97 (95% CI 0.78‐1.13) for the difficulty scale and 0.76 (95% CI 0.48‐1.01) for the confidence scale. The minimal detectable change, of a possible score of 100, was 14.2 for the difficulty scale and 18.1 for the confidence scale.

Conclusion

The Spanish version of the OPTIMAL has appropriate reliability, validity, and responsiveness and it is an adequate self‐report instrument for the assessment of mobility actions.

Level of Evidence

III
PORTFOLIO ALLOCATION AS THE PRESIDENT'S CALCULATIONS: LOYALTY, COPARTISANSHIP, AND POLITICAL CONTEXT IN SOUTH KOREA
Authors: Lee Don S.
Published: June 2018

How do the president's calculations in achieving policy goals shape the allocation of cabinet portfolios? Despite the growing literature on presidential cabinet appointments, this question has barely been addressed. I argue that cabinet appointments are strongly affected not only by presidential incentives to effectively deliver their key policy commitments but also by their interest in having their administration maintain strong political leverage. Through an analysis of portfolio allocations in South Korea after democratization, I demonstrate that the posts wherein ministers can influence the government's overall reputation typically go to nonpartisan professionals ideologically aligned with presidents, while the posts wherein ministers can exert legislators' influence generally go to senior copartisans. My findings highlight a critical difference in presidential portfolio allocation from parliamentary democracies, where key posts tend to be reserved for senior parliamentarians from the ruling party.
Using Electromagnetic Signal Propagation Models for Radio and Television Broadcasts: An Introduction
Authors: Crabtree Charles , Kern Holger L.
Published: June 2018

This note offers an introduction to electromagnetic signal propagation models, which can be used to model terrestrial radio and television signal strength across space. Such data are useful to social scientists interested in identifying the effects of mass media broadcasts when (i) individual-level data on media exposure do not exist or when (ii) media exposure, while observed, is not exogenous. We illustrate the use of electromagnetic signal propagation models by creating a signal strength measure of military-controlled radio stations during the 2012 coup in Mali.
Rural Seigneurs and the Counter Reformation: Parishes, Patrons, and Religious Reform in France, 1550–1700
Authors: Tingle Elizabeth
Published: June 2018

This article examines the role of lay seigneurs in religious change in the French countryside in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, during the Catholic Reformation and a period of socioeconomic change in land ownership and exploitation. The focus here is on middling and lesser lords—the rough equivalent of the English gentry, who held land in a single province or evenpaysand had a frequent presence in their parishes—rather than the great nobles who operated at a national level. Brittany is used as a case study, for it was a province rich in rural lords and because relatively good source material survives. It is argued that seigneurs were important patrons of religious innovation in the countryside, particularly in the parish church. They were rarely innovators themselves, but they lent support and resources to the introduction and maintenance of new devotional practices. Lords worked closely with clergy, sharing their aspirations and ideas. Four areas were particularly prominent in eliciting their support: appointment of clergy, support of missionaries, new devotional practices, and funding of building projects and liturgies in parish churches. These combined family strategies of enhancing social status and individual means to salvation which were indivisible in the world of the lay rural nobility. It was from a traditional understanding of lordship that patronage of religious reform stemmed.
The Legend of Marcus Whitman and the Transformation of the American Historical Profession
Authors: Koenig Sarah
Published: June 2018

This article explores the secularization of the American historical profession through the lens of an early twentieth-century historical controversy: the debunking of the legend that nineteenth-century missionary Marcus Whitman saved the Pacific Northwest from becoming a British possession. The Whitman controversy was a key skirmish in an ongoing, and still unresolved, debate about what constitutes right practices and ideations of history in the American academy, what counts as undue historical bias, and what place (if any) appeals to religion should have in academic historical discourse. Through the Whitman debate and other early twentieth-century historical battles, Protestant providential narratives of history were purged from academic textbooks and providential historians marginalized from the academy. Taking a cue from the evolutionary schemas of religious studies scholars, professional historians cast tales like the Whitman legend—and the providential narratives that undergirded them—as primitive myths unfit for a modernizing society. The Whitman controversy thus serves as a case study into the American historical profession's transformation at the turn of the twentieth century, a transformation that remains contested and incomplete.
Seventh-Day Adventist Historiography: A Work in Progress
Authors: Butler Jonathan M.
Published: June 2018

In the past decade, Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) historiography has enjoyed an efflorescence that warrants the attention of church historians. Two notable books mark the surge of interest in Adventism and its prophet: one of them an extraordinary denominational history, Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventism and the American Dream, by Malcolm Bull and Keith Lockhart (1989; 2007); the other an excellent collection of essays, Ellen Harmon White: American Prophet, edited by Terrie Dopp Aamodt, Gary Land, and Ronald L. Numbers (2014). Both books remind church historians that Seventh-day Adventism deserves its due as one of America's original religions. Since 2005, however, a number of books have appeared that understandably have received less scrutiny. The Adventist Pioneer Series, in particular, produced by SDA scholars and published by SDA presses, has largely escaped the notice of the wider, non-SDA historical community. This is unfortunate. There is the inevitable unevenness among these volumes, and given their intent to serve a popular Adventist audience, there is also the predictable parochialism in them, in some more than others. Nevertheless, to date there are several books in the series, and no doubt more to follow, which should command serious scholarly interest. To make our way through this largely unfamiliar historiographical landscape calls for a little mapping. Most of these authors come from SDA backgrounds, whatever distance they have gone from them. It will be necessary, then, to reflect on the differences between a historian of Adventism and an Adventist historian, secular versus supernatural history, and apologists who rate scholarly notice and those who do not. It will be important as well to realize that there is no hard, unyielding line between these differences.
Temperature gradient driven heat flux closure in fluid simulations of collisionless reconnection
Authors: Allmann-Rahn F. , Trost T. , Grauer R.
Published: June 2018

Recent efforts to include kinetic effects in fluid simulations of plasmas have been very promising. Concerning collisionless magnetic reconnection, it has been found before that damping of the pressure tensor to isotropy leads to good agreement with kinetic runs in certain scenarios. An accurate representation of kinetic effects in reconnection was achieved in a study by Wang et al. (Phys. Plasmas, vol. 22, 2015, 012108) with a closure derived from earlier work by Hammett and Perkins (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 64, 1990, 3019). Here, their approach is analysed on the basis of heat flux data from a Vlasov simulation. As a result, we propose a new local closure in which heat flux is driven by temperature gradients. This way, a more realistic approximation of Landau damping in the collisionless regime is achieved. Previous issues are addressed and the agreement with kinetic simulations in different reconnection set-ups is improved significantly. To the authors’ knowledge, the new fluid model is the first to perform well in simulations of the coalescence of large magnetic islands.
Self-supervised free space estimation in outdoor terrain
Authors: Harakeh Ali , Asmar Daniel , Shammas Elie
Published: June 2018

The ability to reliably estimate free space is an essential requirement for efficient and safe robot navigation. This paper presents a novel system, built upon a stochastic framework, which estimates free space quickly from stereo data, using self-supervised learning. The system relies on geometric data in the close range of the robot to train a second-stage appearance-based classifier for long range areas in a scene. Experiments are conducted on board an unmanned ground vehicle, and the results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed technique over other self-supervised systems.
Performing Anti-nationalism: Solidarity, Glitter and No-Borders Politics with theEuropa EuropaCabaret
Authors: ELSWIT KATE
Published: June 2018

TheEuropa Europaanti-nationalist cabaret was created in the run-up to the 2014 Swedish elections by the Ful collective in collaboration with ‘house band’ the Knife. Part rally and part concert,Europa Europaresponds to the Sweden Democrats party's anti-immigrant propaganda specifically and the migration policies of the European Union more generally, by enacting a kind of ‘no-borders’ politics in a moment of rising nationalisms. The cabaret aims to build a temporary coalition between different but like-minded audiences as an aim distinct from changing minds. This solidarity is also practised by the performers onstage, who use the ambiguous theatrical positioning of migration stories to challenge conventional imaginaries of heroes and criminals. ThroughEuropa Europaand its inheritances, from historical agitprop to the Macarena, this essay extends performance's repertoire as a form in which to practise strategic anti-nationalism, and to engage with friction in the process.
Occupying Las Ramblas: Ocaña's Political Performances in Spain's Democratic Transition
Authors: RODRÍGUEZ-SOLÁS DAVID
Published: June 2018

This article demonstrates that José Pérez Ocaña's political performances open up the possibility of questioning the narrative of the transition to democracy in Spain as one resulting from political consensus. Using sources available in documentaries and in the archives of the counterculture, the essay studies Ocaña as a political subject of the transition. Among his public acts, the essay considers his street performances, his sexually explicit performance in the Canet Rock music festival and in International Anarchist Days in 1977, and his problematic participation in gay pride parades in Barcelona. In his public appearances, Ocaña eroded the distinction between public and private while asserting his right to appear. Despite his prominence in countercultural realms, gay activists and anarchist organizations rejected him. I argue that Ocaña opted to disidentify with all labels as he confronted both gender norms and the countercultural public sphere.
Input Strictly Local opaque maps
Authors: Chandlee Jane , Heinz Jeffrey , Jardine Adam
Published: June 2018

This paper gives a computational characterisation of opaque interactions in phonology. Specifically, a range of opaque interactions are shown to be Input Strictly Local (ISL) maps (Chandlee 2014), which are string-to-string functions that determine output based only on contiguous sequences of input symbols. Examples from Baković’s (2007) extended typology of counterfeeding, counterbleeding, self-destructive feeding, non-gratuitous feeding and cross-derivational feeding, as well as a case of fed counterfeeding from Kavitskaya & Staroverov (2010), are all given ISL analyses, which show that these interactions can be computed based on sequences of bounded length in the input. It is discussed how ISL maps are restrictive in their typological predictions, have guaranteed learning results and known methods for generation and recognition, and thus compare favourably to rule-based and constraint-based approaches to these interactions.
Positional licensing, asymmetric trade-offs and gradient constraints in Harmonic Grammar
Authors: Kaplan Aaron
Published: June 2018

In Harmonic Grammar, positional licensing interacts with faithfulness constraints in pathological ways: spreading a feature to a licensing position to satisfy positional licensing can incur many faithfulness violations, and if there are sufficiently many such violations, they gang up to block spreading. This problem is solved if positional licensing is recast as a positive constraint that rewards licensed features in proportion to the number of positions they are associated with, thereby countering faithfulness's multiple violations. This proposal provides support for positive constraints, calls into question arguments against gradient constraints and lays the groundwork for a sound theory of positional licensing in Harmonic Grammar.
On the existence of sonority-driven stress in Gujarati
Authors: Shih Shu-hao
Published: June 2018

This paper presents evidence against the existence of sonority-driven stress in Gujarati. Gujarati is one of the clearest and most revealing cases of sonority-driven stress with distinctions among peripheral vowels. A production experiment was performed to determine the accuracy of the claim that [a] attracts stress away from the default position. Of the five types of phonetic evidence examined, only F1 provides clear evidence for stress, revealing stress to be consistently penultimate, and not sonority-driven. As Gujarati is one of the core cases of sonority-driven stress, this finding challenges the claim that it exists. However, this paper does not exclude the possibility that stress may avoid schwa (or central vowels), as reported for several languages. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed, particularly for theories that have a ‘symmetric effect’ and for descriptions that are impressionistic.
Lexical selection, cross-language interaction, and switch costs in habitually codeswitching bilinguals
Authors: KHEDER SOUAD , KAAN EDITH
Published: June 2018

Bilinguals dynamically activate lexical items in one or both languages depending on a number of factors. We explored the interaction effects of semantic constraints, language context, and L2-proficiency on cross-language interaction and switch costs in bilinguals who habitually codeswitch between Algerian Arabic (AA) and French. We recorded response times to French cognates and non-cognates embedded in auditory AA or French sentences. High proficiency bilinguals could restrict selection to the target language regardless of the language context. In lower proficiency bilinguals, however, selection was specific to the target language in non-switching contexts but was nonspecific in switching contexts where cross-language interaction yielded inhibitory and facilitatory cognate effects. Results of this study therefore suggest that lexical selection in codeswitching bilinguals is dynamic and is dependent on proficiency, semantic constraints and language context. This within-subject study using auditory stimuli contributes towards a more ecological methodology in investigating sentence processing in codeswitching bilinguals.
A general theory of power concentration: demographic influences on political organization
Authors: Gerring John , Maguire Matthew , Jaeger Jillian
Published: June 2018

Why is the exercise of political power highly concentrated in some polities and widely dispersed in others? We argue that one important causal factor is demographic. Populous polities are characterized by less concentrated structures of authority. To explain this relationship, we invoke two mechanisms: heterogeneity and trust. The theory is demonstrated with a wide variety of empirical measures in cross-country analyses including most sovereign states and extending back to the 19th century. The result suggests the possibility of a ubiquitous ‘law’ of politics.
Early onset and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in young monosodium l-glutamate-induced obese mice
Authors: Coelho C. F. F. , França L. M. , Nascimento J. R. , dos Santos A. M. , Azevedo-Santos A. P. S. , Nascimento F. R. F. , Paes A. M. A.
Published: June 2018

Monosodium l-glutamate (MSG)-induced obesity is a useful model for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) studies. However, there is limited data on its initiation and progression. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the onset of metabolic and histopathological features of NAFLD and its progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in this model. To perform this study, Swiss mice pups were neonatally injected with MSG (4 g/kg/day, s.c.) or equiosmolar saline and followed up to 60, 120 or 180 days old. At each age, blood, liver, as well as periepididymal and retroperitoneal fat pads were collected for morphometric, biochemical and histological analyses, the later according to NAFLD activity score. MSG mice presented hypertriglyceridemia and central obesity at all ages, but peripheral insulin-resistance was verified only in 120- and 180-day-old mice. Hepatic total fat and triglycerides content were higher in MSG mice at all ages. Accordingly, histopathological analysis showed that 60-day-old MSG mice had microvesicular steatosis with occasional ballooning, which evolved into NASH from 120 days old. Retroperitoneal fat accumulation was the only variable to independently correlate with NAFLD activity total score upon multivariate analysis (R
2=71.45%). There were no differences in IL-6 and TNF-α serum levels among groups. Overall, this study shows that NAFLD is a precocious outcome in MSG-obese mice, whereas the period comprised between 60 and 120 days old seems to be a crucial metabolic window for comprehending pathophysiological events involved in NAFLD-to-NASH progression in this model.
Drop Size Distribution Characteristics of Seven Typhoons in China
Authors: Wen Long , Zhao Kun , Chen Gang , Wang Mingjun , Zhou Bowen , Huang Hao , Hu Dongming , Lee Wen‐Chau , Hu Hanfeng
Published: June 2018

This study is the first attempt to investigate the characteristics of the drop size distribution (DSD) and drop shape relation (DSR) of seven typhoons after making landfall in China. Four typhoons were sampled by a C‐band polarimetric radar (CPOL) and a two‐dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD) in Jiangsu Province (East China) while three typhoons were sampled by two 2DVDs in Guangdong Province (south China). Although the DSD and DSR are different in individual typhoons, the computed DSD parameters in these two groups of typhoons possess similar characteristics. The DSR is more spherical, and the shape‐slope (μ‐Λ) relation has a significantly lower value of μ for a given Λ than that in typhoons in the Taiwan area, indicating different microphysical processes of typhoons between continental China and other regions (western Pacific and Atlantic). The convective precipitation of typhoons contains higher raindrop concentration and lower raindrop diameter than that of the maritime convection. A Z (reflectivity factor)‐R (rain rate) relationship, Z = 147.28R1.38, is derived for typhoons over land in China. The contoured frequency by altitude diagrams of CPOL polarimeteric parameters and the vertical distributions of hydrometeors and retrieved DSD parameters are further investigated to better reveal the microphysical processes of two typhoons (Matmo and Soudelor). Despite the differences in DSDs and polarimetric parameters, microphysical characteristics in both typhoons are similar. The CPOL‐derived microphysical properties, in conjunction with high freezing level, suggest that warm rain accretion processes dominate typhoon rainfall after landfall in China.
Neotectonics of the Big Sur Bend, San Gregorio‐Hosgri Fault System, Central California
Authors: Johnson Samuel Y. , Watt Janet T. , Hartwell Steven R. , Kluesner Jared W.
Published: June 2018

The right‐lateral San Gregorio‐Hosgri fault system (SGHF) extends mainly offshore for about 400 km along the central California coast and is a major structure in the distributed transform margin of western North America. We mapped a poorly known 64‐km‐long section of the SGHF offshore Big Sur between Piedras Blancas and Point Sur using high‐resolution bathymetry, seismic reflection, and marine magnetic data. In this region, the SGHF is characterized by multiple strands, step overs, scarps and lineaments, shutter ridges, deflected drainages, and other geomorphic features consistent with strike‐slip faulting. Analysis of offset shelfbreak gullies suggest a lateral slip rate of about 3.35 mm/year. Vertical slip rates range as high as 0.8 to 1.2 mm/year. Lateral slip combined with high vertical slip rates result in a northwest decrease in shelf width, a northward increase in shelf and upper slope gradient, and progressive incision of submarine canyon heads. The SGHF between Point Sur and Piedras Blancas trends ~321° and forms a 105‐km‐long transpressive bend (theBig Sur Bend) between more north trending transtensional fault sections to the south (120 km long, ~336° trend) and north (180 km long, ~337° trend). This transpressional bend and SGHF splay faults have had a significant role in shaping the modern geomorphology of the central California coast, controlling or influencing the locations of mountainous uplifts, large coastal headlands, embayments, and rivers.
Depth Matters in Peat Bog Nutrient Cycling
Authors: Shultz David
Published: June 2018

Peatlands store around a third of Earth’s soil carbon, and a new study begins to reveal how the ecosystems’ organic matter changes with depth.
The Aspirin Regimens in Essential Thrombocythemia (ARES) phase II randomized trial design: Implementation of the serum thromboxane B2 assay as an evaluation tool of different aspirin dosing regimens in the clinical setting
Authors: De Stefano Valerio , Rocca Bianca , Tosetto Alberto , Soldati Denise , Petrucci Giovanna , Beggiato Eloise , Bertozzi Irene , Betti Silvia , Carli Giuseppe , Carpenedo Monica , Cattaneo Daniele , Cavalca Viviana , Dragani Alfredo , Elli Elena , Finazzi Guido , Iurlo Alessandra , Lanzarone Giuseppe , Lissandrini Laura , Palandri Francesca , Paoli Chiara , Rambaldi Alessandro , Ranalli Paola , Randi Maria Luigia , Ricco Alessandra , Rossi Elena , Ruggeri Marco , Specchia Giorgina , Timillero Andrea , Turnu Linda , Vianelli Nicola , Vannucchi Alessandro M. , Rodeghiero Francesco , Patrono Carlo
Published: June 2018

Once-daily (od), low-dose aspirin (75–100 mg) is recommended to reduce the thrombotic risk of patients with essential thrombocytemia (ET). This practice is based on data extrapolated from other high-risk patients and an aspirin trial in polycythemia vera, with the assumption of similar aspirin pharmacodynamics in the two settings. However, the pharmacodynamics of low-dose aspirin is impaired in ET, reflecting accelerated renewal of platelet cyclooxygenase (COX)-1. ARES is a parallel-arm, placebo-controlled, randomized, dose-finding, phase II trial enrolling 300 ET patients to address two main questions. First, whether twice or three times 100 mg aspirin daily dosing is superior to the standard od regimen in inhibiting platelet thromboxane (TX)A2 production, without inhibiting vascular prostacyclin biosynthesis. Second, whether long-term persistence of superior biochemical efficacy can be safely maintained with multiple vs. single dosing aspirin regimen. Considering that the primary study end point is serum TXB2, a surrogate biomarker of clinical efficacy, a preliminary exercise of reproducibility and validation of this biomarker across all the 11 participating centers was implemented. The results of this preliminary phase demonstrate the importance of controlling reproducibility of biomarkers in multicenter trials and the feasibility of using serum TXB2 as a reliable end point for dose-finding studies of novel aspirin regimens.
Validation of Common Housekeeping Genes as Reference for qPCR Gene Expression Analysis During iPS Reprogramming Process
Authors: Panina Yulia , Germond Arno , Masui Shinji , Watanabe Tomonobu M.
Published: June 2018

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) reprogramming allows to turn a differentiated somatic cell into a pluripotent cell. This process is accompanied by many changes in fundamental cell properties, such as energy production, cell-to-cell interactions, cytoskeletal organization, and others. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) can be used as a quantitative method of gene expression analysis to investigate iPS reprogramming but it requires a validation of reference genes for the accurate assessment of target genes’ expression. Currently, studies evaluating the performance of reference genes during iPS reprogramming are lacking. In this study we analysed the stability of 12 housekeeping genes during 20 days of iPS reprogramming of murine cells based on statistical analyses of RT-qPCR data using five different statistical algorithms. This study reports strong variations in housekeeping gene stability during the reprogramming process. Most stable genes were Atp5f1, Pgk1 and Gapdh, while the least stable genes were Rps18, Hprt, Tbp and Actb. The results were validated by a proof-of-point qPCR experiment with pluripotent markers Nanog, Rex1 and Oct4 normalized to the best and the worst reference gene identified by the analyses. Overall, this study and its implications are particularly relevant to investigations on the cell-state and pluripotency in iPS reprogramming.
Element substitution of kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 for efficient counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Lu Shuang , Yang Huanying , Li Fei , Wang Yinglin , Chen Shixin , Yang Guochun , Liu Yichun , Zhang Xintong
Published: June 2018

Development of cost-effective counter electrode (CE) materials is a key issue for practical applications of photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion. Kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) has been recognized as a potential CE material, but its electrocatalytic activity is still insufficient for the recovery of I−/I3− electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, we attempt to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of kesterite CZTS through element substitution of Zn2+ by Co2+ and Ni2+ cations, considering their high catalytic activity, as well as their similar atomic radius and electron configuration with Zn2+. The Cu2CoSnS4 (CCTS) and Cu2NiSnS4 (CNTS) CEs exhibit smaller charge-transfer resistance and reasonable power conversion efficiency (PCE) (CCTS, 8.3%; CNTS, 8.2%), comparable to that of Pt (8.3%). In contrast, the CZTS-based DSSCs only generate a PCE of 7.9%. Density functional theory calculation indicate that the enhanced catalytic performance is associated to the adsorption and desorption energy of iodine atom on the Co2+ and Ni2+. In addition, the stability of CCTS and CNTS CEs toward electrolyte is also significantly improved as evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy characterizations. These results thus suggest the effectiveness of the element substitution strategy for developing high-performance CE from the developed materials, particularly for multicomponent compounds.
Temperature-dependent cell death patterns induced by functionalized gold nanoparticle photothermal therapy in melanoma cells
Authors: Zhang Yujuan , Zhan Xuelin , Xiong Juan , Peng Shanshan , Huang Wei , Joshi Rakesh , Cai Ying , Liu Yanling , Li Rong , Yuan Keng , Zhou Nanjin , Min Weiping
Published: June 2018

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a promising approach for cancer targeting therapy. However, the temperature-dependent killing of tumor cells in PTT remains unclear. In this study, we report necroptosis plays a role in the anti-tumor effects observed in gold nanorod (GNR)-mediated PTT in melanoma. We first synthesized gold nanorods with a targeting adaptor FA (GNRs-FA), which achieved high efficacy of targeted delivery to melanoma cells. We further demonstrated PTT, precipitated by GNRs-FA under the induction of near-infrared laser, was temperature-dependent. Furthermore, the photothermal killing of melanoma cells showed different patterns of cell death depending on varying temperature in PTT. In a lower temperature at 43 °C, the percentages of apoptosis, necroptosis and necrosis of tumor cells were 10.2%, 18.3%, and 17.6%, respectively, suggesting the cell killing is ineffective at lower temperatures. When the temperature increased to 49 °C, the cell death pattern switched to necrosis dominant (52.8%). Interestingly, when the PTT achieved a moderate temperature of 46 °C, necroptosis was significantly increased (35.1%). Additionally, GNRs-FA/PPT-mediated necroptosis was regulated by RIPK1 pathway. Taken together, this study is the first to demonstrate that temperature-dependent necroptosis is an important mechanism of inducing melanoma cell death in GNR-mediated PTT in addition to apoptosis and necrosis.
The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios predict efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer
Authors: Vernieri Claudio , Mennitto Alessia , Prisciandaro Michele , Huber Veronica , Milano Monica , Rinaldi Lucia , Cona Maria Silvia , Maggi Claudia , Ferrari Benvenuto , Manoukian Siranoush , Mariani Gabriella , Bianchi Giulia , Capri Giuseppe , Rivoltini Licia , de Braud Filippo
Published: June 2018

Platinum salts are active against metastatic triple negative breast cancer (mTNBC), and biomarkers to predict their effectiveness are urgently needed. In recent years, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have emerged as prognostic biomarkers in many malignancies, but their predictive role in platinum-treated mTNBC patients remains unexplored. We performed a retrospective, single centre study to evaluate the association between baseline NLR or PLR and progression free survival (PFS) of mTNBC patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. As a control population, we analysed data from patients with hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative (HR+ HER2−) metastatic breast cancer. Among 57 mTNBC patients treated with the carboplatin-paclitaxel or carboplatin-gemcitabine combination, high NLR and PLR were associated with significantly lower PFS at both univariate and multivariable analysis. Conversely, we did not find a significant association between NLR or PLR and the PFS of 148 patients in the control population. Our findings suggest that the NLR and PLR are predictive of benefit from platinum-containing chemotherapy specifically in mTNBC patients. If validated in larger prospective studies, these easy-to-measure parameters could be combined with emerging predictive biomarkers, such as BRCA 1/2 mutations, to improve the selection of mTNBC patients more likely to benefit from platinum-based chemotherapy.
Connecting the nervous and the immune systems in evolution
Authors: Hartenstein Volker , Giangrande Angela
Published: June 2018

Despite their great importance for biomedical research, the intricate network of relationships between macro- and microglia, in terms of development, function and evolution, remains poorly understood. Drawing inspiration from the recent meeting “Of Glia and Microglia”, held at the University of Strasbourg in December 2017, we here discuss the outstanding questions in the seemingly disparate fields of glial development, physiology and evolution, and also provide suggestions for how the field should move forward.
Mapping phosphate modifications of substituted lipid Aviaa targeted MS3CID/UVPD strategy
Authors: Crittenden Christopher M. , Herrera Carmen M. , Williams Peggy E. , Ricci Dante P. , Swem Lee R. , Trent M. Stephen , Brodbelt Jennifer S.
Published: June 2018

Structural characterization of lipid A remains a challenge with respect to localizing modifications of the phosphate groups found on the reducing and non-reducing ends of the disaccharide backbone of lipid A.
A capillary flow-driven microfluidic system for microparticle-labeled immunoassays
Authors: Khodayari Bavil Ali , Kim Jungkyu
Published: June 2018

A simple and sensitive capillary-driven microfluidic platform is designed and demonstrated for direct and sandwich microparticle-labeled immunoassays.
Correction: Maintenance of the spheroid organization and properties of glandular progenitor cells by fabricated chitosan based biomaterials
Authors: Lee Hao-Wei , Hsiao Ya-Chuan , Young Tai-Horng , Yang Tsung-Lin
Published: June 2018

Correction for ‘Maintenance of the spheroid organization and properties of glandular progenitor cells by fabricated chitosan based biomaterials’ by Hao-Wei Lee et al., Biomater. Sci., 2018, DOI: 10.1039/c7bm00559h.
Graphene oxide impairs the pollen performance of Nicotiana tabacum and Corylus avellana suggesting potential negative effects on the sexual reproduction of seed plants
Authors: Candotto Carniel Fabio , Gorelli Davide , Flahaut Emmanuel , Fortuna Lorenzo , Del Casino Cecilia , Cai Giampiero , Nepi Massimo , Prato Maurizio , Tretiach Mauro
Published: June 2018

The acidic properties of GO impair pollen performances of tobacco and hazel plants.