bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Environmentally-Friendly Dense and Porous Geopolymers Using Fly Ash and Rice Husk Ash as Raw Materials
Authors: Ziegler Daniele , Formia Alessandra , Tulliani Jean-Marc , Palmero Paola
Published: June 2016

This paper assesses the feasibility of two industrial wastes, fly ash (FA) and rice husk ash (RHA), as raw materials for the production of geopolymeric pastes. Three typologies of samples were thus produced: (i) halloysite activated with potassium hydroxide and nanosilica, used as the reference sample (HL-S); (ii) halloysite activated with rice husk ash dissolved into KOH solution (HL-R); (iii) FA activated with the alkaline solution realized with the rice husk ash (FA-R). Dense and porous samples were produced and characterized in terms of mechanical properties and environmental impact. The flexural and compressive strength of HL-R reached about 9 and 43 MPa, respectively. On the contrary, the compressive strength of FA-R is significantly lower than the HL-R one, in spite of a comparable flexural strength being reached. However, when porous samples are concerned, FA-R shows comparable or even higher strength than HL-R. Thus, the current results show that RHA is a valuable alternative to silica nanopowder to prepare the activator solution, to be used either with calcined clay and fly ash feedstock materials. Finally, a preliminary evaluation of the global warming potential (GWP) was performed for the three investigated formulations. With the mix containing FA and RHA-based silica solution, a reduction of about 90% of GWP was achieved with respect to the values obtained for the reference formulation.
Structural Integrity of an Electron Beam Melted Titanium Alloy
Authors: Lancaster Robert , Davies Gareth , Illsley Henry , Jeffs Spencer , Baxter Gavin
Published: June 2016

Advanced manufacturing encompasses the wide range of processes that consist of “3D printing” of metallic materials. One such method is Electron Beam Melting (EBM), a modern build technology that offers significant potential for lean manufacture and a capability to produce fully dense near-net shaped components. However, the manufacture of intricate geometries will result in variable thermal cycles and thus a transient microstructure throughout, leading to a highly textured structure. As such, successful implementation of these technologies requires a comprehensive assessment of the relationships of the key process variables, geometries, resultant microstructures and mechanical properties. The nature of this process suggests that it is often difficult to produce representative test specimens necessary to achieve a full mechanical property characterisation. Therefore, the use of small scale test techniques may be exploited, specifically the small punch (SP) test. The SP test offers a capability for sampling miniaturised test specimens from various discrete locations in a thin-walled component, allowing a full characterisation across a complex geometry. This paper provides support in working towards development and validation strategies in order for advanced manufactured components to be safely implemented into future gas turbine applications. This has been achieved by applying the SP test to a series of Ti-6Al-4V variants that have been manufactured through a variety of processing routes including EBM and investigating the structural integrity of each material and how this controls the mechanical response.
The Effect of Lithium Doping on the Sintering and Grain Growth of SPS-Processed, Non-Stoichiometric Magnesium Aluminate Spinel
Authors: Mordekovitz Yuval , Shelly Lee , Halabi Mahdi , Kalabukhov Sergey , Hayun Shmuel
Published: June 2016

The effects of lithium doping on the sintering and grain growth of non-stoichiometric nano-sized magnesium aluminate spinel were studied using a spark plasma sintering (SPS) apparatus. Li-doped nano-MgO·nAl2O3 spinel (n = 1.06 and 1.21) powders containing 0, 0.20, 0.50 or 1.00 at. % Li were synthesized by the solution combustion method and dense specimens were processed using a SPS apparatus at 1200 °C and under an applied pressure of 150 MPa. The SPS-processed samples showed mutual dependency on the lithium concentration and the alumina-to-magnesia ratio. For example, the density and hardness values of near-stoichiometry samples (n = 1.06) showed an incline up to 0.51 at. % Li, while in the alumina rich samples (n = 1.21), these values remained constant up to 0.53 at. % Li. Studying grain growth revealed that in the Li-MgO·nAl2O3 system, grain growth is limited by Zener pining. The activation energies of undoped, 0.2 and 0.53 at. % Li-MgO·1.21Al2O3 samples were 288 ± 40, 670 ± 45 and 543 ± 40 kJ·mol−1, respectively.
A Note on Some Solutions of Copper-Water (Cu-Water) Nanofluids in a Channel with Slowly Expanding or Contracting Walls with Heat Transfer
Authors: Raza Jawad , Rohni Azizah , Omar Zurni
Published: June 2016

A study has been carried out to examine the occurrence of multiple solutions for Copper-Water nanofluids flows in a porous channel with slowly expanding and contracting walls. The governing equations are first transformed to similarity equations by using similarity transformation. The resulting equations are then solved numerically by using the shooting method. The effects of wall expansion ratio and solid volume fraction on velocity and temperature profile have been studied. Numerical results are presented graphically for the variations of different physical parameters. The study reveals that triple solutions exist only for the case of suction.
A Study of the Heat Transfer Behavior of Mold Fluxes with Different Amounts of Al2O3
Authors: Zhou Lejun , Wang Wanlin , Zhou Kechao
Published: June 2016

The element Al in molten aluminum containing steel reacts with the liquid mold flux and thus be transferred into the mold flux during the continuous casting process. Additionally, the increase in alumina in a mold flux changes its performance significantly. Thus, in this paper, the heat transfer properties of mold fluxes with the Al2O3 content ranging from 7 to 40 wt. % were studied with the Infrared Emitter Technique (IET). Results found that heat flux at the final steady state decreased from 423 kW·m−2 to 372 kW·m−2 with the increase in Al2O3 content from 7% to 30%, but it increased to 383 kW·m−2 when the Al2O3 content was further increased to 40%. Both crystalline layer thickness and crystalline fraction first increased, then decreased with the further addition of A2O3 content. Moreover, it indicated that the heat transfer process inside the mold was dominated by both a crystallization of mold flux and the resulting interfacial thermal resistance. Further, the Rint increased from 9.2 × 10−4 m2·kW−1 to 11.0 × 10−4 m2·kW−1 and then to 16.0 × 10−4 m2·kW−1 when the addition of Al2O3 content increased from 7% to 20% and then to 30%, respectively; however, it decreased to 13.6 × 10−4 m2·kW−1 when the Al2O3 content reached 40%.
Effects of Flavonoids in Lysimachia clethroides Duby on the Activities of Cytochrome P450 CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 in Rat Liver Microsomes
Authors: Zhang Zhi-Juan , Xia Zhao-Yang , Wang Jin-Mei , Song Xue-Ting , Wei Jin-Feng , Kang Wen-Yi
Published: June 2016

Incubation systems were established to investigate the effects of quercetin, kaempferol, isoquercitrin and astragalin in Lysimachia clethroides Duby on the activities of CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 in rat liver microsomes in vitro. Probe substrates of 4-nitrophenol and testosterone as well as flavonoids at different concentrations were added to the incubation systems. After incubation, a validated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was applied to separate and determine the relevant metabolites. The results suggested that kaempferol exhibited a weak inhibition of CYP2E1 activity with an IC50 of 60.26 ± 2.54 μM, while quercetin and kaempferol caused a moderate inhibition of CYP3A4 activity with IC50 values of 18.77 ± 1.69 μM and 32.65 ± 1.32 μM, respectively. Isoquercitrin and astragalin had no effects on the activities of either CYP2E1 or CYP3A4. It could be speculated from these results that the inhibitory effects of quercetin and kaempferol on the activities of CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 could be the mechanisms underlying the hepatoprotective effects of L. clethroides.
The Tanita SC-240 to Assess Body Composition in Pre-School Children: An Evaluation against the Three Component Model
Authors: Delisle Nyström Christine , Henriksson Pontus , Alexandrou Christina , Löf Marie
Published: June 2016

Quick, easy-to-use, and valid body composition measurement options for young children are needed. Therefore, we evaluated the ability of the bioelectrical impedance (BIA) device, Tanita SC-240, to measure fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM) and body fatness (BF%) in 40 healthy, Swedish 5.5 years old children against the three component model (3C model). Average BF%, FM, and FFM for BIA were: 19.4% ± 3.9%, 4.1 ± 1.9 kg, and 16.4 ± 2.4 kg and were all significantly different (p < 0.001) from corresponding values for the 3C model (25.1% ± 5.5%, 5.3 ± 2.5 kg, and 15.2 ± 2.0 kg). Bland and Altman plots had wide limits of agreement for all body composition variables. Significant correlations ranging from 0.81 to 0.96 (p < 0.001) were found for BF%, FM, and FFM between BIA and the 3C model. When dividing the children into tertiles for BF%, 60% of children were classified correctly by means of BIA. In conclusion, the Tanita SC-240 underestimated BF% in comparison to the 3C model and had wide limits of agreement. Further work is needed in order to find accurate and easy-to-use methods for assessing body composition in pre-school children.
Age and Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Meunier Bernard
Published: June 2016

A recent review article published in Nutrients by Brewer [1] attracted the attention of the readers on the role of copper toxicity as major factor in Alzheimer’s disease.[...]
Learning a Transferable Change Rule from a Recurrent Neural Network for Land Cover Change Detection
Authors: Lyu Haobo , Lu Hui , Mou Lichao
Published: June 2016

When exploited in remote sensing analysis, a reliable change rule with transfer ability can detect changes accurately and be applied widely. However, in practice, the complexity of land cover changes makes it difficult to use only one change rule or change feature learned from a given multi-temporal dataset to detect any other new target images without applying other learning processes. In this study, we consider the design of an efficient change rule having transferability to detect both binary and multi-class changes. The proposed method relies on an improved Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to acquire and record the change information of long-term sequence remote sensing data. In particular, a core memory cell is utilized to learn the change rule from the information concerning binary changes or multi-class changes. Three gates are utilized to control the input, output and update of the LSTM model for optimization. In addition, the learned rule can be applied to detect changes and transfer the change rule from one learned image to another new target multi-temporal image. In this study, binary experiments, transfer experiments and multi-class change experiments are exploited to demonstrate the superiority of our method. Three contributions of this work can be summarized as follows: (1) the proposed method can learn an effective change rule to provide reliable change information for multi-temporal images; (2) the learned change rule has good transferability for detecting changes in new target images without any extra learning process, and the new target images should have a multi-spectral distribution similar to that of the training images; and (3) to the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first time that deep learning in recurrent neural networks is exploited for change detection. In addition, under the framework of the proposed method, changes can be detected under both binary detection and multi-class change detection.
Preface: Remote Sensing of Biodiversity
Authors: Ustin Susan
Published: June 2016

Since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the importance of biological diversity insupporting and maintaining ecosystem functions and processes has become increasingly understood [1].
GMTI for Squint Looking XTI-SAR with Rotatable Forward-Looking Array
Authors: Jing Kai , Xu Jia , Huang Zuzhen , Yao Di , Long Teng
Published: June 2016

To realize ground moving target indication (GMTI) for a forward-looking array, we propose a novel synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system, called rotatable cross-track interferometry SAR (Ro-XTI-SAR), for squint-looking application in this paper. By changing the angle of the cross-track baseline, the interferometry phase component of squint-looking Ro-XTI-SAR caused by the terrain height can be approximately adjusted to zero, and then the interferometry phase of Ro-XTI-SAR is only sensitive to targets’ motion and can be equivalent to the along track interferometry SAR (ATI-SAR). Furthermore, the conventional displaced phase center array (DPCA) method and constant false alarm (CFAR) processing can be used to accomplish the successive clutter suppression, moving targets detection and relocation. Furthermore, the clutter suppressing performance is discussed with respect to different system parameters. Finally, some results of numerical experiments are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system.
Estimating 3D Leaf and Stem Shape of Nursery Paprika Plants by a Novel Multi-Camera Photography System
Authors: Zhang Yu , Teng Poching , Shimizu Yo , Hosoi Fumiki , Omasa Kenji
Published: June 2016

For plant breeding and growth monitoring, accurate measurements of plant structure parameters are very crucial. We have, therefore, developed a high efficiency Multi-Camera Photography (MCP) system combining Multi-View Stereovision (MVS) with the Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithm. In this paper, we measured six variables of nursery paprika plants and investigated the accuracy of 3D models reconstructed from photos taken by four lens types at four different positions. The results demonstrated that error between the estimated and measured values was small, and the root-mean-square errors (RMSE) for leaf width/length and stem height/diameter were 1.65 mm (R2 = 0.98) and 0.57 mm (R2 = 0.99), respectively. The accuracies of the 3D model reconstruction of leaf and stem by a 28-mm lens at the first and third camera positions were the highest, and the number of reconstructed fine-scale 3D model shape surfaces of leaf and stem is the most. The results confirmed the practicability of our new method for the reconstruction of fine-scale plant model and accurate estimation of the plant parameters. They also displayed that our system is a good system for capturing high-resolution 3D images of nursery plants with high efficiency.
Weighted Global Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm Makes Gas Sensor Deployment Efficient
Authors: Jiang Ye , He Ziqing , Li Yanhai , Xu Zhengyi , Wei Jianming
Published: June 2016

This paper proposes an improved artificial bee colony algorithm named Weighted Global ABC (WGABC) algorithm, which is designed to improve the convergence speed in the search stage of solution search equation. The new method not only considers the effect of global factors on the convergence speed in the search phase, but also provides the expression of global factor weights. Experiment on benchmark functions proved that the algorithm can improve the convergence speed greatly. We arrive at the gas diffusion concentration based on the theory of CFD and then simulate the gas diffusion model with the influence of buildings based on the algorithm. Simulation verified the effectiveness of the WGABC algorithm in improving the convergence speed in optimal deployment scheme of gas sensors. Finally, it is verified that the optimal deployment method based on WGABC algorithm can improve the monitoring efficiency of sensors greatly as compared with the conventional deployment methods.
RF Path and Absorption Loss Estimation for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks in Different Water Environments
Authors: Qureshi Umair , Shaikh Faisal , Aziz Zuneera , Shah Syed , Sheikh Adil , Felemban Emad , Qaisar Saad
Published: June 2016

Underwater Wireless Sensor Network (UWSN) communication at high frequencies is extremely challenging. The intricacies presented by the underwater environment are far more compared to the terrestrial environment. The prime reason for such intricacies are the physical characteristics of the underwater environment that have a big impact on electromagnetic (EM) signals. Acoustics signals are by far the most preferred choice for underwater wireless communication. Because high frequency signals have the luxury of large bandwidth (BW) at shorter distances, high frequency EM signals cannot penetrate and propagate deep in underwater environments. The EM properties of water tend to resist their propagation and cause severe attenuation. Accordingly, there are two questions that need to be addressed for underwater environment, first what happens when high frequency EM signals operating at 2.4 GHz are used for communication, and second which factors affect the most to high frequency EM signals. To answer these questions, we present real-time experiments conducted at 2.4 GHz in terrestrial and underwater (fresh water) environments. The obtained results helped in studying the physical characteristics (i.e., EM properties, propagation and absorption loss) of underwater environments. It is observed that high frequency EM signals can propagate in fresh water at a shallow depth only and can be considered for a specific class of applications such as water sports. Furthermore, path loss, velocity of propagation, absorption loss and the rate of signal loss in different underwater environments are also calculated and presented in order to understand why EM signals cannot propagate in sea water and oceanic water environments. An optimal solk6ution for underwater communication in terms of coverage distance, bandwidth and nature of communication is presented, along with possible underwater applications of UWSNs at 2.4 GHz.
Joint Maximum Likelihood Time Delay Estimation of Unknown Event-Related Potential Signals for EEG Sensor Signal Quality Enhancement
Authors: Kim Kyungsoo , Lim Sung-Ho , Lee Jaeseok , Kang Won-Seok , Moon Cheil , Choi Ji-Woong
Published: June 2016

Electroencephalograms (EEGs) measure a brain signal that contains abundant information about the human brain function and health. For this reason, recent clinical brain research and brain computer interface (BCI) studies use EEG signals in many applications. Due to the significant noise in EEG traces, signal processing to enhance the signal to noise power ratio (SNR) is necessary for EEG analysis, especially for non-invasive EEG. A typical method to improve the SNR is averaging many trials of event related potential (ERP) signal that represents a brain’s response to a particular stimulus or a task. The averaging, however, is very sensitive to variable delays. In this study, we propose two time delay estimation (TDE) schemes based on a joint maximum likelihood (ML) criterion to compensate the uncertain delays which may be different in each trial. We evaluate the performance for different types of signals such as random, deterministic, and real EEG signals. The results show that the proposed schemes provide better performance than other conventional schemes employing averaged signal as a reference, e.g., up to 4 dB gain at the expected delay error of 10°.
Underdetermined Blind Source Separation with Variational Mode Decomposition for Compound Roller Bearing Fault Signals
Authors: Tang Gang , Luo Ganggang , Zhang Weihua , Yang Caijin , Wang Huaqing
Published: June 2016

In the condition monitoring of roller bearings, the measured signals are often compounded due to the unknown multi-vibration sources and complex transfer paths. Moreover, the sensors are limited in particular locations and numbers. Thus, this is a problem of underdetermined blind source separation for the vibration sources estimation, which makes it difficult to extract fault features exactly by ordinary methods in running tests. To improve the effectiveness of compound fault diagnosis in roller bearings, the present paper proposes a new method to solve the underdetermined problem and to extract fault features based on variational mode decomposition. In order to surmount the shortcomings of inadequate signals collected through limited sensors, a vibration signal is firstly decomposed into a number of band-limited intrinsic mode functions by variational mode decomposition. Then, the demodulated signal with the Hilbert transform of these multi-channel functions is used as the input matrix for independent component analysis. Finally, the compound faults are separated effectively by carrying out independent component analysis, which enables the fault features to be extracted more easily and identified more clearly. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in compound fault separation, and a comparison experiment shows that the proposed method has higher adaptability and practicability in separating strong noise signals than the commonly-used ensemble empirical mode decomposition method.
Effect of Thermal Bridges in Insulated Walls on Air-Conditioning Loads Using Whole Building Energy Analysis
Authors: Zedan Mohamed , Al-Sanea Sami , Al-Mujahid Abdulaziz , Al-Suhaibani Zeyad
Published: June 2016

Thermal bridges in building walls are usually caused by mortar joints between insulated building blocks and by the presence of concrete columns and beams within the building envelope. These bridges create an easy path for heat transmission and therefore increase air-conditioning loads. In this study, the effects of mortar joints only on cooling and heating loads in a typical two-story villa in Riyadh are investigated using whole building energy analysis. All loads found in the villa, which broadly include ventilation, transmission, solar and internal loads, are considered with schedules based on local lifestyles. The thermal bridging effect of mortar joints is simulated by reducing wall thermal resistance by a percentage that depends on the bridges to wall area ratio (TB area ratio or Amj/Atot) and the nominal thermal insulation thickness (Lins). These percentage reductions are obtained from a correlation developed by using a rigorous 2D dynamic model of heat transmission through walls with mortar joints. The reduction in thermal resistance is achieved through minor reductions in insulation thickness, thereby keeping the thermal mass of the wall essentially unchanged. Results indicate that yearly and monthly cooling loads increase almost linearly with the thermal bridge to wall area ratio. The increase in the villa’s yearly loads varies from about 3% for Amj/Atot = 0.02 to about 11% for Amj/Atot = 0.08. The monthly increase is not uniform over the year and reaches a maximum in August, where it ranges from 5% for Amj/Atot = 0.02 to 15% for Amj/Atot = 0.08. In winter, results show that yearly heating loads are generally very small compared to cooling loads and that heating is only needed in December, January and February, starting from late night to late morning. Monthly heating loads increase with the thermal bridge area ratio; however, the variation is not as linear as observed in cooling loads. The present results highlight the importance of reducing or eliminating thermal bridging effects resulting from mortar joints in walls by maintaining the continuity of the insulation layer in order to reduce energy consumption in air-conditioned buildings.
HTLV-1 Infection and Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma—A Tale of Two Proteins: Tax and HBZ
Authors: Giam Chou-Zen , Semmes Oliver
Published: June 2016

HTLV-1 (Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1) is a complex human delta retrovirus that currently infects 10–20 million people worldwide. While HTLV-1 infection is generally asymptomatic, 3%–5% of infected individuals develop a highly malignant and intractable T-cell neoplasm known as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) decades after infection. How HTLV-1 infection progresses to ATL is not well understood. Two viral regulatory proteins, Tax and HTLV-1 basic zipper protein (HBZ), encoded by the sense and antisense viral transcripts, respectively, are thought to play indispensable roles in the oncogenic process of ATL. This review focuses on the roles of Tax and HBZ in viral replication, persistence, and oncogenesis. Special emphasis is directed towards recent literature on the mechanisms of action of these two proteins and the roles of Tax and HBZ in influencing the outcomes of HTLV-1 infection including senescence induction, viral latency and persistence, genome instability, cell proliferation, and ATL development. Attempts are made to integrate results from cell-based studies of HTLV-1 infection and studies of HTLV-1 proviral integration site preference, clonality, and clonal expansion based on high throughput DNA sequencing. Recent data showing that Tax hijacks key mediators of DNA double-strand break repair signaling—the ubiquitin E3 ligase, ring finger protein 8 (RNF8) and the ubiquitin E2 conjugating enzyme (UBC13)—to activate the canonical nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells (NF-κB) and other signaling pathways will be discussed. A perspective on how the Tax-RNF8 signaling axis might impact genomic instability and how Tax may collaborate with HBZ to drive oncogenesis is provided.
Transcriptional and Epigenetic Regulatory Mechanisms Affecting HTLV-1 Provirus
Authors: Miyazato Paola , Matsuo Misaki , Katsuya Hiroo , Satou Yorifumi
Published: June 2016

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a retrovirus associated with human diseases, such as adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/Tropic spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). As a retrovirus, its life cycle includes a step where HTLV-1 is integrated into the host genomic DNA and forms proviral DNA. In the chronic phase of the infection, HTLV‑1 is known to proliferate as a provirus via the mitotic division of the infected host cells. There are generally tens of thousands of infected clones within an infected individual. They exist not only in peripheral blood, but also in various lymphoid organs. Viral proteins encoded in HTLV-1 genome play a role in the proliferation and survival of the infected cells. As is the case with other chronic viral infections, HTLV-1 gene expression induces the activation of the host immunity against the virus. Thus, the transcription from HTLV-1 provirus needs to be controlled in order to evade the host immune surveillance. There should be a dynamic and complex regulation in vivo, where an equilibrium between viral antigen expression and host immune surveillance is achieved. The mechanisms regulating viral gene expression from the provirus are a key to understanding the persistent/latent infection with HTLV-1 and its pathogenesis. In this article, we would like to review our current understanding on this topic.
Travelling between Two Worlds: Complement as a Gatekeeper for an Expanded Host Range of Lyme Disease Spirochetes
Authors: Kraiczy Peter
Published: June 2016

Evading innate immunity is a prerequisite for pathogenic microorganisms in order to survive in their respective hosts. Concerning Lyme disease spirochetes belonging to the Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi sensu lato group, a broad range of diverse vertebrates serve as reservoir or even as incidental hosts, including humans. The capability to infect multiple hosts implies that spirochetes have developed sophisticated means to counter the destructive effects of complement of humans and various animals. While the means by which spirochetes overcome the hosts immune defense are far from being completely understood, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that binding of the key regulator of the alternative pathway, Factor H, plays a pivotal role for immune evasion and that Factor H is an important determinant of host specificity. This review covers (i) the contribution of complement in host-specificity and transmissibility of Lyme disease spirochetes; (ii) the involvement of borrelial-derived determinants to host specificity; (iii) the interplay of human and animal Factor H with complement-acquiring surface proteins of diverse borrelial species; and (iv) the potential role of additional animal complement proteins in the immune evasion of spirochetes.
Numerical Simulations of Suspended Sediment Dynamics Due to Seasonal Forcing in the Mekong Coastal Area
Authors: Duy Vinh Vu , Ouillon Sylvain , Van Thao Nguyen , Ngoc Tien Nguyen
Published: June 2016

The Mekong River is ranked as the 8th in terms of water discharge and as the 10th in terms of sediment load in the world. During the last 4500 years, its delta prograded more than 250 km to the south due to a tremendous amount of sediments deposited, and turned from a “tide-dominated” delta into a “wave-and-tide dominated” delta. This study aims at completing our knowledge on the fate of sediments that may be stored in estuarine or coastal systems, or dispersed over the continental shelf and slope. Sediment transport in the Mekong River Delta (MRD) coastal area was studied by numerical simulations using the Delft3D model. The model configuration was calibrated and validated from data collected in situ during 4 periods from 2012 to 2014. Then, 50 scenarios corresponding to different wave conditions (derived from the wave climate) and river discharge values typical of low flow and flood seasons enabled us to quantify the dispersal patterns of fluvial sediments close to the mouths and along the coast. Sediments mostly settled in the estuary and close to the mouths under calm conditions, and suspended sediment with higher concentrations extend further offshore with higher waves. Waves from the Southeast enhanced the concentration all along the MRD coastal zone. Waves from the South and Southwest induced coastal erosion, higher suspended sediment concentrations in front of the southern delta, and a net transport towards the Northeast of the delta. Because of episodes of Southern and Southwestern waves during the low flow season, the net alongshore suspended sediment transport is oriented Northeastward and decreases from the Southwestern part of the coastal zone (~960 × 103 t yr−1) to the Northeastern part (~650 × 103 t yr−1).
Development and characterization of SSR markers for Aster savatieri (Asteraceae)
Authors: Ishikawa Naoko , Sakaguchi Shota , Ito Motomi
Published: June 2016

Premise of the study:

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed for Aster savatieri (Asteraceae) and the serpentine variety A. savatieri var. pygmaeus to re‐evaluate their taxonomic status.

Methods and Results:

Using RNA‐Seq data, 22 expressed sequence tag (EST)–SSR markers were developed. Polymorphisms were assessed in A. savatieri and in A. savatieri var. pygmaeus. The average number of alleles ranged from four to 15, and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.417 to 0.870. Transferability was examined in six representative species of Japanese Aster and in Solidago virgaurea subsp. asiatica var. asiatica, a member of the tribe Astereae (Asteraceae); most of the loci were transferable to these examined species.

Conclusions:

These markers will be useful for genetic studies of variation in A. savatieri and other Aster species that occur in Japan.
Development of microsatellite loci of pod mahogany, Afzelia quanzensis (Fabaceae), by Illumina shotgun sequencing, and cross‐amplification in A. africana
Authors: Jinga Percy , Palagi Jason , Ashley Mary V.
Published: June 2016

Premise of the study:

Microsatellite loci were developed for Afzelia quanzensis (Fabaceae) as a first step toward investigating genetic diversity and population structure of the species in its native range.

Methods and Results:

Illumina shotgun sequencing was used to generate raw sequence reads, which were searched for potential microsatellite loci. A total of 70 potential microsatellite loci were tested for amplification and polymorphism, and 39 successfully amplified. Of the 39 loci that amplified, 12 were polymorphic while 27 were monomorphic. The 12 polymorphic loci were cross‐amplified in A. africana, and eight successfully amplified.

Conclusions:

The 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci can be used for genetic studies of A. quanzensis, which can help determine its conservation status. Eight loci can also be used for genotyping in A. africana.
A new resource for the development of SSR markers: Millions of loci from a thousand plant transcriptomes
Authors: Hodel Richard G. J. , Gitzendanner Matthew A. , Germain‐Aubrey Charlotte C. , Liu Xiaoxian , Crowl Andrew A. , Sun Miao , Landis Jacob B. , Segovia‐Salcedo M. Claudia , Douglas Norman A. , Chen Shichao , Soltis Douglas E. , Soltis Pamela S.
Published: June 2016

Premise of the study:

The One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Project (1KP, 1000+ assembled plant transcriptomes) provides an enormous resource for developing microsatellite loci across the plant tree of life. We developed loci from these transcriptomes and tested their utility.

Methods and Results:

Using software packages and custom scripts, we identified microsatellite loci in 1KP transcriptomes. We assessed the potential for cross‐amplification and whether loci were biased toward exons, as compared to markers derived from genomic DNA. We characterized over 5.7 million simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci from 1334 plant transcriptomes. Eighteen percent of loci substantially overlapped with open reading frames (ORFs), and electronic PCR revealed that over half the loci would amplify successfully in conspecific taxa. Transcriptomic SSRs were approximately three times more likely to map to translated regions than genomic SSRs.

Conclusions:

We believe microsatellites still have a place in the genomic age—they remain effective and cost‐efficient markers. The loci presented here are a valuable resource for researchers.
The Terms in the Special Language: Norms, Usage, and Tendency
Authors: Stankevičienė Virginija
Published: June 2016

One of the most important issues of terminology remains term variance (or synonymy). In order to find out the trends of terms usage in the language for specific purposes, the comprehensive analysis of dictionaries, coursebooks, students’ survey was carried out. It allowed to determine prevalent types in the terminology of economics and chemistry, to analyze the prevalence of Lithuanian and international terms synonymy, term usage tendencies in students’ language and academic texts. Summarizing the investigation results it can be stated that in the special language of economics and chemistry, term variants were both presented in dictionaries and used by teachers.
The Changing Conception of the University Curriculum Knowledge in the European Higher Education Area: from Knowledge to Competence?
Authors: Petkutė Rūta
Published: June 2016

Within the European Higher Education Area, the traditional conception of the university curriculum knowledge has been challenged. The notions of learning outcome and competence have been replacing the notion of knowledge as a central educational concept of the university curriculum. The European higher education policy urges the European universities to provide their students with competences, which are assumed to be necessary for employment and successful operation in the global knowledge economy. As a result, more generic rather than disciplinary forms of knowledge are placed at the centre of the current policy discourse. The present paper aims to conceptually analyse the changing conception of the university curriculum knowledge in the light of the EHEA and discuss the implications of this change. It seeks to map the socio-economic and political factors spawning the current advocacy of competences, discern the key patterns of the European higher education curriculum modernisation as well as discuss its implications. The study serves several qualitative research methods: an overview of research literature and a content analysis of official European policy documents.
Do Foreign Language Learners Need Failures?
Authors: Kic-Drgas Joanna
Published: June 2016

A lack of motivation, incomprehensible content and a high workload are only some of the causes leading to students’ failures in the learning process. Dealing with failures seems to have become a new core competence in the current world, which is why the definition and implementation of an appropriate strategy is essential for prospective learning results. The focus of the contribution is on the meaning of failure and sources of potential student failures in the foreign language learning at the university level. The results presented in the paper base on the survey conducted with English language students at Koszalin University of Technology. Students were asked to identify the field causing learning failures. The described survey delivers information about the sources of failures from learner’s point of view, which can be an incentive to develop and implement strategies to cope with failures in the ESP class.
CALIBRATION OF LAMOST STELLAR SURFACE GRAVITIES USING THE KEPLER ASTEROSEISMIC DATA
Authors: Wang Liang , Wang Wei , Wu Yue , Zhao Gang , Li Yinbi , Luo Ali , Liu Chao , Zhang Yong , Hou Yonghui , Wang Yuefei , Cao Zihuang
Published: June 2016

Asteroseismology is a powerful tool to precisely determine the evolutionary status and fundamental properties of stars. With the unprecedented precision and nearly continuous photometric data acquired by the NASA Kepler mission, parameters of more than 104 stars have been determined nearly consistently. However, most studies still use photometric effective temperatures (T
eff) and metallicities ([Fe/H]) as inputs, which are not sufficiently accurate as suggested by previous studies. We adopted the spectroscopic T
eff and [Fe/H] values based on the Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) low-resolution spectra (R ≃ 1800), and combined them with the global oscillation parameters to derive the physical parameters of a large sample of stars. Clear trends were found between

and spectroscopic T
eff as well as log g, which may result in an overestimation of up to 0.5 dex for the log g values of giants in the LAMOST catalog. We established empirical calibration relations for the log g values of dwarfs and giants. These results can be used for determining the precise distances to these stars based on their spectroscopic parameters.
THE PUTATIVE OLD, NEARBY CLUSTER LODÉN 1 DOES NOT EXIST*
Authors: Han Eunkyu , Curtis Jason L. , Wright Jason T.
Published: June 2016

Astronomers have access to precious few nearby, middle-aged benchmark star clusters. Within 500 pc, there are only NGC 752 and Ruprecht 147 (R147) at 1.5 and 3 Gyr, respectively. The Database for Galactic Open Clusters (WEBDA) also lists Lodén 1 as a 2 Gyr cluster at a distance of 360 pc. If this is true, Lodén 1 could become a useful benchmark cluster. This work details our investigation of Lodén 1. We assembled archival astrometry (PPMXL) and photometry (2MASS, Tycho-2, APASS), and acquired medium resolution spectra for radial velocity measurements with the Robert Stobie Spectrograph at the Southern African Large Telescope. We observed no sign of a cluster main-sequence turnoff or red giant branch among all stars in the field brighter than

. Considering the 29 stars identified by L.O. Lodén and listed on SIMBAD as the members of Lodén 1, we found no compelling evidence of kinematic clustering in proper motion or radial velocity. Most of these candidates are A stars and red giants, and their observed properties are consistent with distant field stars in the direction of Lodén 1 in the Galactic plane. We conclude that the old nearby cluster Lodén 1 is neither old, nor nearby, nor a cluster.
NULLING DATA REDUCTION AND ON-SKY PERFORMANCE OF THE LARGE BINOCULAR TELESCOPE INTERFEROMETER
Authors: Defrère D. , Hinz P. M. , Mennesson B. , Hoffmann W. F. , Millan-Gabet R. , Skemer A. J. , Bailey V. , Danchi W. C. , Downey E. C. , Durney O. , Grenz P. , Hill J. M. , McMahon T. J. , Montoya M. , Spalding E. , Vaz A. , Absil O. , Arbo P. , Bailey H. , Brusa G. , Bryden G. , Esposito S. , Gaspar A. , Haniff C. A. , Kennedy G. M. , Leisenring J. M. , Marion L. , Nowak M. , Pinna E. , Powell K. , Puglisi A. , Rieke G. , Roberge A. , Serabyn E. , Sosa R. , Stapeldfeldt K. , Su K. , Weinberger A. J. , Wyatt M. C.
Published: June 2016

The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) is a versatile instrument designed for high angular resolution and high-contrast infrared imaging (1.5–13 μm). In this paper, we focus on the mid-infrared (8–13 μm) nulling mode and present its theory of operation, data reduction, and on-sky performance as of the end of the commissioning phase in 2015 March. With an interferometric baseline of 14.4 m, the LBTI nuller is specifically tuned to resolve the habitable zone of nearby main-sequence stars, where warm exozodiacal dust emission peaks. Measuring the exozodi luminosity function of nearby main-sequence stars is a key milestone to prepare for future exo-Earth direct imaging instruments. Thanks to recent progress in wavefront control and phase stabilization, as well as in data reduction techniques, the LBTI demonstrated in 2015 February a calibrated null accuracy of 0.05% over a 3 hr long observing sequence on the bright nearby A3V star β Leo. This is equivalent to an exozodiacal disk density of 15–30 zodi for a Sun-like star located at 10 pc, depending on the adopted disk model. This result sets a new record for high-contrast mid-infrared interferometric imaging and opens a new window on the study of planetary systems.
DENSITY JUMPS NEAR THE VIRIAL RADIUS OF GALAXY CLUSTERS
Authors: Patej Anna , Loeb Abraham
Published: June 2016

Recent simulations have indicated that the dark matter halos of galaxy clusters should feature steep density jumps near the virial radius. Since the member galaxies are expected to follow similar collisionless dynamics as the dark matter, the galaxy density profile should show such a feature as well. We examine the potential of current data sets to test this prediction by selecting cluster members for a sample of 56 low-redshift (

) galaxy clusters, constructing their projected number density profiles, and fitting them with two profiles, one with a steep density jump and one without. Additionally, we investigate the presence of a jump using a non-parametric spline approach. We find that some of these clusters show strong evidence for a model with a density jump, with the strength of the signal increasing with the inclusion of spectroscopic cluster member identification. We discuss avenues for further analysis of the density jump with future data sets, particularly with the inclusion of additional spectroscopy of cluster outskirts.
NGC 6362: THE LEAST MASSIVE GLOBULAR CLUSTER WITH CHEMICALLY DISTINCT MULTIPLE POPULATIONS*
Authors: Mucciarelli Alessio , Dalessandro Emanuele , Massari Davide , Bellazzini Michele , Ferraro Francesco R. , Lanzoni Barbara , Lardo Carmela , Salaris Maurizio , Cassisi Santi
Published: June 2016

We present the first measure of Fe and Na abundances in NGC 6362, a low-mass globular cluster (GC) where first- and second-generation stars are fully spatially mixed. A total of 160 member stars (along the red giant branch (RGB) and the red horizontal branch (RHB)) were observed with the multi-object spectrograph FLAMES at the Very Large Telescope. We find that the cluster has an iron abundance of [Fe/H] = −1.09 ± 0.01 dex, without evidence of intrinsic dispersion. On the other hand, the [Na/Fe] distribution turns out to be intrinsically broad and bimodal. The Na-poor and Na-rich stars populate, respectively, the bluest and the reddest RGBs detected in the color–magnitude diagrams including the U filter. The RGB is composed of a mixture of first- and second-generation stars in a similar proportion, while almost all the RHB stars belong to the first cluster generation. To date, NGC 6362 is the least massive GC where both the photometric and spectroscopic signatures of multiple populations have been detected.
EXPERIMENTALLY MEASURED RADIATIVE LIFETIMES AND OSCILLATOR STRENGTHS IN NEUTRAL VANADIUM
Authors: Holmes C. E. , Pickering J. C. , Ruffoni M. P. , Blackwell-Whitehead R. , Nilsson H. , Engström L. , Hartman H. , Lundberg H. , Belmonte M. T.
Published: June 2016

We report a new study of the V i atom using a combination of time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence and Fourier transform spectroscopy that contains newly measured radiative lifetimes for 25 levels between 24,648 cm−1 and 37,518 cm−1 and oscillator strengths for 208 lines between 3040 and 20000 Å from 39 upper energy levels. Thirteen of these oscillator strengths have not been reported previously. This work was conducted independently of the recent studies of neutral vanadium lifetimes and oscillator strengths carried out by Den Hartog et al. and Lawler et al., and thus serves as a means to verify those measurements. Where our data overlap with their data, we generally find extremely good agreement in both level lifetimes and oscillator strengths. However, we also find evidence that Lawler et al. have systematically underestimated oscillator strengths for lines in the region of 9000 ± 100 Å. We suggest a correction of 0.18 ± 0.03 dex for these values to bring them into agreement with our results and those of Whaling et al. We also report new measurements of hyperfine structure splitting factors for three odd levels of V i lying between 24,700 and 28,400 cm−1.
THE ALLWISE MOTION SURVEY, PART 2
Authors: Kirkpatrick J. Davy , Kellogg Kendra , Schneider Adam C. , Fajardo-Acosta Sergio , Cushing Michael C. , Greco Jennifer , Mace Gregory N. , Gelino Christopher R. , Wright Edward L. , Eisenhardt Peter R. M. , Stern Daniel , Faherty Jacqueline K. , Sheppard Scott S. , Lansbury George B. , Logsdon Sarah E. , Martin Emily C. , McLean Ian S. , Schurr Steven D. , Cutri Roc M. , Conrow Tim
Published: June 2016

We use the AllWISE Data Release to continue our search for Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)-detected motions. In this paper, we publish another 27,846 motion objects, bringing the total number to 48,000 when objects found during our original AllWISE motion survey are included. We use this list, along with the lists of confirmed WISE-based motion objects from the recent papers by Luhman and by Schneider et al., and candidate motion objects from the recent paper by Gagné et al., to search for widely separated, common-proper-motion systems. We identify 1039 such candidate systems. All 48,000 objects are further analyzed using color–color and color–mag plots to provide possible characterizations prior to spectroscopic follow-up. We present spectra of 172 of these, supplemented with new spectra of 23 comparison objects from the literature, and provide classifications and physical interpretations of interesting sources. Highlights include: (1) the identification of three G/K dwarfs that can be used as standard candles to study clumpiness and grain size in nearby molecular clouds because these objects are currently moving behind the clouds, (2) the confirmation/discovery of several M, L, and T dwarfs and one white dwarf whose spectrophotometric distance estimates place them 5–20 pc from the Sun, (3) the suggestion that the Na i “D” line be used as a diagnostic tool for interpreting and classifying metal-poor late-M and L dwarfs, (4) the recognition of a triple system including a carbon dwarf and late-M subdwarf, for which model fits of the late-M subdwarf (giving [Fe/H] ≈ −1.0) provide a measured metallicity for the carbon star, and (5) a possible 24 pc distant K5 dwarf + peculiar red L5 system with an apparent physical separation of 0.1 pc.