bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving Identification of Areas for Ecological Restoration for Conservation by Integrating USLE and MCDA in a GIS-Environment: A Pilot Study in a Priority Region Northern Mexico
Authors: Aguirre-Salado Carlos , Miranda-Aragón Liliana , Pompa-García Marín , Reyes-Hernández Humberto , Soubervielle-Montalvo Carlos , Flores-Cano Jorge , Méndez-Cortés Heriberto
Published: August 2017

Nature conservation is critical for securing an adequate supplying of environmental services to humans. Paradoxically, financial resources for conservation are normally scarce and, forest ecosystem restoration activities are expensive. So, a careful and detailed planning is vital for optimizing economic funds when ecosystems restoration practices are implemented. In this work, we developed a methodology to find physically-degraded sites in order to determine both, urgency and feasibility to carry out ecological forest restoration activities in the Priority Region for Conservation Xilitla in the state of San Luis Potosí (Mexico). Both, Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) were integrated together by using climatic, soil, remotely-sensed, and proximity data at a 30 m spatial resolution. The results indicated that, more than 80% of the bare soil land in the protected area is under several conditions that lead to feasible ecosystem restoration. This methodology can be further applied to know about the spatial location of soil degraded sites when planning forest restoration practices in natural protected areas.
Examining the Driving Factors Causing Rapid Urban Expansion in China: An Analysis Based on GlobeLand30 Data
Authors: Liao Cong , Dai Teqi , Cai Hongyu , Zhang Wenxin
Published: August 2017

A large number of studies have dealt with the driven forces of land expansion, in which the remote sensing data and statistical data are most commonly used. The recent progress based on the statistical data have not been fully tested and discussed by the remote sensing data, and the remote sensing data used in the previous studies are usually interpreted within certain areas which is not convenient for global comparison. In this paper, the 30-m GlobalLand Cover Dataset (GlobeLand30) and socioeconomic data from 2000 to 2010 are adopted to investigate the factors driving impervious surface expansion in China based on a multilevel regression model. The GlobeLand30 provides a world-wide data framework which has a sound basis for regional comparison research. The variables are selected according to the existing research. Most, but not all, results are consistent with the previous studies when using impervious surface data of GlobeLand30. The main findings are: (1) the market demand caused by economic development, such as the increase in GDP from 2000 to 2010, plays a positive role in the expansion of developed land; (2) the land supply, as reflected by the ratio of the total of land transfer fees to fiscal revenue, also has a positive effect on the increase in impervious surfaces; (3) the percentage of the increase by private workers to the increase in total workers and certain other frequently-used variables are not relevant after controlling for land demand- and supply-related variables; and (4) the growth in impervious surfaces is related to the amount of the cultivated land, which implies the necessity for a more stringent farmland protection policy. Considering the need to compare across regions, we suggest that GlobeLand30 should be used for more studies to better understand the driving forces of land expansion.
Mesenchymal Stem Cell Secretome: Toward Cell-Free Therapeutic Strategies in Regenerative Medicine
Authors: Vizoso Francisco , Eiro Noemi , Cid Sandra , Schneider Jose , Perez-Fernandez Roman
Published: August 2017

Earlier research primarily attributed the effects of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies to their capacity for local engrafting and differentiating into multiple tissue types. However, recent studies have revealed that implanted cells do not survive for long, and that the benefits of MSC therapy could be due to the vast array of bioactive factors they produce, which play an important role in the regulation of key biologic processes. Secretome derivatives, such as conditioned media or exosomes, may present considerable advantages over cells for manufacturing, storage, handling, product shelf life and their potential as a ready-to-go biologic product. Nevertheless, regulatory requirements for manufacturing and quality control will be necessary to establish the safety and efficacy profile of these products. Among MSCs, human uterine cervical stem cells (hUCESCs) may be a good candidate for obtaining secretome-derived products. hUCESCs are obtained by Pap cervical smear, which is a less invasive and painful method than those used for obtaining other MSCs (for example, from bone marrow or adipose tissue). Moreover, due to easy isolation and a high proliferative rate, it is possible to obtain large amounts of hUCESCs or secretome-derived products for research and clinical use.
Targeting Tumor Adaption to Chronic Hypoxia: Implications for Drug Resistance, and How It Can Be Overcome
Authors: Kim Jae-Young , Lee Joo-Yong
Published: August 2017

The rapid and uncontrolled proliferation of tumors limits the availability of oxygen and nutrients supplied from the tumor vasculature, thus exposing them to low oxygen environments. Thus, diminished oxygen availability, or hypoxia, is the most common microenvironment feature of nearly all solid tumors. All living cells have the ability to sense changes in oxygen tension and adapt to this stress to preserve survival. Likewise, cancer cells adapt to chronic hypoxic stress via several mechanisms, including promotion of angiogenic factor production, metabolic shift to consume less oxygen, and reduction of apoptotic potential. Adaptation of tumor cells to hypoxia is believed to be the main driver for selection of more invasive and therapy-resistant cancer phenotypes. In this review, we discuss molecular mechanisms by which tumor cells adapt to hypoxia, with a specific focus on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) transcription factor. We further discuss the current understandings on hypoxia-mediated drug resistance and strategies to overcome it.
Informal Urban Green Space: Residents’ Perception, Use, and Management Preferences across Four Major Japanese Shrinking Cities
Authors: Rupprecht Christoph
Published: August 2017

Urban residents’ health depends on green infrastructure to cope with climate change. Shrinking cities could utilize vacant land to provide more green space, but declining tax revenues preclude new park development—a situation pronounced in Japan, where some cities are projected to shrink by over ten percent, but lack green space. Could informal urban green spaces (IGS; vacant lots, street verges, brownfields etc.) supplement parks in shrinking cities? This study analyzes residents’ perception, use, and management preferences (management goals, approaches to participatory management, willingness to participate) for IGS using a large, representative online survey (n = 1000) across four major shrinking Japanese cities: Sapporo, Nagano, Kyoto and Kitakyushu. Results show that residents saw IGS as a common element of the urban landscape and their daily lives, but their evaluation was mixed. Recreation and urban agriculture were preferred to redevelopment and non-management. For participative management, residents saw a need for the city administration to mediate usage and liability, and expected an improved appearance, but emphasized the need for financial and non-financial support. A small but significant minority (~10%) were willing to participate in management activities. On this basis, eight principles for participatory informal green space planning are proposed.
Fatigue Performance of Ti-6Al-4V Additively Manufactured Specimens with Integrated Capillaries of an Embedded Structural Health Monitoring System
Authors: Hinderdael Michaël , Strantza Maria , De Baere Dieter , Devesse Wim , De Graeve Iris , Terryn Herman , Guillaume Patrick
Published: August 2017

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metals offers new possibilities for the production of complex structures. Up to now, investigations on the mechanical response of AM metallic parts show a significant spread and unexpected failures cannot be excluded. In this work, we focus on the detection of fatigue cracks through the integration of a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system in Ti-6Al-4V specimens. The working principle of the presented system is based on the integration of small capillaries that are capable of detecting fatigue cracks. Four-point bending fatigue tests have been performed on Ti-6Al-4V specimens with integrated capillaries and compared to the reference specimenswithout capillaries. Specimens were produced by conventional subtractive manufacturing of wrought material and AM, using the laser based Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process. In this study, we investigated the effect of the presence of the capillary on the fatigue strength and fatigue initiation location. Finite element (FEM) simulations were performed to validate the experimental test results. The presence of a drilled capillary in the specimens did not alter the fatigue initiation location. However, the laser based DED production process introduced roughness on the capillary surface that altered the fatigue initiation location to the capillary surface. The fatigue performance was greatly reduced when considering a printed capillary. It is concluded that the surface quality of the integrated capillary is of primary importance in order not to influence the structural integrity of the component to be monitored.
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) Induced Macrophages Activation through GPR120-Mediated Raf-ERK1/2-IKKβ-NF-κB p65 Signaling Pathways
Authors: Han Lirong , Song Shumin , Niu Yabing , Meng Meng , Wang Chunling
Published: August 2017

Objectives: To investigate the immunomodulatory effect and molecular mechanisms of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, a typical kind of n-3PUFAs) on RAW264.7 cells. Methods: A variety of research methods, including the RAW264.7 cells culture, cell proliferation assays, morphologic observations, measurements of NO production, cytokine assays, nuclear protein extractions, western blot analyses and NF-κB p65 immunofluorescence assays were used in this study. Results: The results showed that EPA could increase the proliferation index and enhance the release of nitric oxide (NO) and cytokines in RAW264.7 cells. Western blotting results revealed that the protein level of GPR120 increased significantly in RAW264.7 cells after EPA treatment. Meanwhile, EPA elevated the phosphorylation status of Raf, which may act as an upstream regulator of EPA-induced phosphorylated ERK1/2. In addition, the phosphorylated ERK1/2 may then promote IKKβ in endochylema and translocate the NF-κB p65 subunit into the nucleus, thus regulating the production of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cytokines. Conclusions: EPA (0.6–3.0 μmol) activates RAW264.7 cells through GPR120-mediated Raf-ERK1/2-IKKβ-NF-κB p65 signaling pathways.
Selective enzymatic esterification of lignin model compounds in the ball mill
Authors: Weißbach Ulla , Dabral Saumya , Konnert Laure , Bolm Carsten , Hernández José G
Published: August 2017

A lipase-catalyzed esterification of lignin model compounds in the ball mill was developed combining the advantages of enzyme catalysis and mechanochemistry. Under the described conditions, the primary aliphatic hydroxy groups present in the substrates were selectively modified by the biocatalyst to afford monoesterified products. Amongst the tested lipases, CALB proved to be the most effective biocatalyst for these transformations. Noteworthy, various acyl donors of different chain lengths were tolerated under the mechanochemical conditions.
Extended Main-sequence Turn-offs in Intermediate-age Star Clusters: Stellar Rotation Diminishes, but Does Not Eliminate, Age Spreads
Authors: Goudfrooij Paul , Girardi Léo , Correnti Matteo
Published: August 2017

Extended main-sequence turn-off (eMSTO) regions are a common feature in color–magnitude diagrams of young- and intermediate-age star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. The nature of eMSTOs remains debated in the literature. The currently most popular scenarios are extended star formation activity and ranges of stellar rotation rates. Here we study details of differences in main-sequence turn-off (MSTO) morphology expected from spreads in age versus spreads in rotation rates, using Monte Carlo simulations with the Geneva syclist isochrone models that include the effects of stellar rotation. We confirm a recent finding of Niederhofer et al. that a distribution of stellar rotation velocities yields an MSTO extent that is proportional to the cluster age, as observed. However, we find that stellar rotation yields MSTO crosscut widths that are generally smaller than observed ones at a given age. We compare the simulations with high-quality Hubble Space Telescope data of NGC 1987 and NGC 2249, which are the two only relatively massive star clusters with an age of ∼1 Gyr for which such data is available. We find that the distribution of stars across the eMSTOs of these clusters cannot be explained solely by a distribution of stellar rotation velocities, unless the orientations of rapidly rotating stars are heavily biased toward an equator-on configuration. Under the assumption of random viewing angles, stellar rotation can account for ∼60% and ∼40% of the observed FWHM widths of the eMSTOs of NGC 1987 and NGC 2249, respectively. In contrast, a combination of distributions of stellar rotation velocities and stellar ages fits the observed eMSTO morphologies very well.
Small-scale Intensity Mapping: Extended Halos as a Probe of the Ionizing Escape Fraction and Faint Galaxy Populations during Reionization
Authors: Mas-Ribas Lluís , Hennawi Joseph F. , Dijkstra Mark , Davies Frederick B. , Stern Jonathan , Rix Hans-Walter
Published: August 2017

We present a new method to quantify the value of the escape fraction of ionizing photons, and the existence of ultra-faint galaxies clustered around brighter objects during the epoch of cosmic reionization, using the diffuse Lyα, continuum, and Hα emission observed around galaxies at

. We model the surface brightness profiles of the diffuse halos, considering the fluorescent emission powered by ionizing photons escaping from the central galaxies, and the nebular emission from satellite star-forming sources, by extending the formalisms developed in Mas-Ribas & Dijkstra and Mas-Ribas et al. The comparison between our predicted profiles and Lyα observations at z = 5.7 and z = 6.6 favors a low ionizing escape fraction,

, for galaxies in the range

. However, uncertainties and possible systematics in the observations do not allow for firm conclusions. We predict Hα and rest-frame visible continuum observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and show that it will be able to detect extended (a few tens of kiloparsecs) fluorescent Hα emission powered by ionizing photons escaping from a bright,

, galaxy. Such observations could differentiate fluorescent emission from nebular emission by satellite sources. We discuss how observations and stacking several objects may provide unique constraints on the escape fraction for faint galaxies and/or the abundance of ultra-faint radiation sources.
Morphological Segregation in the Surroundings of Cosmic Voids
Authors: Ricciardelli Elena , Cava Antonio , Varela Jesus , Tamone Amelie
Published: August 2017

We explore the morphology of galaxies living in the proximity of cosmic voids, using a sample of voids identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. At all stellar masses, void galaxies exhibit morphologies of a later type than galaxies in a control sample, which represent galaxies in an average density environment. We interpret this trend as a pure environmental effect, independent of the mass bias, due to a slower galaxy build-up in the rarefied regions of voids. We confirm previous findings about a clear segregation in galaxy morphology, with galaxies of a later type being found at smaller void-centric distances with respect to the early-type galaxies. We also show, for the first time, that the radius of the void has an impact on the evolutionary history of the galaxies that live within it or in its surroundings. In fact, an enhanced fraction of late-type galaxies is found in the proximity of voids larger than the median void radius. Likewise, an excess of early-type galaxies is observed within or around voids of a smaller size. A significant difference in galaxy properties in voids of different sizes is observed up to 2 R
void, which we define as the region of influence of voids. The significance of this difference is greater than 3σ for all the volume-complete samples considered here. The fraction of star-forming galaxies shows the same behavior as the late-type galaxies, but no significant difference in stellar mass is observed in the proximity of voids of different sizes.
Probing the Cold Dust Emission in the AB Aur Disk: A Dust Trap in a Decaying Vortex?*
Authors: Fuente Asunción , Baruteau Clément , Neri Roberto , Carmona Andrés , Agúndez Marcelino , Goicoechea Javier R. , Bachiller Rafael , Cernicharo José , Berné Olivier
Published: August 2017

One serious challenge for planet formation is the rapid inward drift of pebble-sized dust particles in protoplanetary disks. Dust trapping at local maxima in the disk gas pressure has received much theoretical attention but still lacks observational support. The cold dust emission in the AB Aur disk forms an asymmetric ring at a radius of about 120 au, which is suggestive of dust trapping in a gas vortex. We present high spatial resolution (0.″58 × 0.″78 ≈ 80 × 110 au) NOEMA observations of the 1.12 mm and 2.22 mm dust continuum emission from the AB Aur disk. Significant azimuthal variations of the flux ratio at both wavelengths indicate a size segregation of the large dust particles along the ring. Our continuum images also show that the intensity variations along the ring are smaller at 2.22 mm than at 1.12 mm, contrary to what dust trapping models with a gas vortex have predicted. Our two-fluid (gas+dust) hydrodynamical simulations demonstrate that this feature is well explained if the gas vortex has started to decay due to turbulent diffusion, and dust particles are thus losing the azimuthal trapping on different timescales depending on their size. The comparison between our observations and simulations allows us to constrain the size distribution and the total mass of solid particles in the ring, which we find to be of the order of 30 Earth masses, enough to form future rocky planets.
Knowledge Management Systems Based on Topic Maps Theory
Authors: Buřita L. , Halouzka K. , Malý V. , Ondryhal V.
Published: August 2017

The aim of the paper is to summarize the experience gained from the research and the constructions of the Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) based on the ontology engineering. Computational ontologies are the means to formally model the structure of a system, to discover the entities and relations that emerge from its observation, and which are useful to the system purposes. In our projects, we utilize the Topic Maps Theory and the tools based on this technology (e.g. ATOM2). The key point of the solution is the ontology development; our methodology procedure is presented; the improvement of the methodology and the future research goals are oriented to automate the procedure steps. During the process, the text mining tools (e.g. TOVEK) and other analytical tools are used. At the end of the paper, the summary of the experience with the methodology application is presented.
Assessment of Selected Cannons according to the Probability of Target Destruction
Authors: Němeček J. , Polášek M.
Published: August 2017

The article discribes combat effectiveness of aircraft automatic cannons and compares combat effectiveness of M61A1 rotary cannon with cannons being used on aircraft of the Czech Air Force. The procedure and examples of probability calculation for aerial target destruction are presented for hight rate of fire weapons firing one burst. The procedure is shown for a step law and an exponential law of target destruction and for the constant and changing target hit probability. Basic characteristics for all types of rapid-firing cannons which are part of standard armament of modern aircraft are included in this paper.
High Power LED Parametric Modelling Using a Double Polynomial Approximation
Authors: Zaplatílek K. , Leuchter J.
Published: August 2017

This article describes calculations for an accurate mathematical model of high power LED modules using double optimal polynomial approximation. The model is based on unique tests of various LED types in a thermal chamber, providing a comprehensive list of parametric temperature profiles. This model was then implemented into MATLAB®&Simulink® and Micro-Cap programs as a Spice compatible electronic circuit model, utilising the newly created algorithm. To define an optimal degree of approximation polynomials, Euclidean norm of residues was used. The new algorithm described in this article was verified using real-life data tested at the author’s work site, where the corresponding research takes place. To maximise the test’s efficiency, an automated data collection system was created. This article describes one particular tested LED module whose characteristic was modelled in both the absolute and the normalised form for easy comparison.
Les États de Languedoc et la mort de Concini
Authors: Jouanna Arlette
Published: August 2017

Le 2 juin 1617, les États de Languedoc témoignent à Louis  XIII la joie qu’ils éprouvent à l’annonce de la mort du maréchal d’Ancre : Dieu l’a heureusement conduit au gouvernement absolu de son royaume. Puis, d’un même élan, ils refusent de lui accorder les 180 000 livres qu’il leur avait demandées. Cette démarche suggère l’ambiguïté qui entoure encore la notion de pouvoir absolu : aux yeux des membres de l’assemblée, Concini en incarnait le versant autoritaire ; son élimination, en supprimant l’écran qui séparait le souverain de ses sujets, annonce, espèrent-ils, un « gouvernement absolu » qui serait à l’écoute de la parole des gouvernés. En cela l’exécution de Concini a été une première journée des Dupes.
Louis le Juste, prince d’émotion
Authors: Teyssandier Bernard
Published: August 2017

Il existe bien une image héritée de Louis  xiii et de son règne que Saint-Simon, dans le Parallèle des trois premiers rois Bourbons, tente de remodeler au nom de la vérité et de la grandeur de l’histoire. Or cette peinture affective et expressive qui se construit et se cristallise au Grand Siècle, notamment à travers les nombreux portraits de Louis  xiii , n’est pas seulement imputable à la médisance des méchants, à l’ignorance de la rumeur ou, comme le laisse encore entendre le mémorialiste, à l’injustice des hommes. Au lendemain du coup d’État du 24 avril 1617, le monarque de seize ans œuvre lui-même à sa propre représentation en légitimant l’idée d’un roi d’émotion.
Le Royaume enchanté
Authors: Amstutz Delphine
Published: August 2017

Le coup d’État du 24 avril 1617 marque l’invention d’un nouveau personnage littéraire : le favori. Dès 1617, des fictions narratives transposent sous le voile de l’allégorie la funeste destinée de Concini et légitime, par leur discours pathétique et leur visée eschatologique, le geste royal. Cependant, à mesure que l’écho de l’événement s’éloigne, les romans prennent une tournure plus critique et déjouent les ressorts du discours et de l’interprétation historiographiques officiels. En tressant les strates temporelles, en entrelaçant fiction et référence historique, ils forgent de nouveaux concepts politiques et dessinent des filiations historiques significatives.
L’industrie du luxe en France depuis 1945, un exemple d’industrie compétitive ?
Authors: de Ferrière Marc
Published: August 2017

Particularité de l’industrie française, l’industrie du luxe insiste sur l’importance de ses exportations et sur son rôle dans l’équilibre du commerce extérieur de la France. Bien que les limites de ce secteur économique soient peu précises, une étude de son évolution depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale peut être entreprise. Après une période de développement lent et de gestion traditionnelle, l’industrie du luxe a connu une période d’expansion très importante dans les décennies 1970 et 1980. Cette croissance paraît cependant fragile et les bases de ce secteur de l’économie sont au début des années 1990 l’objet de profondes mutations à l’occasion d’une crise grave.
La renonciation au référentiel comptable international : Une contribution au débat controversé sur les bienfaits systématiques des IFRS
Authors: Bessieux-Ollier Corinne , Walliser Élisabeth
Published: August 2017

Cet article s’inscrit dans le débat controversé relatif aux bienfaits des IFRS. En particulier, il se penche sur les motivations des entreprises françaises ayant fait le choix d’abandonner les normes IFRS après leur transfert d’Euronext à Alternext. Les résultats révèlent que le retour au référentiel français est vécu comme un soulagement, un retour à l’autonomie et à la stabilité. Ce choix résulte d’une conjonction d’opportunités et peut être qualifié « d’affectif ». Ces entreprises ont vécu les IFRS comme une contrainte et reconnaissent une nostalgie des normes françaises.
Mettre en œuvre des dispositifs managériaux en vue de valoriser le savoir : Application au cas d’un systémier de l’aéronautique
Authors: Charfi Alya , Fernez-Walch Sandrine , Khachlouf Nada , Soparnot Richard
Published: August 2017

La Knowledge Based View (KBV) met l’accent sur la portée stratégique du savoir en le considérant comme créateur de valeur et d’avantage stratégique. Inscrit dans le courant de la KBV, ce papier discute trois dispositifs managériaux qu’une entreprise peut mettre en œuvre pour valoriser son savoir. Il montre en particulier, dans le cadre d’une étude de cas menée auprès d’un systémier d’air de l’aéronautique, que la mise en place d’un processus de gestion du savoir et d’une activité d’intelligence économique, associée à l’utilisation des TIC, aide à valoriser le savoir organisationnel. Par ailleurs, l’étude de cas révèle l’existence d’un quatrième dispositif managérial n’ayant pas été souligné dans la littérature. Il s’agit du leadership participatif.
Enseignant-chercheur au féminin : la place des femmes dans les universités
Authors: Drucker-Godard Carole , Fouque Thierry , Gollety Mathilde , Le Flanchec Alice
Published: August 2017

Cet article étudie la place des femmes dans les universités françaises. A partir d’une étude menée auprès de 1956 enseignants-chercheurs, nous confirmons l’existence d’un « plafond de verre » et la difficulté des femmes à devenir Professeur. Par ailleurs, il apparaît que les hommes sont globalement plus satisfaits dans leur travail que les femmes. Les femmes sont moins impliquées (envers leur université et leur métier) que les hommes lorsqu’elles sont Maîtres de Conférences, mais la tendance s’inverse ou se réduit lorsqu’elles deviennent Professeurs. Ces résultats sont approfondis par l’analyse qualitative de verbatim centrés sur la manière dont les femmes envisagent leur progression au sein de leur institution.
Parent–Child Relationships: Implementation of a Screening and Referral Program for Adolescents With Mood Disorders
Authors: Okeoma Bryson C.
Published: August 2017

Parent–child relational problems (PCRP) have been increasingly recognized as a risk factor in the development and/or progression of childhood mental illnesses. Despite many young individuals being at risk, health care providers do not specifically screen for PCRP in children diagnosed with mental illnesses. The objective of the current project was to implement a PCRP screening program in a metropolitan children's hospital and refer those with PCRP for treatment. Adolescents ages 10 to 17 presenting for admission in an inpatient pediatric psychiatric unit were screened with the PCRP semi-structured questionnaire and diagnostic criteria developed by the American Psychiatric Association's Relational Processes Workgroup. Eleven (73%) of 15 patients screened were found to have PCRP. Patients may be screened with a PCRP screening tool during biopsychosocial assessment without undue time burden on the provider. It is recommended that PCRP be added to electronic health records so providers can select PCRP in problem lists as well as formulate PCRP-sensitive care plans. [
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services
,
55
(11), 23–29.]
Building on Sand: Nation, Borders, Myth and History
Authors: Goodall Heather
Published: August 2017

Building on Sand brought together scholars with high profile roles as public intellectuals whose work is engaged in three very different geographic areas: Australia, Israel/Palestine and India/Pakistan. Each of these, as the conjoined names of two suggest, are sites of conflict over the nature of the civil and social authority which holds power and the peoples who claim to belong there. History has been a central theme in the rhetoric of these political conflicts, in which a unitary and authoritative history for a ‘nation’ and a ‘state’ has been built on the shifting sands of always-emerging historical evidence and its interpretations. In each of these three regions, a history which celebrated national formation and unity was challenged by ‘new’ historians in the 1970s [or 1980s or 1990s]. They used a similar set of methodologies like oral history, popular culture and the built environment: the toolkit of researching ‘history from below’ for a generation of social and cultural historians. Such new histories have been now been challenged themselves by a reassertion of the validity of a celebratory ‘national’ history based on unproblematic, ‘factual’ evidence. These recent conflicts between the ‘new’ historians and the (even newer) re-asserters of a ‘national’ history have been bruising encounters, with high stakes in terms of individual reputations, public emotions and the real, personal safety in some cases of the participants and, more importantly, of vulnerable oppositional communities.
Post-Secular Nation; or how “Australian spirituality” privileges a secular, white, Judaeo-Christian culture
Authors: Sunderland Sophie
Published: August 2017

There is no doubt that Australia is a secular nation, but there is a tendency to argue it is becoming post-secular. This raises the question of on what premises might a national spirituality be founded in a multicultural, multifaith society? One person who has attempted to answer this theory is the writer David Tacey. I endeavour to show that Tacey’s spiritual realm is in fact unmistakably coded Christian, and by extension ‘Judaeo-Christian’. Furthermore, this constructed realm cites a white, Anglo-Celtic subject associated with settler history as most in need of spiritual salvation. I argue that in effect, and instead of offering new alternatives for social change, Tacey’s version of spirituality functions to reinforce and reproduce a transcendent narrative of the dominance of Judaeo-Christianity and white Anglo-Celtic subjectivity in Australian culture.
Jumping Ship: Indians, Aborigines and Australians Across the Indian Ocean
Authors: Goodall Heather , Ghosh Devleena , Todd Lindi Renier
Published: August 2017

Relationships between South Asians and Australians during the colonial period have been little investigated. Closer attention to the dramatically expanded sea trade after 1850 and the relatively uncontrolled movement of people, ideas and goods which occurred on them, despite claims of imperial regulation, suggests that significant numbers of Indians among others entered Australia outside the immigration restrictions of empire or settlers. Given that many of them entered or remained in Australia without official sanction, their histories will not be found in the official immigration records, but rather in the memories and momentos of the communities into which they might have moved. Exploring the histories of Aboriginal communities and of maritime working class networks does allow a previously unwritten history to emerge: not only of Indian individuals with complex personal and working histories, but often as activists in the campaigns against racial discrimination and in support of decolonization. Yet their heritage has been obscured. The polarizing conflict between settlers and Aboriginal Australians has invariably meant that Aboriginal people of mixed background had to ‘choose sides’ to be counted simplistically as either ‘black’ or ‘white’. The need to defend the community’s rights has meant that Aboriginal people had to be unequivocal in their identification and this simplification has had to take precedence over the assertion of a diverse heritage. In working class histories, the mobilization of selective ethnic stereotyping has meant that the history of Indians as workers, as unionists and as activists has been distorted and ignored.
Environmental Governance in the Coffee Forests of Kodagu, South India
Authors: Neilson Jeffrey
Published: August 2017

Place-specific cultural institutions regulate the relationship between coffee planters and the natural world in the Kodagu district of the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot in South India. Many planters have retained native trees for shade on their plantations, such that these cultivated areas, together with formal protected areas and community-managed sacred groves, constitute a mostly contiguous forested landscape across the district. The integrity of this broader landscape, and the enrolment of coffee planters as environmental stewards, is essential if conservation efforts are to be effective. This paper argues that the required participatory approaches to landscape conservation in this region actually contrast with global certification schemes currently being promoted to enhance sustainability in the coffee industry. The critical issue raised here is the changing scale at which environmental governance systems are being constructed through the corporate re-regulation of global supply chains.
Globalisation and Difference: Cosmopolitanism Before the Nation-State
Authors: Gupta Akhil
Published: August 2017

In this paper, I have tried to reflect on what cosmopolitanism might mean in a very different era of globalisation than the present. Although cosmopolitanism, as an expansive and sociable vision, is often contrasted with the geographically limited perspective and claustrophobic affinities of nationalism, the term originates in a historical period before the rise of nationalism in Europe. I argue that the residents of the civilisations around the Indian Ocean in the medieval and early modern world were cosmopolitan even by the standards of the high modernist meaning of the term. Not only did a range of people transact and translate across different languages, but they also knew how to conduct themselves in different cultural settings with people of different religious beliefs, while respecting the disparate religious, social, and cultural practices of their neighbours.
Visualizing Roots and Itineraries of Indian Ocean Creolizations: Project for a Museum of the Present
Authors: Vergès Françoise
Published: August 2017

In this paper, I will discuss the methodological problems raised by the museography of a forthcoming museum on Reunion Island, the Maison des civilisations et de l'unité réunionnaise. One of the museum's goals is to retrace visually the itineraries of the processes of creolisation in the Indian Ocean that led to the creation of a singular culture, the Creole indiaoceanic culture. How to visualise the multiple layers of signification at work, the traces and fragments of languages, imaginaries, rituals, practices travelling throughout the ocean, the dynamic of loss, transformation, translation and recreation of forms, rituals, practices in the itineraries of people? I will first present the museum, its context and goals, then suggests ways of “making visual” elements of the Indian Ocean’s long history, and finally, discuss the challenges of imagining a museum of the present in the Indian Ocean world.
“Indian Ocean News”: Indian Challenges To Australian Racialised Media
Authors: Goodall Heather
Published: August 2017

Two events involving Indians in Australia have grabbed news headlines at different times. One was the 1945 campaign supporting Indonesian Independence in which Indian seamen – known then in Australia as “lascars” – played a high profile role for which they have seldom been acknowledged. The more recent has been the 2009 series of violent attacks on Indian students in Australia, which have aroused major news coverage and public debate in Australia and India. How might “news” media reflect better the potential of both these stories to tell transnational “Indian Ocean news” in which more than one narrative is heard? How, in fact, might they reflect the qualities of the Indian Ocean itself in fostering circulation and dialogue? To contribute to this wider question, this article explores two issues. Firstly, do cultural stereotypes persist over time and, if so, is it because news media re-create and re-circulate them in changing circumstances? Secondly, how does “access” to “making news” come about: whose voices are heard and how are “news” stories identified and told? In the light of what appears to be the simple perpetuation of old stereotypes into the 2009 stories, this paper examines both newspaper and documentary filmic representations of the 1945 campaign. It argues that the outcomes in each case involved selective, rather than wholesale, use of stereotypes. Moreover, each was the result of interaction and often contestation between the participants and the recorders of news – the “sources” and the “producers” – rather than complete dominance by Australian reporters or Western filmmakers over how the stories were told. The paper identifies the more effective of the 1945 strategies used by Indian actors and points to the ways such stories might be read as “Indian Ocean news” which makes visible not only each side of the story but the interactions themselves. This is no longer just a possible future scenario – digital media and internet communication mean that today’s stories are being read and watched almost simultaneously around the world by very different audiences. So working out what “Indian Ocean news” might be is now a matter of urgency.
Print Media Representations Of An Unusual Health Event: Chikungunya virus, risk and identity on Réunion Island
Authors: Weinstein Philip , Ravi Srilata
Published: August 2017

In 2005-6, the French Indian Ocean island of Réunion experienced a massive epidemic of the mosquito-borne viral infection Chikungunya. Reporting on the epidemic in the print media demonstrates a considerable lag compared to the realtime evolution of the epidemic, and this paper explores possible reasons for that delay. We analyse the content of print media articles about Chikungunya from two Reunionese newspapers (Témoignages and Clicanoo) and two newspapers from metropolitan France (Le Figaro and Le Monde). In the Reunionese newspapers, the delay in acknowledging the public health risk posed by the virus suggests passive denial in the early stages of the epidemic, followed by acceptance with blame attributed to the French metropolitan government – reflecting the uneasy historical relationship between the Reunionese and the government. In the French metropolitan newspapers, the delay is even greater and may reflect the influence of residual colonialist thinking on the priority placed on reporting on an epidemic in a remote tropical location: once a risk to metropolitan France is identified, reporting intensifies considerably. The media representations also highlight the importance of belief systems as modulators of people’s risk perception and their subsequent health-protection behaviour. We suggest that a better understanding of these drivers of health behaviour in multicultural societies may provide important opportunities to reduce the community burden of disease.
Cities, Nature, Justice: a zoologist's perspective
Authors: Lunney Daniel
Published: August 2017

Cities and nature may seem mutually exclusive, but the animal inhabitants, both native and introduced, from pets to pests, are a major component of city life. Using Sydney as an example, this paper takes a critical look at cities and nature, more narrowly zoology, with a long-term view, i.e. one with intergenerational equity in mind. In the rapid conversion of bush to farmland, then suburbs and industrial areas, flora and fauna have not been given a strong voice. We need a new ethic for this new urban ecosystem, one which encompasses dealing with exotic species, pests and vermin on the one hand, and relic native animal populations on the other. Plans for sustainability in environment, economics and society need to recognise that these are interrelated subjects, not separate entities. I argue that knowing the natural history of Sydney is integral to understanding the city, its history, and its sustainability.
‘Fear the hose’: an historical exploration of sustainable water use in Perth gardens in the 1970s
Authors: Morgan Ruth
Published: August 2017

Most of Australia’s capital cities and towns have been on water restrictions since at least 2007. As metropolitan and regional water supplies continue to dwindle in the southern regions of the continent, water managers will impose tighter conditions on the use of limited resources. It is thus important to examine human attachments to their outdoor spaces to better understand how residents will potentially respond to such policies. For policies designed to reduce the domestic consumption of limited resources to succeed, Australians must perceive them as equitable in both their design and outcome. An historical perspective on contemporary sustainability issues such as water scarcity is useful to explain how present-day values and behaviours towards resource use have been formulated, shaped and renegotiated by those experiences of preceding generations. As outdoor water use is an important focus of current water efficiency measures, a more nuanced understanding of the meanings historically invested in certain gardens can provide insights into how residents can react to disruptions in their watering routines. Using 1970s Perth, Western Australia as a case study through which to analyse such reactions, I argue that the water efficiency measures enacted by the then Metropolitan Water Board overlooked the variety of socio-cultural meanings attached to suburban gardens and as a consequence, affected households unequally.
Utility Companies: Adapting to Technological Innovations and Renewable Energy Sources
Authors: Buckely Nathan
Published: August 2017

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Vehicle-to-grid Technology: Concept, Status, and Challenges
Authors: Deivanayagam Ram
Published: August 2017

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Combined Heat and Power Plants with Thermal Storage
Authors: Murali Aravindh
Published: August 2017

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Study of Au-CeO2 Nano-particles using analytical Transmission Electron Microscopy
Authors: Gu P. , Yang G. , Klie R.F.
Published: August 2017

Cerium oxide doped with various rare earth metals is often used as a support for nano-sized gold particles, and demonstrates to be a promising catalyst for the water gas shift reaction at low temperatures. Many factors are hypothesized to affect the activity of this heterogeneous catalyst, including its loading with gold, the rare-earth dopant, the support and Au particle size, and leaching of the sample. In this study, we examined several Au/CeO2-based catalyst samples, including 2.4% Au/(Ce,Gd)O2, 1.8% Au/(Ce,La)O2 leached, 0.5% Au/(Ce,Gd)O2 leached, and 0.75% Au/CeO2 utilizing analytical transmission electron microscopy. The effects of Au and rare-earth doping on the ceria lattice parameter were investigated, and it was determined that there are no significant variations in the particle's structure or lattice-spacing. Furthermore, the particle sizes of each of the four samples were investigated concluding that although the 1.8% Au/(Ce,La)O2 leached sample has a slightly larger particle size, and the 2.4% Au/(Ce,Gd)O2 sample has a slightly smaller particle size, the differentiation is not adequate to be accountable for the radical distinction in catalytic activity.
Biocompatibility of polyimide-based neural interfaces for chronic implant applications
Authors: S. Watkins , Gandhi D. , Rousche P.J.
Published: August 2017

Neural interfaces provide functional re-establishment of the central nervous system, as well as accessibility to monitor physiological responses at a cellular and molecular level. An ideal device is electrically, mechanically, and biologically compatible in long-term applications. Reducing the foreign body response and scar tissue formation caused by the surrounding tissue of the implant makes the device most biocompatible, while not hindering the electrical interface of the device. Technological advances in polymer materials are leading to improved designs of neural implants with the utilization of flexible polyimide, which decreases the relative micromotion strain. However, the flexibility of polyimide causes the device to buckle during insertion; therefore a biodegradable polymer, polyglycolic acid (PGA), is added to the polyimide device in order to temporarily enhance the structural rigidity. In this study we detail the successful biocompatibility demonstrated with both uncoated and PGA coated polyimide devices to provide new design strategies for neural implants used in chronic applications.
Design and Development of High Performance Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIP) with Kevlar Thread Support
Authors: Sood V. , Feinerman A.
Published: August 2017

Vacuum insulation is an advanced thermal insulation technology that significantly outperforms conventional materials, such as foam or fiber. The study of this new technology is the first step towards making improvements in the applications of insulation panels to provide energy-efficient and cost saving solutions. The focus this summer has been on creating prototypes using acrylic and Kevlar thread to further improve the quality of insulation panels and make them more efficient. Using a carbon dioxide laser system, acrylic was cut and small prototypes were produced. The insulation panel was sealed in a plastic bag and a small vacuum pump was used to evacuate the air. The results gathered during the research program indicate that Kevlar thread is strong and can provide support without breaking, making the insulation panel effective. Stronger conclusions will arise after further testing and research in this area.
Optimization of Surface Preparation and Surface Passivation for GaSb Infrared Photodetectors
Authors: Hearn G. , Banerjee K. , Mallick S. , Ghosh S.
Published: August 2017

GaSb can be used as an efficient mid-wavelength infrared photodetector, so its improvement is an important field of study. The passivation of GaSb is not as effective as passivation of other semiconductors. We report on the use of surface treatments of Buffered Oxide Etch (BOE) and ammonium sulfide, and their effect on the quality of ZnS passivation. These treatments are compared using Capacitance-Voltage measurement of metal-insulator-semiconductors structures made from the treated GaSb.
A Microfluidic Mixer Fabricated From Compliant Thermoplastic Films
Authors: Paya N. , Dankovic T. , Feinerman A.
Published: August 2017

Mixing is often crucial to the operation of various microfluidic devices. And the most common objective is rapid mixing between two initially segregated fluid streams in a minimal amount of space. In microfluidic flows characterized by incompressibility and low Reynolds number, however, turbulence is almost entirely absent and mixing generally relies on diffusion. Therefore, based on the properties of the fluids involved, it can take impractically long to achieve high mixing efficiency in some cases. To resolve this problem, this paper demonstrates a novel compliant micromixer made of thermoplastic films for lab-on-a-chip applications. The microfluidic mixer utilizes self-rotation effects to achieve high mixing efficiency at Reynolds numbers below 100. In addition, a possible design is suggested for a thermoplastic voltage-actuated micromixer which can lead to even better mixing performance at Reynolds numbers below 1.