bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The legal recognition of personality: full-face veils and permissible choices
Authors: Marshall Jill
Published: January 2014

A woman's freedom to develop her personality or identity as she sees fit is supposed to be legally protected in twenty-first century Europe. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) provides a right to respect for one's private life in Article 8 which has been judicially interpreted to provide a right to identity or personality development. Additionally, Article 14 provides for non-discrimination and Articles 9 and 10 for freedom of expression, including that which is religious. Arguments are examined of some different interpretations of the overall purpose of human rights law − to respect human dignity and human freedom. These are examined by reference to the recent criminalisation of wearing face coverings in public places in certain European countries where the intention is to prevent the wearing of the Islamic full-face veil.1It is argued that each woman's identity is legally recognised when the concepts of human dignity and human freedom are interpreted as empowering and self-determining rather than constraining and paternalistic. Legally banning full-face veils, in liberal democracies in situations where an adult woman says she has freely chosen to wear such a garment, misrecognises her and disrespects her identity or personality: as a human being, as a member of a religious or cultural group and as an individual person capable of subjectively interpreting her own identity or personality as she sees fit.
The Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS)
Authors: Trompetter Hester R. , Bohlmeijer Ernst T. , van Baalen Bianca , Kleen Marco , Köke Albère , Reneman Michiel , Schreurs Karlein M. G.
Published: January 2014

Psychological flexibility receives increasing attention as the overarching process in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This study investigates the psychometric properties of the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS), measuring “avoidance” and “cognitive fusion” with pain, in a heterogeneous clinical sample of 428 chronic pain patients from four rehabilitation centers. Furthermore, the relationship between the PIPS and mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, FFMQ) as a theoretically related measure within ACT is explored. Confirmatory factor analyses replicated acceptable/good model fit and internal consistencies. In a subsample from two rehabilitation centers (n = 237), the PIPS showed moderate to high relationships with aspects of mindfulness, pain interference in daily life, pain disability and mental health, and small relationships with pain intensity and physical functioning. The avoidance subscale explained additional variance in outcome variables beyond the FFMQ, ranging from 4.5 to 15.8%. Outcomes support the psychometric properties of the PIPS in a heterogeneous chronic pain sample. The PIPS and FFMQ measure slightly overlapping, but distinct constructs, and can be used complementary to assess a broad range of processes within ACT. Potential problems with the cognitive fusion subscale are acknowledged for future research.
A kinetics study on promising hydrogen storage properties of Mg-based thin films at room temperature
Authors: Qu Jianglan , Liu Yang , Xin Gongbiao , Zheng Jie , Li Xingguo
Published: January 2014

The thickness effects on hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics under mild conditions were investigated in Mg-based thin films.
Remedy performance monitoring at contaminated sediment sites using profiling solid phase microextraction (SPME) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fibers
Authors: Thomas Courtney , Lampert David , Reible Danny
Published: January 2014

A demonstration of solid phase microextraction techniques using polydimethylsiloxane fibers to assess in situ contaminated sediment remedy performance at three sites.
A real-time proximity querying algorithm for haptic-based molecular docking
Authors: Iakovou Georgios , Hayward Steven , Laycock Stephen
Published: January 2014

Intermolecular binding underlies every metabolic and regulatory processes of the cell, and the therapeutic and pharmacological properties of drugs. Molecular docking systems model and simulate these interactions in silico and allow us to study the binding process. Haptic-based docking provides an immersive virtual docking environment where the user can interact with and guide the molecules to their binding pose. Moreover, it allows human perception, intuition and knowledge to assist and accelerate the docking process, and reduces incorrect binding poses. Crucial for interactive docking is the real-time calculation of interaction forces. For smooth and accurate haptic exploration and manipulation, force-feedback cues have to be updated at a rate of 1 kHz. Hence, force calculations must be performed within 1ms. To achieve this, modern haptic-based docking approaches often utilize pre-computed force grids and linear interpolation. However, such grids are time-consuming to pre-compute (especially for large molecules), memory hungry, can induce rough force transitions at cell boundaries and cannot be applied to flexible docking. Here we propose an efficient proximity querying method for computing intermolecular forces in real time. Our motivation is the eventual development of a haptic-based docking solution that can model molecular flexibility. Uniquely in a haptics application we use octrees to decompose the 3D search space in order to identify the set of interacting atoms within a cut-off distance. Force calculations are then performed on this set in real time. The implementation constructs the trees dynamically, and computes the interaction forces of large molecular structures (i.e. consisting of thousands of atoms) within haptic refresh rates. We have implemented this method in an immersive, haptic-based, rigid-body, molecular docking application called Haptimol_RD. The user can use the haptic device to orientate the molecules in space, sense the interaction forces on the device, and guide the molecules to their binding pose. Haptimol_RD is designed to run on consumer level hardware, i.e. there is no need for specialized/proprietary hardware.
Insights into chirality distributions of single-walled carbon nanotubes grown on different CoxMg1−xO solid solutions
Authors: He Maoshuai , Jiang Hua , Kauppi Inkeri , Fedotov Pavel V. , Chernov Alexander I. , Obraztsova Elena D. , Cavalca Filippo , Wagner Jakob B. , Hansen Thomas W. , Sainio Jani , Sairanen Emma , Lehtonen Juha , Kauppinen Esko I.
Published: January 2014

SWNTs grown by base growth mode and tip growth mode show a striking contrast in chirality distributions.
Development of a surface to enhance the effectiveness of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2)
Authors: Robinson David E. , Smith Louise E. , Steele David A. , Short Robert D. , Whittle Jason D.
Published: January 2014

The cooperative effects of FGF-2, surface bound heparin and plasma polymer, produce a biologically active surface which increases the half-life of FGF-2. The production of this surface is simple and requires no chemical cross-linking.
The synthesis of a core–shell MnO2/3D-ordered hollow carbon sphere composite and its superior electrochemical capability for lithium ion batteries
Authors: Jun Zang , Jia-jia Chen , Cheng-long Zhang , Hang Qian , Ming-sen Zheng , Quan-feng Dong
Published: January 2014

A hierarchical core–shell MnO2/3D-ordered hollow carbon sphere composite was designed and synthesized by using hollow carbon spheres (HCS) as a carbon matrix.
Systematic Individualized Narrative Language Intervention on the Personal Narratives of Children With Autism
Authors: Petersen Douglas B. , Brown Catherine L. , Ukrainetz Teresa A. , Wise Christine , Spencer Trina D. , Zebre Jennifer
Published: January 2014

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an individualized, systematic language intervention on the personal narratives of children with autism.

Method

A single-subject, multiple-baseline design across participants and behaviors was used to examine the effect of the intervention on language features of personal narratives. Three 6- to 8-year-old boys with autism participated in 12 individual intervention sessions that targeted 2–3 story grammar elements (e.g., problem, plan) and 3–4 linguistic complexity elements (e.g., causal subordination, adverbs) selected from each participant's baseline performance. Intervention involved repeated retellings of customized model narratives and the generation of personal narratives with a systematic reduction of visual and verbal scaffolding. Independent personal narratives generated at the end of each baseline, intervention, and maintenance session were analyzed for presence and sophistication of targeted features.

Results

Graphical and statistical results showed immediate improvement in targeted language features as a function of intervention. There was mixed evidence of maintenance 2 and 7 weeks after intervention.

Conclusion

Children with autism can benefit from an individualized, systematic intervention targeting specific narrative language features. Greater intensity of intervention may be needed to gain enduring effects for some language features.
Modifying Attitudes of Arab School Teachers Toward Stuttering
Authors: Abdalla Fauzia , St. Louis Kenneth O.
Published: January 2014

Purpose

The authors of this quasi-experimental design study explored the effect of an educational documentary video that presented factual and emotional aspects of stuttering on changing attitudes toward stuttering of preservice trainees and in-service public school teachers in Kuwait.

Method

Participants were 99 preservice trainees (48 control, 51 experimental) and 103 in-service teachers (49 control, 54 experimental). All participants completed 22 items from the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes—Stuttering (POSHA–S; St. Louis, 2005; translated into Arabic) and 17 additional items pre and post treatment. Participants in the experimental group viewed the awareness video.

Results

Pretreatment comparisons confirmed that the control and experimental groups did not differ on their attitudes toward stuttering. As predicted, the posttreatment ratings for the control group were not different from the pretreatment ratings. A significant shift in attitudes (mostly in a positive direction) from pre to post treatment was observed for the experimental group of preservice trainees but not for the experimental group of in-service teachers. Interpretation of the difference in outcomes for the experimental preservice group as compared to the experimental in-service group is confounded by gender differences across groups.

Conclusion

The authors of this study demonstrated that it is possible to positively modify preservice trainees' attitudes of people who stutter by using an educational documentary video.
Invited Article: Advanced drag-free concepts for future space-based interferometers: acceleration noise performance
Authors: Gerardi D. , Allen G. , Conklin J. W. , Sun K-X. , DeBra D. , Buchman S. , Gath P. , Fichter W. , Byer R. L. , Johann U.
Published: January 2014

Future drag-free missions for space-based experiments in gravitational physics require a Gravitational Reference Sensor with extremely demanding sensing and disturbance reduction requirements. A configuration with two cubical sensors is the current baseline for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and has reached a high level of maturity. Nevertheless, several promising concepts have been proposed with potential applications beyond LISA and are currently investigated at HEPL, Stanford, and EADS Astrium, Germany. The general motivation is to exploit the possibility of achieving improved disturbance reduction, and ultimately understand how low acceleration noise can be pushed with a realistic design for future mission. In this paper, we discuss disturbance reduction requirements for LISA and beyond, describe four different payload concepts, compare expected strain sensitivities in the “low-frequency” region of the frequency spectrum, dominated by acceleration noise, and ultimately discuss advantages and disadvantages of each of those concepts in achieving disturbance reduction for space-based detectors beyond LISA.
Extending atomistic simulation timescale in solid/liquid systems: Crystal growth from solution by a parallel-replica dynamics and continuum hybrid method
Authors: Lu Chun-Yaung , Voter Arthur F. , Perez Danny
Published: January 2014

Deposition of solid material from solution is ubiquitous in nature. However, due to the inherent complexity of such systems, this process is comparatively much less understood than deposition from a gas or vacuum. Further, the accurate atomistic modeling of such systems is computationally expensive, therefore leaving many intriguing long-timescale phenomena out of reach. We present an atomistic/continuum hybrid method for extending the simulation timescales of dynamics at solid/liquid interfaces. We demonstrate the method by simulating the deposition of Ag on Ag (001) from solution with a significant speedup over standard MD. The results reveal specific features of diffusive deposition dynamics, such as a dramatic increase in the roughness of the film.
Theoretical estimation of the optical bandgap in a series of poly(aryl-ethynylene)s: A DFT study
Authors: Granadino-Roldán José M. , Garzón Andrés , Moral Mónica , García Gregorio , Peña-Ruiz Tomás , Paz Fernández-Liencres M. , Navarro Amparo , Fernández-Gómez Manuel
Published: January 2014

Aimed to optimize the ratio accuracy/computational cost, in this work we study the performance of three different theoretical methodologies in the calculation of the optical bandgap for a test set made of a number of poly(aryl-ethynylene)s related polymers. Infinite, ideal polymer chains were first optimized by means of periodic calculations. Different length oligomers were afterward generated by direct replication of the corresponding periodic structure and their optical bandgaps were calculated by means of different time dependent-density functional theory (TD-DFT) methodologies. These results were fitted to an exponential function for each oligomer family in order to get a theoretical estimation of the optical bandgap for each polymer to be compared to the experimental reported values. The best result was obtained for TD-M06-2X yielding an average deviation of 3.4% with respect to the experimental values.
Enhancement of tunnel magnetoresistance in magnetic tunnel junction by a superlattice barrier
Authors: Chen C. H. , Hsueh W. J.
Published: January 2014

Tunnel magnetoresistance of magnetic tunnel junction improved by a superlattice barrier composed of alternate layers of a nonmagnetic metal and an insulator is proposed. The forbidden band of the superlattice is used to predict the low transmission range in the superlattice barrier. By forbidding electron transport in the anti-parallel configuration, the tunnel magnetoresistance is enhanced in the superlattice junction. The results show that the tunnel magnetoresistance ratio for a superlattice magnetic tunnel junction is greater than that for traditional single or double barrier junctions.
Chromium oxide as a metal diffusion barrier layer: An x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy study
Authors: Ahamad Mohiddon Md. , Lakshun Naidu K. , Ghanashyam Krishna M. , Dalba G. , Ahmed S. I. , Rocca F.
Published: January 2014

The interaction at the interface between chromium and amorphous Silicon (a-Si) films in the presence of a sandwich layer of chromium oxide is investigated using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. The oxidized interface was created, in situ, prior to the deposition of a 400 nm tick a-Si layer over a 50 nm tick Cr layer. The entire stack of substrate/metallic Cr/Cr2O3/a-Si was then annealed at temperatures from 300 up to 700 °C. Analysis of the near edge and extended regions of each XAFS spectrum shows that only a small fraction of Cr is able to diffuse through the oxide layer up to 500 °C, while the remaining fraction is buried under the oxide layer in the form of metallic Cr. At higher temperatures, diffusion through the oxide layer is enhanced and the diffused metallic Cr reacts with a-Si to form CrSi2. At 700 °C, the film contains Cr2O3 and CrSi2 without evidence of unreacted metallic Cr. The activation energy and diffusion coefficient of Cr are quantitatively determined in the two temperature regions, one where the oxide acts as diffusion barrier and another where it is transparent to Cr diffusion. It is thus demonstrated that chromium oxide can be used as a diffusion barrier to prevent metal diffusion into a-Si.
Conversion of pure spin current to charge current in amorphous bismuth
Authors: Emoto H. , Ando Y. , Shikoh E. , Fuseya Y. , Shinjo T. , Shiraishi M.
Published: January 2014

Spin Hall angle and spin diffusion length in amorphous bismuth (Bi) are investigated by using conversion of a pure spin current to a charge current in a spin pumping technique. In Bi/Ni80Fe20/Si(100) sample, a clear direct current (DC) electromotive force due to the inverse spin Hall effect of the Bi layer is observed at room temperature under a ferromagnetic resonance condition of the Ni80Fe20 layer. From the Bi thickness dependence of the DC electromotive force, the spin Hall angle and the spin diffusion length of the amorphous Bi film are estimated to be 0.02 and 8 nm, respectively.
Absolute calibration of photon-number-resolving detectors with an analog output using twin beams
Authors: Peřina Jan , Haderka Ondřej , Allevi Alessia , Bondani Maria
Published: January 2014

A method for absolute calibration of a photon-number resolving detector producing analog signals as the output is developed using a twin beam. The method gives both analog-to-digital conversion parameters and quantum detection efficiency for the photon fields. Characteristics of the used twin beam are also obtained. A simplified variant of the method applicable to fields with high signal to noise ratios and suitable for more intense twin beams is suggested.
Shape transition of unstrained flattest single-walled carbon nanotubes under pressure
Authors: Mu Weihua , Cao Jianshu , Ou-Yang Zhong-can
Published: January 2014

Single walled carbon nanotube's (SWCNT's) cross section can be flattened under hydrostatic pressure. One example is the cross section of a single walled carbon nanotube successively deforms from the original round shape to oval shape, then to peanut-like shape. At the transition point of reversible deformation between convex shape and concave shape, the side wall of nanotube is flattest. This flattest tube has many attractive properties. In the present work, an approximate approach is developed to determine the equilibrium shape of this unstrained flattest tube and the curvature distribution of this tube. Our results are in good agreement with recent numerical results, and can be applied to the study of pressure controlled electric properties of single walled carbon nanotubes. The present method can also be used to study other deformed inorganic and organic tube-like structures.
Structure and physical properties of nanoclustered graphene synthesized from C60 fullerene under high pressure and high temperature
Authors: Chernogorova Olga , Potapova Iraida , Drozdova Ekaterina , Sirotinkin Vladimir , Soldatov Alexander V. , Vasiliev Alexander , Ekimov Evgeny
Published: January 2014

C60 treatment at 5–8 GPa, ∼1000 °C results in the fullerene cage collapse and transformation to a phase with outstanding mechanical properties. A detailed structural analysis of the phase reveals that it comprised 7–12 layer graphene clusters with lateral dimension of 2–4 nm. Raman spectra of the nanoclustered graphene phase are similar to those of disordered sp2 carbon structure with an admixture of sp3-bonded carbon. The phase is characterized by a high (up to 19 GPa) hardness, relatively low (about 70 GPa) Young modulus and up to 95% elastic recovery, determining excellent wear resistance and good antifriction properties.
Rapid production of highly coercive Sm-Co thin films by triode sputtering
Authors: Akdogan O. , Dempsey N. M.
Published: January 2014

The rapid production of magnetically hard thin films over large surface areas is of interest for the integration of high performance materials into micro and nano systems. Compared to conventional magnetron sputtering, characterized by typical deposition rates of 0.1 nm/s, much higher rates (5.5 nm/s) can be achieved with triode sputtering. The latter was already used to produce magnetically hard thick films (5 μm) of Sm-Co with in plane texture and coercivities up to 2 T. For certain applications, there is interest to decrease the film thickness while maintaining the good magnetic properties. In this study, we report on the triode sputtering of Sm-Co films with thickness of 100 nm. The influence of deposition temperature and Sm concentration on the film's magnetic and microstructural properties has been studied. Room temperature coercivity up to 5 T has been achieved for 100 nm thick films deposited cold and annealed at 450 °C for 10 min. Grazing incidence XRD measurements showed these films to have the Sm2Co7 structure.
Highly efficient electron vortex beams generated by nanofabricated phase holograms
Authors: Grillo Vincenzo , Carlo Gazzadi Gian , Karimi Ebrahim , Mafakheri Erfan , Boyd Robert W. , Frabboni Stefano
Published: January 2014

We propose an improved type of holographic-plate suitable for the shaping of electron beams. The plate is fabricated by a focused ion beam on a silicon nitride membrane and introduces a controllable phase shift to the electron wavefunction. We adopted the optimal blazed-profile design for the phase hologram, which results in the generation of highly efficient (25%) electron vortex beams. This approach paves the route towards applications in nano-scale imaging and materials science.
Origin of bending in uncoated microcantilever - Surface topography?
Authors: Lakshmoji K. , Prabakar K. , Tripura Sundari S. , Jayapandian J. , Tyagi A. K. , Sundar C. S.
Published: January 2014

We provide direct experimental evidence to show that difference in surface topography on opposite sides of an uncoated microcantilever induces bending, upon exposure to water molecules. Examination on opposite sides of the microcantilever by atomic force microscopy reveals the presence of localized surface features on one side, which renders the induced stress non-uniform. Further, the root mean square inclination angle characterizing the surface topography shows a difference of 73° between the opposite sides. The absence of deflection in another uncoated microcantilever having similar surface topography confirms that in former microcantilever bending is indeed induced by differences in surface topography.
The correlation of epitaxial graphene properties and morphology of SiC (0001)
Authors: Guo Y. , Guo L. W. , Huang J. , Yang R. , Jia Y. P. , Lin J. J. , Lu W. , Li Z. L. , Chen X. L.
Published: January 2014

The electronic properties of epitaxial graphene (EG) on SiC (0001) depend sensitively on the surface morphology of SiC substrate. Here, 2–3 layers of graphene were grown on on-axis 6H-SiC with different step densities realized through controlling growth temperature and ambient pressure. We show that epitaxial graphene on SiC (0001) with low step density and straight step edge possesses fewer point defects laying mostly on step edges and higher carrier mobility. A relationship between step density and EG mobility is established. The linear scan of Raman spectra combined with the atomic force microscopy morphology images revealed that the Raman fingerprint peaks are nearly the same on terraces, but shift significantly while cross step edges, suggesting the graphene is not homogeneous in strain and carrier concentration over terraces and step edges of substrates. Thus, control morphology of epitaxial graphene on SiC (0001) is a simple and effective method to pursue optimal route for high quality graphene and will be helpful to prepare wafer sized graphene for device applications.
Can Housing and Accessibility Information Influence Residential Location Choice and Travel Behavior? An Experimental Study
Authors: Rodriguez Daniel A , Rogers Jennifer
Published: January 2014

Although information has been used as a strategy to influence short-term travel behavior, there is a paucity of research on whether information can result in long-term behavioral changes. To examine the impact of providing information on location choices and travel behaviors we used an experimental design with a sample of incoming students at two area universities. Information was administered to individuals in the experimental group before they selected a residential location in the area. With a survey, we collected information on residential locations and travel behaviors from all participants six months after the intervention. Students in the intervention group from one university traveled between 50% and 68% fewer km/day by automobile, located closer to the university, and located in areas with more transit stops than students in the control group. Information appears to be a promising strategy for influencing location decisions and prompting travel behavior change.
An Extended Kernel Density Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Method to Analyze Access to Health Care
Authors: Polzin Pierre , Borges José , Coelho António
Published: January 2014

In Portugal the distribution of physicians is considered an appropriate proxy for the distribution of the actual hospital resources and additional information on hospital supply is mostly unavailable, while health care utilization data are also usually absent. A suitable method that can be used to analyze patients' access to hospital health care in countries with such characteristics is the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method, since it requires only the number of physicians to represent supply and the population size to estimate demand. An improved version of the 2SFCA method is the kernel density 2SFCA (KD2SFCA) method. However, this method was not developed to analyze access to health care and it computes scores that express only the spatial access dimensions of proximity and availability. In this paper we present a new method, based on the KD2SFCA method, which improves health care access analysis and better identifies populations that are less empowered to use health care. We adapt the KD2SFCA method for the context of health care access analysis and extend it to capture additional access dimensions. We applied the extended method to the Portuguese hospital health care sector in a case study, and compared its results with those obtained with the KD2SFCA method. Our method was able to improve the identification of the less empowered populations and discovered that they represent 8.1% of the total population, instead of 4.6%, and reside in sixteen of the eighteen Portuguese districts, instead of in thirteen, as identified by the original KD2SFCA method. By improving the KD2SFCA method for the identification of the less empowered populations, our method can be a first step in an endeavor to identify opportunities to increase the health care supply or to redistribute supply resources, with the objective of increasing the access of those deprived populations.
Locating Household Profiles in a Polycentric Region to Refine the Inputs to an Agent-Based Model of Residential Mobility
Authors: Fontaine Corentin M , Rounsevell Mark D A , Barbette Anne-Christelle
Published: January 2014

In this paper we present a method to analyse data from observed population statistics in order to create a stylised location typology based on household profiles (microgeographic level). The household profiles are used to inform the development of rules for an agent-based model of residential population mobility. The method is demonstrated with the 2001 Population Census data for East Anglia, UK. Household profiles are derived from a principal components analysis to reduce dimensionality in the census data combined with a cluster analysis to aggregate the observations. We test whether a range of household archetypes that link specific locations to specific profiles can be identified simultaneously at both mesogeographic and macrogeographic levels. Results reaffirm conventional archetypes: Single people concentrate in city centres, families mainly locate in the suburbs and periurban areas, and retirees are more prevalent in the suburbs and close to the coast. Surprisingly, however, there is a clear distinction between locations with cohabiting couples (located at the fringe of the periurban areas) and locations with married couples (located in the countryside). The observed spatial distributions reveal different location choices between different household profiles. Identification of these household profiles supports the development of residential mobility models that may be used to explore regional and local planning issues with respect to future population projections and environmental change.
How Urban Structure Constrains Sustainable Mobility Choices: Comparison of Copenhagen and Oporto
Authors: Silva Cecília , Reis José Pedro , Pinho Paulo
Published: January 2014

Urban passenger mobility has undergone significant changes over the past few decades with travel patterns becoming increasingly more complex and difficult to predict and manage. There is an extensive discussion in the literature on the interaction of land use and transport and of their combined influence on mobility patterns. However, this vast but somehow disarticulated research field has been, so far, unable to build consensus. There is clearly a need for further research in order to shed light on the intricate web of forces acting on urban structure and travel behaviour to encourage practical implementation of integrated land-use and transport policies. In this paper we discuss how different metropolitan structures constrain mobility choices made available to their inhabitants. The structural accessibility layer was used to analyze the current land-use and transport conditions provided by two distinct metropolitan areas—Greater Copenhagen and Greater Oporto. Urban structure is regarded here as an enabler of travel choices, and its role in mobility management is discussed under this perspective, looking not at how land-use and transport policies can be used to influence travel behaviour but highlighting that these policies are crucial for providing baseline conditions for sustainable travel choices and have a role in constraining unsustainable ones. This analysis reveals the sustainability of mobility choices made available by each urban structure analyzed. Comparison of potential mobility (enabled by urban structure) with actual mobility choices reveals the role of urban structure and of urban planning in mobility management, highlighting its role in enabling desired, and constraining undesired, travel choices.
The Prospects and Problems of Integrating Sketch Maps with Geographic Information Systems to Understand Environmental Perception: A Case Study of Mapping Youth Fear in Los Angeles Gang Neighborhoods
Authors: Curtis Jacqueline W , Shiau Ellen , Lowery Bryce , Sloane David , Hennigan Karen , Curtis Andrew
Published: January 2014

How people feel about places matters, especially in their neighborhood. It matters for their health, the health of their children, and their social cohesion and use of local resources. A growing body of research in public health, planning, psychology, and sociology bears out this point. Recently, a new methodological tack has been taken to find out how people feel about places. The sketch map, a once popular tool of behavioral geographers and environmental psychologists to understand how people perceive the structural aspects of places, is now being used in concert with geographic information systems (GIS) to capture and spatially analyze the emotional side of urban environmental perception. This confluence is generating exciting prospects for what we can learn about the characteristics of the urban environment that elicit emotion. However, due to the uncritical way this approach has been employed to date, excitement about the prospects must be tempered by the acknowledgement of its potential problems. In this paper we review the extant research on integrating sketch maps with GIS and then employ a case study of mapping youth fear in Los Angeles gang neighborhoods to demonstrate these prospects and the problems, particularly in the areas of (1) representation of environmental perception in GIS and (2) spatial analysis of these data.
An Approach for Examining Alternatives Attributable to Locational Uncertainty
Authors: Murray Alan T , Wei Ran , Grubesic Tony H
Published: January 2014

The in situ effects of planning and policy often go unnoticed, but their impacts are broad ranging, influencing the social, cultural, economic, and environmental fabric of a community every day. Challenges to planning and policy processes include an enormous range of uncertainties, obfuscating our understanding of an issue and making positive change more difficult to achieve. In this paper we review uncertainty in the context of planning and policy with the intent of illustrating how approaches based on certainty are actually less than definitive. Empirical results derived for three case studies are used to characterize the potential impacts of locational uncertainty on the planning and policy-development process. Two things are evident from the presented results. First, it is possible to conceive of planning models that explicitly account for inherent uncertainties. Second, uncertainty impacts both aggregate findings as well as spatial configuration, but uncertainty can be mitigated, allowing planners, decision makers, government officials, and the public the flexibility to work within a probabilistic continuum that characterizes what is known and unknown. This paper is noteworthy because it illustrates the impacts of locational uncertainty propagating through planning and policy analysis, and provides quantifiable evidence of its significance.
PROTEIN DISULFIDE ISOMERASE LIKE 5-1is a susceptibility factor to plant viruses
Authors: Yang Ping , Lüpken Thomas , Habekuss Antje , Hensel Goetz , Steuernagel Burkhard , Kilian Benjamin , Ariyadasa Ruvini , Himmelbach Axel , Kumlehn Jochen , Scholz Uwe , Ordon Frank , Stein Nils
Published: January 2014

Significance

This work describes a susceptibility factor to plant viruses that belongs to the conservedPROTEIN DISULFIDE ISOMERASE(PDI) gene family. We show that loss-of-functionHvPDIL5-1alleles at the recessiveRESISTANCE TO YELLOW MOSAIC DISEASE 11 (rym11)resistance locus confer broad-spectrum resistance to multiple strains of Bymoviruses and could therefore play a central role in durable virus resistance breeding in barley. The geographic distribution of functional alleles ofrym11in East Asia suggests adaptive selection for resistance in this region. Orthologues ofHvPDIL5-1or related members of thePDIgene family potentially provide susceptibility factors to viruses across animal and plant kingdoms.
A bacteriophage transcription regulator inhibits bacterial transcription initiation by σ-factor displacement
Authors: Liu Bing , Shadrin Andrey , Sheppard Carol , Mekler Vladimir , Xu Yingqi , Severinov Konstantin , Matthews Steve , Wigneshweraraj Sivaramesh
Published: January 2014

Bacteriophages (phages) appropriate essential processes of bacterial hosts to benefit their own development. The multisubunit bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAp) enzyme, which catalyses DNA transcription, is targeted by phage-encoded transcription regulators that selectively modulate its activity. Here, we describe the structural and mechanistic basis for the inhibition of bacterial RNAp by the transcription regulator P7 encoded by Xanthomonas oryzae phage Xp10. We reveal that P7 uses a two-step mechanism to simultaneously interact with the catalytic β and β’ subunits of the bacterial RNAp and inhibits transcription initiation by inducing the displacement of the σ70-factor on initial engagement of RNAp with promoter DNA. The new mode of interaction with and inhibition mechanism of bacterial RNAp by P7 underscore the remarkable variety of mechanisms evolved by phages to interfere with host transcription.
Enzyme-inducing Anticonvulsants Increase Plasma Clearance of Dexmedetomidine
Authors: Flexman Alana M. , Wong Harvey , Riggs K. Wayne , Shih Tina , Garcia Paul A. , Vacas Susana , Talke Pekka O.
Published: January 2014

Background:

Dexmedetomidine is useful during mapping of epileptic foci as it facilitates electrocorticography unlike most other anesthetic agents. Patients with seizure disorders taking enzyme-inducing anticonvulsants appear to be resistant to its sedative effects. The objective of the study was to compare the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of dexmedetomidine in healthy volunteers with volunteers with seizure disorders receiving enzyme-inducing anticonvulsant medications.

Methods:

Dexmedetomidine was administered using a step-wise, computer-controlled infusion to healthy volunteers (n = 8) and volunteers with seizure disorders (n = 8) taking phenytoin or carbamazapine. Sedation and dexmedetomidine plasma levels were assessed at baseline, during the infusion steps, and after discontinuation of the infusion. Sedation was assessed by using the Observer’s Assessment of Alertness/Sedation Scale, Ramsay Sedation Scale, and Visual Analog Scale and processed electroencephalography (entropy) monitoring. Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed on both groups, and differences between groups were determined using the standard two-stage approach.

Results:

A two-compartment model was fit to dexmedetomidine concentration–time data. Dexmedetomidine plasma clearance was 43% higher in the seizure group compared with the control group (42.7 vs. 29.9 l/h; P = 0.007). In contrast, distributional clearance and the volume of distribution of the central and peripheral compartments were similar between the groups. No difference in sedation was detected between the two groups during a controlled range of target plasma concentrations.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates that subjects with seizure disorders taking enzyme-inducing anticonvulsant medications have an increased plasma clearance of dexmedetomidine as compared with healthy control subjects.
Chryseobacterium
aahli sp. nov., isolated from lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and brown trout (Salmo trutta), and emended descriptions of Chryseobacterium ginsenosidimutans and Chryseobacterium gregarium
Authors: Loch Thomas P. , Faisal Mohamed
Published: January 2014

Two strains (T68T and T62) of a Gram-reaction-negative, yellow-pigmented bacterium containing flexirubin-type pigments were recovered from the kidney of a cultured lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and necrotic fins of a brown trout (Salmo trutta) during disease surveillance in 2009. Both isolates possessed catalase and cytochrome oxidase activities and degraded multiple substrates (e.g. gelatin, casein, elastin and Tweens 20 and 80). The mean DNA G+C content of strain T68T was 34.1 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated that strains T68T and T62 had nearly identical sequences (≥99 % similarity) and placed the bacterium within the genus

Chryseobacterium

, where

Chryseobacterium ginsenosidimutans

THG 15T (97.8 %),

C. gregarium

DSM 19109T (97.7 %) and

C. soldanellicola

PSD1-4T (97.6 %) were its closest relatives. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses using neighbour-joining, maximum-parsimony and Bayesian methodologies demonstrated that strains T68T and T62 formed a well-supported clade (bootstrap values of 100 and 97 %; posterior probability 0.99) that was distinct from other species of the genus

Chryseobacterium

. The major fatty acids of strains T68T and T62 were characteristic of the genus

Chryseobacterium

and included iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c), iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, C16 : 0 and C16 : 0 3-OH. The mean DNA–DNA relatedness of strain T68T to

C. ginsenosidimutans

JCM 16719T and

C. gregarium

LMG 24952T was 24 and 21 %, respectively. Based on the results from our polyphasic characterization, strains T68T and T62 represent a novel species of the genus

Chryseobacterium

, for which the name Chryseobacterium aahli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is T68T ( = LMG 27338T = ATCC BAA-2540T). Emended descriptions of

Chryseobacterium ginsenosidimutans

and

Chryseobacterium gregarium

are also proposed.
Sulfurisoma sediminicola gen. nov., sp. nov., a facultative autotroph isolated from a freshwater lake
Authors: Kojima Hisaya , Fukui Manabu
Published: January 2014

A novel facultatively autotrophic bacterium, strain BSN1T was isolated from sediment of a freshwater lake in Japan. The cells were rod-shaped, motile and Gram-stain-negative. As sole energy sources for autotrophic growth, the strain oxidized thiosulfate, elemental sulfur and hydrogen. Strain BSN1T was a facultative anaerobe utilizing nitrate as an electron acceptor. Growth was observed at temperatures lower than 34 °C, and the optimum growth was observed at 30–32 °C. The range of pH for growth was pH 6.8–8.8, and the optimum pH was pH 7.8–8.1. The optimum growth of the isolate occurred at concentrations of NaCl less than 50 mM. The G+C content of genomic DNA was 67 mol%. The major component in the fatty acid profile of strain BSN1T grown on fumarate was summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the strain was a member of the class

Betaproteobacteria

, and it showed the highest sequence similarity with

Georgfuchsia toluolica

G5G6T (96.2 %). Phylogenetic analyses were also performed on genes involved in sulfur oxidation. On the basis of its phylogenetic and phenotypic properties, strain BSN1T ( = DSM 26916T = NBRC 109412T) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of a novel genus, Sulfurisoma sediminicola gen. nov., sp. nov.
Characterization of Romboutsia ilealis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from the gastro-intestinal tract of a rat, and proposal for the reclassification of five closely related members of the genus Clostridium into the genera Romboutsia gen. nov., Intestinibacter gen. nov., Terrisporobacter gen. nov. and Asaccharospora gen. nov.
Authors: Gerritsen Jacoline , Fuentes Susana , Grievink Wieke , van Niftrik Laura , Tindall Brian J. , Timmerman Harro M. , Rijkers Ger T. , Smidt Hauke
Published: January 2014

A Gram-positive staining, rod-shaped, non-motile, spore-forming obligately anaerobic bacterium, designated CRIBT, was isolated from the gastro-intestinal tract of a rat and characterized. The major cellular fatty acids of strain CRIBTwere saturated and unsaturated straight-chain C12–C19fatty acids, with C16 : 0being the predominant fatty acid. The polar lipid profile comprised six glycolipids, four phospholipids and one lipid that did not stain with any of the specific spray reagents used. The only quinone was MK-6. The predominating cell-wall sugars were glucose and galactose. The peptidoglycan type of strain CRIBTwas A1σ lanthionine-direct. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain CRIBTwas 28.1 mol%. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, strain CRIBTwas most closely related to a number of species of the genusClostridium, includingClostridium lituseburense(97.2 %),Clostridium glycolicum(96.2 %),Clostridium mayombei(96.2 %),Clostridium bartlettii(96.0 %) andClostridium irregulare(95.5 %). All these species show very low 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (<85 %) to the type strain ofClostridium butyricum, the type species of the genusClostridium. DNA–DNA hybridization with closely related reference strains indicated reassociation values below 32 %. On the basis of phenotypic and genetic studies, a novel genus,Romboutsiagen. nov., is proposed. The novel isolate CRIBT( = DSM 25109T = NIZO 4048T) is proposed as the type strain of the type species,Romboutsia ilealisgen. nov., sp. nov., of the proposed novel genus. It is proposed thatC. lituseburenseis transferred to this genus asRomboutsia lituseburensiscomb. nov. Furthermore, the reclassification into novel genera is proposed forC. bartlettii, asIntestinibacter bartlettiigen. nov., comb. nov. (type species of the genus),C. glycolicum, asTerrisporobacter glycolicusgen. nov., comb. nov. (type species of the genus),C. mayombei, asTerrisporobacter mayombeigen. nov., comb. nov., andC. irregulare, asAsaccharospora irregularisgen. nov., comb. nov. (type species of the genus), on the basis of additional data collected in this study. In addition, an emendation of the speciesPeptostreptococcus anaerobiusand the orderEubacterialesis provided.
Sulfate-dependent acetate oxidation under extremely natron-alkaline conditions by syntrophic associations from hypersaline soda lakes
Authors: Sorokin Dimitry Y. , Abbas Ben , Tourova Tatjana P. , Bumazhkin Boris K. , Kolganova Tatjana V. , Muyzer Gerard
Published: January 2014

So far, anaerobic sulfate-dependent acetate oxidation at high pH has only been demonstrated for a low-salt-tolerant syntrophic association of a clostridium ‘CandidatusContubernalis alkalaceticum’ and its hydrogenotrophic sulfate-reducing partnerDesulfonatronum cooperativum. Anaerobic enrichments at pH 10 inoculated with sediments from hypersaline soda lakes of the Kulunda Steppe (Altai, Russia) demonstrated the possibility of sulfate-dependent acetate oxidation at much higher salt concentrations (up to 3.5 M total Na+). The most salt-tolerant purified cultures contained two major components apparently working in syntrophy. The primary acetate-fermenting component was identified as a member of the orderClostridialesforming, together with ‘Ca.Contubernalis alkalaceticum’, an independent branch within the familySyntrophomonadaceae. A provisional name, ‘Ca.Syntrophonatronum acetioxidans’, is suggested for the novel haloalkaliphilic clostridium. Two phylotypes of extremely haloalkaliphilic sulfate-reducing bacteria of the genusDesulfonatronospirawere identified as sulfate-reducing partners in the acetate-oxidizing cultures under extreme salinity. The dominant phylotype differed from the two species ofDesulfonatronospiradescribed so far, whilst a minor component belonged toDesulfonatronumthiodismutans. The results proved that, contrary to previous beliefs, sulfate-dependent acetate oxidation is possible, albeit very slowly, in nearly saturated soda brines.
Fast Principal Component Analysis of Large-Scale Genome-Wide Data
Authors: Abraham Gad , Inouye Michael
Published: January 2014

Principal component analysis (PCA) is routinely used to analyze genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, for detecting population structure and potential outliers. However, the size of SNP datasets has increased immensely in recent years and PCA of large datasets has become a time consuming task. We have developedflashpca, a highly efficient PCA implementation based on randomized algorithms, which delivers identical accuracy in extracting the top principal components compared with existing tools, in substantially less time. We demonstrate the utility offlashpcaon both HapMap3 and on a large Immunochip dataset. For the latter,flashpcaperformed PCA of 15,000 individuals up to 125 times faster than existing tools, with identical results, and PCA of 150,000 individuals usingflashpcacompleted in 4 hours. The increasing size of SNP datasets will make tools such asflashpcaessential as traditional approaches will not adequately scale. This approach will also help to scale other applications that leverage PCA or eigen-decomposition to substantially larger datasets.