bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Performance analysis of BDS for regional services with consideration on weighted factors
Authors: Zhang Pengfei , Xu Chengdong , Cai Xi , Li He
Published: June 2015

At the current stage, the service performance analysis of BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS) can provide important references for BDS applications. Accuracy, integrity, availability, and continuity are important indicators of the service capability of the satellite navigation system. In this paper, the relationships among them are analyzed firstly. Secondly, for describing accuracy, position dilution of precision (PDOP) is selected and the quantitative calculation formulas of its availability and continuity are established. Then PDOP of BDS in Asia-Pacific region is simulated and analyzed, the results show that the average availability and continuity of PDOP in the service area during 24 h are up to 99.60% and 0.9947/h, respectively. Thirdly, this paper has a brief introduction to weighted least square algorithm of receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) and analyzes the relationships among the probability of false alert, the probability of missed detection, threshold, the minimum detectable error and the number of visible satellites. The threshold and the minimum detectable error will increase with the increasing number of visible satellites when given the false alert probability and missed detection probability, respectively. Finally, the quantitative calculation formula of RAIM availability and continuity is presented and RAIM availability and continuity are simulated and analyzed as well, the results show that the average availability and continuity in the service area are up to 99.95% and 0.9984/h, respectively.
Autoimmune markers and autoimmune disorders in patients with postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
Authors: Blitshteyn S
Published: June 2015

Objective

In recent years, there have been a number of studies suggesting that POTS may have an autoimmune etiology. This study examined whether the prevalence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), other markers of autoimmunity and co-morbid autoimmune disorders is higher in patients with POTS than in the general population.

Methods and results

Medical records of 100 consecutive patients with POTS evaluated at our clinic were reviewed. In this cohort (90% females, mean age 32, range 13–54 years), 25% had positive ANA, 7% had at least one positive aPL antibody and 31% had markers of autoimmunity. When compared to the general population, patients with POTS had a higher prevalence of ANA (25% vs. 16%, OR 1.8, CI 1.1–2.8, p < 0.05), aPL antibody (7% vs. 1%, OR 7.5, CI 3.4–16.1, p < 0.001) and co-morbid autoimmune disorders (20% vs. highest estimated 9.4%, OR 2.4, CI 1.5–3.9, p < 0.001). The most prevalent autoimmune disorder was Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (11% vs. up to 2%, OR 6.1, CI 3.2–11.3, p < 0.001), followed by RA (4% vs. up to 1%, OR 4.1, CI 1.5–11.2, p < 0.01) and SLE (2% vs. up to 0.12%, OR 17, CI 4.1–69.7, p < 0.001). The prevalence of CVID was very high (2% vs. 0.004%, OR 510.2, CI 92.4–2817.8, p < 0.001), while celiac disease showed a nonsignificant trend toward increased prevalence.

Conclusion

Patients with POTS have a higher prevalence of autoimmune markers and co-morbid autoimmune disorders than the general population. One in four patients have positive ANA, almost one in three have some type of autoimmune marker, one in five have a co-morbid autoimmune disorder, and one in nine have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Lupus cystitis in Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: risk factors and clinical outcomes
Authors: Koh J H , Lee J , Jung S M , Ju J H , Park S-H , Kim H-Y , Kwok S-K
Published: June 2015

This study was performed to investigate the clinical characteristics of lupus cystitis and determine the risk factors and clinical outcomes of lupus cystitis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We retrospectively reviewed 1064 patients at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul, Korea, from 1998 to 2013. Twenty-four patients had lupus cystitis. Lupus cystitis was defined as unexplained ureteritis and/or cystitis as detected by imaging studies, cystoscopy, or bladder histopathology without urinary microorganisms or stones. Three-fourths of patients with lupus cystitis had concurrent lupus mesenteric vasculitis (LMV). The initial symptoms were gastrointestinal in nature for most patients (79.2%). High-dose methylprednisolone was initially administered to most patients (91.7%) with lupus cystitis. Two patients (8.3%) died of urinary tract infections. Sixty-five age- and sex-matched patients with SLE who were admitted with other manifestations were included as the control group. Patients with lupus cystitis showed a lower C3 level ( p = 0.031), higher SLE Disease Activity Index score ( p = 0.006), and higher ESR ( p = 0.05) upon admission; more frequently had a history of LMV prior to admission ( p < 0.001); and less frequently had a history of neuropsychiatric lupus ( p = 0.031) than did patients with SLE but without lupus cystitis. The occurrence of lupus cystitis was associated with a history of LMV (OR, 21.794; 95% CI, 4.061–116.963). The median follow-up period was 3.4 years, and the cumulative one-year mortality rate was 20%. Complications developed in 33.3% of patients with lupus cystitis and were related to survival (log-rank p = 0.021). Our results suggest that the possibility of lupus cystitis should be considered when a patient with SLE and history of LMV presents with gastrointestinal symptoms or lower urinary tract symptoms. Development of complications in patients with lupus cystitis can be fatal. Thus, intensive treatment and follow-up are needed, especially in the presence of complications.
PRNP variants in goats reduce sensitivity of detection of PrPSc by immunoassay
Authors: Madsen-Bouterse Sally A. , Schneider David A. , Dassanayake Rohana P. , Truscott Thomas C. , Zhuang Dongyue , Kumpula-McWhirter Nancy , O’Rourke Katherine I.
Published: June 2015

Diagnostic analyses often employ single antibody systems but are potentially limited by epitope sequence variation. United States regulatory testing for scrapie primarily uses antibody F99/97.6.1 for immunohistochemistry (IHC) of the prion protein associated with scrapie (PrPSc). Whereas the epitope bound by F99/97.6.1 is highly conserved in sheep, a polymorphism in caprine PRNP results in a glutamine to lysine change at codon 222 and affects PrP detection. This study evaluated the performance of immunoassays (Western blot and IHC) in the presence of PRNP polymorphisms observed in U.S. goat populations. Effects of naturally occurring caprine prion protein alterations at codons 142, 143, 146, 154, or 222 were first evaluated using bacterially expressed recombinant normal cellular prion protein (rec-PrPC) and commercially available antibodies (F99/97.6.1, F89/160.1.5, L42, and SAF84). Detection of rec-PrPC using F89/160.1.5 was reduced by alterations at 142 and 143; this was also observed in brain PrPC from goats expressing these PRNP variants. Effect of allelic variation at 222 was confirmed by Western blot with F99/97.6.1. No differences were observed with L42 or SAF84. IHC of brain demonstrated reduced signal with F89/160.1.5 in animals heterozygous at 143. Decreasing F89/160.1.5 titers were used to demonstrate the impact of PrPSc immunolabeling in preclinical goats and as a surrogate for F99/97.6.1 detection in 222 variants. In the absence of epitope-relevant knowledge of individual goat PRNP, a multi-antibody approach or an antibody that binds an invariant site may provide a more robust immunoassay of PrPSc in classical scrapie, thus reducing the likelihood of false-negative results due to allelic variation.
Use of oral trazodone for sedation in cats: a pilot study
Authors: Orlando Jillian M , Case Beth C , Thomson Andrea E , Griffith Emily , Sherman Barbara L
Published: June 2015

Objectives

Resistance to transportation and stressful veterinary visits are major causes for a decrease in feline veterinary care. Few options exist for oral sedatives to reduce cats’ anxiety prior to veterinary visits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral trazodone for use as a single dose agent for sedation in cats.

Methods

Six laboratory cats were given single 50, 75 and 100 mg doses of trazodone and placebo. Trazodone 100 mg and placebo treatments were randomized. Pre- and post-study laboratory values and physical examinations were compared. During each 4 h period post-treatment, sedation was measured via accelerometers and video observations scored by an observer blinded to treatment. Examinations were performed on the cats 90 mins after treatment, and their behavioral responses scored by the same blinded observer.

Results

No adverse effects or changes in physical examinations or laboratory values were detected as a result of trazodone administration. Accelerometer data showed trazodone 50, 75 and 100 mg caused sedation as measured by activity reduction (83%, 46% and 66%, respectively). In contrast, there was a 14% activity increase after placebo. There was a significant reduction in video observation scores when cats were given trazodone 100 mg compared with placebo. Mean latency to peak sedation for trazodone 100 mg occurred at 2 h. Scores for behavioral response to examination, performed at 90 mins post-treatment, were not significantly different between cats receiving trazodone 100 mg and placebo.

Conclusions and relevance

Trazodone was well tolerated in this population of cats and caused appreciable sedation at all doses. Behavior during examination was not significantly different when cats received trazodone 100 mg compared with placebo. Further studies are recommended to investigate the use of oral trazodone in cats for the purpose of decreasing anxiety assocaited with transportation and examination.
Indoor environmental quality of high occupancy dormitory buildings in winter in Shanghai, China
Authors: Zhang Ningbo , Kang Yanming , Zhong Ke , Liu Jiaping
Published: June 2015

Maintaining acceptable air quality and providing adequate thermal comfort are conflicting goals for ventilation requirements in crowded, unheated rooms in winter. The former requires a maximal ventilation rate for indoor pollutant removal, but the latter prefers a minimal rate. To understand the indoor thermal environment in winter in the climatic zone that features hot summer and cold winter, the indoor environmental quality in three selected rooms of university dormitory buildings with high occupancy density in Shanghai, China was monitored simultaneously and continuously from December 2010 to January 2011. The results show that, without space heating equipment in winter, the quality of indoor thermal environment in the student dormitory was poor, and that the indoor temperature ranges of the sampling rooms were completely out of the thermal comfort zone as defined by ASHRAE. To maintain an endurable thermal environment, the occupants had to close the windows to reduce the heat loss, which resulted in elevated indoor CO2 concentrations during sleeping hours due to a lack of ventilation. The indoor CO2 levels exceeding 2000 ppm (4000 mg/m3) were observed in several occasions. To improve the indoor air environment, central heating systems or individual heating units should be provided for dormitory buildings in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Sufficiency and freedom in Locke’s theory of property
Authors: Layman Daniel M.
Published: June 2015

It is traditional to ascribe to Locke the view that every person who acquires natural property rights by labouring on resources is obligated to leave sufficient resources for everyone else. But during the last several decades, a number of authors have contributed to a compelling textual case against this reading. Nevertheless, Locke clearly indicates that there is something wrong with distributions in which some suffer while others thrive. But if he does not endorse the traditional proviso, what exactly is the problem? In this paper, I offer a solution to this puzzle. I argue that according to Locke, once people use their natural rights to acquire large properties, many individuals are unable to enjoy the material and moral wellbeing, or “preservation,” that is the end of natural law. For even if such large properties pose no problem for material preservation, they foster arbitrary power that offends against moral preservation.
Time Zones, Game Start Times, and Team Performance
Authors: Nutting Andrew W. , Price Joseph
Published: June 2015

Research has found that, controlling for team quality, National Basketball Association visiting teams win more often when playing to the east of their home time zones and less often when playing to the west. We reaffirm this finding for 1991-2002. We find that only these seasons’ day games, and not their far more frequent night games, featured a significant relationship between time zone and visiting team win probability. We hypothesize that some of these day-game effects were biological in origin. The 2002-2013 seasons featured no significant relationship between time zones and visiting team win probability for either day or night games.
The impact of culturally responsive self-management interventions on health outcomes for minority populations: A systematic review
Authors: Ehrlich Carolyn , Kendall Elizabeth , Parekh Sanjoti , Walters Caroline
Published: May 2015

Objectives

The health of people from Indigenous and ethnic minorities is poorer than the remainder of the population. Frequently, Westernized health systems respond by introducing self-management interventions to improve chronic illness health outcomes. The aim of this study was to answer the research question: “Can self-management programs that have been adapted or modified still be effective for ethnic minority and Indigenous populations?”

Methods

A systematic review across four databases was conducted.

Results

Twenty-three publications met the inclusion criteria. As the studies were heterogeneous, meta-analysis was not possible. Overall, interventions resulted in more positive health outcomes than usual care, but findings were inconsistent.

Discussion

We argue that rather than focusing on individual skills, knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward self-management, it may be more important to explore the structures and processes that underpin the sharing of information and skills within clinical or education encounters. Given that self-management is a Western cultural construct, creating empathic and responsive systems might be more effective for improving health of Indigenous and ethnic minority groups rather than relying predominantly on individual skill development.
Sports Organizations in a New Wave of Mediatization
Authors: Frandsen Kirsten
Published: June 2015

This article explores the transforming effects of digital media in sports organizations. The approach to this is an analytical focus on a wide range of sports, which are examined from an institutional and organizational approach to mediatization theory. On the basis of an empirical study of governing sports organizations (national sports federations), it is demonstrated that digital media are a major concern across organizations and that a new wave of mediatization is taking place in sports. Still, many organizations struggle with this and currently find themselves in a state of flux, trying to involve employees, volunteers, and external partners with communication competencies in their activities in various ways, on many levels, and for many varying purposes. Consequently, one of the significant effects of digital media is a dispersion of communication involving more people and concurrent increase in internal complexity in many organizations. Mediatization is therefore a process that is very much in operation at many levels and at various speeds, but it also takes organizations in diverse directions. Using Thornton and Ocasio’s interinstitutional approach and concept of institutional logics, it is argued and demonstrated that this is because these sports organizations have other relevant and powerful institutional partners or organizations that need to be considered in the process as well.
Women Training to Coach a Men’s Sport
Authors: Fielding-Lloyd Beth , Mean Lindsey
Published: June 2015

Despite increasing female participation in English football (aka soccer), the sport remains rooted in the values and discursive practices of orthodox masculinity. This is exemplified by the English Football Association (FA), which has been criticized for its ineffective responses to addressing the inclusion and progression of women as players and workers within the organization. Female membership in male-dominated organizations is not readily achieved, given the dominance of masculinist discourses and the risks of overtly challenging these. In this study, we explored the discursive management of gendered and/or footballing identities from interviews with participants in an English regional FA’s women-only football coach education program. All of the participants described the peripheral positioning of women in English football. Analysis identified evidence of both collaboration with and resistance to the dominant masculinist discourses in the accounts of their experiences in football, while also reproducing the most valued footballing identities and knowledge as male. We connect this to the complexities of negotiating and managing gendered identities for women in male-dominated organizations. All of the participants described the value and benefits of women-only coach education and the majority noted they would prefer women-only coach education in future.
Inhaled therapy in cystic fibrosis: agents, devices and regimens
Authors: Agent Penny , Parrott Helen
Published: June 2015

Key points

There have been significant advances in both inhalation medicines and delivery devices with “intelligent nebulisers” and “dry-powder inhalers” becoming commonplace in CF care.

Inhaled medicines generate high levels of a drug within the airways with limited systemic effects, offering safe and convenient antibiotic and mucolytic therapy for individuals with CF.

Variations in adherence are not unique to CF; however, treatment burden is high and therefore fast inhaled drug delivery devices may assist individuals in completing the prescribed treatment regimes.

Prescribers of inhaled medicines have a responsibility to consider, in addition to efficacy, the appropriated drug/device combination for each individual in order to promote adherence and achieve the desired clinical benefit.

The recognised mainstay daily treatments for cystic fibrosis (CF) focus on inhaled and oral medications, airway clearance and optimised nutrition. This review discusses recent advances in inhaled therapies for the management of CF, including devices such as intelligent nebulisers, drug formulations and supporting evidence for inhaled antibiotics (for the management of chronicPseudomonas aeruginosa) and muco-active drugs. We include practical advice for clinicians regarding the optimisation of inhalation technique and education. The influence of adherence on the use of inhaled therapies in CF is also reviewed.

Educational aims

To inform readers about the history and progression of inhaled therapies for people with CF with reference to the literature supporting current practice.

To highlight the factors that may impact the success of inhaled therapies, including those which are device specific such as drug deposition and those which influence adherence.
A Facile One-Pot Synthesis of Au/Cu2O Nanocomposites for Nonenzymatic Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide
Authors: Chen Ting , Tian Liangliang , Chen Yuan , Liu Bitao , Zhang Jin
Published: June 2015

Au/Cu2O nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by a facile one-pot redox reaction without additional reducing agent under room temperature. The morphologies and structures of the as-prepared products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrocatalytic performance of Au/Cu2O nanocomposites towards hydrogen peroxide was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). The prepared Au/Cu2O nanocomposite electrode showed a wide linear range from 25 to 11.2 mM (R = 0.9989) with a low detection limit of 1.05 μM (S/N = 3) and high sensitivity of 292.89 mA mM−1 cm−2. The enhanced performance for H2O2 detection can be attributed to the introduction of Au and the synergistic effect between Au and Cu2O. It is demonstrated that the Au/Cu2O nanocomposites material could be a promising candidate for H2O2 detection.
Characterization of bursa subacromialis-derived mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: Steinert Andre F. , Kunz Manuela , Prager Patrick , Göbel Sascha , Klein-Hitpass Ludger , Ebert Regina , Nöth Ulrich , Jakob Franz , Gohlke Frank
Published: June 2015

Introduction

The bursa subacromialis (BS) provides the gliding mechanism of the shoulder and regenerates itself after surgical removal. Therefore, we explored the presence of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) within the human adult BS tissue and characterized the BS cells compared to MSCs from bone marrow (BMSCs) on a molecular level.

Methods

BS cells were isolated by collagenase digest from BS tissues derived from patients with degenerative rotator cuff tears, and BMSCs were recovered by adherent culture from bone-marrow of patients with osteoarthritis of the hip. BS cells and BMSCs were compared upon their potential to proliferate and differentiate along chondrogenic, osteogenic and adipogenic lineages under specific culture conditions. Expression profiles of markers associated with mesenchymal phenotypes were comparatively evaluated by flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and whole genome array analyses.

Results

BS cells and BMSCs appeared mainly fibroblastic and revealed almost similar surface antigen expression profiles, which was CD44+, CD73+, CD90+, CD105+, CD106+, STRO-1+, CD14−, CD31−, CD34−, CD45−, CD144−. Array analyses revealed 1969 genes upregulated and 1184 genes downregulated in BS cells vs. BMSCs, indicating a high level of transcriptome similarity. After 3 weeks of differentiation culture, BS cells and BMSCs showed a similar strong chondrogenic, adipogenic and osteogenic potential, as shown by histological, immunohistochemical and RT-PCR analyses in contrast to the respective negative controls.

Conclusions

Our in vitro characterizations show that BS cells fulfill all characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells, and therefore merit further attention for the development of improved therapies for various shoulder pathologies.
President's Page
Authors: Miller Edith
Published: June 2015

This is the last President's Page I'll write during my three-year term as Director at large. In previous columns, I have commented on the “Great Crew Change” and the changing demographics of SEG and have advocated for diversity of representation. This is a word, a concept, that still triggers an automatic recoil response for many people. They think it mostly has to do with public image or equal opportunity and therefore has no real-world bearing on measurable positive outcomes. Likely this is sometimes the case; however, I do not advocate diversity for its own sake. There is a growing body of empirical evidence, it would seem, that offers to support the thesis that diversity is good and that positive outcomes related to diversity are indeed measurable.
Isomers of Benzene on Its Global Network of Reaction Pathways
Authors: Tokoyama Hiroaki , Yamakado Hideo , Maeda Satoshi , Ohno Koichi
Published: May 2015

Isomers of benzene (C6H6) have been searched by quantum chemical calculations using the GRRM/SCC-DFTB program. Further optimization at the level of B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) gave 2004 equilibrium structures (EQ). Obtained EQs were assigned as 212 valence isomers, 928 nonvalence isomers, 798 two-component clusters, and 66 three-component clusters. Energies of EQs range from the most stable isomer of benzene to the highest EQ at 1237 kJ mol−1. The low energy region below 380 kJ mol−1 only includes valence isomers. Valence isomers are distributed between 0 and 807 kJ mol−1, while nonvalence isomers are located in the range of 380–1180 kJ mol−1. All of the experimentally known 30 isomers of benzene were searched as valence isomers by the ADDF/SCC-DFTB method. Formally hypervalent molecules including pentacoordinated carbon atoms were discovered among nonvalence isomers.
Mesoporous and Macroporous Alumina-Supported Nickel Adsorbents for Adsorptive Desulphurization of Commercial Diesel
Authors: Zheng S. , Wang W.S. , Wang F. , Zhang Z.F.
Published: June 2015

High-performance X%NiOx/Al2O3 adsorbents were prepared using mesoporous and macroporous alumina for adsorptive desulphurization (ADS) of commercial diesel (total sulphur content, 150 ppmw) at atmospheric pressure. Among the synthesized adsorbents, the reduced mesoporous and macroporous 20%NiOx/Al2O3 (Re20%NiOx/Al2O3) presented the breakthrough capacity of 1.47 mg-S/g-sorbent with sulphur level of 10 ppmw. The ultra-deep desulphurization properties for two adsorbents were evaluated using simulated fuels. The adsorbent with macropores showed a superior desulphurization performance, and the existence of macropores remarkably increased its breakthrough capacity as well as improved the space steric hindrance effect. The adsorbents synthesized were characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms (BET), X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, temperature-programmed reduction of hydrogen, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia and Fourier transform infrared techniques. The results showed that the synthesized adsorbents were stable, contained acid sites, especially Lewis acid sites, which played an important role in ADS. Even after three cycles of regeneration, the organic sulphur-adsorption capacity of Re20%NiOx/Al2O3 was more than 80%.
Adsorption of Fluoride from Aqueous Solution on Calcined and Uncalcined Layered Double Hydroxide
Authors: Ramírez-Llamas L.A. , Leyva-Ramos R. , Jacobo-Azuara A. , Martínez-Rosales J.M. , Isaacs-Paez E.D.
Published: June 2015

The adsorption capacity of uncalcined and calcined layered double hydroxide (LDH) for fluoride removal was studied in this work. The LDH was synthesized by a co-precipitation method and calcined at various temperatures. The equilibrium data for fluoride adsorption on the LDHs were obtained in a batch adsorber, and the Freundlich isotherm model showed a better fit to the data. The LDH was chemically stable over the pH range of 5–12, but readily dissolved when the pH was below 5. The fluoride adsorption capacity of LDH decreased by raising the pH due to electrostatic interactions, and presented a maximum at 25 °C. The adsorption capacity of LDH was influenced by the calcination temperature and was enhanced by increasing the calcination temperature. The calcination destroyed the crystalline structure of the LDH, which was recovered when the calcined LDH was rehydrated in aqueous solution. The calcined LDH had a very high adsorption capacity towards fluoride.
Preparation of Molecularly Imprinted Regenerated Cellulose Composite Membranes by Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization Method for Selective Recognition of Lysozyme
Authors: Wang Chaoli , Hu Xiaoling , Guan Ping , Wu Danfeng , Yang Longfei , Du Chunbao
Published: June 2015

Novel types of polymeric membranes containing molecular recognition sites for selective recognition of lysozyme (Lyz) have been prepared using a surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization approach. The surface compositions of the regenerated cellulose (RC) membranes before and after polymerization were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, which demonstrated that the molecular imprinting layer was successfully fabricated onto the surface of RC membranes. The selective recognition of Lyz molecularly imprinted membranes (Lyz–MIMs) for Lyz was evaluated by protein adsorption penetration tests. It was found that Lyz–MIMs have excellent adsorption capacity and specific recognition for Lyz adsorption from aqueous solutions. In the presence of competitive substances, a separation factor of 23.08 was achieved. The molecularly imprinted RC composite membrane is promising for separation and purification of specific protein compositions in biosamples. In addition, it may have good prospect for enriching target protein, which requires further study.
Noise Risk Assessment in the Workplace: The Case of a Waste Selection Plant
Authors: Kaliakatsos Dimitrios , Mirabelli Giovanni , Pizzuti Teresa
Published: June 2015

This paper deals with issues related with the exposure of workers to noise pollution. The aim of the research work is to define and analyse the effects of noise pollution within the working environment. The paper presents the results of the analysis carried out for a company operating various activities of screening, sorting and recycling waste produced in the urban context. Focusing on the company context, the authors studied the operating conditions in which workers performed their activities, they established the methodologies and tools in order to carry out noise measurements and they evaluated the presence of hazardous conditions. Finally, the authors suggest different operational and structural solutions for controlling risks for health of workers and the reduction of noise emissions in the environment.
The "Hyper-Visible World" hypothesis for the dazzling colours of coral reef fish
Authors: Alonso Wladimir J.
Published: June 2015

No evolutionary explanation for the striking colouration of coral reef fish has been established to date. Here I present the "Hyper-Visible World” hypothesis, which proposes that coral reef habitats impose special conditions on the evolution of body-colour communication for mobile fish – that is, fish that roam across coral reef formations. The special conditions are: 1) the high clarity of water during daylight hours, and 2) the unpredictable pattern/ visual complexity of the coral habitat itself. The hypothesis suggests that, in a signal transmission framework, the visual exposure (signal) of mobile fish cannot be effectively reduced so as to make a difference to predator-prey interactions. This negates the possibility of effective colour-based camouflage. In contrast, the selective pressures that usually come secondary to camouflage (such as sexual, aposematic or territorial display) benefit from these same conditions, driving the evolution of the colour patterns in this environment – the conspicuousness and dazzling colour diversity that we commonly associate with coral reef fish.
Counting rank two local systems with at most one, unipotent, monodromy
Authors: Flicker Yuval Z.
Published: May 2015

The number of rank two $\overline{\Bbb{Q}}_\ell$-local systems, or $\overline{\Bbb{Q}}_\ell$-smooth sheaves, on $(X-\{u\})\otimes_{\Bbb{F}_q}\Bbb{F}$,
where $X$ is a smooth projective absolutely irreducible curve over $\Bbb{F}_q$, $\Bbb{F}$ an algebraic closure of $\Bbb{F}_q$ and
$u$ is a closed point of $X$, with principal unipotent monodromy at $u$, and fixed by ${\rm Gal}(\Bbb{F}/\Bbb{F}_q)$, is computed.
It is expressed as the trace of the Frobenius on the virtual $\overline{\Bbb{Q}}_\ell$-smooth sheaf found in the author's work with
Deligne on the moduli stack of curves with \'etale divisors of degree $M\ge 1$. This completes the work with Deligne in
rank two. This number is the same as that of representations of the fundamental group $\pi_1((X-\{u\})\otimes_{\Bbb{F}_q}\Bbb{F})$
invariant under the Frobenius ${\rm Fr}_q$ with principal unipotent monodromy at $u$, or cuspidal representations of
${\rm GL}(2)$ over the function field $F=\Bbb{F}_q(X)$ of $X$ over $\Bbb{F}_q$ with Steinberg component twisted by an unramified
character at $u$ and unramified elsewhere, trivial at the fixed id\`ele $\alpha$ of degree 1. This number is computed
in Theorem 4.1 using the trace formula evaluated at $f_u\prod_{v\not=u}\chi_{K_v}$, with an Iwahori component
$f_u=\chi_{I_u}/|I_u|$, hence also the pseudo-coefficient $\chi_{I_u}/|I_u|-2\chi_{K_u}$ of the Steinberg
representation twisted by any unramified character, at $u$. Theorem 2.1 records the trace formula for ${\rm GL}(2)$ over
the function field $F$. The proof of the trace formula of Theorem 2.1 recently appeared elsewhere. Theorem 3.1 computes,
following Drinfeld, the number of $\overline{\Bbb{Q}}_\ell$-local systems, or $\overline{\Bbb{Q}}_\ell$-smooth sheaves, on $X\otimes_{\Bbb{F}_q}\Bbb{F}$,
fixed by ${\rm Fr}_q$, namely $\overline{\Bbb{Q}}_\ell$-representations of the absolute fundamental group $\pi(X\otimes_{\Bbb{F}_q}\Bbb{F})$
invariant under the Frobenius, by counting the nowhere ramified cuspidal representations of ${\rm GL}(2)$ trivial at a fixed
id\`ele $\alpha$ of degree 1. This number is expressed as the trace of the Frobenius of a virtual $\overline{\Bbb{Q}}_\ell$-smooth
sheaf on a moduli stack. This number is obtained on evaluating the trace formula at the characteristic function
$\prod_v\chi_{K_v}$ of the maximal compact subgroup, with volume normalized by $|K_v|=1$. Section 5, based on a letter
of P. Deligne to the author dated August 8, 2012, computes the number of such objects with any unipotent monodromy,
principal or trivial, in our rank two case. Surprisingly, this number depends only on $X$ and ${\rm deg}(S)$, and not on
the degrees of the points in $S_1$.
On the Coble quartic
Authors: Grushevsky Samuel , Manni Riccardo Salvati
Published: May 2015

We obtain a short explicit expression for the universal Coble quartic whose partial derivatives give the defining
equations for the universal family of Kummer threefolds. The Coble quartic was recently determined completely in Ren,
Sam, Schrader, and Sturmfels, where (Theorem 7.1a) it was computed explicitly, as a polynomial with 372060 monomials
of bidegree $(28,4)$ in theta constants of the second order and theta functions of the second order, respectively.
Our expression is in terms of products of theta constants with characteristics corresponding to G\"opel systems, and is
a polynomial with 134 terms. Our approach is based on the beautiful geometry studied by Coble and further investigated
by Dolgachev and Ortland, and highlights the geometry and combinatorics of syzygetic octets of characteristics, the GIT
quotient for 7 points in ${\bf P}^2$, and the corresponding representations of ${\rm Sp}(6,\Bbb{F}_2)$.
One new ingredient is the relationship of G\"opel systems and Jacobian determinants of theta functions. In genus 2,
we similarly obtain a short explicit equation for the universal Kummer surface, and relate modular forms of level
two to binary invariants of six points on ${\bf P}^1$.
The circle method and bounds for L -functions---II: Subconvexity for twists of GL(3) L -functions
Authors: Munshi Ritabrata
Published: May 2015

Let $\pi$ be a ${\rm SL}(3,\Bbb{Z})$ Hecke-Maass cusp form. Let $\chi=\chi_1\chi_2$ be a Dirichlet character with $\chi_i$
primitive modulo $M_i$. Suppose $M_1$, $M_2$ are primes such that $\sqrt{M_2}M^{4\delta}<M_1<M_2M^{-3\delta}$, where
$M=M_1M_2$ and $0<\delta<1/28$. In this paper we will prove the following subconvex bound
$$
L\left({1\over 2},\pi\otimes\chi\right)\ll_{\pi,\varepsilon} M^{{3\over 4}-\delta+\varepsilon}.
$$
Stable categories of Cohen-Macaulay modules and cluster categories: Dedicated to Ragnar-Olaf Buchweitz on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday
Authors: Amiot Claire , Iyama Osamu , Reiten Idun
Published: May 2015

By Auslander's algebraic McKay correspondence, the stable category of Cohen-Macaulay modules over a simple singularity
is triangle equivalent to the $1$-cluster category of the path algebra of a Dynkin quiver (i.e., the orbit category of
the derived category by the action of the Auslander-Reiten translation). In this paper we give a systematic method to
construct a similar type of triangle equivalence between the stable category of Cohen-Macaulay modules over a Gorenstein
isolated singularity $R$ and the generalized (higher) cluster category of a finite dimensional algebra $\Lambda$. The
key role is played by a bimodule Calabi-Yau algebra, which is the higher Auslander algebra of $R$ as well as the higher
preprojective algebra of an extension of $\Lambda$. As a byproduct, we give a triangle equivalence between the stable
category of graded Cohen-Macaulay $R$-modules and the derived category of $\Lambda$. Our main results apply in particular
to a class of cyclic quotient singularities and to certain toric affine threefolds associated with dimer models.
Semiclassical completely integrable systems: long-time dynamics and observability via two-microlocal Wigner measures
Authors: Anantharaman Nalini , Fermanian-Kammerer Clotilde , Macià Fabricio
Published: May 2015

We look at the long-time behavior of solutions to a semi-classical Schr\"odinger equation on the
torus. We consider time scales which go to infinity when the semi-classical parameter goes to zero
and we associate with each time-scale the set of semi-classical measures associated with all possible
choices of initial data. On each classical invariant torus, the structure of semi-classical measures is
described in terms of two-microlocal measures, obeying explicit propagation laws.
We apply this construction in two directions. We first analyze the regularity of semi-classical measures,
and we emphasize the existence of a threshold: for time-scales below this threshold, the set of semi-classical
measures contains measures which are singular with respect to Lebesgue measure in the ``position'' variable, while
at (and beyond) the threshold, all the semi-classical measures are absolutely continuous in the ``position'' variable,
reflecting the dispersive properties of the equation. Second, the techniques of two-microlocal analysis introduced in the
paper are used to prove semiclassical observability estimates. The results apply as well to general quantum completely
integrable systems.
Complex multiplication cycles and Kudla-Rapoport divisors, II
Authors: Howard Benjamin
Published: May 2015

This paper is about the arithmetic of {\it Kudla-Rapoport divisors} on Shimura varieties of type ${\rm GU}(n-1,1)$.
In the first part of the paper we construct a toroidal compactification of N.~Kr\"amer's integral model of the
Shimura variety. This extends work of K.-W.~Lan, who constructed a compactification at unramified primes. In the
second, and main, part of the paper we use ideas of Kudla to construct Green functions for the Kudla-Rapoport divisors
on the open Shimura variety, and analyze the behavior of these functions near the boundary of the compactification.
The Green functions turn out to have logarithmic singularities along certain components of the boundary, up to log-log
error terms. Thus, by adding a prescribed linear combination of boundary components to a Kudla-Rapoport divisor one
obtains a class in the arithmetic Chow group of Burgos-Kramer-K\"uhn.
In the third and final part of the paper we compute the arithmetic intersection of each of these divisors with a cycle
of complex multiplication points. The computation is quickly reduced to the calculations of the author's earlier
work {\it Complex multiplication cycles and Kudla-Rapoport divisors}. The arithmetic intersection multiplicities
are shown to appear as Fourier coefficients of the diagonal restriction of the central derivative of a Hilbert
modular Eisenstein series.
Integrals of ψ-classes over double ramification cycles
Authors: Buryak A. , Shadrin S. , Spitz L. , Zvonkine D.
Published: May 2015

A double ramification cycle, or DR-cycle, is a codimension $g$ cycle in
the moduli space $\overline{\mathcal M}_{g,n}$ of stable curves. Roughly
speaking, given a list of integers $(a_1,\ldots,a_n)$, the DR-cycle ${\rm
DR}_g(a_1,\ldots,a_n) \subset\overline{\mathcal M}_{g,n}$ is the locus of
curves $(C,x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ such that the divisor $\sum a_ix_i$ is
principal. We compute the intersection numbers of DR-cycles with all
monomials in $\psi$-classes.
Animal Autobiography and the Domestication of Human Freedom
Authors: Dwyer Annie
Published: May 2015

This essay explores the American production and reception of the nineteenth-century animal autobiography, a genre of children’s literature that was popularized through the humane education efforts of the early animal welfare movement. In foregrounding how the animal autobiography contributed to the increasing ascription of “humanity” to nonhuman animals over the course of the nineteenth century, this essay ultimately shows how the animal autobiography facilitated new modes of racial management that relied on the circumscribed recognition of black humanity. This reading of the animal autobiography shows how the genre of the animal autobiography adapts the conventions of the slave narrative only to “domesticate” former slaves’ claim to human freedom.
Thoughts for Nathaniel Hawthorne on Hearth and Altar
Authors: Murphy Jonathan W.
Published: May 2015

This essay traces Hawthorne’s use of the classical expression pro aris et focis , or “for hearth and altar,” over the four-decade span of his literary career. Hawthorne most fully fleshes out his romantic idea of the American hearth in “Fire-Worship,” a short essay he composed at the height of his transcendentalist phase while a resident at the Old Manse. Although Hawthorne has frequently been censured for his political incompetence, this essay shows that the author clearly announces his Northern abolitionist sympathies in “Chiefly about War Matters” even while he expresses his pacifist disapproval of the Civil War. More important, Hawthorne used the occasion of the Civil War to further develop his aesthetic representation of the domestic hearth as a romantic symbol for the Freedom that he believed burned at the heart of the human condition.
Reluctant Heroes and Petty Tyrants: Reproducing Race in the Global War on Terror in Children of Men and District 9
Authors: Joo Hee-Jung Serenity
Published: May 2015

Through a comparison of two science fiction films, this essay traces the workings of race and racism in the U.S. War on Terror as it has spread to other parts of the world (postcolonial England and postapartheid South Africa, respectively). The essay argues that the films’ dystopias are structured upon a contrast between cinematic spectacle and the banality of white supremacy, a central logic of sustaining racism, and suggests that Hollywood cinema is one crucial site of formulation and negotiation of the cultural workings of a new, twenty-first-century global racism.
Henry James and the Sublime
Authors: Nutters Daniel Rosenberg
Published: May 2015

This essay situates Henry James in relation to the sublime as an aesthetic category that unites the broader Romantic-Modern Tradition. Through readings of The Portrait of a Lady , the Notebooks, the prefaces to the New York Edition, The American Scene , and The Golden Bowl , the author links James to a range of Romantic and Modernist visionary poets, philosophers, and critics including Milton, Keats, Yeats, Burke, Kant, Pater, Hartman, and Said.
Ginger Trouble
Authors: Corber Robert J.
Published: May 2015

This essay explores the significantly different representation of heterosexual romance in Carefree (Mark Sandrich, 1938), the penultimate movie in the enormously popular Depression-era cycle of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals, and attributes the difference to a shift in the construction of Rogers’s persona, starting with her performance in Stage Door (Gregory LaCava, 1937).
A Fresh-Start Doctrine: The Marshall Plan, The Adventures of Augie March , and the Bildungsroman after Nationalism
Authors: Nardini Nicholas
Published: May 2015

Reading The Adventures of Augie March in the context of its composition in Marshall Plan–era Paris, this essay argues that Saul Bellow’s novel operates analogously to American public diplomacy of the early Cold War, especially in its reinvention of the Bildungsroman genre. Architects of the Marshall Plan argued against national consolidation and for the international circulation of discourse and capital, a project contrary to established European ideas of national culture and Bildung . Similarly, Augie March should be read as a Bildungsroman employing picaresque methods to undermine the genre’s traditional concerns. By sending its protagonist on a long series of abortive apprenticeships in European programs of cultivation, the novel posits a notion of American Bildung as not just one among many paths of development, but rather a pragmatic resistance to them all—exactly the notion promoted by the official rhetoric of the “Pax Americana.”
“A Toy in the White Man’s Hands”: Child-gifting, African Civilizability and the Construction of French National Identity in Marie Maréchal’s La Dette de Ben-Aïssa
Authors: Schreier Lise
Published: May 2015

This article focuses on an 1870s children’s story about an African boy offered as a doll to a French girl his own age. It shows how its author used various narrative conventions, including those of the doll novel, to teach her young female readership the principles of the civilizing mission.
Generic Pocahontas: Reinforcing and Subverting the Whiteness of Mythohistory
Authors: Couzelis Mary J.
Published: May 2015

This essay examines four contemporary adolescent historical fictions featuring Pocahontas. It argues that three of the Pocahontas novels perpetuate whiteness ideologies through generic strategies. The fourth adolescent novel uses counter-storytelling methods to destabilize the white privilege found in the Pocahontas mythohistory and other Pocahontas narratives.
Art Critics in the Cradle: Fin-de-Siècle Painting Books and the Move to Modernism
Authors: Smith Victoria Ford
Published: May 2015

This paper argues early British painting books are important threshold texts. In content and form, they bridge artistic movements of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—from Pre-Raphaelitism to modernism—and demonstrate a shift in constructions of child artists—from ideas of the young as artists-in-training to modernist paradigms of the “innocent eye.”
Reimagining Revolution: Later Lives of the Narrative of Joseph Plumb Martin in Children’s Literature
Authors: Salah Christiana
Published: May 2015

Examining children’s versions of Joseph Plumb Martin’s 1830 memoir of his years as an adolescent Revolutionary War soldier— Yankee Doodle Boy (1964), A Young Patriot (1996), and The Diary of Joseph Plumb Martin (2001)—this essay shows how some excisions radically change the text’s activist goals to preserve national mythology.
Mutual Adaptation in Rudyard Kipling’s Letters to His Children and Just So Stories
Authors: Shires Linda M.
Published: May 2015

Examining image and text in Just So Stories for Little Children (1902) through the lens of Rudyard Kipling’s 1906–15 letters to his children, this essay analyzes his art of dialogic fluidity in epistolary and story-telling forms. Each mode, in his hands, stresses shared creativity, playfulness, temporal shifts, and identity-in-process.
The Girl’s Cause: Confederate Girlhood in Uncle Buddy’s Gift Book for the Holidays and Ellen Hunter: A Story of the War
Authors: Hakala Laura
Published: May 2015

This essay examines two works of Confederate children’s literature that represent girls fighting the Civil War on the home front. Using historical sources to contextualize home front experiences, this essay argues that these texts preserve antebellum expectations for girls, which positions girls’ domestic work as crucial for the Confederacy’s success.
The Darker Side of the Sorting Hat: Representations of Educational Testing in Dystopian Young Adult Fiction
Authors: Alexander Jonathan , Black Rebecca
Published: May 2015

This article presents a close examination of representations of educational testing in dystopian young adult fiction published between 2004 and 2014. Analysis focuses on understanding how testing and its repercussions are represented in these novels, and what such might say about the contemporary cultural value placed on testing. At the same time, given that testing is a prominent feature of dystopias , we also explore what the conflation of testing with dystopic political structures might be saying critically about high-stakes testing.