bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermodynamic Properties of the Glycine + H2O System
Authors: Rowland Darren
Published: June 2018

New equations describing the thermodynamic properties of the glycine + H2O system are obtained from previously published measurements. The measured values span a range of temperatures of approximately 273 to 473 K for glycine(aq) and (5 to 310) K for α-glycine(cr). This work provides critically assessed values for the following properties: (1) thermal properties of α-glycine(cr) from 0 to 310 K, (2) the change in excess Gibbs energy for glycine(aq) solutions as a function of temperature, pressure, and molality, valid from 273 to 473 K, pressures up to 40 MPa, and the molality range of 0 to 3.6 mol  kg−1 (or the saturation limit), and (3) standard-state properties for the aqueous solution process.
Design and test of a Faraday cup for low-charge measurement of electron beams from laser wakefield acceleration
Authors: Gambaryan V. V. , Gubin K. V. , Levichev A. E. , Maltseva Yu. I. , Martyshkin P. V. , Pachkov A. A. , Peshekhonov S. N. , Trunov V. I.
Published: June 2018

Nowadays, laser wakefield acceleration is considered to be one of the perspective methods for GeV electron beam production. The combination of laser accelerated electrons and Compton backscattering of a probe light beam opens the possibility of creating the tabletop source of a femtosecond light beam in x-ray and gamma ranges. The project is aimed at creating a laser-driven Compton light source in ILP SB RAS in collaboration with BINP SB RAS. Production of 1–10 pC electron beams in sub-ps time range duration with energies up to 100 MeV is expected to be a result of the first stage of the project. Since the energy of electrons does not exceed 100 MeV, it allows the use of the Faraday cup (FC) with reasonable dimensions, instead of the commonly used integrating current transformer. The geometry of the FC has been optimized taking into account beam stopping simulation as well as a low capacity requirement. Simulation of high-frequency properties of the entire system was carried out. The system has been tested at the VEPP-5 electron linac. The results of developing and testing this FC are presented.
Acoustic absorption of solid foams with thin membranes
Authors: Gaulon C. , Pierre J. , Derec C. , Jaouen L. , Bécot F.-X. , Chevillotte F. , Elias F. , Drenckhan W. , Leroy V.
Published: June 2018

We measured the acoustic absorption, in the 0.5–6 kHz frequency range, of polyurethane foams with mean pore diameters between 0.6 and 3.2 mm. Two types of foams were investigated: classical open-cell ones versus membrane foams, in which thin polyurethane membranes were preserved during solidification. Interestingly, the latter presented better absorption abilities, indicating that membranes could be an asset for sound absorption.
Prediction of multiband luminescence due to the gallium vacancy–oxygen defect complex in GaN
Authors: Xie Zijuan , Sui Yu , Buckeridge John , Sokol Alexey A. , Keal Thomas W. , Walsh Aron
Published: June 2018

Oxygen is the most common unintentional impurity found in GaN. We study the interaction between substitutional oxygen (ON) and the gallium vacancy (VGa) to form a point defect complex in GaN. The formation energy of the gallium vacancy is largely reduced in n-type GaN by complexing with oxygen, while thermodynamic and optical transition levels remain within the bandgap. We study the spectroscopy of this complex using a hybrid quantum-mechanical molecular-mechanical embedded-cluster approach. We reveal how a single defect center can be responsible for multiband luminescence, including possible contributions to the ubiquitous yellow luminescence signatures observed in n-type GaN, owing to the coexistence of diffuse (extended) and compact (localized) holes.
Heterogeneous seeded molecular dynamics as a tool to probe the ice nucleating ability of crystalline surfaces
Authors: Pedevilla Philipp , Fitzner Martin , Sosso Gabriele C. , Michaelides Angelos
Published: June 2018

Ice nucleation plays a significant role in a large number of natural and technological processes, but it is challenging to investigate experimentally because of the small time scales (ns) and short length scales (nm) involved. On the other hand, conventional molecular simulations struggle to cope with the relatively long time scale required for critical ice nuclei to form. One way to tackle this issue is to take advantage of free energy or path sampling techniques. Unfortunately, these are computationally costly. Seeded molecular dynamics is a much less demanding alternative that has been successfully applied already to study the homogeneous freezing of water. However, in the case of heterogeneous ice nucleation, nature’s favourite route to form ice, an array of suitable interfaces between the ice seeds and the substrate of interest has to be built, and this is no trivial task. In this paper, we present a Heterogeneous SEEDing (HSEED) approach which harnesses a random structure search framework to tackle the ice-substrate challenge, thus enabling seeded molecular dynamics simulations of heterogeneous ice nucleation on crystalline surfaces. We validate the HSEED framework by investigating the nucleation of ice on (i) model crystalline surfaces, using the coarse-grained mW model, and (ii) cholesterol crystals, employing the fully atomistic TIP4P/ice water model. We show that the HSEED technique yields results in excellent agreement with both metadynamics and forward flux sampling simulations. Because of its computational efficiency, the HSEED method allows one to rapidly assess the ice nucleation ability of whole libraries of crystalline substrates—a long-awaited computational development in, e.g., atmospheric science.
Computationally inexpensive dual filter approach for estimation and control of SOC for the lithium-ion battery
Authors: Methekar Ravi
Published: June 2018

Accurate estimation of the state of charge and its control is crucial for a battery energy management system for longer life and safety of the lithium-ion battery and depends on the accuracy of model used for capturing battery dynamics. Considering the equivalent circuit model, I used a recursive least square filter to update the parameters of the model at each sampling time. The polynomial approach is used for establishing the relationship between the open circuit voltage and state of charge. The fading Kalman filter is used for online estimation of the open circuit voltage and then, the state of charge is predicted using the developed relationship. A linear classical controller is designed and implemented. The control oriented model for designing the controller is identified using the perturbation data. To avoid nonlinear optimization of control oriented model identification, first a higher order model is identified and then the second order plus time delay model is generated. The present technique tracks the set points very well within +/−5% of the desired value in 950 and 1800 s for 30 and 70% SOC set points, respectively. The present approach requires minimal computational efforts as compared with nonlinear estimation because of analytical solutions of the essential equations.
TDDFT studies for electronic excitations of the intermediates and radicals in the pyrolysis of 2,5-dimethylfuran
Authors: Li Yuanyuan , Cao Zexing , Zhu Chaoyuan
Published: June 2018

A large amount of complicated reaction networks of intermediates and radicals taken place in the pyrolysis of 2,5-dimethylfuran have been investigated based on the density function theory (DFT) and the sophisticated wave function theory (WFT) methodologies. The preliminary focus is concentrated on those without the furan-ring opening reaction processes. Calculations are performed for electronic structures, stability and electronic spectra of ground states and excited states for those intermediates and radicals. It is found that both low-lying valence excited states and Rydberg states (3s, 3px, 3py and 3pz) of the pyrolytic species might be involved in pyrolysis and combustion of 2,5-dimethylfuran and influence their chemical reaction kinetics. A generous tendency is also found that the vertical transition energies of the similar transitions become bigger with the removal of methyl in the furan ring.
Recombination velocity less than 100 cm/s at polycrystalline Al2O3/CdSeTe interfaces
Authors: Kuciauskas Darius , Kephart Jason M. , Moseley John , Metzger Wyatt K. , Sampath Walajabad S. , Dippo Pat
Published: June 2018

Reducing recombination in polycrystalline solar cells by orders of magnitude is currently one of the greatest challenges for increasing thin-film solar cell efficiency to theoretical limits. The question of how to do this has been a challenge for the thin-film community for decades. This work indicates that effective interface passivation is critical. Here, polycrystalline Al2O3/CdSeTe/Al2O3/glass heterostructures are grown, and a combination of spectroscopic, microscopic, and time-resolved electro-optical measurements demonstrates that the interface recombination velocity at alumina/thin-film interfaces can be less than 100 cm/s. This is three orders of magnitude less than typical CdTe interfaces without passivation, commensurate with single-crystal epitaxial CdMgSeTe/CdSeTe/CdMgSeTe double heterostructures, and enables minority-carrier lifetimes in polycrystalline CdSeTe well above 100 ns. Microscopic interfacial electric-field measurements identify the field effect as a potential mechanism for polycrystalline Al2O3/CdSeTe interface passivation. The results provide guidance for modeling and interface passivation in devices and indicate future paths to realize highly efficient thin-film solar cells.
Flexoelectricity in a metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor heterostructure
Authors: Huang Shujin , Yau Hei-Man , Yu Hyeonggeun , Qi Lu , So Franky , Dai Ji-Yan , Jiang Xiaoning
Published: June 2018

The flexoelectricity in a 100 nm-thick BaTiO3 (BTO) thin film based metal/ferroelectric insulator/semiconductor (MFS) heterostructure was reported in this letter. The transverse flexoelectric coefficient of the BTO thin film in the heterojunction structure was measured to be 287-418 μC/m at room temperature, and its temperature dependence shows that the flexoelectric effect in the BTO thin film was dominated in the paraelectric phase. We showed that the BTO thin film capacitance could be controlled at multi-levels by introducing ferroelectric and flexoelectric polarization in the film. These results are promising for understanding of the flexoelectricity in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films and practical applications of the enhanced flexoelectricity in nanoscale devices.
VECSEL design for high peak power ultrashort mode-locked operation
Authors: Kilen I. , Koch S. W. , Hader J. , Moloney J. V.
Published: June 2018

The generation of mode-locked pulses in vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror is studied by numerically solving the Maxwell semiconductor Bloch equations describing the propagating light field coupled to the electron-hole-pair excitations in the quantum wells. High peak-power sub-100 fs mode-locked pulses are realized through optimizing the gain chip design. The unequal spacing of up to four quantum wells in a given field antinode leads to a broad linear gain profile and reduced intracavity dispersion. The proposed designs are found to be robust with regard to uncontrollable growth uncertainties.
Effective charge collection area during conductive and photoconductive atomic force microscopy
Authors: Qiu Haian , Dong Xue , Shim Jong Hyun , Cho Junghyun , Mativetsky Jeffrey M.
Published: June 2018

Conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) has been widely used to map the nanoscale electrical properties of conducting polymers, nanomaterials, and organic electronic devices. While these measurements provide valuable insight into the spatial dependence of electrical performance, reported current densities and electrical conductivities measured by C-AFM are consistently much higher than those measured at the macroscopic scale. Here, we demonstrate that these anomalously high current densities and conductivities arise from ignoring current spreading and hence underestimating the current-carrying area. We present a simple experimental means of estimating the effective charge collection area during C-AFM measurements. Using semiconducting polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) films as a test case, we find that the effective charge collection area can be as much as three orders of magnitude larger than the mechanical contact area between the probe and the film. Calibrated conductivity maps are obtained, with a quantitative correspondence with accepted values, and C-AFM photocurrent measurements of a nanostructured hybrid organic-inorganic solar cell active layer yield short-circuit current densities that match those reported for macroscopic devices. Finally, we address the observation that current spreading increases the effective charge collection area beyond the size of the probe-sample contact but does not preclude an imaging resolution below 10 nm.
Enhancing the deformation range of ionic polymer metal composites through electrostatic actuation
Authors: Boldini A. , Jose K. , Cha Y. , Porfiri M.
Published: June 2018

The large range of deformations of ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) has often been proposed as a key advantage of these soft active materials. Nevertheless, many applications in soft robotics still cannot be addressed by current IPMC technology, demanding an even wider deformation range. Here, we empirically demonstrate the feasibility of integrating electrostatic actuation to enhance IPMC deformations. Through the use of external contactless electrodes, an electrostatic pressure is generated on the IPMC, thereby magnifying the deformation elicited by the small voltage applied across its electrodes. A mathematical model is established to predict the onset of the pull-in instability, which defines when electrostatic actuation can be effectively utilized to enhance IPMC performance.
Mode-locked all-fiber laser generating optical vortex pulses with tunable repetition rate
Authors: Chen R. S. , Sun F. L. , Yao J. N. , Wang J. H. , Ming H. , Wang A. T. , Zhan Q. W.
Published: June 2018

We propose and demonstrate an all-fiber actively mode-locked laser producing optical vortex pulses with high efficiency and a tunable repetition rate. Both vectorial and scalar optical vortices, i.e., cylindrical vector beams and orbital angular momentum beams, have been generated. Highly efficient mode conversion is realized by introducing a two-mode long-period fiber grating into the laser cavity as a mode converter with low insertion loss. A two-mode fiber Bragg grating is employed as a mode selector, a spectrum filter and an output mirror. A LiNbO3 Mach–Zehnder intensity modulator served as a mode-locker to achieve active harmonic mode-locking. The slope efficiency increases from 10.24% to 12.61% with the repetition rate of the pulse train flexibly tuned from 15.65 MHz at the fundamental mode-locking to 626 MHz at the 40th order harmonic mode-locking with superior stability. Switching between vectorial and scalar optical vortices at different repetition rates is realized through the intra-cavity state of polarization control.
Dissecting the neurofunctional bases of intentional action
Authors: Zapparoli Laura , Seghezzi Silvia , Scifo Paola , Zerbi Alberto , Banfi Giuseppe , Tettamanti Marco , Paulesu Eraldo
Published: June 2018

Significance

We provide evidence that our intentions can be fragmented in various components subserved by partially dissociable neural circuits. We found that the decision of what to do, when to do it, and whether to do it depends on separable systems that go beyond the mesial prefrontal wall of previous proposals, involving cortical and subcortical brain regions in a component-specific manner. In addition, we found that deciding whether to act or not requires strong interhemispheric interactions of the frontal lobes. This explicit evidence of dissociable neural foundations of intentional actions will guide the exploration of brain disorders of specific components of intentionality.
Integrating Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment into a Drug Treatment Court Program: A Case Study
Authors: Jun Jessica H. , Fairbairn Nadia
Published: June 2018

Background: A substantial proportion of individuals involved with the North American criminal justice system are convicted for drug-related activities. Drug treatment court (DTC) programs were developed as an alternative to incarceration for drug-related offences and aim to prioritize addiction treatment and improve health and social outcomes; however, only a fraction of DTC participants have access to first-line medications for opioid use disorder (OUD). Further, despite emerging evidence for the efficacy of injectable opioid agonist therapy (OAT) in treating individuals with severe OUD where past treatment attempts with first-line therapies have been unsuccessful, this treatment has never, to our knowledge, been implemented in correctional settings. Case: An individual in their 50s with a history of severe OUD, multiple interactions with the criminal justice system, and prior unsuccessful treatment attempts with methadone was initiated on injectable treatment with diacetylmorphine. The patient received 300 mg of diacetylmorphine witnessed 3 times daily at a supervised injection clinic. During a 1.5-year stabilization phase, the patient's illicit opioid use significantly reduced. They subsequently enrolled in a DTC program for drug-related charges preceding initiation on injectable OAT and remained on this therapy during 16 months in DTC. Following graduation from DTC, the patient continued to receive treatment and returned to gainful employment in the community, with no further charges or episodes of incarceration. Discussion: This case describes the successful completion of a DTC program by an individual prescribed injectable OAT for severe OUD. The patient's treatment plan played an integral role in DTC graduation and long-term adherence, leading to improved health and social outcomes, including cessation of illicit drug use, enhanced quality of life, and improved social functioning. The case highlights the potential benefits of a stepped and integrated approach to addiction treatment in DTC programs.
Immediate Effects of Interoceptive Awareness Training through Mindful Awareness in Body-Oriented Therapy (MABT) for Women in Substance use Disorder Treatment
Authors: Price Cynthia J. , Thompson Elaine A. , Crowell Sheila E. , Pike Kenneth , Cheng Sunny C. , Parent Sara , Hooven Carole
Published: June 2018

Background: Sensory information gained through interoceptive awareness may play an important role in affective behavior and successful inhibition of drug use. This study examined the immediate pre-post effects of the mind-body intervention Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) as an adjunct to women's substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. MABT teaches interoceptive awareness skills to promote self-care and emotion regulation. Methods: Women in intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) for chemical dependency ( N = 217) at 3 community clinics in the Pacific Northwest of the United States were recruited and randomly assigned to one of 3 study conditions: MABT + treatment as usual (TAU), women's health education (WHE) +TAU (active control condition), and TAU only. At baseline and 3 months post-intervention, assessments were made of interoceptive awareness skills and mindfulness, emotion regulation (self-report and psychophysiological measures), symptomatic distress (depression and trauma-related symptoms), and substance use (days abstinent) and craving. Changes in outcomes across time were assessed using multilevel mixed-effects linear regression. Results: Findings based on an intent-to-treat approach demonstrated significant improvements in interoceptive awareness and mindfulness skills, emotion dysregulation (self-report and psychophysiology), and days abstinent for women who received MABT compared with the other study groups. Additional analyses based on participants who completed the major components of MABT (at least 75% of the intervention sessions) revealed these same improvements as well as reductions in depressive symptoms and substance craving. Conclusions: Findings that interoceptive training is associated with health outcomes for women in SUD treatment are consistent with emerging neurocognitive models that link interoception to emotion regulation and to related health outcomes, providing knowledge critical to supporting and improving SUD treatment.
Duplex signaling by CaM and Stac3 enhances CaV1.1 function and provides insights into congenital myopathy
Authors: Niu Jacqueline , Yang Wanjun , Yue David T. , Inoue Takanari , Ben-Johny Manu
Published: June 2018

CaV1.1 is essential for skeletal muscle excitation–contraction coupling. Its functional expression is tuned by numerous regulatory proteins, yet underlying modulatory mechanisms remain ambiguous as CaV1.1 fails to function in heterologous systems. In this study, by dissecting channel trafficking versus gating, we evaluated the requirements for functional CaV1.1 in heterologous systems. Although coexpression of the auxiliary β subunit is sufficient for surface–membrane localization, this baseline trafficking is weak, and channels elicit a diminished open probability. The regulatory proteins calmodulin and stac3 independently enhance channel trafficking and gating via their interaction with the CaV1.1 carboxy terminus. Myopathic stac3 mutations weaken channel binding and diminish trafficking. Our findings demonstrate that multiple regulatory proteins orchestrate CaV1.1 function via duplex mechanisms. Our work also furnishes insights into the pathophysiology of stac3-associated congenital myopathy and reveals novel avenues for pharmacological intervention.
Coupling of microtubule motors with AP-3 generated organelles in axons by NEEP21 family member calcyon
Authors: Shi Liang , Hines Timothy , Bergson Clare , Smith Deanna
Published: June 2018

Transport of late endosomes and lysosome-related organelles (LE/LROs) in axons is essential for supplying synaptic cargoes and for removing damaged macromolecules. Defects in this system are implicated in a range of human neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. The findings reported here identify a novel mechanism regulating LE/LRO transport based on the coordinated coupling of microtubule motors and vesicle coat proteins to the neuron-enriched, transmembrane protein calcyon (Caly). We found that the cytoplasmic C-terminus of Caly pulled down proteins involved in microtubule-dependent transport (DIC, KIF5A, p150Glued, Lis1) and organelle biogenesis (AP-1 and AP-3) from the brain. In addition, RNA interference–mediated knockdown of Caly increased the percentage of static LE/LROs labeled by LysoTracker in cultured dorsal root ganglion axons. In contrast, overexpression of Caly stimulated movement of organelles positive for LysoTracker or the AP-3 cargo GFP-PI4KIIα. However, a Caly mutant (ATEA) that does not bind AP-3 was unable to pull down motor proteins from brain, and expression of the ATEA mutant failed to increase either LE/LRO flux or levels of associated dynein. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that Caly is a multifunctional scaffolding protein that regulates axonal transport of LE/LROs by coordinately interacting with motor and vesicle coat proteins.
Rab18 is not necessary for lipid droplet biogenesis or turnover in human mammary carcinoma cells
Authors: Jayson Christina B. K. , Arlt Henning , Fischer Alexander W. , Lai Zon Weng , Farese Robert V. , Walther Tobias C.
Published: June 2018

Rab GTPases recruit peripheral membrane proteins and can define organelle identity. Rab18 localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but also to lipid droplets (LDs), where it has been implicated in effector protein recruitment and in defining LD identity. Here, we studied Rab18 localization and function in a human mammary carcinoma cell line. Rab18 localized to the ER and to LD membranes on LD induction, with the latter depending on the Rab18 activation state. In cells lacking Rab18, LDs were modestly reduced in size and numbers, but we found little evidence for Rab18 function in LD formation, LD turnover on cell starvation, or the targeting of several proteins to LDs. We conclude that Rab18 is not a general, necessary component of the protein machinery involved in LD biogenesis or turnover.
SLIDE – a web-based tool for interactive visualization of large-scale – omics data
Authors: Ghosh Soumita , Datta Abhik , Tan Kaisen , Choi Hyungwon
Published: June 2018

Data visualization is often regarded as a post hoc step for verifying statistically significant results in the analysis of high-throughput datasets. This common practice leaves a large amount of raw data behind, from which more information can be extracted. However, existing solutions do not provide capabilities to explore large-scale raw datasets using biologically sensible queries, nor do they allow user interaction based real-time customization of graphics. To address these drawbacks, we have designed an open-source, web-based tool called Systems-Level Interactive Data Exploration, or SLIDE to visualize large-scale -omics data interactively. SLIDE’s interface makes it easier for scientists to explore quantitative expression data in multiple resolutions in a single screen.

Availability and implementation

SLIDE is publicly available under BSD license both as an online version as well as a stand-alone version at https://github.com/soumitag/SLIDE.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
pyseer: a comprehensive tool for microbial pangenome-wide association studies
Authors: Lees John A , Galardini Marco , Bentley Stephen D , Weiser Jeffrey N , Corander Jukka
Published: June 2018

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in microbes have different challenges to GWAS in eukaryotes. These have been addressed by a number of different methods. pyseer brings these techniques together in one package tailored to microbial GWAS, allows greater flexibility of the input data used, and adds new methods to interpret the association results.

Availability and implementation

pyseer is written in python and is freely available at https://github.com/mgalardini/pyseer, or can be installed through pip. Documentation and a tutorial are available at http://pyseer.readthedocs.io.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Adapting a health equity tool to meet professional needs (Québec, Canada)
Authors: Anne Guichard , Émilie Tardieu , Kareen Nour , Ginette Lafontaine , Valéry Ridde
Published: June 2018

While numerous tools are available to better incorporate equity into population health actions, they are limited mainly by their lack of adaptation to professional practices and organizational realities. A study was conducted in Québec to identify and understand, from the perspective of future users, conditions that would facilitate use of a tool (Reflex-ISS) targeted at supporting collaborative action to improve consideration of social inequalities in health (SIH) within population health actions. Concept mapping and focus groups were implemented as complementary methods for investigating the conditions. Significant results that emerged were strong participant interest in the tool and the need for resources to better take SIH into account. The conditions for use that were identified referred to the tool itself (user-friendliness and literacy) and to resources for appropriating the tool, competency development, as well as the role and responsibilities of organizations and policies in promoting use of the tool in daily activities and more fundamentally in acting against SIH in general. Models for organizational innovation give an idea of the dimensions that need to be considered to strengthen the integration of equity into organizations and to support the changes in practice that result from using the tool. They provide a reminder that a health equity tool cannot be the cornerstone of an organizational strategy to fight against SIH; rather, it must be incorporated as part of a systemic strategy of professional and organizational development.
Benthic biodiversity on old platforms, young wind farms, and rocky reefs
Authors: Coolen Joop W P , van der Weide Babeth , Cuperus Joël , Blomberg Maxime , Van Moorsel Godfried W N M , Faasse Marco A , Bos Oscar G , Degraer Steven , Lindeboom Han J
Published: June 2018

The introduction of artificial hard substrates in an area dominated by a sandy seabed increases habitat available to epifouling organisms. To investigate this, samples were taken on old offshore oil and gas platforms, and data were compared with data of a young wind farm and a natural reef. Depth, sampling date, abundance of Mytilus edulis, Psammechinus miliaris, Metridium dianthus, and the presence of Tubulariidae and substrate (rock or steel) all correlated with species richness. Multivariate analysis showed a large overlap in communities on steel and rock and between the wind farm and platforms. The community changed over a gradient from deep rocks to shallow steel substrate, but no strong community differentiation was observed. Deep steel was more similar to natural rocks than shallow steel. When an artificial reef is intended to be colonized by communities similar to those on a natural reef, its structure should resemble a natural reef as much as possible.
How fishing intensity affects the spatial and trophic ecology of two gull species breeding in sympatry
Authors: Matos Diana M , Ramos Jaime A , Calado Joana G , Ceia Filipe R , Hey Jessica , Paiva Vitor H
Published: June 2018

Fisheries produce large quantities of discards, an important resource for scavenging seabirds. However, a policy reform banning discards, which is soon to be implemented within the EU, will impose a food shortage upon scavengers, and it is still largely unknown how scavengers will behave. We studied the diet (hard remains), trophic (stable isotope analysis), and foraging (individual tracking) ecology of two gull species breeding in sympatry: Audouin’s gull Larus audouinii (AG) and yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis (YLG), in South Portugal, under normal fishery activity (NFA; work days) and low fishery activity (LFA; weekends), over two consecutive years. We established a pattern of dietary, spatial, and temporal segregation between the two gull species. Under LFA, yellow-legged gulls reduced their time spent at-sea, thus foraging more in alternative habitats (e.g. refuse dumps) and widening their isotopic niche (i.e. generalist behaviour). Contrastingly, Audouin’s gull had a narrower trophic niche (i.e. specialist behaviour), foraging exclusively at-sea, reducing the amount of demersal fish and increasing the amount of pelagic fish in their diet. Under NFA, both species foraged mostly at-sea, feeding almost exclusively on fish, with increased consumption of demersal species (i.e. fishery discards). In general, yellow-legged gull had a broader trophic niche (i.e. generalist behaviour) when compared with the narrower isotopic niche of Audouin’s gull (i.e. specialist behaviour). Overall, both gull species relied heavily on fishery discards. However, there was visible dietary, spatial, and temporal segregation between the two species, associated with their dietary and habitat preferences that could be attributed to the availability of anthropogenic resources, such as fishery discards.
Error analysis of non inf-sup stable discretizations of the time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations with local projection stabilization
Authors: de Frutos Javier , García-Archilla Bosco , John Volker , Novo Julia
Published: June 2018

This paper studies non inf-sup stable finite element approximations to the evolutionary Navier–Stokes equations. Several local projection stabilization (LPS) methods corresponding to different stabilization terms are analyzed, thereby separately studying the effects of the different stabilization terms. Error estimates are derived in which the constants are independent of inverse powers of the viscosity. For one of the methods, using velocity and pressure finite elements of degree $l$, it will be proved that the velocity error in $L^\infty (0,T;L^2(\varOmega ))$ decays with rate $l+1/2$ in the case that $\nu \le h$, with $\nu$ being the dimensionless viscosity and $h$ being the mesh width. In the analysis of another method it was observed that the convective term can be bounded in an optimal way with the LPS stabilization of the pressure gradient. Numerical studies confirm the analytical results.
Smashing the strict hierarchy: three cases of clinical decision support malfunctions involving carvedilol
Authors: Wright Adam , Wright Aileen P , Aaron Skye , Sittig Dean F
Published: June 2018

Clinical vocabularies allow for standard representation of clinical concepts, and can also contain knowledge structures, such as hierarchy, that facilitate the creation of maintainable and accurate clinical decision support (CDS). A key architectural feature of clinical hierarchies is how they handle parent-child relationships — specifically whether hierarchies are strict hierarchies (allowing a single parent per concept) or polyhierarchies (allowing multiple parents per concept). These structures handle subsumption relationships (ie, ancestor and descendant relationships) differently. In this paper, we describe three real-world malfunctions of clinical decision support related to incorrect assumptions about subsumption checking for β-blocker, specifically carvedilol, a non-selective β-blocker that also has α-blocker activity. We recommend that 1) CDS implementers should learn about the limitations of terminologies, hierarchies, and classification, 2) CDS implementers should thoroughly test CDS, with a focus on special or unusual cases, 3) CDS implementers should monitor feedback from users, and 4) electronic health record (EHR) and clinical content developers should offer and support polyhierarchical clinical terminologies, especially for medications.
Development of an algorithm to link electronic health record prescriptions with pharmacy dispense claims
Authors: Hoopes Megan , Angier Heather , Raynor Lewis A , Suchocki Andrew , Muench John , Marino Miguel , Rivera Pedro , Huguet Nathalie
Published: June 2018

Objective

Medication adherence is an important aspect of chronic disease management. Electronic health record (EHR) data are often not linked to dispensing data, limiting clinicians’ understanding of which of their patients fill their medications, and how to tailor care appropriately. We aimed to develop an algorithm to link EHR prescribing to claims-based dispensing data and use the results to quantify how often patients with diabetes filled prescribed chronic disease medications.

Materials and Methods

We developed an algorithm linking EHR prescribing data (RxNorm terminology) to claims-based dispensing data (NDC terminology), within sample of adult (19-64) community health center (CHC) patients with diabetes from a network of CHCs across 12 states. We demonstrate an application of the method by calculating dispense rates for a set of commonly prescribed diabetes and cardio-protective medications. To further inform clinical care, we computed adjusted odds ratios of dispense by patient-, encounter-, and clinic-level characteristics.

Results

Seventy-six percent of cardio-protective medication prescriptions and 74% of diabetes medications were linked to a dispensing record. Age, income, ethnicity, insurance, assigned primary care provider, comorbidity, time on EHR, and clinic size were significantly associated with odds of dispensing.

Discussion

EHR prescriptions and pharmacy dispense data can be linked at the record level across different terminologies. Dispensing rates in this low-income population with diabetes were similar to other populations.

Conclusion

Record linkage resulted in the finding that CHC patients with diabetes largely had their chronic disease medications dispensed. Understanding factors associated with dispensing rates highlight barriers and opportunities for optimal disease management.
Crowdfunding, Efficiency, and Inequality
Authors: Grüner Hans Peter , Siemroth Christoph
Published: June 2018

We show how decentralized individual investments can efficiently allocate capital to innovating firms via equity crowdfunding. We develop a model where consumers have privately known consumption preferences and may act as investors. Consumers identify worthwhile investments based on their own preferences and invest in firms whose product they like. In the presence of aggregate demand uncertainty, an efficient capital allocation is achieved if all groups of consumers have enough liquidity to invest. If some groups of consumers cannot invest, capital flows reflect preferences of liquid investors but not future demand. Comparing with traditional financing forms, crowdfunding in the absence of liquidity constraints can be superior unless traditional financiers are fully competitive and perfectly informed.
Safety in the clinical environment
Authors: Flynn Maria , Mercer Dave
Published: June 2018

In addition to upholding professional nursing values and behaviours at all times, nurses also have a duty to ensure that the clinical environment in which they work is safe. This responsibility extends to the safety of patients, the public, colleagues, and any visitors to the clinical area. The safety of clinical environments is largely regulated by law and managed through strict local policies and operating procedures. This chapter outlines some key aspects of safety in the clinical environment which impact on nurses’ daily work.
Waiting time distributions of solar and stellar flares: Poisson process or with memory?
Authors: Li C , Zhong S J , Xu Z G , He H , Yan Y , Chen P F , Fang C
Published: June 2018

We present the waiting time statistics of solar flares observed during the solar cycle 23 and of stellar flares produced by a solar-type star (KIC 11551430). The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test is applied to examine the reliability of Poisson hypothesis for the flare production. Different degrees of departure from a Poisson process have been found, depending on the flare intensities and levels of star activities. We then fit the waiting time distributions with both the non-stationary Poisson function and the Weibull function. It is evident that a certain amount of memory is present during the period of high solar activities, consistent with the result of Telloni et al. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that the occurrence of relatively ‘weak’ flares are persistently correlated, while the production of ‘super flares’ is closer to a stochastic process statistically.
Angular momentum and local gravitational instability in galaxy discs: does Q correlate with j or M ?
Authors: Romeo Alessandro B , Mogotsi Keoikantse Moses
Published: June 2018

We introduce a new diagnostic for exploring the link between angular momentum and local gravitational instability in galaxy discs. Our diagnostic incorporates the latest developments in disc instability research, is fully consistent with approximations that are widely used for measuring the stellar specific angular momentum, j⋆ = J⋆/M⋆, and is also very simple. We show that such a disc instability diagnostic hardly correlates with j⋆ or M⋆, and is remarkably constant across spiral galaxies of any given type (Sa–Sd), stellar mass ($M_{\star }=10^{9.5}\mbox{--}10^{11.5}\, \mbox{M}_{\odot }$), and velocity dispersion anisotropy (σ$z$⋆/σR⋆ = 0–1). The fact that M⋆ is tightly correlated with star formation rate, molecular gas mass (Mmol), metallicity (12 + log O/H), and other fundamental galaxy properties thus implies that nearby star-forming spirals self-regulate to a quasi-universal disc stability level. This not only proves the existence of the self-regulation process postulated by several star formation models, but also raises important caveats.
Liquorice, Liddle, Bartter or Gitelman—how to differentiate?
Authors: Wan Elizabeth , Unwin Robert J , Walsh Stephen B
Published: June 2018

Hypokalaemia with alkalosis can suggest excess aldosterone. Aldosterone stimulates the collecting duct mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) to upregulate the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and stimulate electrogenic sodium reabsorption, with secretion of potassium and protons. Gitelman, Bartter and Liddle syndrome, and liquorice ingestion all cause hypokalaemic alkalosis. This mini-review outlines the pathophysiology of these conditions as well as how to differentiate them.
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Authors: Bergmann Emilie
Published: June 2018

Celebrated in her own time as the “Tenth Muse” and, in the 20th century, as “first feminist” of the Americas, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (b. 1648–d. 1695) was a brilliant poet, nun, and self-taught intellectual. Generations of Mexican schoolchildren have memorized her satirical ballad “Hombres necios que acusáis/a la mujer sin razón . . .” (You foolish men who cast all blame on women), and her portrait appears on the 200-peso note. And yet, despite her current status as an icon of Mexican culture, the first edition of her complete works was not published until 1951, three centuries after her birth. While some scholars attribute the centuries of neglect to the rejection of baroque literary style, it was not until the second wave of feminism in the 1970s that her writing began to receive rigorous scholarly attention. Because there is so little documentation of the poet’s life, and Sor Juana scholarship began in earnest only in the past half-century, debates continue regarding her biography, not always resolved by discoveries of new documents in the 20th century. It is impossible to establish a chronology for most of Sor Juana’s works, except those written for specific occasions, such as the Neptuno alegórico (1680), the villancicos (song sets for religious festivals), and the polemical Respuesta a sor Filotea (1691), a rhetorical tour de force in defense of her pursuit of knowledge and of the education of women. Other major works are her long philosophical poem, Primero sueño (First Dream, c. 1685); her love poetry and satirical verse; and the Loa (introduction) to the auto sacramental (allegorical religious play) El divino Narciso (1690) dramatizing the violence of the Spanish conquest and religious conversion of the indigenous population of Mexico. Sor Juana’s works are available online in scanned first editions and digitized texts.
Alain Resnais
Authors: Flood Maria
Published: June 2018

Alain Resnais (b. 1922–d. 2014), born in Vannes, France, is one of the great cinematic innovators of the 20th and 21st centuries. In a career that spanned nearly seventy years and included nineteen feature films and more than twenty documentaries, Resnais produced an exceptional range of films that encompass a cross-section of genres and time periods. From the early commissioned documentaries, including Toute la mémoire du monde (1956), to his later explorations of the genres of the melodrama in Mélo (1986) or the musical in On connaît la chanson (1997), Resnais consistently engaged with, and moved beyond, cinematic conventions. Perhaps his most well-known works resist generic classification altogether: Hiroshima mon amour (1959) and L’Année dernière et Marienbad (1961) can be described as works that treat the question of memory, and of cinematic time itself. Resnais’s work is resolutely engaged with the political and social contexts of his time, and many of his early films tackle the most grimly iconic atrocities of the 20th century: the bombing of Guernica (Guernica, 1950), the Holocaust (Nuit et brouillard, 1955), the bombing of Hiroshima (Hiroshima mon amour), and the question of torture during the French-Algerian War (Muriel, 1963). These films treat the complex intersections of memory and trauma that marked France and Europe after World War II, and they are infused with a profound pathos and ethical sensibility that is particular to Resnais. This article charts the different facets of Resnais’s work, adopting a broadly chronological approach that highlights the major films, as well as Resnais’s relation to the New Wave, philosophy, and intermediality and collaboration.
Grazer Ecology
Authors: Joern Anthony , Raynor Edward J.
Published: June 2018

Grazing systems, grass-like vegetation interacting with their large mammal grazers, are important globally, where estimates of their potential extent (depending on classifications) range from 30 to 70 percent of the terrestrial land surface and show a major presence on five continents. In grasslands and savanna ecosystems, the grazing energy channel is prominent (~50 percent of energy flows through herbivores), unlike energy flow in more arid ecosystems where the detrital energy channel predominates. While variable, estimates of consumption of above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) by native large mammal herbivores ranges from 1 (desert grassland) to ~64 percent (mesic grasslands), and cattle remove 15–80 percent (see chapter by J. K. Detling, “Grasslands and Savannas: Regulation of energy flow and nutrient cycling by herbivores,” in Concepts of Ecosystem Ecology: A Comparative View, edited by L. R. Pomeroy and J. J. Alberts [New York: Springer-Verlag, 1988], pp. 131–154). Consequently, in addition to altered aboveground biomass, one expects significant system responses to grazers, including altered plant community species composition, changed plant morphology and population structure, impacted nutrient cycles, and altered habitat structure in turn affecting animal species distributions both native and exotic. Examples of each of these responses are provided in this article. Our bibliography takes a decidedly grazer-centric view. Topics in grazing ecology are wide ranging, where both plant and grazer responses are studied as we attempt to integrate the many moving parts operating at multiple scales to understand responses from multiple perspectives. These include an understanding of the role of disturbances (fire, drought, herbivory), internal dynamics driving fire-grazer interactions, variable environmental conditions (especially primary production and rainfall), resource heterogeneity at multiple spatial scales, variable herbivore body size, different digestive physiologies of herbivores, sedentary presence and migratory movement of large mammalian herbivores in response to variable environmental conditions, and trophic control of food webs including bottom-up/top-down regulation with important roles for direct and indirect species interactions. Combined, many factors contribute to a range of equilibrial and nonequilibrial interpretations of key responses and patterns of grazing ecology with important implications for management and conservation of these systems worldwide. Much of grazing ecology focuses on the interactions of large mammal herbivores with vegetation structure and plant communities. Much less is known about invertebrate grazers, although they can be important participants as well. This article deals primarily with vertebrate grazers, factors affecting grazing dynamics, and examples of the effects of grazing on grassland structure and function.