bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of a didactic sequence on basic Astronomy concepts for graduates in Physics of online and classroom modalities
Authors: Voelzke Marcos Rincon , De Lima Barbosa José Isnaldo
Published: February 2019

The purpose of this paper is to present the results obtained with the execution of a course of basic subjects in Astronomy for university students of Physics in face to face and in distance learning courses that were organized through Potentially Significant Teaching Units (PSTU). It is an applied and descriptive research, and the technical procedures adopted were survey (pre-test, post-test and qualification questionnaire) and technical action research (application of the course through the PSTU). Through statistical analysis the results show that the difference of the means (before and after the course) of the students is statistically significant, indicating a possible evolution in the basic knowledge of these in relation to the themes of Astronomy proposed in the didactic sequences. In addition, according to the qualification test the activities developed in the course administered, created a favorable climate for learning, thus indicating the success of the same.
Astronomy: Social representations of students of integrated high school
Authors: Voelzke Marcos Rincon , De Lima Barbosa José Isnaldo
Published: February 2019

The contents related to Astronomy studied in basic education in Brazil are not always adequately worked, as their exposure in the media is often full of sensationalism, however, it is in this environment that students form their opinions about this science. Therefore, in this work we present the possible Social Representations that students of the Integrated High School of the Federal Institute of Alagoas (IFAL) have with the term inductor Astronomy. Additionally, we identify how these Social Representations were elaborated. There is a basic and descriptive research, and the procedures for obtaining the data occurred in the form of a survey, the subjects involved were 653 students from the Integrated High School. The results indicate that the surveyed students have social representations of the object Astronomy, which are based on elements from the formal education space, and also disclosed in the media, in addition, demonstrate that the students have information about Astronomy, and a value position in relation to this science.
Project Watching the Sky: a playful and constructivist approach in the practice of night sky observation to 2nd grade elementary school students in the city of Santo André
Authors: Voelzke Marcos Rincon , Zuchi Faria Rachel , Pedroso Marcos , Jacinto Christiane , Claudio Pereira da Silva Luiz
Published: February 2019

Currently, the population shows a growing interest in astronomy-related content. The contact with informal spaces, such as planetariums and observatories, can help to better problematize the subject with children and adults. This paper presents the proposal made by the Johannes Kepler Planetarium to introduce astronomy in a playful way for elementary school students in the city of Santo André.
Analysis of the Limited Resources Queuing System with Signals and Multiple Flows of Customers
Authors: Sopin Eduard , Samouylov Konstantin
Published: February 2019

In the paper, a wireless network is modelled in terms of multiserver queuing system with limited resources, random resource requirements and signals that trigger resource reallocation procedure. For the queuing system, we derive the set of balance equations and propose the solution method. Moreover, the formulas for main performance measures are obtained.
A particular block Vandermonde matrix
Authors: Yaici Malika , Hariche Kamel
Published: February 2019

The Vandermonde matrix is ubiquitous in mathematics and engineering. Both the Vandermonde matrix and its inverse are often encountered in control theory, in the derivation of numerical formulas, and in systems theory. In some cases block vandermonde matrices are used. Block Vandermonde matrices, considered in this paper, are constructed from a full set of solvents of a corresponding matrix polynomial. These solvents represent block poles and block zeros of a linear multivariable dynamical time-invariant system described in matrix fractions. Control techniques of such systems deal with the inverse or determinant of block vandermonde matrices. Methods to compute the inverse of a block vandermonde matrix have not been studied but the inversion of block matrices (or partitioned matrices) is very well studied. In this paper, properties of these matrices and iterative algorithms to compute the determinant and the inverse of a block Vandermonde matrix are given. A parallelization of these algorithms is also presented. The proposed algorithms are validated by a comparison based on algorithmic complexity.
Windshear Identification Algorithms by Doppler Pulse Lidar
Authors: Baranov Nikolay , Lemishchenko Ekaterina
Published: February 2019

Doppler pulse lidars are increasingly common as a tool for monitoring hazardous wind phenomena. Possible applications include measurements of wake vortices behind aircraft, detection of vertical and horizontal wind shear, detection of gust fronts, and identification of areas of intense turbulence. This paper reviews several computational procedures used to measure wind shear parameters and determine the gust front position. Algorithms for wind shear calculation are based on the construction of regression dependencies of changes in the wind speed components at a given distance. In accordance with the ICAO recommendations, horizontal wind shear is determined at a distance of 600m. The application of the algorithms is illustrated by the results of data processing for scanning in PPI mode performed by WINDEX-5000 Doppler pulse lidar.
Research of the Spectral Characteristics of Apodized Fiber Bragg Gratings
Authors: Kalimoldayev Maksat , Kalizhanova Aliya , Wójcik Waldemar , Kashaganova Gulzhan , Amirgaliyeva Saltanat , Dasibekov Azhibek , Kozbakova Ainur , Aitkulov Zhalau
Published: February 2019

Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) are widely used in different areas of the state-of–the -art fiber optics. Every task imposes specified requirements to the FBG spectral characteristics, which are scheduled at the gratings manufacturing stage. Manufacturing and using the Bragg fiber-optic gratings is impossible without measuring their characteristics at every stage of manufacturing the gratings themselves and devices on their basis. To select FBG’s optimal parameter we will compare the parameter SGW with several different the most widely used apodization functions. Upon manufacturing the FBG there applied strict requirements to their parameters. Recording or manufacturing the fiber Bragg gratings might be classified according to the type of the laser being used, radiation wave length, recording techniques, irradiation material and grating type. The article is dedicated to the techniques of computing and measuring the FBG’s principal parameters; it is necessary to define optimal parameters of the characteristics for the grating quality operation.
Modelling of Insured Losses of Natural Catastrophes Using Block Maxima Model
Authors: Jindrová Pavla , Pacáková Viera , Laštovičková Ivana
Published: February 2019

Catastrophic events have a huge impact on society as a whole. Insurance, or reinsurance is one way of reducing the economic consequences of catastrophic events. By Sigma Swiss Re criteria the event can be noted as a catastrophe when the economic losses, insured claims or casualties associated with an event exceed just one of the thresholds. These thresholds are updated every year. We can observe a growing trend in both the number of catastrophic events as well as in total economic losses and insured losses too. Risk management of insurance and reinsurance companies have to have available relevant information for estimation and adjusting premium to cover these risks. The aim of this article is to present one of the useful method – block maxima method. This method uses information from historical events about insured losses of natural catastrophes and estimates future insured losses. These estimates are very important for actuaries and for risk managers as it is one of the bases for calculating and adjusting premiums of products covering these types of risks.
Statistical Analysis of Health Inequalities in European Countries
Authors: Pacáková Viera , Jindrová Pavla , Kopecká Lucie
Published: February 2019

Efficiently functioning health systems are a prerequisite for high-quality health care and healthy life expectancy. Health care management at all levels requires a lot of information that can be obtained only by relevant analyses of health data. There are collected and regularly updated on-line published a large number of databases and enormous number of indicators about health status, health expenditures and health systems functioning at regional, national, EU member countries, OECD countries and on the world level. Paradoxically, the extent of these data sets is the reason why without at least basic statistical analysis the level of provided information is minimal. Advanced statistical methods aimed at reducing the dimension and quantification of causal relationships can provide significant information added value. The objective of this article is to analyse causal relationships between health status, health expenditures and sources of health care in selected European countries and to identify determinants of health inequalities in European countries by applying multidimensional statistical methods.
Stratification of fire smoke and testing aerosol in a road tunnel: computer simulation
Authors: Weisenpacher Peter , Glasa Jan , Valasek Lukas
Published: February 2019

The damage of the road tunnel during tunnel ventilation tests is prevented by using specific testing aerosol representing fire smoke. This study compares optical density profiles of aerosol and fire smoke using the well-known FDS simulation system, testing the suitability of aerosol to represent fire smoke realistically. The movement of aerosol and fire smoke downstream of the aerosol/fire source is investigated for a case of a 240 m long section of a road tunnel. Similarity of optical density profile for both cases under given conditions is confirmed. The influence of mesh resolution and the way of computational domain decomposition is evaluated as well. In case of fire smoke, the influence of domain decomposition and mesh resolution is very slight, while in case of aerosol it is more pronounced due to effect of relatively course numerical grid. The results support the hypothesis that the aerosol is suitable to represent the fire smoke for steady-state conditions occurring downstream of the fire in tunnel ventilation tests.
Research on Network Drop Truck Scheduling Based on Dijkstra Algorithm
Authors: Li Yang , Zhao Luhua , Wang Entong
Published: February 2019

In view of the important link of vehicle dispatching under the network-type trailer-drop transport strategy of vehicle sharing, this paper uses JAVA to implement the Dijkstra algorithm for the transportation route based on the distance between stations and the demand of freight transportation, so as to find the shortest path, and then through the model of trailer-drop transport, an example is given. The advantages of this vehicle scheduling are analyzed.
Research of the Channel Estimation in Wireless Communication Systems
Authors: Zhao Lili , Zhang Peng , Dong Qicai , Huang Xiangyang , Zhao Jianhua , Su Zeyu
Published: February 2019

Wireless communication technology has been developed rapidly after entering the 21st century. Data transfer rate increased significantly as well as the bandwidth became wider and wider from 2G to 4G in wireless communication systems. Channel estimation is an import part of any communication systems; its accuracy determines the quality of the whole communication. Channel estimation methods of typical wireless communication systems such as UWB, 2G and 3G have been researched.
Research of Digital Based on Network Model in the Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM)
Authors: Yu Qinglian , Qi Tao
Published: February 2019

In this paper, a network model is used to simulate the fingerprint of TCM, the fingerprint is digitized, it is easy to store and display by simplifying the data processed. Application of digital processing technology and pattern recognition technology sets up the standard fingerprint. According to the standard fingerprint of TCM, Identify the quality and authenticity of the medicines, especially with the lack of medicines. It can realize medicinal materials testing in comprehensive evaluation of internal quality and overall control of the whole matter, according to the fingerprint of TCM. Improve the overall level of the TCM industry and promote the early development of the Chinese medicine industry to the world.
Research on Trajectory Planning of Six Degrees of Freedom Robot
Authors: Zhou Hao
Published: February 2019

With the continuous development of industrial automation, the demand for industrial robots in the manufacturing field is gradually increasing. In order to meet the needs of different occasions and functions, the planning of the trajectory of the robot becomes the research direction of the six-degree-of-freedom robot. The research object of this paper is a six-degree-of-freedom industrial robot. According to engineering needs, a structure of a handling robot is designed. The kinematics of the robot and its trajectory planning are studied, and the simulation analysis is made.
Research on LEACH-Based Wireless Sensor Network Routing
Authors: Lv Junke
Published: February 2019

Routing technology is one of the main supporting technologies of wireless sensor networks. Only by using routing algorithm reasonably or finding better routing optimization algorithm, can the function of wireless sensor networks be maximized. Therefore, the research of routing technology for wireless sensor networks has important theoretical and practical significance. Based on the analysis of existing routing protocols in wireless sensor networks, this paper focuses on LEACH protocol.
Feedback Numbers of Goldberg Snark, Twisted Goldberg Snarks and Related Graphs
Authors: Zhang Xinyue , Wang Yijin , Zhang Sijia
Published: February 2019

A subset of vertices of a graph G is called a feedback vertex set of G if its removal results in an acyclic subgraph. The minimum cardinality of a feedback vertex set is called the feedback number. In this paper, we determine the exact values of the feedback numbers of the Goldberg snarks Gn and its related graphs Gn*, Twisted Goldberg Snarks TGn and its related graphs TGn*. Let f(n) denote the feedback numbers of these graphs, we prove that f(n)=2n+1, for n≥3.
A Seismic Signal Denoising Method Based on Wavelet Comprehensive Threshold
Authors: Yang Jingsong , Li Jie , Wang Han
Published: February 2019

The wavelet comprehensive threshold is used to inherit and develop the advantages of hard threshold and soft threshold denoised method. Based on the small wavelet coefficients of the noise signal and the large wavelet coefficients of the seismic signal, the simulation experiment of the Ricker signal and the noise reduction experiment is carried out. The simulation results show that the MSE of the wavelet comprehensive threshold is the closest to the original signal waveform after noise reduction, and the energy of the high frequency part of the waveform is reduced and the low frequency part is suppressed. Finally, the actual seismic waveform, for example, the noise reduction of the actual waveform can be the first time of the waveform, and the waveform of the effective signal energy, noise signal energy is suppressed.
Design and Implementation of Energy Saving Management System Based on Data Mining
Authors: Yuan Yuan
Published: February 2019

With the acceleration of urbanization, various items have generated a large amount of energy consumption on the basis of intelligent control, which has aroused widespread concern. Energy conservation has become an important direction of society. Colleges and universities are an integral part of society and a large energy consumer. Therefore, energy conservation management in colleges and universities is an important content. At the same time, designing energy-saving management systems in colleges and universities can not only meet the needs of energy-saving supervision in colleges and universities, but also deepen the significance of building a resource-saving concept into students. Through the construction of energy-saving management, it can realize the supervision of campus energy consumption, and further provide reliable data support and effective solutions for the school's energy-saving management level.
Research on the Participation of University-affiliated Think Tanks in Local Economic Development
Authors: Tang Zijun
Published: February 2019

The basic function of modern university is to train talents, produce and disseminate scientific knowledge, and promote technological progress. As an important birthplace of high technology, universities are the natural matrix of good think tanks. Compared with the government-affiliated think-tanks and the social think tanks, the university-affiliated think tanks have some unique advantages, such as the concentrated embodiment of the university resources, the role of the third party of non-profit, more advanced and standardized operational model, and the strong scientific research foundation and ability. Therefore, in the current period of important strategic opportunities for local economic and social development, the construction of university-affiliated think tanks should be strengthened, giving full play to the role of university-affiliated think tanks, so as to promote local economic development.
Research for Development Path of Vocational Education of Ceramic Art under Economic New Normal
Authors: Yu Fei
Published: February 2019

The economic new normal formed in recent years has significant impact on the ceramic art industry and further influences the development of vocational education of ceramic art so that the vocational education of ceramic art is facing the new requirements and new challenges. Therefore, the vocational education of ceramic art under the economic new normal shall be developed from macroscopic and microcosmic idea, the target shall be established to build the modern vocational education system through concept update, system reform, self-management, reasonable assessment and other methods.
Fatigue life prediction of joggle weld joint using virtual strain gauge and its validation through experiments
Authors: Deshmukh Atul R. , Venkatachalam Gopalan , Saraf M.R.
Published: February 2019

This paper highlights fatigue life prediction and interactions between weld design parameters and their effect on joggle weld joint using the virtual strain gauging and its validation through experimental testing. Based on the concept of linear elastic fracture mechanics, the effects of weld geometry, load conditions and the boundary constraints on the fatigue strength of joggle weld joint are investigated using the finite element analysis. Response surface methodology is used to evaluate the influences of three weld joint parameters: plate thickness (Pt), root gap (Rg) and load (Ld) on normal stress (St) and fatigue life (Lf). Main effect plot shows that the plate thickness and the load are important parameters affecting the normal strain and fatigue life, whereas root gap influences the fatigue life only up to 2 mm, but no influence on fatigue life is observed after 3 mm of root gap. Experimental results show that the presence of secondary bending affects the experimental values of fatigue life. Contour plot and regression equation are used to study the effects of weld joint parameters on normal stress and fatigue life.
Was Ergotherapie ausmacht – Kompetenzprofil
Authors: Nicole Kaldewei
Published: February 2019

Die Ergotherapie ist vielschichtig und die Darstellung nach außen nicht immer einfach. Ein Kompetenzprofil, das die ergotherapeutischen Fähigkeiten beschreibt, kann die Berufsidentität stärken und Transparenz gegenüber anderen Berufsgruppen oder der Gesundheitspolitik schaffen. Eine DVE-Projektgruppe widmet sich dieser komplexen Aufgabe.
Perspective of graphene-based electronic devices: Graphene synthesis and diverse applications
Authors: Yang Jie , Hu PingAn , Yu Gui
Published: February 2019

Graphene, with amazing physical and chemical properties, exhibits great potential for next-generation electronic devices. Promising achievements were obtained in recent years. Nevertheless, there are challenges before the industrialization of graphene-based electronic devices (G-EDs), which present opportunities as well. Mass-production of graphene and the growing G-EDs are the major issues. In this perspective, we briefly outline the notable advances in the production of graphene and the development of diverse G-EDs. Then we probe into the critical challenges on the way of G-EDs and provide corresponding strategies. Finally, we give our expectations of G-EDs in the near future.
Broad-band polarization-insensitive all-dielectric metalens enabled by intentional off-resonance waveguiding at mid-wave infrared
Authors: Tanriover Ibrahim , Demir Hilmi Volkan
Published: February 2019

Metasurfaces are promising candidates to take the place of conventional optical components as they enable wavefront engineering at sub- and near-wavelength distances along both lateral and vertical directions. Plasmonic metasurfaces containing sub-wavelength metallic structures constitute initial examples of this concept. However, plasmonic metasurfaces cannot achieve satisfactory efficiencies in the transmission mode due to their intrinsic losses. The low efficiencies of transmissive plasmonic metasurfaces motivated solutions using dielectric ones. Such high-efficiency all dielectric metasurfaces depend on either resonance tuning or Pancharatnam–Berry (geometrical) phase approaches. However, these approaches are limited to either narrow operation bands or suffer polarization dependency. Here, we propose and show high-index dielectric nanopillars operated as cylindrical waveguides deliberately in the off-resonance regime to achieve polarization independent wavefront control over wide spectral bands. As a proof-of-concept structure, we demonstrated a focusing metalens operating at wavelengths from 4.0 to 4.6 μm under both s- and p-polarized illuminations. The designed lens maintains the focusing operation with a maximum of 4% focal distance shift having a relative efficiency of >94% and an absolute efficiency of >67% all over the defined spectral band of 600 nm, which outperforms the previously reported metalenses in terms of wide-band operation with high performance.
Ireland’s scientists seek a shift in support toward basic research
Authors: Feder Toni
Published: February 2019

Their wish list: Support creativity and theoretical disciplines, maintain links with UK colleagues amid the uncertainty of Brexit, and continue the strong ties with industry that helped the country recover from deep recession.
The origin of the elements
Authors: Woosley Stan , Trimble Virginia , Thielemann Friedrich-Karl
Published: February 2019

Determining where the elements of the periodic table come from has taken decades of interdisciplinary research in astronomy, chemistry, and nuclear physics.
Theory of dynamic critical phenomena
Authors: Halperin Bertrand I.
Published: February 2019

New mathematical approaches have extended physicists’ understanding of magnets, superfluids, and other complex systems.
Constructing the theory of the standard model
Authors: Gaillard Mary K. , Langacker Paul
Published: February 2019

It took decades to discover the quarks, leptons, and gauge and scalar bosons that make up our current picture of particle physics.
Resource fluctuation patterns influence emergent properties of phytoplankton assemblages and their resistance to harmful algal blooms
Authors: Roelke Daniel L. , Cagle Sierra E. , Muhl Rika M.W. , Sakavara Athanasia , Tsirtsis George
Published: February 2019

Recent advances in phytoplankton modelling have used species-rich, self-organising assemblages. These models have shown that phytoplankton with complementary life-history traits related to resource exploitation assemble into stable states of lumpy coexistence when resources fluctuate where species’ niches occur in clusters along resource gradients. They have also shown that a high degree of competitive dissimilarity between clusters arises, and that this relates to the incidence of monospecific blooms of allelochemical-producing taxa, i.e. some harmful algal bloom (HAB) species. These findings further suggest that the mode (sudden v. gradual changes) under which limiting resources fluctuate plays an important role in determining the emergent properties of the assemblage. For example, productivity, biodiversity and the number of species clusters (and, therefore, resistance to HABs) are all enhanced when switches in resource supplies are gradual, compared with when they are sudden. These theoretical findings, as well as others discussed herein, are of particular interest in watersheds where human activities, such as dam construction, have the capacity to dramatically alter natural-resource fluctuation patterns.
Polysemy of the Estonian perception verb nägema ‘to see’
Authors: Proos Mariann
Published: February 2019

This paper focuses on the polysemy of the Estonian perception verb nägema ‘to see’. The aim of the paper is to analyse polysemy using two different methods; and to show how and why the results of the two methods differ. The methods used are a sorting task and a behavioural profile analysis. Hierarchical cluster analysis is used to show which senses of nägema are more similar to each other based on each method, and why. The results show that the main differences stem from the fact that important elements of meaning for the language user are not necessarily objectively annotatable in the corpus. It is argued, however, that both experimental as well as corpus-based methods are valuable tools for polysemy research.
A Multidimensional Analysis of Pakistani and U.S. English blogs and columns
Authors: Shakir Muhammad , Deuber Dagmar
Published: February 2019

The present study is a Multidimensional Analysis (MDA) of English blogs and newspaper columns originating from
Pakistan and the U.S. using MDA dimensions reported in Grieve et al. (2010): (i)
Informational versus Personal Focus; (ii) Addressee Focus; (iii) Thematic Variation; and (iv) Narrative Style. The aim is to
examine regional and/or functional variation among Pakistani and U.S. English blogs and columns and its possible causes. The
results show that Pakistani and U.S. columns differ significantly from each other, while blogs have less significant differences.
Further investigation into sub-categories of blogs reveals significant differences among technology blogs, while news blogs and
individual blogs differ less significantly. An examination of possible causes shows that geographical origin, the situational
characteristics of the register, and the internet as a medium play a role in variation. It is further suggested that internet
registers might be evolving rapidly with the fast-changing landscape of products and services on the internet.
Secrecy, sacredness and unveiling of the Kalenjin cultural initiation rites
Authors: Mietzner Angelika
Published: February 2019

Secret rituals and a secret language are the core aspect of the seclusion and circumcision, which used to be an important part of the lives of men and women alike. They are meant to be secret, although descriptions of rituals can be found in academic texts as well as in the internet. This article aims at shedding light on the complexity of secrecy and the unveiling of secrets in the Kalenjin society of Kenya and explains the procedure of the unveiling and the various reactions of members of the society.
Experiencing literature in the poetry classroom
Authors: Giovanelli Marcello
Published: February 2019

This chapter reports on a small-scale study of studying fiction in the secondary classroom to explore how a sequence of lessons on Gillian Clarke’s poem “Cold Knap Lake” is experienced by a group of fifteen-year-old students in a UK school. In the context of the performativity agenda that persists in schools, some researchers have argued that the classroom experience of reading poetry in particular has been subjected to a more transmissive method of delivery where students can be fearful of developing individual responses. In addition, the role of the teacher as a more powerful participant in the classroom means that decisions regarding what is read, how activities are framed and how responses are articulated are usually taken by the teacher. This chapter draws on Text World Theory (Werth 1999; Gavins 2007) and interthinking (Littleton and Mercer 2013) to account for the ways in which the students in this study respond to Clarke’s poem. The chapter shows that the teacher and the material aspects of the classroom appear to foreground certain ways of interpreting the poem and discussing it, but that students also engage in using a variety of different resources to help structure their learning and arrive at a satisfactory interpretation.
Pragmatic effects of clitic doubling
Authors: Sikuku Justine M. , Diercks Michael , Marlo Michael R.
Published: February 2019

Object markers (OMs) in Bantu languages have long been argued to be either incorporated pronouns or agreement morphemes, distinguished mainly by their ability (or not) to co-occur with (i.e. double)in situobjects. Lubukusu appears to be an instance of OMs-as-incorporated pronouns, as OMs in neutral discourse contexts cannot doublein situobjects in a broad range of syntactic contexts. As we show, however, certain pragmatic contexts in fact do license OM-doubling; we demonstrate that OM-doubling in Lubukusu is licit only on a verum (focus) interpretation. We analyze OM-doubling within a Minimalist framework as the result of an Agree relation between the object and a verum-triggering Emphasis head (Emph°). The non-doubling OM results from an incorporation operation. We therefore claim that Lubukusu displays two distinct syntactic derivations of OMs (generating doubling and non-doubling) with the interpretive effects of OM-doubling arising from the semantic/pragmatic properties of Emph°.
A construction of Poincaré–Einstein metrics of cohomogeneity one on the ball
Authors: Matsumoto Yoshihiko
Published: February 2019

We exhibit an explicit one-parameter smooth family of Poincaré–Einstein metrics on the even-dimensional unit ball whose conformal infinities are the Berger spheres. Our construction is based on a Gibbons–Hawking-type ansätz of Page and Pope. The family contains the hyperbolic metric, converges to the complex hyperbolic metric at one of the ends, and at the other end the ball equipped with our metric collapses to a Poincaré–Einstein manifold of one lower dimension with an isolated conical singularity.
Symbolic Survival and Harm: Serious Fraud and Consumer Capitalism’s Perversion of the Causa Sui Project
Authors: Tudor Kate
Published: February 2019

Based on empirical research carried out with those convicted of serious fraud, the current article explores the motivations behind engagement in acquisitive criminality. Drawing on the work of Ernest Becker, the article seeks to transcend superficial explanations of fraud which draw on notions of greed and individual pathology, locating causation instead at the level of consumer capitalism’s perversion of the contemporary causa sui project through its stimulation of deep human existential anxieties. It will be suggested that the acts of economic predation perpetrated by the men in the study represent attempts to escape anxiety through the avoidance of symbolic annihilation and that they are illustrative of the way in which the contemporary capitalism generates harm.
Exchange rate movements, export sophistication and direction of trade: the development channel and North–South trade flows
Authors: Caglayan Mustafa , Demir Firat
Published: February 2019

We study the effects of real exchange rate (RER) changes on trade flows considering the skill content and origin/destination of products in a North–South framework. The empirical analysis is based on bilateral trade flows in five product categories of technology-and-skill intensities between 172 countries during 1962–2012. Consistent with the development channel, we find that both the composition and direction of trade affect how exports respond to RER changes. We find that high-skill manufactures and primary goods are the least affected from RER depreciation and volatility. The strongest effects are found for medium-skill, low-skill and resource-intensive manufactures. We also show that these effects depend on the direction of trade. Southern exports are more sensitive to RER than Northern exports in all product categories except for primary goods. Regarding volatility, South–North exports are hurt the most while North–South the least. Also, South–South exports appear to be less sensitive to volatility in all product groups than South–North. Overall, this paper provides a synthesis of the recent neoclassical international trade literature with the heterodox development literature.
A New Steganography Method Using Integer Wavelet Transform and Least Significant Bit Substitution
Authors: Kalita Manashee , Tuithung Themrichon , Majumder Swanirbhar
Published: February 2019

Steganography is a data hiding technique, which is used for securing data. Both spatial and transform domains are used to implement a steganography method. In this paper, a novel transform domain method is proposed to provide a better data hiding method. The method uses a multi-resolution transform function, integer wavelet transform (IWT) that decomposes an image into four subbands: low-low, low-high, high-low and high-high subband. The proposed method utilizes only the three subbands keeping the low-low subband untouched which helps to improve the quality of the stego image. The method applies a coefficient value differencing approach to determine the number of secret bits to be embedded in the coefficients. The method shows a good performance in terms of embedding capacity, imperceptibility and robustness. A number of metrics are computed to show the quality of the stego image. It can also withstand RS steganalysis, Chi-squared test and Subtractive Pixel Adjacency Matrix steganalysis successfully. The deformation of the histogram and Pixel Difference Histogram for different embedding percentages are also demonstrated, which show a significant similarity with the original cover image. The proposed method shows an achievement of 2.3bpp embedding capacity with a good quality of stego image.
Life Course Socioeconomic Conditions and Frailty at Older Ages
Authors: Van der Linden Bernadette Wilhelmina Antonia , Cheval Boris , Sieber Stefan , Orsholits Dan , Guessous Idris , Stringhini Silvia , Gabriel Rainer , Aartsen Marja , Blane David , Courvoisier Delphine , Burton-Jeangros Claudine , Kliegel Matthias , Cullati Stéphane
Published: February 2019

Objectives

This article aimed to assess associations of childhood socioeconomic conditions (CSC) with the risk of frailty in old age and whether adulthood socioeconomic conditions (ASC) influence this association.

Methods

Data from 21,185 individuals aged 50 years and older included in the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe were used. Frailty was operationalized as a sum of presenting weakness, shrinking, exhaustion, slowness, or low activity. Confounder-adjusted multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze associations of CSC and ASC with frailty.

Results

While disadvantaged CSC was associated with higher odds of (pre-)frailty in women and men (odds ratio [OR] = 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34, 2.24; OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.27, 2.66, respectively), this association was mediated by ASC. Personal factors and demographics, such as birth cohort, chronic conditions, and difficulties with activities of daily living, increased the odds of being (pre-)frail.

Discussion

Findings suggest that CSC are associated with frailty at old age. However, when taking into account ASC, this association no longer persists. The results show the importance of improving socioeconomic conditions over the whole life course in order to reduce health inequalities in old age.
The Effect of Shared Service Centers on Administrative Intensity in English Local Government: A Longitudinal Evaluation
Authors: Elston Thomas , Dixon Ruth
Published: February 2019

“Administrative intensity” (AI) describes the proportion of total resources that organizations spend on administrative support functions rather than primary service and production processes. We test whether “sharing” administrative activities between organizations leads to a fall in AI due to economies of scale, as is often supposed, using organizational and financial data from more than 300 English local authorities. We employ multi-wave change score regression analysis to relate changes in AI from 2008 to 2016 to levels of shared services participation, and further test whether reform performance varies by category of local authority, type of administration, or degree of structural complexity. Although we find that some measures of AI fell slightly over this period, this was unrelated to shared service adoption for any category of local authority. Sharing of clerical rather than professional types of administration, and sharing by organizations and within partnerships characterized by lower structural complexity, also failed to improve reform outcomes. Faulty assumptions about the extent of administrative scale diseconomies in English local government partly explain this significant reform underperformance.
Formulas for Determining the Recovery Times for Optimal Two-Point Saturation–Recovery Measurement of the MR Longitudinal Relaxation Rate
Authors: Hsu Jung-Jiin
Published: February 2019

The saturation–recovery method is a frequently used NMR/MRI technique for the measurement of the longitudinal relaxation rate R1. Under noise influence, the accuracy and the precision of the measurement outcome depend on the selection of the recovery times. This work seeks to determine the optimal recovery-time selection when the total scan time is constrained. A Monte Carlo computational method was used to simulate the noise-influenced distribution of the R1 measurement for various combinations of the two recovery times and to find the combination that produces the minimal standard deviation. Using the sum of recovery times (SRT) as the total scan time, mathematical formulas are derived from the simulation covering the SRT range of [0.05T1, 15T1]. The formulas describe the relationship between the SRT, the optimal accuracy and precision, and the recovery-time selection, and reproduce the results for the cases previously validated with experiments. In clinical application, the scan time is limited by the scan subject’s tolerance in the scanner and the time that can be allocated to the measurement in a scan session. These formulas provide a practical way to evaluate the trade-offs between precision and the scan time in scan planning.
Disease and phenotype relevant genetic variants identified from histone acetylomes in human hearts
Authors: Wen Tan Wilson Lek , Anene-Nzelu Chukwuemeka George , Wong Eleanor , Tan Hui San , Bangfen Pan , Lee Chang Jie Mick , Autio Matias Ilmari , Morley Michael P. , Margulies Kenneth B. , Cappola Thomas P. , Loh Marie , Chambers John , Prabhakar Shyam , Foo Roger
Published: February 2019

Identifying genetic markers for heterogeneous complex diseases such as heart failure has been challenging, and may require prohibitively large cohort sizes in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in order to demonstrate statistical significance1. On the other hand, chromatin quantitative trait loci (QTL), elucidated by direct epigenetic profiling of specific human tissues, may contribute towards prioritising variants for disease-association. Here, we captured non-coding genetic variants by performing enhancer H3K27ac ChIP-seq in 70 human control and end-stage failing hearts, mapping out a comprehensive catalogue of 47,321 putative human heart enhancers. 3,897 differential acetylation peaks (FDR < 0.05) pointed to recognizable pathways altered in heart failure (HF). To identify cardiac histone acetylation QTLs (haQTLs), we regressed out confounding factors including HF disease status, and employed the G-SCI test2 to call out 1,680 haQTLs (FDR < 0.1). A subset of these showed significant association to gene expression, either in cis (180), or through long range interactions (81), identified by Hi-C and Hi-ChIP performed on a subset of hearts. Furthermore, a concordant relationship was found between the gain or disruption of specific transcription factor (TF) binding motifs, inferred from alternative alleles at the haQTLs, associated with altered H3K27ac peak heights. Finally, colocalisation of our haQTLs with heart-related GWAS datasets allowed us to identify 62 unique loci. Disease-association for these new loci may indeed be mediated through modification of H3K27-acetylation enrichment and their corresponding gene expression differences.
Biophysical properties of AKAP95 protein condensates regulate splicing and tumorigenesis
Authors: Li Wei , Hu Jing , Shi Bi , Palomba Francesco , Digman Michelle A. , Gratton Enrico , Jiang Hao
Published: February 2019

It remains unknown if biophysical or material properties of biomolecular condensates regulate cancer. Here we show that AKAP95, a nuclear protein that regulates transcription and RNA splicing, plays an important role in tumorigenesis by supporting cancer cell growth and suppressing oncogene-induced senescence. AKAP95 forms phase-separated and liquid-like condensates in vitro and in nucleus. Mutations of key residues to different amino acids perturb AKAP95 condensation in opposite directions. Importantly, the activity of AKAP95 in splice regulation is abolished by disruption of condensation, significantly impaired by hardening of condensates, and regained by substituting its condensation-mediating region with other condensation-mediating regions from irrelevant proteins. Moreover, the abilities of AKAP95 in regulating gene expression and supporting tumorigenesis require AKAP95 to form condensates with proper liquidity and dynamicity. These results link phase separation to tumorigenesis and uncover an important role of appropriate biophysical properties of protein condensates in gene regulation and cancer.
Reconstruction of 1,000 projection neurons reveals new cell types and organization of long-range connectivity in the mouse brain
Authors: Winnubst Johan , Bas Erhan , Ferreira Tiago A. , Wu Zhuhao , Economo Michael N. , Edson Patrick , Arthur Ben J. , Bruns Christopher , Rokicki Konrad , Schauder David , Olbris Donald J. , Murphy Sean D. , Ackerman David G. , Arshadi Cameron , Baldwin Perry , Blake Regina , Elsayed Ahmad , Hasan Mashtura , Ramirez Daniel , Santos Bruno Dos , Weldon Monet , Zafar Amina , Dudmann Joshua T. , Gerfen Charles R. , Hantman Adam W. , Korff Wyatt , Sternson Scott M. , Spruston Nelson , Svoboda Karel , Chandrashekar Jayaram
Published: February 2019

Neuronal cell types are the nodes of neural circuits that determine the flow of information within the brain. Neuronal morphology, especially the shape of the axonal arbor, provides an essential descriptor of cell type and reveals how individual neurons route their output across the brain. Despite the importance of morphology, few projection neurons in the mouse brain have been reconstructed in their entirety. Here we present a robust and efficient platform for imaging and reconstructing complete neuronal morphologies, including axonal arbors that span substantial portions of the brain. We used this platform to reconstruct more than 1,000 projection neurons in the motor cortex, thalamus, subiculum, and hypothalamus. Together, the reconstructed neurons comprise more than 75 meters of axonal length and are available in a searchable online database. Axonal shapes revealed previously unknown subtypes of projection neurons and suggest organizational principles of long-range connectivity.
Central spindle microtubules are strongly coupled to chromosomes during both anaphase A and anaphase B
Authors: Yu Che-Hang , Redemann Stefanie , Wu Hai-Yin , Kiewisz Robert , Yoo Tae Yeon , Farhadifar Reza , Müller-Reichert Thomas , Needleman Daniel
Published: February 2019

Spindle microtubules, whose dynamics vary over time and at different locations, cooperatively drive chromosome segregation. Measurements of microtubule dynamics and spindle ultrastructure can provide insight into the behaviors of microtubules, helping elucidate the mechanism of chromosome segregation. Much work has focused on the dynamics and organization of kinetochore microtubules, i.e. on the region between chromosomes and poles. In comparison, microtubules in the central spindle region, between segregating chromosomes, have been less thoroughly characterized. Here, we report measurements of the movement of central spindle microtubules during chromosome segregation in human mitotic spindles, andCaenorhabditis elegansmitotic and female meiotic spindles. We found that these central spindle microtubules slide apart at the same speed as chromosomes, even as chromosomes move towards spindle poles. In these systems, damaging central spindle microtubules by laser ablation caused an immediate and complete cessation of chromosome motion, suggesting a strong coupling between central spindle microtubules and chromosomes. Electron tomographic reconstruction revealed that the analyzed anaphase spindles all contain microtubules with both ends between segregating chromosomes. Our results provide new dynamical, functional, and ultrastructural characterizations of central spindle microtubules during chromosome segregation in diverse spindles, and suggest that central spindle microtubules and chromosomes are strongly coupled in anaphase.
Influence of light on particulate organic matter utilization by attached and free-living marine bacteria
Authors: Gomez-Consarnau Laura , Needham David M. , Weber Peter K. , Fuhrman Jed A. , Mayali Xavier
Published: February 2019

While the impact of light on primary productivity in aquatic systems has been studied for decades, the role light plays in the degradation of photosynthetically-produced biomass is less well understood. We investigated the patterns of light-induced particle breakdown and bacterial assimilation of detrital C and N using13C and15N labeled freeze-thawed diatom cells incubated in laboratory microcosms with a marine microbial community freshly-collected from the Pacific Ocean. Particles incubated in the dark resulted in increased bacterial counts and dissolved organic carbon concentrations compared to those incubated in the light. Light also influenced the attached and free-living microbial community structure as detected by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. For example, bacterial taxa from the Sphingobacteriia were enriched on dark-incubated particles and taxa from the family Flavobacteriaceae and the genus Pseudoalteromonas were numerically enriched on particles in the light. Isotope incorporation analysis by phylogenetic microarray and NanoSIMS (a method called Chip-SIP) identified free-living and attached microbial taxa able to incorporate N and C from the particles. Some taxa, including members of the Flavobacteriaceae and Cryomorphaceae, exhibited increased isotope incorporation in the light, suggesting the use of photoheterotrophic metabolisms. In contrast, some members of Oceanospirillales and Rhodospirillales showed decreased isotope incorporation in the light, suggesting that their heterotrophic metabolism, particularly when occurring on particles, might increase at night or may be inhibited by sunlight. These results show that light influences particle degradation and C and N incorporation by attached bacteria, suggesting that the transfer between particulate and free-living phases are likely affected by external factors that change with the light regime, such as time of day, depth and season.