bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Single‐inductor resonant switched capacitor voltage multiplier with safe commutation
Authors: Rosas‐Caro Julio C. , Mayo‐Maldonado Jonathan C. , Mancilla‐David Fernando , Valderrabano‐Gonzalez Antonio , Beltran Carbajal Francisco
Published: March 2015

This study proposes a resonant switched capacitor voltage multiplier with a novel switching strategy. The proposed implementation provides a high voltage gain in comparison with other traditional approaches, this is achieved by charging every capacitor with the voltage of all previous charged capacitors. A safe commutation procedure is also presented in which switching errors are avoided regardless of variations in the resonant frequency, variations in the resonance frequency may be caused by tolerance in passive components. The converter offers the capability to drain resonant current through all switching devices using a single small inductor, the input current is continuous. A design‐oriented analysis of steady‐state waveforms is discussed through the study. To validate the proposed approach, experimental results are shown.
Double deadbeat‐loop control method for distribution static compensator
Authors: Luo An , Xiao Huagen , Shuai Zhikang
Published: March 2015

This study presents a double deadbeat‐loop control method for distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM), which aims to simplify design of the controller for DSTATCOM and improve the dynamic performance of DSTATCOM. The proposed control method comprises of dc‐link voltage deadbeat controller and the ac‐side instantaneous current deadbeat controller, in which the dc‐link voltage deadbeat control method is proposed for simplifying the design of the outer voltage controller of DSTATCOM. The output of the dc‐link voltage deadbeat controller and the reactive current reference obtained from the load are imported into the ac‐side instantaneous current controller based on the deadbeat current method. The parameters of the proposed control method can be directly calculated according to the parameters of the given circuit components, and the proposed control method is very easy to be realised in digital processor and with fast dynamic response. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed control method is validated through both simulation and experiment results.
Modified step‐up boost converter with coupled‐inductor and super‐lift techniques
Authors: Bahrami Hamid , Iman‐Eini Hossein , Kazemi Babak , Taheri Alireza
Published: March 2015

In this study, a modified efficient step‐up boost converter is proposed. The proposed structure employs coupled‐inductor and super‐lift techniques to achieve high voltage gain. The super‐lift stage absorbs the available energy in the leakage inductance of the coupled inductor, clamps the off‐state voltage of the main switch, and reaches a moderate voltage gain. Moreover, the coupled‐inductor technique offers high voltage gain, low off‐state voltage for the main switch, and alleviates the reverse‐recovery problem of the output diode. Hence, using these two techniques, the proposed converter achieves high step‐up voltage gain and eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional boost converter. The proposed converter is analysed in details and a hardware prototype with the input voltage of 15 V, output voltage of 200 V and the nominal power of 100 W is utilised for the experimental investigation.
Maximum power point tracking method using a modified perturb and observe algorithm for grid connected wind energy conversion systems
Authors: Linus Rajin M. , Damodharan Perumal
Published: March 2015

This paper analyses the performance of maximum power point tracking in a grid connected permanent magnet synchronous generator‐based wind energy conversion system using a linear relationship between optimum speed and wind velocity to increase the speed of the controller response. Furthermore, the proposed large step forward and the small step reverse initial tracking improves the accuracy of the existing large step perturb and observe algorithm and is also capable of tracking maximum power for rapidly varying wind conditions. The system consists of back‐to‐back sinusoidal pulse‐width modulation converters. The generator side converter is used to track the maximum wind power using the proposed method through field oriented control. The role of the grid side inverter is to transfer the generated wind power from DC‐link to the grid and regulate the DC‐link voltage. Moreover, this paper examines the performance of the grid side inverter in grid synchronisation with a non‐linear inductive load. Moreover, it analyses the concept of the proposed method using the theoretical aspects. A model for the complete system is developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK and the performance of the proposed control scheme is validated through simulations.
Active participation of wind power in operating reserves
Authors: De Vos Kristof , Driesen Johan
Published: March 2015

The increasing share of variable renewable energy sources for electricity increases the operating reserve requirements of power systems. This contribution studies the techno‐economic feasibility of procuring reserve capacity as an ancillary service from wind power producers. Research and demonstration have shown that wind power is able to meet the technical requirements of providing these balancing services. This study shows how acceptable availability levels can be achieved when using probabilistic forecast models in combination with day‐ahead procurement. The participation of wind power is analysed with a unit commitment model in order to determine the impact on generation system scheduling, as well as the electricity generation costs. Simulations show how wind power becomes a potential provider of downward reserve capacity when facing high reserve capacity requirements during periods with low demand and high renewable generation. In contrast, its participation in the upward reserve capacity remains limited, explained by the high opportunity cost.
State‐of‐charge optimising control approach of battery energy storage system for wind farm
Authors: Zou Jianxiao , Peng Chao , Shi Jie , Xin Xiaoshuai , Zhang Zhenzhen
Published: March 2015

In recent years, configuring battery energy storage system (BESS) in wind farm has become the most popular method to smooth wind power fluctuation. The effectiveness of wind power fluctuation smoothing relies on the charging/discharging power control and state of charge (SOC) regulation of BESS. This study proposed a novel optimising SOC control approach for BESS in wind farm which could regulate wind power fluctuation in a suitable level and maintain SOC in an optimal range by utilising the wind power prediction information. A wind power prediction‐based optimal SOC calculation module is designed to obtain an optimal range of SOC which makes BESS have enough capacity to smooth wind power fluctuation in a finite future period of time. It takes minimising over‐charging and over‐discharging time as optimisation objectives and biggest variations of wind farm outputting power within 1 and 10 min as restraint. A fuzzy self‐adjusting of filter‐based real‐time control module is designed to smooth the wind power fluctuation in real time and regulate SOC to the optimal range. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach was demonstrated through implementing it in wind power smoothing control simulation experiments.
Chronological risk assessment approach of distribution system with concentrated solar power plant
Authors: Shah Rakibuzzaman , Yan Ruifeng , Saha Tapan K.
Published: March 2015

It is anticipated that concentrated solar power (CSP) plant will become one of the significant resources for electric power generation in the near future. As the smaller scale CSP‐based generations are primarily connected in distribution systems, there is a need to assess risk‐based security for mid‐ to long‐term planning. To quantify the risk of static and dynamic security with CSP, a method based on chronological simulation has been proposed. A clustering, algorithm‐based scenario‐reduction technique has been used to utilise the data efficiently for chronological simulation while preserving the temporal information. A number of composite risk indices that truly reflect the system risk have been used to address the static and dynamic security of a distribution system. The proposed method has been applied to a medium voltage distribution system, 43‐bus system, to evaluate the static and dynamic risk with CSP and electric vehicles using the load profiles of North Queensland. Power profiles of a CSP system at Rockhampton, North Queensland, have been used for the simulation studies.
Probabilistic analysis of gear flank micro‐pitting risk in wind turbine gearbox using supervisory control and data acquisition data
Authors: Al‐Tubi Issa , Long Hui , Tavner Peter , Shaw Brian , Zhang Jishan
Published: March 2015

This study investigates the probabilistic risk of gear tooth flank micro‐pitting in wind turbine (WT) gearboxes and shows how relatively slow rate of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data, recorded during operation, can be used to analyse the onset of gear surface damage. Field measured time series of SCADA signals, including wind speed, generator power and rotational speed, were used to obtain the statistical variation of gear shaft torque and rotational speed. From the SCADA data obtained over a 2.2 year period random number datasets of smaller sizes were selected. Based on these random number datasets the effect of gear shaft torque and rotational speed variations on the probabilistic risk of gear micro‐pitting was investigated. Determinations of the gear tooth flank contact stress and lubricant film thickness were based on the technical report of gear micro‐pitting, ISO/TR 15144‐1 (2010). The study has shown that the considered pinion gear is subjected to high load conditions resulting in high contact stresses. The variation of rotational speed causes greater sliding between the gear teeth. The results of specific lubricant film thicknesses have shown that there is considerable risk of gear micro‐pitting under the operational conditions recorded from the SCADA field data.
DC‐link fault current limiter‐based fault ride‐through scheme for inverter‐based distributed generation
Authors: Jalilian Amin , Hagh Mehrdad Tarafdar , Abapour Mehdi , Muttaqi Kashem M.
Published: March 2015

Owing to increasing the penetration level of the inverter‐based distributed generations (IBDGs) in power systems, their fault ride‐through (FRT) capability has become one of the essential issues of new grid codes. This study proposes a novel DC‐link fault current limiter (DLFCL)‐based FRT scheme to improve the FRT capability in IBDG units. The DLFCL module has almost no effect on normal operation of IBDG. When a short‐circuit fault occurs in power system, the DLFCL module effectively limits the inverter output current and protects its switching devices. The employed DLFCL does not need any control, measurement and gate driving system. Also, it has simple configuration and it is not mandatory to use a superconductor inductor in its power circuit so, it has low initial cost. By using the proposed scheme, it is possible to provide continues operation of IBDG even at zero grid voltage. Analytical analysis is presented in details. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is approved through extensive simulation studies in PSCAD/EMTDC environment. An experimental setup is used to verify the main concept of the proposed approach.
Metaheuristic and probabilistic techniques for optimal allocation and size of biomass distributed generation in unbalanced radial systems
Authors: Gómez‐González Manuel , Ruiz‐Rodriguez Francisco Javier , Jurado Francisco
Published: March 2015

In this study, a method for solving a probabilistic three‐phase power flow in radial distribution networks and taking into account the technical constraints of the system is presented. Regulation of voltage is one of the main problems to be taken into account in networks with distributed generation. The present study introduces a probabilistic model to determine the performance of the distribution system. This study considers the random nature of lower heating value of biomass and loads. This study presents a new hybrid technique combining the shuffled frog leaping algorithm with probabilistic three‐phase power flow that is solved by Monte Carlo method. Feasible results are achieved in a few iterations. The results show that the proposed technique can be applied to keep the voltages within the limits specified at each node of a distribution network with biomass power plants. The outcomes are attained using the unbalanced distribution system IEEE‐13 node and connecting biomass power plants at some nodes. This study shows that the power losses and voltage unbalance are reduced as a result of the inclusion of distributed generation.
Separating function estimation tests for narrowband signal activity detection using linear array
Authors: Ghobadzadeh Ali , Taban Mohammad Reza
Published: March 2015

This study addresses the narrowband signal detection with unknown frequency, direction of arrival, complex amplitude and noise variance. The authors find a separating function (SF) using the maximal invariant of induced group of transformations. Then three separating function estimation tests (SFETs) are proposed which called SFET1, SFET2 and SFET3. It is shown that the SFET1 using the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of SF is equal to the generalised likelihood ratio test. The SFET2 and SFET3 are proposed to reduce the computational complexity of SFET1, based on a proposed estimation named by averaged MLE. The authors show that the proposed tests are constant false alarm rate. Moreover it is shown that the proposed tests are asymptotically optimal by increasing the number of snapshots and antennas. The simulation results show that the SFET3 outperforms the SFET1 and SFET2 and the decreasing rate of miss detection against the number of snapshots for SFET3 is higher than that for SFET1 and SFET2.
Effect of aluminium doping amount on the electrochemical properties of ZnO nanoparticles as anode for lithium ion batteries
Authors: Zhang Lifeng , Zhang Jinzhen , Liu Yi , Guo Shouwu
Published: March 2015

Aluminium (Al)‐doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesised by a simple solvothermal method at low temperature. The electrochemical properties of the obtained products as anode for lithium ion batteries were examined through galvanostatic discharge–charge, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The results show that the reversible capacities of Al‐doped ZnO NPs are higher than the capacities of pure ZnO synthesised under the same experimental conditions. ZnO NPs doped with 2% (molar ratio) of Al show the best electrochemical properties with reversible specific capacities of 418 mA·h·g−1 at a current density of 50 mA·g−1. The enhanced electrochemical performance of this material could be attributed to the improved electronic conductivity because of the doping of Al3+ at an appropriate concentration.
High mobility amorphous InGaZnO4 thin film transistors formed by CO2 laser spike annealing
Authors: Chung Chen-Yang , Zhu Bin , Ast Dieter G. , Greene Raymond G. , Thompson Michael O.
Published: March 2015

Amorphous InGaZnO4 (a-IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) hold great potential for large area and flexible electronics with current research focused on improving the mobility and stability. In this work, we report on properties of IGZO TFTs fabricated using laser spike annealing (LSA) with a scanned continuous wave CO2 laser. For peak annealing temperatures near 430 °C and a 1 ms dwell, TFTs exhibit saturation field-effect mobilities above 70 cm2/V-s (Von ∼ −3 V), a value over 4 times higher than furnace-annealed control samples (∼16 cm2/V-s). A model linking oxygen deficient defect structures with limited structural relaxation after the LSA anneal is proposed to explain the observed high mobility. This mobility is also shown to be comparable to the estimated trap-free mobility in oxide semiconductors and suggests that shallow traps can be removed by transient thermal annealing under optimized conditions.
A subsurface add-on for standard atomic force microscopes
Authors: Verbiest G. J. , van der Zalm D. J. , Oosterkamp T. H. , Rost M. J.
Published: March 2015

The application of ultrasound in an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) gives access to subsurface information. However, no commercially AFM exists that is equipped with this technique. The main problems are the electronic crosstalk in the AFM setup and the insufficiently strong excitation of the cantilever at ultrasonic (MHz) frequencies. In this paper, we describe the development of an add-on that provides a solution to these problems by using a special piezo element with a lowest resonance frequency of 2.5 MHz and by separating the electronic connection for this high frequency piezo element from all other connections. In this sense, we support researches with the possibility to perform subsurface measurements with their existing AFMs and hopefully pave also the way for the development of a commercial AFM that is capable of imaging subsurface features with nanometer resolution.
Chaotic mixing in a planar, curved channel using periodic slip
Authors: Garg P. , Picardo J. R. , Pushpavanam S.
Published: March 2015

We propose a novel strategy for designing chaotic micromixers using curved channels confined between two flat planes. The location of the separatrix between the Dean vortices, induced by centrifugal forces, is dependent on the location of the maxima of axial velocity. An asymmetry in the axial velocity profile can change the location of the separatrix. This is achieved physically by introducing slip alternatingly at the top and bottom walls. This leads to streamline crossing and Lagrangian chaos. An approximate analytical solution of the velocity field is obtained using perturbation theory. This is used to find the Lagrangian trajectories of fluid particles. Poincare sections taken at periodic locations in the axial direction are used to study the extent of chaos. We study two microchannel designs, called circlet and serpentine, in which the Dean vortices in adjacent half cells are co-rotating and counter-rotating, respectively. The extent of mixing, at low Re and low slip length, is shown to be greater in the serpentine case. Wide channels are observed to have much better mixing than tall channels; an important observation not made for separatrix flows till now. Eulerian indicators are used to gauge the extent of mixing, with varying slip length, and it is shown that an optimum slip length exists which maximizes the mixing in a particular geometry. Once the parameter space of relatively high mixing is identified, detailed variance computations are carried out to identify the detailed features.
Two-layer geostrophic tripoles comprised by patches of uniform potential vorticity
Authors: Shteinbuch-Fridman Biana , Makarov Viacheslav , Carton Xavier , Kizner Ziv
Published: March 2015

The so-called carousel tripoles are constructed and characterized in the framework of two-layer quasi-geostrophic contour dynamics, and their stability is examined. Such a tripole is a steadily rotating doubly symmetric ensemble of three collinear vortices, or more specifically, uniform-potential-vorticity patches, with the central, core vortex, located in the upper layer, and the two remaining, satellite vortices, in the lower layer, or vice versa. The carousel tripole solutions are obtained with the use of a numerical iterative procedure. A tripole with zero total potential vorticity can be generally identified by a point in the plane spanned by two parameters, namely, the typical size of the patches relative to the Rossby deformation radius, and some shape parameter. We consider two kinds of the parameter plane by taking as the second parameter either the distance d between the centroids of the core and one of the satellites (termed also separation) or, alternatively, the minimal distance h between the core centroid and the satellite contour, measured along the symmetry axis that passes through the centroids of the core and satellites. Accordingly, to capture the stationary tripoles, we use two alternative numerical procedures, which are based on fixing the first or the second pair of parameters. This is done because the areas of convergence of the two procedures differ somewhat from each other. The areas of convergence are plotted in the parameter planes, and in each of the planes, two branches of solutions are found bifurcating from some segments of the lines bounding the convergence areas. Stability is tested in numerical simulations with the numerical noise taken as a perturbation factor. Stability/instability of a tripole is determined by examining the oscillations in the perimeter of one of the vortex satellites. For each tripole size, both stable and unstable solutions exist. The stability bounds coincide with the bifurcation lines, so that one branch of the solutions is stable while the other is not. As a whole, tripoles with considerable separation behave stably.
Effect of different seed layers with varying Co and Pt thicknesses on the magnetic properties of Co/Pt multilayers
Authors: Lim Sze Ter , Tran Michael , Chenchen Jacob Wang , Ying Ji Feng , Han Guchang
Published: March 2015

Magnetic and structural properties of Co/Pt multilayers with varying Co (tCo) and Pt (tPt) thickness grown on various seed layers have been examined. It is challenging to grow Co/Pt multilayers as a top electrode with high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) for magnetic tunnel junctions which usually comprise of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB. We show that a thicker Pt layer of 1.2 nm is necessary to attain effective anisotropy (Keff) up to 0.14 MJ/m3. On the other hand, Co/Pt multilayers with high PMA have been achieved for proper textured seed layers of Ru and Pt. In the case of Ru seed layer, a higher Keff = 0.45 MJ/m3 can be achieved for tCo = 0.5 nm and tPt = 0.2 nm. This can be attributed to the lower lattice mismatch (∼4%) within the multilayers and hence a more coherent CoPt (111) structure. Finally, we note that the film roughness could play an important role in influencing the PMA of the multilayers. The highest Keff ∼ 0.6 MJ/m3 is achieved for Pt seed layer.
Transport properties of cubic crystalline Ge2Sb2Te5: A potential low-temperature thermoelectric material
Authors: Sun Jifeng , Mukhopadhyay Saikat , Subedi Alaska , Siegrist Theo , Singh David J.
Published: March 2015

Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) has been widely used as a popular phase change material. In this study, we show that it exhibits high Seebeck coefficients 200–300 μV/K in its cubic crystalline phase (c-GST) at remarkably high p-type doping levels of ∼1 × 1019–6 × 1019 cm−3 at room temperature. More importantly, at low temperature (T = 200 K), the Seebeck coefficient was found to exceed 200 μV/K for a doping range of 1 × 1019–3.5 × 1019 cm−3. Given that the lattice thermal conductivity in this phase has already been measured to be extremely low (∼0.7 W/m-K at 300 K) [K. S. Siegert et al., Rep. Prog. Phys. 78, 013001 (2015)], our results suggest the possibility of using c-GST as a low-temperature thermoelectric material.
Electric field tuning of non-volatile three-state magnetoelectric memory in FeCo-NiFe2O4/Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.7Ti0.3O3 heterostructures
Authors: Jiang Changjun , Zhang Chao , Dong Chunhui , Guo Dangwei , Xue Desheng
Published: March 2015

We demonstrate electric field impulse-induced reversible tristable magnetization switching in FeCo-NiFe2O4/Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.7Ti0.3O3 (PMN-PT) heterostructures at room temperature. The magnetic properties of the FeCo-NiFe2O4 film can be changed reversibly by the strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling effect. Three piezostrain-mediated reversible and stable electric resistance states were obtained in the FeCo-NiFe2O4 film when different electric field impulses were applied, including large positive and negative fields and an impulse that was smaller than the electric coercive field. Consequently, reversible electric field impulse tuning of the tristable resistance state, which is related to the different magnetization switching properties of the materials, was realized. These results provide a promising approach for low loss multistate magnetoelectric memory devices for information storage applications.
Engineering of slow Bloch modes for optical trapping
Authors: Milord L. , Gerelli E. , Jamois C. , Harouri A. , Chevalier C. , Viktorovitch P. , Letartre X. , Benyattou T.
Published: March 2015

In the present paper, we propose an approach based on slow Bloch mode microcavity that enables the optical trapping of small nanoparticles over a broad surface. A specific design based on a double-period photonic crystal is presented. It enables an easy coupling using a wide free-space Gaussian beam and the cavity Q factor can be tuned at will. Moreover, the microcavity mode is mainly localized within the photonic crystal holes, meaning that each hole of the microcavity behaves as efficient nanotweezers. Experimental studies have shown that 200 nm and 100 nm particles can be trapped within the microcavity, in a spatial region that corresponds to the size of one hole (200 nm wide). The experimental trap stiffness has been extracted. It shows that this approach is among the most performant ones if we take into account the size of the cavity.
Foi que doi
Authors: Balombin Clare
Published: March 2015

One aspect of the late 12th and early 13th century Old French tales of the fox, Renart, that has been overlooked* is that the animals and humans who populate the stories invoke or mention a wide variety of saints – 64 in all.† Renart himself names 36 different saints when making 75 invocations. The choice of saint’s name to be invoked in the Roman de Renart appears to have been based on more than rhyme. Rhyme could invite multiple possibilities, given the number of saints with identical names listed in the martyrologies that circulated at that time.‡ Comparing the renardian situation with a saint’s vita or passio reveals a rich deposit of narrative, geographic, and symbolic information that the numerous, mostly anonymous, authors often manipulated to humorous, ironic, or subversive effect.
“Quare, messire, me audite!” Le choix du chameau comme légat papal dans leRoman de Renart
Authors: Birrer Larissa
Published: March 2015

Musart est un des deux chameaux dans le Roman de Renart, le légat pontifical auquel Noble demande conseil lorsqueYsengrin plaide justice dans la branche Va. Nous voulons montrer, à la lumière des sources, que dans l’imaginaire du XIIe siècle le chameau était préposé à ce rôle. Un panorama des sources montrera que le chameau était peu connu, sinon par les fables et les textes religieux. Le chameau, incarnant l’ambivalence entre le matériel et le céleste, peut représenter à la fois l’humilité du Christ et l’arrogance des Pharisiens. De plus, la tradition scientifique décrit ce camélidé, qui incarne le légat papal et devrait donc représenter le droit de l’Église, comme un animal sexuellement virulent. Sur fond de toutes ces ambivalences, le poète du Roman de Renart a beau jeu de tourner le légat papal en dérision. Nous montrerons qu’il use pour cela de trois moyens: le discours (du point de vue linguistique et juridique), le choix de l’animal qui l’incarne, et son nom (Musart), lourd de signification.
Un fabliau au cœur de Renart le Nouvel de Jacquemart Gielée
Authors: Bulthé Stéphanie
Published: March 2015

Cet article se propose de se pencher sur un cas singulier de l’inclusion du monde des fabliaux dans l’univers renardien en analysant le fabliau semi-animalier de Renart le Nouvel que l’on nommera l’épisode du viol de Harouge, épisode au cours duquel Renart viole Harouge, la maîtresse de Noble et femme de Hardi le léopard. Il s’agira de démontrer comment le matériau renardien est modelé pour devenir un fabliau. Ce passage est caractéristique des fabliaux en ce que Renart, pour berner le roi, ne met en œuvre aucune stratégie de ruse spécifiquement renardienne. Nous analyserons comment la situation comique est travaillée par Gielée pour que le ridicule retombe sur l’amant berné, Noble, bien incapable de reconnaître son infortune. Jacquemart Gielée utilise donc un comique propre au fabliau, cependant nous pondérerons ce jugement car cette scène de fabliau n’est pas qu’un intermède divertissant. L’auteur nous fait entrer par ce biais-là dans une logique de critique acerbe de la royauté aveugle et punie de ses propres péchés. En résumé, ce fabliau réussit une symbiose parfaite entre le comique léger du fabliau et l’économie générale d’une œuvre morale complexe.
Apocalyptic animals in the Johannes Lichtenberger’s Pronosticatio and its Italian translation
Authors: Del Savio Michela
Published: March 2015

This article examines an Italian translation of the Pronosticatio by Johannes Lichtenberger (originally written in Latin and printed in Germany for the first time in 1488) preserved in the manuscript London Wellcome Library 425, dated 1504. MS 425 contains nearly the complete text, with the exception of a couple of paragraphs and the xylographic apparatus; here we are concerned just with the Italian version of Lichtenberger’s work in which, both in the text and the images (which are presented here thanks to the wide circulation of this text distributed by Italian publishers in 14 printed editions), more than fifty different animals are mentioned. Focusing on this concentration of animals, we will offer a reading of the narrative role of the animal within the prophetic genre, accompanied by some hypotheses regarding what a 1504 reader (the date is contained in the manuscript itself) could have thought and in which way he may have interpreted this kind of text.
Parler et se taire
Authors: Maulu Marco
Published: March 2015

Cette contribution porte sur le Libre de les bèsties de Ramon Llull: il s’agit d’une fable en catalan qui raconte l’élection du roi des animaux et les trames de Na Renart afin de pouvoir obtenir la couronne assignée au Lyon. Cette œuvre s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un long traité didactique, intitulé Llibre de meravelles (entre 1287–1289). Ce texte a eu une ample diffusion en langue catalane et a été traduit en suite en italien, castillan et français à partir de la fin du XIVe siècle. Le Llibre de les bèsties a été composé avant le Llibre de meravelles et, d’après son explicit, représente un speculum principis dédié fort probablement à Philippe IV le Bel, roi de France à partir du 1285 et fils d’Isabelle d’Aragon. Les protagonistes absolus du conte sont bien évidemment les animaux, mais les hommes aussi jouent un rôle fondamental. Pour illustrer l’interaction entre ces deux pôles, nous avons analysé l’épisode crucial de l’ambassade des animaux chez le roi des hommes. Malgré leur capacité de dialoguer avec eux, le roi refuse presque systématiquement d’adresser la parole aux bêtes : c’est donc à travers cette problématique spécifique, et surtout à travers les implications morales qui en dérivent, que nous avons essayé de effectuer une relecture de cette complexe fable lullienne.
Un exemplaire singulier du De animalibus d’Albert le Grand et son illustration
Authors: Postec Amandine
Published: March 2015

La Bibliothèque nationale de France conserve un manuscrit du commentaire d’Albert le Grand sur le De animalibus d’Aristote dont le texte autant que le décor méritent une attention toute particulière. Ce manuscrit, réalisé dans le second tiers du XIVe siècle, offre une version du texte au plus près du manuscrit autographe du grand maître dominicain, conservé aux archives de Cologne et dont les études, de Franz Pelster et Bernhard Geyer notamment, ont montré la complexité. Le manuscrit BnF Latin 16169, qui fut acheté à un prix élevé par la bibliothèque du Collège de Sorbonne, a par la suite contribué à la diffusion du texte à Paris comme l’attestent certains manuscrits qui s’y réfèrent explicitement. Il a par ailleurs bénéficié d’un riche décor parfaitement adapté aux enseignements de l’ouvrage. L’enlumineur a en effet pris grand soin à illustrer chaque livre du commentaire en tenant compte du contenu. Ce manuscrit offre donc un bel exemple d’ouvrage scientifique pour lequel l’enluminure participe au projet pédagogique.
The Reynaert story as a vehicle for intellectual recreation
Authors: Wackers Paul
Published: March 2015

In the seventeenth century Den grooten ende nieuwen Reinart de voss was written, a Dutch adaptation of the first part of the Low German Reynke de vos that had been published by Ludwig Dietz in Rostock in 1539. The anonymous author transposed the Low German text into Dutch iambic verses and added an enormous commentary, the most learned commentary in the whole European Reynaert tradition. This article studies the relation between Den grooten ende nieuwen Reinart de voss and its source, its properties, and its literary and cultural context. At the end the results are put in a European perspective.
Using the MAXENT program for species distribution modelling to assess invasion risk.
Authors: Jarnevich C. S. , Young N.
Published: March 2015

MAXENT is a software package used to relate known species occurrences to information describing the environment, such as climate, topography, anthropogenic features or soil data, and forecast the presence or absence of a species at unsampled locations. This particular method is one of the most popular species distribution modelling techniques because of its consistent strong predictive performance and its ease to implement. This chapter discusses the decisions and techniques needed to prepare a correlative climate matching model for the native range of an invasive alien species and use this model to predict the potential distribution of this species in a potentially invaded range (i.e. a novel environment) by using MAXENT for the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) as a case study. The chapter discusses and demonstrates the challenges that are associated with this approach and examines the inherent limitations that come with using MAXENT to forecast distributions of invasive alien species.
Geopolitics of a changing world order: US strategy and the scramble for the Eurasian Heartland
Authors: Sabet Amr G. E.
Published: March 2015

Geopolitics is about power and hegemony, with its dual components of domination and consent. Controlling space requires dominion. Organizing and administering space at reasonable costs demands authority and acquiescence. This conceptualization of geopolitics pertains to the underlying causes behind current instabilities in the Middle East as they link with broader geopolitical and strategic interests of great powers, particularly the US. Geopolitical theory helps offer deeper insights into how American decision makers are likely to think and act in the post-Cold War era, and in explaining, understanding, and possibly reading and forming expectations about US policies. It allows for more clarity in observing continuities in US strategy and in shaping expectations about tactics and policies in the service of its durable strategic international and global interests. The main argument of this paper is that the American ruling establishment, together with its supporting intellectual and military structures, persists in observing the emerging global venture geopolitically. In those terms much of what is occurring in the Arab region, more specifically in countries such as Syria among others, can be understood. It is also in those terms that one can conceptualize the American approach toward regional and world powers such as Iran, China and Russia.
Comment
Authors: Sakbani Michael
Published: March 2015

It is now more than four years since the Arab Spring erupted in Tunisia. The results have been rather disappointing, but the events remain potentially among the grand turns of history. The fruition of the Arab Spring has been impeded by a variety of factors cultural, institutional, political, and historical. And in this mix, there are external and internal factors specific to certain countries. In all the countries involved there were lacunae of institutional infrastructure at the public and civil society levels to govern and participate in governance. The cultural traditions of the Arab world in the wake of the spread of fundamentalist Salafist thinking in recent years, created popular perceptibility for the Islamists, who turned out to be either without programmes and experience or extremists with anti-democratic beliefs and a penchant for terror and violence. In addition, there were beneficiary classes tied to the ancient regimes and soldiers accustomed to domination and privileges, who presented structural impediments to change. Despite the great humanitarian disasters in countries like Syria and Libya, the international community proved incapable of decision and indifferent to the suffering of the populace. Still, the Arab Spring needs time to bring about its aspired transformation and modernization and this might carry with it the type of virtual dynamics we have seen in human history.
The territorialisation of water in the north-western Caucasus
Authors: Toje Hege
Published: March 2015

On the outskirts ofstanitsaZakubanskaya, a Kuban Cossack settlement in the Russian federal region of Krasnodar kray, local inhabitants use a spring as a source of drinking water. In 2007, a conflict arose over ownership of, and access to, this spring. Through detailed analysis of the conflict, the article explores the limits of neoliberal “accumulation by dispossession”. Four modes of appropriation are discernible here: communal labour, sacralisation, autochthony, and privatisation from within the realms of state bureaucracy. It is argued that this local conflict crystallises key features of spatial politics in north-western Caucasus that are linked to privatisation, religion, and ethno-politics.
HAlign: Fast multiple similar DNA/RNA sequence alignment based on the centre star strategy
Authors: Zou Quan , Hu Qinghua , Guo Maozu , Wang Guohua
Published: March 2015

Motivation: Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) is important work, but bottlenecks arise in the massive MSA of homologous DNA or genome sequences. Most of the available state-of-the-art software tools cannot address large-scale datasets, or they run rather slowly. The similarity of homologous DNA sequences is often ignored. Lack of parallelization is still a challenge for MSA research.

Results: We developed two software tools to address the DNA MSA problem. The first employed trie trees to accelerate the centre star MSA strategy. The expected time complexity was decreased to linear time from square time. To address large-scale data, parallelism was applied using the hadoop platform. Experiments demonstrated the performance of our proposed methods, including their running time, sum-of-pairs scores and scalability. Moreover, we supplied two massive DNA/RNA MSA datasets for further testing and research.

Availability and implementation: The codes, tools and data are accessible free of charge at http://datamining.xmu.edu.cn/software/halign/.

Contact:  zouquan@nclab.net or ghwang@hit.edu.cn
AKT phosphorylates H3-threonine 45 to facilitate termination of gene transcription in response to DNA damage
Authors: Lee Jong-Hyuk , Kang Byung-Hee , Jang Hyonchol , Kim Tae Wan , Choi Jinmi , Kwak Sojung , Han Jungwon , Cho Eun-Jung , Youn Hong-Duk
Published: March 2015

Post-translational modifications of core histones affect various cellular processes, primarily through transcription. However, their relationship with the termination of transcription has remained largely unknown. In this study, we show that DNA damage-activated AKT phosphorylates threonine 45 of core histone H3 (H3-T45). By genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis, H3-T45 phosphorylation was distributed throughout DNA damage-responsive gene loci, particularly immediately after the transcription termination site. H3-T45 phosphorylation pattern showed close-resemblance to that of RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain (CTD) serine 2 phosphorylation, which establishes the transcription termination signal. AKT1 was more effective than AKT2 in phosphorylating H3-T45. Blocking H3-T45 phosphorylation by inhibiting AKT or through amino acid substitution limited RNA decay downstream of mRNA cleavage sites and decreased RNA polymerase II release from chromatin. Our findings suggest that AKT-mediated phosphorylation of H3-T45 regulates the processing of the 3′ end of DNA damage-activated genes to facilitate transcriptional termination.
Competing Gridlock Models and Status Quo Policies
Authors: Woon Jonathan , Cook Ian Palmer
Published: March 2015

Spatial theories of lawmaking predict that legislative productivity is increasing in the number of status quo policies that lie outside the gridlock interval, but because locations of status quo policies are difficult to measure, previous empirical tests of gridlock theories rely on an auxiliary assumption that the distribution of status quo points is fixed and uniform. This assumption is at odds with the theories being tested, as it ignores the history dependence of lawmaking. We provide an alternative method for testing competing theories by estimating structural models that explicitly account for temporal dependence in a theoretically consistent way. Our analysis suggests that legislative productivity depends both on parties and supermajority pivots, and we find patterns of productivity consistent with a weaker, contingent form of party influence than found in previous work. Parties appear to exert agenda power only on highly salient legislation rather than strongly influencing outcomes through voting pressure and party unity.
First Report of Canna yellow mottle virus in Kenya
Authors: Agneroh T. A. , Bratsch S. A. , Lockhart B. E.
Published: March 2015

No virus has been reported in Kenya in cannas, and to our knowledge this is the first report of CaYMV in the country.

Accepted by publication 15 January 2015. Published 25 February 2015.
Novel Apical Coring Device for Apicoaortic Conduit Insertion to Treat Off-Pump Aortic Stenosis, Coronary Disease, and Lung Cancer
Authors: Di Giammarco Gabriele , Canosa Carlo , Foschi Massimiliano , Mucilli Felice , Marinelli Daniele , Nuzzo Nicoletta , Testa Nicola
Published: March 2015

The surgical treatment of concomitant cardiac disease and lung cancer represents a challenge. We report the case of a 66-year-old high-risk female patient with severe aortic stenosis as well as severely impaired left ventricular function associated with coronary artery disease involving the left anterior descending artery complicated from a severe functional mitral regurgitation in which an early-stage non-small cell carcinoma was incidentally discovered during workup. Because of the possibility of potential negative impact of cardiopulmonary bypass on the cancer prognosis and the severe impairment of systolic function of the left ventricle that impeded the treatment of lung cancer as the first step of such a complex treatment, we planned to treat all the diseases in a single-stage procedure. Using an automated delivering system composed of a ventricular connector (Correx AVB; Correx, Inc, Waltham, MA USA), we were able to perform an apicoaortic bypass as well as a left anterior descending revascularization using the left internal thoracic artery, both on a beating heart without the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass and a three-segmentectomy of the left upper lobe with the removal of paraaortic nodes. Six months postoperatively, she was asymptomatic with a noticeable increase of systolic function, a mild mitral incompetence, and no appearance of tumor recurrence. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case described in the literature in which three major problems involving cardiac valves, coronary arteries, and the lung have been treated in one stage without cardiopulmonary bypass.
Symptom Profiles in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Functional Abdominal Pain Compared With Healthy Controls
Authors: Varni James W. , Shulman Robert J. , Self Mariella M. , Nurko Samuel , Saps Miguel , Saeed Shehzad A. , Bendo Cristiane B. , Patel Ashish S. , Dark Chelsea Vaughan , Zacur George M. , Pohl John F. ,   Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Gastrointestinal Symptoms Module Testing Study Consortium
Published: March 2015

Objectives:

Patient‐reported outcome (PRO) measures of gastrointestinal symptoms are recommended to determine treatment effects for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional abdominal pain (FAP). Study objectives were to compare the symptom profiles of pediatric patients with IBS or FAP with healthy controls and with each other using the PedsQL Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Gastrointestinal Worry Scales, and to establish clinical interpretability of PRO scale scores through identification of minimal important difference (MID) scores.

Methods:

Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Worry Scales were completed in a 9‐site study by 154 pediatric patients and 161 parents (162 families; IBS n = 46, FAP n = 119). Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scales measuring stomach pain, stomach discomfort when eating, food and drink limits, trouble swallowing, heartburn and reflux, nausea and vomiting, gas and bloating, constipation, blood in poop, and diarrhea were administered along with Gastrointestinal Worry Scales. A matched sample of 447 families with healthy children completed the scales.

Results:

Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Worry Scales distinguished between patients with IBS or FAP compared with healthy controls (P < 0.001), with larger effect sizes (>1.50) for symptoms indicative of IBS or FAP, demonstrating a broad multidimensional gastrointestinal symptom profile and clinical interpretability with MID scores for individual PRO scales. Patients with IBS manifested more symptoms of constipation, gas and bloating, and diarrhea than patients with FAP.

Conclusions:

Patients with IBS or FAP manifested a broad gastrointestinal symptom profile compared with healthy controls with large differences, indicating the critical need for more effective interventions to bring patient functioning within the range of healthy functioning.
Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Slovenia
Authors: Homan M. , Blagus R. , Jeverica A. Koren , Orel R.
Published: March 2015

Objectives:

The aim of the present study was to assess the incidence, characteristics, therapeutic approach, and response to therapy of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in a pediatric population from Slovenia.

Methods:

A retrospective study was conducted on a cohort of children newly diagnosed as having EoE, ages 0 to 18 years, residing in Slovenia, in the period between 2005 and 2012. For each child presenting symptoms, family and personal history of allergies, blood, skin and patch allergy tests, endoscopic and histological findings, types of therapy, and therapeutic success were recorded.

Results:

In total, 25 patients of EoE were identified during the study period. The mean annual incidence (per 100,000 children) was 0.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58–1.16). The incidences of EoE increased from 0.2 (0.01–1.36), 0.3 (0.01–1.38), and 0.3 (0.01–1.40) in the period 2005–2007, respectively, to 1.8 (0.72–3.76), 1.0 (0.28–2.60), and 1.8 (0.72–3.65) in the period 2010–2012, respectively (P = 0.002). In 9 patients, symptomatic and histological remissions were achieved with specific food elimination diet: in 8 with 6‐food elimination diet and in 1 with an additional budesonide. In majority of patients, budesonide improved only symptoms, but esophageal eosinophilia persisted. Twenty percent of our children had improvement of histology and symptoms of EoE in spite of gradual reintroduction of all food and stopping all medication.

Conclusions:

The annual incidence of childhood EoE in Slovenia is comparable with the reports from the developed European countries, and it increased by 6‐folds in the last decade.