bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Silver Ions in Non‐canonical DNA Base Pairs: Metal‐Mediated Mismatch Stabilization of 2′‐Deoxyadenosine and 7‐Deazapurine Derivatives with 2′‐Deoxycytidine and 2′‐Deoxyguanosine
Authors: Yang Haozhe , Seela Frank
Published: August 2016

Novel silver‐mediated dA−dC, dA*−dC, and dA*−dG base pairs were formed in a natural DNA double helix environment (dA* denotes 7‐deaza‐dA, 7‐deaza‐7‐iodo‐dA, and 7‐cyclopropyl‐7‐deaza‐dA). 7‐Deazapurine nucleosides enforce silver ion binding and direct metal‐mediated base pair formation to their Watson–Crick face. New phosphoramidites were prepared from 7‐deaza‐dA, 7‐deaza‐7‐iodo‐dA, and 7‐cyclopropyl‐7‐deaza‐dA, which contain labile isobutyryl protecting groups. Solid‐phase synthesis furnished oligonucleotides that contain mismatches in near central positions. Increased thermal stabilities (higher Tm values) were observed for oligonucleotide duplexes with non‐canonical dA*−dC and dA−dC pairs in the presence of silver ions. The stability of the silver‐mediated base pairs was pH dependent. Silver ion binding was not observed for the dA−dG mismatch but took place when mismatches were formed between 7‐deazaadenine and guanine. The specific binding of silver ions was confirmed by stoichiometric UV titration experiments, which proved that one silver ion is captured by one mismatch. The stability increase of canonical DNA mismatches might have an impact on cellular DNA repair.
Does the origin of a succession CEO matter in the market value of innovation? Disentangling the origin of internal CEOs
Authors: Wong Ying‐Jiuan , Chen Li‐Yu
Published: August 2016

This study complements previous research regarding CEO origin and family businesses by incorporating upper echelons theory with the perspective of family effect as well as disentangling CEO origin to provide a better understanding of how external, unrelated internal, and family succession CEOs affect innovation performance. We further reveal how a family founder helps improve the value of innovations undertaken by family heirs. The results show that firms with unrelated internal succession CEOs experience higher (lower) stock market reactions to innovation announcements than those with family (external) succession CEOs. Founders serving on the board reduce the negative effect between family heirs and innovation performance. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cellular internalization and morphological analysis after intravenous injection of a highly hydrophilic octahedral rhenium cluster complex – a new promising X‐ray contrast agent
Authors: Krasilnikova Anna A. , Solovieva Anastasiya O. , Trifonova Kristina E. , Brylev Konstantin A. , Ivanov Anton A. , Kim Sung‐Jin , Shestopalov Michael A. , Fufaeva Maria S. , Shestopalov Alexander M. , Mironov Yuri V. , Poveshchenko Alexander F. , Shestopalova Lidia V.
Published: August 2016

The octahedral cluster compound Na2H8[{Re6Se8}(P(C2H4CONH2)(C2H4COO)2)6] has been shown to be highly radio dense, thus becoming a promising X‐ray contrast agent. It was also shown that this compound had low cytotoxic effect in vitro, low acute toxicity in vivo and was eliminated rapidly from the body through the urinary tract. The present contribution describes a more detailed cellular internalization assay and morphological analysis after intravenous injection of this hexarhenium cluster compound at different doses. The median lethal dose (LD50) of intravenously administrated compound was calculated (4.67 ± 0.69 g/kg). Results of the study clearly indicated that the cluster complex Hn[{Re6Se8}(P(C2H4CONH2)(C2H4COO)2)6]n–10 was not internalized into cells in vitro and induced only moderate morphological alterations of kidneys at high doses without any changes in morphology of liver, spleen, duodenum, or heart of mice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sustainable Pathways to Pyrroles through Iron‐Catalyzed N‐Heterocyclization from Unsaturated Diols and Primary Amines
Authors: Yan Tao , Barta Katalin
Published: August 2016

Pyrroles are prominent scaffolds in pharmaceutically active compounds and play an important role in medicinal chemistry. Therefore, the development of new, atom‐economic, and sustainable catalytic strategies to obtain these moieties is highly desired. Direct catalytic pathways that utilize readily available alcohol substrates have been recently established; however, these approaches rely on the use of noble metals such as ruthenium or iridium. Here, we report on the direct synthesis of pyrroles using a catalyst based on the earth‐abundant and inexpensive iron. The method uses 2‐butyne‐1,4‐diol or 2‐butene‐1,4‐diol that can be directly coupled with anilines, benzyl amines, and aliphatic amines to obtain a variety of N‐substituted pyrroles in moderate‐to‐excellent isolated yields.
Dehydration of Glucose to 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural Using Nb‐doped Tungstite
Authors: Yue Chaochao , Li Guanna , Pidko Evgeny A. , Wiesfeld Jan J. , Rigutto Marcello , Hensen Emiel J. M.
Published: August 2016

Dehydration of glucose to 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) remains a significant problem in the context of the valorization of lignocellulosic biomass. Hydrolysis of WCl6 and NbCl5 leads to precipitation of Nb‐containing tungstite (WO3⋅H2O) at low Nb content and mixtures of tungstite and niobic acid at higher Nb content. Tungstite is a promising catalyst for the dehydration of glucose to HMF. Compared with Nb2O5, fewer by‐products are formed because of the low Brønsted acidity of the (mixed) oxides. In water, an optimum yield of HMF was obtained for Nb–W oxides with low Nb content owing to balanced Lewis and Brønsted acidity. In THF/water, the strong Lewis acidity and weak Brønsted acidity caused the reaction to proceed through isomerization to fructose and dehydration of fructose to a partially dehydrated intermediate, which was identified by LC‐ESI‐MS. The addition of HCl to the reaction mixture resulted in rapid dehydration of this intermediate to HMF. The HMF yield obtained in this way was approximately 56 % for all tungstite catalysts. Density functional theory calculations show that the Lewis acid centers on the tungstite surface can isomerize glucose into fructose. Substitution of W by Nb lowers the overall activation barrier for glucose isomerization by stabilizing the deprotonated glucose adsorbate.
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of xylazine administered to exercised thoroughbred horses
Authors: Knych Heather K. , Stanley Scott D. , McKemie Daniel S. , Arthur Rick M. , Kass Phil H.
Published: August 2016

There is limited data describing xylazine serum concentrations in the horse and no reports of concentrations beyond 24 hours. The primary goal of the study reported here was to update the pharmacokinetics of xylazine following intravenous (IV) administration in order to assess the applicability of current regulatory recommendations. Pharmacodynamic parameters were determined using PK‐PD modeling. Sixteen exercised adult Thoroughbred horses received a single IV dose of 200 mg of xylazine. Blood and urine samples were collected at time 0 and at various times for up to 96 hours and analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Xylazine serum concentrations were best fit by a 3‐compartment model. Mean ± SEM systemic clearance, volume of distribution at steady state, beta half‐life and gamma half‐life were 12.7 ± 0.735 mL/min/kg, 0.660 ± 0.053 L/kg, 2.79 ± 0.105 hours and 26.0 ± 1.9, respectively. Immediately following administration, horses appeared sedate as noted by a decrease in chin‐to‐ground distance, decreased locomotion and decreased heart rate (HR). Sedation lasted approximately 45 minutes. Glucose concentrations were elevated for 1‐hour post administration. The EC50 (IC50) was 636.1, 702.2, 314.1 and 325.7 ng/mL for HR, atrioventricular block, chin‐to‐ground distance and glucose concentrations, respectively. The Emax (Imax) was 27.3 beats per minute, 47.5%, 42.4 cm and 0.28 mg/dL for HR, atrioventricular block, chin‐to‐ground distance and glucose concentrations, respectively. Pharmacokinetic parameters differ from previous reports and a prolonged detection time suggests that an extended withdrawal time, beyond current regulatory recommendations, is warranted to avoid inadvertent positive regulatory findings in performance horses. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
How Does Hybrid Governance Emerge? Role of the elite in building a Green Municipality in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Viana Cecilia , Coudel Emilie , Barlow Jos , Ferreira Joice , Gardner Toby , Parry Luke
Published: August 2016

Decentralized governance can facilitate the participation of non‐government actors in natural resource management. Yet efforts to increase participation can also enhance the power of existing elites. Here, we analyse the role of landowning elites in developing and operating a hybrid governance arrangement in response to the decentralization of anti‐deforestation policy in the Brazilian Amazon. We employ a framework that permits examination of the role played by different actors, the rationale that promoted collaboration in the first place, and the distribution of power that shapes the still evolving governance arrangement. By engaging state and non‐state actors in a hybrid governance partnership, the local landowning elite in Paragominas, a municipality in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, successfully achieved the specific goals set by federal policies to be removed from a high deforestation ‘Red List’. Yet the local governors, together with the rural elite, transformed the crisis generated by inclusion in the Red List into an opportunity to shift the rural economy on a path towards more legalized large‐scale agriculture. By aligning production and conservation objectives, the project attracted medium and large landowners, but also failed to prevent − or potentially exacerbated − the further marginalization of smallholders. Rural elites can effectively mobilize hybrid government arrangements in pursuit of their own interests while also producing wider benefits such as a more stimulated urban economy and strengthened environmental compliance. However, inclusion of more marginalized populations in this process remains a severe and largely unaddressed challenge. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Dose response characterization of the association of serum digoxin concentration with mortality outcomes in the Digitalis Investigation Group trial
Authors: Adams Kirkwood F. , Butler Javed , Patterson J. Herbert , Gattis Stough Wendy , Bauman Jerry L. , van Veldhuisen Dirk J. , Schwartz Todd A. , Sabbah Hani , Mackowiak John I. , Ventura Hector O. , Ghali Jalal K.
Published: August 2016

Aims

Many patients with heart failure and reduced EF remain at high risk for hospitalization despite evidence‐based therapy. Digoxin may decrease hospitalization; however, uncertainty persists concerning its proper administration and effect on mortality. This study investigated whether using dose response concepts to re‐evaluate the relationship between serum digoxin concentration and key mortality outcomes in patients with reduced EF in the Digitalis Investigation Group trial would help clarify efficacy and safety.

Methods and results

Multivariable Cox proportional hazards modelling and propensity score adjustment assessed the relationship between serum digoxin concentration (≥0.5 ng/mL) as a continuous variable and mortality outcomes. In patients treated with digoxin, a significant linear association was found between serum concentration and all‐cause mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14–1.38, P < 0.001 per 0.5 ng/mL increase in serum concentration]. Based on this relationship, a bidirectional association was found between digoxin therapy and all‐cause mortality when compared with placebo. The lowest serum concentrations (0.5–0.7 ng/mL) were associated with the lowest risk of all‐cause mortality (adjusted HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.67–0.89, P < 0.001) while high serum concentrations (1.6–2.0 ng/mL) were associated with increased mortality (adjusted HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.12–1.58, P = 0.001). Consistent with this finding, lower serum concentrations (0.5–0.7 ng/mL) were associated with reduced death from worsening heart failure and a neutral effect on cardiovascular death not due to worsening heart failure.

Conclusion

These findings favour targeting serum concentrations from 0.5 to 0.7 ng/mL when dosing digoxin in patients with heart failure and reduced EF.
Synthesis of N‐Alkenyl and N‐Alkynyl S‐Perfluoroalkylated Sulfoximines by Copper Catalysis
Authors: Anselmi Elsa , Le Thanh Nghi , Bouvet Sébastien , Diter Patrick , Pégot Bruce , Magnier Emmanuel
Published: August 2016

The introduction of a double or triple bond to the nitrogen atom of S‐perfluoroalkyl sulfoximines is described. We propose a simple catalytic system based on copper iodide for the reaction with bromoalkenes and bromoalkynes, and based on copper dichloride for the coupling with terminal alkynes. The fluorinated chain was varied from perfluorobutyl to monofluoromethyl. The reaction proceeds efficiently when the unsaturated system is substituted by an aryl or alkyl group. In particular, aliphatic terminal alkynes are efficient substrates for this transformation.
Selective and Sensitive Nitrite Sensor Based on Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified by Silver Nanochains
Authors: Shaikh Tayyaba , Ibupoto Zaffar Hussain , Talpur Farah N. , Sirajuddin  , Khaskheli Abdul Rauf , Agheem Muhammad H. , Siddiqui Samia , Tahira Aneela , Willander Magnus , Yu Cong
Published: August 2016

Herein, we report a facile method for the synthesis of silver nanochains (Ag nanochains) using pyridine as growth directing agent and citrate ions as capping agents in alkaline medium. The characterization of the synthesized high aspect ratio Ag nanochains was accomplished with the help of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) which demonstrates the thickness below 100 nm. Crystalline nature of the synthesized Ag nanochains was investigated using X‐ray diffractrometry. A sensitive electrochemical nitrite sensor was assembled using synthesized Ag nanochains as electrode modifier. An improved cyclic voltammetric response for the oxidation of nitrite ions was witnessed at the modified GCE surface in comparison to bare GCE in Britton Robinson (BR) buffer (pH 4). The influence of pH on the oxidation peak current of nitrite ions was also examined using cyclic voltammetry. The electrocatalytic oxidation currents attained through amperometric measurements at Ag nanochains modified GCE were linearly dependent on the concentration of nitrite ions in the two ranges of 0.5–7.5 µM, 5–480 µM. Linear calibration plots of Ip vs. concentration of nitrite were also constructed at the proposed sensor using square wave voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. The proposed sensing strategy was successfully employed for the determination of nitrite in water samples with excellent recoveries.
Phosphosulfonic acid‐catalyzed green synthesis and bioassay of α‐aryl‐α′‐1,3,4‐thiadiazolyl aminophosphonates
Authors: Gundluru Mohan , Sarva Santhisudha , Kandula Madhu Kumar Reddy , Netala Vasudeva Reddy , Tartte Vijaya , Cirandur Suresh Reddy
Published: August 2016

A series of new α‐aminophosphonates containing 1,3,4‐thiadiazole moiety (4a–l) were synthesized via a simple, efficient, and one‐pot three‐component Kabachnik–Fields reaction of 2‐amino‐5‐ethyl‐1,3,4‐thiadiazole with various aryl/heteroaryl aldehydes and diethylphosphite under solvent‐free microwave irradiation conditions using phosphosulfonic acid, as a reusable and heterogeneous solid acid catalyst. All the title compounds were screened for radical scavenging activity by DPPH and H2O2 methods, and antimicrobial activity against bacteria (Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative) and fungi using the disc diffusion technique. They exhibited potent in vitro antioxidant and moderate antimicrobial activity.
Ultra‐trace Analysis of Enantiomeric Impurities in Proteinogenic N‐Fmoc‐Amino‐acid Samples on Cinchona Alkaloid‐based Chiral Stationary Phases
Authors: Péter Antal , Grecsó Nóra , Tóth Gábor , Fülöp Ferenc , Lindner Wolfgang , Ilisz István
Published: August 2016

The enantiomeric purity of Nα‐Fmoc‐protected amino acids is crucial from the viewpoint of peptide synthesis; therefore, a sensitive high‐performance liquid chromatographic protocol was developed for the identification and quantification of enantiomeric impurities of commercially available Nα‐Fmoc‐protected amino acids on Cinchona alkaloid quinine‐ and quinidine‐based weak anion exchanger‐type chiral stationary phases. In the course of the evaluation of the chiral chromatographic method, the effect of the mobile phase composition, nature, and concentration of different additives were optimized. The specific phenomenon that quinine‐ and quinidine‐based chiral stationary phases behave as pseudo‐enantiomers permits that the sequence of elution of the enantiomers might be reversed by simple column switching. This is quite advantageous as regards the separation of the minor component in the presence of the major one. The method developed permits detection of less than 0.01 % enantiomeric impurity in the presence of the major enantiomer.
Predicting malignant neck lymphadenopathy using color duplex sonography based on multivariate analysis
Authors: Chammas Maria C. , Macedo Túlio A. A. , Lo Victor W. , Gomes Andrea C. , Juliano Adriana , Cerri Giovanni G.
Published: August 2016

Purpose

To select the best predictors of cervical lymph node malignancy based on gray‐scale and power Doppler sonography using multivariate analysis.

Methods

We evaluated sonographically a total of 97 lymph nodes in the neck that were subjected to fine‐needle aspiration biopsy. The gray‐scale and power Doppler sonography parameters that we analyzed using multivariate logistic regression included size, shape, echogenicity, echotexture, margins, hilum, presence of microcalcifications or necrosis, vascularization, and resistance index (RI).

Results

The three variables with a diagnostic accuracy exceeding 80% were an altered vascularization, heterogeneous echotexture, and abnormal hilum. Malignant nodes exhibited higher RI and larger sizes than benign nodes, and the best cutoff values to distinguish malignant from benign lymph nodes were an RI of 0.77 and a short axis ≥ 0.9 cm. Altered vascularization, a short axis ≥ 0.9 cm, and abnormal hilum were the best predictors of malignancy.

Conclusions

The best sonographic predictors of lymph node malignancy are, in descending order, an altered vascularization, a short axis ≥ 0.9 cm, an abnormal hilum, and a heterogeneous echotexture. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:587–594, 2016
Measurement of the accurate mass of a 50 MDa infectious virus
Authors: Keifer David Z. , Motwani Tina , Teschke Carolyn M. , Jarrold Martin F.
Published: August 2016

Rationale

Bacteriophage P22 is believed to contain a total of 521 copies of 9 different proteins and a 41,724 base pair genome. Despite its enormous size and complexity, phage P22 can be electrosprayed, and it remains intact in ultra‐high vacuum where its molar mass distribution has been measured.

Methods

Phage P22 virions were generated by complementation in Salmonella enterica and purified. They were transferred into 100 mM ammonium acetate and then electrosprayed. The masses of individual virions were determined using charge detection mass spectrometry.

Results

The stoichiometry of the protein components of phage P22 is sufficiently well known that the theoretical molar mass can be determined to within a narrow range. The measured average molar mass of phage P22, 52,180 ± 59 kDa, is consistent with the theoretical molar mass and supports the proposed stoichiometry of the components. The intrinsic width of the phage P22 mass distribution can be accounted for by the distribution of DNA packaged by the headful mechanism.

Conclusions

At over 50 MDa, phage P22 is the largest object with a well‐defined molar mass to be analyzed by mass spectrometry. The narrow measured mass distribution indicates that the virions survive the transition into the gas phase intact. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Effect of Unenhanced MRI on the Surgeons’ Decision‐Making Process in Females with Suspected Appendicitis
Authors: Ziedses des Plantes C. M. P. , van Veen M. J. F. , van der Palen J. , Klaase J. M. , Gielkens H. A. J. , Geelkerken R. H.
Published: August 2016

Background

This prospective study evaluated the impact of the results of unenhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the surgeon’s diagnosis of acute appendicitis in potentially fertile females.

Methods

112 female patients, aged 12–55, with suspected appendicitis underwent MRI of the abdomen. At three defined intervals; admission and clinical re‐evaluation before and after revealing the MRI results, the surgeon recorded the attendance of each patient in operative treatment, observation or discharge. Appendicitis was confirmed or declined by pathology or by telephone follow‐up in case of non‐intervention.

Findings

Appendicitis was confirmed in 29 of 112 patients. At admission the surgeon’s disposition had a sensitivity of 97 % and specificity of 29 %. After knowing the MRI results, sensitivity was 97 % and specificity 64 %. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI alone were 89 and 100 %, with a negative and positive predictive value of 96 and 100 %, respectively.

Conclusion

We believe that MRI should perhaps be standard in all female patients during their reproductive years with suspected appendicitis. It avoids an operation in 32 % of cases and allows earlier planning for patients with an equivocal clinical picture. Trial number: OND1292733 (Narcis.nl).
Characterization of Crude and Partially Purified Lipase from Geotrichum candidum Obtained with Different Nitrogen Sources
Authors: Maldonado Rafael Resende , Pozza Eduardo Luiz , Aguiar‐Oliveira Elizama , Costa Fátima Aparecida Almeida , Maugeri Filho Francisco , Rodrigues Maria Isabel
Published: August 2016

Lipases from Geotrichum candidum were produced in two different medium: A = 12 % (w/v) clarified corn steep liquor (CCSL) + 0.6 % (w/v) soybean oil (SO) and B = 3.5 % (w/v) yeast hydrolysate (YH) + 0.7 % (w/v) SO. Lipases were partially purified from both media by hydrophobic interaction chromatography using 3.0 mol L−1 of NaCl as mobile phase, and they were characterized in the crude and partially purified forms. The recovery of lipase activity from CCSL and YH via HIC were 96 and 94.3 %, and the purification factors were 44.3 and 86.7‐fold, respectively. All evaluated lipases had similar optimum pH (7.0–7.7), but, for the CCSL crude lipase, optimum temperature (47 °C) was 10 °C higher than others lipases evaluated. CCSL crude lipase possessed a higher thermo stability than YH crude lipase, e.g., at 37 °C (pH 7.0) the half‐life of CCSL crude lipase was 19.25 h and at pH 8.0 (30 °C) the half‐life was 48 h, which are five and ten times higher than with YH crude lipase, respectively. On the other hand, the YH crude lipase possessed a higher catalytic constant (kcat = 2.3 min−1) but with almost the same catalytic efficiency (Km/kcat = 32.12 mg mL min−1) in relation to CCSL crude lipase. The lipases differ in biocatalytic properties between substrates, suggesting that the two lipases can be employed for different applications.
Interparental conflict and adolescents' self‐representations: The role of emotional insecurity
Authors: Silva Carla Sofia , Calheiros Maria Manuela , Carvalho Helena
Published: August 2016

Adolescents' signs of emotional insecurity in the context of interparental conflict (IC) – emotional reactivity, internal representations (i.e., constructive/destructive; spillover) and behavioral responses (i.e., withdrawal; inhibition; involvement) – were examined as mediators in the relation between IC and adolescents' self‐representations. Self‐reported measures were filled out by 221 Portuguese adolescents (59.3% girls; Mage = 12.91), attending public elementary and secondary schools. IC predicted less favorable self‐representations. Adolescents' emotional reactivity and withdrawal mediated the relation between IC and emotional and physical appearance self‐representations, while conflict spillover representations and constructive family representations mediated associations between IC and instrumental self‐representations. This study emphasizes the importance of interparental conflict and adolescent emotional insecurity in the construction of their self‐representations, having important theoretical and practical implications. It highlights the value of analyzing the specific role of several emotional insecurity dimensions, and informs practitioners' work aimed at promoting constructive conflict and adaptive emotional regulation skills.
Osseous Injury Associated with Ligamentous Tear of the Knee
Authors: Lee Chee Hwee , Tan Chih Feng , Kim Okwha , Suh Kyung Jin , Yao Min-Szu , Chan Wing P. , Wu Jim S.
Published: August 2016

One of the most common knee injuries is ligament tear, which may initially manifest as an osseous injury in radiographs. Radiologists should therefore be able to recognize ligament tears of the knee as osseous abnormalities in images. This review focuses on the imaging features of knee ligament injuries and their related osseous injuries: anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear with Segond fracture; associated marrow contusion; ACL avulsion fracture; posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) tear with osseous avulsion of the ligament including arcuate sign; reverse Segond fracture; PCL avulsion fracture; medial collateral ligament tear with Pellegrini-Stieda disease; lateral collateral ligament tear with avulsion fracture of the fibular head; and patellar ligament injuries with Osgood-Schlatter and Sinding-Larsen-Johansson.
GUARANTEE VALUATION IN NOTIONAL DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION SYSTEMS
Authors: Alonso-García Jennifer , Devolder Pierre
Published: August 2016

The notional defined contribution pension scheme combines pay-as-you-go financing and a defined contribution pension formula. The return on contributions is based on an index set by law, such as the growth rate of GDP, average wages or contribution payments. The volatility of this return compromises the system's pension adequacy and therefore guarantees may be needed. Here, we provide a minimum return guarantee to the pension contributions. The price is calculated in a utility indifference framework. We obtain a closed-form solution for a general dependence structure with exponential preferences and in presence of stochastic short interest rates.
Automated Planning and Acting
Authors: Ghallab Malik , Nau Dana , Traverso Paolo
Published: August 2016

Autonomous AI systems need complex computational techniques for planning and performing actions. Planning and acting require significant deliberation because an intelligent system must coordinate and integrate these activities in order to act effectively in the real world. This book presents a comprehensive paradigm of planning and acting using the most recent and advanced automated-planning techniques. It explains the computational deliberation capabilities that allow an actor, whether physical or virtual, to reason about its actions, choose them, organize them purposefully, and act deliberately to achieve an objective. Useful for students, practitioners, and researchers, this book covers state-of-the-art planning techniques, acting techniques, and their integration which will allow readers to design intelligent systems that are able to act effectively in the real world.
Greek Myths in Roman Art and Culture
Authors: Newby Zahra
Published: August 2016

Images of episodes from Greek mythology are widespread in Roman art, appearing in sculptural groups, mosaics, paintings and reliefs. They attest to Rome's enduring fascination with Greek culture, and its desire to absorb and reframe that culture for new ends. This book provides a comprehensive account of the meanings of Greek myth across the spectrum of Roman art, including public, domestic and funerary contexts. It argues that myths, in addition to functioning as signifiers of a patron's education or paideia, played an important role as rhetorical and didactic exempla. The changing use of mythological imagery in domestic and funerary art in particular reveals an important shift in Roman values and senses of identity across the period of the first two centuries AD, and in the ways that Greek culture was turned to serve Roman values.
Secular Conversions
Authors: Mayrl Damon
Published: August 2016

Why does secularization proceed differently in otherwise similar countries? Secular Conversions demonstrates that the institutional structure of the state is a key factor shaping the course of secularization. Drawing upon detailed historical analysis of religious education policy in the United States and Australia, Damon Mayrl details how administrative structures, legal procedures, and electoral systems have shaped political opportunities and even helped create constituencies for secular policies. In so doing, he also shows how a decentralized, readily accessible American state acts as an engine for religious conflict, encouraging religious differences to spill into law and politics at every turn. This book provides a vivid picture of how political conflicts interacted with the state over the long span of American and Australian history to shape religion's role in public life. Ultimately, it reveals that taken-for-granted political structures have powerfully shaped the fate of religion in modern societies.
Authority and Identity in Medieval Islamic Historiography
Authors: Hanaoka Mimi
Published: August 2016

Intriguing dreams, improbable myths, fanciful genealogies, and suspect etymologies. These were all key elements of the historical texts composed by scholars and bureaucrats on the peripheries of Islamic empires between the tenth and fifteenth centuries. But how are historians to interpret such narratives? And what can these more literary histories tell us about the people who wrote them and the times in which they lived? In this book, Mimi Hanaoka offers an innovative, interdisciplinary method of approaching these sorts of local histories from the Persianate world. By paying attention to the purpose and intention behind a text's creation, her book highlights the preoccupation with authority to rule and legitimacy within disparate regional, provincial, ethnic, sectarian, ideological and professional communities. By reading these texts in such a way, Hanaoka transforms the literary patterns of these fantastic histories into rich sources of information about identity, rhetoric, authority, legitimacy, and centre-periphery relations.
Pindar's Poetics of Immortality
Authors: Sigelman Asya C.
Published: August 2016

Modern scholarship tends to focus on the social, political and economic information that can be gleaned from Pindar's treatment of the subject of his victory odes - the athlete who brings immortality to his family and polis. In this book, Asya C. Sigelman offers a new approach to the odes, exploring the fact that Pindar's language and imagery suggest that the athlete's victory is only a weaker version of the poet's immortalizing feat. Examining several central Pindaric images, Sigelman shows that they are fundamentally reflexive, structured as expressions of poetic creativity engaged in a perpetual synthesis of intra-poetic time - of the unity of the past, present and future of the world of Pindar's song. As the book's case studies of several of the odes demonstrate, this synthesis is key to Pindar's notion of immortalization and constitutes the central poetic subject of Pindar's song which underlies and informs its praise of the victorious athlete.
Modernism and the Materiality of Texts
Authors: Amiran Eyal
Published: August 2016

Modernism and the Materiality of Texts argues that elements of modernist texts that are meaningless in themselves are motivated by their authors' psychic crises. Physical features of texts that interest modernist writers, such as sound patterns and anagrams, cannot be dissociated from abstraction or made a refuge from social crisis; instead, they reflect colonial and racial anxieties of the period. Rudyard Kipling's fear that he is indistinguishable from empire subjects, J. M. Barrie's object-relations theater of infantile separation, and Virginia Woolf's dismembered anagram self are performed by the physical text and produce a new understanding of textuality. In readings that also include diverse works by Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas, P. G. Wodehouse and Conan Doyle, J. M. Barrie, George Herriman, and Sigmund Freud, this study produces a new reading of modernism's psychological text and of literary constructions of materiality in the period.
Nietzsche on Tragedy
Authors: Silk M. S. , Stern J. P.
Published: August 2016

The first comprehensive study of Nietzsche's earliest book, The Birth of Tragedy (1872), this important volume by M. S. Silk and J. P. Stern examines the work in detail: its place in Nietzsche's philosophical career; its value as an account of ancient Greek culture; its place in the history of German ideas, and its value as a theory of tragedy and music. Presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery, and including a specially commissioned preface written by Lesley Chamberlain, illuminating its enduring importance and relevance to philosophical enquiry, this accessible study has been revived for a new generation of readers.
Peirce and the Conduct of Life
Authors: Atkins Richard
Published: August 2016

Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) is regarded as the founding father of pragmatism and a key figure in the development of American philosophy, yet his practical philosophy remains under-acknowledged and misinterpreted. In this book, Richard Atkins argues that Peirce did in fact have developed and systematic views on ethics, on religion, and on how to live, and that these views are both plausible and relevant. Drawing on a controversial lecture that Peirce delivered in 1898 and related works, he examines Peirce's theories of sentiment and instinct, his defence of the rational acceptability of religious belief, his analysis of self-controlled action, and his pragmatic account of practical ethics, showing how he developed his views and how they interact with those of his great contemporary William James. This study will be essential for scholars of Peirce and for those interested in American philosophy, pragmatism, the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of action, and ethics.
A Course in Finite Group Representation Theory
Authors: Webb Peter
Published: August 2016

This graduate-level text provides a thorough grounding in the representation theory of finite groups over fields and rings. The book provides a balanced and comprehensive account of the subject, detailing the methods needed to analyze representations that arise in many areas of mathematics. Key topics include the construction and use of character tables, the role of induction and restriction, projective and simple modules for group algebras, indecomposable representations, Brauer characters, and block theory. This classroom-tested text provides motivation through a large number of worked examples, with exercises at the end of each chapter that test the reader's knowledge, provide further examples and practice, and include results not proven in the text. Prerequisites include a graduate course in abstract algebra, and familiarity with the properties of groups, rings, field extensions, and linear algebra.
Salafism in Jordan
Authors: Wagemakers Joas
Published: August 2016

Since the events of 9/11, Salafism in the Middle East has often been perceived as fixed, rigid and even violent, but this assumption overlooks the quietist ideology that characterises many Salafi movements. Through an exploration of Salafism in Jordan, Joas Wagemakers presents the diversity among quietist Salafis on a range of ideological and political issues, particularly their relationship with the state. He expounds a detailed analysis of Salafism as a whole, whilst also showing how and why quietist Salafism in Jordan - through ideological tendencies, foreign developments, internal conflicts, regime involvement, theological challenges and regional turmoil - transformed from an independent movement into a politically domesticated one. Essential for graduate students and academic researchers interested in Middle Eastern politics and Salafism, this major contribution to the study of Salafism debunks stereotypes and offers insight into the development of a trend that still remains a mystery to many.
Principles of Photonics
Authors: Liu Jia-Ming
Published: August 2016

With this self-contained and comprehensive text, students will gain a detailed understanding of the fundamental concepts and major principles of photonics. Assuming only a basic background in optics, readers are guided through key topics such as the nature of optical fields, the properties of optical materials, and the principles of major photonic functions regarding the generation, propagation, coupling, interference, amplification, modulation, and detection of optical waves or signals. Numerous examples and problems are provided throughout to enhance understanding, and a solutions manual containing detailed solutions and explanations is available online for instructors. This is the ideal resource for electrical engineering and physics undergraduates taking introductory, single-semester or single-quarter courses in photonics, providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to progress to more advanced courses on photonic devices, systems and applications.
Marine Reservoir Correction for American Samoa Using U-series and AMS Dated Corals
Authors: Clark Jeffrey T , Quintus Seth , Weisler Marshall I , Pierre Emma St , Nothdurft Luke , Feng Yuexing , Hua Quan
Published: August 2016

Radiocarbon dating of marine samples requires a local marine reservoir correction, or ΔR value, for accurate age calibrations. For the Samoan Archipelago in the central Pacific, ΔR values have been proposed previously, but, unlike some Polynesian archipelagoes, ΔR values seem not to vary spatially and temporally. Here, we demonstrate such variability by reporting a ΔR of –101±72 ΔR for the Manu‘a Group—the eastern-most islands in the archipelago—for the colonization period. This value is based on accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C and uranium-thorium (U-Th) series dating of individual coral branches from pre-2300 cal BP archaeological contexts. This figure differs from the previously proposed modern ΔR of 28±26 yr derived from dated historic, pre-1950, shell samples from the western islands of Samoa. Consequently, we recommend using the ΔR of –101±72 yr for the 1st millennium BC in Manu‘a, and 28±26 yr for calibrating dates within the 2nd millennium AD in the western islands (Savai‘i to Tutuila). Until more data from across the archipelago and from throughout the entire culture-historical sequence document ΔR variability, we recommend that researchers use both of these ΔR values to evaluate how the dates of marine-derived samples compare with AMS dates on identified, short-lived wood charcoal.
Sedimentological architecture, shelf-edge trajectories and evolution of an Oligocene reservoir, East Nile Delta
Authors: SELIM S. S.
Published: August 2016

3D seismic data and wireline logs from 17 wells in the onshore East Nile Delta were utilized to study the stratigraphic architecture and evolution of Oligocene deposits. The Oligocene is readily recognized on seismic cross-sections by a series of northward prograding clinoforms. The Oligocene sequences show lateral facies changes from fluvial to deepwater via a shelf-edge delta. Such deltaic features include distributary channels, interdistributary bay fill, and a delta plain and front, gradually changing downslope into prodelta and slope deposits. The slope deposits include three main depositional elements: a deeply incised channel, a complex of laterally switched leveed channels and lobes, and crevasses and frontal splays. These depositional elements are formed in the main western slope basin and local eastern intraslope ponded sub-basin. The reactivated E–W- and NW-trending faults as well as NE–SW inverted structures are the main controls on slope physiography that formed the main corridors for Oligocene sediment distribution. Two main globally correlated Oligocene sequences are encountered being separated by the major drop in global eustatic sea level at 28.1Ma. The lower Oligocene sequence has two main stages: (1) the formation and filling of a basal canyon; and (2) the formation and progradation of shelf deltas to form shelf-edge deltas, and then progradation with an ascending shelf-edge trajectory (clinoforms 1). The upper Oligocene sequence is characterized by accretionary shelf-edge deltas with descending and then flat trajectories (clinoforms 2–4). The frontal splay and lobe complex exhibits potentially favourable reservoir continuity and areal coverage followed by the slope channels.
On the Valuation of Industrial Assurance Policies
Authors: Fippard R. C.
Published: August 2016

The general principles on which a valuation should be made are the same for Industrial as for Ordinary Assurance policies, but the differences between the two classes of business necessitate considerable difference in the methods by which these principles are applied.

The greater number of Industrial Assurance policies are issued on the basis of the weekly payment of id. and small multiples of id., the premiums being collected weekly by agents. The average sum assured is consequently small and the expense of collection relatively great. Medical examination is not asked for except in special cases, the agents being required to form their own opinion of the eligibility for insurance of the proposer. The effects of serious errors of judgment in this matter are minimised by the usual condition that a proportion only—usually one quarter—of the sum assured shall be paid should death occur otherwise than by accident during the first three or six months of the assurance; the proportion being increased to one-half for the second period of three or six months; and the full sum assured being payable thereafter.
Problems of the 1921 Census
Authors: Levey R.
Published: August 2016

The present system of decennial censuses has been the method employed ever since the first census was taken in 1801, but there is general agreement amongst those interested in population statistics that ten years is much too long an interval between successive enumerations. A series of censuses at quinquennial intervals would, without doubt, afford a more reliable basis for the solution of many problems in demography. Further, if a permanent census office were set up all the information as regards movements of the population in and out of the country, and to and from various districts in the country, at present supplied to various Government departments, should be given to that office. A closer link between successive censuses would thus be forged, and intercensal populations more readily obtained with much greater accuracy than at present.
Surrender Values of Whole Life and Endowment Assurances.
Authors: Murrell R.
Published: August 2016

The subject of Surrender Values is a wide one and it will be impossible in the course of these remarks to give more than an outline of a few of the points which arise. I shall, therefore, deal in the main with broad general principles and leave the lesser details untouched.

The scales of surrender values actually allowed by offices in this country differ widely, and an examination of the figures indicates that some offices still retain the view that a policyholder who surrenders his assurance should be fined heavily. It is difficult to reconcile this view with present-day ideas, for if a policyholder is so unfortunate as to be unable to continue his premiums owing to financial or other reasons, it is surely harsh treatment on the part of the company to impose a heavy fine, the whole, or practically the whole, of which merely goes to swell the bonuses allotted to those more fortunate individuals who are able to continue and who could well dispense with this additional benefit.
Some Legal Aspects of Children's Deferred Assurances and other Policies for Children
Authors: Houseman D.
Published: August 2016

Attention has recently been drawn to the legal aspects of Children's Deferred Assurances by the decision In re Englebach to which reference is made later on in this paper, although that case introduced no new principle of law and strictly followed the lines of earlier decisions.

There are those who think that the legal aspects of life policies from the Proposer's point of view are matters for his own attention on which he should be advised by his own Solicitor, and that from the Assurance Office's point of view they are matters for the attention of the Solicitors to the Office. In other words, they think that the Proposer must protect his own interests.

There are others who do not subscribe to that view. They think that the Office should give the Proposer a detailed and lucid explanation of every important phase of any policy which it offers to the public and that the Proposer ought to be able to enter with complete confidence into any contract for a policy in the ordinary form of the Office without having to take the advice of his own Solicitor.
A Talk about Research
Authors: Elderton W. Palin
Published: August 2016

When your Secretary asked me some months ago if I would talk to you about research I made some enquiries and was told that many of you would like to undertake some kind of research work but found it hard to think of suitable subjects. Even if you had subjects, how were you to set to work and what were the possible pitfalls? I am doubtful if I can be of much help to you, and in one sense each man who wants to do any original work must do it in his own way and must find his own subject. The ideal subjects are those of which no one else has ever thought. There is an infinite number of them, and they have been “waiting on the tedious shores of Lethe millions of ages” for “existence and a name” till you bring them to life. To any one of you who may find and solve such a problem “I am not worthy” to speak for he has that touch of inspiration that we poor mortals call genius, being perhaps fearful of using the word “divinity,” but even such an one may like to try his prentice hand before he embarks on his great adventure.
III. The yield on an annuity or a loan: a development of Mr Craig's method
Authors: O'Brien H.
Published: August 2016

It should not be difficult to extend the work already performed by Mr Craig to devise a formula which will be accurate to seven places of decimals even in very unfavourable circumstances (e.g. very long or short terms for very high or low rates of interest). Mr Craig's formula gives the correct value ofρfor the example given in theTextbook, but is not so accurate for more unusual conditions.

Developing as in Mr Craig's note:

We have, as far as terms involvingρ2in numerator and denominator,

or

andρ1=t0/t1.

An examination of the form taken by the values ofi/ρ—i/ρ1for various values ofn, iandρsuggests that it is very nearly independent ofρfor intervals up to considerably more than 1/16%.

It would thus probably be possible to find the form of this function from calculated values.