bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geometries, independence spaces and infinite antimatroids
Authors: Mao Hua
Published: December 2017

This paper generalizes the notion of antimatroids from the case that the ground set X is a finite set to the case that X is an arbitrary set. It not only deals with the relationships between geometries and independence spaces, but also demonstrates the relationships between convex geometries and arbitrary antimatroids.
Persuasive Writing: How Students Argue
Authors: Abdul Aziz Farous Izwan , Ahmad Ummul Khair
Published: December 2017

English persuasive writing is an important skill to be mastered by students as it is highly valued when and if students continue their studies to a higher education level. The objectives of this study are to: (1) identify  the  distinctive features of persuasive essays commonly adopted by Malaysian students; (2) investigate the problems students encounter while developing their arguments, and (3) to suggest strategies that can improve students’ persuasive writing skills.  Seventy-nine essay samples from four secondary schools were  selected for the analysis and Toulmin’s Model was employed as the tool for  analyzing the essays.  The focus of the analysis is to uncover the persuasive elements that the students have applied in their writing. The raw data were gathered by reading each of the essays and labeling the persuasive elements (claim, grounds, warrant, backing, rebuttal and qualifiers) which were identified.  Findings from the analysis have indicated that the students applied the basic persuasive elements: claim, grounds and warrant. It was also discovered that the students lacked  the optional persuasive elements; qualifier, rebuttal and backing. Students need to be exposed to new or alternative strategies of composing in order  to help improve their persuasive writing skills.
Developing A Framework For Writing Skill: A Corpus-Based Analysis Of The Written Argumentative Essays
Authors: Kanestion Anita , Sarjit Singh Manvender Kaur , Shamsudin Sarimah
Published: December 2017

Most scholars have studied written discourse both in academic and professional setting within the scope of genre-based analysis, which demonstrate an increase interest in analysing the rhetorical structure of written texts. Conversely, there is a dearth of research in Malaysia that explains the rhetorical structure of argumentative essays from a genre analysis perspective. This paper introduces a genre-based corpus analysis using a compiled representative corpus of the argumentative  essay for developing a rhetorical structure, also known as , an analytical framework to enhance the students’ writing skills. The compiled representative corpus was consisted of 24 argumentative essays.  As a qualitative study, a corpus–based analysis is employed to explore  the distinguished move patterns used in the argumentative essays. Using Hyland’s (1990) 11 move pattern as an analytical framework of the argumentative essay, this study revealed a list of moves and steps which were signaled by the linguistic features. Consequently, there were altogether 9 moves and 14 steps were identified in the three stages, namely Introduction, Argument and Conclusion. However, the moves used by the pre-university students in the study did vary from the model as new moves were marked in each stage. Pedagogically, the findings of this study were expected to guide in developing a framework for writing skills.
Teachers’ Experience in Curriculum Implementation: An Investigation on English Language Teaching in Vocational Colleges in Malaysia
Authors: Mohd. Yusof Sanitah , Zainuddin Dalila Syazana , Hamdan Abdul Rahim
Published: December 2017

This qualitative research aimed to explore teachers’ experience in the implementation of the new English language curriculum in Malaysian vocational colleges. The research’s focus is on English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ perceptions on the new English language curriculum and its implementation, ESL teachers’ strategies in implementing the new English language curriculum, and the problems and challenges that they face in implementing the new English language curriculum. A full qualitative research paradigm was employed using a phenomenology design, where 6 ESL teachers from Negeri Sembilan participated to share their insights on the research topic. The research used purposive sampling method, and the participants were selected based on research location. The research instrument used to collect the data was a semi-structured interview administered via Facebook video call and recorded with Callnote application software. This approach was chosen for its feasibility and cost-saving nature. Research findings show that ESL teachers are receptive of the curriculum change and most of them understand the new curriculum well. They have positive feelings towards it despite acknowledging negative curriculum aspects, having curriculum concerns and dealing with problems and challenges. Teachers recommended for proper training and support in order to improve the teaching and learning process in ESL classroom. The implications of the research findings have been outlined and highlighted, followed by several suggestions for the stakeholders involved, including ESL teachers, policymakers, training division, and vocational college administrators.
Using Digital Stories to Promote Students’ Learning and Understanding of Poems in Secondary School
Authors: Choo Yee Bee , Abdullah Tina , Mohd Nawi Abdullah
Published: December 2017

In the teaching of literature in secondary school, some teachers prefer the traditional method and this causes students to view literature as a boring subject. In this technological era, technology method such as digital stories have been a powerful tool in teaching and learning that engages both teachers and their students (Robin, 2008). This study investigates the use of digital stories in the teaching and learning of poems in an upper form classroom in Malaysia. In a mixed method study of eleven participants , multiple data were collected through pre-test and post-test, observations, and interviews. The results showed that using digital stories could increase students’ understanding, participation and interest in learning the poems as well as promote students’ ability in meaning making by involving them in fun and meaningful activities in the classroom. Students were also able to engage themselves in gathering information as well as giving personal response. The findings of the study encourage the teachers to integrate technology in the teaching and learning of literature component especially in the Malaysian secondary school context.
Negotiating Pragmatics of Student’s Writing through Tutorials: A Case Study for Exploring World Japaneses
Authors: Fujinaga Kiyono , Fujii Seiko
Published: December 2017

The aim of the present study is to explore the thin line between a learner’s pragmatic failures and styles through their writings and to call for the pragmatic variations of Japanese as a second language in writing such that we establish World Japaneses in the same spirit as World Englishes.  In order to achieve this goal, we discuss the role of tutorials in creating a ground of meaning negotiation between peer tutors and students and second the importance of negotiation in choosing the linguistic forms best expressing the non-native students’ ideas rather than automatically conforming to the norms of the native speakers.  Specifically, this study offers an ethnographic analysis of writing tutoring sessions between an advanced-level Japanese learner and a native Japanese peer tutor.  One of the main findings was the student’s unique use of honorifics when discussing his own home country, which conflicts with native Japanese expectations of honorific use.  We suggest examples that need much discussions between the learner and the teacher/tutor at writing conference sessions in order to determine whether it is a pragmatic failure or a student’s style, in the latter a pragmatic variation of World Japaneses.  By examining the above-mentioned pragmatic phenomena produced by a L2 writer, we attempt to connect theoretical issues in linguistics, especially Construction Grammar, linguistic ideology, and second language pedagogy
Engaging Summer School Programme’s Participants in Reflective Learning
Authors: Kahar Rohayah , Abdul Samad Adlina , Bunari Ghazali , Mohd Yusof Masdinah Alauyah , Mohd Omar Noor Abidah , Abdul Raof Abdul Halim
Published: December 2017

Experiencing studying in one’s home country might be different from experiencing it in a host country. Hence, to help Japanese students who participate in the two-week Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) ESL summer school programme achieve their goals to better communicate in English and to experience an academic life in UTM, many in-class and out-of-class activities and tasks were conducted and organized for them. One of the out-of-class task was the half-day classroom visit designed based on the foundation of reflective learning where the participants had to attend their UTM buddies classes. While in the classrooms, they were encouraged to participate in the class activities. They were also required to write their own reflections on the visit in their journals. Once the task was completed, they were required to share their experience in a group discussion activity. From the analysis of both their written and oral reflections, it was found that many of the participants claimed that there were differences between the Japanese and UTM classrooms with regard to the teaching methods and the UTM students’ classroom behaviour. These findings revealed that the specifically designed half-day classroom visit had stimulated the participants to recognize their personal values, to build their confidence and to maximize their learning experience. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to share the summer school participants’ reflections on their experiences undergoing the half-day classroom situation in UTM.
¿Acción, puesta en escena, evento o construcción audiovisual? Una breve introducción al concepto de performance en humanidades y en música.
Authors: San Cristóbal Opazo Úrsula Pilar
Published: December 2017

El término performance provoca fascinación y también confusión en muchos jóvenes estudiantes, algo que se acentúa por la falta de recursos didácticos sobre el tema en español. El presente artículo intenta contribuir en esta dirección. El principal objetivo es aportar una revisión panorámica y sintética de los diferentes significados asumidos por el término performance en algunas disciplinas humanistas (lingü.stica, antropología, estudios de género, performance art y performance studies) y en música e identificar algunas de las principales orientaciones de investigación en este último ámbito. El texto también busca introducir dos de las problemáticas recurrentes en el estudio de la performance: la diferencia entre lo performático y lo performativo y la dicotomía performance en vivo vs. performance grabada, esta última especialmente relevante al abordar la performance musical mediatizada.
Artes plásticas y mujeres en la última dictadura argentina: análisis desde un caso trans-local
Authors: Gonzalez Alejandra Soledad
Published: December 2017

En este artículo, se reconstruyen las presencias femeninas emergentes en un salón artístico desarrollado anualmente durante la última dictadura argentina, donde Córdoba entrelazaba redes locales, nacionales e hispanoamericanas. Como hipótesis, se sostiene que en el campo artístico de las décadas de 1970 y 1980 prevaleció una pirámide jerárquica de posiciones, compuesta por tres escalones de artistas: jóvenes en la base, reconocidos en una posición intermedia y consagrados en la cúspide. En ese marco, el salón visibilizaba una composición pluralista en los concursantes aceptados, pero las distinciones (económicas y simbólicas) eran adjudicadas reiteradamente a obras de autores mayores y masculinos. Mediante herramientas conceptuales de historia cultural y estudios de género, se exploran las generalidades del salón dentro de la política cultural y se profundiza en el análisis del concurso escultórico, donde “lo femenino” existía, no solo como objetos representados por varones, sino en estrategias creativas de mujeres escultoras.
El principio formal femenino en la arquitectura funeraria arcaica y antigua
Authors: García Sánchez Rafael , Cerezuela Bastida Sergio , Jiménez González Francisco Joaquín
Published: December 2017

Durante una larga tradición milenaria se llevaron a cabo pinturas y esculturas de índole mágica y religiosa, cuyas formas y trazados geométricos guardaban una singular relación con la anatomía femenina. Antes de que el hombre fuese propiamente un constructor consciente, esa analogía se hallaba, en exclusiva, en las pinturas parietales y en estatuillas y relieves paleolíticos. Nos proponemos como objetivo demostrar que, a partir del Neolítico, el principio y fundamento de lo femenino también alcanzará el diseño de algunas de las sepulturas y los recintos funerarios más representativos. Para ello, se expondrán algunas de las razones que llevaron a los artífices neolíticos a mantener viva dicha tradición paleolítica. La metodología que hemos utilizado consiste en establecer como causa formal la percepción que se tenía de la vida, la muerte, lo femenino y lo sagrado. Con ese fin, seguiremos a los autores clásicos de antropología, historia de las religiones, arqueología, filosofía de la cultura e historiadores del arte y la arquitectura que han hecho referencia simultánea a las cuestiones de la vida, la muerte, lo femenino y el arte arcaicos y antiguos. Finalmente, y como resultado, constataremos la singular analogía y relación formal existente entre lo femenino, lo vital, la experiencia religiosa de la muerte y lo artístico y arquitectónico. Para ello, y con el fin de probar la existencia de un principio activo extrínseco que explique la dimensión femenina de la forma arquitectónica funeraria, se expondrán, a modo de resultado, algunos ejemplos paradigmáticos de construcciones arcaicas y antiguas que pondrán de relieve la analogía formal con el cuerpo de la mujer.
Inversion of the V-line transform for breast cancer detection with Compton camera
Authors: Gouia-Zarrad Rim
Published: December 2017

In the recent past, Compton camera became an attractive alternative to the Anger camera in scintimammography, В known as nuclear medicine breast imaging or molecular breast imaging. This novel imaging modality leads to the use of the V-line Radon transform, which integrates a function along coupled rays with a common vertex. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of using the inversion of the V-line Radon transform in breast imaging to detect tumors including those close to the chest wall. Numerical simulations show the relevance of the proposed reconstruction.
Comparing Weight-Conscious Drinking Among Athletes and Nonathletes
Authors: Galante Marina , Ward Rose Marie , Weinberg Robert
Published: December 2017

Weight-conscious drinking is the use of disordered eating behaviors in anticipation of or as compensation for calories consumed during alcohol use. The aim of the current study is to assess the relationship between weight-conscious drinking, athletic status, and sport type. Participants were 295 college students (82 male and 213 female; Mage = 20.10) from a midsized Midwestern university. Participants completed an online survey that included items assessing alcohol consumption, the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI), the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), and the Compensatory Eating and Behaviors in Response to Alcohol Consumption Scale (CEBRACS). In comparison with nonathletes, student-athletes had lower EAT-26 and CEBRACS scores; RAPI scores did not differ between the two groups. Lean-sport athletes differed concerning CEBRACS diet/exercise subscales in comparison with nonlean-sport athletes.
Comparison of Salmonella enterica Serovars Typhi and Typhimurium Reveals Typhoidal Serovar-Specific Responses to Bile
Authors: Johnson Rebecca , Ravenhall Matt , Pickard Derek , Dougan Gordon , Byrne Alexander , Frankel Gad
Published: December 2017

Salmonella enterica
serovars Typhi and Typhimurium cause typhoid fever and gastroenteritis, respectively. A unique feature of typhoid infection is asymptomatic carriage within the gallbladder, which is linked with
S
. Typhi transmission. Despite this,
S
. Typhi responses to bile have been poorly studied. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) of
S
. Typhi Ty2 and a clinical
S
. Typhi isolate belonging to the globally dominant H58 lineage (strain 129-0238), as well as
S
. Typhimurium 14028, revealed that 249, 389, and 453 genes, respectively, were differentially expressed in the presence of 3% bile compared to control cultures lacking bile.
fad
genes, the
actP-acs
operon, and putative sialic acid uptake and metabolism genes (t1787 to t1790) were upregulated in all strains following bile exposure, which may represent adaptation to the small intestine environment. Genes within the
Salmonella
pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1), those encoding a type IIII secretion system (T3SS), and motility genes were significantly upregulated in both
S
. Typhi strains in bile but downregulated in
S
. Typhimurium. Western blots of the SPI-1 proteins SipC, SipD, SopB, and SopE validated the gene expression data. Consistent with this, bile significantly increased
S
. Typhi HeLa cell invasion, while
S
. Typhimurium invasion was significantly repressed. Protein stability assays demonstrated that in
S
. Typhi the half-life of HilD, the dominant regulator of SPI-1, is three times longer in the presence of bile; this increase in stability was independent of the acetyltransferase Pat. Overall, we found that
S
. Typhi exhibits a specific response to bile, especially with regard to virulence gene expression, which could impact pathogenesis and transmission.
Oral Application of Recombinant Bacillus subtilis Spores to Dogs Results in a Humoral Response against Specific Echinococcus granulosus Paramyosin and Tropomyosin Antigens
Authors: Vogt Cédric M. , Armúa-Fernández Maria Teresa , Tobler Kurt , Hilbe Monika , Aguilar Claudio , Ackermann Mathias , Deplazes Peter , Eichwald Catherine
Published: December 2017

Bacillus subtilis
is known as an endospore- and biofilm-forming bacterium with probiotic properties. We have recently developed a method for displaying heterologous proteins on the surface of
B. subtilis
biofilms by introducing the coding sequences of the protein of interest into the bacterial genome to generate a fusion protein linked to the C terminus of the biofilm matrix protein TasA. Although
B. subtilis
is a regular component of the gut microflora, we constructed a series of recombinant
B. subtilis
strains that were tested for their ability to be used to immunize dogs following oral application of the spores. Specifically, we tested recombinant spores of
B. subtilis
carrying either the fluorescent protein mCherry or else selected antigenic peptides (tropomyosin and paramyosin) from
Echinococcus granulosus
, a zoonotic intestinal tapeworm of dogs and other carnivores. The application of the recombinant
B. subtilis
spores led to the colonization of the gut with recombinant
B. subtilis
but did not cause any adverse effect on the health of the animals. As measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting, the dogs were able to develop a humoral immune response against mCherry as well as against
E. granulosus
antigenic peptides. Interestingly, the sera of dogs obtained after immunization with recombinant spores of
E. granulosus
peptides were able to recognize
E. granulosus
protoscoleces, which represent the infective form of the head of the tapeworms. These results represent an essential step toward the establishment of
B. subtilis
as an enteric vaccine agent.
Role of Ethanolamine Utilization Genes in Host Colonization during Urinary Tract Infection
Authors: Sintsova Anna , Smith Sara , Subashchandrabose Sargurunathan , Mobley Harry L.
Published: December 2017

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the second most common infection in humans, making it a global health priority. Nearly half of all women will experience a symptomatic UTI, with uropathogenicEscherichia coli(UPEC) being the major causative agent of the infection. Although there has been extensive research on UPEC virulence determinants, the importance of host-specific metabolism remains understudied. We report here that UPEC upregulates the expression of ethanolamine utilization genes during uncomplicated UTIs in humans. We further show that UPEC ethanolamine metabolism is required for effective bladder colonization in the mouse model of ascending UTI and is dispensable for bladder colonization in an immunocompromised mouse model of UTI. We demonstrate that although ethanolamine metabolism mutants do not show increased susceptibility to antimicrobial responses of neutrophils, this metabolic pathway is important for surviving the innate immune system during UTI. This study reveals a novel aspect of UPEC metabolism in the host and provides evidence for an underappreciated link between bacterial metabolism and the host immune response.
cas9
Enhances Bacterial Virulence by Repressing the
regR
Transcriptional Regulator in Streptococcus agalactiae
Authors: Ma Ke , Cao Qing , Luo Su , Wang Zhaofei , Liu Guangjin , Lu Chengping , Liu Yongjie
Published: December 2017

Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and their associated
cas
genes have been demonstrated to regulate self-genes and virulence in many pathogens. In this study, we found that inactivation of
cas9
caused reduced adhesion and intracellular survival of the piscine
Streptococcus agalactiae
strain GD201008-001 and significantly decreased the virulence of this strain in zebrafish and mice. Further investigation indicated that the
regR
transcriptional regulator was upregulated in the Δ
cas9
mutant. As
regR
mediates the repression of hyaluronidase, a critical factor involved in opening the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in mice,
cas9
-mediated repression of
regR
transcription is important for
S. agalactiae
to open the BBB and thereby cause meningitis in animals. This study expands our understanding of endogenous gene regulation mediated by CRISPR-Cas systems in bacteria.
CodY-Mediated c-di-GMP-Dependent Inhibition of Mammalian Cell Invasion in Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Elbakush Ahmed M. , Miller Kurt W. , Gomelsky Mark
Published: December 2017

Elevated levels of the second messenger c-di-GMP suppress virulence in diverse pathogenic bacteria, yet mechanisms are poorly characterized. In the foodborne pathogen
Listeria monocytogenes
, high c-di-GMP levels inhibit mammalian cell invasion. Here, we show that invasion is impaired because of the decreased expression levels of internalin genes whose products are involved in invasion. We further show that at high c-di-GMP levels, the expression of the entire virulence regulon is suppressed, and so is the expression of the
prfA
gene encoding the master activator of the virulence regulon. Analysis of mechanisms controlling
prfA
expression pointed to the transcription factor CodY as a c-di-GMP-sensitive component. In high-c-di-GMP strains,
codY
gene expression is decreased, apparently due to the lower activity of CodY, which functions as an activator of
codY
transcription. We found that listerial CodY does not bind c-di-GMP
in vitro
and therefore investigated whether c-di-GMP levels affect two known cofactors of listerial CodY, branched-chain amino acids and GTP. Our manipulation of branched-chain amino acid levels did not perturb the c-di-GMP effect; however, our replacement of listerial CodY with the streptococcal CodY homolog, whose activity is GTP independent, abolished the c-di-GMP effect. The results of this study suggest that elevated c-di-GMP levels decrease the activity of the coordinator of metabolism and virulence, CodY, possibly via lower GTP levels, and that decreased CodY activity suppresses
L. monocytogenes
virulence by the decreased expression of the PrfA virulence regulon.

IMPORTANCE
Listeria monocytogenes
is a pathogen causing listeriosis, a disease responsible for the highest mortality rate among foodborne diseases. Understanding how the virulence of this pathogen is regulated is important for developing treatments to decrease the frequency of listerial infections in susceptible populations. In this study, we describe the mechanism through which elevated levels of the second messenger c-di-GMP inhibit listerial invasion in mammalian cells. Inhibition is caused by the decreased activity of the transcription factor CodY that coordinates metabolism and virulence.
The Nitrogen Regulatory PII Protein (GlnB) and
N
-Acetylglucosamine 6-Phosphate Epimerase (NanE) Allosterically Activate Glucosamine 6-Phosphate Deaminase (NagB) in Escherichia coli
Authors: Rodionova Irina A. , Goodacre Norman , Babu Mohan , Emili Andrew , Uetz Peter , Saier Milton H.
Published: December 2017

Amino sugars are good sources of both ammonia and fructose-6-phosphate, produced by the glucosamine 6-phosphate deaminase, NagB. NagB is known to be allosterically regulated by
N
-acetylglucosamine 6-phosphate (GlcNAc-6P) and the phosphocarrier protein of the bacterial phosphotransferase system, HPr, in
Escherichia coli
. We provide evidence that NanE, GlcNAc-6P epimerase, and the uridylylated PII protein (U-PII) also allosterically activate NagB by direct protein-protein interactions. NanE is essential for neuraminic acid (NANA) and
N
-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) utilization, and PII is known to be a central metabolic nitrogen regulator. We demonstrate that uridylylated PII (but not underivatized PII) activates NagB >10-fold at low concentrations of substrate, whereas NanE increases NagB activity >2-fold. NanE activates NagB in the absence or presence of GlcNAc-6P, but HPr and U-PII activation requires the presence of GlcNAc-6P. Activation of NagB by HPr and uridylylated PII, as well as by NanE and HPr (but not by NanE and U-PII), is synergistic, and the modeling, which suggests specific residues involved in complex formation, provides possible explanations. Specific physiological functions for the regulation of NagB by its three protein activators are proposed. Each regulatory agent is suggested to mediate signal transduction in response to a different stimulus.

IMPORTANCE
The regulation of amino sugar utilization is important for the survival of bacteria in a competitive environment. NagB, a glucosamine 6-phosphate deaminase in
Escherichia coli
, is essential for amino sugar utilization and is known to be allosterically regulated by
N
-acetylglucosamine 6-phosphate (GlcNAc-6P) and the histidine-phosphorylatable phosphocarrier protein, HPr. We provide evidence here that NanE, GlcNAc-6P epimerase, and the uridylylated PII protein allosterically activate NagB by direct protein-protein interactions. NanE is essential for
N
-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) and
N
-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) utilization, and the PII protein is known to be a central metabolic nitrogen regulator. Regulatory links between carbon and nitrogen metabolism are important for adaptation of metabolism to different growth conditions.
Isolated tricuspid regurgitation: outcomes and therapeutic interventions
Authors: Fender Erin A , Zack Chad J , Nishimura Rick A
Published: December 2017

Isolated tricuspid regurgitation (TR) can be caused by primary valvular abnormalities such as flail leaflet or secondary annular dilation as is seen in atrial fibrillation, pulmonary hypertension and left heart disease. There is an increasing recognition of a subgroup of patients with isolated TR in the absence of other associated cardiac abnormalities. Left untreated isolated TR significantly worsens survival. Stand-alone surgery for isolated TR is rarely performed due to an average operative mortality of 8%–10% and a paucity of data demonstrating improved survival. When surgery is performed, valve repair may be preferred over replacement; however, there is a risk of significant recurrent regurgitation after repair. Existing society guidelines do not fully address the management of isolated TR. We propose that patients at low operative risk with symptomatic severe isolated TR and no reversible cause undergo surgery prior to the onset of right ventricular dysfunction and end-organ damage. For patients at increased surgical risk novel percutaneous interventions may offer an alternative treatment but further research is needed. Significant knowledge gaps remain and future research is needed to define operative outcomes and provide comparative data for medical and surgical therapy.
Probabilistic characterization of two-dimensional soil profile by integrating cone penetration test (CPT) with multi-channel analysis of surface wave (MASW) data
Authors: Huang Jinsong , Zheng Dong , Li Dian-Qing , Kelly Richard , Sloan Scott William
Published: December 2017

In situ, laboratory, and geophysical tests are currently used in site characterization. These tests explore different parts of a site measuring different engineering properties at different resolutions or scales. The test results are then used to derive a design profile. In traditional approaches, the positions of boundaries between geological units are identified first, and the soil profile is divided into several layers. Constant engineering properties are assigned to each geological unit and the variabilities within each layer are ignored. To take the uncertainties into account, characteristic design values are assigned. There are no commonly accepted guidelines for choosing design values, however, which introduces additional subjective uncertainties. This paper proposes a probabilistic site characterization approach, based on Bayesian statistical methods, that allows a design profile involving uncertainty to be determined automatically. The derived soil profile is not modelled by uniform layers, but by random fields, which can be used directly in probabilistic analysis. The proposed approach is verified by a synthetic example, and further applied to a soft soil test site in Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, and compared with traditional approaches. The results show that by gradually incorporating more data into the Bayesian inversion, the uncertainty in the soil profile is greatly reduced.
Higgs pair production in the CP-violating two-Higgs-doublet model
Authors: Bian Ligong , Chen Ning , Jiang Yun
Published: December 2017

The SM-like Higgs pair production is discussed in the framework of the general CP-violating two-Higgs-doublet model, where we find that the CP-violating mixing angles can be related to the Higgs self-couplings. Therefore, the future experimental searches for Higgs boson pairs can be constrained by the improved precision of the electric dipole moment measurements. Based on a series of constraints of the SM-like Higgs boson signal fits, the perturbative unitarity and stability bounds to the Higgs potential, and the most recent LHC searches for heavy Higgs bosons, we suggest a set of benchmark models for the future high-energy collider searches for Higgs pair production. The [Formula: see text] colliders operating at [Formula: see text] are capable of measuring the Higgs cubic self-couplings of the benchmark models directly. We also estimate the cross sections of the resonance contributions to the Higgs pair productions for the benchmark models at the future LHC and SppC/FCC-hh runs.
CEPC-SPPC accelerator status towards CDR
Authors: Gao J.
Published: December 2017

In this paper we will give an introduction to the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC). The scientific background, physics goal, the collider design requirements and the conceptual design principle of the CEPC are described. On the CEPC accelerator, the optimization of parameter designs for the CEPC with different energies, machine lengths, single ring and crab-waist collision partial double ring, advanced partial double ring and fully partial double ring options, etc. have been discussed systematically, and compared. The CEPC accelerator baseline and alternative designs have been proposed based on the luminosity potential in relation with the design goals. The CEPC sub-systems, such as the collider main ring, booster, electron positron injector, etc. have also been introduced. The detector and the MAchine-Detector Interface (MDI) design have been briefly mentioned. Finally, the optimization design of the Super Proton–Proton Collider (SppC), its energy and luminosity potentials, in the same tunnel of the CEPC are also discussed. The CEPC-SppC Progress Report (2015–2016) has been published.
CEPC booster design study
Authors: Bian Tianjian , Gao Jie , Zhang Chuang , Cui Xiao-Hao , Wang Yi-Wei , Bai Sha , Su Feng , Wang Dou , Cai Yun-Hai , Koratzinos Michael
Published: December 2017

In September 2012, Chinese scientists proposed a Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) in China at 240 GeV center-of-mass energy for Higgs studies. The booster provides 120 GeV electron and positron beams to the CEPC collider for top-up injection at 0.1 Hz. The design of the full energy booster ring of the CEPC is a challenge. The ejected beam energy is 120 GeV and the injected beam energy is 6 GeV. In this paper we describe two alternative schemes, the wiggler bend scheme and the normal bend scheme. For the wiggler bend scheme, we propose to operate the booster ring as a large wiggler at low energy and as a normal ring at high energy to avoid the problem of very low dipole magnet fields. For the normal bend scheme, we implement the orbit correction to correct the earth field.
Colloids in the study of fundamental physics
Authors: Zhang Tian Hui , Zhang Bing Yue , Cao Jing Sheng , Liang Ying , Liu Xiang Yang
Published: December 2017

Colloidal particles in solution exhibit phase behavior analogous to atoms. In the last decades, colloids have been widely employed as modeling systems in studying nucleation, crystallization, glass transition and melting. A number of advances have been achieved. These advances have greatly extended the understanding of fundamental physical phenomena. In this paper, we give a brief summary on these advances.
Research progress of field-induced soft smart materials
Authors: Wu Han , Xu Zhi Chao , Wu Jin Bo , Wen Wei Jia
Published: December 2017

The field-induced soft smart materials are a kind of soft matter whose macroscopic properties (mechanical, or optical) can be significantly and actively controlled and manipulated by external fields such as magnetic field, electric field, temperature or light. In this paper, we briefly review the research and application progress of the field-induced soft smart materials in recent years and discuss the development problems and trend in this research area. In particular, we focus on three typical field-induced soft materials of smart materials: magnetorheological fluid, electrorheological fluid, and temperature and light sensitive polymer gel.
Generalized stochastic resonance for a fractional harmonic oscillator with bias-signal-modulated trichotomous noise
Authors: Lin Lifeng , Wang Huiqi , Huang Xipei , Wen Yongxian
Published: December 2017

For a fractional linear oscillator subjected to both parametric excitation of trichotomous noise and external excitation of bias-signal-modulated trichotomous noise, the generalized stochastic resonance (GSR) phenomena are investigated in this paper in case the noises are cross-correlative. First, the generalized Shapiro–Loginov formula and generalized fractional Shapiro–Loginov formula are derived. Then, by using the generalized (fractional) Shapiro–Loginov formula and the Laplace transformation technique, the exact expression of the first-order moment of the system’s steady response is obtained. The numerical results show that the evolution of the output amplitude amplification is nonmonotonic with the frequency of periodic signal, the noise parameters, and the fractional order. The GSR phenomena, including single-peak GSR, double-peak GSR and triple-peak GSR, are observed in this system. In addition, the interplay of the multiplicative trichotomous noise, bias-signal-modulated trichotomous noise and memory can induce and diversify the stochastic multi-resonance (SMR) phenomena, and the two kinds of trichotomous noises play opposite roles on the GSR.
EFFECTS OF ACTIVATED TIME ON STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF PLATED PLANT FIBER NONWOVEN SHEETS
Authors: SUN ZHIPING , ZHANG YAJUN , HUANG JUNJUN
Published: December 2017

In this work, the effects of activated time on the structural properties of plated plant fiber nonwoven sheet were investigated systematically using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results showed that there existed a saturated adsorption state on the surface of sheet in the PdCl2 solution. The adsorbed rate and saturated adsorption capacity increased with the increase of PdCl2 concentration. As a result, the deposited quantity and crystallization characteristics of plated nonwoven sheets were firstly enhanced and then unchanged with increase of activated time. The Pd-adsorbed capacity reached saturation point when the activated time was 16[Formula: see text]min. The maximum plated quantity was 0.02 and 0.028[Formula: see text]g/cm2 when the concentration of activating solution was 0.015 and 0.15[Formula: see text]g/L on the surface of sheet.
OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE RAPID ANNEALED OXYGEN-DOPED DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON FILM
Authors: LU YI-MIN , HUANG GUO-JUN , GUO YAN-LONG , WANG SHU-YUN
Published: December 2017

The amorphous oxygen-doped diamond-like carbon films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition. Compared with the pure diamond-like carbon film, there were much less graphite clusters on the surfaces of the oxygen-doped diamond-like carbon films, and the average transmission of the oxygen-doped diamond-like carbon films in the medium infrared band increased. However, some new absorption peaks in the infrared spectra of the oxygen-doped diamond-like carbon film were generated. Rapid annealing was experimented to remove the absorption peaks. XPS analysis showed that the fractions of the C–O and C=O bonds that generated the new absorption peaks were reduced more than the fractions of [Formula: see text] bonds by rapid annealing at 400[Formula: see text]C, and the absorption peaks in the medium infrared spectra decreased. It indicated that rapid annealing at right temperature during the right time could reduce greatly the absorption in the medium infrared band of oxygen-doped diamond-like carbon films.
Fourier Decomposition and Anisotropic Diffusion Filtering of Forced Turbulence
Authors: Abdel Kareem Waleed , Abdel Aty Mahmoud , Asker Zafer M.
Published: December 2017

The Fourier decomposition and the anisotropic diffusion filtering model are used to extract various flow field scales and their coherent and incoherent parts. The different flow field scales are identified using the Fourier decomposition. Three cutoff wavenumbers are chosen to extract large, medium and fine scale velocity fields, respectively. Then, the anisotropic diffusion model is applied against the obtained velocity fields for each scale to define the coherent and incoherent parts. The forced turbulent velocities are simulated using the lattice Boltzmann method with resolutions [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively.

The Fourier decomposition of the velocity fields make the filtering process very difficult, so the anisotropic diffusion parameters should be chosen carefully to overcome the problems arising from the sharp cutoffs process. Although of such difficulties, results show that the anisotropic diffusion model successfully isolate the incoherent parts for each scale. It is shown that the incoherent parts are existed everywhere in the flow fields and they are not limited to the fine scales. The coherent fields that are identified by the anisotropic diffusion filtering method are found similar to the extracted scales by the Fourier decomposition. The incoherent regions are fewer in the large scale fields compared with that found in the intermediate and fine fields. The statistical characteristics of the three flow field scales as well as their coherent and incoherent parts are studied and compared with the universal characteristics of turbulence.
Correlation Between Computed Stress Response and Observed Damage of a Heritage Masonry Building
Authors: Tomar Anshu , Paul Dilip Kumar , Agarwal Pankaj
Published: December 2017

There is a large number of historical brick masonry buildings vulnerable worldwide against seismic forces and required to be safeguarded. Therefore, a need arises for developing a cost-efficient and easily executable retrofitting strategy. To serve this purpose, a massive historical lime mortar brick masonry building: Forest Research Institute Dehradun has been analyzed in an uncracked form. A multifaceted assessment in the form of historical investigation about the building, geometrical reconnaissance survey, foundation soil characterization has been done. Material identification by means of laboratory testing, surveys and the literature indications has been carried out prior to numerical structural assessment. The structural assessment was carried out by using finite element method with masonry non-linearity defined by proper constitutive assumptions. The non-linear static pushover analysis has been carried out and the results were compared with existing in situ cracked conditions prevailing in the building. Comparisons of the expected seismic demand of uncracked structure with in situ existing damages were close which validated the damage to be seismically induced and confirm the vulnerability of such buildings to pervasive damages and a possibility of collapse against seismic loading.
An Interoperable Spatio-Temporal Model for Archaeological Data Based on ISO Standard 19100
Authors: Migliorini Sara , Grossi Piergiovanna , Belussi Alberto
Published: December 2017

Archaeological data are characterized by both spatial and temporal dimensions that are often related to each other and are of particular interest during the interpretation process. For this reason, several attempts have been performed in recent years to develop a geographical information system (GIS) tailored for archaeological data. However, despite the increasing use of information technologies in the archaeological domain, the actual situation is that any agency or research group independently develops its own local database and management application that is isolated from the others. Conversely, the sharing of information and the cooperation between different archaeological agencies or research groups can be particularly useful to support the interpretation process by using data discovered in similar situations with respect to spatio-temporal or thematic aspects. In the geographical domain, the INSPIRE initiative of the European Union tries to support the development of a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) through which several organizations, such as public bodies or private companies, with overlapping goals can share data, resources, tools, and competencies in an effective way.

The aim of this article is to lay the basis for the development of an archaeological SDI starting from the experience acquired during the collaboration among several Italian organizations. In particular, the article proposes a spatio-temporal conceptual model for archaeological data based on the ISO Standards of the 19100 family and promotes the use of the GeoUML methodology to put into practice such interoperability. The GeoUML methodology and tools have been enhanced to suit the archaeological domain and to automatically produce several useful documents, configuration files, and code base starting from the conceptual specification. The applicability of the spatio-temporal conceptual model and the usefulness of the produced tools have been tested in three different Italian contexts: Rome, Verona, and Isola della Scala.
Wall Painting Reconstruction Using a Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Sizikova Elena , Funkhouser Thomas
Published: December 2017

Global reconstruction of two-dimensional wall paintings (frescoes) from fragments is an important problem for many archaeological sites. The goal is to find the global position and rotation for each fragment so that all fragments jointly “reconstruct” the original surface (i.e., solve the puzzle). Manual fragment placement is difficult and time-consuming, especially when fragments are irregularly shaped and uncolored. Systems have been proposed to first acquire 3D surface scans of the fragments and then use computer algorithms to solve the reconstruction problem. These systems work well for small test cases and for puzzles with distinctive features, but fail for larger reconstructions of real wall paintings with eroded and missing fragments due to the complexity of the reconstruction search space. We address the search problem with an unsupervised genetic algorithm: we evolve a pool of partial reconstructions that grow through recombination and selection over the course of generations. We introduce a novel algorithm for combining partial reconstructions that is robust to noise and outliers, and we provide a new selection procedure that balances fitness and diversity in the population. In experiments with a benchmark dataset, our algorithm is able to achieve larger and more accurate global reconstructions than previous automatic algorithms.
Exploiting Sparsity to Accelerate Fully Connected Layers of CNN-Based Applications on Mobile SoCs
Authors: Xie Xinfeng , Du Dayou , Li Qian , Liang Yun , Tang Wai Teng , Ong Zhong Liang , Lu Mian , Huynh Huynh Phung , Goh Rick Siow Mong
Published: December 2017

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are widely employed in many image recognition applications. With the proliferation of embedded and mobile devices, such applications are becoming commonplace on mobile devices. Network pruning is a commonly used strategy to reduce the memory and storage footprints of CNNs on mobile devices. In this article, we propose customized versions of the sparse matrix multiplication algorithm to speed up inference on mobile devices and make it more energy efficient. Specifically, we propose a Block Compressed Sparse Column algorithm and a bit-representation-based algorithm (BitsGEMM) that exploit sparsity to accelerate the fully connected layers of a network on the NVIDIA Jetson TK1 platform. We evaluate the proposed algorithms using real-world object classification and object detection applications. Experiments show that performance speedups can be achieved over the original baseline implementation using cuBLAS. On object detection CNNs, an average speedup of 1.82× is obtained over baseline cuBLAS in the fully connected layer of the VGG model, whereas on classification CNNs, an average speedup of 1.51× is achieved for the fully connected layer of the pruned-VGG model. Energy consumption reduction of 43--46% is also observed due to decreased computational and memory bandwidth demands.
Data Storage Management in Cloud Environments
Authors: Mansouri Yaser , Toosi Adel Nadjaran , Buyya Rajkumar
Published: December 2017

Storage as a Service (StaaS) is a vital component of cloud computing by offering the vision of a virtually infinite pool of storage resources. It supports a variety of cloud-based data store classes in terms of availability, scalability, ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) properties, data models, and price options. Application providers deploy these storage classes across different cloud-based data stores not only to tackle the challenges arising from reliance on a single cloud-based data store but also to obtain higher availability, lower response time, and more cost efficiency. Hence, in this article, we first discuss the key advantages and challenges of data-intensive applications deployed within and across cloud-based data stores. Then, we provide a comprehensive taxonomy that covers key aspects of cloud-based data store: data model, data dispersion, data consistency, data transaction service, and data management cost. Finally, we map various cloud-based data stores projects to our proposed taxonomy to validate the taxonomy and identify areas for future research.