bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Food and Feed and Their Impact on Food Safety
Authors: Wang Wei , Wang HaiKuan
Published: May 2014

Pathogenic microorganism contamination of food and feed is a serious problem worldwide. The use of microorganism to preserve food and feed has gained importance in recent years due to the demand for the reduced use of chemical preservatives by consumers and the increasing number of microbial species resistant to antibiotics and preservatives. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) not only produce various antimicrobial compounds that are considered important in the bio-preservation of food and feed and are both cost-effective and safe. At present, many pieces of data have shown that LAB, as a bio-preservative, can improve the quality of food and feed and prolong their shelf life. This review summarises these findings and demonstrates that LAB are promising biological agents for food and feed safety.
Optimal Design of an Olive Oil Mill by Means of the Simulation of a Petri Net Model
Authors: Latorre-Biel Juan-Ignacio , Jiménez-Macías Emilio , Blanco-Fernández Julio , Sáenz-Díez Juan Carlos
Published: May 2014

Global concurrence is a topic that affects many companies in most sectors of the economy. In particular, the improvement in the manufacturing, packing, storage, and transportation of food has allowed farming companies from all over the world to compete for customers of a global market. In order to achieve success in this complex environment, it is convenient for the companies to be efficient even before the beginning of their business activity. This paper presents a decision support methodology for improving the design and management of an olive oil manufacturing facility based on the development of a Petri net model of the system, the simulation of its behaviour under a selected set of alternative configurations, and the choice of the most promising one by means of an optimization algorithm.
Complete resolution of large intracranial aneurysm and cranial nerve deficits after endovascular treatment in an infant with tuberous sclerosis
Authors: Raber Michael R. , Erdem Eren , Elbabaa Samer K.
Published: May 2014

Pediatric intracranial aneurysms are a rare entity, with an often reported prevalence ranging from 0.5% to 4.6%. Their etiology is poorly understood; however, their association with other congenital disorders, such as polycystic kidney disease and Marfan syndrome, has been widely documented in the pediatric neurosurgical literature. We present a case of a 9-month-old boy with tuberous sclerosis with a giant cavernous internal carotid artery aneurysm presenting with third nerve palsy.
Hermite–Hadamard type inequalities for extended s-convex functions on the co-ordinates in a rectangle
Authors: Xi Bo-Yan , Hua Jü , Qi Feng
Published: May 2014

In the paper, the authors obtain some Hermite–Hadamard type integral inequalities for extended s-convex functions on the co-ordinates in a rectangle.
A system of two conservation laws with flux conditions and small viscosity
Authors: Joseph Kayyunnapara Thomas
Published: May 2014

This is an erratum to
[J. Appl. Anal. 15 (2009), no. 2, 247–267], http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/JAA.2009.247.
In this note the author would like to make a correction in formulas (2.12) and (2.13)
for the limit

lim

ϵ
→
0

(

u
ϵ

(
x
,
t
)

,

v
ϵ

(
x
,
t
)

)

${\lim _{\epsilon \rightarrow 0}(u^\epsilon (x,t),v^\epsilon (x,t))}$

stated in Theorem (2.1); there is no change in the proof.
Subacute antidiabetic and in vivo antioxidant effects of methanolic extract of Bridelia micrantha (Hochst Baill) leaf on alloxan-induced hyperglycaemic rats
Authors: Omeh Yusuf Ndukaku , Onoja Samuel Okwudili , Ezeja Maxwell Ikechukwu , Okwor Peace Obiageli
Published: May 2014

The methanolic leaf extract of Bridelia micrantha was tested for subacute antidiabetic and in vivo antioxidant effects in alloxan-induced hyperglycaemic rats. The subacute treatment of the extract (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg) produced 75, 68 and 63% reduction in fasting blood sugar level respectively, on day 14 of treatment. The extract produced time-dependent effect, but did not show a dose-dependent effect. Its optimum antidiabetic activity was noted at the dose of 125 mg/kg and this was comparable to glibenclamide 2 mg/kg (positive control). The extract (125 mg/kg) showed good oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) effect in both normoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic rats. The OGTT effect of the extract (125 mg/kg) did not differ significantly (p>0.05) from glibenclamide (2 mg/kg). The antioxidant effect of the extract was assayed through the determination of the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) and catalase activity. The extract produced a dose-dependent decrease in the serum level of TBARS and gave its optimum catalase activity at the dose of 500 mg/kg. This study suggests that the B. micrantha extract has antihyperglycaemic and antioxidant activities. Therefore, could be a potential source of novel antidiabetic and antioxidant agent for the management of diabetes mellitus.
Pharmacognostical standardization and antidiabetic activity of Syzygium cumini (Linn.) barks (Myrtaceae) on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
Authors: Tripathi Akhilesh K. , Kohli Seema
Published: May 2014

Background: The objectives of the present study were phytochemical and pharmacological screening of bark of Syzygium cumini on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic Wistar albino rats.

Methods: Dose selection was made on the basis of acute oral toxicity study (300–5,000 mg/kg b.w.) as per OECD guidelines. Rats were made diabetic by a single dose of STZ at 50 mg/kg b.w. intraperitoneally. The effect of Syzygium cumini extracts (500 mg/kg) on postprandial blood glucose level was determined in fasted diabetic and normal rats. Blood glucose levels were measured at 0, 30, and 90 min after the glucose administration in the OGTT study. The bark extracts were administered orally at the dose of 500 mg/kg for 21 days in the chronic study. Glibenclamide (2.5 mg/kg) was used as a standard drug for activity comparison. Statistical analyses were performed using one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s multiple comparison tests.

Results: The phytochemical screening showed positive results for triterpenes/steroids, glycosides, carbohydrates, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and amino acids. Administration of Syzygium cumini extracts 30 min before oral glucose loading significantly suppressed (p<0.001) the rise in postprandial blood glucose levels in treated rats compared to control rats but less significant than glibenclamide. Daily, continuous oral treatment of STZ-induced diabetic with various extract of Syzygium cumini for 3 weeks resulted in significant reductions in fasting blood glucose levels compared with diabetic controls. The ethanol and aqueous extracts were most active.

Conclusions: This study brings out the evidence regarding phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of Syzygium cumini.
A block extension of categorical results
in the Green correspondence context
Authors: Harris Morton E.
Published: May 2014

In [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 2 (1972), 371–393, Theorem 4.1], J. A. Green
shows that the Green Correspondence in
Finite Group Modular Representation
Theory is a consequence of an equivalence
between two quotient categories of
appropriate subcategories in the Green
Correspondence context. In [Adv. Math. 104
(1994), 297–314, Theorems 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7], M. Auslander and M. Kleiner
prove a similar result.
M. Linckelmann suggested that the
quotient categories in these results are
the same. Utilizing extensions of [The Representation Theory of Finite Groups, North-Holland,
Amsterdam, 1982, III, Theorem 7.8] or [Representations of Finite Groups, Academic Press, San Diego, 1988, Chapter 5, Corollary 3.11],
we extend these results to blocks of
finite groups. In order to state and
prove our results and to remain relatively
self-contained, we follow the
procedures of [Adv. Math. 104 (1994), 297–314] in the Green Correspondent
context. This is presented in Section 1.
In Section 2 we present our main results. In Section 3
we give a very short proof of a theorem of H. Fitting for
𝒪-algebras that is essential in the proof of
basic results of J. A. Green, [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 2 (1972), 371–393, Lemma 3.9 and Theorem 3.10].
The Post correspondence problem in groups
Authors: Myasnikov Alexei , Nikolaev Andrey , Ushakov Alexander
Published: May 2014

We generalize the classical Post correspondence problem (𝐏𝐂𝐏
n
) and its non-homogeneous variation (𝐍𝐏𝐂𝐏
n
) to non-commutative groups and study the computational complexity of these new problems.
We observe that 𝐏𝐂𝐏
n
is closely related to the equalizer problem in groups, while 𝐍𝐏𝐂𝐏
n
is connected to the double twisted conjugacy problem for endomorphisms. Furthermore, it is shown that one of the strongest forms of the word problem in a group G (we call it the hereditary word problem) can be reduced to 𝐍𝐏𝐂𝐏
n
in G in polynomial time.
The main results are that 𝐏𝐂𝐏
n
is decidable in a finitely generated nilpotent group in polynomial time, while 𝐍𝐏𝐂𝐏
n
is undecidable in any group containing free non-abelian subgroups (though the argument is very different from the classical case of free semigroups). We show that the double endomorphism twisted conjugacy problem is undecidable in free groups of sufficiently large finite rank. We also consider the bounded 𝐏𝐂𝐏 and observe that it is in 𝐍𝐏 for any group with 𝐏-time decidable word problem, meanwhile it is 𝐍𝐏-hard in any group containing free non-abelian subgroups. In particular, the bounded 𝐏𝐂𝐏 is 𝐍𝐏-complete in non-elementary hyperbolic groups and non-abelian right angle Artin groups.
A PETTLEP Imagery Intervention with Young Athletes
Authors: Quinton Mary L. , Cumming Jennifer , Gray Rob , Geeson Joseph R. , Cooper Andrew , Crowley Hannah , Williams Sarah E.
Published: May 2014

The PETTLEP model of imagery (Holmes & Collins, 2001) was designed to produce more effective imagery. The PETTLEP acronym represents seven key elements (i.e., Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion, and Perspective) which should be considered by researchers and practitioners when delivering an imagery intervention. It is thought that by including these elements the functional equivalence at the neural level between imagery and performance will be increased. A number of interventions have supported the use of PETTLEP imagery in improving performance of motor skills (e.g., Smith, Wright, Allsopp, & Westhead, 2007, 2008). To date, however, these PETTLEP interventions have mainly been applied to adult populations with very few conducted with children. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of a 5-week layered-PETTLEP intervention (i.e., adding PETTLEP elements progressively) on movement imagery ability and performance of a soccer task in children. A secondary aim was to examine the potential for a sport-specific nutritional intervention to serve as an effective control condition. Thirty-six children (34 male, 2 female, M age=9.72 years, SD
= 2.05) from a local futsal club were age matched and then randomly allocated to either a PETTLEP imagery intervention group or a nutrition control group. Pre-testing consisted of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire for Children and a dribbling and passing motor task. Post-test protocol was the same with the addition of a nutritional knowledge test. Despite the imagery intervention producing no significant improvements in imagery ability or motor task performance, there was a significant correlation at post-test for the imagery group between age and external visual (r=0.56, p<0.05) and kinesthetic imagery ability (r=0.57, p<0.05). Furthermore, the nutrition group scored significantly higher than the imagery group on the nutrition test (p<0.05). This study highlights important aspects that need to be considered when delivering PETTLEP imagery interventions to children. This study is also one of the first studies to show that control groups, especially with children, can be used for educational purposes. Similar control groups should be considered in future research, as it means interventions can not only be used in a practical manner to improve sporting performance but also to educate and improve knowledge.
Competing constructions for inalienable possession in the Vulgate Gospels: translator's choices and grammatical constraints
Authors: Gianollo Chiara
Published: May 2014

I examine the use of a special genitive construction to express inalienable possession in the Greek New Testament, and the strategies to translate it in the Latin Vulgate. The survey reveals a clash between various faithfulness criteria in translation, and presents the different reactions of the Latin translator, showing how discrepancies arise in a domain where the grammatical resources of the two languages sharply differ.
Case marking in absolute constructions: further evidence for a semantically based alignment in Late Latin
Authors: Rovai Francesco
Published: May 2014

The argument structure of the Latin clause normally patterns according to a nominative/accusative alignment, because – regardless of their semantic role – transitive and intransitive subjects are marked in the same way, as opposed to direct objects. A semantically based alignment is nevertheless attested in some domains of Latin grammar, overtly marking the semantic opposition between active/agentive and inactive/non-agentive arguments – regardless of their syntactic role. In Late Latin, this minor pattern results in the “extended accusative/restricted nominative,” a syntactico-semantic phenomenon that testifies to a re-alignment of the encoding of the argument structure in the transition from Latin to Romance. However, while there is direct evidence for the extension of the accusative, the parallel restriction of the nominative is not easy to prove, since a number of social and stylistic factors obscure the distribution of the different alignments in the late documents. New evidence for such a re-alignment may be probably drawn from some fluctuations of case marking in the
Clinical differences between early- and late-onset severe preeclampsia and analysis of predictors for perinatal outcome
Authors: Stubert Johannes , Ullmann Stefanie , Dieterich Max , Diedrich Doreen , Reimer Toralf
Published: May 2014

Aims: To analyze the clinical differences between early- and late-onset cases of severe preeclampsia and to evaluate parameters that could help to predict perinatal outcome.

Methods: Over a period of 6 years, all cases of severe preeclampsia (n=68) at our institution were included in a retrospective cohort analysis. Differences between early (<34 weeks, n=44) and late (≥34 weeks, n=24) onset of the disease were evaluated. Risk factors for low 5-min Apgar score (≤7), small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants and neonatal acidosis (umbilical arterial pH <7.20) were identified and considered in a multiple logistic regression model.

Results: Early- and late-onset severe preeclampsia differed from each other remarkably. Perinatal outcome was unfavorable in early-onset disease and seemed to be mainly a result of premature delivery and development of fetal growth restriction. Abnormal uterine Doppler velocimetry increased the risk of low 5-min Apgar values [odds ratio (OR) 8.0, P=0.012] and preterm birth <34+0 weeks (OR 17.9, P<0.001). An increased resistance of the umbilical artery was associated with a higher risk for SGA birth weight (OR 4.9, P=0.010).

Conclusion: Preeclampsia is a heterogeneous syndrome even if only severe cases were analyzed. Abnormal Doppler flow characteristics facilitated the identification of patients who were at increased risk for worse perinatal outcome.
Emergency peripartum hysterectomy and risk factors by mode of delivery and obstetric history: a 10-year review from Helsinki University Central Hospital
Authors: Macharey Georg , Ulander Veli-Matti , Kostev Karel , Väisänen-Tommiska Mervi , Ziller Volker
Published: May 2014

Objective: This study aims to estimate the occurrence of emergency peripartum hysterectomy (EPH) and to quantify its risk factors in connection with the mode of delivery and the obstetric history of patients at the Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.

Methods: In a retrospective, matched case-control study we identified 124 cases of EPH from 2000 to 2010 at our hospital. These were matched with 248 control patients.

Results: The incidence rate of EPH was 9.9/10,000. Patients whose current delivery was vaginal, and had a cesarean section (CS) in their history had a six-fold risk for EPH. Women who underwent their first CS had a nine times higher risk, while patients who currently underwent CS and had a history of previous CS, had a 22 times higher risk. Those who experienced prostaglandin-E1 induction had a five-fold risk. Maternal age >35 years, previous curettage, and twin pregnancy were identified as significant risk factors. In 41 cases, interventions to reduce bleeding were performed.

Conclusion: Obstetric emergency training and guidelines for massive hemorrhage should be established in any delivery department. Moreover, all possible precautions should be taken to avoid the first CS if it is obstetrically unnecessary. Induction with prostaglandin-E1, maternal age >35 years, previous curettage, twin pregnancies, and early gestation were identified as risk factors for EPH.
Regulations of Large-Scale Acquisitions of Land: The Case of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Land, Fisheries and Forests
Authors: Paoloni Lorenza , Onorati Antonio
Published: May 2014

This article focuses on the recent international agreement now known as Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Land, Fisheries and Forests. The drafting process for this international agreement, achieved through a transparent consultation activity, started by FAO and finalized through intergovernmental negotiations led by CFS (Committee on World Food Security, a body of the U.N.), also including the participation of civil society organizations, international organizations, private sector representatives, academics and researchers. The engagement of rural social movements and other Civil Society Organizations in the negotiation process is an unprecedented effort in influencing governments to establish guidelines to gain greater access to land resources at the global scale. The Guidelines aim to promote food security and sustainable development by improving secure access to land, fisheries and forests, especially for small food producers, and protecting the legitimate tenure rights of millions of people against forms of grabbing, concentration, commodification and privatization of land which are shaping agrarian systems. They have been elaborated on the basis of human rights and in respect of local communities rights. From a strictly legal point of view, the Guidelines are not mandatory and hence they are not a source of legally binding effects for every single State. They do not derive from a formal legislative proceeding, and they are the result of a consultation and negotiation process coming from the bottom. Every State and international organization is called on to guarantee the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Guidelines. The authors contend, with critical arguments, that the process of consultation and negotiation that led to the endorsement of the Guidelines is quite relevant – in the current context of the large-scale land acquisitions – and very significant because it involved civil society and social movements, giving rise to an innovative instrument of soft law.
A numerical algorithm for fully nonlinear HJB equations:
An approach by control randomization
Authors: Kharroubi Idris , Langrené Nicolas , Pham Huyên
Published: May 2014

We propose a probabilistic numerical algorithm to solve Backward Stochastic
Differential Equations (BSDEs) with nonnegative jumps, a class of BSDEs introduced in [`Feynman–Kac representation for Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman IPDE', Ann. Probab., to
appear] for representing fully nonlinear
HJB equations. This includes in particular numerical resolution for stochastic
control problems with controlled volatility, possibly degenerate. Our backward scheme, based on least-squares regressions, takes advantage of high-dimensional properties of Monte Carlo methods, and also provides a parametric estimate in feedback form for the optimal control.
A partial analysis of the algorithm error is presented, as well as numerical tests on the
problem of option superreplication with uncertain volatilities and/or correlations, including a detailed comparison with the numerical
results from the alternative scheme proposed in [J. Comput. Finance 14 (2011), 37–71].
Plasmonic gas and chemical sensing
Authors: Tittl Andreas , Giessen Harald , Liu Na
Published: May 2014

Sensitive and robust detection of gases and chemical reactions constitutes a cornerstone of scientific research and key industrial applications. In an effort to reach progressively smaller reagent concentrations and sensing volumes, optical sensor technology has experienced a paradigm shift from extended thin-film systems towards engineered nanoscale devices. In this size regime, plasmonic particles and nanostructures provide an ideal toolkit for the realization of novel sensing concepts. This is due to their unique ability to simultaneously focus light into subwavelength hotspots of the electromagnetic field and to transmit minute changes of the local environment back into the farfield as a modulation of their optical response. Since the basic building blocks of a plasmonic system are commonly noble metal nanoparticles or nanostructures, plasmonics can easily be integrated with a plethora of chemically or catalytically active materials and compounds to investigate processes ranging from hydrogen absorption in palladium to the detection of trinitrotoluene (TNT). In this review, we will discuss a multitude of plasmonic sensing strategies, spanning the technological scale from simple plasmonic particles embedded in extended thin films to highly engineered complex plasmonic nanostructures. Due to their flexibility and excellent sensing performance, plasmonic structures may open an exciting pathway towards the detection of chemical and catalytic events down to the single molecule level.
Crystal structure of (2,2ʹ-bipyrimidine-κ2N,Nʹ)dibromidopalladium(II), C8H6Br2N4Pd
Authors: Ha Kwang
Published: May 2014

C8H6Br2N4Pd, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 5.1117(6) Å, b = 14.786(2) Å, c = 14.208(2) Å, β = 92.829(2)°, V = 1072.6 Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0263, wRref(F2) = 0.0652, T = 200 K.
Crystal structure of (2,2ʹ-bipyrimidine-κ2N,Nʹ)tetrachloridoplatinum(IV) acetone hemisolvate, C9.50H9Cl4N4O0.50Pt
Authors: Ha Kwang
Published: May 2014

C9.50H9Cl4N4O0.50Pt, orthorhombic, Pbcn (no. 60), a = 17.708(2) Å, b = 12.974(1) Å, c = 12.363(1) Å, V = 2840.4 Å3, Z = 8, Rgt(F) = 0.0249, wRref(F2) = 0.0591, T = 200 K.
Recent investigations of bioactive natural products from endophytic, marine-derived, insect pathogenic fungi and Thai medicinal plants
Authors: Mahidol Chulabhorn , Kittakoop Prasat , Prachyawarakorn Vilailak , Pailee Phanruethai , Prawat Hunsa , Ruchirawat Somsak
Published: May 2014

Living organisms in Thailand are very diverse due to the unique geographical location of Thailand. The diversity of Thai bioresources has proven to be a rich source of biologically active compounds. The present review covers bioactive substances from Thai endophytic, marine-derived, insect pathogenic fungi and medicinal plants. Many new compounds isolated from Thai bioresources have diverse skeletons belonging to various classes of natural products. These compounds exhibited an array of biological activities, and some are of pharmaceutical interest. Bioactive compounds from Thai bioresources have not only attracted organic chemists to develop strategies for total synthesis, but also attracted (chemical) biologists to investigate the mechanisms of action. The chemistry and biology of some selected compounds are also discussed in this review.
The energy landscape concept and its implications for synthesis planning
Authors: Jansen Martin
Published: May 2014

Synthesis of novel solids, in a chemical sense, is one of the spearheads of innovation in materials research. However, such an undertaking is substantially impaired by lack of control and predictability. We present a concept that points the way towards rational planning of syntheses in solid state and materials chemistry. The foundation of our approach is the representation of the whole material world, i.e., the known and not-yet-known chemical compounds, on an energy landscape, which implies information about the free energies of these configurations. From this it follows at once that all chemical compounds capable of existence (both thermodynamically stable and metastable ones) are already present in virtuo in this landscape. For the first step of synthesis planning, i.e., the identification of candidates that are capable of existence, we computationally search the respective potential energy landscapes for (meta)stable structure candidates. Recently we have extended our techniques to finite temperatures and pressures and calculated phase diagrams, including metastable manifestations of matter, without resorting to any experimental pre-information. The conception developed is physically consistent, and its feasibility has been proven. Applying appropriate experimental tools has enabled us to realize, e.g., elusive Na3N, including almost all of its predicted polymorphs, many years after the predictions were published.
Interstitial laser irradiation of cerebral gliomas – neurobiological background, technique and typical results
Authors: von Tempelhoff Wernholt , Ulrich Frank , Schwarzmaier Hans-Joachim
Published: May 2014

Background:

The most common type of primary brain tumors are gliomas. For patients unsuitable for open microsurgery having been treated by radiochemotherapy, laser irradiation has proven to be an alternative palliative option. From summer 1997 until winter 2006 we performed about 60 laser-interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) treatments, starting with patients with large recurrent tumors who had no other therapeutic option. In the present article we report about the neurobiological background, the technique and our experience with LITT of cerebral gliomas.

Materials and method:

For laser irradiation we used a specially designed light guide (LITT standard applicator; Trumpf Medizintechnik, Umkirch, Germany). The tip of this light guide is a special optical diffuser which is characterized by a homogeneous spherical or ellipsoid emission profile. The light guide was introduced into an appropriate protective sheath (Somatex, Teltow, Germany). For the laser light source, we used a continuous wave 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser (mediLas fibertom 4060 N; Dornier MedTech, Weßling, Germany). Laser irradiation was performed under general anesthesia in a 0.5 T open configuration magnetic resonance (MR) system (Signa SP; General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, USA). Usually, the tip of the light guide was positioned in the center of the tumor using the built-in localization system (Flashpoint 3000; IGT, Boulder, CO, USA) in combination, where appropriate, with a specially designed navigation system (Localite™, Bonn, Germany). The position of the light guide was then controlled using multiplanar reconstructions of T1-weighted sequences. For near real-time control, temperature monitoring was performed using an experimental software package based on the temperature-dependent shift of the MR signal. Laser irradiation was ceased when the temperature monitoring revealed a steady state temperature profile within the heated tissue. Since 2008 we have used traditional stereotactic targeting and methionine positron emission tomography/computed tomography (MET-PET/CT) instead of the ‘open’ MR system for planning and follow-up in LITT of brain tumors.

Results:

We started the LITT treatment of gliomas in the early 1990s (benign gliomas in eloquent regions/not suitable for surgery). In 1997 we started to treat patients with recurrent gliobastomas/anaplastic gliomas. All of these patients had an increased survival in comparison to the natural course of recurrent glioblastomas. There were no procedure-related deaths or permanent neurological deficits. Two factors seem to be important for the overall success of the LITT procedure: 1) an early enrollment in the LITT therapy after diagnosis of a tumor recurrence, and 2) a corresponding smaller tumor mass at the beginning of the therapy.

Conclusion:

Cytoreduction by laser irradiation seems to be a promising option for patients suffering from gliomas.
Phase equilibria modeling of polystyrene/solvent mixtures using an artificial neural network and cubic equations of state
Authors: Karimi Hajir , Yousefi Fakhri , Ahmadloo Ebrahim , Dastranj Jamaledin
Published: May 2014

Vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) of polymer/solvent solutions is a topic of importance because of several areas of applications, including the designing of process equipment. Theoretical and thermodynamic models are reported in the literature for the estimation of VLE. However, up until now, the simultaneous representation of VLE and pressure-volume-temperature data is not satisfactory enough with respect to experimental accuracies. New models are therefore highly required. In the present study, a hybrid model including artificial neural networks (ANN) and genetic algorithm (GA) were applied to estimating the VLE data of seven binary polystyrene (PS)/solvents. The ranges of variables used were 283.15–343.15 K and 0.105–7.46 MPa. The VLE data of these systems were taken from the literature. The net was trained, validated and tested with randomly 65% (108 data points), 10% (17 data points) and the 25% (42 data points), respectively. The mean deviations from the experimental data were determined for the model. The ability of the proposed model was compared with cubic equations of state (CEOS). It was observed that the data found by the ANN model was in excellent agreement with the experimental data, while the CEOS models showed more deviations, particularly at low pressures. In fact, the ANN model can be treated as a powerful technique for VLE data prediction in a fast and reliable way compared with the conventional thermodynamic models.
Sequestration of uranium on fabricated aluminum co-precipitated with goethite (Al-FeOOH)
Authors: Sun Yubing , Yang Shubin , Wang Qi , Alsaedi Ahmad , Wang Xiangke
Published: May 2014

Aluminum co-precipitated with goethites (Al-FeOOHs) are ubiquitous
within (sub)-surface environments, which are considered one of the
most important sinks for radionuclide pollution
management. Accordingly, various mole ratios Al-FeOOH were synthesized
and characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, specific surface area and
potentiometric acid-base titration. According to XRD and TEM images,
the morphology of Al-FeOOH was transformed from acicular-like goethite
to cotton-like gibbsite with increasing Al content. The adsorption and
sequential desorption of U(VI) on Al-FeOOHs were conducted by batch
techniques under N2 conditions. The batch adsorption results
showed that the adsorption of U(VI) on Al-FeOOHs slightly increased at
pH < 4.0, then the significant increase of U(VI) adsorption was
observed at pH from 4.0 to 7.0, whereas the suppressed adsorption at
pH > 8.0 was due to the electrostatic repulsion between negative
charge surface and negative carbonato-complexes. The adsorption of
U(VI) on Al-FeOOHs was independent of ionic strength at pH > 5.0,
indicating that the inner-sphere surface complexation predominated
their adsorption behaviors, whereas U(VI) adsorption on Al-FeOOH could
be the outer-sphere surface/cation exchange reaction. The sequential
extraction texts showed that the desorption of U(VI) from Al-FeOOHs
decreased with increasing Al content. These findings highlighted the
effect of Al content on the sequestration and immobilization of U(VI)
onto Al-FeOOHs from (sub)-surface environments in pollution
management.
Synthesis of ordered mesoporous U3O8 by a nanocasting route
Authors: Zhao Ran , Wang Lin , Gu Zhan-Jun , Yuan Li-Yong , Xiao Cheng-Liang , Zhao Yu-Liang , Chai Zhi-Fang , Shi Wei-Qun
Published: May 2014

Ordered mesoporous U3O8 has been synthesized by a nanocasting route using mesoporous silica (KIT-6 and SBA-15) as
templates and characterized by using XRD, SEM and nitrogen adsorption/desorption techniques.
Selective separation of Am(III) from Eu(III) by
2,9-Bis(dialkyl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-1,10-phenanthrolines: a
relativistic quantum chemistry study
Authors: Xiao Cheng-Liang , Wang Cong-Zhi , Lan Jian-Hui , Yuan Li-Yong , Zhao Yu-Liang , Chai Zhi-Fang , Shi Wei-Qun
Published: May 2014

The complexation properties of Am(III) and Eu(III) with a serial of novel N-heterocyclic tetradentate ligands,
2,9-bis(dialkyl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-1,10-phenanth-rolines (BTPhens), have been calculated by density functional theory (DFT) coupled
with relativistic small-core pseudopotential. It is found that the nitrogen atoms in triazine rings favor metal cations more than those
in phenanthroline skeleton. The Am-N bond lengths are comparable to or even shorter than those of Eu-N bonds based on the larger radii
of Am(III) than Eu(III). The effect of alkyl substituents on the complex structures is limited but they can adjust the complexation
reaction and extraction kinetics. Additionally, the solvent effect can decrease the probability of the complexation reactions greatly
and the solvation energies of Am(III) and Eu(III) might be the primary driving force in the complexation selectivity. The complexation
reactions for forming ML(NO3)3 and [ML2(NO3)]2+ complexes are believed to dominate the selective extraction
separation of Am(III) from Eu(III) in nitric acid media, which agrees well with the experimental results. The comparisons of BTPhens
with BTBPs in dipoles and electronic structures confirm that the BTPhens exhibit more favourable extraction kinetics and selectivity
for minor actinides.
Do monetary policy shocks generate TAR or STAR dynamics in output?
Authors: Donayre Luiggi
Published: May 2014

This paper studies whether the relationship between monetary policy shocks of different size and output is better described by threshold autoregressive (TAR) or smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) dynamics. Using a Bayesian framework, a TAR process and a STAR process are formally compared within an unobserved components model of output, augmented with a monetary policy variable. The Bayesian model comparison favors the notion that the dynamics are nonlinear and better described by a smooth transition between regimes, which suggests that aggregation plays a role in the dynamics between monetary policy and output. This evidence is further supported by the results of a model that uses output data at the sectoral level: when more disaggregated data are employed, the transition between regimes is more abrupt. Moreover, the results show that, when the transition between regimes is smooth, large monetary policy shocks identified as the residuals of a VAR are neutral, consistent with the implications of menu-costs models.
Assessment of conformity, decision rules and risk analysis
Authors: Phillips Steven D. , Krystek Michael
Published: May 2014

Measurement uncertainty has important economic consequences for calibration and inspection activities. In calibration reports, the magnitude of the uncertainty is often taken as an indication of the quality of the laboratory. In industrial measurements, uncertainty has an economic impact through the decision rule employed in accepting and rejecting products. With significant economic interests at stake, manufacturers and consumers have to guard against accepting bad products and rejecting good ones. While the evaluation of measurement uncertainty is a pure technical activity well described in the GUM, the selection of a decision rule is a business decision that involves cost considerations.

Recently, several national and international standards bodies have addressed the decision rule issue to provide a uniform, unambiguous terminology for documenting a decision rule and to describe the relationship between conforming characteristics and acceptable measurement results. Similarly, the issue of risk analysis addresses the problem of determining the gauging limits that define the boundaries of acceptable measurement results. Gauging limits are chosen to balance the risks of the two types of decision errors (accepting nonconforming products and rejecting conforming products), whose relative magnitudes depend upon product-specific economic factors. This paper reviews recent standardization developments in these areas.
The Effects of Blade 3D Designs in Different Orthogonal Coordinates on the Performance of Compressor Cascades
Authors: Xu Pengfei , Yu Xianjun , Liu Baojie
Published: May 2014

The chordwise based Sweep-Dihedral Coordinates (SDC) and axial-tangential based Axial Sweep-Lean Coordinates (ASLC) are the two widely used coordinates systems for blade 3D design. In order to clarify the relationships between them, some numerical simulations were conducted in a simplified planar cascade model. The cascade model has a large aspect ratio of 3.0 and free-slip endwalls, which are used to minimize the endwall flow effects. The simulation results of totally 9 cases with different blade 3D design schemes, including sweep, dihedral, axial sweep and lean, were analyzed. Firstly, the effects of each type of blade 3D designs were summarized. And then, based on the rule of vector decomposition in an orthogonal coordinates, the effects of blade axial sweep and lean in ASLC were deduced from the effects of blade sweep and dihedral in SDC. It was found that forward/backward axial sweep is combined by positive/negative dihedral and forward/backward sweep, which have opposite trends of effects, resulting in a counterbalance phenomenon. Moreover, positive/negative lean is combined by positive/negative dihedral and forward/backward sweep, which have the same trends of effects, resulting in a superposition effect.
Study on Internal Flow and External Performance of a Semi-open Impeller Centrifugal Pump with Different Tip Clearances
Authors: Jia Xiao-Qi , Cui Bao-Ling , Zhang Yu-Liang , Zhu Zu-Chao
Published: May 2014

To study the influence of tip clearance on internal flow characteristics and external performance of a prototype centrifugal pump with a semi-open impeller, the unsteady numerical simulation and performance experiments are carried out in this paper. The evolution process of leakage vortex with time
ON GOOD TRANSLATIONS
Authors: Gotz Dieter
Published: May 2014

Assessing the quality' of translations means assessing the quality of texts. The article provides a sketch of some criteria which might be useful for evaluating texts, and three criteria are suggested for "good translations". A good translation presupposes a) that the source text has been fully understood, that b) the translation results in a good text, and that c) any deviation from b) needs justification. The following sections serve to illustrate what is meant by "fully understand a text", with special emphasis on shared knowledge, text genre, associations and collocations, and the interplay of spoken and written language in written texts. There are some remarks on overt translations and on non-translatability. After that, attention is given to those circumstances which might require different types of translation. Finally, it is suggested that for translation theory to become a theory proper, more empirical evidence from parallel translation corpora will be needed.
"Who Lets a Big Question Upset His Small, Safe World?": British Postmodern Realism and the Question of Ethics
Authors: Craps Stef
Published: May 2014

Criticism of British postmodern realist fiction has long been marked by an almost'total disregard for ethics. The reason why critics investigating the antirepresentational strategies characterizing the work of such writers as Peter Ackroyd, Martin Amis, Julian Barnes and Graham Swift have for the most part remained silent about its ethical status is the widespread belief that ethics is incompatible with a questioning stance towards representation. The few academic critics who (claim to) have discovered some sort of ethical value in the self-reflexive, theoretically sophisticated fictions produced by these writers are liberal-humanists working in the ArnoldianLeavisite tradition, who, in their search for moral truths, appear to be oblivious to specifically postmodern textual practices that block easy access to meaning. Taking its cue from the deconstructive type of ethical criticism that came to the fore in the 1990s, this article suggests an alternative to both the textualist neglect and the liberalhumanist misrecognition of the ethics of British postmodern realism. Through a reading of Graham Swift's 1992 novel Ever After, it shows that postmodern realist fiction has an ethical dimension qua' postmodern realist fiction; an ethical dimension that cannot be reduced to the promulgation of traditional moral values but rather has to be conceived as the elaboration of a post-humanist, non-foundational ethics of alterity.
Legrands Opus Magnum: Der alchemistische Code in Edgar Allan Poes "The Gold-Bug"
Authors: Voss Klaas
Published: May 2014

Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Gold-Bug", originally published in 1843, is one of his most cryptographic writings and his been subject to many interpretative approaches. I contend that the alchemical code hidden within the superficial framework of an adventure story permeates the entire tale and adds a coherent, yet mystifying, layer of meaning. Based on the findings of Barton Levi St. Armand in 1971, this article shows that Poe's numerous alchemichal allusions in this story form a detailed account of the so called opus magnum, the greatest quest of the alchemist, who 'is personified by the character Legrand. Furthermore, the alchemical code in "The Gold-Bug" demonstrates how the strife for material wealth is transformed through a process of ratiocination into a search for enlightenment. This reflects the original project of hermetic alchemy as well as Poe's critical perception of the economic and political turmoil of the 1840s
Traveling Urban Utopias and the Birth of Suburbia
Authors: Bayer Gerd
Published: May 2014

This article argues that the development of American-style suburbia is related to the European utopian longing for openness as expressed in William Morris's News
from Nowhere. This European desire is here shown to be a reaction to an American utopian literary tradition, exemplified by Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, a novel that celebrates dense urbanity. After having traveled back and forth across the Atlantic and reversed their respective visions of urbanity, utopian writings ultimately materialized as dystopian urban spaces.
“the spaces between the columns”: Die Text-Raume und Raum-Texte des Samuel R. Delany
Authors: Joachimsthaler Jürgen
Published: May 2014

Inspired by Allan Kaprows performance 18 Happenings in 6 Parts (1959), the Black American writer Samuel R. Delany created his own mode of 'narrative spaciality.' Spaces to him are primarily systems of signs, conventions, and power. These 'semiospheres' determine all modes of cognition and provoke the fundamental question of whether and how human beings can escape the semantics of their respective culture. This article traces the metamorphoses of Delany's spacial concepts in his literary, essayistic, and autobiographical ceuvre and thus also reconstructs the intellectual development of one of the most idiosyncratic American postmodernists.
A Glimpse at Dylan through Biermann
Authors: Bergman Elliott
Published: May 2014

In 2003 the German songwriter-poet Wolf Biermann published Elf Entwürfe für meinen Grabspruch (Eleven Sketches for My Own Epitaph), a textual encounter that places Biermann’s free-form translations in counterpoint to "Eleven Outlined Epitaphs," Bob Dylan’s Beatesque poem that originally appeared in the liner notes of The Times They Are A-Changin’ (1964). Donning the identities of poet and folk singer interchangeably, both Bob Dylan and Wolf Biermann have pursued successful careers straddling the high/Iow an divide since their arrival on the respective pop music scenes of Germany and the US. As cultural documents, however, Biermann’s translations not only articulate his poetical affinity to Dylan’s art, but they also underscore the challenges of mediating the ambiguous tropes of Dylan’s vernacular contextuality to a German audience. This article sets out to examine how the reception of Bob Dylan’s music in 1960s Germany comes to bear on Biermann’s Grabspriiche vis-a-vis Dylan’s epitaphs to argue that, despite the concerted German feuilleton criticism, Biermann’s translations promulgate great understanding of Dylan’s poetry and song.
Idiosyncrasy in Verb Valency Patterns
Authors: Faulhaber Susen
Published: May 2014

In this paper it will be shown that neither analogy nor semantic rules can sufficiently account for verb complementation patterns. Summarizing the results of a large-scale corpus-based study (Faulhaber 2011), the author provides evidence for various syntactic gaps which are idiosyncratic and cannot be deduced by speakers on the basis of their semantic knowledge of the verb itself nor their knowledge of semantically similar verbs, which underlines the importance of the role of storage or memorization of valency patterns in combination with the verb as the valency carrier.
The Status of Generalizations: Valency and Argument Structure Constructions
Authors: Herbst Thomas
Published: May 2014

This article outlines why valency theory and Goldberg's theory of argument structure constructions should be combined. In the light of empirical valency research it is argued that the amount of item-specificity to be observed in language must be accounted for in a theory of complementation and that generalizations concerning parallels between semantic properties of verbs and their occurrence in particular valency patterns must be treated with a certain degree of caution. It is suggested that one way of combining the two approaches is to make use of specific formal categories and to introduce a valency realisation principle in a theory of argument structure constructions.
Argument Structure: Item-Based or Distributed?
Authors: Stefanowitsch Anatol
Published: May 2014

Valency grammars and construction grammars appear to analyze argument structure in fundamentally different ways: the former treat argument structure(s) as a property of individual lexical items, the latter as a set of complex linguistic items existing independently of the specific verbs they occur with. In this paper, I argue that both approaches are good at capturing those aspects of argument structure that are problematic for the other, and that a comprehensive model of argument structure must include both perspectives.
Lisa filled water into the cup: The roles of entrenchment, pre-emption and verb semantics in German speakers’ L2 acquisition of English locatives
Authors: Ambridge Ben , Brandt Silke
Published: May 2014

A central challenge for learners of English is discovering verbs’ argument structure privileges; for example which verbs may appear in the figure-locative but not the ground locative construction (e.g. Lisa poured water into the cup/ *Lisa poured the cup with water), which show the opposite pattern (e.g. *Lisa filled water into the cup/ Lisa filled the cup with water), and which may appear in both (e.g. Lisa sprayed water onto the flowers/ Lisa sprayed the flowers with water). This study investigated how adult L1 German learners of L2 English acquire these restrictions, in the face of potential transfer effects from a similar - but subtly different - pattern in the L1. The study took the form of a replication of a previous grammaticality judgment study conducted with native-speaking adults. The findings provide some evidence that, like L1 learners, advanced L2 leaners use the fit between verb and construction semantics to acquire verbs’ argument structure restrictions. Unlike L1 learners, how-ever, they did not display any evidence of spontaneously using surface-based “inference-from-absence” processes such as entrenchment and pre-emption. We end by offering some potential learning and teaching strategies for L2 learners of English.