bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Voice at the Crossroads: Symmetrical Clause Alternations in Äiwoo, Reef Islands, Solomon Islands
Authors: Næss Åshild
Published: July 2015

This paper argues that the Äiwoo language of the Reef Islands shows what could be characterized as a symmetrical voice system with three voices: an actor voice, an undergoer voice, and a circumstantial voice. Although it differs from better-described symmetrical voice systems in lacking a syntactic pivot, the overall pattern of morphosyntactic alternations, as well as the discourse-pragmatic function, is essentially that of a symmetrical voice system. Moreover, the Äiwoo system combines the syntactic characteristics of a “Philippine-type” symmetrical voice system with the morphological characteristics of an “Indonesian-type” system in a way that appears to be unusual. This analysis, while confirming the status of the Reefs-Santa Cruz language group to which Äiwoo belongs as Austronesian, raises doubts about their current classification as Oceanic, since the symmetrical voice system of Proto-Austronesian is usually assumed to have been lost by the time of Proto-Oceanic. Alternatively, the analysis may be taken to imply that current reconstructions of Proto-Oceanic morphosyntax must be revised. Overall, it adds to the complex picture of voice and transitivity-related systems in Austronesian languages, and to the challenges involved in understanding their historical relationships.
The Position of Enggano within Austronesian
Authors: Edwards Owen
Published: July 2015

Questions have been raised about the precise genetic affiliation of the Enggano language of the Barrier Islands, Sumatra. Such questions have been largely based on Enggano’s lexicon, which shows little trace of an Austronesian heritage. In this paper, I examine a wider range of evidence and show that Enggano is clearly an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian (MP) subgroup. This is achieved through the establishment of regular sound correspondences between Enggano and Proto–Malayo-Polynesian reconstructions in both the bound morphology and lexicon. I conclude by examining the possible relations of Enggano within MP and show that there is no good evidence of innovations shared between Enggano and any other MP language or subgroup. In the absence of such shared innovations, Enggano should be considered one of several primary branches of MP.
The Anim Languages of Southern New Guinea
Authors: Usher Timothy , Suter Edgar
Published: July 2015

In this paper, we propose a new family of Papuan languages. The Anim languages are spread across the lowlands of south New Guinea on both sides of the border between Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian Province of Papua. They share a system of four genders that manifest themselves in adjective agreement and in the demonstratives. Two demonstratives can be reconstructed. The demonstrative *tV ‘that’ has the gender forms *te (masculine singular), *tu (feminine singular), *ti (plural masculine and feminine), *to/*ta (neuter 1), and *ti (neuter 2). We also reconstruct a singulative suffix and the pronominal object prefixes of the verb. Most Anim languages are only sparsely documented, and much of our data come from survey word lists. We present 44 sets of Anim lexical cognates, including both nouns and verbs. In combination with the fuller lexical evidence for the four subfamilies, this allows positing regular sound correspondences for 13 of the 17 Anim languages.
Perceptual Metathesis in Tsou: A Reanalysis of Segment Transposition in Voice Paradigms
Authors: Lin Gujing
Published: July 2015

In Tsou, a group of verb stems displays a peculiar ordering contrast in which a vowel + consonant sequence in actor voice is transposed in the corresponding nonactor voice , as seen in the contrast of t eʔ si ‘sew, actor voice ’ vs. t ʔe s-a ‘sew, patient voice ’ and t ʔe s-neni ‘sew, referential voice ’. This study argues that Tsou segment transposition can be viewed as an instance of perceptual metathesis, in which the long-durational cues of an underlying postvocalic consonant extend and affect the realization of the adjacent vowel, resulting in a reinterpretation of the acoustic effects as being caused by a prevocalic consonant. Through an exploration of the phonetic characteristics of the sounds involved and the context in which they appear, this study presents a unified treatment of three puzzling aspects of Tsou segment transposition: (i) transposing consonants are limited to laryngeals and palatal glides; (ii) the direction of the change appears ambiguous (VC > CV or CV > VC) due to the undetermined status of the underlying order; and (iii) the VC ~ CV alternation is confined to specific voice categories, which raises questions about whether the nature of the change is purely phonologically defined, or requires reference to specific morphosyntactic categories.
Distinguishing already from Perfect Aspect: A Case Study of Javanese wis
Authors: Klok Jozina Vander , Matthewson Lisa
Published: July 2015

English already and the perfect aspect are both acceptable in many of the same environments. For example, both can express the recent past, an experiential reading, or a result. In investigating the semantics of a marker with these properties in an understudied language, it is easy to categorize such a marker as either notion. The auxiliary wis in Javanese (Western Malayo-Polynesian) is a case in point: different grammars, typological studies, dissertations, and journal articles on Javanese have glossed wis as expressing already , a (present) perfect, a past tense, or a perfective. However, the semantics of Javanese wis has not been formally studied. In this paper, we first identify several cross-linguistic properties that distinguish already from the perfect aspect. Using these diagnostics, we then propose that Javanese wis cannot be analyzed as a perfect aspect. Instead, wis is a focus operator that presupposes that the focus is a maximal element among a set of ordered alternatives, following Krifka’s recent analysis of English already .
Directional Constructions in Matukar Panau
Authors: Barth Danielle , Anderson Gregory D. S.
Published: July 2015

Matukar Panau has a multilayered system of directional constructions, with a set of directional morphemes used in simple clauses, as directional suffixes, in clause chains, and in core serial verb constructions. This paper describes these constructions and compares the construction inventory to those found in other languages in the Bel family, showing similarities but also showing innovation in Matukar Panau. This paper also posits the path of development that would lead to the current system of multiple, redundant expressions of direction. Based on the comparative data, it is argued that Matukar Panau, and other related Bel languages, must have had a period of nuclear serial verb constructions to result in the current system of structures.
Finiteness in Sundanese
Authors: Kurniawan Eri , Davies William D.
Published: July 2015

The topic of finiteness is rarely broached in the closely related Indonesian-type languages, in which verbs have no morphological tense marking, nouns have no overt case marking, and there is only limited morphological agreement. As they are the typical morphological manifestations, the relevance of finiteness is difficult to discern. Sundanese is no exception to this. There is evidence, however, that finiteness is critical to the licensing of subjects in Sundanese. What distinguishes Sundanese from many other languages is that finiteness is covert rather than being overtly marked, just as has been proposed for Chinese, Lao, Slave, and others.
Differential Case in Yalaku
Authors: Aikhenvald Alexandra Y.
Published: July 2015

Yalaku, a previously undescribed Ndu language from the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea, has two core cases (nominative and accusative) and four oblique clausal cases (locative-instrumental, allative, dative, and specific locative). The comitative case is used for marking an oblique within a clause, or as a marker of linkage within a noun phrase. In addition to Differential Object Marking, the choice of every core case and most oblique cases has pragmatic overtones. A further additional case-marking system is used if a core argument or an oblique argument is in focus (termed Highlighted Participant case). This principle, similar to that of differential object and subject marking in other languages, extends to the expression of possessor in possessive constructions. The coexistence of two independent systems of Differential Case Marking (based on different parameters) makes Yalaku typologically unusual. The appendix shows how language contact between Yalaku and the neighboring (and unrelated) Kwoma may have played a role in the development of Highlighted Participant case in Yalaku.
The Expression of Modality in Kanakanavu
Authors: Cheng Yi-Yang , Sung Li-May
Published: July 2015

This study investigates the expression of modality in Kanakanavu, a critically endangered Formosan language spoken in southern Taiwan. We demonstrate that the language shows two independent systems of modality that are distinguished based on both semantic and formal properties. On the one hand, there are three modal expressions of possibility that semantically involve three paths of sense extension, and are morphosyntactically associated with three types of verb serialization. On the other hand, the language exhibits an epistemic-evidential system that involves four speaker-oriented adverbial expressions that occur in clause-initial position. We further show that there are variations among five Formosan languages concerning the sense extension of possibility expressions, and that a unique case of necessity—anticipative necessity—is shared by Kanakanavu, Tsou, Mayrinax Atayal, and Seediq. Typologically, the modal system in Kanakanavu shows a lack of alignment between event modality and epistemic modality, the latter exhibiting a stronger bond with evidentiality. This observed phenomenon is in sharp contrast to commonly found European/English-type modal systems in which the event-epistemic overlap is prevalent.
Judging the temperature of future art by degrees: The Art Academy and Critical Practice – Fresh Visions 2013, Graduate Painting Exhibition
Authors: Sanderson Edward
Published: July 2015

This curatorial text, originally published in the catalogue for the group exhibition Fresh Visions 2013: From University to Universe (held in the galleries of OCT Contemporary Art Terminal in Shenzhen (OCAT Shenzhen) from 7 September to 7 November 2013), presents co-curator (with Pu Hong and Li Rongwei) Edward Sanderson�s experiences during the preparation for the show and his conclusions drawn from those experiences. Fresh Visions is an annual exhibition established by the state-run He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen in 2004, and the 2013 edition marked the first time that OCAT Shenzhen (administered by the He Xiangning Art Museum) hosted the show. The exhibition features selected artworks from the Oil Painting Department degree shows of the top nine art academies of China: Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing), Academy of Art & Design, Tsinghua University (Beijing), China Academy of Art (Hangzhou), Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts (Chongqing), Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (Guangzhou), Luxun Academy of Fine Arts (Shenyang), Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (Tianjin), Hubei Academy of Fine Arts (Wuhan) and Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts (Xi'an). The author's experience of visiting the degree shows while researching for the exhibition has led him to propose that higher education in art in China (as exemplified by these academies) remains dominated by conservative and uncritical attitudes towards art creation. The level of skill on display was of a consistently high standard, but the author found the level of creativity to be lacking. The author attributes this to a lack of criticality in the practices of the artists, apparently in part due to the educational environment itself. Making an analogy to a complaint regarding restrictive systems of assessment in US MFA programmes, the author highlights the risks of a similar inflexibility in the academic systems of China, and warns of the consequences of such a situation for the art world that these graduates are entering.
Reviews
Authors: Carrier David , Vigneron Frank
Published: July 2015

'Mao's Golden Mangoes and the Cultural Revolution', China Institute, New York, 18 September 2014-26 April 2015

Zheng Chongbin. Impulse, Matter, Form, Br itta Er ickson (ed.) (2014), Beijing: Ink Studio, 123 pp., ISBN: 978-0-615-86453-2 (US$45)
Secrets, sorrow and the feminine subjective: Nüshu references in the work of contemporary Chinese artist Ma Yanling
Authors: Guest Luise
Published: July 2015

This is an investigation into the significance of the ancient 'secret' women's phonetic syllabary, Nüshu, in the performance and painting work of contemporary artist Ma Yanling, based on two extensive interviews with the artist in October and November 2013 and a close analysis of specific works. This article examines, first, the ways in which the gendered communication of life-stories and the exploration of female grievance found in Nüshu texts (the supposedly 'secret' women's phonetic syllabary used by peasant women in Jiangyong County, Hunan Province until the late 1980s) continues to have relevance in the work of a contemporary artist. It is argued that Nüshu texts (intended to be chanted aloud) are in themselves performative and cathartic in a similar manner to contemporary performance art practices. Second, the article argues that the ways in which Ma Yanling's work subverts the iconography of Mao-era propaganda portraiture and its Pop-inspired satire in contemporary Chinese art (Zhongguo Dangdai Yishu) represent complex and contradictory aspects of female experience and feminine subjectivity in today's China.
Conflicts through the lens of Chinese war photojournalists
Authors: Zhang Shixin Ivy
Published: July 2015

Since the 1990s, China, as a new global power, has played an increasing role in international affairs. Chinese journalists have travelled to war and conflict zones overseas to report and file news coverage back home. This article surveys the historical development of Chinese war photography. It also critically examines the ideology and practices of four young Chinese photojournalists who work at a Chinese state news agency through semi-structured interviews and analysis of the photographs they took in conflict zones. The author argues that contemporary Chinese war photojournalists take realism as their main aesthetic and ideological doctrine in a sense to provide visual evidences and to stress the naturalism and symbolic power of war images. The visual representations of civilians� sufferings and hope for peace correspond with China's peaceful diplomatic policy and non-intervention principles. The war images elicit sympathetic public emotions and collective memory in China. Chinese photojournalists� depictions of wars and conflicts are influenced by internal political, organizational and individual constraints as well as the changing nature of contemporary wars.
Jie I–V/Analysis I–V: Eclipsing the individual in the instruction-based practice of the New Measurement Group (Beijing, China 1988–1995)
Authors: Martraire Marie
Published: July 2015

In 1988, artists Chen Shaoping, Gu Dexin and Wang Luyan began collaborating with a distinctive approach to art-making in Beijing, China, forming the New Measurement Group (NMG). Active until 1995, they based their practice on a series of complex collective instructions, which they would execute to create artworks. Their resulting drawings would then appear in different forms such as tables, diagrams and numbers, which were then bound together into books for presentation in an exhibition context. This article considers the NMG's art practice as situated within a Communist approach to art-making, one structured upon collective ownership of production and moral codes, and reflecting China's artistic, economic and socio-political context at the end of the 1980s and the early 1990s. Additionally, this article considers their collective instruction-based practice within an international history of instruction-based art; that is, art based on artists' instructions for themselves or audiences to enact, a genre having a longer history within a western context, specifically through the genres of conceptual art and Fluxus. To understand the NMG's contribution to art-by-instruction, this article discusses their practice alongside some aspects of the exhibition series 'Do it' – the role of the audience, the value of subjectivity and chance, and consideration of the art-making process. Since its inception in 1993 by curator Hans-Ulrich Obrist and artists Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier, 'Do it' has featured certain kinds of instructional artworks; that is, artworks based on artists' instructions and enacted by audiences. Though very different, this curatorial project offers the possibility of discussing and considering the NMG's distinctive process-based approach to art-making in greater detail.
Some new results in monadic second-order arithmetic
Authors: Speranski Stanislav O.
Published: July 2015

Abstract

Let σ be a signature and [Formula: see text] a σ-structure with domain [Formula: see text]. Say that a monadic second-order σ-formula is [Formula: see text] iff it has the form [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] set variables and ψ containing no set quantifiers. Consider the following properties: for each positive integer n, the set of [Formula: see text]- σ-sentences true in [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text]-complete; for each positive integer n, if a set of natural numbers is [Formula: see text]-definable (i.e. by a [Formula: see text]-formula) in the standard model of arithmetic and closed under automorphisms of [Formula: see text], then it is [Formula: see text]-definable in [Formula: see text]. We use ∣ and ⊥ to denote the divisibility relation and the coprimeness relation respectively. Given a prime p, let [Formula: see text] be the function which maps every pair [Formula: see text] of natural numbers into [Formula: see text]. In this article we prove: [Formula: see text] and all [Formula: see text] have both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]; in effect, even [Formula: see text] has [Formula: see text]. Notice – these results readily generalise to arbitrary arithmetical expansions of the corresponding structures, provided that the extended signature is finite.
On limitwise monotonicity and maximal block functions
Authors: Harris Charles M.
Published: July 2015

Abstract

We prove the existence of a limitwise monotonic function [Formula: see text] such that, for any [Formula: see text] function [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]. Relativising this result we deduce the existence of an η-like computable linear ordering [Formula: see text] such that, for any [Formula: see text] function [Formula: see text], and η-like [Formula: see text] of order type [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]. We prove directly that, for any computable [Formula: see text] which is either (i) strongly η-like or (ii) η-like with no strongly η-like interval, there exists [Formula: see text]-limitwise monotonic [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] has order type [Formula: see text]. In so doing we provide an alternative proof to the fact that, for every η-like computable linear ordering [Formula: see text] with no strongly η-like interval, there exists computable [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] block relation. We also use our results to prove the existence of an η-like computable linear ordering which is [Formula: see text] categorical but not [Formula: see text] categorical.
Lines missing every random point
Authors: Lutz Jack H. , Lutz Neil
Published: July 2015

Abstract

We prove that there is, in every direction in Euclidean space, a line that misses every computably random point. We also prove that there exist, in every direction in Euclidean space, arbitrarily long line segments missing every double exponential time random point.
On the existence of a connected component of a graph
Authors: Gura Kirill , Hirst Jeffry L. , Mummert Carl
Published: July 2015

Abstract

We study the reverse mathematics and computability of countable graph theory, obtaining the following results. The principle that every countable graph has a connected component is equivalent to [Formula: see text] over [Formula: see text]. The problem of decomposing a countable graph into connected components is strongly Weihrauch equivalent to the problem of finding a single component, and each is equivalent to its infinite parallelization. For graphs with finitely many connected components, the existence of a connected component is either provable in [Formula: see text] or is equivalent to induction for [Formula: see text] formulas, depending on the formulation of the bound on the number of components.
Asymptotic density, immunity and randomness
Authors: Astor Eric P.
Published: July 2015

Abstract

In 2012, inspired by developments in group theory and complexity, Jockusch and Schupp introduced generic computability, capturing the idea that an algorithm might work correctly except for a vanishing fraction of cases. However, we observe that their definition of a negligible set is not computably invariant (and thus not well-defined on the 1-degrees), resulting in some failures of intuition and a break with standard expectations in computability theory.

To strengthen their approach, we introduce a new notion of intrinsic asymptotic density, with rich relations to both randomness and classical computability theory. We then apply these ideas to propose alternative foundations for further development in (intrinsic) generic computability.

Toward these goals, we classify intrinsic density 0 as a new immunity property, specifying its position in the standard hierarchy from immune to cohesive for both general and [Formula: see text] sets, and identify intrinsic density [Formula: see text] as the stochasticity corresponding to permutation randomness. We also prove that Rice’s Theorem extends to all intrinsic variations of generic computability, demonstrating in particular that no such notion considers [Formula: see text] to be “computable”.
On Hypercomputation, Universal and Diagonalization Complete Problems
Authors: Eberbach Eugene
Published: July 2015

In the paper we define the class of hypercomputation complete and hard undecidable problems. We prove that typical unsolvable problems are decidable in infinity. We hypothesize that all undecidable problems can be reduced in infinity to each other, i.e., they are ℋ-complete (hypercomputation complete). We propose also two other classes: 𝒰-complete (universal complete) and 𝒟-complete (diagonalization complete) that use asymptotic reduction and allow separate non- RE and RE non-recursive undecidable classes.
On Algorithmic Study of Non-negative Posets of Corank at Most Two and their Coxeter-Dynkin Types
Authors: Gąsiorek Marcin , Zając Katarzyna
Published: July 2015

Following the Coxeter spectral analysis of loop-free edge-bipartite graphs Δ and finite posets I, with n ≥ 2 vertices, introduced and developed in [SIAM J. Discrete Math., 27(2013), 827-854], we present a Coxeter spectral classification of finite posets I, with n ≥ 2 elements. Here we study the connected posets I that are non-negative of corank one or two, in the sense that the symmetric Gram matrix 12(CI+CItr)∈𝕄n(ℚ) is positive semi-definite of corank one or two, where CI ∈ 𝕄 n(ℤ) is the incidence matrix of I. We study such posets I by means of the Dynkin type Dyn I and the Coxeter polynomial cox I( t) := det( t · E − Cox I) ∈ ℤ[ t], where Cox I := − CI · C−trI ∈ 𝕄 n(ℤ) is the Coxeter matrix of I.

Among other results, we develop an algorithmic technique that allows us to compute a complete list of such posets I, with | I| ≤ 16, their Dynkin types Dyn I , and the Coxeter polynomials cox I( t) ∈ ℤ[ t]. We prove that, given a pair of such connected posets I and J, the incidence matrices CI and CJ are ℤ-congruent if and only if cox I( t) = cox J( t) and Dyn I = Dyn J.
Factored Cost-Optimal Planning Using Message Passing Algorithms
Authors: Jezequel Loïg , Fabre Eric
Published: July 2015

This paper proposes an approach to solve cost-optimal factored planning problems. Planning consists in organizing actions in order to reach some predefined goal. In factored planning one considers several interacting planning problems and has to design an action plan for each of them. But one must also guarantee that all these local plans are compatible: actions shared among several problems must be jointly performed or jointly rejected. We enrich the problem with the extra requirement that the global plan computed in this modular manner must also minimize the sum of all action costs. A solution is provided to this problem, based on classical message passing algorithms, known as belief propagation in the setting of Bayesian networks. Here, messages carry complex information under the form of weighted (or (min; +)) automata, and all computations are performed with these objects. At the time our first paper on this topic was published, this method was the only one to solve cost-optimal factored planning problems in a modular way. Since then, new approaches were proposed. Experiments on classical benchmarks show that it is a valuable alternative to existing methods.
Boolean Matrices and their Applications to Covering Reductions
Authors: Zhu Kai , Liu Guilong , Feng Yanbin
Published: July 2015

This paper proposes two different covering reduction algorithms by means of Boolean matrices. We define a dual notion of product on Boolean matrices and establish the relationship between characteristic matrix of a covering and relational matrices of two covering-induced relations, i.e. the minimum and the maximum relations in a covering. This paper shows that relational matrices of minimum and maximum relations in a covering can be written as intersection and union of many “elementary” matrices and each “elementary” matrix is corresponding to one element in the covering, respectively. Finally, as an application of this result, we propose two types of covering reduction algorithms.
A Causal View on Non-Interference
Authors: Baldan Paolo , Carraro Alberto
Published: July 2015

The concept of non-interference has been introduced to characterise the absence of undesired information flows in a computing system. Although it is often explained referring to an informal notion of causality - the activity involving the part of the system with higher level of confidentiality should not cause any observable effect at lower levels - it is almost invariably formalised in terms of interleaving semantics. Here we focus on Petri nets and on the BNDC (Bisimilarity-based Non-Deducibility on Composition) property, a formalisation of non-interference widely studied in the literature. We show that BNDC admits natural characterisations based on the unfolding semantics - a classical true concurrent semantics for Petri nets - in terms of causalities and conflicts between high and low level activities. This leads to algorithms for checking BNDC on various classes of Petri nets, based on the construction of suitable complete prefixes of the unfolding. We also developed a prototype tool UBIC (Unfolding-Based Interference Checker), working on safe Petri nets, which provides promising results in terms of efficiency.
Synthesis of Live and Bounded Persistent Systems
Authors: Best Eike , Devillers Raymond
Published: July 2015

This paper presents a dedicated Petri net synthesis algorithm for the case that a transition system is finite, live, and persistent. In particular, the paper delineates exactly when and how a structurally persistent net may be constructed, by crystallising, out of a general region-theoretic approach, a minimised set of simplified systems of linear inequalities. This extends previous results where reversibility, instead of liveness, played an important role.
Catching a Structural Bug with a Flower
Authors: Avellaneda Florent , Morin Rémi
Published: July 2015

Checking the structural boundedness and the structural termination of vector addition systems with states boils down to detecting pathological cycles. As opposed to their non-structural variants which require exponential space, these properties need polynomial time only. The algorithm searches for a counter-example in the form of a multiset of arcs computed by means of linear programming. Yet the minimal length of a pathological cycle can be exponential in the size of the system which makes it difficult to visualize and to analyze the detected bug in details.

We propose to describe pathological cycles in the form of particular cycles called flowers. The latter are made of petals which are iterated circuits connected by simple paths that form a calyx. We present an algorithm that builds in polynomial time a flower from the multiset of arcs that represents a pathological cycle. Interestingly the number of petals within a flower is at most equal to the dimension of vectors which helps to describe in a concise way the underlying bug and to analyse it.
Bidirectional cell tests on non-grouted and grouted large-diameter bored piles
Authors: Nguyen Minh Hai , Fellenius Bengt H.
Published: July 2015

The 37-storey apartment buildings of the Everrich II project in HoChiMinh City, Vietnam was designed to be supported on a piled foundation consisting of bored piles assigned a 22-MN working load per pile. The foundation design included performing bidirectional-cell, static loading tests on four test piles. The soil profile consisted of organic soft clay to about 28 m depth followed by a thick deposit of sandy silt and silty sand with a density that gradually increased with depth from compact to dense, becoming very dense at 65 m depth. In March 2010, the test piles, one 1.5-m diameter pile and three 2.0-m diameter piles, were installed to 80 m through 85 m depth and constructed using bucket drill technique with bentonite slurry and a casing advanced ahead of the hole. The bidirectional-cell assemblies were installed at 10 m through 20 m above the pile toes. The piles were instrumented with pairs of diametrically opposed vibrating wire strain-gages at three to four levels below and six to seven levels above the respective cell levels. After completed concreting, the shaft grouting was carried out throughout a 20 m length above the pile toe for the 1.5-m diameter pile and for one of the 2.0-m diameter piles. The static loading tests were performed about 34 through 44 days after the piles had been concreted.

The analysis of strain-gage records indicated an average Young's modulus value of about 25 GPa for the nominal crosssections of the piles. The average unit grouted shaft resistances on the nominal pile diameters were about two to three times larger than the resistance along the non-grouted lengths. The measured load distribution of maximum mobilized shaft resistances corresponded to effective stress proportionality coefficients, ß, of about 0.2 through 0.3. The ultimate shaft resistance for the pile lengths below the bidirectional cells reached an ultimate value after about 8 to 10 mm movement, whereafter the load-movement was plastic. The pile toe stress-movement responses to toe stiffness were soft with no tendency toward an ultimate value.
A practical approach for the consideration of single pile and pile group installation effects in clay: Numerical modelling
Authors: Sheil Brian B. , McCabe Bryan A. , Hunt Christopher E. , Pestana Juan M.
Published: July 2015

In this paper, a practical approach for the consideration of single pile and pile group installation effects in clay is presented using some novel procedures implemented in the finite element (FE) software package PLAXIS 2D. Data reported at a soft clay site at Islais Creek, San Francisco are used to provide calibration for the constitutive model and to validate initial predictions of single pile installation effects. A short parametric study was then undertaken to examine the influence of a number of pile/soil parameters on the soil stresses generated around a single pile after installation and subsequent consolidation. In addition, a new simplified method is proposed to consider group installation effects over-and-above those associated with an equivalent single pile involving the volumetric expansion of tunnels within a plane-strain framework. Remarkably, results show that the installation of additional group piles has a negligible influence after consolidation.
The Assessment of Symptom and PerformanceValidity in Neurorehabilitation
Authors: Bush Shane S.
Published: July 2015

Rehabilitation professionals provide valuable clinical services to persons who have sustained neurologic injuries and illnesses. Accurate diagnosis and treatment planning require that neurorehabilitation professionals base their decisions on true information and genuine patient performance. That is, the patient must have responded honestly to questions and put forth adequate effort on ability measures. When in possession of valid information about the patient’s history, symptoms, and abilities levels, clinicians are well positioned to serve the patient. In contrast, inaccurate information and invalid functional presentations lead to misdiagnosis, unhelpful or potentially harmful interventions, and wasted resources. Ethically, consistent with the principles of beneficence and justice, clinicians have a responsibility to use the assessment measures and procedures that are needed to answer clinical questions and provide appropriate services, using and conserving valuable resources in the process. With validity assessment measures and procedures comprising an important part of clinical evaluations, a formal, structured approach to validity assessment promotes ethical practice. Interdisciplinary collaboration in validity assessment in neurorehabilitation contexts can often be more thorough and efficient than evaluations performed by a single discipline.
Assessment of response bias in neurocognitive evaluations
Authors: Carone Dominic A.
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND: In clinical neuropsychological practice, assessment of response validity (e.g., effort, over-reporting, under-reporting) is an essential component of the assessment process. By contrast, other health care professionals, including those in neurorehabilitation settings, often omit assessment of this topic from their evaluations or only rely on subjective impressions.

OBJECTIVE: To provide the first comprehensive review of response validity assessment in the neurorehabilitation literature, including why the topic is often avoided, what methods are commonly used, and how to decrease false positives.

METHODS: A literature review and documentation of personal experience and perspectives was used to review this topic.

RESULTS: There is a well-established literature on the necessity and utility of assessing response validity, particularly in patients who have external incentives to embellish their presentation or to under-report symptoms. There are many reasons why non-neuropsychologists typically avoid assessment of this topic. This poses a significant problem, particularly when patients exaggerate or malinger, because it can lead to misdiagnosis and it risks increasing the cost of healthcare by performing unnecessary tests and treatments, unfair distribution of disability/compensation resources, and a reduced access to these and other health resources by patients who genuinely need them.

CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant need for non-neuropsychologists to develop and incorporate symptom and performance validity assessments in clinical evaluations, including those in neurorehabilitation settings.
Validity assessment and the neurological physical examination
Authors: Zasler Nathan D.
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND: The assessment of any patient or examinee with neurological impairment, whether acquired or congenital, provides a key set of data points in the context of developing accurate diagnostic impressions and implementing an appropriate neurorehabilitation program. As part of that assessment, the neurological physical exam is an extremely important component of the overall neurological assessment.

PURPOSE: In the aforementioned context, clinicians often are confounded by unusual, atypical or unexplainable physical exam findings that bring into question the organicity, veracity, and/or underlying cause of the observed clinical presentation. The purpose of this review is to provide readers with general directions and specific caveats regarding validity assessment in the context of the neurological physical exam.

CONCLUSIONS: It is of utmost importance for health care practitioners to be aware of assessment methodologies that may assist in determining the validity of the neurological physical exam and differentiating organic from non-organic/functional impairments. Maybe more importantly, the limitations of many commonly used strategies for assessment of non-organicity should be recognized and consider prior to labeling observed physical findings on neurological exam as non-organic or functional.
Examination of validity in spoken language evaluations: Adult onset stuttering following mild traumatic brain injury
Authors: Roth Carole R. , Cornis-Pop Micaela , Beach Woodford A.
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND: Reports of increased incidence of adult onset stuttering in veterans and service members with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) from combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan lead to a reexamination of the neurogenic vs. psychogenic etiology of stuttering.

OBJECTIVE: This article proposes to examine the merit of the dichotomy between neurogenic and psychogenic bases of stuttering, including symptom exaggeration, for the evaluation and treatment of the disorder.

METHODS: Two case studies of adult onset stuttering in service members with mTBI from improvised explosive device blasts are presented in detail. Speech fluency was disrupted by abnormal pauses and speech hesitations, brief blocks, rapid repetitions, and occasional prolongations. There was also wide variability in the frequency of stuttering across topics and conversational situations. Treatment focused on reducing the frequency and severity of dysfluencies and included educational, psychological, environmental, and behavioral interventions.

RESULTS: Stuttering characteristics as well as the absence of objective neurological findings ruled out neurogenic basis of stuttering in these two cases and pointed to psychogenic causes. However, the differential diagnosis had only limited value for developing the plan of care.

CONCLUSIONS: The successful outcomes of the treatment serve to illustrate the complex interaction of neurological, psychological, emotional, and environmental factors of post-concussive symptoms and to underscore the notion that there are many facets to symptom presentation in post-combat health.
Assessment of validity and response bias in neuropsychiatric evaluations
Authors: Wygant Dustin B. , Granacher Robert P.
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND: Forensic neuropsychiatric assessment requires thorough consideration of malingering and response bias. Neuropsychiatric evaluations are complicated due to the multiple domains in which symptoms and impairment present. Moreover, symptom exaggeration in these evaluations can also present along various symptom domains (e.g., psychological, neurocognitive, somatic). Consequently, steps must be taken to ensure adequate coverage of response bias across all three domains of function.

PURPOSE: The following article reviews the conceptualization of malingering in neuropsychiatric settings, as well as various approaches and measures that can be helpful in the assessment of malingering and response bias.

CONCLUSIONS: Forensic neuropsychiatric assessment requires thorough consideration of malingering and response bias. These evaluations are complicated due to the multiple domains in which symptoms and impairment present. Performance and symptom validity measures should be routinely included in these evaluations. Collaboration between psychiatry and psychology can provide the optimal multi-method approach needed for thorough neuropsychiatric assessment in forensic cases. We illustrate our points with two case studies from forensic traumatic brain injury neuropsychiatric evaluations.
Pediatric validity assessment
Authors: Kirkwood Michael W.
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND: Youth have been assumed historically to be less capable of deception than adults, even though acts of deception in childhood are not uncommon. Relatively little attention has focused on how frequently they feign or exaggerate during healthcare evaluations.

PURPOSE: The current article reviews the literature relevant to using validity tests in children and adolescents, as well as provides a case example of a young adolescent providing noncredible effort and exaggerated symptomatology during neuropsychological evaluation after a mild traumatic brain injury.

CONCLUSION: Numerous case reports and case series have documented clearly that medical and neuropsychological noncredible presentations occur in children, likely more often than many practitioners believe. Thus far, research has found that the base rates of pediatric noncredible presentations are highest in children seen frequently by rehabilitation providers (i.e., children with persistent problems after mild traumatic brain injury and children from families seeking disability benefits on their behalf). Subjective clinical judgment is apt to be ineffective in consistently detecting noncredible presentations. Fortunately, recent research supports the use of several stand-alone validity tests in identifying noncredible pediatric data including the Test of Memory Malingering, Word Memory Test, and Medical Symptom Validity Test. If feigning and exaggeration are not considered in work-ups by rehabilitation practitioners, mismanagement and iatrogenic harm to the child can result.
Assessment of validity with polytrauma Veteran populations
Authors: Bush Shane S. , Bass Carmela
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND: Veterans with polytrauma have suffered injuries to multiple body parts and organs systems, including the brain. The injuries can generate a triad of physical, neurologic/cognitive, and emotional symptoms. Accurate diagnosis is essential for the treatment of these conditions and for fair allocation of benefits. To accurately diagnose polytrauma disorders and their related problems, clinicians take into account the validity of reported history and symptoms, as well as clinical presentations.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to describe the assessment of validity with polytrauma Veteran populations.

METHODS: Review of scholarly and other relevant literature and clinical experience are utilized.

RESULTS: A multimethod approach to validity assessment that includes objective, standardized measures increases the confidence that can be placed in the accuracy of self-reported symptoms and physical, cognitive, and emotional test results.

CONCLUSIONS: Due to the multivariate nature of polytrauma and the multiple disciplines that play a role in diagnosis and treatment, an ideal model of validity assessment with polytrauma Veteran populations utilizes neurocognitive, neurological, neuropsychiatric, and behavioral measures of validity. An overview of these validity assessment approaches as applied to polytrauma Veteran populations is presented. Veterans, the VA, and society are best served when accurate diagnoses are made.
Invalid symptom reporting and performance: What are we missing?
Authors: Silver Jonathan M.
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND: In the evaluation of neurorehabilitation patients involved in compensation or litigation, it is often assumed that poor performance or exaggerated symptoms reflects an intentional attempt to game the system.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to review multiple issues that can contribute to invalid symptom reporting and performance.

CONCLUSIONS: Multiple factors relevant to normal behavior, including observations from social psychology and behavioral economics, are important in the context of invalid symptom reporting and performance. These factors, which include pre-injury traits and beliefs (e.g., beliefs about prognosis and symptoms after TBI), factors at the time of initial treatment (e.g., expectations of recovery, nocebo effects, stereotype threat), and thoughts and feelings during evaluations (e.g., anger, resentment, injustice), may be important explanations. To best serve our patients, further research is needed to illuminate these relative effects on performance compared to “not trying.”
In Silico Molecular Docking Studies of Lichen Metabolites against Cyclooxygenase-2 Enzyme
Authors: Khan Mohammad Firoz , Nabila Sabreena Aleem , Rashid Ridwan Bin , Rahman Mohammad Sharifur , Chowdhury Abu Asad , Rashid Mohammad Abdur
Published: July 2015

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an inducible enzyme that causes inflammation. COX-2 inhibitors are clinically effective anti-inflammatory agents with less gastrointestinal and renal toxicities. However, they lack anti-thrombotic activity and hence lead to increased incidences of adverse cardiovascular thrombotic events, including myocardial infarction. Therefore, there is still need to develop COX-2 inhibitors with better therapeutic effects and tolerability. The aim of the present study is to explore the anti-inflammatory activity of five lichen metabolites by conducting virtual screenings. In this regard, molecular docking simulations were carried out for the lichen metabolites namely atranorin, diffractic acid, lecanoric acid, salazinic acid and usnic acid with human COX-2 enzyme and the docked results were compared with the standard reference ligands (Celecoxib and Rofecoxib). Among all the docked ligands, the lecanoric acid demonstrated best binding affinity -9.83 kcal/mol followed by atranorin (-8.7 kcal/mol) and diffractic acid (-8.6 kcal/mol) which are comparable to the reference ligands celecoxib (-12.3 kcal/mol) and rofecoxib (-11.2 kcal/mol). The salazinic acid and usnic acid has shown binding affinity of -7.9 kcal/mol and -4.7 kcal/mol, respectively. Moreover, all the ligands except atranorin and diffractic acid satisfied Lipinskis rule of 5. From the docking results it was revealed that the lichen metabolites might have inhibitory activity against COX-2 enzyme, and are expected to be useful in conducting in vivo anti-inflammatory screenings on animal model which may lead to the development of more effective and potent new chemical entities with anti-inflammatory properties.Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Journal 18(2): 90-96, 2015
Evaluation of Antibacterial, Antifunfgal and Cytotoxic Potentials of Crude Metabolite of ANAM-39, a Marine Bacterium Isolated from Sundarbans, Bangladesh
Authors: Sarker Ashish Kumar , Haque Md Anwarul , Saha Urmi , Rahman Md Ajijur , Islam Md Anwar Ul
Published: July 2015

The present study was undertaken to screen the antimicrobial, antifungal and cytotoxic potentials of crude metabolite of a marine bacterium isolated from a soil sample collected from Sundarbans, Bangladesh. Primary and secondary screenings for antimicrobial activity were conducted by cross streak and agar well diffusion method, respectively. The antifungal potency of the crude extract was also tested by agar well-diffusion method. The brine shrimp lethality test was conducted to determine the cytotoxic nature of crude metabolites, which showed that the degree of lethality of metabolite was directly proportional to the concentration (LC50 30.19 ?g/ml). Further studies are needed to isolate and characterize the active principles present in the crude metabolite and determine their biological activity. The results of this investigation suggested that the soils of Sundarbans are rich sources of microorganisms with potent biological activities and systematic screening programs need to be conducted to explore the presence of pharmacologically active marine bacterial metabolites.Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Journal 18(2): 103-109, 2015