bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrated weed management (IWM): why are farmers reluctant to adopt non‐chemical alternatives to herbicides?
Authors: Moss Stephen
Published: November 2018

Implementation of integrated weed management (IWM) has been poor, with little evidence of concomitant reductions in herbicide use. Non‐chemical methods are often adopted as a means of compensating for reduced herbicide efficacy, due to increasing resistance, rather than as alternatives to herbicides. Reluctance to adopt non‐chemical methods is not due to a lack of research or technology but to a lack of farmer motivation and action. Justifiably, herbicides are often seen as the easier option – their convenience outweighs the increased complexity, costs and management time associated with non‐chemical alternatives. Greater use of non‐chemical alternatives to herbicides will only occur if the following seven aspects are addressed: (i) better recognition of the reasons why farmers are reluctant to use non‐chemical alternatives; (ii) encouraging farmers to adopt a longer‐term approach to weed control; (iii) changing farmers' attitudes to pesticides; (iv) paying more attention to the individual farmer's perspective; (v). greater involvement of economists, social scientists and marketing professionals; (vi) re‐evaluating research and extension priorities; and (vii) changing the mindset of funders of research and extension. If ‘persuasion’ fails to deliver greater implementation of IWM, authorities may resort to greater use of financial and other incentives combined with tougher regulations. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
Aloysia citriodora Palau (lemon verbena) for insomnia patients: A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trial of efficacy and safety
Authors: Afrasiabian Farshid , Mirabzadeh Ardakani Mehran , Rahmani Khaled , Azadi Nammam Ali , Alemohammad Zahra Banafsheh , Bidaki Reza , Karimi Mehrdad , Emtiazy Majid , Hashempur Mohammad Hashem
Published: November 2018

Aloysia citriodora (A. citriodora) has a long history of traditional use for sedation and treatment of insomnia in different societies. This study was carried out to assess the efficacy of A. citriodora in patients with insomnia. One hundred patients were randomly divided into two groups of A. citriodora (total essential oil 1.66 mg/10 ml and total amount of flavonoid in terms of quercetin 3.22 mg/10 ml of the syrup) and placebo. They were advised to use 10 cc of the syrups; an hour before the bedtime for a period of 4 weeks. Participants were assessed using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) questionnaires at the baseline and then 2 and 4 weeks after the enrollment. Mean scores of global PSQI and its four components including sleep latency, habitual sleep efficiency, daytime dysfunction, and subjective sleep quality and also ISI score in the A. citriodora group improved significantly after 4 weeks of treatment when compared with the placebo group (p < 0.001, for all of them). Also, improvement of global score of PSQI and ISI was observed in the intervention group as compared with the placebo group, 2 weeks after the enrollment (p < 0.001). The results of this study showed that oral intake of A. citriodora can be suggested as a complementary treatment for patients with insomnia.
Exploiting Nanomaterial‐Mediated Autophagy for Cancer Therapy
Authors: Wei Weijun , Rosenkrans Zachary T. , Luo Quan‐Yong , Lan Xiaoli , Cai Weibo
Published: November 2018

Autophagy is a conserved process that is critical for sequestering and degrading proteins, damaged or aged organelles, and for maintaining cellular homeostasis under stress conditions. Despite its dichotomous role in health and diseases, autophagy usually promotes growth and progression of advanced cancers. In this context, clinical trials using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as autophagy inhibitors have suggested that autophagy inhibition is a promising approach for treating advanced malignancies and/or overcoming drug resistance of small molecule therapeutics (i.e., chemotherapy and molecularly targeted therapy). Efficient delivery of autophagy inhibitors may further enhance the therapeutic effect, reduce systemic toxicity, and prevent drug resistance. As such, nanocarrier‐based drug delivery systems have several distinct advantages over free autophagy inhibitors that include increased circulation of the drugs, reduced off‐target systemic toxicity, increased drug delivery efficiency, and increased solubility and stability of the encapsulated drugs. With their versatile drug encapsulation and surface‐functionalization capabilities, nanocarriers can be engineered to deliver autophagy inhibitors to tumor sites in a context‐specific and/or tissue‐specific manner. This review focuses on the role of nanomaterials utilizing autophagy inhibitors for cancer therapy, with a focus on their applications in different cancer types.
A whole systems approach to education redesign: A case study on the need for intergenerational perspectives and inclusion
Authors: Laszlo Kahlia , Laszlo Alexander
Published: November 2018

This study was commissioned by the Global Education Futures forum for presentation at its fourth International Conference in Moscow, Russia, from February 29 to March 2, 2016 (http://edu2035.org/#program). The objective was to conduct field research with a special focus on the vision of the future of education held by young people. This report presents some views and perspectives of my generation regarding what they want education to be like in the future. In northern California, my teachers Ms. B and Mr. Wahanik used the framework of questions and activities that my father and I developed to gather this kind of information by running a sort of “focus group” with my 10th Grade class and to find out what their views, perspective, opinions, ideas, hopes, and concerns are regarding this theme. A similar process was run with a group of young people in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A Reciprocal Role of the Smad4-Taz Axis in Osteogenesis and Adipogenesis of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Authors: Park Jin Seok , Kim Minbeom , Song No-Joon , Kim Jun-Hyeong , Seo Dongyeob , Lee Ji-Hyung , Jung Su Myung , Lee Jae Young , Lee Jaewon , Lee Youn Sook , Park Kye Won , Park Seok Hee
Published: November 2018

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that can differentiate into mature cells of various cell types. Although the differentiation process of MSCs requires lineage-specific transcription factors, the exact molecular mechanism that determines MSCs differentiation is not clearly addressed. Here, we demonstrate a Smad4-Taz axis as a new intrinsic regulator for adipo-osteogenic differentiation of MSCs and show that this function of Smad4 is independent of the transforming growth factor-β signal. Smad4 directly bound to the Taz protein and facilitated nuclear localization of Taz through its nuclear localization signal. Nuclear retention of Taz by direct binding to Smad4 increased expression of osteogenic genes through enhancing Taz-runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) interactions in the C3H10T1/2 MSC cell line and preosteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells, whereas it suppressed expression of adipogenic genes through promoting Taz-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) interaction in C3H10T1/2 and preadipogenic 3T3-L1 cells. A reciprocal role of the Smad4 in osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation was also observed in human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (hASCs). Consequently, Smad4 depletion in C3H10T1/2 and hASCs reduced nuclear retention of Taz and thus caused the decreased interaction with Runx2 or PPARγ, resulting in delayed osteogenesis or enhanced adipogenesis of the MSC. Therefore, these findings provide insight into a novel function of Smad4 to regulate the balance of MSC lineage commitment through reciprocal targeting of the Taz protein in osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation pathways. Stem Cells  2019;37:368–381
Metaphysical Vagueness Without Vague Objects
Authors: Abasnezhad Al , Jenkins C.S.I. ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: November 2018

Elizabeth Barnes and Robert Williams have developed a theory of metaphysical indeterminacy, via which they defend the theoretical legitimacy of vague objects. In this paper, we argue that while the Barnes–Williams theory supplies a viable account of genuine metaphysical vagueness, it cannot underwrite an account of genuinely vague objects. First we clarify the distinction between these two key theses. Then we argue that the Barnes–Williams theory of metaphysical vagueness not only fails to deliver genuinely vague objects, it in fact provides grounds for rejecting them.
Exploring high‐dimensional free energy landscapes of chemical reactions
Authors: Awasthi Shalini , Nair Nisanth N.
Published: November 2018

Molecular dynamics (MD) techniques are widely used in computing free energy changes for conformational transitions and chemical reactions, mainly in condensed matter systems. Most of the MD‐based approaches employ biased sampling of a priori selected coarse‐grained coordinates or collective variables (CVs) and thereby accelerate otherwise infrequent transitions from one free energy basin to the other. A quick convergence in free energy estimations can be achieved by enhanced sampling of large number of CVs. Conventional enhanced sampling approaches become exponentially slower with increasing dimensionality of the CV space, and thus they turn out to be highly inefficient in sampling high‐dimensional free energy landscapes. Here, we focus on some of the novel methods that are designed to overcome this limitation. In particular, we discuss four methods: bias‐exchange metadynamics, parallel‐bias metadynamics, adiabatic free energy dynamics/temperature‐accelerated MD, and temperature‐accelerated sliced sampling. The basic idea behind these techniques is presented and applications using these techniques are illustrated. Advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are also delineated.

This article is categorized under:

Structure and Mechanism > Reaction Mechanisms and Catalysis

Molecular and Statistical Mechanics > Free Energy Methods

Theoretical and Physical Chemistry > Statistical Mechanics
Deriving bonding concepts for molecules, surfaces, and solids with energy decomposition analysis for extended systems
Authors: Pecher Lisa , Tonner Ralf
Published: November 2018

Chemical bonding concepts like covalency, ionicity, Pauli repulsion, shared‐electron, or donor–acceptor bonding are important tools to sort our vast knowledge in chemistry and predict new reactivity. Electronic structure analysis provides the basis for a detailed understanding of the origins of these concepts. Energy decomposition analysis (EDA) is an established method for molecules and has recently been implemented for application in extended systems, that is, surfaces and solids, where it is termed periodic EDA (pEDA). The foundations and applications of this method which enables the derivation of bonding concepts are outlined in this review. Embedded in key examples from molecular and solid‐state chemistry, the major part covers the adsorption and reactivity of molecules with surfaces with a focus on organic molecules interacting with semiconductor surfaces. Based on electronic structure analysis and supported by a quantitative methodology, we show that analogous bonding concepts can be applied in diverse chemical environments.

This article is categorized under:

Electronic Structure Theory > Ab Initio Electronic Structure Methods

Structure and Mechanism > Computational Materials Science
Extensional Petri net
Authors: Dong Xiaoju , Fu Yuxi , Varacca Daniele
Published: November 2018

Petri nets form a concurrent model for distributed and asynchronous systems. They are capable of modeling information flow in a closed system, but are generally not suitable for the study of compositionality. We address the issue of Petri net compositionality by introducing extensional Petri nets. In an extensional Petri net some places are external while others are internal. Every external place is labeled by a distinguished interface name. When composing two extensional Petri nets two places with a same label are coerced. An external place can be turned into an internal place by applying localization operator. The paper takes a look at bisimulation semantics and observational properties of the extensional Petri nets.
Heterologous expression-facilitated natural products’ discovery in actinomycetes
Authors: Xu Min , Wright Gerard D
Published: November 2018

Actinomycetes produce many of the drugs essential for human and animal health as well as crop protection. Genome sequencing projects launched over the past two decades reveal dozens of cryptic natural product biosynthetic gene clusters in each actinomycete genome that are not expressed under regular laboratory conditions. This so-called ‘chemical dark matter’ represents a potentially rich untapped resource for drug discovery in the genomic era. Through improved understanding of natural product biosynthetic logic coupled with the development of bioinformatic and genetic tools, we are increasingly able to access this ‘dark matter’ using a wide variety of strategies with downstream potential application in drug development. In this review, we discuss recent research progress in the field of cloning of natural product biosynthetic gene clusters and their heterologous expression in validating the potential of this methodology to drive next-generation drug discovery.
On the global Cauchy problem for the Hartree equation with rapidly decaying initial data
Authors: Hyakuna Ryosuke
Published: November 2018

This paper is concerned with the Cauchy problem for the Hartree equation on

\mathbb{R}^{n},\:n \in \mathbb{N}

with the nonlinearity of type

(| \cdot |^{−\gamma }⁎|u|^{2})u,\:0 < \gamma < n

. It is shown that a global solution with some twisted persistence property exists for data in the space

L^{p} \cap L^{2},1 \leq p \leq 2

under some suitable conditions on
γ
and spatial dimension

n \in \mathbb{N}

. It is also shown that the global solution
u
has a smoothing effect in terms of spatial integrability in the sense that the map

t\mapsto u(t)

is well defined and continuous from

\mathbb{R} \setminus \{0\}

to

L^{p^{′}}

, which is well known for the solution to the corresponding linear Schrödinger equation. Local and global well-posedness results for hat

L^{p}

-spaces are also presented. The local and global results are proved by combining arguments by Carles–Mouzaoui with a new functional framework introduced by Zhou. Furthermore, it is also shown that the global results can be improved via generalized dispersive estimates in the case of one space dimension.
Outcomes of pelvic resection from malignant pelvic tumors. A case series
Authors: Kamal Achmad Fauzi , Wahyudi Muhammad , Prabowo Yogi
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

Malignant pelvic tumors also tend to present late and therefore pose a major challenge for orthopedic oncologists because of the large tumor size, local extension, and complex anatomy with proximity to major neurovascular structures and intestinal and urinary tracts.

Method:

We evaluated the oncologic, functional outcome and complications following internal hemipelvectomy in a consecutive series of patients with malignant muculoskeletal tumors of the pelvis at our hospital between January 2012 and December 2017. The follow-up period was defined as the length of time elapsed from the date of surgery until the death or last date of review following operation. We analyzed survival rate using Kaplan Meier method and it relation with tumor site, tumor size, and type of histology.

Result:

Our clinical series of patients were composed of 4 males and 5 females. Of 9 patients, 6 cases were primary malignant bone tumor (3 cases of chondrosarcoma, 2 cases of osteosarcoma, and 1 case of Ewing's sarcoma), 2 cases of metastatic bone disease from thyroid carcinoma, 1 case from breast adenocarcinoma. The Kaplan Meier analysis showed 1 year and 2 years survival rate were 88.9% and 66.7% respectively. The functional outcomes showed the mean MSTS score 16.5 point. The lowest score was 9, which was pelvis resection type I + II on osteosarcoma case. The highest score was 25, which was pelvic resection type II + III and reconstruted with iliofemoral arthrodesis. There was 1 case intraoperative bleeding and 2 cases post operative infections.

Conclusions:

The majority of pelvic tumor underwent pelvic resection is chondrosarcoma. Functional outcome MSTS score was still comparable with previous study. Complications of pelvic surgeries were bleeding and infection. In our small case series, pelvic resection with wide margin and reconstruction of bone defect may give good local control and clinical outcome.

Highlights:
The Raigorodok stockwork gold–sulfide–quartz deposit in the North Kazakhstan gold ore province
Authors: Kovalev K.R. , Syzdykov S.O. , Kalinin Yu.A. , Naumov E.A. , Baranov V.V. , Sukhorukov V.P. , Gladkov A.S. , Zhimulev F.I.
Published: November 2018

The Raigorodok stockwork gold–sulfide–quartz deposit is located in the contact zone of a monzogabbro–diorite intrusion belonging to the Stepnyak complex (442 Ma). Two main ore formation stages have been established: early, with disseminated gold-bearing pyrite–chalcopyrite mineralization related to skarn, propylite, and K-feldspar formation, and late, with productive mineralization. The late stage was accompanied by the formation of beresite, sericite, and quartz and comprised two substages: (1) quartz–gold–pyrite–chalcopyrite mineralization and (2) quartz–carbonate–gold–polysulfide mineralization. The 40Ar/39Ar ages of beresites and sericites are 422.9 ± 4.3 Ma and 416.7 ± 4.3 Ma, respectively, which is 19–22 Myr younger than the age of the host intrusion. The deposit ores formed stepwise, at temperatures of 112–335 °C and fluid salinity of 0.7–21.2 wt.% NaCl equiv. Sulfur for skarns, propylites, beresites, and ores might have been provided by a deep magma chamber, and the carbonaceous shales of the Vendian Sharyk Formation might have been the source of gold. The isotope and geochemical data and the results of fluid inclusion study suggest that Raigorodok is an intrusion-related deposit. At the same time, the deposit has a number of signs of porphyry-epithermal ore-magmatic systems.
Droplet dynamics on chemically heterogeneous substrates
Authors: Savva Nikos , Groves Danny , Kalliadasis Serafim
Published: November 2018

Slow droplet motion on chemically heterogeneous substrates is considered analytically and numerically. We adopt the long-wave approximation which yields a single partial differential equation for the droplet height in time and space. A matched asymptotic analysis in the limit of nearly circular contact lines and vanishingly small slip lengths yields a reduced model consisting of a set of ordinary differential equations for the evolution of the Fourier harmonics of the contact line. The analytical predictions are found, within the domain of their validity, to be in good agreement with the solutions to the governing partial differential equation. The limitations of the reduced model when the contact line undergoes stronger deformations are partially lifted by proposing a hybrid scheme which couples the results of the asymptotic analysis with the boundary integral method. This approach improves the agreement with the governing partial differential equation, but at a computational cost which is significantly lower compared to that required for the full problem.
Inherent thermal convection in a granular gas inside a box under a gravity field
Authors: Vega Reyes Francisco , Puglisi Andrea , Pontuale Giorgio , Gnoli Andrea
Published: November 2018

We theoretically prove the existence in granular fluids of a thermal convection that is inherent in the sense that it is always present and has no thermal gradient threshold (convection occurs for all finite values of the Rayleigh number). More specifically, we study a gas of inelastic smooth hard disks enclosed in a rectangular region under a constant gravity field. The vertical walls act as energy sinks (i.e. inelastic walls that are parallel to gravity), whereas the other two walls are perpendicular to gravity and act as energy sources. We show that this convection is due to the combined action of dissipative lateral walls and a volume force (in this case, gravitation). Hence, we call it dissipative lateral walls convection (DLWC). Our theory, which also describes the limit case of elastic collisions, shows that inelastic particle collisions enhance the DLWC. We perform our study via numerical solutions (volume-element method) of the corresponding hydrodynamic equations in an extended Boussinesq approximation. We show that our theory describes the essentials of the results for similar (but more complex) laboratory experiments.
Linear instability of Poiseuille flows with highly non-ideal fluids
Authors: Ren Jie , Fu Song , Pecnik Rene
Published: November 2018

The objective of this work is to investigate linear modal and algebraic instability in Poiseuille flows with fluids close to their vapour–liquid critical point. Close to this critical point, the ideal gas assumption does not hold and large non-ideal fluid behaviours occur. As a representative non-ideal fluid, we consider supercritical carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_{2}$) at a pressure of 80 bar, which is above its critical pressure of 73.9 bar. The Poiseuille flow is characterized by the Reynolds number ($Re=\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{w}^{\ast }u_{r}^{\ast }h^{\ast }/\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{w}^{\ast }$), the product of the Prandtl ($Pr=\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{w}^{\ast }C_{pw}^{\ast }/\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}_{w}^{\ast }$) and Eckert numbers ($Ec=u_{r}^{\ast 2}/C_{pw}^{\ast }T_{w}^{\ast }$) and the wall temperature that in addition to pressure determine the thermodynamic reference condition. For low Eckert numbers, the flow is essentially isothermal and no difference with the well-known stability behaviour of incompressible flows is observed. However, if the Eckert number increases, the viscous heating causes gradients of thermodynamic and transport properties, and non-ideal gas effects become significant. Three regimes of the laminar base flow can be considered: the subcritical (temperature in the channel is entirely below its pseudo-critical value), transcritical and supercritical temperature regimes. If compared to the linear stability of an ideal gas Poiseuille flow, we show that the base flow is modally more unstable in the subcritical regime, inviscid unstable in the transcritical regime and significantly more stable in the supercritical regime. Following the principle of corresponding states, we expect that qualitatively similar results will be obtained for other fluids at equivalent thermodynamic states.
A two-phase mixing layer between parallel gas and liquid streams: multiphase turbulence statistics and influence of interfacial instability
Authors: Ling Y. , Fuster D. , Tryggvason G. , Zaleski S.
Published: November 2018

The two-phase mixing layer formed between parallel gas and liquid streams is an important fundamental problem in turbulent multiphase flows. The problem is relevant to many industrial applications and natural phenomena, such as air-blast atomizers in fuel injection systems and breaking waves in the ocean. The velocity difference between the gas and liquid streams triggers an interfacial instability which can be convective or absolute depending on the stream properties and injection parameters. In the present study, a direct numerical simulation of a two-phase gas–liquid mixing layer that lie in the absolute instability regime is conducted. A dominant frequency is observed in the simulation and the numerical result agrees well with the prediction from viscous stability theory. As the interfacial wave plays a critical role in turbulence transition and development, the temporal evolution of turbulent fluctuations (such as the enstrophy) also exhibits a similar frequency. To investigate the statistical response of the multiphase turbulence flow, the simulation has been run for a long physical time so that time-averaging can be performed to yield the statistically converged results for Reynolds stresses and the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget. An extensive mesh refinement study using from 8 million to about 4 billions cells has been performed. The turbulent dissipation is shown to be highly demanding on mesh resolution compared with other terms in TKE budget. The results obtained with the finest mesh are shown to be close to converged results of turbulent dissipation which allow us to obtain estimations of the Kolmogorov and Hinze scales. The estimated Kolmogorov scale is found to be similar to the cell size of the finest mesh used here. The computed Hinze scale is significantly larger than the size of droplets observed and does not seem to be a relevant length scale to describe the smallest size of droplets formed in atomization.
Analytic growth rate of gravitational instability in self-gravitating planar polytropes
Authors: Durrive Jean-Baptiste , Langer Mathieu
Published: November 2018

Gravitational instability is a key process that may lead to fragmentation of gaseous structures (sheets, filaments, haloes) in astrophysics and cosmology. We introduce here a method to derive analytic expressions for the growth rate of gravitational instability in a plane stratified medium. First, the main strength of our approach is to reduce this intrinsically fourth-order eigenvalue problem to a sequence of second-order problems. Second, an interesting by-product is that the unstable part of the spectrum is computed by making use of its stable part. Third, as an example, we consider a pressure-confined, static, self-gravitating slab of a fluid with an arbitrary polytropic exponent, with either free or rigid boundary conditions. The method can naturally be generalised to analyse the stability of richer, more complex systems. Finally, our analytical results are in excellent agreement with numerical solutions. Their second-order expansions provide a valuable insight into how the rate and wavenumber of maximal instability behave as functions of the polytropic exponent and the external pressure (or, equivalently, the column density of the slab).
Exponential models by Orlicz spaces and applications
Authors: Santacroce Marina , Siri Paola , Trivellato Barbara
Published: November 2018

The geometric structure of the nonparametric statistical model of all positive densities connected by an open exponential arc and its intimate relation to Orlicz spaces give new insights to well-known financial objects which arise in exponential utility maximization problems.
Geoarchaeological Study of Szálka and Vajda Kurgans (Great Hungarian Plain) Based on Radiocarbon and Geophysical Analyses
Authors: Tóth Csaba Albert , Prónay Zsolt , Braun Mihály , Nagy Péter , Pethe Mihály , Tildy Péter , Buró Botond , Kertész Titanilla , McIntosh Richard W , Molnár Mihály
Published: November 2018

Two archaeologically unexplored mounds were studied in the area of the central Great Hungarian Plain. The age of the construction of the mounds was clarified on the basis of radiocarbon (14C) age determination of buried soil layers. Different, later-building phases of the mounds were detected by pedological and geo-electric analyses of the human-made layers. The age of the buried soils was corrected for the reservoir age of the recent soils found in the surroundings of the mounds. Radiocarbon ages of the carbon extracted from the soils at temperatures 400 and 800ºC were almost completely the same. Based on the calibrated ages of cal BP 4830–5270 (Szálka Mound) and cal BP 4880–5290 (Vajda Mound) of the buried soil layers, the identified kurgans were built by people of the Copper Age Yamnaya Culture. On the basis of the pedological and geophysical analysis of the layers, Szálka Mound and Vajda Mound were built in two and in three phases respectively from the chernozem-like humus-rich topsoil layers of the surrounding area. The former shallow quarry sites have been almost completely filled and cannot be identified at the foot of the mounds even using geodetic methods.
The development of a measure of root awareness to account for reading performance in the Arabic language: A development and validation study
Authors: TIBI SANA , TOCK JAMIE L. , KIRBY JOHN R.
Published: November 2018

Morphological awareness (MA) is an important predictor of reading outcomes in different languages. The consonantal root is a salient feature of Arabic lexical structure and critical to MA. The goals of this study were to (a) develop a measure of root awareness (RA) as one dimension of MA in Arabic, and (b) validate the RA measure by predicting reading outcomes in an Arabic population. A set of RA items was administered to 194 Arabic-speaking third-grade children. A one-factor model was specified using confirmatory factor analysis to examine the model fit of the RA measure. A structural equation model was then developed to examine the relation between the RA measure and important reading outcome measures including word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. The results of these analyses indicated good model fit, and the RA measure accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in the outcomes. The establishment of the RA measure is an important preliminary step to efficiently assessing MA in Arabic and could serve as an integral tool for studying reading development.
‘He just gave up’: an exploratory study into the perspectives of paid carers on supporting older people living in care homes with depression, self-harm, and suicide ideation and behaviours
Authors: Hafford-Letchfield Trish , Gleeson Helen , Ryan Peter , Billings Barbara , Teacher Ruth , Quaife Matthew , Flynn Ann , Poma Stefano Zanone , Vicentini Silvia
Published: November 2018

This study explored the concept of ‘giving up’ from the perspective of care staff working in care homes, and their everyday communication and hidden knowledge concerning what they think about this taboo topic and the context it reflects. Moving to a care home is a major transition where cumulative losses can pose risks to mental health in later life. If not recognised, this vulnerability can lead to depression which extends to suicide ideation and behaviours in the form of self-harm and self-neglect. Care homes are a significant place of care until death, yet a discourse of silence means that self-harm and suicide is under-reported or not attended to with specialist expertise. The layperson's concept of an older person ‘giving up’ on life is hardly discussed in the literature. This co-produced qualitative study used an inductive approach to explore this phenomenon through focus groups with 33 care staff across four care homes in South-East England. Findings paint a complex picture, highlighting tensions in providing the right support and creating spaces to respond to such challenging situations. ‘Giving up’ requires skilled detailed assessment to respond to risks alongside improved training and support for paid carers, to achieve a more holistic strategy which capitalises on significant relationships within a wider context.
Investigating the canon in A-Level music: Musical prescription in A-level music syllabuses (for first examination in 2018)
Authors: Whittaker Adam
Published: November 2018

The canon forming the backbone of most conceptions of Western music has been a feature of musical culture for decades, exerting an influence upon musical study in educational settings. In English school contexts, the once perceived superiority of classical music in educational terms has been substantially revised and reconsidered, opening up school curricula to other musical traditions and styles on an increasingly equal basis. However, reforms to GCSE and A-levels (examinations taken aged 16 and 18 respectively), which have taken place from 2010 onwards, have refocused attention on canonic knowledge rather than skills-based learning. In musical terms, this has reinforced the value of ‘prescribed works’ in A-level music specifications.

Thus far, little attention has been paid to the extent to which a kind of scholastic canon is maintained in the Western European Art Music section of the listening and appraising units in current A-level music specifications. Though directed in part by guidance from Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation, the regulatory body for qualifications in England), there is evidence of a broader cultural trend at work. The present article seeks to compare the historical evidence presented in Robert Legg's 2012 article with current A-level specifications. Such a comparison establishes points of change and similarity in the canon of composers selected for close study in current A-levels, raising questions about the purpose and function of such qualifications.
Intergenerational gaps in Mexican American values trajectories: Associations with parent–adolescent conflict and adolescent psychopathology
Authors: Gonzales Nancy A. , Knight George P. , Gunn Heather J. , Tein Jenn-Yun , Tanaka Rika , White Rebecca M. B.
Published: November 2018

Growth mixture modeling with a sample of 749 Mexican heritage families identified parallel trajectories of adolescents’ and their mothers’ heritage cultural values and parallel trajectories of adolescents’ and their fathers’ heritage cultural values from Grades 5 to 10. Parallel trajectory profiles were then used to test cultural gap-distress theory that predicts increased parent–adolescent conflict and adolescent psychopathology over time when adolescents become less aligned with Mexican heritage values compared to their parents. Six similar parallel profiles were identified for the mother–youth and father–youth dyads, but only one of the six was consistent with the hypothesized problem gap pattern in which adolescents’ values were declining over time to become more discrepant from their parents. When compared to families in the other trajectory groups as a whole, mothers in the mother–adolescent problem gap trajectory group reported higher levels of mother–adolescent conflict in the 10th grade that accounted for subsequent increases in internalizing and externalizing symptoms assessed in 12th grade. Although the findings provided some support for cultural gap-distress predictions, they were not replicated with adolescent report of conflict nor with the father–adolescent trajectory group analyses. Exploratory pairwise comparisons between all six mother–adolescent trajectory groups revealed additional differences that qualified and extended these findings.
The Benefits of Using a Consistent Tangent Operator for Viscoelastoplastic Computations in Geodynamics
Authors: Duretz Thibault , Souche Alban , de Borst René , Le Pourhiet Laetitia
Published: November 2018

Strain localization is ubiquitous in geodynamics and occurs at all scales within the lithosphere. How the lithosphere accommodates deformation controls, for example, the structure of orogenic belts and the architecture of rifted margins. Understanding and predicting strain localization is therefore of major importance in geodynamics. While the deeper parts of the lithosphere effectively deform in a viscous manner, shallower levels are characterized by an elastoplastic rheological behavior. Herein we propose a fast and accurate way of solving problems that involve elastoplastic deformations based on the consistent linearization of the time‐discretized elastoplastic relation and the finite difference method. The models currently account for the pressure‐insensitive Von Mises and the pressure‐dependent Drucker‐Prager yield criteria. Consistent linearization allows for resolving strain localization at kilometer scale while providing optimal, that is, quadratic convergence of the force residual. We have validated our approach by a qualitative and quantitative comparison with results obtained using an independent code based on the finite element method. We also provide a consistent linearization for a viscoelastoplastic framework, and we demonstrate its ability to deliver exact partitioning between the viscous, the elastic, and the plastic strain components. The results of the study are fully reproducible, and the codes are available as a subset of M2Di MATLAB routines.
Stratospheric Connection to the Abrupt End of the 2016/2017 Iberian Drought
Authors: Ayarzagüena B. , Barriopedro D. , Garrido‐Perez J. M. , Abalos M. , de la Cámara A. , García‐Herrera R. , Calvo N. , Ordóñez C.
Published: November 2018

Southwestern Europe experienced extraordinary rainy and windy conditions in March 2018, leading to the end of the most severe drought since 1970 at continental scale. This anomalous weather was linked to a persistent negative North Atlantic Oscillation pattern. Two weeks earlier a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) took place, preceded by the strongest planetary wave activity on record. In this study, we explore the connection between the SSW and the weather shift by employing a weather regime approach and flow analogues. The timing of the downward propagation of the stratospheric anomalies, the transition to and persistence of the negative North Atlantic Oscillation weather regime, and the sudden precipitation increase are all consistent with the typical tropospheric state after SSWs. Our results evidence a significant role of the 2018 SSW in the record‐breaking precipitation event.
Electrostatic Electron Cyclotron Harmonic Waves as a Candidate to Cause Pulsating Auroras
Authors: Fukizawa M. , Sakanoi T. , Miyoshi Y. , Hosokawa K. , Shiokawa K. , Katoh Y. , Kazama Y. , Kumamoto A. , Tsuchiya F. , Miyashita Y. , Tanaka Y. ‐M. , Kasahara Y. , Ozaki M. , Matsuoka A. , Matsuda S. , Hikishima M. , Oyama S. , Ogawa Y. , Kurita S. , Fujii R.
Published: November 2018

Pulsating auroras (PsAs) are thought to be generated by precipitating electrons scattered by lower‐band chorus (LBC) waves near the magnetic equator. One‐to‐one correlation between the LBC intensity and the PsA intensity has been reported. Electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves can also scatter electrons. However, direct correlation between ECH and PsA has not been reported yet. In this study, using a coordinated Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (Arase) satellite and ground‐based imager observation, we report that not only LBC but also ECH have correlation with PsA. We estimated the precipitating electron energy by assuming that the time lag when the cross‐correlation coefficient became the highest was travel time of electrons from the modulation region. We found that the estimated energies show reasonable values as the cyclotron resonance energy of each wave.
The Transition Between Antiparallel and Component Magnetic Reconnection at Earth's Dayside Magnetopause
Authors: Trattner K. J. , Burch J. L. , Cassak P. A. , Ergun R. , Eriksson S. , Fuselier S. A. , Giles B. L. , Gomez R. G. , Grimes E. W. , Petrinec S. M. , Webster J. M. , Wilder F. D.
Published: November 2018

Magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause is usually described by two different scenarios, antiparallel and component reconnection. The Maximum Magnetic Shear model combines these two scenarios at specific connection points known as the Knee regions. Using a database of confirmed magnetopause reconnection locations observed during Phase 1a of the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, a recent study showed that the model predicts the reconnection locations correctly within 2 Earth radii 80% of the time. The study also revealed and confirmed the existence of anomalies, that is, a specific set of conditions/parameters for which the observed reconnection locations are significantly different than the predicted locations. The first anomaly, described in an earlier study, occurs during the equinoxes for events with interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angles around 120° and 240°. Another previously unknown anomaly was found for events observed around December that also occurs for the same IMF clock angle ranges as the first anomaly. Several of the anomalous December events were observed in the dawn sector Knee region and show that a combination of a large dipole tilt with an IMF clock angle of about 140° causes the magnetopause antiparallel reconnection region to line up along the draped IMF. That causes a deflection of the Knee points and the predicted reconnection location. These events demonstrate that magnetic reconnection at the Earth's dayside magnetopause preferentially occurs in the antiparallel locations and only occurs along component reconnection line segments when the draped IMF field lines at the magnetopause no longer contact an antiparallel reconnection region.
Variability in Eddy Distribution Associated With East India Coastal Current From High‐Frequency Radar Observations Along Southeast Coast of India
Authors: Arunraj K. S. , Jena B. K. , Suseentharan V. , Rajkumar J.
Published: November 2018

Surface current observations from Indian Coastal Ocean Radar Network installed along the Tamil Nadu coast (southeast India) was used to quantify the mesoscale eddies associated with East India Coastal Current (EICC) during 2014–2017. A flow geometry‐based eddy detection algorithm has been applied to the daily averaged surface current maps and was able to detect and track mesoscale eddies of variable temporal and spatial scales. A total of 51 (27 cyclonic and 24 anticyclonic) eddy events, which lasted for more than 4 days, were identified during this period. Total count of cyclonic eddies exceeded the anticyclonic eddies with a clear seasonal pattern concurrent with the mean flow of EICC. The number of anticyclonic eddies leads in southwest monsoon and spring transition period; however, in fall transition and northeast monsoon period number of cyclonic eddies dominates in line with the poleward and equatorward phase of EICC, respectively. Monthly eddy kinetic energy maps showed a seasonal cycle with highest values in November and April. Monthly maps of the surface current vectors provide the broader picture of the seasonal reversal of currents in February and October and low magnitude offshore flow in the summer monsoon period. The Rossby number distribution along a transect perpendicular to the coast was in the order of O(1) shows the presence of strong submesoscale dynamics in the study domain. A case study of an eddy event conferred significant changes in the biological and physical properties of the coastal ocean derived from satellite data.
Reservoir Effects on Flood Peak Discharge at the Catchment Scale
Authors: Volpi E. , Di Lazzaro M. , Bertola M. , Viglione A. , Fiori A.
Published: November 2018

This paper proposes a method to easily quantify the attenuation due to a reservoir on downstream flood peak discharges, that is, to the downstream flood frequency curve. Using a parsimonious Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph‐based model, we show that the flood peak attenuation is mainly controlled by three system characteristics: (1) the reservoir position along the river channel, (2) the spillway dimensions, quantified by the reservoir storage coefficient; and (3) the storage capacity. These three system characteristics are quantified by three dimensionless numbers, which are derived analytically for an idealized catchment. The degree of flood peak attenuation increases for increasing storage capacity and spillway dimensions, in different ways depending on the reservoir position along the river channel. An optimal position exists, which maximizes the degree of flood peak attenuation, and is in general different from the outlet of the catchment. Interestingly, for large reservoirs with relatively small spillways, a range of quasi‐optimal positions exists. With the Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph‐based model, we also investigate how the duration of extreme rainfall relevant for determining the maximum flood peaks at the catchment outlet changes depending on the three system characteristics. Some of the assumptions of the method (i.e., catchment simple morphology and linearity of reservoir response) are relaxed in a real‐world example, which demonstrates that the synthetic results approximate well what would be obtained by a more realistic model.
Expression of two non-mutated genetic elements is sufficient to stimulate oncogenic transformation of human mammary epithelial cells
Authors: Pandey Vijay , Zhang Min , You Mingliang , Zhang Weijie , Chen Rumei , Zhang Wei , Ma Lan , Wu Zheng-Sheng , Zhu Tao , Xu Xiu Qin , Lobie Peter E.
Published: November 2018

Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) expression is positively associated with advanced clinicopathological features of mammary carcinoma (MC). Herein, we provide evidence for a functional role of TFF3 in oncogenic transformation of immortalized, but otherwise normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs), namely, HMEC-hTERT, MCF10A, and MCF12A. Forced expression of TFF3 in immortalized-HMECs enhanced cell proliferation, cell survival, anchorage-independent growth, produced highly disorganised three-dimensional (3D) acinar structures and generated tumours in immunocompromised mice. Forced expression of TFF3 in immortalized-HMECs stimulated STAT3 activity that was required for TFF3-stimulated cell proliferation, survival, and anchorage-independent growth. TFF3 specifically utilised STAT3 activity to govern a transcriptional program, which was required for TFF3-stimulated oncogenic transformation of immortalized-HMECs, including transcriptional upregulation of CCND1 and BCL2. siRNA-mediated depletion or functional inhibition of STAT3 significantly inhibited the TFF3-stimulated transcription of CCND1 and BCL2 and oncogenicity in immortalized-HMECs. Furthermore, DOX-inducible expression of TFF3 in HMEC-hTERT cells also permitted anchorage-independent growth and produced disorganized acinar structures in 3D Matrigel culture. Removal of DOX-induced expression of TFF3 in HMEC-hTERT cells, previously grown with DOX, resulted in efficient normalisation of the disorganized acinar architecture and attenuated cell viability in Matrigel culture. Cumulatively, these findings suggest that TFF3 is a potent oncogene and its increased expression along with hTERT in HMECs is sufficient to produce oncogenic transformation.
Phase and structure engineering of copper tin heterostructures for efficient electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction
Authors: Wang Pengtang , Qiao Man , Shao Qi , Pi Yecan , Zhu Xing , Li Yafei , Huang Xiaoqing
Published: November 2018

While engineering the phase and structure of electrocatalysts could regulate the performance of many typical electrochemical processes, its importance to the carbon dioxide electroreduction has been largely unexplored. Herein, a series of phase and structure engineered copper-tin dioxide catalysts have been created and thoroughly exploited for the carbon dioxide electroreduction to correlate performance with their unique structures and phases. The copper oxide/hollow tin dioxide heterostructure catalyst exhibits promising performance, which can tune the products from carbon monoxide to formic acid at high faradaic efficiency by simply changing the electrolysis potentials from −0.7 VRHE to −1.0 VRHE. The excellent performance is attributed to the abundant copper/tin dioxide interfaces involved in the copper oxide/hollow tin dioxide heterostructure during the electrochemical process, decreasing the reaction free-energies for the formation of COOH* species. Our work reported herein emphasizes the importance of phase and structure modulating of catalysts for enhancing electrochemical CO2 reduction and beyond.