bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization of aromatic organosulfur model compounds relevant to fossil fuels by using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization with CS2and high‐resolution tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: Tang Weijuan , Sheng Huaming , Jin Chunfen , Riedeman James S. , Kenttämaa Hilkka I.
Published: March 2016

RATIONALE

The chemistry of desulfurization involved in processing crude oil is greatly dependent on the forms of sulfur in the oil. Sulfur exists in different chemical bonding environments in fossil fuels, including those in thiophenes and benzothiophenes, thiols, sulfides, and disulfides. In this study, the fragmentation behavior of the molecular ions of 17 aromatic organosulfur compounds with various functionalities was systematically investigated by using high‐resolution tandem mass spectrometry.

METHODS

Multiple‐stage tandem mass spectrometric experiments were carried out using a linear quadrupole ion trap (LQIT) equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source. (+)APCI/CS2 was used to generate stable dominant molecular ions for all the compounds studied except for three sulfides that also showed abundant fragment ions. The LQIT coupled with an orbitrap mass spectrometer was used for elemental composition analysis, which facilitated the identification of the neutral molecules lost during fragmentation.

RESULTS

The characteristic fragment ions generated in MS2 and MS3 experiments provide clues for the chemical bonding environment of sulfur atoms in the examined compounds. Upon collision‐induced dissociation (CID), the molecular ions can lose the sulfur atom in a variety of ways, including as S (32 Da), HS• (33 Da), H2S (34 Da), CS (44 Da), •CHS (45 Da) and CH2S (46 Da). These neutral fragments are not only indicative of the presence of sulfur, but also of the type of sulfur present in the compound. Generally, losses of HS• and H2S were found to be associated with compounds containing saturated sulfur functionalities, while losses of S, CS and •CHS were more common for heteroaromatic sulfur compounds.

CONCLUSIONS

High‐resolution tandem mass spectrometry with APCI/CS2 ionization is a viable approach to determining the types of organosulfur compounds. It can potentially be applied to analysis of complex mixtures, which is beneficial to improving the desulfurization process of fossil fuels. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Towards fair mutual private set intersection with linear complexity
Authors: Debnath Sumit Kumar , Dutta Ratna
Published: March 2016

In this paper, we propose a two‐way oblivious pseudorandom function (mOPRF) secure in standard model against malicious parties under the decisional composite residuosity and decisional Diffie–Hellman assumptions. Using this two‐way OPRF, we construct an optimistic mutual private set intersection (PSI) protocol conserving fairness. In our PSI protocol, fairness is obtained by a semi‐trusted arbiter in the sense that it cannot get access to the private information of the two parties, but we believe that it will follow the protocol. To the best of our knowledge, our PSI protocol is the first fair PSI with linear communication and computation complexities and is proven to be secure in standard model against malicious adversaries under decisional q‐Diffie–Hellman inversion, decisional composite residuosity, and decisional Diffie–Hellman assumptions. Apart from that, we present a modified version of the OPRF that requires less number of communication rounds. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An investigation of the corrosion inhibitive layers generated from lithium oxalate‐containing organic coating on AA2024‐T3 aluminium alloy
Authors: Liu Yanwen , Visser Peter , Zhou Xiaorong , Lyon Stuart B. , Hashimoto Teruo , Gholinia Ali , Thompson George E. , Smyth Gerard , Gibbon Simon R. , Graham Derek , Mol Johannes M. C. , Terryn Herman
Published: March 2016

The protective film formed in a defect by leaching of lithium oxalate from model organic coatings during neutral salt spray exposure has been investigated. A scribed area of about 1 mm width was introduced on the coated AA2024‐T3 aluminium alloy. The scribed area was examined before and after exposure in neutral salt spray environment for 4, 8, 24 and 168 h by scanning and transmission electron microscopies. It was found that the lithium oxalate was able to leach from the organic coating during neutral salt spray exposure and it promoted the formation of a film that provided effective corrosion protection to the alloy. The typical film morphology consists of three different layers, including a relatively compact layer near the alloy substrate, a porous middle layer and a columnar outer layer. Variation of the film morphology was also observed at different locations of the scribed alloy surface, which may be related to the difference of local concentration of lithium species. Electron energy loss spectroscopy detected lithium, aluminium and oxygen in the film. Although the film showed the varied morphologies in different regions of the scribed area, the alloy substrate was protected from corrosion when the film was formed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Plasma Hydrophilization of Superhydrophobic Surface and Its Aging Behavior: The Effect of Micro/nanostructured Surface
Authors: Chen Faze , Xu Wenji , Huang Shuai , Liu Jiyu , Song Jinlong , Liu Xin
Published: March 2016

Plasma treatment is a versatile tool for surface modifications, and plasma‐induced hydrophilicity has a well‐known aging behavior. In this paper, plasma hydrophilization and the subsequent aging behavior of superhydrophobic and hydrophobic surfaces are comparatively investigated. Static water contact angle measurement and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that, compared with the hydrophobic surface, the superhydrophobic surface requires more plasma dose to completely change its wettability even after considering the difference in their initial wettability, and the corresponding aging speed is also obviously retarded. A tentative model based on the surface micro/nanostructures is presented to explain the results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Repeated significance tests of linear combinations of sensitivity and specificity of a diagnostic biomarker
Authors: Wu Mixia , Shu Yu , Li Zhaohai , Liu Aiyi
Published: March 2016

A sequential design is proposed to test whether the accuracy of a binary diagnostic biomarker meets the minimal level of acceptance. The accuracy of a binary diagnostic biomarker is a linear combination of the marker's sensitivity and specificity. The objective of the sequential method is to minimize the maximum expected sample size under the null hypothesis that the marker's accuracy is below the minimal level of acceptance. The exact results of two‐stage designs based on Youden's index and efficiency indicate that the maximum expected sample sizes are smaller than the sample sizes of the fixed designs. Exact methods are also developed for estimation, confidence interval and p‐value concerning the proposed accuracy index upon termination of the sequential testing. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Seeding strategies in search‐based unit test generation
Authors: Rojas José Miguel , Fraser Gordon , Arcuri Andrea
Published: March 2016

Search‐based techniques have been applied successfully to the task of generating unit tests for object‐oriented software. However, as for any meta‐heuristic search, the efficiency heavily depends on many factors; seeding, which refers to the use of previous related knowledge to help solve the testing problem at hand, is one such factor that may strongly influence this efficiency. This paper investigates different seeding strategies for unit test generation, in particular seeding of numerical and string constants derived statically and dynamically, seeding of type information and seeding of previously generated tests. To understand the effects of these seeding strategies, the results of a large empirical analysis carried out on a large collection of open‐source projects from the SF110 corpus and the Apache Commons repository are reported. These experiments show with strong statistical confidence that, even for a testing tool already able to achieve high coverage, the use of appropriate seeding strategies can further improve performance. © 2016 The Authors. Software Testing, Verification and Reliability Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Design procedure for precast fibre‐reinforced concrete segments in tunnel lining construction
Authors: Di Carlo Fabio , Meda Alberto , Rinaldi Zila
Published: March 2016

This paper presents a procedure for designing precast tunnel segments for mechanically excavated tunnel linings in fibre‐ reinforced concrete, without any traditional steel reinforcement. Both ultimate and serviceability limit states are considered as well as structural checks at different construction stages of the segment, including demoulding, positioning on floor, storage, transportation, handling and the final stage concerning the loads due to the ground pressure.

The structural checks are performed by means of bending moment‐axial force interaction envelopes for both the considered limit states, once the constitutive relationship of the material is defined for each stage. Traditional interaction envelopes are drawn for the ultimate limit state check, whereas for the serviceability limit state check, envelopes obtained by limiting the maximum crack opening and maximum concrete compressive stress are proposed. The shear action is also accounted for by reducing the bending moment‐axial force envelope. The possibility of having the assistance of a test procedure for particular loading situations is also proposed. Finally, a case study related to a precast steel fibre‐reinforced concrete segment is analysed in order to clarify the procedure and show, practically, how to define the actions and evaluate the interaction envelopes.
Teaching Peer Conferencing to Our Youngest Students
Authors: Fugiel Aimee
Published: March 2016

View From the Chalkboard essays share readers' reflections on teaching experiences, advice for new teachers, and perspectives on current issues.
Reaching Reluctant Readers Through Read‐Aloud
Authors: Ciesla Katie
Published: March 2016

View From the Chalkboard essays share readers' reflections on teaching experiences, advice for new teachers, and perspectives on current issues.
Testing and evaluation of microstructure of organoclay in chlorosulfunated polyethylene nanocomposites by emphasis on solvent transport properties
Authors: Sadeghi Ghari Hedayatollah , Shakouri Zahra
Published: March 2016

The present paper addresses the usefulness of a sorption gravimetric technique to assess of the compatibility and reinforcing effect of nanofiller against hazardous liquid media. The reinforcing capability of organoclay (Cloisite 30B) in chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM) was characterized by means of transport properties such as diffusion, sorption and permeation coefficients, activation energy, enthalpy, and entropy. The CSM/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing method. The transport of toluene through CSM vulcanizates were studied with special reference to the effect of organoclay concentration (0–9 parts per hundred parts of rubber) and temperature (25–55°C). The microstructure of the nanocomposites was confirmed by studying of dispersion of organoclay in CSM via transmission and scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The results showed that the swelling properties of nano‐filled CSMs mainly depend on the presence of organoclay and not its concentration and also the formed microstructure. A good relationship was found between the microstructure and swelling properties of CSM nanocomposites. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 23:E40–E50, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
Beyond special circumstances: climate change policy in Turkey 1992–2015
Authors: Turhan Ethemcan , Cerit Mazlum Semra , Şahin Ümit , Şorman Alevgül H. , Cem Gündoğan A.
Published: March 2016

The contours of Turkey's climate policy have remained almost intact over the past two decades. Being an Annex I party without any mitigation commitments, Turkey maintains a peculiar position under UNFCCC. Subsequent to 12 years of delay in signing both the Framework Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, Turkey had the highest rate of increase in greenhouse gas emissions among the Annex I countries with 110.4% upsurge in the period 1990 and 2013. Yet with the new climate regime now in place, the country's mitigation pledges fall short of expectations both in terms of realistic projections and its ambition to step up in the post‐2020 period. Climate policies in Turkey, an EU candidate and OECD founding member with a growing economy, remain under‐investigated. Although the country has a wide range of policies and institutions in place, it shows limited progress in addressing climate change. Based on evidence from the literature, we observe that climate policies operationalize in Turkey insofar as they do not directly confront developmental ambitions, leaving policy diffusion with limited success. To provide a historic overview, we focus on climate policy development, actors, processes, and contemporary trends. Evidence shows that these are highly ridden with the politics of special circumstances: a notion that Turkey employs to refrain from bindings commitments. In order to go beyond special circumstances discourse, we argue the need for a bold policy shift in Turkey, a country subject to adverse impacts of climate change and high‐carbon lock‐in risk due to development policy preferences. WIREs Clim Change 2016, 7:448–460. doi: 10.1002/wcc.390

This article is categorized under:

Policy and Governance > National Climate Change Policy
Major Cardiac Events After Non‐cardiac Surgery
Authors: Sousa Gabriela , Lopes Ana , Reis Pedro , Carvalho Vasco , Santos Alice , Abelha Fernando José
Published: March 2016

Introduction

Postoperative cardiovascular complications might be difficult to assess and are known to be associated with longer hospital stay and increased costs as well as higher morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictors for major cardiac events (MCE) after non‐cardiac surgery.

Methods

The study included 4398 patients who were admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit between January 1, 2006 and July 19, 2013. Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score and simplified acute physiology score (SAPS II) were calculated, and all variables entered as parameters were evaluated independently. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent factors for MCE.

Results

A total of 107 people experienced MCE. The independent predictors for postoperative MCE were higher fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) (odds ratio [OR] 38.97; 95 % confidence interval [CI] 10.81–140.36), history of ischemic heart disease (OR 3.38; 95 % CI 2.12–5.39), history of congestive heart disease (OR 2.39; 95 % CI 1.49–3.85), history of insulin therapy for diabetes (OR 2.93; 95 % CI 1.66–5.19), and increased SAPS II (OR 1.03; 95 % CI 1.01–1.05). Having a MCE was associated with a longer length of stay in the surgical intensive care unit (OR 1.01, 95 % CI 1.00–1.01).

Conclusions

FiO2, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart disease, insulin therapy for diabetes, SAPS II, and length of stay in the surgical intensive care unit were independent predictors for MCE.
Exploring the transition of undergraduate medical students into a clinical clerkship using organizational socialization theory
Authors: Atherley Anique E. , Hambleton Ian R. , Unwin Nigel , George Colette , Lashley Paula M. , Taylor Jr. Charles G.
Published: March 2016

Background Transitions in medical education are emotionally and socially dynamic; this may affect learning. Students transitioning from preclinical to clinical training may experience negative consequences. Less is understood about students’ experiences during transitions within clinical training and influential factors.

Methods The authors used organizational socialization theory to explore a transition within the clinical years. Final-year medical students experienced a nine-week internal medicine clerkship; willing students participated. Students (n = 101; 97 %) completed a questionnaire with open-ended questions at the beginning and end of the clerkship and participated in six consecutive focus groups, until data saturation occurred (n = 37). Data were thematically analyzed.

Results Socialization was challenging. Many students experienced difficulty developing relationships with team members. Students with a positive attitude experienced a smoother transition. Many students were uncertain of their roles, concerned about the workload and desired guidance to meet clerkship demands. This transition resulted in varied outcomes from enjoyment, increased confidence and student development through to disinterest.

Conclusion Transitions within clinical training are complex. Faculty should focus on adequate socialization in a new clerkship as this may facilitate a smoother transition. This may necessitate orientations, staff training, and formal student support. Further research is needed on the impact of these recommendations on learning and well-being.
Evaluation of marking of peer marking in oral presentation
Authors: Steverding Dietmar , Tyler Kevin M. , Sexton Darren W.
Published: March 2016

Background Peer marking is an important skill for students, helping them to understand the process of learning and assessment. This method is increasingly used in medical education, particularly in formative assessment. However, the use of peer marking in summative assessment is not widely adopted because many teachers are concerned about biased marking by students of their peers.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether marking of summative peer assessment can improve the reliability of peer marking.

Methods In a retrospective analysis, the peer-marking results of a summative assessment of oral presentations of two cohorts of students were compared. One group of students was told that their peer marks would be assessed against a benchmark consisting of the average of examiner marks and that these scores together with the peer and examiner marks would form their final exam results. The other group of students were just informed that their final exam results would be determined based on the examiner and peer marks.

Results Based on examiner marks, both groups of students performed similarly in their summative assessment, agreement between student markers was less consistent and more polar than the examiners.
Applications of the epidemiological modelling outputs for targeted mental health planning in conflict-affected populations: the Syria case-study
Authors: Charlson F. J. , Lee Y. Y. , Diminic S. , Whiteford H.
Published: March 2016

Background

Epidemiological models are frequently utilised to ascertain disease prevalence in a population; however, these estimates can have wider practical applications for informing targeted scale-up and optimisation of mental health services. We explore potential applications for a conflict-affected population, Syria.

Methods

We use prevalence estimates of major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in conflict-affected populations as inputs for subsequent estimations. We use Global Burden of Disease (GBD) methodology to estimate years lived with a disability (YLDs) for depression and PTSD in Syrian populations. Human resource (HR) requirements to scale-up recommended packages of care for PTSD and depression in Syria over a 15-year period were modelled using the World Health Organisation mhGAP costing tool. Associated avertable burden was estimated using health benefit analyses.

Results

The total number of cases of PTSD in Syria was estimated at approximately 2.2 million, and approximately 1.1 million for depression. An age-standardised major depression rate of 13.4 (95% UI 9.8–17.5) YLDs per 1000 Syrian population is estimated compared with the GBD 2010 global age-standardised YLD rate of 9.2 (95% UI 7.0–11.8). HR requirements to support a linear scale-up of services in Syria using the mhGAP costing tool demonstrates a steady increase from 0.3 FTE in at baseline to 7.6 FTE per 100 000 population after scale-up. Linear scale-up over 15 years could see 7–9% of disease burden being averted.

Conclusion

Epidemiological estimates of mental disorders are key inputs into determining disease burden and guiding optimal mental health service delivery and can be used in target populations such as conflict-affected populations.
Effects of oxidised dietary fish oil and high-dose vitamin E supplementation on growth performance, feed utilisation and antioxidant defence enzyme activities of juvenile large yellow croaker (Larmichthys crocea)
Authors: Wang Jun , Xu Houguo , Zuo Rantao , Mai Kangsen , Xu Wei , Ai Qinghui
Published: March 2016

This study was conducted to elucidate the effects of oxidised dietary lipids and high-dose vitamin E (VE) on growth performance and immune responses of large yellow croaker. Juvenile fish (initial average body weight of 7·82 (sem0·68) g) were fed diets containing either fresh fish oil (fresh diet, peroxide value (POV)=1·72 mEq/kg) or fish oil oxidised to varying degrees (oxidised diets, POV=28·29–104·21 mEq/kg), with or without supplementary 600 mg VE/kg diet, for 10 weeks in floating cages. Growth was significantly lower and feed intake (g/100 g body weight per d) was higher in fish fed the oxidised diet. Supplementation with VE increased the growth of fish fed the oxidised diets, but significantly decreased the growth of fish fed the fresh diet. Hepatosomatic index increased with increasing dietary POV and decreased with VE supplementation. Hepatic catalase activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde content were significantly higher in fish fed the oxidised diets, and these values decreased significantly following VE supplementation. However, hepatic SOD activity was enhanced by VE supplementation in fish fed the fresh diet. Air-exposure mortality was significantly increased by dietary POV, and this effect was inhibited by VE supplementation. These results suggest that dietary oxidised fish oil could stimulate the activities of antioxidant defence enzymes in stressed large yellow croaker. High-dose VE supplementation can alleviate oxidative stress of large yellow croaker fed oxidised fish oil, but can exert deleterious effects on fish in the absence of oxidative stress.
Urine phyto-oestrogen metabolites are not significantly associated with risk of type 2 diabetes: the Singapore Chinese health study
Authors: Talaei Mohammad , Lee Bee L. , Ong Choon N. , van Dam Rob M. , Yuan Jian M. , Koh Woon P. , Pan An
Published: March 2016

We evaluated the relationship between urine concentrations of phyto-oestrogens (isoflavones and lignans) and risk of incident type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and elderly Chinese residing in Singapore. Urine metabolites of isoflavones and lignans were assayed by HPLC among 564 diabetes cases and 564 matched controls in a case–control study nested within the Singapore Chinese Health Study cohort. Participants were free of diagnosed diabetes, CVD and cancer at morning urine collections during 1999–2004. Cases were participants who reported to have physician-diagnosed diabetes at follow-up visits during 2006–2010, whereas controls were randomly selected among those who remained free of diabetes and were matched to the index cases by age, sex, dialect group and date of urine collection. Conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate OR and 95 % CI with adjustment for potential confounders. The mean age of the participants at the time of urine collection was 59·8 years, and the average interval between urine collection and diabetes diagnosis was 4·0 years. The multivariate-adjusted OR for diabetes were 1·00 (reference), 0·76 (95 % CI 0·52, 1·11), 0·78 (95 % CI 0·53, 1·14) and 0·79 (95 % CI 0·54, 1·15) across quartiles of urine isoflavones (Pfor trend=0·54), and were 1·00 (reference), 0·87 (95 % CI 0·60, 1·27), 1·10 (95 % CI 0·77, 1·56) and 0·93 (95 % CI 0·63, 1·37) for lignans (Pfor trend=0·93). The results were similar in men and women, as well as for individual metabolites of isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, glycitin and equol) or lignans (enterodiol and enterolactone). The present study did not find a significant association between urine phyto-oestrogen metabolites and risk of type 2 diabetes in Chinese adults.
Public health nutrition in the civil service (England): approaches to tackling obesity
Authors: Blackshaw J. R.
Published: March 2016

The seriousness and scale of the physical, psychological, economic and societal consequences relating to poor diets, inactivity and obesity is unprecedented. Consequently, the contextual factors underpinning the work of a nutritionist in the civil service are complex and significant; however, there are real opportunities to make a difference and help improve the health of the nation. The present paper describes the delivery of public health nutrition through two work programmes, namely action to support young people develop healthier lifestyle choices and more recently the investigation and deployment of local insights to develop action to tackle obesity. Combining the application of nutrition expertise along with broader skills and approaches has enabled the translation of research and evidence into programmes of work to better the public's health. It is evident that the appropriate evaluation of such approaches has helped to deliver engaging and practical learning opportunities for young people. Furthermore, efforts to build on local intelligence and seek collaborative development can help inform the evidence base and seek to deliver public health approaches, which resonate with how people live their lives.
Characterisation of yeast and filamentous fungi from Brøggerbreen glaciers, Svalbard
Authors: Singh Purnima , Roy Utpal , Tsuji Masaharu
Published: March 2016

Cryoconite holes have ecological and biotechnological importance. This article presents results on culturable cryophilic yeasts and filamentous fungi isolated from cryoconite holes at Austre and Vestre Brøggerbreen glaciers, Svalbard. Based on DNA sequence data, these were identified asRhodotorulasp.,Thelebolussp., andArticulospora tetracladia. Amongst these,Articulospora tetracladia(88.7–89.4% gene similarity with 5.8S rDNA) is a novel species, yet to be described. Filamentous fungusArticulosporasp. Cry-FB1 and Cry-FB2, expressed high amylase, cellulase, lipase and protease activities while yeastRhodotorulasp. Cry-FB3 showed high amylase and cellulase activity.Thelebolussp. Cry-YB 240 and Cry-YB 241 showed protease and urease activities. The effects of temperature, and salt on the growth of the cultures were studied. Optimum temperature of growth was on 10ºC at pH 7.0. Filamentous fungi and yeast in the cryoconite holes possibly drive the process of organic macromolecule degradation through cold-adapted enzyme secretion, thereby assisting in nutrient cycling in these supraglacial environments. Further, these cryophilic fungi, due to their enzyme producing ability, may provide an opportunity for biotechnological research in the Arctic.
Rediscovering lost relationships: Canadian Arctic ethnographic materials recovered from the ‘ghost ship’ Baychimo and the University of Alaska Museum of the North
Authors: Reuther Joshua D. , Rogers Jason S.
Published: March 2016

In 1931, the Hudson's Bay Company cargo steamer, SS Baychimo, was trapped in sea ice and abandoned in the Chukchi Sea off the northern coast of Alaska. Large amounts of scientific and navigational instruments and gear and personal items were left aboard, among them an ethnographic collection gathered in 1930 from Inuit groups in the Canadian Arctic by Richard Sterling Finnie. The ship was boarded several times over the next three years with items being salvaged by locals from nearby Wainwright and Barrow. In 1933, crew and passengers from MS Trader, a small trading vessel from Nome, boarded the abandoned ship and recovered several of Finnie's ethnological specimens. In 1934, Peter Palsson, crewmember of Trader, gave several ethnological specimens to members of the United States Department of the Interior-Alaska College Archaeological Expedition. That year, the Baychimo collection was accessioned to the nascent University of Alaska Museum (now, the University of Alaska Museum of the North). For over 80 years, the collection's relationships with Finnie, the Baychimo, and Palsson remained obscure, and its historical significance has just been rediscovered. This paper describes the collection and the path it took from the Baychimo to the University of Alaska Museum.
Living happily ever after: fraternal polyandry, taxes and “the house” in early Islamic Bactria
Authors: Azad Arezou
Published: March 2016

This paper is a first attempt at understanding the impact of Islam on families in eighth-century rural Ṭukhāristan (modern-day northern Afghanistan), at the periphery of the late Umayyad and early ʿAbbāsid caliphate. Tukhāristan lay in the ancient region of Bactria, which became the land and city of Balkh after the Islamic conquests of the early seven hundredsad. My analysis is based on a fascinating corpus of legal documents and letters, written in Bactrian and Arabic in the fourth to eighth centuriesad, which were discovered, edited and translated relatively recently. Scholars of Central Asia have tended to discuss the region's early Islamic history within a politico-military framework based on chronicles and prosopographies written in Arabic and/or adapted into Persian centuries after the Muslim conquests. Such narrative sources describe an ideal state defined by genres of Islamic historiography, and come with the usual menu of distortions, simplifications and exoticisms. The documents under review, on the other hand, were written to serve immediate and practical uses; the evidence they offer is devoid of rhetoric, recording aspects of life and social groupings to which we would otherwise have no access. This paper argues that during the transition to Islamic rule (c.ad700–771), Bactrian and Islamic administrative systems co-existed, and significantly affected family life and marriage traditions. Specifically, it is suggested that the early ʿAbbāsid tax system eclipsed the age-old practice of fraternal polyandry here: more by default than by design.
International Charitable Connections: the Growth in Number, and the Countries of Operation, of English and Welsh Charities Working Overseas
Authors: CLIFFORD DAVID
Published: March 2016

This paper provides new empirical evidence about English and Welsh charities operating internationally. It answers basic questions unaddressed in existing work: how many charities work overseas, and how has this number changed over time? In which countries do they operate, and what underlies these geographical patterns? It makes use of a unique administrative dataset which records every country in which each charity operates. The results show a sizeable increase in the number of charities working overseas since the mid-1990s. They show that charities are much more likely to work in countries with colonial and linguistic ties to the UK, and less likely to work in countries with high levels of instability or corruption. This considerable geographical unevenness, even after controlling for countries’ population size and poverty, illustrates the importance of supply-side theories and of institutional factors to an understanding of international voluntary activity. The paper also serves to provide a new perspective on international charitable operation: while it is the large development charities that are household names, the results reveal the extent of small-scale ‘grassroots’ registered charitable activity that links people and places internationally, and the extent of activity in ‘developed’ as well as ‘developing’ country contexts.
Moralizing religions: Prosocial or a privilege of wealth?
Authors: Atran Scott
Published: March 2016

Today's major religions are moralizing religions that encourage material sacrifice for spiritual rewards. A key issue is whether moralizing religions gradually evolved over several millennia to enable cooperation among genetic strangers in the spiraling competition between increasingly large groups occupying Eurasia's middle latitudes, or whether they emerged only with the onset of the Axial Age, about 2,500 years ago, as societal wealth increased to allow privileging long-term goals over immediate needs.
Big Gods: Extended prosociality or group binding?
Authors: Galen Luke W.
Published: March 2016

Big Gods are described as having a “prosocial” effect. However, this conflates parochialism (group cohesion) with cooperation extended to strangers or out-group members. An examination of the cited experimental studies indicates that religion is actually associated with increased within-group parochialism, rather than extended or universal prosociality, and that the same general mechanisms underlie both religious and secular effects.
Cultural evolution and prosociality: Widening the hypothesis space
Authors: Huebner Bryce , Sarkissian Hagop
Published: March 2016

Norenzayan et al. suggest that Big Gods can be replaced by Big Governments. We examine forms of social and self-monitoring and ritual practice that emerged in Classical China, heterarchical societies like those that emerged in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and the contemporary Zapatista movement of Chiapas, and we recommend widening the hypothesis space to include these alternative forms of social organization.
Hell of a theory
Authors: Krueger Joachim I.
Published: March 2016

The theory of group-selected Big God religions is a master narrative of cultural evolution. The evidence is a positive manifold of correlated assumptions and variables. Although provocative, the theory is overly elastic. Its critical ingredient – belief in Big Gods – is neither necessary nor sufficient to account for in-group prosociality and discipline. Four specific issues illustrate this elasticity.
Are gods and good governments culturally and psychologically interchangeable?
Authors: McCauley Robert N.
Published: March 2016

Cognitive by-product theorists maintain that standard cognitive development facilitates the acquisition of religion. Citing secularization, Norenzayan et al. qualify that theory, proposing that gods and good governments are psychologically and culturally interchangeable. That contention, though, occasions questions about the psychological dynamics involved, about what qualifies as religiosity, and about asymmetries between gods and good governments in the face of catastrophes.
Self-control, cultural animals, and Big Gods
Authors: Reynolds Tania , Baumeister Roy F.
Published: March 2016

As Norenzayan et al. cogently argue, religions that proliferated most successfully did so because they facilitated prosociality and cooperation in large-scale, anonymous groups. One important way that religion promotes cooperation may be through improving self-control. In this comment, we cover some potential obstacles to implementing self-control and how religion can overcome them.
Explaining the success of karmic religions
Authors: White Claire , Sousa Paulo , Prochownik Karolina
Published: March 2016

One of the central claims of Norenzayan et al.’s article is that supernatural monitoring and intergroup competition have facilitated the rise of large-scale prosocial religions. Although the authors outline in detail how social instincts that govern supernatural monitoring are honed by cultural evolution and have given rise to Big Gods, they do not provide a clear explanation for the success of karmic religions. Therefore, to test the real scope of their model, Norenzayan et al. need to seriously engage with questions concerning the evolution of karmic prosocial religions.
Parochial prosocial religions: Historical and contemporary evidence for a cultural evolutionary process
Authors: Norenzayan Ara , Shariff Azim F. , Gervais Will M. , Willard Aiyana K. , McNamara Rita A. , Slingerland Edward , Henrich Joseph
Published: March 2016

In our response to the 27 commentaries, we refine the theoretical claims, clarify several misconceptions of our framework, and explore substantial disagreements. In doing so, we (1) show that our framework accommodates multiple historical scenarios; (2) debate the historical evidence, particularly about “pre-Axial” religions; (3) offer important details about cultural evolutionary theory; (4) clarify the termprosociality;and (4) discuss proximal mechanisms. We review many interesting extensions, amplifications, and qualifications of our approach made by the commentators.
Offshore financial activity and tax policy: evidence from a leaked data set
Authors: Caruana-Galizia Paul , Caruana-Galizia Matthew
Published: March 2016

We assess the European Union’s (EU) most significant international tax policy. The 2005 Tax and Savings Directive obliges cooperating jurisdictions to withhold tax or report on interest income earned by entities whose beneficial owner is an EU resident. As the Directive applies only to beneficial ownership in cooperative jurisdictions, it can be circumvented by transferring ownership to a non-EU resident or company or by transferring the entity to a non-cooperative jurisdiction. Using a database on individual offshore entities leaked from two firms in 2013, we compare the response of EU-owned entities with a control group of non-EU-owned entities. We show that the growth of EU-owned entities declined immediately after the Directive’s implementation, whereas that of non-EU-owned entities remained stable. We observe the substitution of EU ownership for non-EU ownership, as well as the substitution of cooperative for non-cooperative offshore jurisdictions. This calls for anti-evasion policies that are broader in scope and scale.
Comparing the epidemiology of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone groups in Alberta, Canada
Authors: BRUZZESE S. , BUSH K. , LEAL J. , KIM J. , VICKERS D. M. , RUSK A. , FATHIMA S. , LI V. , CHUI L. , LOUIE M. , HENDERSON E.
Published: March 2016

Patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones, which were traditionally seen in the community setting (USA400/CMRSA7 and USA300/CMRSA10), are often identified as hospital-acquired (HA) infections using Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) surveillance definitions. This study examined the demographics and healthcare risk factors of patients with HA-MRSA to help understand if community MRSA clones are from a source internal or external to the hospital setting. Despite USA300/CMRSA10 being the predominant clone in Alberta, hospital clones (USA100/CMRSA2) still dominated in the acute care setting. In the Alberta hospitalized population, patients with USA400/CMRSA7 and USA300/CMRSA10 clones were significantly younger, had fewer comorbidities, and a greater proportion had none or ambulatory care-only healthcare exposure. These findings suggest that there are two distinct populations of HA-MRSA patients, and the patients with USA400/CMRSA7 and USA300/CMRSA10 clones identified in hospital more greatly resemble patients affected by those clones in the community. It is possible that epidemiological assessment overidentifies HA acquisition of MRSA in patients unscreened for MRSA on admission to acute care.
A NOTE ON THE BUSH TAX CUTS: DID THEY SUCCEED IN STIMULATING BUSINESS INVESTMENT?
Authors: Yuhn Ky-hyang , Bennett Christopher S.
Published: March 2016

Traditional regression models have reported conflicting results on the effectiveness of tax incentives in stimulating business investment. This study investigates the effects of the Bush tax cuts on U.S. investment using intervention analysis in conjunction with regression analysis that controls for relevant variables. Although intervention analysis has the advantage of allowing the behavior of investment to be influenced only by the time path of exogenous shocks such as tax reforms, control variables can test for the robustness of the results. We have found that the two tax reforms enacted in 2001 and 2003 had little impact on marginal investment incentives. The intervention analysis results are further reinforced by the evidence provided by alternative regression models that control for a host of variables. The failure of the tax reforms to stimulate investment spending may be attributable to several factors, such as a global savings glut, cheap global money, inappropriate designs for tax incentives, and budget deficits.
Language and cognition in bilingual production: the real work still lies ahead
Authors: SORACE ANTONELLA
Published: March 2016

Goldrick, Putnam and Schwarz (Goldrick, Putnam & Schwarz) argue that code-mixing in bilingual production involves not only combining forms from both languages but also – crucially – integrating grammatical principles with gradient mental representations. They further propose an analysis of a particular case of intrasentential code mixing – doubling constructions – framed within the formalism of Gradient Symbolic Computation. This formalism, in their view, is better suited to accounting for code mixing than other generative language models because it allows the weighting of constraints both in the choice of particular structures within a single language and in blends of structures in code-mixed productions.
Introduction to the special issue on the International Web Rule Symposia 2012–2014
Authors: BIKAKIS ANTONIS , FODOR PAUL , GIURCA ADRIAN , MORGENSTERN LEORA
Published: March 2016

The annual International Web Rule Symposium (RuleML) is an international conference on research, applications, languages, and standards for rule technologies. It has evolved from an annual series of international workshops since 2002, international conferences in 2005 and 2006, and international symposia since 2007. It is the flagship event of the Rule Markup and Modeling Initiative (RuleML, http://ruleml.org), a nonprofit umbrella organization of several technical groups from academia, industry, and government working on rule technology and its applications. RuleML is the leading conference to build bridges between academia and industry in the field of rules and its applications, especially as part of the semantic technology stack. It is devoted to rule-based programming and rule-based systems including production rules systems, logic programming rule engines, and business rules engines/business rules management systems; Semantic Web rule languages and rule standards (e.g., RuleML, SWRL, RIF, PRR, SBVR, DMN, CL, Prolog); rule-based event processing languages and technologies; and research on inference rules, transformation rules, decision rules, production rules, and ECA rules.
Disentangling AGN and starburst activities in NGC 6240 from an X-ray perspective
Authors: Wang Junfeng
Published: March 2016

The circum-nuclear region in an active galaxy is often complex with presence of high excitation gas, collimated radio outflow, and star formation activities, besides the actively accreting supermassive black hole. The unique spatial resolving power of Chandra X-ray imaging spectroscopy enables more investigations to disentangle the active galactic nuclei and starburst activities. For galaxies in the throes of a violent merging event such as NGC6240, we were able to resolve the high temperature gas surrounding its binary active black holes and discovered a large scale soft X-ray halo.
Multi-wavelength observations of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy RX J2314.9+2243
Authors: Komossa S. , Myserlis I. , Fuhrmann L. , Xu D. , Grupe D. , Fan Z. , Yao S. , Angelakis E. , Karamanavis V. , Zensus J. A. , Yuan W.
Published: March 2016

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are a sub-class of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with relatively low-mass black holes, accreting near the Eddington rate. A small fraction of them is radio-loud and harbors relativistic jets. As a class, these provide us with new insights into the cause(s) of radio-loudness, the blazar phenomenon at low black hole masses, and the operation of radio-mode feedback. The NLS1 galaxy RXJ2314.9+2243 is remarkable for its multi-wavelength properties. We present new radio observations taken at Effelsberg, and a summary of the recent results from our multi-wavelength study. RXJ2314.9+2243 is radio-loud, luminous in the infrared, has a flat X-ray spectrum and peculiar UV spectrum, and hosts an exceptionally broad and blueshifted [OIII]λ5007 emission line, indicating the presence of a strong outflow. RXJ2314.9+2243 likely represents an extreme case of AGN induced feedback in the local universe.
Radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies with high-velocity outflows
Authors: Komossa S. , Xu D. , Zensus J. A.
Published: March 2016

We have studied four radio-loud Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies with extreme optical emission-line shifts, indicating radial outflow velocities of up 2450 km s−1. The shifts are accompanied by strong line broadening, up to 2270 km s−1 in [NeV]. A significant ionization stratification (higher line shift at higher ionization potential) of most ions implies that we see a large-scale wind rather than single, localized jet-cloud interactions. The observations are consistent with a scenario, where the signatures of outflows are maximized because of a pole-on view into the central engine of these radio-loud NLS1 galaxies.
Detecting tidal disruption events of massive black holes in normal galaxies with the Einstein Probe
Authors: Yuan W. , Komossa S. , Zhang C. , Feng H. , Ling Z.-X. , Zhao D.H. , Zhang S.-N. , Osborne J.P. , O'Brien P. , Willingale R. , Lapington J. ,   the Einstein Probe team
Published: March 2016

Stars are tidally disrupted and accreted when they approach massive black holes (MBHs) closely, producing a flare of electromagnetic radiation. The majority of the (approximately two dozen) tidal disruption events (TDEs) identified so far have been discovered by their luminous, transient X-ray emission. Once TDEs are detected in much larger numbers, in future dedicated transient surveys, a wealth of new applications will become possible. Here, we present the proposed Einstein Probe mission, which is a dedicated time-domain soft X-ray all-sky monitor aiming at detecting X-ray transients including TDEs in large numbers. The mission consists of a wide-field micro-pore Lobster-eye imager (60° × 60°), and is designed to carry out an all-sky transient survey at energies of 0.5-4 keV. It will also carry a more sensitive telescope for X-ray follow-ups, and will be capable of issuing public transient alerts rapidly. Einstein Probe is expected to revolutionise the field of TDE research by detecting several tens to hundreds of events per year from the early phase of flares, many with long-term, well sampled lightcurves.
On the relationship between black hole mass and X-ray variability amplitude in the low-mass regime of active galactic nuclei
Authors: Pan H. , Yuan W. , Zhou X.-L. , Dong X. , Liu B.
Published: March 2016

Recent studies of active galactic nuclei (AGN) found a statistical inverse scaling between the X-ray normalized excess variance σrms2 (variability amplitude) and the black hole mass spanning over MBH = 106 − 109M⊙. We present a study of this relation by including AGN with MBH = 105 − 106M⊙. It is found that the relation is no longer a simple extrapolation of the known inverse proportion, but starts to flatten around 106M⊙. This behavior can be understood by the shape of the power spectrum density of AGN and its dependence on the black hole mass.
How to detect supermassive binary black holes at parsec scales
Authors: Liu Xiang
Published: March 2016

It is difficult to find or identifying the binary black holes in parsec scales, since the dual AGN may be merged quickly. It is required to explore more possibilities to identifying binary black holes in parsec scales, we give some discussions, especially with the VLBI methods.