bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Inflammatory Mediators in Prediabetes and Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Patients
Authors: Wang Zhen , Shen Xu-Hui , Feng Wen-Ming , Ye Guo-fen , Qiu Wei , Li Bo
Published: July 2016

This study evaluated the inflammatory markers in prediabetes and newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Inflammatory markers levels were analyzed using one-way analysis of covariance and the association with prediabetes or T2DM risks was examined by logistic regression models. Our data showed increased levels of hypersensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin (IL-4), IL-10, and tryptase in prediabetes subjects and hs-CRP, immunoglobulin E (IgE), IL-4, and IL-10 in T2DM subjects. We concluded that Hs-CRP, IgE, IL-4, IL-10, and tryptase were positively associated with prediabetes or T2DM. Further large prospective studies are warranted to assess a temporal relation between inflammatory biomarkers and incidence of prediabetes or T2DM and its associated chronic diseases.
Spatial Tail Dependence and Survival Stability in a Class of Archimedean Copulas
Authors: Barro Diakarya , Diallo Moumouni , Bagré Remi Guillaume
Published: July 2016

This paper investigates properties of extensions of tail dependence of Archimax copulas to high dimensional analysis in a spatialized framework. Specifically, we propose a characterization of bivariate margins of spatial Archimax processes while spatial multivariate upper and lower tail dependence coefficients are modeled, respectively, for Archimedean copulas and Archimax ones. A property of stability is given using convex transformations of survival copulas in a spatialized Archimedean family.
Seminal Fluid-Mediated Inflammation in Physiology and Pathology of the Female Reproductive Tract
Authors: Adefuye Anthonio O. , Adeola Henry A. , Sales Kurt J. , Katz Arieh A.
Published: July 2016

Inflammation is a multifaceted process involving a host of resident and recruited immune cells that eliminate the insult or injury and initiate tissue repair. In the female reproductive tract (FMRT), inflammation-mediated alterations in epithelial, vascular, and immune functions are important components of complex physiological processes and many local and systemic pathologies. It is well established that intracoital and postcoital function of seminal fluid (SF) goes beyond nutritive support for the spermatozoa cells. SF, in particular, the inflammatory bioactive lipids, and prostaglandins present in vast quantities in SF, have a role in localized immune modulation and regulation of pathways that can exacerbate inflammation in the FMRT. In sexually active women SF-mediated inflammation has been implicated in physiologic processes such as ovulation, implantation, and parturition while also enhancing tumorigenesis and susceptibility to infection. This review highlights the molecular mechanism by which SF regulates inflammatory pathways in the FMRT and how alterations in these pathways contribute to physiology and pathology of the female reproductive function. In addition, based on findings from TaqMan® 96-Well Plate Arrays, on neoplastic cervical cells treated with SF, we discuss new findings on the role of SF as a potent driver of inflammatory and tumorigenic pathways in the cervix.
Central Body Fat Mass Measured by Bioelectrical Impedanciometry But Not Body Mass Index Is a High-Grade Prostate Cancer Risk Factor
Authors: Morán Pascual Eduardo , Martínez Sarmiento Manuel , Budía Alba Alberto , Broseta Rico Enrique , Cámara Gómez Rosa , Boronat Tormo Francisco
Published: July 2016

Objective: To evaluate the association between body fat mass distribution measured by bioelectrical impedanciometry (BEI) and high-grade prostate cancer (HGPC). Methods: We prospectively analyze 323 patients who underwent prostate biopsy. BEI was performed prior to biopsy. Prostate cancer (PC) was stratified according to D'Amico classification. For univariate analysis, Student t test was done. For multivariate analysis, bivariate logistic regression was performed using PSA, body mass index (BMI), percentage central body fat, percentage total body fat, and visceral fat as explicative variables for the diagnosis of HGPC. Results: PC was found in 134 patients. Thirty seven (27.2%) were HGPC. This group had higher age, PSA, and percentage central body fat (p = 0.001, p = 0.001, p = 0.04). BMI showed no association with HRPC. Age, PSA, and percentage central body fat (OR 1,123, 95% CI 1,022-1,233, p = 0.001) were independent risk factors. Conclusions: Central body fat measured by BEI could explain the association between obesity and HGPC better than BMI suggesting the use of this technique to study body fat distribution.
Al-Ḥākim and the Dhimmīs
Authors: Walker Paul E.
Published: July 2016

Dhimmī (non-Muslim subjects, mostly Christians and Jews, who were afforded protection by the Islamic state) persecution in Islamic Egypt included most notably that instigated by the Fatimid caliph al-Ḥākim from about 395/1004 until near the end of his reign in 411/1021. This ruler imposed burdensome restrictions and sumptuary regulations on Jews and Christians, causing significant numbers of them to adopt Islam. He also commenced the state-sponsored destruction of churches and synagogues, most famously the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. And yet, near the end, this same caliph relented, mitigating the severity of his previous policies. A general picture of what happened already exists, but the precise chronological order of these events and many of the exact details remain vague. Most importantly, we continue not to have a reason for his radically new policy. Al-Maqrīzī’s various accounts provide useful evidence although they hardly suffice. The Jewish reaction is far from clear. Two Christian histories, those by the Melkite Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd of Antioch and the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, confirm many particulars. However none of this information explains why. Was al-Ḥākim moved to act as he did in response to, or in imitation of, the strikingly similar set of restrictive regulations imposed long before under the so-called “Pact of ʿUmar”?
The Melkites in Fatimid Egypt and Syria (1021–1171)
Authors: Pahlitzsch Johannes
Published: July 2016

This paper examines the history of the Chalcedonian Melkites in the Fatimid state in the period after the reign of the caliph al-Ḥākim, i.e., from 1021 until the end of the Fatimid caliphate in 1171. For the eleventh century the focus will be on Palestine (before its conquest by the Crusaders). Although the evidence is very fragmentary, the attempt will be made to provide some insights on the development of the situation of the Melkite community under Fatimid rule, its ecclesiastical institutions, its connection with Byzantium, and its intellectual life.
Chinese Military History and the Qing Dynasty, 1644–1911: New Perspectives on a Dynamic Empire
Authors: Setzekorn Eric
Published: July 2016

Over the past twenty years, historical research has re-evaluated Chinese historical use of military power and political control. From 1644 to 1911, the Qing Empire was unquestionably a successful state, ruling a massive area extending from the Sea of Japan to Central Asia and the borders of India. Recent scholarship has focused on the explicitly “imperial” nature of the Qing Empire and the conflicted territorial and ethnic legacies of this last Chinese dynasty. In addition, historians have reevaluated the role of the Qing ruling military elite, drawn from the Manchu people, with tenuous cultural connections to their ethnically Han subjects, in an attempts to clarify patterns of “Chinese” imperialism and determine if the Manchu goals and practices are part of a broader Chinese military tradition. Despite the challenges of understanding the complex nature of the Qing Empire, the undeniable skill in military conquest redrew territorial boundaries, re-located ethnic groups and developed patterns of military and political power that continue to resonate throughout Asia.
Chonecoleaceae (Lophocoleineae) is a synonym of Cephaloziellaceae (Cephaloziineae) and Rivulariella (Jungermanniineae) belongs to Scapaniaceae s.l. (Cephaloziineae)
Authors: PATZAK SIMON D. F. , SCHÄFER-VERWIMP ALFONS , VÁŇA JIŘÍ , RENNER MATT A. M. , PERALTA DENILSON F. , HEINRICHS JOCHEN
Published: July 2016

Jungermannia doellingeri has alternatively been aligned with Harpanthaceae, Lophocoleaceae, Plagiochilaceae, and Lophoziaceae. Currently it is placed in a monogeneric family Chonecoleaceae of Jungermanniales suborder Lophocoleineae, as Chonecolea doellingeri. Maximum likelihood analyses of a chloroplast DNA rbcL-rps4 dataset of jungermannialean liverworts suggest a position of Chonecolea in Jungermanniales suborder Cephaloziineae and a synonymy of Chonecoleaceae and Cephaloziellaceae. The monospecific genus Rivulariella is not affiliated with Jungermanniaceae but related to Scapaniaceae s.l. (including Anastrophyllaceae and Lophoziaceae).
A brackish diatom, Pseudofrustulia lancea gen. et sp. nov. (Bacillariophyceae), from the Pacific coast of Oregon (USA)
Authors: SAWAI YUKI , NAGUMO TAMOTSU , NELSON ALAN R.
Published: July 2016

Light and electron microscope observations show that a brackish diatom taxon should be classified as a new species of a new genus; Pseudofrustulia lancea gen. et sp. nov. We propose separating Pseudofrustulia from other similar genera such as Frickea, Frustulia, Amphipleura, Muelleria, and Envekadea on the basis of its thickened axial ribs, raphe endings, axial costae, morphology of helictoglossa, size of striae on valve surfaces, and areolae on the inner side between its axial ribs and raphe. Girdle bands may be another diagnostic feature for the separation of Pseudofrustulia from related taxa, but more detailed observations using SEM images are required to determine if bands are diagnostic.
A new narrow-leaved species of Capparis (Capparaceae) from central Palawan, Philippines
Authors: FICI SILVIO
Published: July 2016

A new species of Capparis, C. tagbanuorum, is described and illustrated from Palawan Island in the Philippines. It is known from a single locality in Mount Victoria, in forest habitats at medium elevation. The new species is characterized by a peculiar leaf morphology, with blade up to 9 times as long as wide, by the racemose inflorescence and by the size of the petals and the number and length of the stamens. The diagnostic characters are discussed and a key is given for the species of Capparis known from the Philippines.
Contributions to the knowledge of North American tenebrionids of the subtribe Cylindrinotina (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Helopini)
Authors: NABOZHENKO MAXIM , NIKITSKY NIKOLAY , AALBU ROLF
Published: July 2016

Three North American species of Helops are reassigned to the genus Nalassus: N. aereus (Germar, 1824), comb. n., N. californicus (Mannerheim, 1843), comb. n., N. convexulus (LeConte, 1861), comb. n. Current distributions as well as paleo distributions are discussed. A lectotype is designated for Helops californicus.
Creativity and Intrinsic Motivation
Authors: Auger Pascale , Woodman Richard W.
Published: July 2016

This research examines the link between intrinsic motivation and creativity using inductive theory building to explore the intrinsic motivation of creative people. Data were gathered at six case study sites in France using semidirective interviews to explore how creative people experience their creativity and motivation in various contexts. Data analysis suggested a 2 × 2 model of the types of intrinsic motivation for creativity composed of two creativity dimensions based on the relationship to the setting (independent vs. dependent) and the focus of the creative behavior (egocentric vs. other-centered). The model suggests promising avenues for further research, and the development of theory about the complex relationships between intrinsic motivation and creativity. Furthermore, the model suggests possible insights into ways to encourage and support intrinsic motivation, and hence creativity, in organizations.
Traditional School Bullying and Cyberbullying Perpetration: Examining the Psychosocial Characteristics of Hong Kong Male and Female Adolescents
Authors: Chan Heng Choon (Oliver) , Wong Dennis S. W.
Published: July 2016

Traditional school bullying and cyberbullying are growing concerns worldwide. Research has been devoted to understanding the etiology of bullying behaviors. Using a large sample of secondary school adolescents in Hong Kong ( N = 1,893), this study explores gender differences in mean levels of traditional school bullying (i.e., physical and verbal forms of bullying, and extortion and exclusion) and cyberbullying (i.e., overt and relational aggression) behaviors, and psychosocial characteristics (i.e., self-efficacy, empathy, prosocial behavior, family bonding, perception of a harmonious school, sense of belonging in school, and positive school experiences and involvement). The differential role of psychosocial characteristics in types of bullying perpetration is also examined. Findings indicate that the perpetration of traditional school bullying and cyberbullying behaviors are positively correlated, and male adolescents reported higher levels of bullying perpetration than female adolescents. Multivariate findings reveal that, to some extent, male and female adolescents shared a similar set of psychosocial risk factors of bullying perpetration, especially in the perpetration of traditional school bullying. The findings of this study may have important implications for practice in regard to minimizing, if not entirely preventing, through the joint efforts of the family, school, and social service systems, the propensity of adolescents to engage in the perpetration of bullying behaviors.
Internal Management and Perceived Managerial Trustworthiness: Evidence From a Survey Experiment
Authors: Pedersen Mogens Jin , Stritch Justin M.
Published: July 2016

What is the effect of internal public management on individuals’ perceptions of managerial trustworthiness (MTW)? MTW is associated with a range of positive organizational outcomes, but research examining how a public manager might affect employees’ perception of MTW is sparse. This article complements extant research on MTW in public organizations with causal evidence from a randomized survey experiment among 1,829 U.S. residents. We examine how five aspects of internal public management affect individuals’ perception of MTW: (a) setting challenging but feasible goals, (b) making credible commitments, (c) encouraging employee participation, (d) providing frequent performance feedback, and (e) rewarding employees who perform well. We find positive effects of the “credible commitment” and “performance feedback” treatments on overall MTW perception. In addition, we find significant effects for four of the treatments (a-d) when looking separately at the three sub-dimensions that together comprise the multidimensional MTW construct (ability, benevolence, and integrity).
Feedback-motion-planning with simulation-based LQR-trees
Authors: Reist Philipp , Preiswerk Pascal , Tedrake Russ
Published: July 2016

The paper presents the simulation-based variant of the LQR-tree feedback-motion-planning approach. The algorithm generates a control policy that stabilizes a nonlinear dynamic system from a bounded set of initial conditions to a goal. This policy is represented by a tree of feedback-stabilized trajectories. The algorithm explores the bounded set with random state samples and, where needed, adds new trajectories to the tree using motion planning. Simultaneously, the algorithm approximates the funnel of a trajectory, which is the set of states that can be stabilized to the goal by the trajectory’s feedback policy. Generating a control policy that stabilizes the bounded set to the goal is equivalent to adding trajectories to the tree until their funnels cover the set. In previous work, funnels are approximated with sums-of-squares verification. Here, funnels are approximated by sampling and falsification by simulation, which allows the application to a broader range of systems and a straightforward enforcement of input and state constraints. A theoretical analysis shows that, in the long run, the algorithm tends to improve the coverage of the bounded set as well as the funnel approximations. Focusing on the practical application of the method, a detailed example implementation is given that is used to generate policies for two example systems. Simulation results support the theoretical findings, while experiments demonstrate the algorithm’s state-constraints capability, and applicability to highly-dynamic systems.
Review of Mathematics Interventions for Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities
Authors: Marita Samantha , Hord Casey
Published: July 2016

Recent educational policy has raised the standards that all students, including students with disabilities, must meet in mathematics. To examine the strategies currently used to support students with learning disabilities, the authors reviewed literature from 2006 to 2014 on mathematics interventions for students with learning disabilities. The 12 articles reviewed contain various instructional focuses, including systematic instructions, problem-based instruction, and visual representation. This review includes discussion of the interventions used, including the success of interventions used for both students with disabilities and students without disabilities. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed, including the need for continued research on middle and high school interventions to address a variety of mathematical skills and concepts.
An Environmental Scan of Adventure Therapy in Canada
Authors: Ritchie Stephen D. , Patrick Krysten , Corbould Gordon Marcus , Harper Nevin J. , Oddson Bruce E.
Published: July 2016

We report on an environmental scan (ES) of adventure therapy (AT) literature, organizations, and activities in Canada. The ES methodology involved (a) an examination of final reports related to a series of national symposiums on AT in Canada, (b) a review of academic literature related to AT in Canada, and (c) a summary of AT programs and courses offered at post-secondary institutions across Canada. Analysis of the reports from five AT symposiums revealed broad variability in terms of delegates and organizations represented and suggested that AT is practiced or endorsed by a diverse array of individuals and organizations across Canada. The literature review uncovered 113 relevant articles, book chapters, and papers with a substantial Canadian contribution. Canadian academic literature on the topic is sparse, and AT training and education opportunities at Canadian institutions are very limited. Implications for the future development of AT in Canada are shared.
Cross-cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Medication Regimen Complexity Index Adapted to Spanish
Authors: Saez de la Fuente Javier , Such Diaz Ana , Cañamares-Orbis Irene , Ramila Estela , Izquierdo-Garcia Elsa , Esteban Concepcion , Escobar-Rodríguez Ismael
Published: July 2016

Background: The most widely used validated instrument to assess the complexity of medication regimens is the Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI). Objective: This study aimed to translate, adapt, and validate a reliable version of the MRCI adapted to Spanish (MRCI-E). Methods: The cross-cultural adaptation process consisted of an independent translation by 3 clinical pharmacists and a backtranslation by 2 native English speakers. A reliability analysis was conducted on 20 elderly randomly selected patients. Two clinical pharmacists calculated the MRCI-E from discharge treatments and 2 months later. For the validity analysis, the sample was augmented to 60 patients. Convergent validity was assessed by analyzing the correlation between the number of medications; discriminant validity was stratified by gender; and predictive validity was determined by analyzing the ability to predict readmission and mortality at 3 and 6 months. Results: The MRCI-E retained the original structure of 3 sections. The reliability analysis demonstrated an excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=0.83), and the intraclass correlation coefficient exceeded 0.9 in all cases. The correlation coefficient with the number of medications was 0.883 ( P<0.001). No significant differences were found when stratified by gender (3.6; 95%CI=−2.9 to 10.2; P=0.27). Patients who were readmitted at 3 months had a higher MRCI-E score (10.7; 95%CI=4.4 to 17.2; P=0.001). The differences remained significant in patients readmitted at 6 months, but differences in mortality were not detected. Conclusions: The MRCI-E retains the reliability and validity of the original index and provides a suitable tool to assess the complexity of medication regimens in Spanish.
A novel drug management system in the Febuxostat versus Allopurinol Streamlined Trial: A description of a pharmacy system designed to supply medications directly to patients within a prospective multicenter randomised clinical trial
Authors: Rogers Amy , Flynn Robert WV , McDonnell Patrick , Mackenzie Isla S , MacDonald Thomas M
Published: July 2016

Background:

Trials of investigational medicinal products are required to adhere to strict guidelines with regard to the handling and supply of medication. Information technology offers opportunities to approach clinical trial methodology in new ways. This report summarises a novel pharmacy system designed to supply trial medications directly to patients by post in the Febuxostat versus Allopurinol Streamlined Trial.

Method:

A bespoke web-based software package was designed to facilitate the direct supply of trial medications to Febuxostat versus Allopurinol Streamlined Trial participants from a pharmacy based in the Medicines Monitoring Unit, University of Dundee.

Results:

To date, 65,467 packs of medication have been dispensed using the system to 3978 patients. Up to 238 packs per day have been dispensed.

Conclusion:

The Medicines Monitoring Unit Febuxostat versus Allopurinol Streamlined Trial drug management system is an effective method of administering the complex drug supply requirements of a large-scale clinical trial with advantages over existing arrangements. A low rate of loss to follow-up in the Febuxostat versus Allopurinol Streamlined Trial may be attributable to the drug management system.
High-affinity, noninhibitory pathogenic C1 domain antibodies are present in patients with hemophilia A and inhibitors
Authors: Batsuli Glaivy , Deng Wei , Healey John F. , Parker Ernest T. , Baldwin W. Hunter , Cox Courtney , Nguyen Brenda , Kahle Joerg , Königs Christoph , Li Renhao , Lollar Pete , Meeks Shannon L.
Published: July 2016

Key Points

C1 domain antibodies with low inhibitor titers by the Bethesda assay are pathogenic in mice due to increased fVIII clearance. Monoclonal and patient-derived polyclonal anti-fVIII C1 domain antibodies recognize similar B-cell epitopes.
Pomalidomide and dexamethasone in the treatment of AL amyloidosis: results of a phase 1 and 2 trial
Authors: Sanchorawala Vaishali , Shelton Anthony C. , Lo Stephen , Varga Cindy , Sloan J. Mark , Seldin David C.
Published: July 2016

Key Points

Pomalidomide is well tolerated in patients with AL amyloidosis; MTD of 4 mg/day on days 1 to 21 every 28 days. Pomalidomide and dexamethasone can lead to HR of 50% in previously treated patients with AL amyloidosis.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia admitted to intensive care: a case-control study
Authors: Roze des Ordons Amanda L , Chan Kris , Mirza Imran , Townsend Derek R , Bagshaw Sean M
Published: July 2016

Background

There is limited epidemiologic data on patients with acute myelogenous (myeloid) leukemia (AML) requiring life-sustaining therapies in the intensive care unit (ICU). Our objectives were to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes in critically ill AML patients.

Methods

This was a retrospective case-control study. Cases were defined as adult patients with a primary diagnosis of AML admitted to ICU at the University of Alberta Hospital between January 1st 2002 and June 30th 2008. Each case was matched by age, sex, and illness severity (ICU only) to two control groups: hospitalized AML controls, and non-AML ICU controls. Data were extracted on demographics, course of hospitalization, and clinical outcomes.

Results

In total, 45 AML patients with available data were admitted to ICU. Mean (SD) age was 54.8 (13.1) years and 28.9% were female. Primary diagnoses were sepsis (32.6%) and respiratory failure (37.3%). Mean (SD) APACHE II score was 30.3 (10.3), SOFA score 12.6 (4.0) with 62.2% receiving mechanical ventilation, 55.6% vasoactive therapy, and 26.7% renal replacement therapy. Crude in-hospital, 90-day and 1-year mortality was 44.4%, 51.1% and 71.1%, respectively. AML cases had significantly higher adjusted-hazards of death (HR 2.23; 95% CI, 1.38-3.60, p = 0.001) compared to both non-AML ICU controls (HR 1.69; 95% CI, 1.11-2.58, p = 0.02) and hospitalized AML controls (OR 1.0, reference variable). Factors associated with ICU mortality by univariate analysis included older age, AML subtype, higher baseline SOFA score, no change or an increase in early SOFA score, shock, vasoactive therapy and mechanical ventilation. Active chemotherapy in ICU was associated with lower mortality.

Conclusions

AML patients may represent a minority of all critically ill admissions; however, are not uncommonly supported in ICU. These AML patients are characterized by high illness severity, multi-organ dysfunction, and high treatment intensity and have a higher risk of death when compared with matched hospitalized AML or non-AML ICU controls. The absence of early improvement in organ failure may be a useful predictor for mortality for AML patients admitted to ICU.
Geophysics' share of the exploration dollar in the U.S.A. and Canada
Authors: Newfarmer Leo R.
Published: July 2016

A temporary oversupply of crude oil in the world has resulted in a decided reduction of exploration effort in North America. The term “temporary” usually refers to a shorter period of time than we are now facing, though, and the word “oversupply” seems inappropriate, too, when the vast world demand the next decade will produce is considered. It is proposed here to at-tempt an analysis of the situation which will enable us to forecast the reaction of industry management to this problem and, more particularly, to show what part the science of geophysics will have in future oil and gas exploration on this continent.
FOREWORD
Authors: Affleck James
Published: July 2016

The editorial decision to have a special number on magnetic methods recognized the receipt of an unusually large number of papers on this subject. We feel that it is not a statistical accident that so many papers are available, but rather an expression by exploration geophysicists of the current high interest in all phases of magnetics.
Adsorption and Performance of Chiral Cinchona Alkaloid Modifiers over Pd/C Catalyst for Enantioselective Hydrogenation of α-Phenylcinnamic Acids
Authors: Nakatsuji Makoto , Misaki Tomonori , Okamoto Yasuaki , Sugimura Takashi
Published: July 2016

The enantioselective hydrogenation reactions of α-phenylcinnamic acid (PCA) and 4,4′-dimethoxy α-phenylcinnamic acid (DMPCA) were carried out over chiral cinchona alkaloid-modified Pd/C. Two sets of the modifiers were employed to get deeper insights into the effects of relative adsorption strength between the modifier and the substrate on the enantioselectivity; cinchonidine (CD)/cinchonine (CN) and quinine (QN)/quinidine (QD). The performances of the two sets of modifiers were compared by systematically varying the modifier concentration over a wide range. It was clearly substantiated that the origin of the low selectivity observed with QN/QD at an ordinary concentration is primarily due to its weak adsorption strength on Pd metal surface, which originates from the steric hindrance of the methoxy substituent at C6. A new modifier, 6-hydroxy CD, was found to exhibit a performance comparable to that of CD, implying that the steric hindrance of the 6-methoxy group of QN/QD is much more influential than the electronic effects.
Green and Efficient Procedure for Suzuki–Miyaura and Mizoroki–Heck Coupling Reactions Using Palladium Catalyst Supported on Phosphine Functionalized ZrO2 NPs (ZrO2@ECP-Pd) as a New Reusable Nanocatalyst
Authors: Zarghani Monireh , Akhlaghinia Batool
Published: July 2016

In this article, palladium supported on phosphine functionalized ZrO2 NPs (ZrO2@ECP-Pd) has been introduced as a novel and efficient nanocatalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura and Mizoroki–Heck reactions. This new catalyst was prepared from the reaction of Pd(OAc)2 and PPh2-functionalized ZrO2 NPs, and then characterized using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA and ICP techniques. The above experimental results showed that the synthesized catalyst existed as spheres with a mean size range of 10–40 nm. The prepared ZrO2@ECP-Pd nanocatalyst was shown to be highly efficient in the Suzuki–Miyaura and Mizoroki–Heck cross-coupling reactions of a wide range of aryl halides including electron-rich and electron-poor aryl iodides/bromides, and heteroaryl iodides, affording the corresponding products in good to excellent yields in short reaction times. The notable feature of the present protocol is the use of water and [bmim]PF6 as environmentally benign solvents, which eliminate the need of toxic solvent. In addition to the aforementioned favorable properties, the nanocatalyst can be recovered and reused for the subsequent reactions (at least six times) without any appreciable loss of efficiency.
Introduction
Authors: Martinelli Dario
Published: July 2016

“Zoosemiotics” was introduced in 1963 by Thomas Albert Sebeok, initially as a compromise between ethological and semiotic research. In the beginning, Sebeok was convinced that “zoosemiotics” had to be used mostly as an umbrella term, uniting different scholarly approaches to animal communication). In the light of its most recent developments, a synthetic definition of zoosemiotics can be today that of the study of semiosis within and across animal species.
Animal vocalization and human polyglossia in Walter of Bibbesworth’s thirteenth-century domestic treatise in Anglo-Norman French and Middle English
Authors: Sayers William
Published: July 2016

Walter of Bibbesworth’s late thirteenth-century versified treatise on French vocabulary relevant to the management of estates in Britain has the first extensive list of animal vocalizations in a European vernacular. Many of the Anglo-Norman French names for animals and their sounds are glossed in Middle English, inviting both diachronic and synchronic views of the capacity of these languages for onomatopoetic formation and reflection on the interest of these social and linguistic communities in zoosemiotics.
Analogical associations in the frame of a “neoclassical” semiotic theory
Authors: Ferraro Guido
Published: July 2016

It has been a long time since the concept of iconic signs was proposed by C. S. Peirce. From that time on, we have been increasingly realizing that semiotic systems are for the most part established just on some type of similarity. But the more we see the sphere of analogical signification expanding its realm, the more we become aware of how inadequate is the notion of a simple relationship connecting locally a physical object with a second object, or with a mental entity. There is, on the other hand, the more refined theory of sign conceived by Ferdinand de Saussure, but this theory, by its very definition, addresses a restricted domain, and definitely does not include the field of those signs which rest on analogical associations. The main purpose of this article is then to show how the more polished Saussurean model can act as a starting point for a general restatement, primarily intended to embrace the signs that rest on an analogical basis. We may so speak of a “neoclassical”, innovative semiotic theory, able to join the latest “sociosemiotic” approach with the most precious foundations of our discipline.
Resemblance and camouflage in Graeco-Roman antiquity
Authors: Leone Massimo
Published: July 2016

In the twenty-eighth book of the Naturalis Historia Pliny the Elder claims that, if a chameleon’s left leg is roasted together with a herb bearing the same name, and everything is mixed with ointment, cut in lozenges, and stored in a wooden little box, this will bestow on those who own it a perfect camouflage. The ring of Gyges (Plato, etc.), that of Midas (Pliny), the heliotropium (Pliny), the dracontitis (Philostratus): ancient cultures abound with references to objects, recipes, and techniques able to bestow different kinds of invisibility, meant as a perfect resemblance with the environment. At the same time, these same cultures also teem with references to how to avert the perfect camouflage: for instance, by being endowed with a pupula duplex, a double pupil (Ovid). The paper explores such vast corpus of texts from the point of view of a semiotics of cultures, in order to track the roots of a conception of camouflage that, from these ancient cultures on, develops through intricate paths into the contemporary imaginaires (and practices) of invisibility. The paper’s more general goal is to understand the way in which cultures elaborate conceptions of invisibility meant as the perfect resemblance between humans and their environments, often on the basis of the observation of the same resemblance between other living beings and their habitat. Ancient texts are therefore focused on in order to decipher the passage from camouflage as an adaptive natural behaviour to camouflage as an effective combat strategy.
Semiotics of mimesis and communicative relationship among texts: Ekphrasis and replication between Hesiod and Homer
Authors: Ghione Paola
Published: July 2016

The Shield of Heracles by Hesiod and Homer’s Iliad, XVIII show how mimesis should be considered: it is a process that should be seen different according to the levels that it refers to. There is one object constructed by a craftsman (first level of representation), after that a poet may write about this object and its construction (second level of representation). Then yet another poet could write, on the model of the previous text, his poem with his personal idea. Explaining first, the meaning of representation, arts and mimesis in Plato (Ion, Phaedrus, Cratylus, Sophist, Laws, Republic-Book X) and in Aristotle (Poetics, Nichomachean Ethics), I would like to explain how mimesis was considered according to the terms of form and representation. After that I would carry out a textual analysis of The Shield of Heracles and Iliad, to demonstrate that even if Hesiod’s text is quite similar to Homer’s, the context, the meaning, the background of the authors and the narrative structures are different. The different levels of pertinence and the different points of view demonstrate that mimesis is not a process that produces hierarchy in retrospect, but it is something heading to the direction of what “it is not created yet”.
Mutual mimesis of nature and culture: A representational perspective for eco-cultural metamorphosis
Authors: Seif Farouk Y.
Published: July 2016

Since the beginning of history humans have attempted to represent nature and culture through mimesis. This article focuses on the teleological aspects of mimesis and offers a different perspective that transcends the notion of sustainability into an eco-humanistic metamorphosis of culture and nature. Drawing from semiotics, phenomenology and architectural design the article challenges the polarization of mimetic representations of nature and culture, which are inclusive and homomorphic phenomena, and offers insight into the mutual mimesis of nature and culture. Two different empirical observations substantiate the theoretical perspective: 1) a tradition advanced by the Egyptians’ stylization of visual representations of the mimicry of nature and culture; and 2) a current architectural design activity that integrates the mimesis of nature and culture. The article makes the case for a theoretical approach that integrates mimetic principles in creating a sustainable environment and an authentic ecoliving. The article concludes with ethical implications on the way we perceive the mutual resemblances in nature and culture, and on our semiotic understanding of the teleological aspects of mimesis.
Proper name as an object of semiotic research
Authors: Pärli Ülle
Published: July 2016

The present article is divided into two parts. Its theoretical introductory part takes under scrutiny how proper name has been previously dealt with in linguistics, philosophy and semiotics. The purpose of this short overview is to synthesise different approaches that could be productive in the semiotic analysis of naming practices. Author proposes that proper names should not be seen as a linguistic element or a type of (indexical) signs, but rather as a function that can be carried by different linguistic units. This approach allows us to develop a transdisciplinary basis for a wider understanding of naming as a sociocultural practice. The empirical part of the article uses one certain village in Estonia in Lääne-Virumaa district as an example to demonstrate how toponyms structure the social space, how they carry the memory and how naming practice highlights such changes in the semiotic behaviour of the social life that otherwise could have remained hidden.
In memoriam Alexander Moiseevich Piatigorsky
Authors: Ogibenin Boris
Published: July 2016

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Hedge mazes and landscape gardens as cultural boundary objects
Authors: Kaczmarczyk Katarzyna , Salvoni Montana
Published: July 2016

Despite their obvious functional and stylistic differences, hedge mazes and English landscape gardens have salient symbolic and structural similarities which make them fruitful objects of comparative analysis. Both invert the norms expected of interior and exterior spaces, of human cultivation and “wilderness”, creating landscapes of semiotic uncertainty. Being at once natural and cultural, both types of space present a “problem to be solved” either by reaching a centre or understanding a layout. Both “play” with the notion of boundary by constructing uncrossable and at times oppressive walls from seemingly fragile plant matter or by hiding their boundaries. At the same time there are important differences which make this comparison of boundary spaces even more interesting: hedge mazes and landscape gardens are distinguishable by their respective structural levels, the presence or absence of a centre, their relation to other parts of gardens and connected human habitations.Using Juri Lotman’s notion of hybrid and transitional objects characteristic of boundary mechanisms, this paper explores the semiotically dense nature-culture boundary which these mazes and gardens both inhabit and create. The objects of our analysis are 17th-century English mazes and early English gardens dating from the beginning of the 18th century: mazes at Longleat and Hampton Court, and landscape gardens such as Rousham and Stowe.
Agrarian rituals giving way to Romantic motifs: Sacred natural sites in Estonia
Authors: Heinapuu Ott
Published: July 2016

Semiotic mechanisms involving sacred natural sites – or areas of land or water with special spiritual significance – that have been focal points in agrarian vernacular religion have been transformed in modern Estonian culture. Some sites have accrued new significance as national monuments or tourist attractions and the dominant way of conceptualizing these sites has changed.Sacred natural sites should not be presumed to represent pristine nature. Rather, they are products of complex culture-nature interactions as they have been formed in the course of traditional land management as well as different semiotic practices, including ritual and conservationist ones. The existence of sites encompassed by the term defies and blurs the rigid distinction between nature and culture.Individual sacred natural sites and categories of such sites can act as signifiers for a variety of different signifieds concurrently, acting as confluences of different sign systems and thus exemplifying the creolization of these systems as well as bringing about the hybridization of different landscape traditions in certain loci.Estonian literary culture has adopted motifs and narratives that define sacred natural sites more readily from other literary traditions than from the Estonian vernacular tradition; in turn, the vernacular tradition has also adopted and assimilated literary Romantic motifs.
My half-century saturated in semiotics: A spiralling confessional
Authors: Anderson Myrdene
Published: July 2016

My half-century saturated in semiotics: A spiralling confessional.
Energy as Object of Contractual Relations: on the Issue about the Concept and Legal Nature
Authors: Шведкова Ольга , Shvedkova Olga
Published: July 2016

The article is devoted to one of the discussion topics of modern law — the legal nature of energy as the object of law and contractual relations. Definition of the legal nature and the concept of any object of law is of primary importance from the point of view of classifying it among the existing groups of objects of law. Practical meaning of such classification involves establishing for each group of a legal regime, primarily determining the order of vesting rights for them and conditions of their circulability. The article analyzes doctrinal positions of scientists, who view energy as special property, on which the right of ownership arises, as a “bodiless” thing, etc. Taking into account the nature of energy as a phenomenon, the author comes to the conclusion about its nonmaterial nature, which allows making the assumption about impossibility to classify it either as a thing or as property. All the more so, classifying energy per se to an independent and only object of an agreement gives rise to doubts. As a result, by analogy with the recognized legal regime of intellectual property objects, the article proposes to vest energy with “indirect” circulability, and to understand the term “energy” as a special nonmaterial object of law, possessing economic value, in relation to which the contracting parties acquire corresponding proprietary rights.
Control Activities of the Russian State over Information Relations on the Internet
Authors: Струков Константин , Strukov Konstantin
Published: July 2016

The article considers some problems of carrying out control activities by the Russian State over information relations on the Internet. The author notes that the subject mater of the bitter dispute between supporters and detractors of the necessity of enhancement of state participation in information relations, arising on the Internet, is the issues, related to admissible limits of state control. Any strengthening of state control over information relations, arising on the Internet, as well as the necessary introduction of any other restrictive measures is only admissible after the thorough analysis of the proposed novations, monitoring and arranging of public opinion. In his research the author touches upon such problematic aspects as the absence of a unified concept of state control in Russia; difficulties in detecting lawbreakers and bringing them to responsibility for law infringements, committed on the Internet, as well as revealing such infringements; the use of the Internet for the purposes of prevention of infringements and legal education of people.
The Improvement of Russian Legislation on Disciplinary Responsibility during State Civil Service
Authors: Ломакина Любовь , Lomakina Lyubov
Published: July 2016

The article considers the Russian legislation on disciplinary responsibility during state civil service. The purpose of the article is to analyze the legislation on disciplinary responsibility during the civil service career and prospects of its development in the context of overcoming corruption, impact of the labor legislation on the formation of legal regulation of state service career taking into account its peculiar features. The article analyzes the list of minor offenses which can entail such disciplinary punishment as dismissal and its relation with the list of grounds for employment contract cancellation at the initiative of the employer´s representative, both for numerous non-execution, and for a single gross violation of the official duties by a civil servant. The author provides the analysis of the rules regulating types of punishments for non-compliance with the requirements on prevention of conflicts of interests.
INTERPRETATION OF LAW AS A CULTURAL HISTORICAL PHENOMENON
Authors: Веденеев Юрий , Vedeneev Yuriy
Published: July 2016

The article is written for the purpose of the anniversary of outstanding jurist and pedagogue Ye. V. Vaskovskiy (1866—1942), who left behind legacy in the sphere of civil law and the theory of interpretation of law. The presented material is the continuation of the scientific discussion about modern trends in the sphere of law making and law enforcement. Understanding of interpretation of law in the broad context of social cultural and regulatory practice of legal organization of social relations allows abandoning elementary juridical-technical concepts about the process of interpretation of the regulatory enactments content. The article’s key issues center around differentiation between formal dogmatic versions of interpretation of law and understanding of interpretation of law as the system of cultural-historical topics, developed in the logic of specific juridical world views of individual historical eras of law existence and development.
THE MODERN LEGISLATION OF CHINA: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Трощинский Павел , Troshchinskiy Pavel
Published: July 2016

The article is devoted to the investigation of the legal system and legislation of the modern Chinese state through the analysis of the existing legal enactments and those planned for adoption in state-legal, criminal, civil, administrative and social spheres. The author establishes the relationship between the existing security threats to the Chinese state and the legislator’s law-making activity, aimed at countering them. The purpose of this paper is to determine the characteristics of China’s legal development at the present stage for using this experience of the Chinese legislator in Russian legal science and practice. For this purpose, the author implements different tasks of analyzing and determining the specifics of Chinese law-making acts in the sphere of fight against corruption, terrorism, espionage, solution of demographic problems and combating family violence, administrative reforms, encouragement of foreign investment. Based on the results of the investigation, the author concludes about the importance of the process that is taking place in the legal system of China and its legislation aimed at eliminating of existing challenges and threats to the Chinese community. The author points out several unique laws, planned for adoption in the coming years and their main provisions, that are of theoretical and practical importance for the Russian science. The author stresses the importance of studying China’s law-making experience within the framework of comparative law.