bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Action-Dependent Photobiomodulation on Health, Suboptimal Health, and Disease
Authors: Liu Timon Cheng-Yi , Liu Long , Chen Jing-Gang , Zeng Peng , Yang Xiang-Bo
Published: April 2014

The global photobiomodulation (PBM) on an organism was studied in terms of function-specific homeostasis (FSH) and scale-free functional network in this paper. A function can be classified into a normal function in its FSH and a dysfunctional function far from its FSH. An FSH-specific stress (FSS) disrupting an FSH can also be classified into a successful stress in its FSS-specific homeostasis (FSSH) and a chronic stress far from its FSSH. The internal functions of an organism can be divided into essential, special nonessential, and general nonessential functions. Health may be defined as a state of an organism in which all the essential and special nonessential functions are normal or their stresses are successful. Suboptimal health may be defined as a state of a disease-free organism in which only some special nonessential functions are dysfunctional in comparison with its healthy state. Disease may be defined as a state of an organism which is not in both health and suboptimal health. The global PBM of health, suboptimal health, or disease suggested that the PBM may depend on the organism action.
Study on Support Vector Machine-Based Fault Detection in Tennessee Eastman Process
Authors: Yin Shen , Gao Xin , Karimi Hamid Reza , Zhu Xiangping
Published: April 2014

This paper investigates the proficiency of support vector machine (SVM) using datasets generated by Tennessee Eastman process simulation for fault detection. Due to its excellent performance in generalization, the classification performance of SVM is satisfactory. SVM algorithm combined with kernel function has the nonlinear attribute and can better handle the case where samples and attributes are massive. In addition, with forehand optimizing the parameters using the cross-validation technique, SVM can produce high accuracy in fault detection. Therefore, there is no need to deal with original data or refer to other algorithms, making the classification problem simple to handle. In order to further illustrate the efficiency, an industrial benchmark of Tennessee Eastman (TE) process is utilized with the SVM algorithm and PLS algorithm, respectively. By comparing the indices of detection performance, the SVM technique shows superior fault detection ability to the PLS algorithm.
On Integral Manifolds for Leibniz Algebras
Authors: Monterde Juan , Ongay Fausto
Published: April 2014

We discuss several partial solutions to the so-called “coquecigrue problem” of Loday; these solutions parallel, but also generalize in several directions, the classical Lie group-Lie algebra correspondence. Our study highlights some clear similarities between the split and nonsplit cases and leads us to a general unifying scheme that provides an answer to the problem of the algebraic structure of a coquecigrue.
Nonlinear Vibrations of 3D Laminated Composite Beams
Authors: Stoykov S. , Margenov S.
Published: April 2014

A model for 3D laminated composite beams, that is, beams that can vibrate in space and experience longitudinal and torsional deformations, is derived. The model is based on Timoshenko’s theory for bending and assumes that, under torsion, the cross section rotates as a rigid body but can deform longitudinally due to warping. The warping function, which is essential for correct torsional deformations, is computed preliminarily by the finite element method. Geometrical nonlinearity is taken into account by considering Green’s strain tensor. The equation of motion is derived by the principle of virtual work and discretized by the p‐version finite element method. The laminates are assumed to be of orthotropic materials. The influence of the angle of orientation of the laminates on the natural frequencies and on the nonlinear modes of vibration is presented. It is shown that, due to asymmetric laminates, there exist bending‐longitudinal and bending‐torsional coupling in linear analysis. Dynamic responses in time domain are presented and couplings between transverse displacements and torsion are investigated.
The E3 Ligase CHIP: Insights into Its Structure and Regulation
Authors: Paul Indranil , Ghosh Mrinal K.
Published: April 2014

The carboxy-terminus of Hsc70 interacting protein (CHIP) is a cochaperone E3 ligase containing three tandem repeats of tetratricopeptide (TPR) motifs and a C-terminal U-box domain separated by a charged coiled-coil region. CHIP is known to function as a central quality control E3 ligase and regulates several proteins involved in a myriad of physiological and pathological processes. Recent studies have highlighted varied regulatory mechanisms operating on the activity of CHIP which is crucial for cellular homeostasis. In this review article, we give a concise account of our current knowledge on the biochemistry and regulation of CHIP.
Integrated Project Scheduling and Staff Assignment with Controllable Processing Times
Authors: Fernandez-Viagas Victor , Framinan Jose M.
Published: April 2014

This paper addresses a decision problem related to simultaneously scheduling the tasks in a project and assigning the staff to these tasks, taking into account that a task can be performed only by employees with certain skills, and that the length of each task depends on the number of employees assigned. This type of problems usually appears in service companies, where both tasks scheduling and staff assignment are closely related. An integer programming model for the problem is proposed, together with some extensions to cope with different situations. Additionally, the advantages of the controllable processing times approach are compared with the fixed processing times. Due to the complexity of the integrated model, a simple GRASP algorithm is implemented in order to obtain good, approximate solutions in short computation times.
Molecular Characterization of Sudanese and Southern Sudanese Chicken Breeds Using mtDNA D-Loop
Authors: Wani Charles E. , Yousif Ibrahim A. , Ibrahim Muntasir E. , Musa Hassan H.
Published: April 2014

The objective of this study was to assess the genetic relationships and diversity and to estimate the amount of gene flow among the five chicken populations from Sudan and South Sudan and commercial strain of egg line White Leghorn chickens. The chicken populations were genotyped using mtDNA D-loop as a molecular marker. PCR product of the mtDNA D-loop segment was 600 bp and 14 haplotypes were identified. The neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree indicated that the indigenous Sudanese chickens can be grouped into two clades, IV and IIIa only. Median joining networks analysis showed that haplotype LBB49 has the highest frequency. The hierarchal analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that genetic variation within the population was 88.6% and the differentiation among the population was 11.4%. When the populations was redefined into two geographical zones, rich and poor Savanna, the results were fractioned into three genetic variations: between individuals within population 95.5%, between populations within the group 0.75%, and genetic variation between groups 3.75%. The pair wiseFstshowed high genetic difference between Betwil populations and the rest withFstranging from 0.1492 to 0.2447. We found that there is large number of gene exchanges within the Sudanese indigenous chicken (Nm=4.622).
Localized and Energy‐Efficient Topology Control in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Fuzzy‐Logic Control Approaches
Authors: Huang Yuanjiang , Martínez José-Fernán , Hernández Díaz Vicente , Sendra Juana
Published: April 2014

The sensor nodes in the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are prone to failures due to many reasons, for example, running out of battery or harsh environment deployment; therefore, the WSNs are expected to be able to maintain network connectivity and tolerate certain amount of node failures. By applying
fuzzy‐logic approach to control the network topology, this paper aims at improving the network connectivity and fault‐tolerant capability in response to node failures, while taking into account that the control approach has to be localized and energy efficient. Two fuzzy controllers are proposed in this paper: one is Learning‐based Fuzzy‐logic Topology Control (LFTC), of which the fuzzy controller is learnt from a training data set; another one is Rules‐based Fuzzy‐logic Topology Control (RFTC), of which the fuzzy
controller is obtained through designing if‐then rules and membership functions. Both LFTC and RFTC do not rely on location information, and they are localized. Comparing them with other three representative algorithms (LTRT, List‐based, and NONE) through extensive simulations, our two proposed fuzzy controllers have been proved to be very energy efficient to achieve desired node degree and improve the network connectivity when sensor nodes run out of battery or are subject to random attacks.
No Causal Association Identified for Human Papillomavirus Infections in Lung Cancer
Authors: Anantharaman Devasena , Gheit Tarik , Waterboer Tim , Halec Gordana , Carreira Christine , Abedi-Ardekani Behnoush , McKay-Chopin Sandrine , Zaridze David , Mukeria Anush , Szeszenia-Dabrowska Neonila , Lissowska Jolanta , Mates Dana , Janout Vladimir , Foretova Lenka , Bencko Vladimir , Rudnai Peter , Fabianova Eleonora , Tjønneland Anne , Travis Ruth C. , Boeing Heiner , Quirós J. Ramón , Johansson Mikael , Krogh Vittorio , Bueno-de-Mesquita H. Bas , Kotanidou Anastasia , Clavel-Chapelon Françoise , Weiderpass Elisabete , Johansson Mattias , Pawlita Michael , Scelo Ghislaine , Tommasino Massimo , Brennan Paul
Published: April 2014

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections have been implicated in lung carcinogenesis, but causal associations remain uncertain. We evaluated a potential causal role for HPV infections in lung cancer through an analysis involving serology, tumor DNA, RNA, and p16 protein expression. Association between type-specific HPV antibodies and risk of lung cancer was examined among 3,083 cases and 4,328 controls in two case–control studies (retrospective) and one nested case–control study (prospective design). Three hundred and thirty-four available tumors were subjected to pathologic evaluation and subsequent HPV genotyping following stringent conditions to detect all high-risk and two low-risk HPV types. All HPV DNA-positive tumors were further tested for the expression of p16 protein and type-specific HPV mRNA. On the basis of the consistency of the results, although HPV11 and HPV31 E6 antibodies were associated with lung cancer risk in the retrospective study, no association was observed in the prospective design. Presence of type-specific antibodies correlated poorly with the presence of the corresponding HPV DNA in the tumor. Although nearly 10% of the lung tumors were positive for any HPV DNA (7% for HPV16 DNA), none expressed the viral oncogenes. No association was observed between HPV antibodies or DNA and lung cancer survival. In conclusion, we found no supportive evidence for the hypothesized causal association between HPV infections and lung cancer. Cancer Res; 74(13); 3525–34. ©2014 AACR.
Genetic Variation in Prostate-Specific Antigen–Detected Prostate Cancer and the Effect of Control Selection on Genetic Association Studies
Authors: Knipe Duleeka W. , Evans David M. , Kemp John P. , Eeles Rosalind , Easton Douglas F. , Kote-Jarai Zsofia , Al Olama Ali Amin , Benlloch Sara , Donovan Jenny L. , Hamdy Freddie C. , Neal David E. , Davey Smith George , Lathrop Mark , Martin Richard M.
Published: April 2014

Background: Only a minority of the genetic components of prostate cancer risk have been explained. Some observed associations of SNPs with prostate cancer might arise from associations of these SNPs with circulating prostate-specific antigen (PSA) because PSA values are used to select controls.

Methods: We undertook a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of screen-detected prostate cancer (ProtecT: 1,146 cases and 1,804 controls); meta-analyzed the results with those from the previously published UK Genetic Prostate Cancer Study (1,854 cases and 1,437 controls); investigated associations of SNPs with prostate cancer using either “low” (PSA < 0.5 ng/mL) or “high” (PSA ≥ 3 ng/mL, biopsy negative) PSA controls; and investigated associations of SNPs with PSA.

Results: The ProtecT GWAS confirmed previously reported associations of prostate cancer at three loci: 10q11.23, 17q24.3, and 19q13.33. The meta-analysis confirmed associations of prostate cancer with SNPs near four previously identified loci (8q24.21,10q11.23, 17q24.3, and 19q13.33). When comparing prostate cancer cases with low PSA controls, alleles at genetic markers rs1512268, rs445114, rs10788160, rs11199874, rs17632542, rs266849, and rs2735839 were associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, but the effect-estimates were attenuated to the null when using high PSA controls (Pheterogeneity in effect-estimates < 0.04). We found a novel inverse association of rs9311171-T with circulating PSA.

Conclusions: Differences in effect-estimates for prostate cancer observed when comparing low versus high PSA controls may be explained by associations of these SNPs with PSA.

Impact: These findings highlight the need for inferences from genetic studies of prostate cancer risk to carefully consider the influence of control selection criteria. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(7); 1356–65. ©2014 AACR.
Autocrine VEGF/VEGFR1 Signaling in a Subpopulation of Cells Associates with Aggressive Osteosarcoma
Authors: Ohba Tetsuro , Cates Justin M.M. , Cole Heather A. , Slosky David A. , Haro Hirotaka , Ando Takashi , Schwartz Herbert S. , Schoenecker Jonathan G.
Published: April 2014

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy and accounts for more than half of primary skeletal malignancies in children and young adults. Although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in osteosarcoma has been associated with poor outcome, its role in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma remains controversial. Here, VEGF and VEGFR1 expression in both human and murine osteosarcoma cells associated with increasing malignant potential. Autocrine VEGF/VEGFR1 signaling resulted in constitutive activation of VEGFR1 in highly aggressive osteosarcoma cells. In addition, survival and proliferation of highly aggressive osteosarcoma cells was dependent on autocrine VEGF/R1 signaling in vitro. The effect of VEGFR1 expression on in vivo tumor growth and angiogenesis was evaluated by immunoselecting subpopulations of osteosarcoma cells that express high or low levels of VEGFR1. Cell enriched for high VEGFR1 expression showed increased VEGF production, tumor growth, tumor angiogenesis, and osteolysis in vivo. In addition, it was demonstrated that VEGF and VEGFR1 are coexpressed by a subset of tumor cells in human osteosarcoma, similar to what was observed in the murine osteosarcoma cells. These results suggest that autocrine VEGF/VEGFR1 signaling in a subpopulation of tumor cells plays a pivotal role in osteosarcoma progression.

Implications: Aggressive osteosarcoma phenotypes are mediated by autocrine VEGF/VEGFR1 signaling and improved stratification measures and novel anti-angiogenic strategies may benefit this specific tumor type. Mol Cancer Res; 12(8); 1100–11. ©2014 AACR.
Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes Associated With the Natural History of Early Repolarization in a Young, Biracial Cohort Followed to Middle Age
Authors: Ilkhanoff Leonard , Soliman Elsayed Z. , Prineas Ronald J. , Walsh Joseph A. , Ning Hongyan , Liu Kiang , Carr J. Jeffrey , Jacobs David R. , Lloyd-Jones Donald M.
Published: April 2014

Background—

Early repolarization (ER), a common electrocardiographic phenotype, has been associated with increased mortality risk in middle-aged adults. Data are sparse on long-term follow-up and outcomes associated with ER in younger adults.

Methods and Results—

We prospectively examined 5039 participants (mean age, 25 years at baseline, 40% black) from the Coronary Artery Disease Risk in Adults (CARDIA) cohort for 23 years. Twelve-lead ECGs were recorded and analyzed at years 0, 7, and 20 and coded as definite or probable ER using a standardized algorithm. Cox regression was used, and models were adjusted for important baseline and clinical covariates. Kaplan–Meier curves were created for presence of ER and total mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Participants with ER were more likely to be black, male, smoke, have higher systolic blood pressure, lower heart rate and body mass index, higher exercise duration, and longer PR, QRS, and QT intervals. ER was associated with total mortality (hazard ratio, 1.77; confidence interval, 1.38–2.28;
P
<0.01) and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio, 1.59; confidence interval, 1.01–2.50;
P
=0.04) in unadjusted analyses, but adjustment for age, sex, and race attenuated associations almost completely. Sex-race stratified analyses showed no significant associations between ER and outcome for any of the subgroups except blacks.

Conclusions—

The presence of ER at any time point during 23 years of follow-up was not associated with adverse outcomes. Black race and male sex confound the unadjusted association of ER and outcomes, with no race–sex interactions noted. Additional studies are necessary to understand the factors associated with heightened risk of death in those who maintain ER into and beyond middle age.
Atrial Fibrillation Therapy Now and in the Future
Authors: Woods Christopher E. , Olgin Jeffrey
Published: April 2014

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a complex disease with multiple inter-relating causes culminating in rapid, seemingly disorganized atrial activation. Therapy targeting AF is rapidly changing and improving. The purpose of this review is to summarize current state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for treatment of AF. The review focuses on reviewing treatment as it relates to the pathophysiological basis of disease and reviews preclinical and clinical evidence for potential new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, including imaging, biomarkers, pharmacological therapy, and ablative strategies for AF. Current ablation and drug therapy approaches to treating AF are largely based on treating the arrhythmia once the substrate occurs and is more effective in paroxysmal AF rather than persistent or permanent AF. However, there is much research aimed at prevention strategies, targeting AF substrate, so-called upstream therapy. Improved diagnostics, using imaging, genetics, and biomarkers, are needed to better identify subtypes of AF based on underlying substrate/mechanism to allow more directed therapeutic approaches. In addition, novel antiarrhythmics with more atrial specific effects may reduce limiting proarrhythmic side effects. Advances in ablation therapy are aimed at improving technology to reduce procedure time and in mechanism-targeted approaches.
The Clinical Profile and Pathophysiology of Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Andrade Jason , Khairy Paul , Dobrev Dobromir , Nattel Stanley
Published: April 2014

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia (estimated lifetime risk, 22%–26%). The aim of this article is to review the clinical epidemiological features of AF and to relate them to underlying mechanisms. Long-established risk factors for AF include aging, male sex, hypertension, valve disease, left ventricular dysfunction, obesity, and alcohol consumption. Emerging risk factors include prehypertension, increased pulse pressure, obstructive sleep apnea, high-level physical training, diastolic dysfunction, predisposing gene variants, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and congenital heart disease. Potential risk factors are coronary artery disease, kidney disease, systemic inflammation, pericardial fat, and tobacco use. AF has substantial population health consequences, including impaired quality of life, increased hospitalization rates, stroke occurrence, and increased medical costs. The pathophysiology of AF centers around 4 general types of disturbances that promote ectopic firing and reentrant mechanisms, and include the following: (1) ion channel dysfunction, (2) Ca
2+
-handling abnormalities, (3) structural remodeling, and (4) autonomic neural dysregulation. Aging, hypertension, valve disease, heart failure, myocardial infarction, obesity, smoking, diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction, and endurance exercise training all cause structural remodeling. Heart failure and prior atrial infarction also cause Ca
2+
-handling abnormalities that lead to focal ectopic firing via delayed afterdepolarizations/triggered activity. Neural dysregulation is central to atrial arrhythmogenesis associated with endurance exercise training and occlusive coronary artery disease. Monogenic causes of AF typically promote the arrhythmia via ion channel dysfunction, but the mechanisms of the more common polygenic risk factors are still poorly understood and under intense investigation. Better recognition of the clinical epidemiology of AF, as well as an improved appreciation of the underlying mechanisms, is needed to develop improved methods for AF prevention and management.
The Therapeutic Dilemma of Cochlear Nerve Deficiency: Cochlear or Brainstem Implantation?
Authors: Colletti Liliana , Colletti Giacomo , Mandalà Marco , Colletti Vittorio
Published: April 2014

Objective

To compare the outcomes between 2 age‐matched cohorts of children with cochlear nerve deficiency: those receiving auditory brainstem implants (group A) or cochlear implants (group B).

Study Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Tertiary referral center.

Subjects and Methods

Subjects were selected from a pool of 537 children fitted with cochlear implants (n = 443) or auditory brainstem implants (n = 94) over the past 14 years. Performance, examined with the Category of Auditory Performance scale, and complications were compared with a mean follow‐up of 5 years.

Results

All children had bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss and cochlear nerve deficiency. Magnetic resonance imaging documented an absent cochlear nerve (n = 12) and a small cochlear nerve (n = 8) in group A and an absent cochlear nerve (n = 11) and a small cochlear nerve (n = 9) in group B (P = 1.000). Children with cochlear implants had Category of Auditory Performance scores spanning from 0 to 3 levels of performance, and all required manual communication mode and visual supplementation. Children with auditory brainstem implants had Category of Auditory Performance scores spanning from 2 to 7, and most patients demonstrated behavioral responses irrespective of inner ear malformations and an absent cochlear nerve or small cochlear nerve (P <. 001).

Conclusions

In children with cochlear nerve deficiency, patients fitted with cochlear implants did not develop speech understanding and production. Those fitted with auditory brainstem implants had the opportunity to develop open‐set speech perception, acquiring verbal language competence using oral communication exclusively and participating in mainstream education. The overall complication rate of auditory brainstem implants was not greater than that of cochlear implants.
Randomized Study of Radiologic vs Endoscopic Placement of Gastrojejunostomies in Patients at Risk of Aspiration Pneumonia
Authors: Lewis Stephen , Jackson Simon , Latchford Andrew
Published: April 2014

Objective: In patients at risk of aspiration pneumonia due to gastroesophageal reflux who require gastrojejunostomy feeding tubes, the tubes are placed either radiologically (RIGJ) or endoscopically (PEGJ). There is little published evidence of the superiority of one technique over the other. Methods: Patients referred for long‐term jejunal feeding were randomly allocated to have a 14F RIGJ or 15F with 9F jejunal extension PEGJ inserted. A technetium‐99m (99mTc) colloid study was done to determine the presence of gastroesophageal reflux and jejunogastric reflux after feeding tube placement. We recorded enteral feed and tube‐related complications, in addition to tube‐related morbidity and mortality to 90 days following placement. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar between groups, with gastroesophageal reflux demonstrated in 52%. Following enteral tube placement, gastroesophageal reflux was not observed by 99mTc studies or any difference in clinical outcome to 90 days after placement. No jejunal tubes were displaced in any of the 31 RIGJ tubes, while 9 tubes were displaced in the 34 PEGJ patients (P = .008). Reversible jejunal tube blockages occurred: 19 RIGJ (5 patients) and 61 PEGJ (11 patients) (P = .003, χ2 = 9.1). Conclusion: There was little difference between the 2 tubes for clinical outcomes. RIGJ tubes were less prone than PEGJ tubes to reversible blockage and displacement. It is likely that the better outcome for RIGJ tubes relates to their larger tube diameter and stiffness.
DDS based MIL-STD-1553B Data Bus interface simulation
Authors: Deniz Ertan , Durak Umut , Güçlü Kadriye , Oguztuzun Halit
Published: April 2014

This paper describes distributed simulation of MIL-STD-1553B Serial Data Bus interface and protocol based on the Data Distribution Service (DDS) middleware standard. The 1553 bus connects avionics system components, and transports information among them in an aircraft. It is important for system designers to be able to evaluate and verify their component interfaces early in the design phase. The 1553 data bus requires specialized hardware and wiring to operate; thus it is complicated and expensive to verify component interfaces. Therefore modeling the bus on commonly available hardware and networking infrastructure is desirable for early evaluation and verification of designed interfaces. The DDS middleware provides publish/subscribe based communications and facilitates the implementation of distributed systems by providing an abstraction layer over the networking interfaces of the operating systems. This work takes the advantage of the DDS middleware to implement an extensibility 1553 serial data bus simulation tool. The tool is verified using a case study involving a scenario based on the MIL-STD-1760 standard.
Optical properties of epitaxial BiFeO3 thin film grown on SrRuO3-buffered SrTiO3 substrate
Authors: Xu Ji-Ping , Zhang Rong-Jun , Chen Zhi-Hui , Wang Zi-Yi , Zhang Fan , Yu Xiang , Jiang An-Quan , Zheng Yu-Xiang , Wang Song-You , Chen Liang-Yao
Published: April 2014

The BiFeO3 (BFO) thin film was deposited by pulsed-laser deposition on SrRuO3 (SRO)-buffered (111) SrTiO3 (STO) substrate. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals a well-grown epitaxial BFO thin film. Atomic force microscopy study indicates that the BFO film is rather dense with a smooth surface. The ellipsometric spectra of the STO substrate, the SRO buffer layer, and the BFO thin film were measured, respectively, in the photon energy range 1.55 to 5.40 eV. Following the dielectric functions of STO and SRO, the ones of BFO described by the Lorentz model are received by fitting the spectra data to a five-medium optical model consisting of a semi-infinite STO substrate/SRO layer/BFO film/surface roughness/air ambient structure. The thickness and the optical constants of the BFO film are obtained. Then a direct bandgap is calculated at 2.68 eV, which is believed to be influenced by near-bandgap transitions. Compared to BFO films on other substrates, the dependence of the bandgap for the BFO thin film on in-plane compressive strain from epitaxial structure is received. Moreover, the bandgap and the transition revealed by the Lorentz model also provide a ground for the assessment of the bandgap for BFO single crystals.

PACS codes: 78.67.-n, 78.20.-e, 07.60.Fs
Does Italy represent an opportunity for temporary migrants from the eastern partnership countries?
Authors: Marchetti Sabrina , Piazzalunga Daniela , Venturini Alessandra
Published: April 2014

The paper reviews the dynamics and characteristics of immigrant inflows to Italy from the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries. In particular, it compares Ukrainian and Moldovan migrants, which are the most numerous nationalities. Even though both groups show a feminisation of flows, high participation in the labour market and strong involvement in the domestic and care sectors, our research highlights the existence of two different migration profiles. Migration from Ukraine, mostly mature women, is mainly temporary; on the contrary, Moldovans tend to be younger, with a higher share of male and family reunifications and tend to migrate permanently.

JEL codes

J15; J61
Providence and Religion in the Crusoe Trilogy
Authors: Orr Leah
Published: April 2014

Critics have long discussed the conversion narrative in the first Crusoe volume as being a paradigm of an individual’s journey from sin to salvation. In the latter two volumes, however, Crusoe questions his initial conversion and eventually rejects his peaceful conclusions from volume 1 in favor of a more extreme version of Christianity that calls for completely eliminating pagan religions. By looking carefully at the presentation of Providence and religion, this article argues that if we take all three volumes together, they show Crusoe rejecting the religious conversion he experiences in volume 1, and that this has serious repercussions for how far we can take Crusoe as representing Defoe.
“Bookmaking Out of the Remains of the Dead”: George Ballard’s Memoirs of Several Ladies (1752)
Authors: Bigold Melanie
Published: April 2014

This article reconsiders the importance of antiquarian interests and research methods in the making of George Ballard’s encyclopedic biography of learned women, Memoirs of Several Ladies of Great Britain who have been celebrated for their writings or skill in the learned languages, arts and sciences (1752). Ballard has a contested legacy in women’s literary history: many critics draw attention to the exemplary bias in his collection and question his rhetorical aims. However, this article presents new manuscript evidence suggesting that Ballard’s initial research for the project was much more inclusive than previously thought. The article also contends that his antiquarian approach to life-writing in the Memoirs offers a unique perspective on women’s contributions to book history, specifically suggesting that his appreciation for “artefacts of the written word” results in a text uniquely attuned to women’s role in both creating and circulating textual artifacts of the past. In the process, Ballard reveals an appreciation for the extratextual dimensions of women’s lives that significantly predates our own “modern” preoccupation with identifying the diverse cultural practices of women writers.
Digital Humanities for the Next Five Minutes
Authors: Raley Rita
Published: April 2014

Bureaucratization has not fully captured DH and crystallized its institutional identity. The creative and intellectual energies that lie behind it, along with its still amorphous aspects, have a generative potential that should not be foreclosed in the rush to institutionalize. This essay contends that a tactical media-informed approach to the field would be open to a range of methods and research questions, that such an approach could insist upon collaborative experimentation and the sharing of knowledge; exploit the ephemerality of technology-based fields; inspire a more playful and knowing negotiation of institutional demands for impact, outcomes, results; and consider the possibilities for action within the institutions in which we, as scholars, users, and makers of technology, are embedded. The digital humanities should not, and cannot, bear the burden of transforming the technocratic knowledge economy. But within that institutional situation, it has the capacity to tinker with the symbolic order of computing, such that it is not ultimately constrained by an agenda of efficiency, rationality, and optimization. Such an approach would contribute to the speculation of a less instrumental future for the humanities and offer a measured skepticism that might serve as a buffer against the irrational exuberance that too often characterizes the administrative framing of digital humanities projects, initiatives, and entrepreneurial efforts.
What Is “Digital Humanities,” And Why Are They Saying Such Terrible Things About It?
Authors: Kirschenbaum Matthew
Published: April 2014

Taking as self-evident that the “dark side” under discussion is a discursive construct of the digital humanities rather than “actually existing projects” (a clarifying phrase taken from Rita Raley’s post-mla comments), this essay suggests that the construct is too often indulged at the expense of dedicated critiques of digital humanities’ projects, as well as its papers, publications, syllabi, and so forth. We inhabit the construct when we forego these normative products of academic labor in favor of the terrible things in the title of this article, things that are said nearly daily on blogs, lists, and Twitter: Digital humanities is a nest of big data ideologues. Like Johnny, digital humanities won’t read. Digital humanities doesn’t do theory. Digital humanities never historicizes. Digital humanities doesn’t do race, class, gender, or, for that matter, culture. Digital humanities is complicit. Digital humanities is a neoliberalist contrivance for dismantling the professoriate. Digital humanities is the academic import of Silicon Valley solutionism. Perhaps most damning of all: digital humanities is something separate from the rest of the humanities, and—this is the real secret—digital humanities wants it that way. Yet the zero-sum agon of the construct seems itself complicit in a worldview that is neoliberal, ahistorical, and unconcerned with the materialities of contemporary scholarly production. Sometimes, and not incidentally, the construct can even resemble the virtualized Kung Fu arena of the Matrix that was called by the same name. This essay, the third of what has become an unplanned trilogy, explains why.
The Brave Side of Digital Humanities
Authors: Barnett Fiona M.
Published: April 2014

The question of “what counts?” in a field is an important component of community formation and is critical for eking out resources in the academic ecosystem. But what is the effect when the conversation is not about recognizing similarity across differences or disparity in order to build a common ground, but rather, about declaring something to be unrecognizable within the confines of a field? The limits of recognition and misrecognition have been the site of some of the thorny debates over what constitutes the field of digital humanities, who can best relay its genealogy, and perhaps most critically, how the field will be shaped in the years to come. This article engages with two current conversations and considers the politics and possibilities of a DH project that builds a sustainable practice of a self in academia and a lifeline to others as a way of imagining a collective and radical community of scholarship. By focusing on the #AntiJemimas collection of blogs, this inquiry traces a particular mode of critical digital inquiry that is at once political, personal, and performative and challenges the question of “what counts?” in the field formation of the digital humanities.
The Cybernetic Hypothesis
Authors: Galloway Alexander R.
Published: April 2014

Taking inspiration from Tiqqun’s 2001 text “The Cybernetic Hypothesis,” this essay examines the relationship between digital technology and scholarly research methods. A definition of the cybernetic hypothesis is presented by way of a series of historical investigations into the work of Lewis Richardson, Warren Weaver, John von Neumann, and Paul Otlet. Cybernetics is defined thus in terms of a broad set of assumptions and techniques influencing society and culture at large. These assumptions and techniques include an epistemology rooted in arrays or systems containing discrete entities, the organization of entities into systems, and the regularization of difference or asymmetry within the system overall. After having presented this view of cybernetics, the author examines the challenges and problems such a paradigm presents to scholarly research methods including contemporary developments in the digital humanities. These challenges and problems are grouped into two sets of terms: hegemony, recapitulation, and symmetry; and ideology, deskilling, and proletarianization. What kind of intellectual work is possible after the rise of digital media? Examining some aspects of contemporary technology and critical theory, this essay serves both as a meditation on the contemporary cybernetic world and as a proposal for what ought to be done about it.
Gaming the Humanities
Authors: Jagoda Patrick
Published: April 2014

This essay approaches games and gamification as a major problematic of the still emerging digital humanities. Games—through their mechanics, procedurality, navigable worlds, and multimedia interactions—call for new literacies that exceed traditional reading and writing skills. Digital games demand new ways of perceiving and working. They seem to matter to the unfolding of the twenty-first-century everyday, even if we do not always recognize precisely how they matter. Following an introduction to the cultural significance of digital games in the present moment, this essay turns to the Game Changer Chicago (gcc) Design Lab that Jagoda cofounded with University of Chicago doctor and health researcher Melissa Gilliam. The essay explores the ways that the gcc Design Lab’s transdisciplinary and narrative-based alternate reality game project, The Source, intervenes in the contemporary situation of the humanities. In particular, The Source’s game design and play processes offer insight into four areas: 1) the relationship between the digital humanities and social justice; 2) the affordances of transmedia design as a research method in the humanities; 3) the importance of collaboration as a key organizational technique for the humanities; and 4) the changing relationship between the humanities and sciences. While games are no panacea for the digital humanities, they are a key cultural form and critical site of negotiation in which humanists, artists, designers, technologists, scientists, and educators might productively experiment together.
The Virtues of Critical Technical Practice
Authors: Dieter Michael
Published: April 2014

This article reflects theoretically on the conditions of possibility for critical work to be conducted in the context of the digital humanities and aims to provide a broad conceptual vocabulary suitable for supporting and expanding this rapidly changing subdiscipline. It does so by elaborating on the framework of critical technical practice (ctp) first proposed by Philip Agre, suggesting how this notion might be connected productively with philosophical lineages of antipositivist epistemology, but as such traditions are reimagined and retooled for today’s informational contexts. Here, ctp is considered through the work of sociotechnical problematization, especially by the various techniques that differentiate existing infrastructural solutions on the basis of the purported material problems and difficulties they claim to address. The origin of Agre’s notion of ctp is linked back to its inspiration in the specific methodologies and concepts in the work of Michel Foucault. It is also suggested that other important connections to the thought of Henri Bergson, Gaston Bachelard, Georges Canguilhem, and Gilles Deleuze can be made. While presenting a rich set of resources for the consideration of sociotechnical problems, the argument is made that these resources might be productively placed in dialogue with existing digital methods and techniques through a reflection on media aesthetics. The article concludes by illustrating the relevance of this general framework with reference to a number of projects by media practitioners relevant to digital humanities, including the work of Rosa Menkman, YoHa, Julian Oliver, Dmytri Kleiner, and Esther Polak.
Synthesis and Antibacterial Activity of Silver Nanoparticles Capped with a Carboxylic Acid-terminated Generation 1 Oleodendrimer
Authors: Kalhapure Rahul S , Akamanchi Krishnacharya G , Mocktar Chunderika , Govender Thirumala
Published: April 2014

This study investigated the potential of a novel carboxylic acid-terminated generation 1 oleodendrimer (E1A) as a novel biocompatible capping agent for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (E1A@Ag). Synthesized E1A@Ag particles were spherical with an average size of 9 ± 3 nm and displayed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. The current study, therefore, establishes E1A as an effective biocompatible material for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles.
Cathode Composition Dependence of Battery Performance of Polyoxometalate (POM) Molecular Cluster Batteries
Authors: Wang Heng , Yamada Tetsuya , Hamanaka Shun , Yoshikawa Hirofumi , Awaga Kunio
Published: April 2014

We demonstrated that the performance of the polyoxometalate molecular cluster battery (POM-MCB) is significantly dependent on the weight ratio of POM in the cathodes; the discharge capacities per unit weight of POM decrease as the POM weight ratio increases. Operando XAFS and impedance measurements of the POM-MCBs with higher POM ratios revealed that a decrease in the number of POM reduction electrons due to higher resistance in the cathode causes smaller discharge capacities per unit weight of POM.
Charge–Discharge Behavior of Secondary Organic Radical Battery Using 2-Aryl Nitronyl Nitroxides as the Cathode Active Material
Authors: Koizumi Takuya , Ohfuji Haruki , Tanaka Sayuri , Shigematsu Satoshi , Akutagawa Nao , Satoh Masaharu , Miura Yozo
Published: April 2014

Charge–discharge study of secondary organic battery using 2-aryl nitronyl nitroxides (2-aryl-4,5-dihydro-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-3-oxido-3-imidazolio-1-oxyls) as the cathode active material was performed. The electrochemical study showed that the nitronyl nitroxides afford a stable cation on oxidation and an anion on reduction. The charge–discharge study revealed that the organic radical battery works with the capacity corresponding to the two-electron process.
Facile Fabrication of Photoanodes of Tungsten(VI) Oxide on Carbon Microfiber Felts for Efficient Water Oxidation under Visible Light
Authors: Homura Hiroya , Ohtani Bunsho , Abe Ryu
Published: April 2014

Efficient photoanodes of tungsten oxide (WO3) were fabricated on three-dimensional conductive carbon microfiber felts (CMFs). Monolayers of fine WO3 particles with a diameter of ca. 150 nm were successfully loaded on the surface of CMFs by simple impregnation of a mixed aqueous solution of ammonium metatungstate and poly(ethylene glycol) followed by calcination in air, affording higher photocurrent densities and IPCE values for water oxidation under visible light than those on a conventional porous WO3 electrode prepared on a conductive glass substrate.
Mechanism of Hydride Transfer Reaction from β-Substituted Carbanions to a Carbocation
Authors: Liu Fengrui , Yan Shengyi , Zhu Xiaoqing
Published: April 2014

Mechanism of hydride transfer reactions to form olefins is still a conundrum. Here, we propose an electron transfer (ET) followed by hydrogen atom transfer (HT) as the most likely mechanism for hydride transfer reactions from the hydride adducts of olefins (G-XH−) to a carbocation (T+) in acetonitrile. This is confirmed by the analysis of the energetics of each mechanistic step, estimated from ΔHH− (the hydride affinity) and redox potentials of the related species, and activation energetics calculated from rate constants of the hydride transfer from G-XH− to T+.
The Streptococcus suis transcriptional landscape reveals adaptation mechanisms in pig blood and cerebrospinal fluid
Authors: Wu Zongfu , Wu Chunyan , Shao Jing , Zhu Zhenzhen , Wang Weixue , Zhang Wenwei , Tang Min , Pei Na , Fan Hongjie , Li Jiguang , Yao Huochun , Gu Hongwei , Xu Xun , Lu Chengping
Published: April 2014

Streptococcus suis (SS) is an important pathogen of pigs, and it is also recognized as a zoonotic agent for humans. SS infection may result in septicemia or meningitis in the host. However, little is known about genes that contribute to the virulence process and survival within host blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Small RNAs (sRNA) have emerged as key regulators of virulence in several bacteria, but they have not been investigated in SS. Here, using a differential RNA-sequencing approach and RNAs from SS strain P1/7 grown in rich medium, pig blood, or CSF, we present the SS genome-wide map of 793 transcriptional start sites and 370 operons. In addition to identifying 29 sRNAs, we show that five sRNA deletion mutants attenuate SS virulence in a zebrafish infection model. Homology searches revealed that 10 sRNAs were predicted to be present in other pathogenic Streptococcus species. Compared with wild-type strain P1/7, sRNAs rss03, rss05, and rss06 deletion mutants were significantly more sensitive to killing by pig blood. It is possible that rss06 contributes to SS virulence by indirectly activating expression of SSU0308, a virulence gene encoding a zinc-binding lipoprotein. In blood, genes involved in the synthesis of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and subversion of host defenses were up-regulated. In contrast, in CSF, genes for CPS synthesis were down-regulated. Our study is the first analysis of SS sRNAs involved in virulence and has both improved our understanding of SS pathogenesis and increased the number of sRNAs known to play definitive roles in bacterial virulence.
Editorial
Authors: Lotman Mihhail , Pilshchikov Igor , Lotman Maria-Kristiina
Published: April 2014

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Odd Stanzas
Authors: Scherr Barry P.
Published: April 2014

Stanzas with seven and nine lines have had a long tradition in English verse, but stanzas with an odd number of lines and longer than five lines occur relatively rarely in Russian. Indeed, Russian poetry has never developed a strong tradition of longer lines with an odd number of stanzas, despite two moments when they might have achieved wider acceptance. From the 1820s through the 1840s a few poets, including Lermontov and the less known Kjukhel’beker, composed some notable experiments with these forms. Even Lermontov’s famous Borodinskaja strofa did not attract many imitators, although a number of poets throughout that century and up to the present day have continued to write poems in stanzas with 7, 9 and even 11 or 13 lines. The second period occurred during the early 20th century, but among modernist poets the interest in stanzas was focused more on traditional forms, such as the sonnet. Perhaps because of their rarity, the odd stanzas found among Russian poets most often serve as the platform for complex and unconventional rhyme schemes, often accompanied by other striking formal features as well.
The Form and Style of Gnomic Hypermetrics
Authors: Hartman Megan E.
Published: April 2014

Gnomic poems have often been noted for their unusual metrical style. One aspect of their style that stands out is the hypermetric usage, both because these poems contain a notably high incidence of hypermetric verses and because the verses are frequently categorized as irregular. This paper analyses hypermetric composition in Maxims I, Maxims II, and Solomon and Saturn in detail to illustrate the major stylistic features of gnomic composition. It demonstrates that, contrary to the conclusions of some previous scholars, the hypermetric verses basically follow the form for hypermetric composition that can be found in most conservative poems, but with the inherent flexibility of hypermetric metre pushed to a greater extent than in most narrative poems, making for lines that are longer, heavier, and more complex. This alternate style highlights the importance of each individual aphorism and characterizes the solemnity of the poems as a whole. By composing their poems in accordance with the trends of this specialized style, poets may have been marking their composition as separate from narrative poems and encouraging their audience to consider each individual poem in the larger context of Old English wisdom poetry.