bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Migratory response of polar bears to sea ice loss: to swim or not to swim
Authors: Pilfold Nicholas W. , McCall Alysa , Derocher Andrew E. , Lunn Nicholas J. , Richardson Evan
Published: February 2016

Migratory responses to climate change may vary across and within populations, particularly for species with large geographic ranges. An increase in the frequency of long‐distance swims (> 50 km) is one predicted consequence of climate change for polar bears Ursus maritimus. We examined GPS satellite‐linked telemetry records of 58 adult females and 18 subadults from the Beaufort Sea (BS), and 59 adult females from Hudson Bay (HB), for evidence of long‐distance swimming during seasonal migrations in 2007–2012. We identified 115 swims across both populations. Median swim duration was 3.4 d (range 1.3–9.3 d) and median swim distance was 92 km (range 51–404 km). Swims were significantly more frequent in the BS (n = 100) than HB (n = 15). In the BS, subadults swam as frequently as lone adult females, but more frequently than adult females with offspring. We modelled the likelihood of a polar bear engaging in swims using collar data from the BS. Swims were more likely for polar bears without offspring, with the distance of the pack ice edge from land, the rate at which the pack ice edge retreated, and the mean daily rate of open water gain between June–August. Coupled with an earlier study, the yearly proportions of BS adult females swimming in 2004–2012 were positively associated with the rate of open water gain. Results corroborate the hypothesis that long‐distance swimming by polar bears is likely to occur more frequently as sea ice conditions change due to climate warming. However, results also suggest that the magnitude of the effect likely varies within and between populations.
Distinct expression patterns of inwardly rectifying potassium currents in developing cerebellar granule cells of the hemispheres and the vermis
Authors: Brandalise Federico , Lujan Rafael , Leone Roberta , Lodola Francesco , Cesaroni Valentina , Romano Chiara , Gerber Urs , Rossi Paola
Published: February 2016

G‐protein‐coupled inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels play a crucial role during the migration and maturation of cerebellar granule cells (GCs) in the vermis. In the cerebellar hemispheres, however, only minor effects on the development of GCs are observed in mice with GIRK channel impairment. This regional difference may reflect distinct ontogenetic expression patterns of GIRK channels. Therefore, inwardly rectifying responses in mice were characterized at different stages of development in the vermis and the hemispheres. In the vermis, GCs in the premigratory zone (PMZ) at P7–P15 exhibit GIRK current but not constitutive inwardly rectifying potassium (CIRK) current, and are relatively depolarized at rest. In contrast, premigratory GCs in the hemispheres express only CIRK channels, which accounts for their more hyperpolarized resting membrane potential. Furthermore, the pattern of voltage‐dependent inward currents in the PMZ GCs of cerebellar hemispheres is consistent with a more mature stage of development than the corresponding GCs in the vermis, resulting in robust firing properties mediated by sodium channels. Later in development (P21–P22), CIRK current is then observed in the majority of vermis GCs. This developmental pattern, revealed by electrophysiological recordings, was confirmed by immunohistological experiments that showed greater reactivity for GIRK2 in the PMZ of the vermis than in the hemispheres during development (P7–P15). These findings suggest that regional differences in development are responsible for the differential expression of inwardly rectifying potassium channels in the vermis and in the hemispheres.
Audio‐visual multisensory training enhances visual processing of motion stimuli in healthy participants: an electrophysiological study
Authors: Grasso Paolo A. , Benassi Mariagrazia , Làdavas Elisabetta , Bertini Caterina
Published: February 2016

Evidence from electrophysiological and imaging studies suggests that audio‐visual (AV) stimuli presented in spatial coincidence enhance activity in the subcortical colliculo‐dorsal extrastriate pathway. To test whether repetitive AV stimulation might specifically activate this neural circuit underlying multisensory integrative processes, electroencephalographic data were recorded before and after 2 h of AV training, during the execution of two lateralized visual tasks: a motion discrimination task, relying on activity in the colliculo‐dorsal MT pathway, and an orientation discrimination task, relying on activity in the striate and early ventral extrastriate cortices. During training, participants were asked to detect and perform a saccade towards AV stimuli that were disproportionally allocated to one hemifield (the trained hemifield). Half of the participants underwent a training in which AV stimuli were presented in spatial coincidence, while the remaining half underwent a training in which AV stimuli were presented in spatial disparity (32°). Participants who received AV training with stimuli in spatial coincidence had a post‐training enhancement of the anterior N1 component in the motion discrimination task, but only in response to stimuli presented in the trained hemifield. However, no effect was found in the orientation discrimination task. In contrast, participants who received AV training with stimuli in spatial disparity showed no effects on either task. The observed N1 enhancement might reflect enhanced discrimination for motion stimuli, probably due to increased activity in the colliculo‐dorsal MT pathway induced by multisensory training.
Integrity of the corpus callosum in patients with benign temporal lobe epilepsy
Authors: Caligiuri Maria Eugenia , Labate Angelo , Cherubini Andrea , Mumoli Laura , Ferlazzo Edoardo , Aguglia Umberto , Quattrone Aldo , Gambardella Antonio
Published: February 2016

Objective

Corpus callosum (CC) abnormalities are frequently reported in patients with refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (rMTLE). However, whether CC structural alterations are related to the epileptic syndrome itself or to refractoriness is still unknown. Thus, we aimed to compare patterns of CC change in patients with rMTLE and benign MTLE (bMTLE), the latter of which represents a useful resource to better disentangle factors that contribute to refractoriness.

Methods

The study group included 79 patients with bMTLE (mean age 43.2 ± 14. 8 years), 61 with rMTLE (mean age 45.2 ± 12.4 years) and 134 healthy volunteers. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were performed to measure thickness, mean diffusivity (MD), and fractional anisotropy (FA) over 50 regions of interest along the cross‐sectional CC profile. Statistical analysis comprised analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post hoc Tukey's Honest Significant Difference test.

Results

We found that all imaging metrics of the CC splenium were altered in rMTLE patients compared to bMTLE and controls. We also found significantly reduced thickness and FA of the anterior CC in rMTLE compared to controls and that FA was reduced only in rMTLE compared to bMTLE. Patients with bMTLE did not differ from controls. Differences between disease subgroups were found in the midbody composed of sensorimotor fibers.

Significance

We found altered multimodal imaging metrics of the CC in rMTLE but not in bMTLE. These findings were independent of the radiologic presence of hippocampal sclerosis, suggesting that differences in the distribution of such alterations might be related to refractoriness.
A Missed Opportunity: The Fundamental Rights Agency and the Euro Area Crisis
Authors: Hinarejos Alicia
Published: February 2016

This paper focuses on the role played by the Agency for Fundamental Rights in the wake of the euro area crisis. The Agency was created as part of a wider trend towards a broader, more pro‐active strategy for the protection of fundamental rights that includes administrative and political rights promotion as a complement to judicial enforcement. In the context of the euro crisis, however, the Agency has not been able to fulfil this role. This paper will analyze the reasons for this missed opportunity, as well as its consequences. It will argue that the sidelining of the Agency in this area is due to the confluence of two factors: on the one hand, the Agency's lack of discretion in setting its own agenda; and, on the other, the predominance of the executive, and resulting resurgence of intergovernmentalism, that have been a feature of post‐crisis developments.

Ultimately, this paper argues that the sidelining of the Agency in this context is an unfortunate result, given the magnitude of the political debate in this area and the valuable role that the Agency might have played or could still play in informing it.
Did the Financial Crisis Change European Citizenship Law? An Analysis of Citizenship Rights Adjudication Before and After the Financial Crisis
Authors: Šadl Urška , Madsen Mikael Rask
Published: February 2016

This article analyses the impact of the 2007–2008 global financial crisis on the adjudication of EU citizenship rights, combining long‐term quantitative empirical legal study with qualitative socio‐legal analysis. We find that, first, the Court of Justice of the EU continues to interpret the provisions of the treaty and secondary legislation broadly and reaches largely pro‐individual outcomes in its citizenship case‐law. Second, it has been more explicit in drawing the line between core citizenship rights of European citizens, such as the primary rights to move and reside freely, and the rights that are tied to these core citizenship rights, including social security and social advantages on the one hand, and the rights of Third Country Nationals, which they derive from their relationship with EU citizens on the other hand. On this basis, we conclude that the economic crisis has had limited impact on EU citizenship law and remained confined to the edges of the notion of EU citizenship.
Fundamental Rights and Legal Wrongs: The Two Sides of the Same EU Coin
Authors: Chalmers Damian , Trotter Sarah
Published: February 2016

This article argues that the relationship of EU fundamental rights to the rest of EU law can only be understood if the former are seen as an integral part of a general vision of what EU law is about. This vision conceives EU law as concerned to secure the government of a European political economy. In turn, it has come to shape the interpretation and incidence of EU fundamental rights with the latter conceived as a central tool for incorporating the individual into and asserting her place within the government of the European political economy. A paradox has therefore emerged. EU fundamental rights have become ever more pervasive in EU law, and it is couched more frequently in their terms, but these same fundamental rights seem ineffectual to deal with the suffering caused by events such as the crisis.
Financing social security out of contributions: About origins, present discussions and prospects of a success story
Authors: Scholz Wolfgang
Published: February 2016

In writing the overture to an issue on contribution financed social security one cannot but speak of Bismarck; it must also address Beveridge who saw contributions, although in their design and role clearly differently from Bismarck, as one core revenue tool to finance his vision. Beveridge attributed to the private financial sector a prominent role in securing people against the negative effects on income of shocks and crises, while Bismarck did not. Beveridge's concept, when first published, had, and still has today, the most attractive charm of rigorously satisfying peoples' striving for equitable and inclusive societal solutions. Bismarck's concept intrinsically offers income security only to those who contribute, while the level of protection depends on the level of contributions paid (with the exception of health insurance). In reality, both concepts, where implemented, had to face the realities of socio‐economic and political developments: Beveridge's vision was achieved in respect of access to health services where his proposal, in its predominantly tax‐financed version, has since turned into a worldwide blueprint for health schemes; in its other components, it was not resilient enough to achieve the intended standards and now is replete with means‐tested (poor relief) elements. Bismarck's scheme has proven its potential to achieve “universality”, not necessarily by theoretical design but as a matter of fact, i.e. covering people from cradle to grave (like Beveridgean schemes). With globalization, schemes of both origins have had to face massive neoliberal attacks over the last three decades. Which of the approaches is best able to survive must be left an open question: in the current worldwide context of rapid change, both have weak and strong points, and whether a symbiosis of the two offers the answer to future challenges remains to be seen.
Social security contributions: Economic and public finance considerations
Authors: Goudswaard Kees , Caminada Koen
Published: February 2016

Social security contributions make up around a fourth of total tax revenue in OECD countries. However, there are concerns on the economic effects of high levies on labour. Recent studies suggest that at least a third of taxes on labour are shifted onto employers, leading to higher wage costs. We find substantial evidence in the literature that the nature of social security contributions matters. With a clear connection between contributions and rights, the employee will perceive this contribution as a price and not as a tax. As a consequence, these contributions will be less distortive in terms of labour supply, wage costs and private savings.
Contributions‐financed cash benefits: Selected examples of tiered pension systems
Authors: Geraci Marco
Published: February 2016

This article addresses the link between pensions and occupational earnings using the example of social security contributions in selected OECD countries. The rules of the pension schemes studied point towards a very strong link between occupational earnings and pension level. However, certain pension calculation methods, through pension calculation parameters or through the existence of tools to compensate for certain career discontinuities, may distort this link in the majority of the countries studied. Therefore, the examination of pension calculation parameters and of solidarity measures attached to retirement is necessary to provide a more finely‐tuned evaluation of the link between occupational earnings and pension level. Ultimately, comparison of pension systems across countries remains challenging given their specificities.
Including informal economy workers in contributory social protection: Current challenges in Latin America
Authors: Sojo Ana
Published: February 2016

Owing to a favourable economic situation and to national labour market and social protection policy reforms, Latin America has witnessed significant progress in social protection coverage. Some countries, however, have seen weaker progress, with stagnant coverage levels. Several factors underlie the extension of pensions and health care coverage and the formalization of the labour market: substantial improvements in the quality of employment, more flexible eligibility criteria for contributory coverage, and the strengthening of the supervisory and regulatory roles of the State. This article first addresses the link between social protection and informality in Latin America to show the relationship between informal labour markets, the lack of social protection and the scale of unpaid contributions. Also highlighted is regional progress in extending social protection as a result of labour market formalization. Countries in the region have used various policies to encourage formalization and these have also helped to reduce wage inequalities, since formalization has had especially beneficial effects on low‐income sectors. Finally, we discuss dichotomous views on social protection financing in the region that tend to place contributory and non‐contributory financing in opposition to one another but do so in favour of the latter, tend to support proposals for limited coverage, and which do not challenge the stratification of access to social protection. The move towards a convergence of benefits is deemed essential: strategies to universalize social protection in the region should not focus exclusively on increasing resources, but must address institutional change as a crucial part of the locus of innovation.
Social health insurance development in Mongolia: Opportunities and challenges in moving towards Universal Health Coverage
Authors: Bayarsaikhan Dorjsuren , Kwon Soonman , Chimeddagva Dashzeveg
Published: February 2016

Mongolia achieved high population coverage under mandatory health insurance relatively quickly. This fact was viewed by policy‐ and decision‐makers as a central issue for health financing reform in Mongolia. Health insurance brought many new features for health service planning, provision, funding and resource management. Based on initial achievements, health insurance came to be strategically considered as the vehicle for achieving universal coverage. The article analyses developments in Mongolia's health insurance over the last decade along with the core policy dimensions of Universal Health Coverage. It examines various reform approaches and the numerous amendments to laws that have been implemented during this period and discusses new opportunities as well as challenges. The analytical review and findings discussed suggest that Mongolia has a need for evidence‐based policy decisions and informed political support, with health insurance backed by robust institutional and administrative capacities. More generally, it also emphasizes that health policy goals and objectives can be attained by strengthening and making transparent and publicly‐accountable all health system financing functions and arrangements. The policy analysis, experiences, lessons and proposed strategies presented with regard to Mongolia intend to stimulate wider discussions on health insurance development as well as promote continuing focused research on specific aspects of health insurance and public financing reform.
Six into One: The Contradictory Art School Curriculum and how it Came About
Authors: Houghton Nicholas
Published: February 2016

This article reports historical research which sought to understand the present‐day post‐secondary art curriculum through analysing its history in terms of changes in conceptions of art. It found that there have been six distinctive curricula: Apprentice, Academic, Formalist, Expressive, Conceptual and Professional. As a new curriculum has been introduced, it has co‐existed with much contained in a previous one. Most of the curriculum changes have taken place in the past 65 years. During this time, there has been a massive expansion in the education of artists and at the same time art schools accommodated first modernism and then post‐Duchampian aesthetics. A conclusion is that this has made for a very crowded curriculum. Moreover, despite there being an ever increasing choice of things a student might learn, it appears that there is nothing which all students have to learn. It can be problematic that one part of the curriculum is in contradiction to another part, and moreover this lack of a core raises fundamental, ontological questions about what art as a discipline is.
Mapping Invitations to Participate: An Investigation in Museum Interpretation
Authors: Lenz Kothe Elsa
Published: February 2016

This a/r/tographic inquiry delves into questions about participatory art museum practice, specifically seeking to understand the nature of invitations to participate. Utilising drawings, writing and mapping of embodied participation, questions of how individuals are invited to participate in various locations and how these invitations inform the work of art museums that engage in participatory practice are considered. Conditions for participation, including familiarity, personalisation, enthusiasm, playfulness, narrative, uniqueness, sociability and listening, as well as anti‐invitations that contradict moves toward participation, are discussed in relation to examples from the study and scholarly writing. The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to share research about participatory practice in various locations and its implications for art museums, and second, to explore the potential of arts‐based research methodologies, particularly a/r/tography, for art museum education research.
Constructions of Roles in Studio Teaching and Learning
Authors: Belluigi Dina Zoe
Published: February 2016

Various constructions of supervisors and students emerge from education literature on art, design and architecture studio pedagogy. Constructions of the supervisor within the studio and during assessment are considered, with a discussion of the threads which underpin them. This is followed by a discussion of some of the current dominant constructions of the student, and possible effects of these roles and relationships on their engagement with learning. As many of these constructions may be inherited or unconscious, a concern for the agency of those involved to rupture, subvert, rescript or resist such constructions motivates this research, while acknowledging that this may be limited by structural and cultural contexts.
‘Before I realised they were all women… I expected it to be more about materials’: Art, Gender and Tacit Subjectivity
Authors: Hames Hannah
Published: February 2016

This article discusses a critical discourse analysis research activity undertaken with a group of undergraduate primary trainees with an art specialism. The research activity involved the use of two contrasting texts discussing the work of Karla Black, Becky Beasley and Claire Barclay. The article explores how the positioning of the two texts affected the student teachers’ ability to engage effectively with ‘women's art’ on a personal and critical level, revealing some highly subjective views and raising questions around intertextuality; particularly how an individual's understanding of contexts, meanings and histories can inform collective interpretation and highlight existing subjectivity. The article subsequently identifies that although students were keen to talk about careful selection of texts, the benefits of using multiple sources and the risks of intertextual and ‘subliminal’ contamination, they were unable to reflect critically upon their own gendered reading of the texts. It concludes that this may well be a signifier of the problem – that the student teachers did not really see a problem at all.
Supporting Creative Responses in Design Education – The Development and Application of the Graphic Design Composition Method
Authors: Lu Hui‐Ping , Chen Jun‐Hong , Lee Chang‐Franw
Published: February 2016

Inspiration is the primary element of good design. Designers, however, also risk not being able to find inspiration. Novice designers commonly find themselves to be depressed during the conceptual design phase when they fail to find inspiration and the information to be creative. Accordingly, under the graphic design parameter, we have developed the ‘Analytic Composition Method (ACM)’ to guide novice designers in gradually breaking through their usual modes of thinking to construct their own methods of composition. This method provides a variety of creative modes for the design field. Three stages are presented in this study. A design method is first constructed based on the results of a pretest and the existing composition methods of graphical design. We then apply the design method to three iterations of graphic design instruction. Lastly, we conduct an expert interview to evaluate the usefulness of this method. The following are the results obtained. 1. Most of the participants tested sought inspiration visually; they usually began their design process from image data and do not use the data beyond imagery. 2. The results of teaching activities show that using this method as a tool for graphic design enables various sources of inspiration to generate different modes of thinking and creative expression. 3. Our method could potentially be used for basic composition training and project design execution. However, the application of this method may vary with different design objectives.
Envisioning the Future: Working toward Sustainability in Fine Art Education
Authors: Clarke Angela , Hulbert Shane
Published: February 2016

Fine art education provides students with opportunities to acquire knowledge and skills to respond creatively to their experience of society and culture. Fostering creative ways of knowing, thinking and doing requires studio learning conditions that promote the exploration of embodied perceptions, material sensibilities and conceptual ideas that are provisional, socially constructed and ever changing. Traditionally, art schools provided these conditions unchallenged because they were autonomous. Since the 1980s, however, art schools have been integrated into the academy, and face increasing pressure to meet the institutional demands of being in a university. Some argue this changed status means the academy, with its research and pedagogic traditions, is actually straitjacketing creativity. Furthermore, contemporary art practice has changed as artists are increasingly experimenting with interdisciplinary modes of working.

This article discusses a two‐year major change initiative, undertaken within an urban Australian art school, designed to respond to this complex set of changed circumstances. It considers ways to address institutional compliance and viability demands while maintaining deeply held values about how to foster creativity in undergraduate students. The outcome is a new organising structure and renewed curriculum for the largest programme offering in the school: the fine art undergraduate degree. Educational renewal is conceptualised as a creative process and the approach to change is thus adapted from creative research methodologies. By treating pedagogy and curriculum design as a creative process, this change initiative, rather than straitjacketing creativity, has re‐envisioned an epistemological framework for undergraduate fine art that will sustain creativity education into the future.
Vitamin D and its receptor regulate lipopolysaccharide‐induced transforming growth factor‐β, angiotensinogen expression and podocytes apoptosis through the nuclear factor‐κB pathway
Authors: Xu Lijuan , Zhang Pengyuan , Guan Hongyu , Huang Zhimin , He Xiaoying , Wan Xuesi , Xiao Haipeng , Li Yanbing
Published: February 2016

Aims/Introduction

To investigate the effects of vitamin D and its receptor on cytokines expression and podocytes apoptosis.

Materials and Methods

Cultured mouse podocytes were pre‐incubated with vitamin D or transiently transfected with small interfering ribonucleic acid (RNA) to knock down the vitamin D receptor. Lipopolysaccharide was used to mimic the inflammation status of diabetes.

Results

In a lipopolysaccharide‐induced state, expressions of transforming growth factor‐β, angiotensinogen and vascular endothelial growth factor were similarly increased. Transforming growth factor‐β and angiotensinogen levels originally elevated by lipopolysaccharide challenge were distinctly reduced after pre‐incubation with vitamin D. Whereas after vitamin D receptor small interfering (si)RNA transfection, the aforementioned cytokines had opposite changes as expected. However, neither vitamin D pretreatment nor vitamin D receptor siRNA transfection influenced the previously increased vascular endothelial growth factor expression at messenger RNA or protein levels. When pretreated with vitamin D, decreases were observed for phosphorylated inhibitor‐κB and the inhibitor kinase proteins. After siRNA transfection, those proteins levels were further elevated. The originally increased transforming growth factor‐β and angiotensinogen levels as a result of lipopolysaccharide stimulation were reduced at both the messenger RNA and protein levels after the specific inhibition of the nuclear factor‐κB pathway with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate. The apoptosis rate of podocytes was decreased in a parallel manner after vitamin D pre‐incubation, and increased after siRNA transfection, which was also suppressed by pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate.

Conclusions

Vitamin D and its receptor might be involved in the progression of diabetic nephropathy by regulating transforming growth factor‐β, angiotensinogen expression and apoptosis of podocytes. The processes are mediated through the signaling of nuclear factor‐κB pathway.
Prevalence of rosacea in the general population of Germany and Russia – The RISE study
Authors: Tan J. , Schöfer H. , Araviiskaia E. , Audibert F. , Kerrouche N. , Berg M. ,   the RISE study group
Published: February 2016

Background

There is an unmet need for general population‐based epidemiological data on rosacea based on contemporary diagnostic criteria and validated population survey methodology.

Objective

To evaluate the prevalence of rosacea in the general population of Germany and Russia.

Methods

General population screening was conducted in 9–10 cities per country to ensure adequate geographic representation. In Part I of this two‐phase study, screening of a representative sample of the general population (every fifth person or every fifth door using a fixed‐step procedure on a random route sample) was expedited with use of a questionnaire and algorithm based on current diagnostic criteria for rosacea. Of the subjects that screened positive in the initial phase, a randomly selected sample (every third subject) t`hen underwent diagnostic confirmation by a dermatologist in Part II.

Results

A total of 3052 and 3013 subjects (aged 18–65 years) were screened in Germany and Russia respectively. Rosacea prevalence was 12.3% [95%CI, 10.2–14.4] in Germany and 5.0% [95%CI, 2.8–7.2] in Russia. The profile of subjects with rosacea (75% women; mean age of 40 years; mainly skin phototype II or III, majority of subjects with sensitive facial skin) and subtype distribution were similar. Overall, 18% of subjects diagnosed with rosacea were aged 18–30 years. Over 80% were not previously diagnosed. Within the previous year, 47.5% of subjects had received no rosacea care and 23.7% had received topical and/or systemic drugs. Over one‐third (35% Germany, 43% Russia) of rosacea subjects reported a moderate to severe adverse impact on quality of life.

Conclusion

Rosacea is highly prevalent in Germany (12.3%) and Russia (5.0%). The demographic profile of rosacea subjects was similar between countries and the majority were previously undiagnosed.
Debris flow damage incurred to buildings: an in situ back analysis
Authors: Jalayer F. , Aronica G.T. , Recupero A. , Carozza S. , Manfredi G.
Published: February 2016

In an attempt to conduct a back analysis of the damage caused to a 19th century masonry structure due to the October 2009 flash flood/debris flow event in Scaletta Zanclea, a flood discharge hydrograph is reconstructed in the ungauged conditions. The hydrograph for the solid discharge is then estimated by scaling up the liquid volume to the estimated debris volume. The debris flow diffusion is simulated by solving the differential equations for a single‐phase two‐dimensional (2D) flow that employs triangular mesh elements, also taking into account the channelling of the flow through the buildings. The damage to the building is modelled using 2D finite shell elements and is based on the maximum hydraulic action caused by the debris flow. The boundary conditions provided by the openings, floor slabs, orthogonal wall panels and the foundations are also modelled. The reconstruction of the event and the damage to the case‐study building confirm the location of the damage induced by the event.
A new method to quantify breach sizes for the flood risk management of concrete arch dams
Authors: Fang C.‐H. , Chen J. , Duan Y.‐H. , Xiao K.
Published: February 2016

When predicting dam‐break floods and the associated risk zones for the flood risk management of dams, the breach size must be determined by considering the complex structure of the dam body under the effects of different loads. To predict the breach size quantitatively, this article proposes the concept of an element group, comprising a group of elements through the dam body. The dam‐body safety status is simulated by using the three‐dimensional (3D) finite element model ANSYS and is quantified by the element reliability index β for various loads such as hydraulic and earthquake loads. A new structural reliability method for calculating the breach size was developed to quantitatively predict the failure likelihood of a dam. This new method is more intuitive and reasonable than the point safety factor k. It allows for a more accurate and quantitative prediction of the breach size of new or existing dams. An existing Roller Compacted Concrete arch dam was taken as an example to demonstrate the applicability of the new method.
Economy‐wide Material Flow Indicators on a Sectoral Level and Strategies for Decreasing Material Inputs of Sectors
Authors: Kovanda Jan , Weinzettel Jan
Published: February 2016

The article presents a method for the calculation of selected economy‐wide material flow indicators (namely, direct material input [DMI] and raw material input [RMI]) for economic sectors. Whereas sectoral DMI was calculated using direct data from statistics, we applied a concept of total flows and a hybrid input‐output life cycle assessment method to calculate sectoral RMI. We calculated the indicators for the Czech Republic for 2000–2011. We argue that DMI of economic sectors can be used for policies aiming at decreasing the direct input of extracted raw materials, and imported raw materials and products, whereas sectoral RMI can be better used for justifying support for or weakening the role of individual sectors within the economy. High‐input material flows are associated in the Czech Republic with the extractive industries (agriculture and forestry, the mining of fossil fuels [FFs], other types of mining, and quarrying), with several manufacturing industries (manufacturing of beverages, basic metals, motor vehicles or electricity, and gas and steam supply) and with construction. Viable options for reducing inputs of agricultural biomass include changes in people's diet toward a lower amount of animal‐based food and a decrease in the wasting of food. For FFs, one should think of changing the structure of total primary energy supply toward cleaner gaseous and renewable energy sources, innovations in transportation systems, and improvements in overall energy efficiency. For metal ores, viable options include technological changes leading to smaller and lighter products, as well as consistent recycling and use of secondary metals.
Descriptive Analysis of A Complex Product Space: Drug–Beverage Mixtures
Authors: Pense‐Lheritier Anne‐Marie , Vallet Thibault , Aubert Arnaud , Courne Marie‐Anne , Lavarde Marc
Published: February 2016

Chemical submission is increasing by an occurring phenomenon that consists in administering psychoactive substances for criminal intent to an unaware victim. This diversion is usually achieved by adding a drug to the drink of the potential victim. This study aims essentially at providing a sensory method that would allow the detection of the sensory changes due to the drug. The complexity of this study stemmed from the large number of beverages and potential drugs that can be used for this ill‐intentioned act. The alcoholic beverages and soft drinks studied here were selected as a result of an on‐line survey, followed by a sorting task study, to which various drugs were added. A visual sensory profile was performed for all the different drug–beverage mixtures. The experienced sensory panel agreed on a lexicon of nine attributes that would allow the drug–beverage mixture to be characterized. A multivariate analysis was performed to study the effect of both the sample (drug–beverage pairs) and the panelists on the sensory profile. The pharmaceutical forms of the drug clearly impacted the following attributes: spotted surface, particles on the surface, suspended particles, cloudiness and sediment. The beverages also had an influence on the visual characteristics of the mixtures concerning opacity, color and effervescence.

Practical Application

Results of this study showed that visual sensory modification of drinks depends on both the drug and the beverage which suggests that the formulation of a drug must be designed to impact different sensory attributes. From a practical standpoint, both the sensory method and the lexicon presented in this article may be useful for researchers when developing drugs as these can be named according to the specific sensory changes created when mixed in beverages.
The Place of Construction in Sociological Realism
Authors: Martignani Luca
Published: February 2016

In the contemporary epistemological debate on social reality, characterized by the crisis of post‐modern theories and the emergence of new forms of realism, are there any approaches not acknowledging some specific ontological character to the construction of social objects? The question is apparently rhetorical, but the implication of this problem are not obvious. In the sociological literature the opposition between reality and construction is not clearly defined. Sometimes it is considered a dichotomy, in other situations the synthesis of alternative theses in a dialectical horizon. The more systematic attempt considers reality and construction as analytical macro‐dimensions where the relation between social ontology and epistemology operates. From this stance, the acknowledgement of the role of social construction in a wider realist horizon is the true overtaking of postmodern philosophy. If it is true that facts exist beyond representations, it is also true that representations themselves have a specific effect on reality, who continually re‐structures itself around specific relations of emergent power. Stating that reality is socially constructed is an evident limit of postmodern theories. On the other hand, stating that only facts exist constitute an impoverishment of realism and its replacement in neo‐positivism. Social phenomena are real because they are based on specific properties of the inter‐subjective construction of social reality. This thesis represents the revitalization of an advanced, anti‐positivistic realism and the definition of the specificity of social objects. The aim of this essay is to search for a specific place of construction within the development of realist social ontology.
Genomics of clinal variation in Drosophila: disentangling the interactions of selection and demography
Authors: Flatt Thomas
Published: February 2016

Clines in phenotypes and genotype frequencies across environmental gradients are commonly taken as evidence for spatially varying selection. Classical examples include the latitudinal clines in various species of Drosophila, which often occur in parallel fashion on multiple continents. Today, genomewide analysis of such clinal systems provides a fantastic opportunity for unravelling the genetics of adaptation, yet major challenges remain. A well‐known but often neglected problem is that demographic processes can also generate clinality, independent of or coincident with selection. A closely related issue is how to identify true genic targets of clinal selection. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, three studies illustrate these challenges and how they might be met. Bergland et al. report evidence suggesting that the well‐known parallel latitudinal clines in North American and Australian D. melanogaster are confounded by admixture from Africa and Europe, highlighting the importance of distinguishing demographic from adaptive clines. In a companion study, Machado et al. provide the first genomic comparison of latitudinal differentiation in D. melanogaster and its sister species D. simulans. While D. simulans is less clinal than D. melanogaster, a significant fraction of clinal genes is shared between both species, suggesting the existence of convergent adaptation to clinaly varying selection pressures. Finally, by drawing on several independent sources of evidence, Božičević et al. identify a functional network of eight clinal genes that are likely involved in cold adaptation. Together, these studies remind us that clinality does not necessarily imply selection and that separating adaptive signal from demographic noise requires great effort and care.
Connectivity in the cold: the comparative population genetics of vent‐endemic fauna in the Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean
Authors: Roterman C. N. , Copley J. T. , Linse K. T. , Tyler P. A. , Rogers A. D.
Published: February 2016

We report the first comparative population genetics study for vent fauna in the Southern Ocean using cytochrome C oxidase I and microsatellite markers. Three species are examined: the kiwaid squat lobster, Kiwa tyleri, the peltospirid gastropod, Gigantopelta chessoia, and a lepetodrilid limpet, Lepetodrilus sp., collected from vent fields 440 km apart on the East Scotia Ridge (ESR) and from the Kemp Caldera on the South Sandwich Island Arc, ~95 km eastwards. We report no differentiation for all species across the ESR, consistent with panmixia or recent range expansions. A lack of differentiation is notable for Kiwa tyleri, which exhibits extremely abbreviated lecithotrophic larval development, suggestive of a very limited dispersal range. Larval lifespans may, however, be extended by low temperature‐induced metabolic rate reduction in the Southern Ocean, muting the impact of dispersal strategy on patterns of population structure. COI diversity patterns suggest all species experienced demographic bottlenecks or selective sweeps in the past million years and possibly at different times. ESR and Kemp limpets are divergent, although with evidence of very recent ESR‐Kemp immigration. Their divergence, possibility indicative of incipient speciation, along with the absence of the other two species at Kemp, may be the consequence of differing dispersal capabilities across a ~1000 m depth range and/or different selective regimes between the two areas. Estimates of historic and recent limpet gene flow between the ESR and Kemp are consistent with predominantly easterly currents and potentially therefore, cross‐axis currents on the ESR, with biogeographic implications for the region.
Technology in Language Use, Language Teaching, and Language Learning
Authors: Chun Dorothy , Kern Richard , Smith Bryan
Published: February 2016

This article offers a capacious view of technology to suggest broad principles relating technology and language use, language teaching, and language learning. The first part of the article considers some of the ways that technological media influence contexts and forms of expression and communication. In the second part, a set of heuristic questions is proposed to help guide language teachers and researchers in determining how to incorporate technology into their teaching practice or research agenda and evaluate its suitability and impact. These questions are based primarily on the goal of helping learners to pay critical attention to the culturally encoded connections among forms, contexts, meanings, and ideologies that they will encounter and produce in different mediums, both traditional and new.
Language Policy and Planning in Language Education: Legacies, Consequences, and Possibilities
Authors: Wiley Terrence G. , García Ofelia
Published: February 2016

This article considers the relevance of language policy and planning (LPP) for language education in the United States in relation to the country's longstanding and continuing multilingualism. In reflecting on the U.S. context, one striking feature is the absence of a guiding overarching explicit national educational language policy. Language policies and practices may either promote or restrict the teaching of languages. Thus, whether having such a policy would be desirable for promoting the learning of languages depends on a number of factors such as the features of the policy and the extent to which it was adequately resourced, understood, valued, and implemented effectively, just to mention a few. Explicit language planning and policy making in the United States−when it does occur−tends to be done at the state, local, or institutional levels, or within rather limited domains of federal priorities, such as those related to defense or national security. Beyond formal policies, implicit language practices sometimes have more influence on language behavior. Even when policies are intended to promote languages, they may not always be well conceived, received, resourced, or implemented.

Given some of these issues, it is useful to consider the role of agency in language planning and policy (LPP). Even when guided by national or state top‐down policy agendas, policies can be interpreted and reinterpreted, by policy intermediaries, agents, administrators, or arbiters (Johnson, ). Moreover, within the context of school language policies, at the level of implementation, teachers, parents, and the students themselves help to determine the effectiveness of policies in practice (Menken & García, ). Beyond the schools, parents and stakeholders in the community can play significant roles in creating practices that have the force of policy from the bottom up. Given these considerations, this article weighs the role of policy and the legacy of past policies and their consequences; assesses some of the strengths and weaknesses of current policies and practices, both in schools and families and communities; and considers prospects for a more promising future that involves embracing the fundamental multilingualism of U.S. society, communities, and families. In so doing, the article reflects on alternatives to U.S. language education policy that would transcend national conceptions of languages so as to leverage speakers’ actual linguistic competence.
Re‐Envisioning the Roles, Tasks, and Contributions of Language Teachers in the Multilingual Era of Language Education Research and Practice
Authors: Kubanyiova Magdalena , Crookes Graham
Published: February 2016

This article lays out the proposition that the rapid changes in 21st‐century society, in which multilingualism is the norm, have presented new challenges, questions, and resources with regard to the roles, tasks, and contributions of language teachers. In line with recent research developments and in keeping with tradition, we believe it helpful to think of language teachers’ broader identity role as that of moral agent. We examine implications that such a re‐envisioning has for the knowledge base of language teachers and for the purposes and practices of language teacher education and professional development. Drawing on research in language teacher education, language teacher cognition, second language acquisition, and applied linguistics more broadly, we highlight the need to go beyond traditional notions of teachers’ knowledge of language, language learning, and language learners. We also subject to critical scrutiny the notions of effective pedagogies and reflective practice as the desired outcomes of language teacher preparation and development. Instead, we introduce critical alternatives that offer creative possibilities for educating teachers able and willing to serve student populations with diverse language learning needs across interlinguistic, sociopolitical, and historical contexts of language teaching.