bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Pirate or Anything
Authors: Ford Talissa J.
Published: January 2018

This chapter explores pirates, and pirate colonies, as imagined by Lord Byron and William Hone. The fictional pirates of these texts, like the pirates of A General History, are deeply implicated in the power structures that historical pirates tended to operate outside of: Byron’s and Hone’s pirates are tied to the nation, to the military, to religion, and to a sense of territory more generally. Reading The Corsair and The Bride of Abydos with the perspective of Hone and Don Juan in mind, this chapter argues that depictions of this particular kind of piratical failure function as a diagnosis of the imperial forces that threaten utopian imaginations, while Don Juan proposes a kind of spatial imagination that escapes rather than reinforces imperialism.
Conclusion: Land Pirates and Republican Ragamuffins
Authors: Ford Talissa J.
Published: January 2018

In conclusion I offer four brief readings, gestures towards places one might venture. The subjects are neither prophets nor pirates, but they are prophetic and piratic, practising a collective resistance both on land and at sea. This resistance is produced by and productive of mobility; it is a resistance that comes out of necessity and – by necessity – imagines a new system of power....
Simulate, Optimise, Partition: Algorithmic Diagrams of Pattern Recognition from 1953 Onwards
Authors: Mackenzie Adrian
Published: January 2018

Contemporary attempts to find patterns in data, ranging from the now mundane technologies of hand-writing recognition through to mammoth infrastructure-heavy practices of deep learning conducted by major business and government actors, rely on a group of techniques intensively developed during the 1950-60s in physics, engineering and psychology. Whether we designate them as pattern recognition, data mining, or machine learning, these techniques all seek to uncover patterns in data that cannot appear directly to the human eye, either because there are too many items for anyone to look at, or because the patterns are too subtly woven through in the data. From the techniques in current use, three developed in the Cold War era iconify contemporary modes of pattern finding: Monte Carlo simulation, gradient descent, and clustering algorithms that search for groups or clusters in data. Each of these techniques implements a different mode of pattern, and these different modes of pattern recognition flow through into contemporary scientific, technological, business and governmental problematizations. The different perspectives on event, trajectory, and proximity they embody imbue many power relations, forms of value and the play of truth/falsehood today.
The Meaning of Monte Bello
Authors: Purdon James
Published: January 2018

On 3 October 1952, the first successful British nuclear test was conducted near the Monte Bello islands off the coast of Australia. The test was a media event as well as a military one, reported in The Times and documented in the Ministry of Supply’s film Operation Hurricane. The Monte Bello test marked a key success for Britain’s nuclear ambitions and a new phase in its relations with the Commonwealth of Nations. Australia -- with its vast uranium deposits and remote desert proving-grounds -- became central to the production and testing of British nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the rhetoric of commodity circulation that had characterized the films of the Empire Marketing Board and the GPO provided a model for Operation Hurricane’s images of exported military hardware put to use in the former colony. This chapter traces these networks of exchange and their representation, showing how the Commonwealth’s iconography of nuclear defence revised the Empire’s iconography of free trade. It demonstrates how the supposedly remote and marginal spaces of the Australian continent came to serve British nuclear culture as a kind of geopolitical unconscious: a false terra nullius where, paradoxically, the strategic basis of the Commonwealth’s security could be created.
Streaming, Subbing, Sharing: Viki Global TV
Authors: Dwyer Tessa
Published: January 2018

This chapter presents a case study of global TV site Viki (www.viki.com), which offers amateur subtitling in around 200 languages for media from around the world. It focuses on the ways in which fansubbing and fan repurposing of technology has been adopted in the corporate and media industries via crowdsourcing, underscoring the commerce/community tensions that characterise ‘participatory culture’. In its aim to overcome the geopolitical constraints that limit the availability of media in many parts of the globe, Viki deploys a legal, business framework that overrides the national and linguistic biases of professional subtitling and dubbing via the ‘chaos’ of fan agency and interventionist practice. It also pinpoints the critical role played by language and multilingual publics within the evolving dynamics of convergence. Finally, this case study explores claims that fansubbing and other forms of community translation may be contributing to the ongoing marginalisation of linguistically diverse publics by enabling industry players to continue to underserve minor language communities.
Self or being without boundaries: on Śaṅkara and Parmenides
Authors: Robbiano Chiara
Published: January 2018

This chapter concerns an idea shared by Parmenides and Sankara, that boundaries between human individuals, and between things, are not real but imposed by humans, and so 'epistemologically weak'. In contrast to Descartes, for whom the being of which he is certain belongs to a thinking substance or soul, they would both argue that being does not belong to any substance: rather, any entity proposed as the subject of being is produced by our superimposition of boundaries on being, which is fundamentally undivided. For them both it is impossible to know anything other than being, and therefore impossible to know boundaries and (consequently) the things separated by boundaries. This metaphysics of undivided being may facilitate experiencing lack of boundaries, yielding 'unshakenness' and invulnerability (Parmenides), compassion and liberation (Sankara).
Soul chariots in Indian and Greek thought: polygenesis or diffusion?
Authors: Magnone Paolo
Published: January 2018

This chapter discusses the similarity between the allegories of the soul as chariot in Plato's Phaedrus and the Katha Upanishad. It begins by investigating the methodological assumptions underlying such cross-cultural comparison in the absence of pertinent historical documentation. Then the congruences and discrepancies between the two texts are reviewed. The allegory is integral to Upanishadic thought in a way that is unparalleled in Greek thought, and this supports the conjecture of diffusion in a westward direction. The paramount difference between the two texts is the idle passenger, absent from the Phaedrus but central to the allegory in the Katha Upanishad. This difference is significant as a watershed between Upanishad-based Indian and Plato-influenced Greek philosophy.
On Not Showing Dostoevskii’s Work: Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket
Authors: Hasty Olga Peters
Published: January 2018

This chapter focuses on Robert Bresson’s engagement of Dostoevskii’s Crime and Punishment in his 1959 film The Pickpocket. It argues that although Bresson suppresses Dostoevskii’s emphasis on psychology in favor of his own ascetic cinematic style, he nevertheless locates important points of contact with the novelist’s existentialist questions and concern for alienation from others. Bresson’s replacement of the murder of a pawnbroker with the crime of pickpocketing recalls another Dostoevskian novel, The Gambler, in which the protagonist tests himself against fate through risky bets at the roulette wheel that, similarly to Raskolnikov and Bresson’s hero Michel, enslave him in a compulsion that erodes his selfhood.
Fassbinder’s Nabokov—From Text to Action:Repressed Homosexuality, Provocative Jewishness, and Anti-German Sentiment
Authors: Ioffe Dennis
Published: January 2018

This chapter analyzes Werner Fassbinder’s 1978 film of Vladimir Nabokov’s 1936 novel Despair. In light of Nabokov’s own border crossing as a Russian immigrant in Berlin, Fassbinder draws out the implications of the German setting in the writer’s time. The chapter argues that by focusing on the homosexual and Jewish themes of the novel in light of Fassbinder’s own homosexuality and experience as a citizen of a nation that had carried out the Holocaust just before his birth in 1945, the director creates a complex cultural map of sexuality, religious identity, and the mental illness that plagues the protagonist, Hermann. Fassbinder also develops Nabokov’s device of the double: in the film, Hermann, by murdering his stand-in Felix as a symbolic suicide, allows him to experience a rebirth through a new identity, away from Germany and his financial, marital, and social problems.
Logos of ‘Potentia Dei’
Authors: Castrucci Emanuele
Published: January 2018

Chapter two deals with the problem of how Spinoza’s metaphysical approach relates – whether in agreement or in opposition – to the past philosophical tradition, from Aristotle to his Arabian readings (e.g. Averroes) of Aristotle’s Metaphysics, including Spinoza’s counter-arguments to both Greek-Arabian “necessitarism” and the naive anthropomorphism of Jewish theology, rooted in the Scriptures themselves. The issue therefore involves the ways in which the concepts of “Natural Law” and “Natural Right” will be formulated in The Western cultural tradition and philosophy, from St. Augustine to Aquinas, and from Duns Scotus to Ockham.
The Modern Colossus (1936–1938)
Authors: King James
Published: January 2018

This chapter details events in Roland Penrose's life from 1936 to 1938. In July 1936, Paul Éluard pressed Roland and Valentine to join him at Mougins on the Riviera. Many other surrealists would be there, he promised, including Picasso. Roland accepted the invitation, and he and Valentine motored south at the beginning of August. Picasso was fifty-four — nineteen years older than Roland — when they met. He was already considered one of the greatest artists of the century, having produced central modernist works during his Blue Period (1901–4), Rose Period (1905–7), an African-inspired Period (1908–9), Analytic Cubist Period (1909–12), Synthetic Cubist Period 1912–19) and Classical Period (1919–30). Whether or not Picasso could be labelled a surrealist, Roland admired no other artist — living or dead — more than the Spaniard.
The Ambiguity of Kantian Thought
Authors: Rölli Marc
Published: January 2018

Kant shows that thought is threatened less by error than by inevitable illusions that come from within reason. Thought is occasioned by a problem. but for thought itself the problem is circular: what belongs to thought de jure rather than de facto? Recognition is defined very generally by way of the harmonious use of the faculties with an object that is assumed to be the same for all faculties. But herewith Kant simply reduplicates the empirical in the transcendental, thanks to unquestioned common sense.
Kant’s Transcendental Critique of Classical Empiricism
Authors: Rölli Marc
Published: January 2018

Whereas the problem in this chapter is easy to state, the solution is convoluted. Kant asserts that simple empirical perceptions always already assume an original and necessary categorical connectivity of the whole manifold thanks to pure concepts of understanding. Deleuze agrees that sense data are not elementary but syntheses from virtual moments of complex affections. Classical empiricism begins with sense data which are in fact rooted in a conflation of transcendental and immanent prerequisites. For Kant the imagination successfully brings about the agreement of understanding and intuition because it schematises the form of the inner sense and indirectly leads to the unity of apperception.
Heidegger’s Metaphysics of Finitude
Authors: Rölli Marc
Published: January 2018

First it is important to learn how Heidegger introduces temporality into the understanding of Being as such. Time as pure intuitional form delivers the horizon of what can be empirically intuited. Time itself does not elapse, but the existence of that which is changeable elapses in it. Pure intuition implies a ‚duration’ so that it looks ahead to the coming of the now at any minute and looks back on its having just arrived. Heidegger attempts to derive the meaning of event as that which gives time and Being, but with this cryptic
onto-theological formulation: the enowning event eventuates on its own. For him subjectivity remains obediently indifferent. Deleuze on the other hand specifically derives a challenged and hence a fully particpating subjectivity out of eventful duration and thereby grounds what it means to live.
Shahrazūrī on Suhrawardī’s Suspended Images
Authors: van Lit L. W. C.
Published: January 2018

The chapter discusses how Shahrazūrī developed Suhrawardī’s ideas further. First, this thirteenth century thinker from presumably the border region of present day Iraq and Iran is introduced, paying especial attention to the intertextuality and chronology of his writings. The other sections discuss respectively how Shahrazūrī established his own interpretation, and what that interpretation exactly entails. The how-section details the move from technical term ‘suspended images’, which served an epistemological function, to the term ‘world of image’, which serves a cosmological function. The fact that his main argument is repeated four times in three different works attests to the importance of it for Shahrazūrī’s thinking. The what-section is divided into six topics: the name that Shahrazūrī gives for this world, the position he gives it within the cosmos, the topography of this world, the role it play for eschatology, and finally the assurance of its existence and attribution of the idea to ancient philosophy.
Neither Substance Nor Process IV: Existence and Resistance
Authors: Cogburn Jon
Published: January 2018

Chapter X explores Garcia’s accounts of gender, adolescence, and death. Each provides a good example of Garcia’s tragic aporetic dialectics.
The Political Economy of Devolution
Authors: Keating Michael
Published: January 2018

Small, devolved nations and regions lack major macro-economic powers. Yet in the context of spatial rescaling they have become important levels for managing economic growth and social cohesion. They may be exposed to a ‘race to the bottom’ by the need to attract investment capital. Yet, by adopting social investment strategies they can rec.oncling growth with social inclusion. The key factor is the institutional capacity to plan for the long term, to set priorities and to sustain cooperation among the social partners.
‘Parasitic publishers’? Tauchnitz, Albatross and the Continental Diffusion of Anglophone Modernism
Authors: Jaillant Lise
Published: January 2018

In 1933, Ezra Pound deplored modernism’s transition from “small honest magazines” to large-scale publishing houses. He described Tauchnitz and Albatross as “parasitic publishers,” eager to exploit James Joyce’s fame to make money. But this story leaves aside a central element: the fact that Joyce and Pound had eagerly courted publishers of cheap editions. Only when the interest of these publishers was no longer in doubt did Pound dismiss them as parasites eager to cash in on the growing popularity of modernism. This chapter is organised chronologically, starting with Joyce’s early relationship with Tauchnitz. It shows that the transnational nature of Tauchnitz, a German publisher of Anglophone literature, particularly appealed to expatriate modernists such as Joyce. The chapter then turns to the period from 1929 to 1932, at the time when Max Christian Wegner was manager-in-chief of Tauchnitz and attempted to modernise the company before co-founding Albatross. Wegner understood that titles by Joyce, Woolf and Lewis could appeal to a wide audience in Europe. The last section is on Albatross, a publisher that not only helped to popularise modernist texts, but was also shaped by the modernist movement. Its stylish covers and intrinsic cosmopolitanism exemplify modernism’s growing influence on mainstream culture in the 1930s.
American Grand Strategy under Obama
Authors: Löfflmann Georg
Published: January 2018

The book explores the breakdown of the elite consensus on America's role in the world. By emphasising military restraint and 'leading from behind' President Obama challenged the Washington foreign policy establishment and its strategic vision of liberal hegemony from within.Highlighting the identity performing function and discursive construction of grand strategy, the book demonstrates how the geopolitical identity of American exceptionalism is linked to the conduct of an activist and interventionist foreign policy, resulting in a dominant grand strategy of American primacy and global military pre-eminence. An intertextual framework of analysis is used to examine the political performance and validity of this dominant identity-policy link, and the success of countering discourses of cooperative engagement and restraint under the Obama presidency. The nexus of geopolitical identity and national security is traced through a multidimensional perspective that considers the common sense status of popular culture and media, the expertise of Washington think tanks and foreign policy experts, and the political decisions taken in the White House and the Pentagon.From an in-depth analysis of various competing discourses of national security and foreign policy, the book concludes that American grand strategy under Obama no longer represented a coherent and consistent equation of material resources and political ends, but a contested discursive space, where identity and policy no longer matched. This resulted in the conflicted and contradictory nature of the Obama Doctrine.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Agriculture in 2017
Authors:   Agriculture Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Agriculture maintains high quality standards for its published papers.[...]
Superoxide Dismutase Mimetic GC4419 Enhances the Oxidation of Pharmacological Ascorbate and Its Anticancer Effects in an H2O2-Dependent Manner
Authors: Heer Collin , Davis Andrew , Riffe David , Wagner Brett , Falls Kelly , Allen Bryan , Buettner Garry , Beardsley Robert , Riley Dennis , Spitz Douglas
Published: January 2018

Lung cancer, together with head and neck cancer, accounts for more than one-fourth of cancer deaths worldwide. New, non-toxic therapeutic approaches are needed. High-dose IV vitamin C (aka, pharmacological ascorbate; P-AscH−) represents a promising adjuvant to radiochemotherapy that exerts its anti-cancer effects via metal-catalyzed oxidation to form H2O2. Mn(III)-porphyrins possessing superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic activity have been shown to increase the rate of oxidation of AscH−, enhancing the anti-tumor effects of AscH− in several cancer types. The current study demonstrates that the Mn(II)-containing pentaazamacrocyclic selective SOD mimetic GC4419 may serve as an AscH−/O2•− oxidoreductase as evidenced by the increased rate of oxygen consumption, steady-state concentrations of ascorbate radical, and H2O2 production in complete cell culture media. GC4419, but not CuZnSOD, was shown to significantly enhance the toxicity of AscH− in H1299, SCC25, SQ20B, and Cal27 cancer cell lines. This enhanced cancer cell killing was dependent upon the catalytic activity of the SOD mimetic and the generation of H2O2, as determined using conditional overexpression of catalase in H1299T cells. GC4419 combined with AscH− was also capable of enhancing radiation-induced cancer cell killing. Currently, AscH− and GC4419 are each being tested separately in clinical trials in combination with radiation therapy. Data presented here support the hypothesis that the combination of GC4419 and AscH− may provide an effective means by which to further enhance radiation therapy responses.
Manipulating Propagation Constants of Silver Nanowire Plasmonic Waveguide Modes Using a Dielectric Multilayer Substrate
Authors: Xiang Yifeng , Chen Junxue , Zhang Douguo , Wang Ruxue , Kuai Yan , Lu Fengya , Tang Xi , Wang Pei , Ming Hai , Rosenfeld Mary , Badugu Ramachandram , Lakowicz Joseph
Published: January 2018

Experiments and numerical simulations demonstrate that when a silver nanowire is placed on a dielectric multilayer, but not the commonly used bare glass slide, the effective refractive index of the propagating surface plasmons along the silver nanowire can be controlled. Furthermore, by increasing the thickness of the top dielectric layer, longer wavelength light can also propagate along a very thin silver nanowire. In the experiment, the diameter of the silver nanowire could be as thin as 70 nm, with the incident wavelength as long as 640 nm. The principle of this control is analysed from the existence of a photonic band gap and the Bloch surface wave with this dielectric multilayer substrate.
Real-Time Reduction of Task-Related Scalp-Hemodynamics Artifact in Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy with Sliding-Window Analysis
Authors: Oda Yuta , Sato Takanori , Nambu Isao , Wada Yasuhiro
Published: January 2018

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an effective non-invasive neuroimaging technique for measuring hemoglobin concentration in the cerebral cortex. Owing to the nature of fNIRS measurement principles, measured signals can be contaminated with task-related scalp blood flow (SBF), which is distributed over the whole head and masks true brain activity. Aiming for fNIRS-based real-time application, we proposed a real-time task-related SBF artifact reduction method. Using a principal component analysis, we estimated a global temporal pattern of SBF from few short-channels, then we applied a general linear model for removing it from long-channels that were possibly contaminated by SBF. Sliding-window analysis was applied for both signal steps for real-time processing. To assess the performance, a semi-real simulation was executed with measured short-channel signals in a motor-task experiment. Compared with conventional techniques with no elements of SBF, the proposed method showed significantly higher estimation performance for true brain activation under a task-related SBF artifact environment.
SampleCNN: End-to-End Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Using Very Small Filters for Music Classification
Authors: Lee Jongpil , Park Jiyoung , Kim Keunhyoung , Nam Juhan
Published: January 2018

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have been applied to diverse machine learning tasks for different modalities of raw data in an end-to-end fashion. In the audio domain, a raw waveform-based approach has been explored to directly learn hierarchical characteristics of audio. However, the majority of previous studies have limited their model capacity by taking a frame-level structure similar to short-time Fourier transforms. We previously proposed a CNN architecture which learns representations using sample-level filters beyond typical frame-level input representations. The architecture showed comparable performance to the spectrogram-based CNN model in music auto-tagging. In this paper, we extend the previous work in three ways. First, considering the sample-level model requires much longer training time, we progressively downsample the input signals and examine how it affects the performance. Second, we extend the model using multi-level and multi-scale feature aggregation technique and subsequently conduct transfer learning for several music classification tasks. Finally, we visualize filters learned by the sample-level CNN in each layer to identify hierarchically learned features and show that they are sensitive to log-scaled frequency.
Localization Microscopy Analyses of MRE11 Clusters in 3D-Conserved Cell Nuclei of Different Cell Lines
Authors: Eryilmaz Marion , Schmitt Eberhard , Krufczik Matthias , Theda Franziska , Lee Jin-Ho , Cremer Christoph , Bestvater Felix , Schaufler Wladimir , Hausmann Michael , Hildenbrand Georg
Published: January 2018

In radiation biophysics, it is a subject of nowadays research to investigate DNA strand break repair in detail after damage induction by ionizing radiation. It is a subject of debate as to what makes up the cell’s decision to use a certain repair pathway and how the repair machinery recruited in repair foci is spatially and temporarily organized. Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) allows super-resolution analysis by precise localization of single fluorescent molecule tags, resulting in nuclear structure analysis with a spatial resolution in the 10 nm regime. Here, we used SMLM to study MRE11 foci. MRE11 is one of three proteins involved in the MRN-complex (MRE11-RAD50-NBS1 complex), a prominent DNA strand resection and broken end bridging component involved in homologous recombination repair (HRR) and alternative non-homologous end joining (a-NHEJ). We analyzed the spatial arrangements of antibody-labelled MRE11 proteins in the nuclei of a breast cancer and a skin fibroblast cell line along a time-course of repair (up to 48 h) after irradiation with a dose of 2 Gy. Different kinetics for cluster formation and relaxation were determined. Changes in the internal nano-scaled structure of the clusters were quantified and compared between the two cell types. The results indicate a cell type-dependent DNA damage response concerning MRE11 recruitment and cluster formation. The MRE11 data were compared to H2AX phosphorylation detected by γH2AX molecule distribution. These data suggested modulations of MRE11 signal frequencies that were not directly correlated to DNA damage induction. The application of SMLM in radiation biophysics offers new possibilities to investigate spatial foci organization after DNA damaging and during subsequent repair.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Diseases in 2017
Authors:   Diseases Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Diseases maintains high quality standards for its published papers.[...]
Using Entropy in Web Usage Data Preprocessing
Authors: Munk Michal , Benko Lubomir
Published: January 2018

The paper is focused on an examination of the use of entropy in the field of web usage mining. Entropy creates an alternative possibility of determining the ratio of auxiliary pages in the session identification using the Reference Length method. The experiment was conducted on two different web portals. The first log file was obtained from a course of virtual learning environment web portal. The second log file was received from the web portal with anonymous access. A comparison of the results of entropy estimation of the ratio of auxiliary pages and a sitemap estimation of the ratio of auxiliary pages showed that in the case of sitemap abundance, entropy could be a full-valued substitution for the estimate of the ratio of auxiliary pages.
Maximum Entropy Expectation-Maximization Algorithm for Fitting Latent-Variable Graphical Models to Multivariate Time Series
Authors: Maanan Saïd , Dumitrescu Bogdan , Giurcăneanu Ciprian
Published: January 2018

This work is focused on latent-variable graphical models for multivariate time series. We show how an algorithm which was originally used for finding zeros in the inverse of the covariance matrix can be generalized such that to identify the sparsity pattern of the inverse of spectral density matrix. When applied to a given time series, the algorithm produces a set of candidate models. Various information theoretic (IT) criteria are employed for deciding the winner. A novel IT criterion, which is tailored to our model selection problem, is introduced. Some options for reducing the computational burden are proposed and tested via numerical examples. We conduct an empirical study in which the algorithm is compared with the state-of-the-art. The results are good, and the major advantage is that the subjective choices made by the user are less important than in the case of other methods.
Anomalous Advection-Dispersion Equations within General Fractional-Order Derivatives: Models and Series Solutions
Authors: Liang Xin , Yang Yu-Gui , Gao Feng , Yang Xiao-Jun , Xue Yi
Published: January 2018

In this paper, an anomalous advection-dispersion model involving a new general Liouville–Caputo fractional-order derivative is addressed for the first time. The series solutions of the general fractional advection-dispersion equations are obtained with the aid of the Laplace transform. The results are given to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed formulations to describe the anomalous advection dispersion processes.
A Newly Secure Solution to MIMOME OFDM-Based SWIPT Frameworks: A Two-Stage Stackelberg Game for a Multi-User Strategy
Authors: Zamanipour Makan
Published: January 2018

The paper technically proposes a newly secure scheme for simultaneous wireless power and information transfer (SWIPT) frameworks. We take into account an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based game which is in relation to a multi-input multi-output multi-antenna Eavesdropper (MIMOME) strategy. The transceiver is generally able to witness the case imperfect channel state information (ICSI) at the transmitter side. Transferring power and information are conducted via orthogonally provided sub-carriers. We propose a two-step Stackelberg game to optimise the Utility Functions of both power and information parts. The price for the first stage (in connection with information) is the total power of the other sub-carriers over which the energy is supported. In this stage, the sum secrecy rate should be essentially maximised. The second level of the proposed Stackelberg game is in association with the energy part. In this stage, the price essentially is the total power of the other sub-carriers over which the information is transferred. In this stage, additionally, the total power transferred is fundamentally maximised. Subsequently, the optimally and near-optimally mathematical solutions are derived, for some special cases such as ICSI one. Finally, the simulations validate our scheme as well, authenticating our contribution’s tightness and efficiency.
Spurious Seasonality Detection: A Non-Parametric Test Proposal
Authors: Bariviera Aurelio , Plastino Angelo , Judge George
Published: January 2018

This paper offers a general and comprehensive definition of the day-of-the-week effect. Using symbolic dynamics, we develop a unique test based on ordinal patterns in order to detect it. This test uncovers the fact that the so-called “day-of-the-week” effect is partly an artifact of the hidden correlation structure of the data. We present simulations based on artificial time series as well. While time series generated with long memory are prone to exhibit daily seasonality, pure white noise signals exhibit no pattern preference. Since ours is a non-parametric test, it requires no assumptions about the distribution of returns, so that it could be a practical alternative to conventional econometric tests. We also made an exhaustive application of the here-proposed technique to 83 stock indexes around the world. Finally, the paper highlights the relevance of symbolic analysis in economic time series studies.
Adaptively Constrained Stochastic Model Predictive Control for the Optimal Dispatch of Microgrid
Authors: Guo Xiaogang , Bao Zhejing , Li Zhijie , Yan Wenjun
Published: January 2018

In this paper, an adaptively constrained stochastic model predictive control (MPC) is proposed to achieve less-conservative coordination between energy storage units and uncertain renewable energy sources (RESs) in a microgrid (MG). Besides the economic objective of MG operation, the limits of state-of-charge (SOC) and discharging/charging power of the energy storage unit are formulated as chance constraints when accommodating uncertainties of RESs, considering mild violations of these constraints are allowed during long-term operation, and a closed-loop online update strategy is performed to adaptively tighten or relax constraints according to the actual deviation probability of violation level from the desired one as well as the current change rate of deviation probability. Numerical studies show that the proposed adaptively constrained stochastic MPC for MG optimal operation is much less conservative compared with the scenario optimization based robust MPC, and also presents a better convergence performance to the desired constraint violation level than other online update strategies.
A Distributed Randomized Gradient-Free Algorithm for the Non-Convex Economic Dispatch Problem
Authors: Xie Jun , Yu Qingyun , Cao Chi
Published: January 2018

In this paper, a distributed randomized gradient-free algorithm (DRGF) is employed to solve the complex non-convex economic dispatch problem whose non-convex constraints include valve-point loading effects, prohibited operating zones, and multiple fuel options. The DRGF uses the Gauss approximation, smoothing parameters, and a random sequence to construct distributed randomized gradient-free oracles. By employing a consensus procedure, generation units can gather local information through local communication links and then process the economic dispatch data in a distributed iteration format. Based on the principle of projection optimization, a projection operator is adopted in the DRGF to deal with the discontinuous solution space. The effectiveness of the proposed approach in addressing the non-convex economic dispatch problem is demonstrated by simulations implemented on three standard test systems.
Impact of Optimum Allocation of Renewable Distributed Generations on Distribution Networks Based on Different Optimization Algorithms
Authors: Tolba Mohamed , Rezk Hegazy , Tulsky Vladimir , Diab Ahmed , Abdelaziz Almoataz , Vanin Artem
Published: January 2018

Integration of Renewable Distributed Generations (RDGs) such as photovoltaic (PV) systems and wind turbines (WTs) in distribution networks can be considered a brilliant and efficient solution to the growing demand for energy. This article introduces new robust and effective techniques like hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization in addition to a Gravitational Search Algorithm (PSOGSA) and Moth-Flame Optimization (MFO) that are proposed to deduce the optimum location with convenient capacity of RDGs units for minimizing system power losses and operating cost while improving voltage profile and voltage stability. This paper describes two stages. First, the Loss Sensitivity Factors (LSFs) are employed to select the most candidate buses for RDGs location. In the second stage, the PSOGSA and MFO are implemented to deduce the optimal location and capacity of RDGs from the elected buses. The proposed schemes have been applied on 33-bus and 69-bus IEEE standard radial distribution systems. To insure the suggested approaches validity, the numerical results have been compared with other techniques like Backtracking Search Optimization Algorithm (BSOA), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Algorithm (PSO), Novel combined Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization (GA/PSO), Simulation Annealing Algorithm (SA), and Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm (BFOA). The evaluated results have been confirmed the superiority with high performance of the proposed MFO technique to find the optimal solutions of RDGs units’ allocation. In this regard, the MFO is chosen to solve the problems of Egyptian Middle East distribution network as a practical case study with the optimal integration of RDGs.
Hot Spot Temperature and Grey Target Theory-Based Dynamic Modelling for Reliability Assessment of Transformer Oil-Paper Insulation Systems: A Practical Case Study
Authors: Cheng Lefeng , Yu Tao , Wang Guoping , Yang Bo , Zhou Lv
Published: January 2018

This paper develops a novel dynamic correction method for the reliability assessment of large oil-immersed power transformers. First, with the transformer oil-paper insulation system (TOPIS) as the target of evaluation and the winding hot spot temperature (HST) as the core point, an HST-based static ageing failure model is built according to the Weibull distribution and Arrhenius reaction law, in order to describe the transformer ageing process and calculate the winding HST for obtaining the failure rate and life expectancy of TOPIS. A grey target theory based dynamic correction model is then developed, combined with the data of Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) in power transformer oil, in order to dynamically modify the life expectancy calculated by the built static model, such that the corresponding relationship between the state grade and life expectancy correction coefficient of TOPIS can be built. Furthermore, the life expectancy loss recovery factor is introduced to correct the life expectancy of TOPIS again. Lastly, a practical case study of an operating transformer has been undertaken, in which the failure rate curve after introducing dynamic corrections can be obtained for the reliability assessment of this transformer. The curve shows a better ability of tracking the actual reliability level of transformer, thus verifying the validity of the proposed method and providing a new way for transformer reliability assessment. This contribution presents a novel model for the reliability assessment of TOPIS, in which the DGA data, as a source of information for the dynamic correction, is processed based on the grey target theory, thus the internal faults of power transformer can be diagnosed accurately as well as its life expectancy updated in time, ensuring that the dynamic assessment values can commendably track and reflect the actual operation state of the power transformers.
Improvement of Shade Resilience in Photovoltaic Modules Using Buck Converters in a Smart Module Architecture
Authors: Mirbagheri Golroodbari S. Zahra , De Waal Arjen. C. , Van Sark Wilfried G. J. H. M.
Published: January 2018

Partial shading has a nonlinear effect on the performance of photovoltaic (PV) modules. Different methods of optimizing energy harvesting under partial shading conditions have been suggested to mitigate this issue. In this paper, a smart PV module architecture is proposed for improvement of shade resilience in a PV module consisting of 60 silicon solar cells, which compensates the current drops caused by partial shading. The architecture consists of groups of series-connected solar cells in parallel to a DC-DC buck converter. The number of cell groups is optimized with respect to cell and converter specifications using a least-squares support vector machine method. A generic model is developed to simulate the behavior of the smart architecture under different shading patterns, using high time resolution irradiance data. In this research the shading patterns are a combination of random and pole shadows. To investigate the shade resilience, results for the smart architecture are compared with an ideal module, and also ordinary series and parallel connected architectures. Although the annual yield for the smart architecture is 79.5% of the yield of an ideal module, we show that the smart architecture outperforms a standard series connected module by 47%, and a parallel architecture by 13.4%.
Drag Reduction by Laminar Flow Control
Authors: Beck Nils , Landa Tim , Seitz Arne , Boermans Loek , Liu Yaolong , Radespiel Rolf
Published: January 2018

The Energy System Transition in Aviation research project of the Aeronautics Research Center Niedersachsen (NFL) searches for potentially game-changing technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation by promoting and enabling new propulsion and drag reduction technologies. The greatest potential for aerodynamic drag reduction is seen in laminar flow control by boundary layer suction. While most of the research so far has been on partial laminarization by application of Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) and Hybrid Laminar Flow Control (HLFC) to wings, complete laminarization of wings, tails and fuselages promises much higher gains. The potential drag reduction and suction requirements, including the necessary compressor power, are calculated on component level using a flow solver with viscid/inviscid coupling and a 3D Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver. The effect on total aircraft drag is estimated for a state-of-the-art mid-range aircraft configuration using preliminary aircraft design methods, showing that total cruise drag can be halved compared to today’s turbulent aircraft.
Novel Receiver-Enhanced Solar Vapor Generation: Review and Perspectives
Authors: Raza Aikifa , Lu Jin-You , Alzaim Safa , Li Hongxia , Zhang TieJun
Published: January 2018

Efficient solar vapor/steam generation is important for various applications ranging from power generation, cooling, desalination systems to compact and portable devices like drinking water purification and sterilization units. However, conventional solar steam generation techniques usually rely on costly and cumbersome optical concentration systems and have relatively low efficiency due to bulk heating of the entire liquid volume. Recently, by incorporating novel light harvesting receivers, a new class of solar steam generation systems has emerged with high vapor generation efficiency. They are categorized in two research streams: volumetric and floating solar receivers. In this paper, we review the basic principles of these solar receivers, the mechanism involving from light absorption to the vapor generation, and the associated challenges. We also highlight the two routes to produce high temperature steam using optical and thermal concentration. Finally, we propose a scalable approach to efficiently harvest solar energy using a semi-spectrally selective absorber with near-perfect visible light absorption and low thermal emittance. Our proposed approach represents a new development in thermally concentrated solar distillation systems, which is also cost-effective and easy to fabricate for rapid industrial deployment.
Interfacial Characterization by Pull-Out Test of Bamboo Fibers Embedded in Poly(Lactic Acid)
Authors: Viel Quentin , Esposito Antonella , Saiter Jean-Marc , Santulli Carlo , Turner Joseph
Published: January 2018

In this work, the apparent shear strength at the interface between a bamboo fiber and the surrounding poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix is quantified. A method for processing pull-out test samples within a controlled embedded length is proposed and the details of the test procedure are presented, along with a critical discussion of the results. Two series of samples are considered: untreated and mercerized bamboo fibers from the same batch, embedded in the same polyester matrix. Electron and optical microscopy are used to observe the fiber–matrix interface before and after the test, and to identify the failure mode of each sample, especially as regards the occurrence of fibrillation in the fiber bundles. The values of apparent interfacial shear strength are calculated only for regular fibers successfully pulled out from the matrix, and reported with their statistical variations. Mercerization, whose efficiency was proven by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, did not appear though to improve the quality of the interface (τapp = 7.0 ± 3.1 MPa for untreated fibers and τapp = 5.3 ± 2.4 MPa for treated fibers).
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Fluids in 2017
Authors:   Fluids Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Fluids maintains high quality standards for its published papers.[...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Foods in 2017
Authors:   Foods Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Foods maintains high quality standards for its published papers [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Geosciences in 2017
Authors:   Geosciences Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Geosciences maintains high quality standards for its published papers[...]
Postpartum Women’s Perspectives of Engaging with a Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist via Video Consultations for Weight Management: A Qualitative Evaluation
Authors: Vincze Lisa , Rollo Megan , Hutchesson Melinda , Callister Robin , Thompson Debbe , Collins Clare
Published: January 2018

Optimising weight status after childbirth is important. Video consultations are an unexplored opportunity to deliver real-time support to postpartum women to improve lifestyle behaviours. This study aims to provide insight into postpartum women’s perspectives of engaging with a dietitian and exercise physiologist through video consultations for tailored nutrition and exercise care. A qualitative study using individual telephone interviews (13–36 min) was undertaken. 21 women (body mass index (BMI): 28.1 ± 3.8 kg/m2; age: 32.3 ± 3.0 years; parity: 1.6 ± 0.9 children) who had completed the 8 week “Video-coaching to assist lifestyle (VITAL) change for mums” intervention participation included up to five video consultations with a dietitian and exercise physiologist. The interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed. Thematic data analysis was conducted by an independent researcher using NVIVO11. Themes relating to the video consultation experience included feeling that they did not differ from other consultations, they were convenient, and the length of time and flexible options were appropriate; however there was a desire for increased contact frequency. The dietitian and exercise physiologist were perceived to increase the participants’ knowledge and confidence to improve health behaviours. The approach to setting realistic and tailored goals was well received. Tailored advice from a dietitian and exercise physiologist received via video consultations is acceptable for postpartum women and offers a viable alternative to in-person care.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Horticulturae in 2017
Authors:   Horticulturae Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Horticulturae maintains high quality standards for its published papers [...]
Merging Real-Time Channel Sensor Networks with Continental-Scale Hydrologic Models: A Data Assimilation Approach for Improving Accuracy in Flood Depth Predictions
Authors: Javaheri Amir , Nabatian Mohammad , Omranian Ehsan , Babbar-Sebens Meghna , Noh Seong
Published: January 2018

This study proposes a framework that (i) uses data assimilation as a post processing technique to increase the accuracy of water depth prediction, (ii) updates streamflow generated by the National Water Model (NWM), and (iii) proposes a scope for updating the initial condition of continental-scale hydrologic models. Predicted flows by the NWM for each stream were converted to the water depth using the Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) method. The water level measurements from the Iowa Flood Inundation System (a test bed sensor network in this study) were converted to water depths and then assimilated into the HAND model using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF). The results showed that after assimilating the water depth using the EnKF, for a flood event during 2015, the normalized root mean square error was reduced by 0.50 m (51%) for training tributaries. Comparison of the updated modeled water stage values with observations at testing locations showed that the proposed methodology was also effective on the tributaries with no observations. The overall error reduced from 0.89 m to 0.44 m for testing tributaries. The updated depths were then converted to streamflow using rating curves generated by the HAND model. The error between updated flows and observations at United States Geological Survey (USGS) station at Squaw Creek decreased by 35%. For future work, updated streamflows could also be used to dynamically update initial conditions in the continental-scale National Water Model.