bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear Modeling of Neural Interaction for Spike Prediction Using the Staged Point-Process Model
Authors: Qian Cunle , Sun Xuyun , Zhang Shaomin , Xing Dong , Li Hongbao , Zheng Xiaoxiang , Pan Gang , Wang Yiwen
Published: October 2018

Neurons communicate nonlinearly through spike activities. Generalized linear models (GLMs) describe spike activities with a cascade of a linear combination across inputs, a static nonlinear function, and an inhomogeneous Bernoulli or Poisson process, or Cox process if a self-history term is considered. This structure considers the output nonlinearity in spike generation but excludes the nonlinear interaction among input neurons. Recent studies extend GLMs by modeling the interaction among input neurons with a quadratic function, which considers the interaction between every pair of input spikes. However, quadratic effects may not fully capture the nonlinear nature of input interaction. We therefore propose a staged point-process model to describe the nonlinear interaction among inputs using a few hidden units, which follows the idea of artificial neural networks. The output firing probability conditioned on inputs is formed as a cascade of two linear-nonlinear (a linear combination plus a static nonlinear function) stages and an inhomogeneous Bernoulli process. Parameters of this model are estimated by maximizing the log likelihood on output spike trains. Unlike the iterative reweighted least squares algorithm used in GLMs, where the performance is guaranteed by the concave condition, we propose a modified Levenberg-Marquardt (L-M) algorithm, which directly calculates the Hessian matrix of the log likelihood, for the nonlinear optimization in our model. The proposed model is tested on both synthetic data and real spike train data recorded from the dorsal premotor cortex and primary motor cortex of a monkey performing a center-out task. Performances are evaluated by discrete-time rescaled Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, where our model statistically outperforms a GLM and its quadratic extension, with a higher goodness-of-fit in the prediction results. In addition, the staged point-process model describes nonlinear interaction among input neurons with fewer parameters than quadratic models, and the modified L-M algorithm also demonstrates fast convergence.
Omitted Variable Bias in GLMs of Neural Spiking Activity
Authors: Stevenson Ian H.
Published: October 2018

Generalized linear models (GLMs) have a wide range of applications in systems neuroscience describing the encoding of stimulus and behavioral variables, as well as the dynamics of single neurons. However, in any given experiment, many variables that have an impact on neural activity are not observed or not modeled. Here we demonstrate, in both theory and practice, how these omitted variables can result in biased parameter estimates for the effects that are included. In three case studies, we estimate tuning functions for common experiments in motor cortex, hippocampus, and visual cortex. We find that including traditionally omitted variables changes estimates of the original parameters and that modulation originally attributed to one variable is reduced after new variables are included. In GLMs describing single-neuron dynamics, we then demonstrate how postspike history effects can also be biased by omitted variables. Here we find that omitted variable bias can lead to mistaken conclusions about the stability of single-neuron firing. Omitted variable bias can appear in any model with confounders—where omitted variables modulate neural activity and the effects of the omitted variables covary with the included effects. Understanding how and to what extent omitted variable bias affects parameter estimates is likely to be important for interpreting the parameters and predictions of many neural encoding models.
Use of a Deep Belief Network for Small High-Level Abstraction Data Sets Using Artificial Intelligence with Rule Extraction
Authors: Hayashi Yoichi
Published: October 2018

We describe a simple method to transfer from weights in deep neural networks (NNs) trained by a deep belief network (DBN) to weights in a backpropagation NN (BPNN) in the recursive-rule eXtraction (Re-RX) algorithm with J48graft (Re-RX with J48graft) and propose a new method to extract accurate and interpretable classification rules for rating category data sets. We apply this method to the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Data Set (WBCD), the Mammographic Mass Data Set, and the Dermatology Dataset, which are small, high-abstraction data sets with prior knowledge. After training these three data sets, our proposed rule extraction method was able to extract accurate and concise rules for deep NNs trained by a DBN. These results suggest that our proposed method could help fill the gap between the very high learning capability of DBNs and the very high interpretability of rule extraction algorithms such as Re-RX with J48graft.
Dense Associative Memory Is Robust to Adversarial Inputs
Authors: Krotov Dmitry , Hopfield John
Published: October 2018

Deep neural networks (DNNs) trained in a supervised way suffer from two known problems. First, the minima of the objective function used in learning correspond to data points (also known as rubbish examples or fooling images) that lack semantic similarity with the training data. Second, a clean input can be changed by a small, and often imperceptible for human vision, perturbation so that the resulting deformed input is misclassified by the network. These findings emphasize the differences between the ways DNNs and humans classify patterns and raise a question of designing learning algorithms that more accurately mimic human perception compared to the existing methods.

Our article examines these questions within the framework of dense associative memory (DAM) models. These models are defined by the energy function, with higher-order (higher than quadratic) interactions between the neurons. We show that in the limit when the power of the interaction vertex in the energy function is sufficiently large, these models have the following three properties. First, the minima of the objective function are free from rubbish images, so that each minimum is a semantically meaningful pattern. Second, artificial patterns poised precisely at the decision boundary look ambiguous to human subjects and share aspects of both classes that are separated by that decision boundary. Third, adversarial images constructed by models with small power of the interaction vertex, which are equivalent to DNN with rectified linear units, fail to transfer to and fool the models with higher-order interactions. This opens up the possibility of using higher-order models for detecting and stopping malicious adversarial attacks. The results we present suggest that DAMs with higher-order energy functions are more robust to adversarial and rubbish inputs than DNNs with rectified linear units.
Parent Exposure to Drugs: A “New” Adverse Childhood Experience With Devastating Behavioral Consequences
Authors: DeLisi Matt , Drury Alan J. , Elbert Michael J.
Published: October 2018

Household drug abuse is one of the seminal forms of adverse childhood experiences, but it does not fully capture the severity of parents that actively provide or even administer drugs to their children. Drawing on a near population of federal supervised release offenders, the current study examined this “new” adverse childhood experience and its association with antisociality. Multiple analytical techniques (e.g., correlation, binary and multinomial logistic regression, and negative binomial regression) indicated that parent exposure to drugs was significantly associated with current drug status while on supervision, three forms of drug offending, and Cannabis, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Opiate, and Alcohol Dependence even while controlling for age of arrest onset, sex, race, and current age. We concur with other scholars that more conceptualization and measurement-refinement of adverse childhood experiences is needed to fully understand how early-life trauma shapes the contours of the criminal career.
Exercising Leadership Within the Therapeutic Alliance: An Autonomy-Grounded Perspective
Authors: Kinsella Maurice
Published: October 2018

Leadership within therapeutic practice encompasses the capacity to formulate and accomplish strategies that are mindful of one’s ethical duty toward fostering clients’ autonomy. Here, clinical practitioners’ role as “leader” involves not only sustaining the momentum of the therapeutic alliance, but also contributing toward the purpose of this alliance. The very telos of therapy is to create an environment that facilitates clients’ ability to move toward autonomy: to lead clients, paradoxically, beyond a need to engage in the clinical relationship. Here, fostering client autonomy lies at the heart of therapeutic leadership because the experience of autonomy—which is developed interpersonally—expresses itself in a state of internal clarity and cohesiveness through which clients are more capable of exercising control over the trajectory of their life beyond the cessation of the therapeutic relationship. Three characteristics of the therapeutic leader are important in this regard: discernment, determination, and humility. Each of these are most fully exercised when the practitioner possesses a commitment to ensuring an ethic of collaboration and egalitarianism, underpinned by therapeutic “presence.”
Using Multicultural Picture Books to Promote Racial Justice in Urban Early Childhood Literacy Classrooms
Authors: Husband Terry
Published: October 2018

Recent census data indicate that student populations in U.S. classrooms continue to become increasingly racially diverse. Despite these changes, many early childhood teachers remain reluctant to teach children about race and racial justice. In this article, I argue that multicultural picture books can and should be used to promote racial awareness and racial justice among young children. I discuss reasons why early childhood teachers should abandon colorblind approaches to race and racism in their classrooms. Then, I provide a framework of multiple approaches to teaching children about race through multicultural picture books. Practical considerations are presented.
Whose Side Are You On? Asian Americans’ Mistrust of Asian–White Biracials Predicts More Exclusion From the Ingroup
Authors: Chen Jacqueline M. , Kteily Nour S. , Ho Arnold K.
Published: October 2018

We investigated Asian Americans’ perceptions of Asian–White biracials. Because the Asian/White boundary may be more permeable than other minority/White boundaries, we reasoned that Asian Americans are more likely than Black Americans to be skeptical of biracials, perceiving that biracials would prefer to identify as White and would be disloyal to Asians, consequently categorizing them as more outgroup. We further reasoned that Asian Americans’ concerns about and exclusion of biracials would be predicted by greater perceived discrimination against Asian Americans, which increases the incentive for biracials to pass into the higher status racial group. Studies 1 and 2 provided correlational support for these theorized relationships among Asian Americans. Study 2 showed that perceived discrimination did not increase Black Americans’ concerns about biracials’ identity preferences and loyalty. Studies 3 and 4 provided causal evidence for the roles of perceived discrimination and biracial identity preferences, respectively, in Asian Americans’ exclusion of biracials.
The Effect of Ideological Identification on the Endorsement of Moral Values Depends on the Target Group
Authors: Voelkel Jan G. , Brandt Mark J.
Published: October 2018

Research suggests that liberals and conservatives use different moral foundations to reason about moral issues (moral divide hypothesis). An alternative prediction is that observed ideological differences in moral foundations are instead driven by ingroup-versus-outgroup categorizations of competing political groups (political group conflict hypothesis). In two preregistered experiments (total N = 958), using experimentally manipulated measures of moral foundations, we test strong versions of both hypotheses and find partial support for both. Supporting the moral divide hypothesis, conservatives endorsed the binding foundations more strongly than liberals even when a moderate target group was explicitly specified. Supporting the political group conflict hypothesis, both conservatives and liberals endorsed moral foundations more when moral acts targeted ingroup versus outgroup members. These results have implications for improving measures of moral values and judgments and point to ways to enhance the effectiveness of strategies aimed at building bridges between people from different political camps.
Shared planning and control for mobile robots with integral haptic feedback
Authors: Masone Carlo , Mohammadi Mostafa , Robuffo Giordano Paolo , Franchi Antonio
Published: October 2018

This paper presents a novel bilateral shared framework for online trajectory generation for mobile robots. The robot navigates along a dynamic path, represented as a B-spline, whose parameters are jointly controlled by a human supervisor and an autonomous algorithm. The human steers the reference (ideal) path by acting on the path parameters that are also affected, at the same time, by the autonomous algorithm to ensure: (i) collision avoidance, (ii) path regularity, and (iii) proximity to some points of interest. These goals are achieved by combining a gradient descent-like control action with an automatic algorithm that re-initializes the traveled path (replanning) in cluttered environments to mitigate the effects of local minima. The control actions of both the human and the autonomous algorithm are fused via a filter that preserves a set of local geometrical properties of the path to ease the tracking task of the mobile robot. The bilateral component of the interaction is implemented via a force feedback that accounts for both human and autonomous control actions along the whole path, thus providing information about the mismatch between the reference and traveled path in an integral sense. The proposed framework is validated by means of realistic simulations and actual experiments deploying a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) supervised by a human operator acting via a force-feedback haptic interface. Finally, a user study is presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework and the usefulness of the provided force cues.
Supporting Parent Engagement in Children’s Learning through Neighborhood Development and Improvements to Accessibility
Authors: Makarewicz Carrie
Published: October 2018

External influences explain two-thirds of the income-based student “achievement gap” with parent engagement being especially important. Yet, public school improvements focus on within-school reforms, downplaying community conditions that challenge engagement. This study of seventy diverse parents in Oakland, California, utilized interviews, time-use diaries, neighborhood data, and participant observation to understand how a combination of personal characteristics, household resources, community amenities, housing stability, and accessibility affected parents’ abilities to engage in their children’s learning. Findings suggest planning can contribute to student achievement through investments and coordination that bolster parents’ time, energy, and resources for educational engagement in their homes, schools, and communities.
Validity Threats in Quantitative Data Collection With Games: A Narrative Survey
Authors: Gundry David , Deterding Sebastian
Published: October 2018

Background. Games are increasingly used to collect scientific data. Some suggest that game features like high cognitive load may limit the inferences we can draw from such data, yet no systematic overview exists of potential validity threats of game-based methods.

Aim. We present a narrative survey of documented and potential threats to validity in using games for quantitative data collection.

Method. We combined an unsystematic bottom-up literature review with a systematic top-down application of standard validity threat typologies to games to arrive at a systematisation of game-characteristic validity threats.

Results. We identify three game characteristics that potentially impact validity: Games are complex systems, impeding the predictable control and isolation of treatments. They are rich in unwanted variance and diversity. And their social framing can differ from and interact with the framing of research studies or non-game situations they are supposed to represent. The diversity of gamers and their differences to general populations bring further complications.

Discussion and Conclusions. The wealth of potential validity threats in game-based research is met by a dearth of systematic methodological studies, leading us to outline several future research directions.
A monolithic phase-field model of a fluid-driven fracture in a nonlinear poroelastic medium
Authors: van Duijn CJ , Mikelić Andro , Wick Thomas
Published: October 2018

In this paper, we present a full phase-field model for a fluid-driven fracture in a nonlinear poroelastic medium. The nonlinearity arises in the Biot equations when the permeability depends on porosity. This extends previous work (see Mikelić et al. Phase-field modeling of a fluid-driven fracture in a poroelastic medium. Comput Geosci 2015; 19: 1171–1195), where a fully coupled system is considered for the pressure, displacement, and phase field. For the extended system, we follow a similar approach: we introduce, for a given pressure, an energy functional, from which we derive the equations for the displacement and phase field. We establish the existence of a solution of the incremental problem through convergence of a finite-dimensional Galerkin approximation. Furthermore, we construct the corresponding Lyapunov functional, which is related to the free energy. Computational results are provided that demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in treating fluid-driven fracture propagation. Specifically, our numerical findings confirm differences with test cases using the linear Biot equations.
Magic words or talking point? The framing of ‘radical Islam’ in news coverage and its effects
Authors: Hoewe Jennifer , Bowe Brian J.
Published: October 2018

This study examines the use of the term ‘radical Islam’ as a framing device from two perspectives. First, a content analysis of The New York Times and Washington Post suggested that ‘radical Islam’ is a recent addition to the public lexicon and is rapidly rising in use. The term is more recently associated with negatively charged language and linked to terrorism. Second, an experiment showed that reading about a perpetrator associated with ‘radical Islam’ (as opposed to ‘terrorism’) led to an increase in Islamophobia among all participants – indicated through fear of Muslims and Islam. An interaction effect emerged such that self-identified conservatives did not differentiate between ‘radical Islam’ and ‘terrorism’ when determining culpability, but self-identified liberals did. These results indicate that the US news media has increasingly linked ‘radical Islam’ with terrorism and other negative ideas, while some sectors of the American public struggle to disentangle the two concepts.
Using dialogic reading strategies to promote social-emotional skills for young students: An exploratory case study in an after-school program
Authors: Fettig Angel , Cook Amy L , Morizio Laura , Gould Kaitlin , Brodsky Lauren
Published: October 2018

As educators begin to understand the need for a social-emotional learning curriculum for young students, finding opportunities to implement a curriculum that supports students’ social-emotional development is important. Research supports that using shared reading opportunities that are common in young students’ in-school and out-of-school routines to embed social-emotional learning could have potential impact for young students’ social emotional as well as academic development. This article describes an exploratory mixed-methods case study that examines the use of dialogic book reading strategies in promoting social-emotional skills of young elementary students in an after-school program in the United States. A pre–post case study design was employed to examine preliminary social-emotional outcomes. In addition, parent interviews were conducted to explore the perceived benefits of the intervention in the home environment. The results suggest that dialogic reading may be a helpful strategy to promote young students’ social-emotional learning. The implications for research and practice are discussed.
Measuring temporal and spatial travel efficiency for transit route system using low-frequency bus automatic vehicle location data
Authors: Yang Fengping , Peng Liqun , Wang Chenhao , Bai Yuelong
Published: October 2018

Although the bus probe data have been widely adopted for examining the transit route efficiency, this application cannot guarantee the accuracy in special temporal and spatial segments due to the inadequate probe samples. This study evaluates the feasibility of automatic vehicle location data as probes for the bus route travel time evaluation. Our techniques explore the minimum requirement of transit automatic vehicle location data to recover the bus trajectories in various spatial–temporal dimensions along the scheduled transit routes. First, a three-dimensional tensor is established to infer the uncovered link traveling information in current time slots and the last short-term period. Then, a general form is proposed to calculate the local mean travel speed and the average link travel time in each separated time slot of day. Finally, a case study has been conducted using field transit automatic vehicle location data running on a bus route corridor in Edmonton, Canada. The results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of low-frequency bus automatic vehicle location data as probes for transit route efficiency measurement by comparing with baseline approaches. This work also supports the feasibility of using automatic vehicle location–equipped buses as customized buses for choosing alternate path based on evaluating the current transit efficiency on all routes.
“Racists,” “Class Anxieties,” Hegemonic Racism, and Democracy in Trump’s America
Authors: Bonilla-Silva Eduardo
Published: October 2018

In this address, I challenge dominant narratives explaining the rise of Trumpism in America. Specifically, I dispute four ideas that have emerged to account for Trump’s election. First, I suggest that understanding his election as the product of the political activities of the “racists” severely limits our understanding of racism as a collective phenomenon. Second, I question the notion that Trump’s working class support was due to “class anxieties.” Third, I argue that despite the rise in old-fashioned racism in Trump’s America, the new racism and its ideology of color-blindness are still hegemonic. Last, I ask analysts and activists alike to realize that the fight for democracy in the turbulent times we are living cannot be equated with an effort to return to “politics as usual,” politics that have maintained the matrix of domination in place.
Role of Shear Wave Elastography in the Assessment of Fibrosis in Chronic Liver Disease
Authors: Bellamkonda Sravya , Paruthikunnan Samir M. , Kadavigere Rajagopal , Sripathi Smiti
Published: October 2018

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of shear wave elastography in the estimation of fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease by using biopsy and/or serum markers as reference standard. Materials and methods: 100 patients underwent point quantification-shear wave elastography, for whom noninvasive serum fibrosis indices like APRI, FIB-4, and King’s score were calculated. The receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed. Results: The shear wave elastography measurements showed moderate agreement with APRI, FIB-4, and fair agreement with King’s score. The AUROC for differentiating F0-F1, F2-F3, F2-F3, and F4 are 0.873 and 0.504 respectively using APRI as reference standard. The cutoff values derived for differentiating F0-F1 and F2-F3 was 7.07 and for differentiating F2-F3 and F4 was 11.94. Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of shear wave elastography is comparable with that of serum fibrosis indices APRI and FIB-4.
Simultaneous calibration and inversion algorithm for multiconfiguration electromagnetic induction data acquired at multiple elevations
Authors: Tan Xihe , Mester Achim , von Hebel Christian , Zimmermann Egon , Vereecken Harry , van Waasen Stefan , van der Kruk Jan
Published: October 2018

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) is a contactless and fast geophysical measurement technique. Frequency-domain EMI systems are available as portable rigid booms with fixed separations up to approximately 4 m between the transmitter and the receivers. These EMI systems are often used for high-resolution characterization of the upper subsurface meters (up to depths of approximately 1.5 times the maximum coil separation). The availability of multiconfiguration EMI systems, which measure multiple apparent electrical conductivity ([Formula: see text]) values of different but overlapping soil volumes, enables EMI data inversions to estimate electrical conductivity ([Formula: see text]) changes with depth. However, most EMI systems currently do not provide absolute [Formula: see text] values, but erroneous shifts occur due to calibration problems, which hinder a reliable inversion of the data. Instead of using physical soil data or additional methods to calibrate the EMI data, we have used an efficient and accurate simultaneous calibration and inversion approach to avoid a possible bias of other methods while reducing the acquisition time for the calibration. By measuring at multiple elevations above the ground surface using a multiconfiguration EMI system, we simultaneously obtain multiplicative and additive calibration factors for each coil configuration plus an inverted layered subsurface electrical conductivity model at the measuring location. Using synthetic data, we verify our approach. Experimental data from five different calibration positions along a transect line showed similar calibration results as the data obtained by more elaborate vertical electrical sounding reference measurements. The synthetic and experimental results demonstrate that the multielevation calibration and inversion approach is a promising tool for quantitative electrical conductivity analyses.
The 3D seismic characteristics and significance of the strike-slip faults in the Tazhong area (Tarim Basin, China)
Authors: Pu RenHai , Li KunBai , Dong Machao , Cao ZiCheng , Xu Pengye
Published: October 2018

The eastern part of Tazhong area in the Tarim Basin consists of three sets of vertical strike-slip faults oriented in north–northeast (36°azimuth), east–northeast (68° azimuth), and west–northwest (126°azimuth) directions that cut the strata from Cambrian to Carboniferous. The fault belts indicate significant horizon upwarp and downwarp deformations and variations in their stratigraphic thickness on seismic profiles. Through detailed interpretation of the 3D seismic data, we consider that these phenomena reflect the different stress properties and active stages of the faults. The horizon upwarp and downwarp within the fault belts correlated respectively to the decrease and increase in stratigraphic thickness within the fault belts in comparison to the coeval counterpart of the bilateral fault blocks. For the same fault, different stratigraphic intervals express different types of horizon deformation and thickness changes. The horizon downwarp and the contemporaneous stratigraphic thickening inside the fault belts suggest the transtensional actions of the fault. The horizon upwarp and the contemporaneous thinning within the fault belts suggest transpressional actions of the fault. Based on this, we inferred the active periods of the three sets of strike-slip faults. The north–northeast-striking faults were formed in the late Ordovician Sangtamu Formation. This set of faults experienced four stages, i.e., sinistral transpression, sinistral transtension, static, and transtension. The east–northeast and west–northwest-striking faults initiated in the mid-Cambrian period as coupled transtension. Activity ceased in the west–northwest faults after the mid-Cambrian and in the east–northeast faults during the late Ordovician. The three sets of strike-slip faults all affect the formation of the hydrothermal dissolution reservoirs that are distributed in the Ordovician carbonate rocks.
The impact of a quality improvement skills-building programme on self-efficacy
Authors: Tweed Alison , Gilbert Lucy
Published: October 2018

Background:

The Quality and Service Improvement Redesign Practitioner programme is a five-day action-based educational programme for UK healthcare and NHS professionals delivered by the ACT Academy of NHS Improvement. The programme provides a grounding in improvement science for participants undertaking projects in real time.

Aims:

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of the programme upon participant's self-efficacy.

Methods:

The General Self-Efficacy scale was given to participants on the first and last day of the Quality and Service Improvement Redesign Practitioner programme, covering a four-month time frame. In total, 108 healthcare participants from four cohorts of the programme completed the measure.

Results:

A one-tailed t-test showed that self-reported self-efficacy scores significantly increased from the start to the end of the programme.

Conclusions:

The results provide positive evidence for the impact of the programme upon self-reported self-efficacy for those actively engaged in quality improvement work in healthcare.
Planning for St Andrew's Day
Authors: Neville Sarah
Published: October 2018

He was the original ‘fisher of men’ and is said to have travelled widely spreading the Christian message, but who was St Andrew and how can we relate to him today?
Mathematics: E for Even numbers…
Authors: Hammond Paula , Lillie Stephen
Published: October 2018

This month, we continue our series based on the maths area of learning in the foundation stage, providing an A-Z of activities that will help children progress while having fun.
Supporting colleagues and pupils
Authors: Stanley Julian
Published: October 2018

How can we support colleagues and students with mental health issues? Julian Stanley advises
Blood sampling guidelines with focus on patient safety and identification – a review
Authors: Cornes Michael , Ibarz Mercedes , Ivanov Helene , Grankvist Kjell
Published: October 2018

It has been well documented over recent years that the preanalytical phase is a leading contributor to errors in the total testing process (TTP). There has however been great progress made in recent years due to the exponential growth of working groups specialising in the field. Patient safety is clearly at the forefront of any healthcare system and any reduction in errors at any stage will improve patient safety. Venous blood collection is a key step in the TTP, and here we review the key errors that occur in venous phlebotomy process and summarise the evidence around their significance to patient safety. Recent studies have identified that patient identification and tube labelling are the steps that carry the highest risk with regard to patient safety. Other studies have shown that in 16.1% of cases, patient identification is incorrectly performed and that 56% of patient identification errors are due to poor labelling practice. We recommend that patient identification must be done using open questions and ideally three separate pieces of information. Labelling of the tube or linking the identity of the patient to the tube label electronically must be done in the presence of the patient whether it is before or after sampling. Combined this will minimise any chance of patient misidentification.
Grape Pips from Etruscan and Roman Cetamura del Chianti: On Stratigraphy, Literary Sources and Pruning Hooks
Authors: de Grummond Nancy T.
Published: October 2018

Recently an article appeared raising some issues about the interpretation of grape pips that were excavated at Cetamura del Chianti by the present writer (2012-14). This commentary makes suggestions concerning the arguments in that article with reference to 1) stratigraphy at the site; 2) literary sources on Etruscan viticulture; and 3) the use of the pruning hook by the Etruscans. The present article makes a contribution to the study of Etruscan viticulture by assembling an appendix on actual pruning hooks that have been discovered in Italy dating from the Late Bronze Age down to the second century B. C. E., as well as an appendix on representations of a youth holding the pruning hook in Etruscan art, mainly from the fourth and third centuries B. C. E.
The Unbearable Errorlessness of Global Poverty Estimates
Authors: Moatsos Michail
Published: October 2018

In October 2015 the World Bank initiated the Atkinson Commission on Global Poverty seeking advise on (1) keeping the international poverty line (iPL) constant in real terms, and (2) what else the Bank should make available to complement the dollar-a-day estimates. The Commission’s Report bears a set of 21 key recommendations, largely covering the most important voiced worries of the research community over the Bank’s methods and estimates. In response the Bank adopted fully and unconditionally only one–out of ten–recommendations regarding point one above, and three–out of nine–recommendations to the second point. In addition the Bank accepted one of the two overarching recommendations. Among the remaining 16 sidelined or partially accepted recommendations lies arguably the most obvious and important one: the urge that the Bank publishes the error terms of its estimates. Without them these estimates are supported by little else other than the administrative authority of the Bank.
Imperial Monetary Policy and Social Reaction in Third Century Rome
Authors: Kallmes Kevin
Published: October 2018

In the third century AD, under the pressure of plagues, external invasion, rising army costs, and usurpation, the Roman emperors incrementally debased the silver coinage that was produced at their imperial mints and incrementally took over civic mints. The debasement, from 2.7 g of silver to 0.04 g of silver in the equivalent of a denarius from 160–274 ad, was accompanied by worries from emperors, mint-workers, and bankers about the value of the currency; however, the total loss of purchasing power of the Roman coinage from the same era was 50–70 %, far less than would be expected from the change in metallic content, if it were the primary source of value. The currency reform of Aurelian in 274 ad, despite raising metallic values of coins, was followed by at least a 90 % reduction in the purchasing power of the silver coinage from 274–301 ad, the year of Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices, showing a paradoxically inverse relationship between metallic value and purchasing power.

Based on this quandary, I argue that the Roman silver coinage of the third century CE became a fiat currency in some respects, deriving its guarantee from imperial iconography and assurances rather than from bullion value. The fiat nature of the silver coinage was largely present in usage as a medium of exchange for those without as much long-term interest in maintaining liquid stores of value; this is indicated by the differential debasement of the denarius and aureus; imperial actions and hoarding practices indicate the extent to which the currency was accepted at nominal value. I examine the reactions of different social groups in order to determine the perceived value of the Roman coinage during this time, and in order to understand the paradoxical collapse in the currency’s value in the late third century.

To demonstrate this, I will present the applicable elements of the modern concept of “fiat” to this context through portrayal of emperors and usurpers on coins, use coin hoard data to determine the effect of Gresham’s Law, and examine historical and papyrological accounts of currency reforms. I will also use evidence of the expansion of taxes in kind and the rejection of nominal value by both emperor and subjects to argue that the inflation following Aurelian’s reform resulted from an invalidation of the trust in imperial fiat.
A case-study in historical sociolinguistics beyond Europe: Reconstructing patterns of multilingualism in a linguistic community in Siberia
Authors: Khanina Olesya , Meyerhoff Miriam
Published: October 2018

A collection of traditional and ‘old life’ stories recorded in the late 1940s is used to reconstruct the sociolinguistic situation of the Enets community in Northern Siberia from the 1850s until the 1930s. The Enets had regular contacts with a number of neighbouring indigenous peoples (Nganasans, Tundra Nenets, Selkups, Evenkis, Dolgans) and later with Russian newcomers. The oral histories often comment on language use, and as a result we can reconstruct not only the languages that the Enets people used in this period, but also the contexts in which they used them. The Enets community’s multilingualism was typically characterized by command of key neighbouring languages, with the occasional command of other more (geographically and socially) remote ones. With close neighbours, language choice seems to have had limited social load, while in cases of trade or agonistic contact, the choice of language in interethnic communication seems to have followed a principle of asymmetric convergence towards the language of the party with the greatest contextual social power. The analysis is founded on a database of dozens of communicative events mentioned in the oral stories (over 50 are analyzed). Ongoing fieldwork on the modern sociolinguistic situation suggests that until quite recently there was considerable stability in the sociolinguistic norms governing multilingual interaction among the Enets.
Comparative variationism for the study of language change: five centuries of competition amongst Spanish deontic periphrases
Authors: Blas Arroyo José Luis
Published: October 2018

Based on a corpus composed entirely of texts close to the pole of communicative immediacy, mainly private letters from the sixteenth, eighteenth and twentieth centuries (c. 1960), this paper analyses the results of a variationist study on the historical evolution undergone by the Spanish modal periphrases with three distinct auxiliary verbs (haber, tener, deber). Using the heuristic tools of the comparative method, the data show that variation has been constrained by a handful of common factor groups over almost five centuries. Nonetheless, with the odd exception, these factors have conditioned each verb in a different way. Moreover, the sense of this variation changes as time goes by, with especially relevant reorganisation in the first part of the twentieth century. Furthermore, there is a notable association between these constraints and the degree of markedness and the frequency of the conditioning contexts, giving support to a usage-based approach to language change in which cognitive processes such as entrenchment play a decisive role. These data also allow a particular profile to be traced for each modal verb in the history of Spanish, in whichtenerandhaberfinally undergo a complementary distribution, whereasdeberfollows a different pattern. After several centuries of stagnation,tenerbecomes the star in the deontic firmament of spontaneous communication, diffusing abruptly as a change from below in the twentieth century, and replacinghaber, which had been the unmarked variant for centuries.
Separators and electrolytes for rechargeable batteries: Fundamentals and perspectives
Authors: Nestler Tina , Roedern Elsa , Uvarov Nikolai F. , Hanzig Juliane , Antonio Elia Giuseppe , de Vivanco Mateo
Published: October 2018

Separators and electrolytes provide electronic blockage and ion permeability between the electrodes in electrochemical cells. Nowadays, their performance and cost is often even more crucial to the commercial use of common and future electrochemical cells than the chosen electrode materials. Hence, at the present, many efforts are directed towards finding safe and reliable solid electrolytes or liquid electrolyte/separator combinations. With this comprehensive review, the reader is provided with recent approaches on this field and the fundamental knowledge that can be helpful to understand and push forward the developments of new electrolytes for rechargeable batteries. After presenting different types of separators as well as the main hurdles that are associated with them, this work focuses on promising material classes and concepts for next-generation batteries. First, chemical and crystallographic concepts and models for the description and improvement of the ionic conductivity of bulk and composite solid electrolytes are outlined. To demonstrate recent perspectives, research highlights have been included in this work: magnesium borohydride-based complexes for solid-state Mg batteries as well as all-in-one rechargeable SrTiO3 single-crystal energy storage. Furthermore, ionic liquids pose a promising safe alternative for future battery cells. An overview on their basic principles and use is given, demonstrating their applicability for Li-ion systems as well as for so-called post-Li chemistries, such as Mg- and Al-ion batteries.
Electrochemical and thermodynamic properties of U4+and U3+on Mo electrode in LiCl-KCl eutectic
Authors: Lin Ru-Shan , Wang You-Qun , Meng Zhao-Kai , Chen Hui , Jia Yan-Hong , He Hui , Ye Guo-An
Published: October 2018

In this study, UCl4was prepared by the reaction of HCl gas with UO2in the LiCl-KCl eutectic. Then, the electrochemical behavior of U4+and U3+on a Mo cathode was investigated by various electrochemical techniques. The reduction process of U4+was regarded as two steps: U4++e=U3+; U3++3e=U. Diffusion coefficients of U4+and U3+, the apparent standard potential of U4+/U3+, U3+/U as well as U4+/U in the LiCl-KCl molten salt on the Mo electrode was determined by numerous electrochemical methods. The thermodynamic functions of formation of Gibbs free energy of UCl4and UCl3are calculated as well.
Patients’ perspective of the effectiveness and acceptability of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments of fibromyalgia
Authors: Taylor Sophie J. , Steer Michael , Ashe Simon C. , Furness Penny J. , Haywood-Small Sarah , Lawson Kim
Published: October 2018

Background and aims

Fibromyalgia is a complex condition characterised by widespread pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue and cognitive impairment, with a global mean prevalence estimated at 2.7%. There are inconsistencies in guidelines on the treatment of fibromyalgia leading to dissatisfaction from patients and healthcare professionals. This study investigated patient-reported outcomes of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment usage and effectiveness with an assessment of acceptability.

Methods

Nine hundred and forty-one participants completed a self-administered anonymous questionnaire giving quantitative data of demographics, treatment usage and treatment outcomes. Participant-reported effectiveness and side effects were compared in the following treatment classes: analgesics, antidepressants, gabapentinoids, gastrointestinal treatments, activity interventions, dietary-based treatments, and psychological, physical and alternative therapies. Participants also reported whether they knew about or had tried different treatments.

Results

The results from the online survey indicated that the range of mean effectiveness ratings were similar for pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, whereas non-pharmacological treatments had lower side effects ratings and higher acceptability relative to pharmacological treatments. Participants were not aware of some treatment options.

Conclusions

The results show lower side effects ratings and higher acceptability for non-pharmacological treatments compared to pharmacological treatments despite similar effectiveness ratings.

Implications

This article presents results from a large online survey on fibromyalgia patient perspectives of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. Results will inform healthcare professionals and patients about optimal treatments based on ratings of effectiveness, side effects and acceptability that are tailored to patient symptom profiles. Some participants were unaware of treatment options highlighting the importance of patient education allowing collaboration between patients and healthcare professionals to find optimal treatments.
Aminkomplexe des Goldes, Teil 11a: Strukturen zweier (Methylamin)gold(I)-Komplexe
Authors: Döring Cindy , Jones Peter G.
Published: October 2018

The first methylamine complexes of gold are reported. Both crystallize in chiral trigonal space groups. In bis(methylamine)gold(I) chloride [(CH3NH2)2Au]+ Cl−, the gold and chlorine atoms lie on twofold axes in space group P3121. The packing is largely determined by two hydrogen bonds of the form N–H···Cl, which combine to form chains of rings, the latter with graph set

R
4
2

(
12
)
.

${\rm{R}}_4^2(12).$

Aurophilic interactions are at best borderline [Au···Au 3.9014(2) Å]. Cyano(methylamine)gold(I), (CH3NH2)AuCN crystallizes in space group P31; the molecules are connected by short aurophilic contacts [Au···Au 3.1507(2) Å] to form spiral chains parallel to the c axis, and also by two hydrogen bonds of the form N–H···N≡C.
Postpeak Deformability Parameters of Localized and Nonlocalized Damage Zones of Rocks under Cyclic Loading
Authors: Munoz H. , Taheri A.
Published: October 2018

Previous studies on the effects of cyclic loading on the strength and deformability behavior of rocks under uniaxial conditions, i.e., strength damage together with the degradation of rocks’ mechanical properties, have solely taken into account the postpeak stress strain regime. Nevertheless, rock may experience cyclic loading history in the postpeak regime as well. In this study, the effects of cyclic loading on the deformational characteristics of both the nonlocalized damage zone (NLDZ) and the localized damage zone (LDZ) of rock in the postpeak regime are investigated. A series of postpeak damage-controlled tests were carried out on three different rock types, including sandstone, limestone, and granite specimens. Three-dimensional digital image correlation was implemented to measure the strain development in the surface of the specimens. Strain localization was found to be more significant in the lateral direction and less occurrent in the axial direction. In addition, it was observed that the material located in the NLDZ experiences much less damage in contrast to material located in the LDZ. Both large irreversible strain accumulation and Young’s modulus degradation were found to take place progressively in the LDZ, initially occurring at a lower rate and then faster as the number of loading-unloading cycles increased. In this regard, the extent of irreversible deformation and stiffness degradation in the LDZ is considered to be a major contributor to the global loss of strength of the entire specimen.