bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the Assemblages of Informal and Formal Transnational Social Protection
Authors: Bilecen Başak , Barglowski Karolina
Published: November 2014

Social protection is an assemblage of informal and formal elements. These opposites – ‘informal’ and ‘formal’ – have been a feature of social policy discourse for a long time. Here, informal social protection is taken as that provided by interpersonal networks, whereas formal social protection is conceptualised as being provided by the state and organisations. This article draws on several bodies of literature on social protection to show how the informal and formal are entangled. We argue for tracing them as ‘assemblages’, going beyond a static understanding of social protection because social actors constantly negotiate the use of informal welfare schemes with formal ones. These negotiations have implications for social inequalities arising out of heterogeneities. Therefore, this article advocates an understanding that recognises that informal and formal protection are interconnected and approached as an assemblage that is important to life chances and, thus, to the production and reproduction of inequalities in transnational social spaces. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Modeling and validating Bayesian accrual models on clinical data and simulations using adaptive priors
Authors: Jiang Yu , Simon Steve , Mayo Matthew S. , Gajewski Byron J.
Published: November 2014

Slow recruitment in clinical trials leads to increased costs and resource utilization, which includes both the clinic staff and patient volunteers. Careful planning and monitoring of the accrual process can prevent the unnecessary loss of these resources. We propose two hierarchical extensions to the existing Bayesian constant accrual model: the accelerated prior and the hedging prior. The new proposed priors are able to adaptively utilize the researcher's previous experience and current accrual data to produce the estimation of trial completion time. The performance of these models, including prediction precision, coverage probability, and correct decision‐making ability, is evaluated using actual studies from our cancer center and simulation. The results showed that a constant accrual model with strongly informative priors is very accurate when accrual is on target or slightly off, producing smaller mean squared error, high percentage of coverage, and a high number of correct decisions as to whether or not continue the trial, but it is strongly biased when off target. Flat or weakly informative priors provide protection against an off target prior but are less efficient when the accrual is on target. The accelerated prior performs similar to a strong prior. The hedging prior performs much like the weak priors when the accrual is extremely off target but closer to the strong priors when the accrual is on target or only slightly off target. We suggest improvements in these models and propose new models for future research. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of modified single‐wall carbon nanotubes on mechanical and morphological properties of thermoplastic elastomer nanocomposites based on (polyamide 6)/(acrylonitrile butadiene rubber)
Authors: Naderi Ghasem , Ghoreishy Mir Hamid Reza , Moradi Mojtaba
Published: November 2014

Thermoplastic elastomer nanocomposites based on acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and polyamide 6 (PA6), with acid functionalized single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT), were prepared via a direct melt‐mixing process in an internal mixer. The influence of SWNT content (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5) on morphological properties of PA6/NBR with different ratios (80/20, 70/30, 60/40) were then investigated. Characterization of nanocomposites was conducted by using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and mechanical properties. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs proved the droplet‐matrix blend morphology in which the size of NBR droplets decreased as the SWNT loading increased, suggesting dispersion of SWNT in the PA6 phase. It was further proved by transmission electron microscopy images, showing homogenous dispersion of SWNT in the PA6 phase. Differential scanning calorimetry results showed a slightly reduced percentage of crystallinity in samples containing SWNT. The mechanical properties of nanocomposites indicated an enhancement in tensile strength, modulus, and hardness on increasing SWNT content. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 22:336–341, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers
A critical review of global decarbonization scenarios: what do they tell us about feasibility?
Authors: Loftus Peter J. , Cohen Armond M. , Long Jane C. S. , Jenkins Jesse D.
Published: November 2014

Dozens of scenarios are published each year outlining paths to a low carbon global energy system. To provide insight into the relative feasibility of these global decarbonization scenarios, we examine 17 scenarios constructed using a diverse range of techniques and introduce a set of empirical benchmarks that can be applied to compare and assess the pace of energy system transformation entailed by each scenario. In particular, we quantify the implied rate of change in energy and carbon intensity and low‐carbon technology deployment rates for each scenario and benchmark each against historical experience and industry projections, where available. In addition, we examine how each study addresses the key technical, economic, and societal factors that may constrain the pace of low‐carbon energy transformation. We find that all of the scenarios envision historically unprecedented improvements in energy intensity, while normalized low‐carbon capacity deployment rates are broadly consistent with historical experience. Three scenarios that constrain the available portfolio of low‐carbon options by excluding some technologies (nuclear and carbon capture and storage) a priori are outliers, requiring much faster low‐carbon capacity deployment and energy intensity improvements. Finally, all of the studies present comparatively little detail on strategies to decarbonize the industrial and transportation sectors, and most give superficial treatment to relevant constraints on energy system transformations. To be reliable guides for policymaking, scenarios such as these need to be supplemented by more detailed analyses realistically addressing the key constraints on energy system transformation. WIREs Clim Change 2015, 6:93–112. doi: 10.1002/wcc.324

This article is categorized under:

Integrated Assessment of Climate Change > Integrated Scenario Development

The Carbon Economy and Climate Mitigation > Decarbonizing Energy and/or Reducing Demand
The impact of biofuel demand on agricultural commodity prices: a systematic review
Authors: Persson U. Martin
Published: November 2014

By diverting agricultural land away from food, feed, and livestock production, increased production of biofuel feedstock crops tend to drive up prices for agricultural commodities. But by how much? This question has been heavily debated in recent years, following the food price crisis of 2007–2008. A systematic review of 121 studies that quantifies the impact of biofuel demand on agricultural commodity markets reveals that there is still considerable uncertainty around the exact magnitude of the price response. Increased demand for corn ethanol in the United States—the focus of the majority of studies—is estimated to have accounted for 14–43% of the rise in US corn prices in the period 2000–2008. The divergence in results between studies is mainly due to different assumptions regarding demand and supply elasticities for agricultural commodities, and there is very limited empirical evidence that can help reduce the uncertainty around the value of these parameters, especially outside the United States. Few studies analyze the impact of biofuel demand beyond current or near‐future levels and it is argued that estimated price effects can neither be extrapolated to large‐scale biofuel demand shocks, nor are most models able to capture accurately the impacts of such shocks due to weaknesses in how land markets and land transformation process are modeled. To better gauge current and future impacts of biofuel demand on agricultural commodity markets, we need better data on supply and demand responses, both in the short and long run, as well as improved modeling of land competition and land‐use change. WIREs Energy Environ 2015, 4:410–428. doi: 10.1002/wene.155

This article is categorized under:

Bioenergy > Economics and Policy

Energy and Development > Economics and Policy
Remote control of signaling pathways using magnetic nanoparticles
Authors: Bonnemay Louise , Hoffmann Céline , Gueroui Zoher
Published: November 2014

Our ability to quantitatively control the spatiotemporal properties of cellular information processing is key for understanding biological systems at both mechanistic and systemic level. In this context, magnetic field offers a relevant strategy of control over cellular processes that broaden the toolbox currently available in cell biology. Among the increasing number of methods, we will focus on recent advances based on magnetic nanoparticles conjugated to proteins to trigger specific signaling pathways and cellular processes. Extracellular or intracellular manipulations of nanoparticles permit magnetic control of ion channels and membrane receptor activation, protein positioning within cells and cytoskeleton spatial engineering. These approaches provide powerful strategies to examine the organization principles of living cells. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2015, 7:342–354. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1313

This article is categorized under:

Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Cells at the Nanoscale

Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology
Immature dunlins Calidris alpina migrate towards wintering grounds later than adults in years of low breeding success
Authors: Meissner Włodzimierz
Published: November 2014

Dunlin (Calidris alpina) females migrate ahead of males towards their wintering grounds, but the factors influencing the timing of this migration is incompletely understood. In our long-term (1991–2000) study of the autumn migration phenology of male and female dunlins, as adult and immature birds separately, we noted that the difference in mean migration dates between sexes was the greatest in years of high breeding success, reaching 5 days in immature birds and 7 days in adult birds. In other, relatively less successful years, this difference could reach 2 days in immature birds and 3 days in adult birds. As Dunlin females are not fully involved in parental care, the timing of their migration appears to be determined mainly by the timing of the start of the breeding season. In males, the timing of the autumn migration appears to depend primarily on the time spent on breeding and parental care. Hence, in years of high breeding success, with a high number of offspring, the males stayed longer at the breeding grounds. In the years with a high and moderate production of offspring, immature birds departed ahead of adults, probably due to their very low breeding success. A novel finding of our study is that in the years of overall low breeding success the opposite was true: immature birds migrated later than adults and much later than in other years. The plausible explanation is that lack of experience may result in greater tendency of immature birds to renest after failure of the first clutch, especially when high breeding failures of earlier arriving adult Dunlins may lead to decreasing competition at the breeding ground. However, in years of low breeding success, there was no difference in mean migration date between immature males and females, indicating that although immature birds stayed longer at the breeding grounds, they had a very low breeding success.
Bürger in der Verantwortung. Veränderte Akteursrollen in der Bereitstellung ländlicher Daseinsvorsorge
Authors: Steinführer Annett
Published: November 2014

Since the mid-20th century, state interventions and investments have helped rural areas undergo a strong process of modernization (“urbanization”). Due to this de- velopment, the provision of public services is still widely considered to be a top-down process today. Yet this per- ception was never entirely true (when considering, for ex- ample, voluntary fire brigades). Moreover, in the course of loss-making and highly indebted municipal budgets and socio-demographic changes, the division of work be- tween the different actors—whether suppliers, customers or facilitators in this process—is blurred. At the same time, the tasks and quality of service provision are constantly transforming. This paper argues, firstly, that the provision of public services implies a transfer of responsibilities to highly different actors, thus leading to confusion and a lack of public knowledge concerning exact responsi- bilities. Secondly, in this new constellation of actors, also citizens are held responsible. This “responsibilization” ties in with existing roles and is, to a certain degree, accepted by rural populations. Yet, this new complexity also leads to increasing challenges with regard to the steering and facilitating roles of public administrations. The empirical part of the paper deals with three distinct public services: public schools, broadband internet and voluntary fire bri-gades. The analysis shows that in these fields self-responsi- bilization plays a crucial role—yet, not to replace the state as an actor but to adapt public services to new standards or avoid a further degradation of these services.
Prospect Theory predictions in the field: Risk seekers in settings of weak accounting controls
Authors: Abdel-khalik A. Rashad
Published: November 2014

In his review of 30 years of research in Prospect Theory, Barberis (2013) notes that support for Prospect Theory had come mainly from the laboratory. In this paper, I write about a recurring phenomenon in real life that is consistent with Prospect Theory predictions in decision-making loss domain. The 60 cases noted in this paper are associated with specific risk seekers that had cost more than $140 billion (an average of $2.33 billion per case). Given space consider– ations, I provide synopses for 14 cases. A few of these cases have been discussed in the extant literature in connection with internal control, but were not considered from the perspective of Prospect Theory. It is striking that these cases are costly, all participants are young men, and almost all had followed the gambler’s martingale strategy – i.e., double down. While these cases are informative about risk-seeking behavior, they are not sufficiently systematic to be subjected to stylized archival research methods.
A review of 33 years (1980–2013) of data indicating a rise in ectopic pregnancy in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Al‐Turki Haifa A.
Published: November 2014

Objective

To assess the trend in ectopic pregnancy (EP) at a single center in Saudi Arabia and to compare the data with those from the rest of Saudi Arabia.

Methods

In a retrospective study, data were analyzed from patients admitted to King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, with a diagnosis of EP between January 2011 and December 2013. The prevalence of EP was calculated as a percentage of the number of live births during the study period. A 30‐year review of publications on EP in Saudi Arabia was done via search engines.

Results

During the study period, there were 58 EPs among 3818 deliveries, giving an overall incidence of 1.5% at the study center; the incidence of EP in the rest of the country during this period was 0.5%. Between 2002 and 2004, the country's incidence was 0.6% as compared with 1% at the study center.

Conclusion

The incidence of EP in Saudi Arabia has increased in the past few decades.
The U–Pb age and Lu–Hf isotope composition of detrital zircon from metasedimentary rocks of the Onot greenstone belt (Sharyzhalgay uplift, southern Siberian craton)
Authors: Turkina O.M. , Sergeev S.A. , Kapitonov I.N.
Published: November 2014

We present data on the composition of metasedimentary rocks from the greenstone belt of the Onot terrane (Sharyzhalgay uplift) and results of U–Pb dating (SHRIMP II) and Lu–Hf isotope study of detrital zircon from garnet–staurolite schists. The metasedimentary rocks of the Onot greenstone belt are dominated by garnet- and staurolite-bearing schists alternating with amphibolites (metabasalts) in the upper part of the section. Compositionally the protoliths of garnet–staurolite schists correspond to sedimentary rocks, ranging from siltstone to pelitic mudstone. The trace-element characteristics of the garnet–staurolite schists indicate that the terrigenous material was derived from three different rock types, such as tonalite–trondhjemite plagiogneisses (elevated Gd/Yb ratios), mafic rocks (elevated Cr/Th ratios and reduced Th/Sc ratios), and felsic igneous rocks formed by crustal melting (the presence of a Eu minimum), which agrees with the set of potential source rocks from the Onot terrane. The age of predominant detrital zircon reflects the erosion of mainly Neoarchean igneous rocks; this fact, combined with the poor rounding of zircon and tectonically active sedimentation conditions accompanied by mafic volcanism, suggests that the probably depositional age is ca. 2.7 Ga. Older source rocks (2.80–3.35 Ga) contributed to the sediment deposition along with the Neoarchean ones. According to the Hf isotope composition of detrital zircon from the garnet–staurolite schists, the source provenances had different crustal prehistories. The source provenances include Paleoarchean and juvenile Neoarchean crust and rocks formed by the mixing of melts from ancient and juvenile crustal sources.
The Elements of Materia Medica and Therapeutics
Authors: Pereira Jonathan
Published: November 2014

After training as an apothecary and surgeon, Jonathan Pereira (1804–53) taught materia medica for many years. His lectures at the medical school in London's Aldersgate Street were highly successful and formed the basis for the first edition of his major encyclopaedic work on medicinal substances. A pioneering text in the field of pharmacology, Pereira's work, which he subsequently updated in further editions, provided pharmacists and medical professionals with a more rigorous scientific understanding of the drugs and remedies they prescribed. After Pereira's death, medical jurist Alfred Swaine Taylor (1806–80) and physician George Owen Rees (1813–89) prepared this revised and expanded fourth edition, interspersed with instructive woodcuts. Volume 1 (1854) includes discussion of 'physical remedies' such as heat, cold and electricity, and 'hygienic remedies' of diet, exercise and climate. It then focuses on general pharmacological practice and specific drugs, describing the medicinal properties of inorganic compounds.
With Peary near the Pole
Authors: Astrup Eivind
Published: November 2014

This 1898 English translation of a popular 1895 Norwegian work provides a valuable first-hand account of Arctic exploration in Greenland. Elvind Astrup (1871–95) took part in the expeditions led by the American explorer Robert Peary (1856–1920) between 1891 and 1894. Another of Astrup's shipmates during this time was Frederick Cook (1865–1940), who would later claim to be the first man to have reached the North Pole. Astrup gives here a short narrative of the expeditions, yet the real appeal of his work lies in its vivid descriptions of life on the ice - not merely that of the explorers, but crucially that of the Inuit, whose survival skills and techniques were later to prove invaluable during Peary's own drive towards the Pole. Numerous illustrations are spread throughout the text, based on sketches and photographs taken during the expeditions.
The Franklin Expedition from First to Last
Authors: King Richard
Published: November 2014

Having participated in a rescue mission to aid John Ross in the Arctic in the 1830s, traveller and surgeon Richard King (1810/11–76) considered himself qualified to suggest where the missing expedition of Sir John Franklin, which had set off in 1845, could be found. In his letters to periodicals, government ministers and the Admiralty, published in this collection in 1855, King argues that the missing party would be located near the mouth of the Great Fish River. He volunteered to lead a search expedition, but was ignored. By 1859, remains of the Franklin party had been discovered near to where King said they would be. These letters tell the story of his campaign, throwing light on an interesting chapter in the history of polar exploration and the understanding of the Canadian Arctic. Several other works on Franklin's last expedition and the subsequent searches are also reissued in this series.
The Career, Last Voyage, and Fate of Captain Sir John Franklin
Authors: Osborn Sherard
Published: November 2014

The disappearance of Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition of 1845 led to many rescue attempts, some by the British government, and some by private individuals. This short 1860 account of Franklin's life and of the search for him was written by the experienced naval officer Sherard Osborn (several of whose other works have been reissued in this series) with a view to inspiring the youth of Britain to follow the great explorer's example of duty and rectitude. Osborn (1822–75) had begun his naval career in the Far East, but was a pioneering commander of steam-powered ships, and his performance in the steam tender HMS Pioneer in the 1850 rescue expedition confirmed the efficiency of this new technology in icy waters. Decorated for his role in the Crimean War, and later active in railway and telegraph technology, he continued to take an interest in Arctic exploration, and in steamships, until his death.
The Possibility of Approaching the North Pole Asserted
Authors: Barrington Daines
Published: November 2014

Daines Barrington (1727/8–1800) and Mark Beaufoy (1764–1827) became fellows of the Royal Society in 1767 and 1790 respectively. Barrington's contributions to the Philosophical Transactions favoured natural history, but another of his passions was polar exploration and a potential sea route through the Arctic Ocean. Beaufoy, an astronomer and physicist, was notably involved in discerning changes in the earth's magnetic field. Reissued in its 1818 second edition, these papers discuss Arctic exploration and evidence for the theorised open polar sea. Barrington's tracts, originally dating from the 1770s, draw on the testimony of those navigators who had ventured into high latitudes. Though flawed, his hopes of explorers pushing through the pack ice retain considerable historical interest. A map of the North Pole and the surrounding region, so far as it was known, is included. The appendix contains Beaufoy's papers from 1817, including questions answered by Russians who wintered on Spitsbergen.
Substance of Several Courses of Lectures on Music
Authors: Crotch William
Published: November 2014

An exceptional child prodigy at the keyboard, the organist and composer William Crotch (1775–1847) attracted the attention of both George III and Charles Burney, going on to become one of the most eminent musical figures of his day. Following a period of study in Cambridge, at the age of fifteen he was appointed organist at Christ Church, Oxford. At twenty-one he assumed the university's chair of music, a post he retained until his death. The first principal of the Royal Academy of Music between 1822 and 1832, Crotch is remembered today for his oratorio Palestine. The present work, which first appeared in 1831, made his expertise available to a wider audience. Based on popular lectures given in Oxford and London, the book includes a penetrating assessment of contemporary musical taste and a list of Crotch's sheet music. His Elements of Musical Composition (1812) is also reissued in this series.
Menander, New Comedy and the Visual
Authors: Petrides Antonis K.
Published: November 2014

This book argues that New Comedy has a far richer performance texture than has previously been recognised. Offering close readings of all the major plays of Menander, it shows how intertextuality - the sustained dialogue of New Comedy performance with the diverse ideological, philosophical, literary and theatrical discourses of contemporary polis culture - is crucial in creating semantic depth and thus offsetting the impression that the plots are simplistic love stories with no political or ideological resonances. It also explores how the visual aspect of the plays ('opsis') is just as important as any verbal means of signification - a phenomenon termed 'intervisuality', examining in particular depth the ways in which the mask can infuse various systems of reference into the play. Masks like the panchrēstos neaniskos (the 'all-perfect youth'), for example, are now full of meaning; thus, with their ideologically marked physiognomies, they can be strong instigators of literary and cultural allusion.
A Portrait of Judge P. H. Kooijmans – A Passionate Advocate of the Rule of Law in International Affairs
Authors: SCHRIJVER NICO
Published: November 2014

In 2013 the Netherlands lost its standard bearer in international law. After a short period of illness, Pieter Hendrik Kooijmans died at the age of 79 on 13 February 2013. Some time before his illness the author had an extensive and frank interview with Judge Kooijmans who reflected on his life and work, especially on his intellectual formation, his understanding of the essence and core functions of law, his experiences as UN special rapporteur on torture, his ideas on reform of the International Court of Justice, and the great changes that have taken place in international law. This portrait shows a fine man with a strong sense of justice who was fully dedicated to the substance of public international law without turning a blind eye to its shortcomings and relative influence in international and domestic affairs. The interview is preceded by an introduction and concludes with some observations on his long and productive life in the service of peace, justice, and respect for human rights through the law.
Who Owns the Oil that Traverses a Boundary on the Continental Shelf in an Enclosed Sea? Seeking Answers in Natural Law through Grotius and Selden
Authors: LOJA MELISSA H.
Published: November 2014

The principle of sovereign rights under UNCLOS countenances competition among littoral states for ownership of a common oil deposit through the unilateral exploitation of their continental shelf. This leads to conflict, wastage, and resource sterilization. However, rather than apply the principle of sovereign rights, states seem to turn to natural law principles as a more reasonable regulation of their activities on the continental shelf. Two sources of natural law principles are relevant. One source consists of a priori principles of sociableness and necessity which prescribe that, for their own preservation, states ought to act pursuant to the common good. These principles underlie energy security policies which espouse interdependence. Another source of natural law principles are international agreements and national laws in which states temper their sovereign rights and interests and recognize the co-existence of the rights and interests of other states in a common deposit. These practices constitute a posteriori intervenient or secondary law of nations, which appears similar to customary law. Adherence is not dictated by conviction that these principles are obligatory. Rather, adherence seems to be based on discernment that, while permissible under the principle of sovereign rights, unilateral appropriation is impermissible under natural law.
Bifunctional covalent organic frameworks with two dimensional organocatalytic micropores
Authors: Shinde Digambar Balaji , Kandambeth Sharath , Pachfule Pradip , Kumar Raya Rahul , Banerjee Rahul
Published: November 2014

We report the successful incorporation of bifunctional (acid/base) catalytic sites in the crystalline organocatalytic porous COF (2,3-DhaTph). Due to the presence of acidic (catachol) and basic (porphyrin) sites, 2,3-DhaTph shows significant selectivity, reusability, and excellent ability to perform the cascade reaction.
Single primer-triggered isothermal amplification for double-stranded DNA detection
Authors: Ma Cuiping , Han Dianang , Deng Meilian , Wang Jingfei , Shi Chao
Published: November 2014

We have developed a single primer-triggered isothermal amplification (SAMP) for double-stranded DNA detection method with its simplicity, sensitivity, and robustness.
Oxidation catalysis in air with Cp*Ir: influence of added ligands and reaction conditions on catalytic activity and stability
Authors: Gunay Ahmet , Mantell Mark A. , Field Kathleen D. , Wu Wenbo , Chin Michael , Emmert Marion H.
Published: November 2014

The systematic evaluation of Ir catalysts generates the highest reported TONs and a safe protocol for air oxidation.
Polyisobutylene oligomer-bound polyoxometalates as efficient and recyclable catalysts for biphasic oxidations with hydrogen peroxide
Authors: Yahya Rana , Craven Michael , Kozhevnikova Elena F. , Steiner Alexander , Samunual Peerada , Kozhevnikov Ivan V. , Bergbreiter David E.
Published: November 2014

Oxidative desulfurization and alkene epoxidation proceed in heptane–water biphasic system through facile phase transfer of POM by amine terminated oligomer.
Organogels for low-power light upconversion
Authors: Vadrucci Roberto , Weder Christoph , Simon Yoan C.
Published: November 2014

Low-power green-to-blue upconverting poly(vinyl alcohol)/DMF/DMSO-based organogels containing palladium(ii) mesoporphyrin IX sensitizer and diphenylanthracene emitter are presented as a versatile new approach for efficient, self-standing solid-state upconverting materials.
Tunable and rapid self-assembly of block copolymers using mixed solvent vapors
Authors: Park Woon Ik , Tong Sheng , Liu Yuzi , Jung Il Woong , Roelofs Andreas , Hong Seungbum
Published: November 2014

Pattern generation of well-controlled block copolymers (BCPs) with a high Flory–Huggins interaction parameter (χ) is important for applications in sub-20 nm nanolithography.
Wool graft polyacrylamidoxime as the adsorbent for both cationic and anionic toxic ions from aqueous solutions
Authors: Cao Chun , Kang Hongliang , Che Ning , Liu Zhijing , Li Pingping , Zhang Chao , Li Weiwei , Liu Ruigang , Huang Yong
Published: November 2014

Wool graft polyacrylamidoxime (W-g-PAO) was synthesized using coarse wool as the raw keratin material. The W-g-PAO can be used as the cheap and excellent adsorbent for the removal of both cationic and anionic toxic ions from waste water. The approach can be extended to the modification of other waste raw keratin materials and used them as the blocks for the fabrication of functional materials.
Highly portable fluorescent turn-on sensor for sulfide anions based on silicon nanowires
Authors: Wang Huimin , Mu Lixuan , Jin Liangliang , She Guangwei , Xu Haitao , Shi Wensheng
Published: November 2014

A portable fluorescent sensor for S2− based on SiNW arrays was realized and used to monitor S2− in running water.
A new Cu-based system for formic acid dehydrogenation
Authors: Scotti Nicola , Psaro Rinaldo , Ravasio Nicoletta , Zaccheria Federica
Published: November 2014

The production of H2 from HCOOH was achieved using simple Cu compounds and different HCOOH/amine adducts.
An eco-friendly synthesis of novel 3,5-disubstituted-1,2-isoxazoles in PEG-400, employing the Et3N-promoted hydroamination of symmetric and unsymmetric 1,3-diyne-indole derivatives
Authors: Bassaco Mariana M. , Fortes Margiani P. , Back Davi F. , Kaufman Teodoro S. , Silveira Claudio C.
Published: November 2014

PEG-400 proved to be a useful solvent for the mild and efficient synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted 1,2-isoxazoles derived from 1,3-diyne indoles. The scope and limitations of the reaction were also studied.
Bioorganic dye-sensitized solar cell of carotenoid–pheophytin a–TiO2
Authors: Feng Yanting , Meng Lingyan , Zhao Jinfeng , Li Yongqing , Sun Mengtao , Chen Jianing
Published: November 2014

The photoinduced electron transfer, energy transfer and photoelectric conversion efficiency for a bioorganic dye-sensitized solar cell of carotenoid–pheophytin a–TiO2 have been systematically investigated.
Metal free chemoselective reduction of α-keto amides using TBAF as catalyst
Authors: Mamillapalli N. Chary , Sekar Govindasamy
Published: November 2014

Metal and ligand free chemoselective reduction of keto group and complete reduction of the both keto and amide groups of α-keto amide with hydrosilanes using tetrabutylammoniumflouride (TBAF) as catalyst have been accomplished. This methodology affords an efficient and economic route for the synthesis of biologically important α-hydroxy amides and β-amino alcohols.
Goniometer-based femtosecond crystallography with X-ray free electron lasers
Authors: Cohen Aina E. , Soltis S. Michael , González Ana , Aguila Laura , Alonso-Mori Roberto , Barnes Christopher O. , Baxter Elizabeth L. , Brehmer Winnie , Brewster Aaron S. , Brunger Axel T. , Calero Guillermo , Chang Joseph F. , Chollet Matthieu , Ehrensberger Paul , Eriksson Thomas L. , Feng Yiping , Hattne Johan , Hedman Britt , Hollenbeck Michael , Holton James M. , Keable Stephen , Kobilka Brian K. , Kovaleva Elena G. , Kruse Andrew C. , Lemke Henrik T. , Lin Guowu , Lyubimov Artem Y. , Manglik Aashish , Mathews Irimpan I. , McPhillips Scott E. , Nelson Silke , Peters John W. , Sauter Nicholas K. , Smith Clyde A. , Song Jinhu , Stevenson Hilary P. , Tsai Yingssu , Uervirojnangkoorn Monarin , Vinetsky Vladimir , Wakatsuki Soichi , Weis William I. , Zadvornyy Oleg A. , Zeldin Oliver B. , Zhu Diling , Hodgson Keith O.
Published: November 2014

Significance

The extremely short and bright X-ray pulses produced by X-ray free-electron lasers unlock new opportunities in crystallography-based structural biology research. Efficient methods to deliver crystalline material are necessary due to damage or destruction of the crystal by the X-ray pulse. Crystals for the first experiments were 5 µm or smaller in size, delivered by a liquid injector. We describe a highly automated goniometer-based approach, compatible with crystals of larger and varied sizes, and accessible at cryogenic or ambient temperatures. These methods, coupled with improvements in data-processing algorithms, have resulted in high-resolution structures, unadulterated by the effects of radiation exposure, from only 100 to 1,000 diffraction images.
Analysis of clock-regulated genes in
Neurospora
reveals widespread posttranscriptional control of metabolic potential
Authors: Hurley Jennifer M. , Dasgupta Arko , Emerson Jillian M. , Zhou Xiaoying , Ringelberg Carol S. , Knabe Nicole , Lipzen Anna M. , Lindquist Erika A. , Daum Christopher G. , Barry Kerrie W. , Grigoriev Igor V. , Smith Kristina M. , Galagan James E. , Bell-Pedersen Deborah , Freitag Michael , Cheng Chao , Loros Jennifer J. , Dunlap Jay C.
Published: November 2014

Significance

Circadian clocks regulate gene expression levels to allow an organism to anticipate environmental conditions. These clocks reside in all the major branches of life and confer a competitive advantage to the organisms that maintain them. The clock in the fungus
Neurospora crassa
is an excellent model for basic understanding of core circadian architecture as well as for filamentous fungi. Here, we identify genes whose expression is clock regulated; indeed, as much as 40% of the transcriptome may be clock regulated, broadly directing daytime catabolism and nighttime growth. Both transcriptional control and posttranscriptional regulation play major roles in control of cycling transcripts such that DNA binding of transcription factors alone appears insufficient to set the phase of circadian transcription.
Actions of the protein kinase WNK1 on endothelial cells are differentially mediated by its substrate kinases OSR1 and SPAK
Authors: Dbouk Hashem A. , Weil Lauren M. , Perera G. K. Sachith , Dellinger Michael T. , Pearson Gray , Brekken Rolf A. , Cobb Melanie H.
Published: November 2014

Significance

With no lysine (K) (WNK)1, which is mutated in pseudohypoaldosteronism type II (PHAII) autosomal dominant hypertension, is a large, complex enzyme essential for development, blood pressure control, and many cellular functions. WNK1 signaling is largely mediated by two downstream protein kinases, OSR1 (oxidative stress responsive 1) and SPAK (STE20/SPS1-related proline-, alanine-rich kinase), sometimes considered redundant in terms of WNK1 function. This study characterizes an essential contribution of WNK1 in angiogenesis and presents a mechanism of clear bifurcation in WNK1-dependent functions between OSR1 and SPAK, with SPAK regulating WNK1 effects on proliferation and OSR1 mediating effects on invasion. Our work also identifies a previously unidentified link between WNK1 and the zinc-finger transcription factor Slug, with implications in cancer biology. This study also suggests potential mechanisms for cardiovascular defects associated with PHAII.
The experience of learning in space and time
Authors: Antonacopoulou Elena P.
Published: November 2014

Elena P. Antonacopoulou is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the University of Liverpool Management School where she leads GNOSIS, a research initiative advancing collaborative research in management and organization studies. Her principal research interests include change, learning and knowledge practices in organizations, and the development of new methodologies for studying social complexity. She has successfully secured government and corporate funding that supported a series of international research projects on organizational learning, social practice and dynamic capabilities.
Critical thinking, social education and the curriculum: foregrounding a social and relational epistemology
Authors: Lim Leonel
Published: November 2014

In this article, I examine the extent to which, given how critical thinking has been most commonly conceptualised and taught in schools, the subject indeed develops modes of thinking, relating and reasoning that allow individuals to collectively work towards the appreciation and solution of social problems. In the first section, I outline a number of perspectives among social studies researchers and educators that demonstrate the importance of developing critical thinking capacities in students. This is followed by, in the next section, a close examination of two widely popular approaches through which critical thinking is taught – one in the general school curriculum and the other within social studies lessons. I argue that in their current forms and for a number of reasons these understandings of critical thinking fall short of developing the social and relational dimensions of thinking that are more than a little necessary in fulfilling the raison d'etre of the subject. Towards this end, the final section presents a social epistemological framework for the teaching of critical thinking in the school curriculum, highlights a number of principles of its application and provides some examples of its use in classrooms.
PALMsiever: a tool to turn raw data into results for single-molecule localization microscopy
Authors: Pengo Thomas , Holden Seamus J. , Manley Suliana
Published: November 2014

During the past decade, localization microscopy (LM) has transformed into an accessible, commercially available technique for life sciences. However, data processing can be challenging to the non-specialist and care is still needed to produce meaningful results. PALMsiever has been developed to provide a user-friendly means of visualizing, filtering and analyzing LM data. It includes drift correction, clustering, intelligent line profiles, many rendering algorithms and 3D data visualization. It incorporates the main analysis and data processing modalities used by experts in the field, as well as several new features we developed, and makes them broadly accessible. It can easily be extended via plugins and is provided as free of charge open-source software.

Contact:  thomas.pengo@gmail.com
Determining the safety range of electrical pulses for two benthic invertebrates: brown shrimp (Crangon crangon L.) and ragworm (Alitta virens S.)
Authors: Soetaert Maarten , Chiers Koen , Duchateau Luc , Polet Hans , Verschueren Bart , Decostere Annemie
Published: November 2014

Pulse trawling is currently the most promising alternative for conventional beam trawls targeting sole and shrimp, meeting both the fisher's aspirations and the need for more environmentally friendly fishing techniques. Before electrotrawling can be further developed and implemented on a wider scale, however, more information is needed about the effects of electrical pulses on marine organisms. The organisms used in the present experiments were brown shrimp (Crangon crangon L.) and king ragworm (Alita virens S.) as model species for crustaceans and polychaetes, respectively. These animals were exposed to a homogeneously distributed electrical field with varying values of the following parameters: frequency (5–200 Hz), electrical field strength (150–200 V m−1), pulse polarity, pulse shape, pulse duration (0.25–1 ms), and exposure time (1–5 s). The goal of this study was to determine the range of safe pulses and thereby also to evaluate the effect of the pulses already being used on commercial electrotrawls. Behaviour during and shortly after exposure, 14-d mortality rates, and gross and histological examination were used to evaluate possible effects. The vast majority of shrimp demonstrated a tail flip response when exposed to electric pulses depending on the frequency, whereas ragworm demonstrated a squirming reaction, independent of the frequency. No significant increase in mortality or injuries was encountered for either species within the range of pulse parameters tested. Examination of the hepatopancreas of shrimp exposed to 200 V m−1 revealed a significantly higher severity of an intranuclear baculoform virus infection. These data reveal a lack of irreversible lesions in ragworm and shrimp as a direct consequence of exposure to electric pulses administered in the laboratory. Despite these promising results, other indirect effects cannot be ruled out and further research hence is warranted.
How Robust Standard Errors Expose Methodological Problems They Do Not Fix, and What to Do About It
Authors: King Gary , Roberts Margaret E.
Published: November 2014

“Robust standard errors” are used in a vast array of scholarship to correct standard errors for model misspecification. However, when misspecification is bad enough to make classical and robust standard errors diverge, assuming that it is nevertheless not so bad as to bias everything else requires considerable optimism. And even if the optimism is warranted, settling for a misspecified model, with or without robust standard errors, will still bias estimators of all but a few quantities of interest. The resulting cavernous gap between theory and practice suggests that considerable gains in applied statistics may be possible. We seek to help researchers realize these gains via a more productive way to understand and use robust standard errors; a new general and easier-to-use “generalized information matrix test” statistic that can formally assess misspecification (based on differences between robust and classical variance estimates); and practical illustrations via simulations and real examples from published research. How robust standard errors are used needs to change, but instead of jettisoning this popular tool we show how to use it to provide effective clues about model misspecification, likely biases, and a guide to considerably more reliable, and defensible, inferences. Accompanying this article is software that implements the methods we describe.
On fluttering modes for aircraft wing model in subsonic air flow
Authors: Shubov Marianna A.
Published: November 2014

The paper deals with unstable aeroelastic modes for aircraft wing model in subsonic, incompressible, inviscid air flow. In recent author’s papers asymptotic, spectral and stability analysis of the model has been carried out. The model is governed by a system of two coupled integrodifferential equations and a two-parameter family of boundary conditions modelling action of self-straining actuators. The Laplace transform of the solution is given in terms of the ‘generalized resolvent operator’, which is a meromorphic operator-valued function of the spectral parameter λ, whose poles are called the aeroelastic modes. The residues at these poles are constructed from the corresponding mode shapes. The spectral characteristics of the model are asymptotically close to the ones of a simpler system, which is called the reduced model. For the reduced model, the following result is shown: for each value of subsonic speed, there exists a radius such that all aeroelastic modes located outside the circle of this radius centred at zero are stable. Unstable modes, whose number is always finite, can occur only inside this ‘circle of instability’. Explicit estimate of the ‘instability radius’ in terms of model parameters is given.
Flavobacterium suzhouense sp. nov., isolated from farmland river sludge
Authors: Zhang Hao , Cheng Ming-gen , Sun Bin , Guo Su-hui , Song Man , Li Qiang , Huang Xing
Published: November 2014

A Gram-stain-negative bacterium, designated XIN-1T, was isolated from a farmland river sludge sample in Suzhou, China. Cells of strain XIN-1T were strictly aerobic, non-motile and rod-shaped. Strain XIN-1T grew optimally at pH 7.0 and 28 °C. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain XIN-1T was most closely related to

Flavobacterium hauense

BX12T (98.2 % sequence similarity), followed by

Flavobacterium beibuense

F44-8T (96.3 %). The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-6 and the major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The major fatty acids (>5 %) were summed feature 3 (comprising C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), summed feature 4 (comprising iso-C17 : 1 I and/or anteiso-C17 : 1 B), iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain XIN-1T was 39.8 mol%. Strain XIN-1T showed low DNA–DNA relatedness with

F. hauense

BX12T (38.7±0.5 %). On the basis of genotypic and phenotypic data, strain XIN-1T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus

Flavobacterium

, for which the name Flavobacterium
suzhouense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is XIN-1T ( = CCTCC AB 2014200T = KCTC 42107T).
Establishing the characteristics of an effective pharmacogenetic test for clozapine induced agranulocytosis
Authors: Verbelen Moira , Collier David A , Cohen Dan , MacCabe James H , Lewis Cathryn M
Published: November 2014

Clozapine is the only evidence-based therapy for treatment resistant schizophrenia, but it induces agranulocytosis, a rare but potentially fatal haematological adverse reaction, in less than 1% of users. To improve safety, the drug is subject to mandatory haematological monitoring throughout the course of treatment, which is burdensome for the patient and one of the main reasons clozapine is underused. Therefore, a pharmacogenetic test is clinically useful if it identifies a group of patients for whom the agranulocytosis risk is low enough to alleviate monitoring requirements. Assuming a genotypic marker stratifies patients into a high risk and a low risk group, we explore the relationship between test sensitivity, group size and agranulocytosis risk. High sensitivity minimizes the agranulocytosis risk in the low risk group and is essential for clinical utility, in particular in combination with a small high risk group.