bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
From Normative Pluralism to a Unified Legal System in Afghanistan?
Authors: RAHBARI Siavash 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThis paper suggests that Afghanistan’s fractured plural legal system is beginning to show some signs of cohesion and coherence. I briefly describe the aspiration set out in the Constitution of Afghanistan and its mandate to legislators and jurists to harmonize Islamic jurisprudence, the principles of justice, customary norms, and international treaty obligations. I then discuss some of the setbacks, obstacles, and more recent progress that have shaped the journey towards that aspiration. The paper specifically addresses the role of lawyers as they learn to navigate the more coherent landscape and the development and impact of a nascent adversarial system. Finally, the paper addresses the role of customary dispute resolution and the bifurcated legal-education system, and their impact on the development of a more unified legal system.
Evaluation of emergency department ultrasound machines for the presence of occult blood
Authors: Poonja Zafrina , Uppal Jasmene , Netherton Stuart J. , Bryce Rhonda , Lyon Andrew W. , Cload Bruce 
Published: October 2018

AbstractObjectivesBedside ultrasound in the emergency department is a common diagnostic tool, especially when evaluating trauma patients. Many trauma patients have blood on their chest and abdomen that may contact the probe during examination. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether occult blood contamination was present on the emergency department ultrasound machine, both after daily use and after use in trauma.MethodsFor a period of 31 days, the ultrasound machine at the trauma centre emergency department in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was tested once daily and following all Level 1 traumas. The ultrasound machine probes and keyboard were swabbed, and contamination was detected using a commercially available phenolphthalein blood testing kit. Any visible blood contamination was also noted. The machine was then cleaned following each positive test and re-tested to ensure the absence of contamination.ResultsOver the study period, the ultrasound machine tested positive for occult blood contamination on 10% of daily tests and on 43% of assessments after its use in trauma. The curvilinear probe was most frequently contaminated (daily, 6%; trauma, 26%), followed by the keyboard (daily, 3%; trauma, 26%), but both lacked visible contamination.ConclusionsIn this single centre study, there was evidence of occult blood on the emergency department ultrasound machine after both routine use and major trauma cases, highlighting the need for a standardized cleaning and disinfection protocol.
The perception of status: How we infer the status of others from their social relationships
Authors: BETANCOURT NATHAN , KOVÁCS BALÁZS , OTNER SARAH M. G. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThis paper investigates how we infer the status of others from their social relationships. In a series of experimental studies, we test the effects of a social relationship's type and direction on the status judgments of others. We demonstrate empirically, possibly for the first time, a widely-assumed connection between network structure and perceptions of status; that is, that observers do infer the status positions of group members from their relationships. Moreover, we find that observers' status judgments vary with the direction and type of social relationship. We theorize that underlying this variance in status judgments are two relational schemas which differentially influence the processing of the observed social ties. Our finding that only the linear-ordering schema leads to status inferences provides an important scope condition to prior research on network cognition, and specifically on the perceptions of social status.
Age Estimates on the Deposition of the Cave Ice Block in the Saarhalle Dachstein-Mammoth Cave (Mammuthöhle, Austria) based on 3H and 14C
Authors: Kern Z , Palcsu L , Pavuza R , Molnár M 
Published: October 2018

ABSTRACTMeasurements of the radiocarbon (14C) and tritium (3H) activity in a 5.8-m-long ice core from the Saarhalle, Dachstein-Mammoth Cave allowed a substantial revision of previous opinions concerning the age of the ice block, and provide useful experience that may be applied to future 14C dating of cave ice deposits. The stepped combustion technique results in a remarkably older radiocarbon age for the 800°C than for the 400°C fractions of the carbonaceous matter from ice layer samples. The highest tritium activity (37.2±1.2 TU) can be linked to the period of anthropogenically increased tritium activity of atmospheric precipitation at the mid-1960s, providing a well-dated radiochemical reference horizon. Compared the 3H-based extrapolated ages of two shallow samples to the expected atmospheric signal an average 14C reservoir bias of ~1500 BP was obtained for the insoluble organic fraction combusted at 400°C. The conventional 14C age measured for the 400°C fraction of the deeper samples has been corrected with the average reservoir bias. The median calibrated age of the deepest analyzed sample of the ice profile is ~1830 cal BC and a linear extrapolation to the bottom ice layer gave 2590 cal BC, making the Saarhalle ice block among the oldest dated cave ice deposits known in the Alpine domain.
EvoRDF: evolving the exploration of ontology evolution
Authors: Kondylakis Haridimos , Papadakis Nikos 
Published: October 2018

AbstractOntologies are constantly evolving as new requirements daily occur and the modeling choices of the past should be updated or adapted. Exploring this evolution will enhance the understanding, augmenting the exploitation potential of the available ontologies. However, recent research focuses mostly on detecting changes between ontology versions, overloading end-users with hundreds or even thousands of changes between ontology versions, making it impossible to explore this evolution. To this direction, in this paper, we present EvoRDF, a novel framework for exploring ontology evolution using provenance queries. Our approach uses a high-level language of changes and effectively answers queries about when a specific resource was introduced and how—by which change operations. Even more, why queries can identify the sequence of changes that led to the creation of a specific resource in the latest ontology version or track the evolution of a specific resource from a past ontology version. The evaluation performed shows the feasibility of our solution and the great advantages gained.
Context-aware tourism technologies
Authors: Leal Fátima , Malheiro Benedita , Burguillo Juan C. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractNowadays travellers can benefit from the computing capabilities, collection of on board sensors and ubiquitous Internet access provided by mobile devices. These are the three pillars of any tourist support system since they provide the power, means and data to establish the local user context, to access remote services and to provide value-added user-centred context-aware applications. However, making sense of the user context data is not straightforward, as it requires dedicated knowledge acquisition and knowledge representation solutions. Besides, the range and diversity of available data sources is huge, requiring appropriate knowledge processing techniques to provide addequated tourism services. This article presents an updated review, and a comparison of recent context-aware tourism applications (CATA), including supporting technologies; and considering four possible dimensions: knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, knowledge processing and knowledge-based services. We propose and apply a CATA analysis framework, contemplating these four dimensions to the applications found in the literature. This survey constitutes, not only, a state of the art review on tourism mobile applications, but, also, anticipates the latest development trends in tourism-related applications.
Verb-based prediction during language processing: the case of Dutch and Turkish
Authors: BROUWER Susanne , ÖZKAN Deniz , KÜNTAY Aylin C. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThis study investigated whether cross-linguistic differences affect semantic prediction. We assessed this by looking at two languages, Dutch and Turkish, that differ in word order and thus vary in how words come together to create sentence meaning. In an eye-tracking task, Dutch and Turkish four-year-olds (N= 40), five-year-olds (N= 58), and adults (N= 40) were presented with a visual display containing two familiar objects (e.g., a cake and a tree). Participants heard semantically constraining (e.g., “The boy eats the big cake”) or neutral sentences (e.g., “The boy sees the big cake”) in their native language. The Dutch data revealed a prediction effect for children and adults; however, it was larger for the adults. The Turkish data revealed no prediction effect for the children but only for the adults. These findings reveal that experience with word order structures and/or automatization of language processing routines may lead to timecourse differences in semantic prediction.
Does a recent surge in Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis nesting population and establishment of new breeding colonies ensure long term conservation? Pragmatic assessment of recent augmentation in Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE
Authors: KHAN SHAHID B. , JAVED SÁLIM , AHMED SHAKEEL , AL HAMMADI EISSA ALI , AL HAMMADI ABDULLAH ALI , AL DHAHERI SHAIKHA 
Published: October 2018

SummaryUnited Arab Emirates is an important range country for the ‘Vulnerable’ Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis and Abu Dhabi Emirate holds most of the remaining breeding colonies. Emirate-wide monitoring of all breeding colonies was undertaken annually for 11 breeding seasons from 2006–2007 to 2016–2017 to monitor the status of breeding colonies and estimate the nesting population. Breeding was recorded in 10 colonies that were used intermittently with an average of four (± 1.3 SD) colonies active each year. The highest number of eight active colonies was recorded in 2016–2017. Establishment of two new breeding colonies on Butinah and Digala in 2016–2017 and recolonisation of three previously inactive colonies during the monitoring period emphasised the ability of the species to relocate and colonise suitable sites. Continued threats at some breeding colonies caused abandonment and subsequent relocation, resulting in a gradual shift of breeding colonies to safer areas. Presently, most of the breeding sites (62%) with an increased number of breeding birds are found in colonies with restricted access. The Emirate-wide nesting population witnessed a 10-fold increase in the last decade; after an initial decline in 2006–2007 it increased from about 5,000 pairs in 2007–2008 to nearly 52,000 nesting pairs in 2016–2017. Combined with the nesting population from the Siniya colony, the overall UAE nesting population is estimated at 60,000 to 70,000 pairs, nearly half of the global breeding population. Further augmentation of the current breeding numbers is possible if breeding colonies remain safe from human disturbance and invasive predators. For long-term conservation of Socotra Cormorant, protection of all remaining colony sites, including inactive ones, is important in addition to minimising disturbance along with widespread public awareness to change the people’s perception of the species as a competitor to commercial fisheries.
Morphological study of apoptosis in granulosa cells and ovulation in a model of atresia in rat preovulatory follicles
Authors: da Silva Bitecourt Frederico , Horta Carina Oliveira Dumont , Lima Karen Santos , Godoi Bruno Bastos , Bello Fernanda Luiza Menezes , Rodrigues Cíntia Maria , Schetino Luana Pereira Leite , Honorato-Sampaio Kinulpe 
Published: October 2018

SummaryPrevious studies have established a model of atresia in preovulatory follicles after stimulation of immature rats with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG). This gonadotropin recruits a follicular pool and the deprivation of preovulatory luteinizing hormone (LH) surge induces the atresia in preovulatory follicles. The present study investigated the occurrence of ovulation and provided some morphological features of granulosa cell (GC) apoptosis of atretic follicles at 0, 48, 72 and 120 h after eCG stimulation. Histological sections of ovaries from untreated animals (0 h) showed primordial, primary, secondary and early antral follicles. After 48 h ovaries showed large antral follicles. Preovulatory follicles were observed at 72 h, and two out of five rats displayed cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) in the oviducts. All animals exhibited corpora lutea after 120 h. We observed increased estradiol (E2) levels 48 h after eCG treatment that might trigger an endogenous preovulatory gonadotropin surge. Higher progesterone (P4) level, which is the hallmark of a functional corpus luteum, was observed at 120 h. Atresia in secondary and antral follicles was observed by pyknotic granulosa cell nuclei in histology and positive immunolabelling for cleaved caspase 3. We also observed macrophages in secondary and antral follicles in atresia. Transmission electron microscopy revealed GCs with compacted chromatin against the nuclear envelope, nuclear fragmentation, cell shrinkage and fragmentation. No preovulatory follicles showed apoptosis of GCs. In conclusion, our results suggested the occurrence of an endogenous gonadotropin surge, promoting ovulation and preventing atresia of preovulatory follicles.
ON FEDELE FENAROLI'S PEDAGOGY: AN UPDATE
Authors: DEMEYERE EWALD 
Published: October 2018

ABSTRACTAlthough Fedele Fenaroli's partimento and counterpoint pedagogy has been the subject of a number of recent publications, several aspects of its organization and contents require further research. Thanks to the recent discovery of multiple manuscripts, I am able to elaborate on two of them in this article. First I deal with Fenaroli's partimento curriculum. As several manuscripts illustrate, Fenaroli appears to have maintained a progressive method consisting of four parts (or books) almost throughout his entire career. A partimento student had to work through the first three books successively, which served as Fenaroli's basic partimento course. When these three books had been satisfactorily assimilated, the student could proceed with book 4, which was clearly intended by Fenaroli as his advanced partimento course. Secondly, I engage with Fenaroli's views on dissonance treatment and place them in the broader context of eighteenth-century Neapolitan pedagogy, and thoroughbass and music theory treatises in general.
A multi-parent faba bean (Vicia faba L.) population for future genomic studies
Authors: Khazaei Hamid , Stoddard Frederick L. , Purves Randy W. , Vandenberg Albert 
Published: October 2018

AbstractFaba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a valuable grain legume and a staple protein crop in many countries. Its large and complex genome requires novel approaches for its genetic dissection. Here we introduce a multi-parent population developed from four founders (ILB 938/2, Disco/2, IG 114476 and IG 132238). The selection of parental lines was based on geographic (Colombia, France, Bangladesh and China), genetic and phenotypic diversity. The parental lines were inbred and then genotyped using 875 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Based on molecular data, the parents had high homozygosity and high genetic distance among them. The population segregates for several important traits such as seed morphology, seed chemistry, phenology, plant architecture, drought response, yield and its components, and resistance to Botrytis fabae. The population was checked for unbiased segregation in each generation by observing simply inherited Mendelian traits such as stipule spot pigmentation (SSP) and flower colour at different generations. All 1200 four-way cross F1 plants had pigmented flowers and stipule spots. The segregation ratios for white flower colour (single gene, zt2) fit 7:1, 13:3 and 25:7 at F2, F3 and F4 generations, respectively, and the segregation ratio of SSP (two recessive unlinked genes, ssp1 and ssp2) fit 49:15 and 169:87 at the F2 and F3 generations, respectively, demonstrating unbiased generation advance. We will subject the F5 generation of this population to a high-throughput SNP array and make it available for further phenotyping and genotyping.
Impact of prenatal and postnatal maternal environment on nephron endowment, renal function and blood pressure in the Lewis polycystic kidney rat
Authors: Ding A. , Walton S. L. , Moritz K. M. , Phillips J. K. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractMaternal insufficiency during fetal development can have long-lasting effects on the offspring, most notably on nephron endowment. In polycystic kidney disease (PKD), variability in severity of disease is observed and maternal environment may be a modifying factor. In this study, we first established that in a rodent model of PKD, the Lewis polycystic kidney (LPK) rat’s nephron numbers are 25% lower compared with wildtype animals. We then investigated the effects of prenatal and postnatal maternal environment on phenotype and nephron number. LPK pups born from and raised by homozygous LPK dams (control) were compared with LPK pups cross-fostered onto heterozygous LPK dams to improve postnatal environment; with LPK pups born from and raised by heterozygous LPK dams to improve both prenatal and postnatal environment and with LPK pups born from and raised by Wistar Kyoto-LPK heterozygous dams to improve both prenatal and postnatal environment on a different genetic background. Improvement in both prenatal and postnatal environment improved postnatal growth, renal function and reduced blood pressure, most notably in animals with different genetic background. Animals with improved postnatal environment only showed improved growth and blood pressure, but to a lesser extent. All intervention groups showed increased nephron number compared with control LPK. In summary, prenatal and postnatal environment had significant effect in delaying progression and reducing severity of PKD, including nephron endowment.
Evaluating Effect of Degree of Water Stress on Growth and Fecundity of Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) Using Soil Moisture Sensors
Authors: Chahal Parminder S. , Irmak Suat , Jugulam Mithila , Jhala Amit J. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractPalmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeriS. Watson) is the most problematic weed in agronomic crop production fields in the United States. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of degree of water stress on the growth and fecundity ofA. palmeriusing soil moisture sensors under greenhouse conditions. TwoA. palmeribiotypes collected from Nebraska were grown in loam soil maintained at 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, and 12.5% soil field capacity (FC) corresponding to no, light, moderate, high, and severe water stress levels, respectively. Water was regularly added to pots based on soil moisture levels detected by Watermark or Decagon 5TM sensors to maintain the desired water stress level.Amaranthus palmeriplants maintained at ≤25% FC did not survive more than 35 d after transplanting.Amaranthus palmeriat 100%, 75%, and 50% FC produced similar numbers of leaves (588 to 670 plant−1) based on model estimates; however, plants at 100% FC achieved a maximum height of 178 cm compared with 124 and 88 cm at 75% and 50% FC, respectively. The growth index (1.1×105to 1.4×105cm3plant−1) and total leaf area (571 to 693 cm2plant−1) were also similar at 100%, 75%, and 50% FC.Amaranthus palmeriproduced similar root biomass (2.3 to 3 g plant−1) at 100%, 75%, and 50% FC compared with 0.6 to 0.7 g plant−1at 25% and 12.5% FC, respectively. Seed production was greatest (42,000 seeds plant−1) at 100% FC compared with 75% and 50% FC (14,000 to 19,000 seeds plant−1); however, the cumulative seed germination was similar (38% to 46%) when mother plants were exposed to ≥50% FC. The results of this study show thatA. palmerican survive ≥50% FC continuous water stress conditions and can produce a significant number of seeds with no effect of on seed germination.
A Sharp Decline in Nitrogen Input in a N‐Saturated Subtropical Forest Causes an Instantaneous Reduction in Nitrogen Leaching
Authors: Xie Danni , Zhang Ting , Yu Qian , Huang Yongmei , Mulder Jan , Duan Lei 
Published: October 2018

AbstractIn China, as in other parts of the world, the emission and deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) have been reduced in recent years. Several decades of elevated N deposition in southwest China (40 to 60 kg ha−1 year−1) have resulted in extreme cases of N saturation, where N outputs are nearly equal to N inputs. Doubling N inputs using either NH4NO3or NaNO3fertilizer in a subtropical forest in Tieshanping, near Chongqing city in southwest China, caused an immediate doubling of N leaching (as NO3−). Reducing N inputs to ambient atmospheric deposition levels after 10 years of fertilization led to a rapid decrease in soil water NO3−concentration to levels similar to those in the reference plots that had not receive N fertilizer application. NO3−leaching via the soil water in the NH4NO3plots was even lower than that in the NaNO3plots or the reference plots, confirming the finding of a previous N‐fertilizing experiment that found that NH4+deposition, in contrast to NO3−deposition, increased N retention in the forest ecosystem. The N sink remained for at least 2 years after the cessation of N addition. Even with reduced N inputs, ambient atmospheric N deposition caused significant acidification, buffered partly by SO42−sorption. Therefore, further abatement of reactive N emissions is necessary in the future.
Mass Loss of Totten and Moscow University Glaciers, East Antarctica, Using Regionally Optimized GRACE Mascons
Authors: Mohajerani Yara , Velicogna Isabella , Rignot Eric 
Published: October 2018

AbstractTotten and Moscow University glaciers, in the marine‐based sector of East Antarctica, contain enough ice to raise sea level by 5 m. Obtaining precise measurements of their mass balance is challenging owing to large area of the basins and the small mass balance signal compared to West Antarctic glaciers. Here we employ a locally optimized processing of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) harmonics to evaluate their mass balance at the sub‐basin scale and compare the results with mass budget method (MBM) estimates using regional atmospheric climate model version 2.3 (RACMO2.3) or Modèle Atmosphérique Régional version 3.6.4 (MAR3.6.4). The sub‐basin mass loss estimate for April 2002 to November 2015 is 14.8 ± 4.3 Gt/yr, which is weakly affected by glacial isostatic adjustment uncertainties (±1.4 Gt/yr). This result agrees with MBM/RACMO2.3 (15.8 ± 2.0 Gt/yr), whereas MBM/MAR3.6.4 underestimates the loss (6.6 ± 1.6 Gt/yr). For the entire drainage, the mass loss for April 2002 to August 2016 is 18.5 ± 6.6 Gt/yr, or 15 ± 4% of its ice flux. These results provide unequivocal evidence for mass loss in this East Antarctic sector.
Sensitivity of the Geomagnetic Octupole to a Stably Stratified Layer in the Earth's Core
Authors: Yan C. , Stanley S. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractCurrent Earth‐like numerical dynamo simulations are able to reproduce many characteristics of the observed geomagnetic field. One notable exception is the geomagnetic octupolar component. Here we investigate whether a stably stratified layer at the top of the core, a missing ingredient in standard dynamo simulations, can explain the observed geomagnetic octupole. Through numerical simulations, we find that the existence of a stable layer has significant influence on the octupolar‐to‐dipolar ratio of the magnetic field. Particularly, we find that a 60‐km stable layer with relatively strong stability or a 130‐km layer with relatively weak stability are compatible with the observations, but a 350‐km stable layer, as suggested by recent seismological evidence, is not compatible with Earth's octupole field over the past 10,000 years.