bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Structural and microstructural analysis of K–Mg salt layers in the Zechstein 3 of the Veendam Pillow, NE Netherlands: development of a tectonic mélange during salt flow
Authors: Raith Alexander F. , Urai Janos L. , Visser Jacob 
Published: January 2018

AbstractIn fully developed evaporite cycles, effective viscosity contrasts of up to five orders of magnitude are possible between different layers, but the structures and mechanics in evaporites with such extreme mechanical stratification are not well understood. The Zechstein 3 unit in the Veendam salt pillow in the Netherlands contains anhydrite, halite, carnallite and bischofite, showing this extreme mechanical stratification. The Veendam Pillow has a complex multiphase salt tectonic history as shown by seismic reflection data: salt withdrawal followed by convergent flow into the salt pillow produced ruptures and folds in the underlying Z3-anhydrite–carbonate stringer and deformed the soft Z3-1b layerWe analysed a unique carnallite- and bischofite-rich drill core from the soft Z3-1b layer by macroscale photography, bulk chemical methods, X-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. Results show high strain in the weaker bischofite- and carnallite-rich layers, with associated dynamic recrystallisation at very low differential stress, completely overprinting the original texture. Stronger layers formed by alternating beds of halite and carnallite show complex recumbent folding on different scales commonly interrupted by sub-horizontal shear zones with brittle deformation, veins and boudinage. We attribute this tectonic fragmentation to be associated with a softening of the complete Z3-1b subunit during its deformation. The result is a tectonic mélange with cm- to 10 m-size blocks with frequent folds and boudinage. We infer that these structures and processes are common in deformed, rheologically strongly stratified evaporites.
Seismic stratigraphy of Dinantian carbonates in the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium
Authors: Reijmer John J.G. , ten Veen Johan H. , Jaarsma Bastiaan , Boots Roy 
Published: January 2018

AbstractDue to their potential as a petroleum or geothermal system, the Dinantian carbonates of the Netherlands have recently attracted renewed interest because of the identified presence of excellent reservoir properties. This notion contrasts with the general assumption that these carbonates are tight. Therefore, in order to give the current knowledge state, this paper re-examines the sparse publicly available well and seismic data and literature to assess the distribution and reservoir properties of the Dinantian carbonates.Dinantian carbonate deposition occurred throughout the study area (southern onshore and offshore of the Netherlands and northern Belgium), which is situated on the northern margin of the London–Brabant Massif, progressively onlapping the latter structure. This study confirms the presence of three carbonate facies types in the study area: a Tournaisian low-gradient carbonate ramp system, succeeded by a succession in which the carbonate ramp system evolved to a rimmed shelf setting. Subsidence of the northern margin of the London–Brabant Massif resulted in a landward shift of the shallow-marine facies belts, while the formation of normal faults resulted in a ‘staircase’-shaped shallow-water platform–slope–basin profile, associated with large-scale resedimentation processes. After deposition, the limestone deposits were frequently exhumed and reburied. A first period of regional exhumation occurred at the end of the Dinantian, which seems to be associated with porosity-enhancing meteoric karstification, possibly limited to the palaeo-shelf edge. The most intense alterations seem to be present as a deep leached horizon below the Cretaceous unconformity at the top of the Dinantian sequences. In addition, clear evidence for hydrothermal fluid migration is found locally, enhancing reservoir properties at some places while occluding porosity at others. The timing of these phases of hydrothermal fluid circulation is poorly understood.Whereas in the United Kingdom hydrocarbons have been produced from karstified Dinantian carbonates, this petroleum play has received little attention in the Netherlands. This paper shows that, also for the Netherlands, a karstic reservoir probably existed before the start of hydrocarbon generation from the onlapping basal Namurian shales. The hydrocarbon prospectivity of these sediments, however, is primarily controlled by the presence of both a karst-related reservoir and migration routes from a decent-quality source rock. Two geothermal projects producing from this reservoir in the southern onshore Netherlands have shown the potential of the Dinantian carbonates for ultra-deep geothermal projects. To conclude, the findings presented herein are relevant for studies of the hydrocarbon prospectivity and studies of the geothermal potential of Dinantian carbonates in the Dutch on- and offshore.
HIV EPIDEMIC HETEROGENEITY IN ZIMBABWE: EVIDENCE FROM SUCCESSIVE DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEYS
Authors: Oseni Zainab , Seedat Farah , Kandala Ngianga-Bakwin 
Published: January 2018

SummaryZimbabwe has one of the worst HIV epidemics in the world. This study investigated data from two successive Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Surveys (ZDHS) conducted in 2005–06 and 2010–11. A random representative sample of 30,000 men aged 15–59 and women aged 15–49 was selected from the two surveys. The HIV prevalence was mapped with a flexible, coherent regression framework using a geo-additive semi-parametric mixed model. HIV indicator prevalence maps were constructed at the regional level, and at the administrative level relevant for policy design, planning and decision-making. Substantial regional variation was found, not only in the burden of HIV, but also in its risk factors. The results suggest that responses/policies should vary at the regional level to ensure that the often diverse needs of populations across a country are met and incorporated into planning the HIV response. The use of geographically referenced data in two successive ZDHS provides crucial new insights into the spatial characteristics of the HIV epidemic in Zimbabwe. In particular, it highlights the HIV heterogeneity across Zimbabwe, with substantial regional variation, not only in the burden of HIV, but also in its risk factors.
Investigation of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and mean platelet volume in patients with tinnitus
Authors: Ulusoy B , Bozdemir K , Akyol M , Mişe H İ , Kutluhan A , Korkmaz M H 
Published: January 2018

AbstractObjective:This study aimed to evaluate patients with tinnitus in terms of mean platelet volume and platelet distribution width, and to explore neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, recently reported in the literature as being possible inflammation markers.Methods:This study comprised 64 tinnitus patients and 64 age-matched healthy controls. Statistical significance level was accepted as p < 0.05.Results:Mean platelet volume (t = 3.245, p = 0.002) and platelet distribution width (Z = 3.945, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the patient group than the control group.Conclusion:The results suggest that a prothrombotic condition might play a role in the pathophysiology of tinnitus.
Style dominance: Attention, audience, and the ‘real me’
Authors: Sharma Devyani 
Published: January 2018

AbstractSocial constructivist approaches to style have moved away from the cognitive asymmetry that underpinned Labov's original attention-to-speech model, namely that a first-learned vernacular often has cognitive primacy. This study explores the interplay of cognitive and interactional effects in style variation. It reports on three related dynamics of style variation in one individual—Fareed Zakaria, an Indian-American media personality. First, we see Zakaria's robust English bidialectalism with American and Indian audiences. This strong audience effect is complicated by the second finding, which points to asymmetricstyle dominancein Zakaria's first-learned Indian style, which he subtly defaults to regardless of audience when his attention is diverted by such tasks as quickly counter-arguing or inserting parenthetical information. The third part of the study relates style dominance to agency: In a reflexive intra-personal process ofbiographical indexicality, speakers such as Zakaria may exploit their personal style biography and use their dominant variety to perform no-nonsense ‘real me’ stances in interaction. (Audience, attention, style variation, indexicality, repertoire, processing, bidialectalism, second dialect acquisition, speech rate)*
Measuring bilingual corpus comparability
Authors: LI BO , GAUSSIER ERIC , YANG DAN 
Published: January 2018

AbstractComparable corpora serve as an important substitute for parallel resources in cases of under-resourced language pairs. Previous work mostly aims to find a better strategy to exploit existing comparable corpora, while ignoring the variety in corpus quality. The quality of comparable corpora affects a lot its usability in practice, a fact that has been justified by several studies. However, researchers have not been able to establish a widely accepted and fully validated framework to measure corpus quality. We will thus investigate in this paper a comprehensive methodology to deal with the quality of comparable corpora. To be exact, we will propose several comparability measures and a quantitative strategy to test those measures. Our experiments show that the proposed comparability measure can capture gold-standard comparability levels very well and is robust to the bilingual dictionary used. Moreover, we will show in the task of bilingual lexicon extraction that the proposed measure correlates well with the performance of the real world application.
Researching Deals and Markets
Authors: Hunter Ian 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMergers and acquisitions (M&A), leveraged finance and capital markets are important markets for professional advisory firms such as investment banks, financial sector law firms and the ‘Big 4’ consultancies. While market totals are widely published in free sources, finding both sub-totals and lists of deals is more difficult and usually requires access to paid-for sources. In this article Ian Hunter considers the best paid-for and free sources and looks at the caveats in relying on them. In essence, he asks ‘why don't the sources agree?’ and provides a ‘jargon buster’ and a critique of sources in M&A, leveraged finance and capital markets.
Old-age provision in transition: the case of Croatia
Authors: WERDING MARTIN , PRIMORAC MARKO 
Published: January 2018

AbstractLike in a number of other transition countries, the Croatian pension system comprises a traditional public pay-as-you-go scheme and a mandatory funded scheme (second pillar) that will provide increasing amounts of supplementary pensions to those entering retirement in the future. Due to the continuing economic crisis, the public scheme is currently under enormous financial strain, with a sizeable impact on central government finances. At the same time, the level of benefits deriving from the overall system is likely to become inadequately low in the long run. In this paper, we describe the existing system and project its future development under current rules. We also discuss options for further reforming the system and highlight their potential impact on pension finances, public budgets and retirement incomes, as this may provide lessons, which are of interest elsewhere.
THE IMPACT OF THE BLACK MEDIA ON DIFFUSE SUPPORT FOR THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
Authors: Nie Mintao , Waltenburg Eric N. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractPrevious research suggests that the mainstream media’s portrayals of the U.S. Supreme Court as an objective and impartial institution contribute to its diffuse support among the public. This study explores what happens if people are not exposed to these messages, relying instead on information sources that portray the Court and its justices as being politically oriented and motivated. We use the 2003 Blacks and the U.S. Supreme Court Survey data and coarsened exact matching to examine the effect of exposure to the Black media, whose reports are less likely to include legitimizing symbols of the Court. We find that exposure to the Black media significantly lowers people’s diffuse support for the Court among both Blacks and Whites. This result indicates that differences between Blacks and Whites with respect to their diffuse support for the Court are likely to be a function of the informational environment to which they are exposed rather than race per se.
Community gardening in Stockholm: participation, driving forces and the role of the municipality
Authors: Bonow Madeleine , Normark Maria 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe paper reports on a study of community gardening in Stockholm. We contribute to the body of knowledge about the sustainability of community gardens and this new form of citizen-led initiatives in Stockholm, with the ambition of creating a debate about the best way to sustain and develop these initiatives in Sweden. We argue that although community gardening may provide leverage for means of developing a sustainable city, it is a marginal phenomenon and contributes little to sustainable development its present form. Through interviews we have investigated how the citizens and municipality officers of Stockholm try to adapt to the renewed interest in community gardening by looking at the policy makers’, municipality officers’ and grassroots movements’ incentives to start community gardens. We specifically focus on how the community gardeners articulate their reasons for participating in collaborative initiatives in the city and how these expectations evolve when they are faced with the reality of gardening and the problems relating to producing food in the city. We have found that there are a growing number of citizens and local authorities advocating community gardening, but the sustainability and endurance of gardens are hampered by vague responsibilities, lack of leadership and unclear expectations of the outcome. Community gardening cases in Stockholm contribute to the debate by exemplifying how formal (e.g. policy making) and informal advocacy (e.g. civic engagement in community gardening) groups are collaborating, but also showing that they often have different agendas and initial motivations for setting up new gardens. We argue that uncritical enthusiasm results in an overly instrumental approach to governance of community gardening and that the sustainability and endurance of the community gardening is not an issue that the governing bodies plan for, and hence it is forgotten. We suggest some routes forward, involving employing facilitators from various stakeholders such as the municipality, housing companies and various NGOs.
Dual roles of endothelial FGF-2–FGFR1–PDGF-BB and perivascular FGF-2–FGFR2–PDGFRβ signaling pathways in tumor vascular remodeling
Authors: Hosaka Kayoko , Yang Yunlong , Nakamura Masaki , Andersson Patrik , Yang Xiaojuan , Zhang Yin , Seki Takahiro , Scherzer Martin , Dubey Olivier , Wang Xinsheng , Cao Yihai 
Published: January 2018

AbstractPerivascular cells are important cellular components in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and they modulate vascular integrity, remodeling, stability, and functions. Here we show using mice models that FGF-2 is a potent pericyte-stimulating factor in tumors. Mechanistically, FGF-2 binds to FGFR2 to stimulate pericyte proliferation and orchestrates the PDGFRβ signaling for vascular recruitment. FGF-2 sensitizes the PDGFRβ signaling through increasing PDGFRβ levels in pericytes. To ensure activation of PDGFRβ, the FGF-2–FGFR1-siganling induces PDGF-BB and PDGF-DD, two ligands for PDGFRβ, in angiogenic endothelial cells. Thus, FGF-2 directly and indirectly stimulates pericyte proliferation and recruitment by modulating the PDGF–PDGFRβ signaling. Our study identifies a novel mechanism by which the FGF-2 and PDGF-BB collaboratively modulate perivascular cell coverage in tumor vessels, thus providing mechanistic insights of pericyte–endothelial cell interactions in TME and conceptual implications for treatment of cancers and other diseases by targeting the FGF-2–FGFR-pericyte axis.
Design and production of conjugate vaccines against S. Paratyphi A using an O-linked glycosylation system in vivo
Authors: Sun Peng , Pan Chao , Zeng Ming , Liu Bo , Liang Haoyu , Wang Dongshu , Liu Xiankai , Wang Bin , Lyu Yufei , Wu Jun , Zhu Li , Wang Hengliang 
Published: January 2018

AbstractEnteric fever, mainly caused bySalmonella entericaserovarParatyphi A, remains a common and serious infectious disease worldwide. As yet, there are no licensed vaccines againstS.Paratyphi A. Biosynthesis of conjugate vaccines has become a promising approach against bacterial infection. However, the popular biosynthetic strategy using N-linked glycosylation systems does not recognize the specialized O-polysaccharide structure ofS.Paratyphi A. Here, we describe an O-linked glycosylation approach, the only currently available glycosylation system suitable for anS.Paratyphi Aconjugate vaccine. We successfully generated a recombinantS.Paratyphi Astrain with a longer O-polysaccharide chain and transformed the O-linked glycosylation system into the strain. Thus, we avoided the need for construction of an O-polysaccharide expression vector. In vivo assays indicated that this conjugate vaccine could evoke IgG1 antibody to O-antigen ofS.Paratyphi Astrain CMCC 50973 and elicit bactericidal activity againstS.Paratyphi Astrain CMCC 50973 and five other epidemic strains. Furthermore, we replaced the peptides after the glycosylation site (Ser) with an antigenic peptide (P2). The results showed that the anti-lipopolysaccharide antibody titer, bactericidal activity of serum, and protective effect during animal challenge could be improved, indicating a potential strategy for further vaccine design. Our system provides an easier and more economical method for the production ofS.Paratyphi Aconjugate vaccines. Modification of the glycosylation site sequon provides a potential approach for the development of next-generation “precise conjugate vaccines.”
Full-Wave Electromagnetic Optimisation of Corrugated Metallic Reflectors Using a Multigrid Approach
Authors: Karaova Gökhan , Altınoklu Aşkın , Ergül Özgür 
Published: January 2018

AbstractA multigrid optimisation strategy is introduced to design passive metallic reflectors with corrugated shapes. The strategy is based on using genetic algorithms at multiple grids and shaping the metal sheets, starting from coarse details to fine tunings. This corresponds to a systematic expansion of the related optimisation space, which is explored more efficiently in comparison to a brute-force optimisation without using grid. By employing the multilevel fast multipole algorithm to analyse the electromagnetic problems corresponding to optimisation trials, we obtain accurately designed reflectors that provide focussing abilities with very high performances at single and multiple locations. The designed reflectors are also resistant to fabrication errors with less complex corrugations and simplified reflection mechanisms compared to those found by no-grid optimisation trials.
Effects of Renal Denervation on Cardiac Structural and Functional Abnormalities in Patients with Resistant Hypertension or Diastolic Dysfunction
Authors: Wang Shiying , Yang Suxia , Zhao Xinxin , Shi Jun 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe aim of the present study is to systematically evaluate the impact of RDN on cardiac structure and function in patients with resistant hypertension (RH) or diastolic dysfunction. We retrieved Pubmed, Embase and Cocharane Library databases, from inception to April 1st, 2016. Studies reporting left ventricular mass (LVMI) or left ventricular (LV) diastolic function (reflected by the ratio of mitral inflow velocity to annular relaxation velocity [E/e’]) responses to RDN were included. Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 3 controlled studies and 11 uncontrolled studies were finally identified. In observational studies, there was a reduction in LVMI, E/e’ and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) at 6 months, compared with pre-RDN values. LV ejection fraction (LVEF) elevated at 6 months following RDN. In RCTs, however, no significant change in LVMI, E/e’, BNP, left atrial volume index or LVEF was observed at 12 months, compared with pharmaceutical therapy. In summary, both LV hypertrophy and cardiac function improved at 6 months after RDN. Nonetheless, current evidence failed to show that RDN was superior to intensive (optimal) drug therapy in improving cardiac remodeling and function.
Expression dynamics of miRNAs and their targets in seed germination conditions reveals miRNA-ta-siRNA crosstalk as regulator of seed germination
Authors: Sarkar Das Shabari , Yadav Sandeep , Singh Archita , Gautam Vibhav , Sarkar Ananda K. , Nandi Asis K. , Karmakar Prakash , Majee Manoj , Sanan-Mishra Neeti 
Published: January 2018

AbstractSeed germination paves the way for the dormant embryo to establish itself as a new plant marking the first critical step in postembryonic plant growth and development. Germination starts with the uptake of water (imbibition), followed by induction of transcription, translation, energy metabolism, and cell division processes. Although small RNAs have been implicated in many developmental processes, their role during seed germination stages and conditions remained elusive. Here we show that seed germination conditions, like imbibition and temperature, dynamically regulate the expression of many developmentally important miRNAs and their targets. We have identified 58 miRNAs belonging to 30 different families at different seed germination conditions. Amongst these, 15 miRNAs and their targets were significantly differentially expressed in Arabidopsis seeds in dry and 12 h, 24 h and 48 h of imbibition. Interestingly, differential expression of miR390, which targets trans-acting siRNA locus (TAS3) derived transcripts, resulted in alteration of tasiR-ARF mediated regulation of expression of target AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORs (ARF2/3/4). Our results suggest that the dynamic expression of several miRNAs, their targets, and a crosstalk between miRNA and ta-siRNA pathways contribute to the regulation of seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Comparative transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of Arthrobacter sp. CGMCC 3584 responding to dissolved oxygen for cAMP production
Authors: Niu Huanqing , Wang Junzhi , Zhuang Wei , Liu Dong , Chen Yong , Zhu Chenjie , Ying Hanjie 
Published: January 2018

AbstractArthrobactersp. CGMCC 3584 is able to produce high yields of extracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which plays a vital role in the field of treatment of disease and animal food, during aerobic fermentation. However, the molecular basis of cAMP production inArthrobacterspecies is rarely explored. Here, for the first time, we report the comparative transcriptomic and proteomic study ofArthrobactercells to elucidate the higher productivity of cAMP under high oxygen supply. We finally obtained 14.1% and 19.3% of theArthrobactergenome genes which were up-regulated and down-regulated notably, respectively, with high oxygen supply, and identified 54 differently expressed proteins. Our results revealed that high oxygen supply had two major effects on metabolism: inhibition of glycolysis, pyruvate metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, and amino acid metabolism (histidine, branched-chain amino acids and glutamate metabolism); enhancement of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and purine metabolism. We also found that regulation of adenylate cyclase and phosphodiesterase was not significant under high oxygen supply, suggesting efficient cAMP export might be important in cAMP production. These findings may contribute to further understanding of capacities ofArthrobacterspecies and would be highly useful in genetic regulation for desirable production.