bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Structural basis for cellulose binding by the type A carbohydrate‐binding module 64 of Spirochaeta thermophila
Authors: Schiefner André , Angelov Angel , Liebl Wolfgang , Skerra Arne 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACTSpirochaeta thermophila secretes seven glycoside hydrolases for plant biomass degradation that carry a carbohydrate‐binding module 64 (CBM64) appended at the C‐terminus. CBM64 adsorbs to various β1‐4‐linked pyranose substrates and shows high affinity for cellulose. We present the first crystal structure of a CBM64 at 1.2 Å resolution, which reveals a jelly‐roll‐like fold corresponding to a surface‐binding type A CBM. Modeling of its interaction with cellulose indicates that CBM64 achieves association with the hydrophobic face of β‐linked pyranose chains via a unique coplanar arrangement of four exposed tryptophan side chains. Proteins 2016; 84:855–858. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Strigolactones: how far is their commercial use for agricultural purposes?
Authors: Vurro Maurizio , Prandi Cristina , Baroccio Francesca 
Published: February 2016

AbstractStrigolactones are a class of natural and synthetic compounds that in the past decade have been exciting the scientific community not only for their intriguing biological properties but also for their potential applications in agriculture. These applications range from their use as hormones to modify and/or manage plant architecture, to their use as stimulants to induce seed germination of parasitic weeds and thus control their infestation by a reduced seed bank, to their use as ‘biostimulants’ of plant root colonisation by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, improving plant nutritional capabilities, to other still unknown effects on microbial soil communities. More recently, these compounds have also been attracting the interest of agrochemical companies. In spite of their biological attractiveness, practical applications are still greatly hampered by the low product yields obtainable by plant root exudates, by the costs of their synthesis, by the lack of knowledge of their off‐target effects and by the not yet specified or properly identified legislation that could regulate the use of these compounds, depending on the agricultural purposes. The aim of this article is to discuss, in the light of current knowledge, the different scenarios that might play out in the near future with regard to the practical application of strigolactones. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Summarizing and understanding large graphs
Authors: Koutra Danai , Kang U , Vreeken Jilles , Faloutsos Christos 
Published: February 2016

How can we succinctly describe a million‐node graph with a few simple sentences? Given a large graph, how can we find its most “important” structures, so that we can summarize it and easily visualize it? How can we measure the “importance” of a set of discovered subgraphs in a large graph? Starting with the observation that real graphs often consist of stars, bipartite cores, cliques, and chains, our main idea is to find the most succinct description of a graph in these “vocabulary” terms. To this end, we first mine candidate subgraphs using one or more graph partitioning algorithms. Next, we identify the optimal summarization using the minimum description length (MDL) principle, picking only those subgraphs from the candidates that together yield the best lossless compression of the graph—or, equivalently, that most succinctly describe its adjacency matrix.Our contributions are threefold: (i) formulation: we provide a principled encoding scheme to identify the vocabulary type of a given subgraph for six structure types prevalent in real‐world graphs, (ii) algorithm: we develop VoG, an efficient method to approximate the MDL‐optimal summary of a given graph in terms of local graph structures, and (iii) applicability: we report an extensive empirical evaluation on multimillion‐edge real graphs, including Flickr and the Notre Dame web graph.
Impact of response variability on Pareto front optimization
Authors: Chapman Jessica L. , Lu Lu , Anderson‐Cook Christine M. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractA two‐stage Pareto front approach can improve the process of making a decision about which input values simultaneously optimize multiple responses. However, ignoring estimation uncertainty and natural variability in the responses can potentially lead to suboptimal choices about those input values. A simulation‐based approach is used to quantify and examine the impact that variability has on the superior solutions identified on the Pareto front and their performance. Because each optimization scenario has its own unique characteristics, including responses with different amounts of natural variability, the impact of variability on the solutions varies from situation to situation. We study how varying the amount of response variability affects the locations identified for the front and the characteristics of the most promising solutions on the front. We illustrate the method with an application involving process improvement through variance reduction.
Generic transformations for existentially unforgeable signature schemes in the bounded leakage model
Authors: Wang Yuyu , Tanaka Keisuke 
Published: February 2016

AbstractIn this paper, we present generic transformations, which allow us to be able to convert any signature scheme satisfying the weak existential unforgeability property into one satisfying the strong existential unforgeability property. Different from the previous researches, we consider this kind of transformations in the bounded leakage model, in which part of the secret information could be learned by the adversary. To achieve such transformations, we define a new cryptographic primitive called leakage resilient chameleon hash function and give an instantiation of it based on leakage resilient hard relation. By making use of this new variant of chameleon hash function, we improve the technique proposed by Steinfeld, Pieprzk, and Wang to obtain a generic transformation that works well in the bounded leakage model. Furthermore, we follow the construction of strong one‐time signature by Mohassel to give an instantiation of fully leakage resilient strong one‐time signature based on leakage resilient chameleon hash function. We prove that by combining the fully leakage resilient strong one‐time signature scheme with the transformation proposed by Huang, Wong, and Zhao, we can obtain another transformation that can convert any fully leakage resilient signature scheme that is weakly existentially unforgeable into one that is strongly existentially unforgeable without changing the signing key. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A lattice‐based partially blind signature
Authors: Tian Haibo , Zhang Fangguo , Wei Baodian 
Published: February 2016

AbstractBlind signature is a crucial technique to provide anonymity in many information systems such as e‐cash, e‐voting, and smart grid systems. Partially blind signature is a more applicable extension where the part of the message includes some common information known by the signer and the signature requestor. In the family of lattice‐based schemes, blind signatures are given in ASIACRYPT 2010 by R
ckert in the random oracle model, and until now, no partially blind signatures are given. We here design the first scheme based on Lyubashevsky's signature scheme in EUROCRYPT 2012 and Abe and Okamoto's construction of partially blind signature in CRYPTO 2000 in the random oracle model. The scheme shows an alternative approach to achieve the blindness property without the supports of a commitment scheme and of a final round communication to confirm the validity of a signature. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dyadic Transition to Parenthood: A Longitudinal Assessment of Personal Growth among Parents of Pre‐ and Full‐term Infants
Authors: Porat‐Zyman Ginna , Taubman – Ben‐Ari Orit , Spielman Varda 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThis study examined the contribution of birth circumstances (premature and full‐term birth) and individual and spousal factors (attachment orientations, parental self‐efficacy and perceived infant temperament), measured 1 month post‐partum, to the personal growth of first‐time parents (n = 121) 1 and 5 months post‐partum. The study overcame the limitations of prior research by accurately measuring actor effects while controlling for and assessing partner effects, by applying the actor–partner interdependence model. The findings confirm that becoming a parent, under normative and stressful circumstances, can lead to personal growth and parents of premature babies experience higher levels of growth than parents of full terms. Moreover, 1 month post‐partum, actor effects were found for higher attachment anxiety and higher parental self‐efficacy. Furthermore, personal growth at 1 month post‐partum was found to be the strongest predictor of personal growth 5 months after childbirth. Five months post‐partum, a positive partner effect was found for parental self‐efficacy. Mothers reported higher growth than fathers only 5 months after the birth. It seems time plays an important role as to which variables contribute to personal growth. In the early stages of parenthood, personal growth is mostly an individual experience. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TRINI: an adaptive load balancing strategy based on garbage collection for clustered Java systems
Authors: Portillo‐Dominguez A. Omar , Perry Philip , Magoni Damien , Wang Miao , Murphy John 
Published: February 2016

SummaryNowadays, clustered environments are commonly used in high‐performance computing and enterprise‐level applications to achieve faster response time and higher throughput than single machine environments. Nevertheless, how to effectively manage the workloads in these clusters has become a new challenge. As a load balancer is typically used to distribute the workload among the cluster's nodes, multiple research efforts have concentrated on enhancing the capabilities of load balancers. Our previous work presented a novel adaptive load balancing strategy (TRINI) that improves the performance of a clustered Java system by avoiding the performance impacts of major garbage collection, which is an important cause of performance degradation in Java. The aim of this paper is to strengthen the validation of TRINI by extending its experimental evaluation in terms of generality, scalability and reliability. Our results have shown that TRINI can achieve significant performance improvements, as well as a consistent behaviour, when it is applied to a set of commonly used load balancing algorithms, demonstrating its generality. TRINI also proved to be scalable across different cluster sizes, as its performance improvements did not noticeably degrade when increasing the cluster size. Finally, TRINI exhibited reliable behaviour over extended time periods, introducing only a small overhead to the cluster in such conditions. These results offer practitioners a valuable reference regarding the benefits that a load balancing strategy, based on garbage collection, can bring to a clustered Java system. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Towards an Ethical Wealth of Nations: An Institutional Perspective on the Relation between Ethical Values and National Economic Prosperity
Authors: Jennings Peter L. , Velasquez Manuel 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT:In this paper we examine how ethical values contribute to national economic prosperity. We extend the concept of an ethical wealth of nations first introduced by Donaldson in which he proposed four categories of ethical values—fairer distribution of goods, better government, ingrained social cooperation, and inculcation of economic duties—that can drive economic performance, but only if citizens ascribe “intrinsic value” to them independent of their economic interests. Our analysis draws on institutional economics and sociology research to show that if ethical values are to drive economic performance, they must also be supported by the institutional fabric of the nation. We embed an expanded set of ethical values in a set of democratic, free market and civil society institutions spanning three sectors of society—political, economic and cultural respectively. We conclude by discussing the implications of our institutional framework for moral education.
Regional variation in the prevalence of overweight/obesity, hypertension and diabetes and their correlates among the adult rural population in India
Authors: Meshram I. I. , Vishnu Vardhana Rao M. , Sudershan Rao V. , Laxmaiah A. , Polasa K. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractA community-based, cross-sectional study was carried out in five regions of India by adopting a multistage random sampling procedure. Information was collected from the participants about socio-demographic particulars such as age, sex, occupation, education, etc. Anthropometric measurements such as height, weight and waist and hip circumferences were measured and three measurements of blood pressure were obtained. Fasting blood sugar was assessed using a Glucometer. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics,χ2test for association and logistic regression analysis. A total of 7531 subjects were covered for anthropometry and blood pressure. The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity was 29 and 21 %, respectively, and was higher in the Southern region (40 % each) as compared with other regions. The prevalence of hypertension was 18 and 16 % and diabetes was 9·5 % each among men and women, respectively. The risk of hypertension and diabetes was significantly higher among adults from the Southern and Western regions, the among elderly, among overweight/obese individuals and those with abdominal obesity. In conclusion, the prevalence of overweight/obesity and hypertension was higher in the Southern region, whereas diabetes was higher in the Southern and Western regions. Factors such as increasing age, male sex, overweight/obesity, and abdominal obesity were important risk factors for hypertension and diabetes. Appropriate health and nutrition education should be given to the community to control these problems.
John Stuart Mill on Civil Service Recruitment and the Relation between Bureaucracy and Democracy
Authors: van Waarden Betto 
Published: February 2016

AbstractAs a civil servant in the East India Company and witness to government expansion and reorganization in the mid-nineteenth century, John Stuart Mill developed an interest in civil service reform. In an essay supporting the 1854 Northcote-Trevelyan Report and his later political treatises, Mill argued for competitive civil service recruitment. These writings have been relatively neglected by Mill scholars, but I posit that they elucidate a contested aspect of his theory. Mill advocated democracy and expert bureaucracy and, although researchers see tension between these systems, I argue that Mill saw them as compatible. Consequently, Mill's theory might be more consistent and complete than many believe, and the public administration debate should perhaps no longer be seen in terms of an opposition between expertise and democracy.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Work of the Committee
Authors: Pais Marta Santos 
Published: February 2016

I would first of all like to thank you very warmly for having given me the honour to be here today, in this wonderful and historical city of Jerusalem, to talk about the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In particular, it is an honour for me to share this significant moment of the ratification and entry into force of the Convention in Israel, where its voice is joining so many other countries committed to bringing a better future to all children of the world.The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in November 1989, after ten years of a long study and consideration by a working group of the Commission on Human Rights. The Convention reflects the spirit of consensus which prevailed during the drafting process, as well as the compromise reached by different legal systems, cultures and traditions with respect to the human rights universally recognized.
From Camp David to Oslo
Authors: Blum Yehuda Z. 
Published: February 2016

On 13 September 1993 Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (hereinafter “PLO”) signed on the lawn of the White House in Washington, in the presence of United States President William J. Clinton, a “Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements” (hereinafter “the DOP”), the text of which had been initialled the previous month in the Norwegian capital Oslo, following several months of secret negotiations. This occurred almost exactly fifteen years after the signing at the White House, on 17 September 1979, by the President of Egypt, Muhammad Anwar Al-Sadat, and the Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin, of the “Framework for Peace in the Middle East” that had been negotiated and agreed at Camp David, Maryland (hereinafter “the Framework”).Both the Framework and the DOP aim at resolving one of the most complex conflicts of our time, namely, the dispute that first developed between the Arab and Jewish communities in Mandatory Palestine and which widened, with the establishment of Israel in 1948, into a conflict between Israel and the entire Arab world. While both agreements provide for interim arrangements (and the DOP even stresses this aspect in its title), pending the negotiations for a definitive solution, and while both even use similar terms, the basic concepts underlying each of these agreements widely diverge.
Canada's Legal Revolution: Judging in the Age of the Charter of Rights
Authors:   The Right Honourable Antonio Lamer
Published: February 2016

I have been asked to speak to you about judging in the age of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, with particular reference to remedies under the Charter. You will understand, I am sure, that my treatment of the subject will necessarily be in the nature of an overview.Stated broadly, I will be suggesting to you that the introduction of the Charter in Canada has required a fundamental reappraisal of how judges approach their tasks, of the processes that are employed and of the relationship between the judicial and legislative branches of government.Before developing these two propositions, however, I should first give you some basic information about our Charter; to those for whom this is very familiar ground, I apologize and promise brevity.The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which was adopted by Canada in 1982, has one main animating principle from which flows one corollary. The animating principle is that certain human rights and freedoms should be part of the fundamental law of the land. The corollary is that when there is a dispute about the application or the meaning of these fundamental rights and freedoms, it is the responsibility of the courts in Canada to define and apply them through the legal process.
The Practice and Case Law of Israel in Matters Related to International Law
Authors: Perla Deborah 
Published: February 2016

I. The Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of IsraelOn December 30, 1993, the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel was signed in Jerusalem by representatives of both parties. The agreement, which precedes the first diplomatic relations entered into between the Holy See and the State of Israel, covers areas of international relations which include both general issues such as human rights and freedom of religion and particular issues regarding Vatican-Israel relations, such as the status of the Catholic Church in Israel and the role of the Holy See in territorial disputes in the region. The goals and meanings of many of the provisions of the Agreement have as yet to be further defined however, and several of them will be discussed following a brief survey of the historical events leading to the conclusion of this agreement.
The University of Siena and the Racial Laws: The Expulsion of Professor Guido Tedeschi
Authors: Cordisco Nino 
Published: February 2016

A few years ago Giorgio Israel published a penetrating study on the relationship between Science and Race in Fascist Italy in which, referring to the anti-Jewish legislation adopted by the Fascist regime in 1938, he explained how academic culture not only lent scientific and doctrinal credence to racism through the works of outstanding intellectuals such as Nicola Pende, Sabato Visco, Giuseppe Maggiore and Giacomo Acerbo, but also took advantage of “the positions made available for an ‘indecent’ promotion”.This historical image is completely at variance with the description given by journalist Indro Montanelli who denied that “academia of that period was heartened by the racial laws, considering them a way to get new posts and promotions”. He claimed that “the academic culture did not support those laws either doctrinally or scientifically” and considered Prof. Israel's arguments superficial and groundless.
The Productivity of Judges in the Courts of Israel
Authors: Beenstock Michael 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThe output of Israel's judiciary, as measured by the number of completed cases, does not vary with judicial inputs, as measured by the number of judges. The appointment of additional judges lowers the caseload of existing judges, who respond by lowering their productivity. The percentage fall in productivity is equal to the percentage increase in the number of judges, implying that the output of the courts remains unchanged. This evidence undermines the conventional approach for determining the number of judges, which assumes that the productivity of judges does not depend upon their caseload.