bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Les paysages du Karoo dans la littérature sud-africaine : une esthétique de l’indicible
Authors: Samin Richard 
Published: October 2015

Dans l’introduction à son recueil d’essais sur la littérature sud-africaine blanche White Writing (1988), J.M. Coetzee soutient que les premiers colons européens en Afrique australe, devant l’aspect étrange et impénétrable des nouveaux paysages qui s’offraient à eux, ont éprouvé le besoin de se les approprier culturellement, de les humaniser en y projetant des modèles esthétiques qui leur étaient plus familiers, comme le paysage pastoral. J.M. Coetzee prolonge sa réflexion en affirmant que ce qui manquait à ces premiers colons, c’était une langue avec laquelle ils puissent s’adresser à l’Afrique, plus précisément une « langue adaptée à l’Afrique, une langue qui soit authentiquement africaine ». Le but de cette communication est de montrer que le Karoo, cette région semi-aride et géologiquement tourmentée du sud-est de l’Afrique du Sud, qui sert de cadre emblématique à de nombreux récits fictifs chez des romanciers sud-africains blancs (J.M. Coetzee, André Brink, Etienne Van Heerden, etc.), constitue un défi constant, sinon obsédant, auquel ils se confrontent. Il s’agira d’analyser en particulier, à la lumière des remarques de J.M. Coetzee, comment ces écrivains interrogent obstinément ces paysages en recherchant des formes linguistiques et narratives susceptibles de réduire leur caractère aliénant et mystérieux qui met à l’épreuve leur identité. Il s’agira aussi d’analyser comment leurs représentations du Karoo se muent en un lieu mythique et métaphorique où se réinscrivent, et parfois se rejouent, les enjeux historiques de la colonisation et où s’engendrent les interrogations, voire les incertitudes, sur la présence européenne en Afrique.
D&O Insurance and Corporate Investment Efficiency *
Authors: Chen Xinyuan , Zhu Kai , Li Nan 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of directors and officers liability insurance (D&O insurance) on firm investment behaviour. Under the Chinese institutional environment, we analyse the relationship between D&O insurance and firms’ capital expenditure decisions. We find that compared with firms without D&O insurance, firms with D&O insurance will invest more with free cash flow and that their investment efficiency decreases. We get the same findings when we compare the investment behaviour of the same company between a period with D&O insurance and a period without D&O insurance. Our findings imply that improving the effect of D&O insurance on corporate governance should rely on the development of minority shareholder protection under the existing institutional environment.
Forecasting patient length of stay in an emergency department by artificial neural networks
Authors: GUL Muhammet , Guneri Ali Fuat 
Published: October 2015

AbstractEmergency departments (EDs) have faced with high patient demand during peak hours in comparison to the other departments of hospitals because of their complexity and uncertainty. Therefore prolonged waiting times in EDs have caused the dissatisfaction on patients. Patient length of stay (LOS), also known as patient throughput time, is generally considered to be the length of time that passes from the patient’s time of arrival at the ED until time of discharge or transfer to another department of the hospital. Starting from patient admissions to the EDs it becomes important have to be known the overall LOS in terms of right resource allocation and efficient utilization of the department. For this purpose this paper aims to forecast patient LOS using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) within the input factors that are predictive such as patient age, sex, mode of arrival, treatment unit, medical tests and inspection in the ED. The method can be used to provide insights to ED medical staff (doctors, nurses etc.) determining patient LOS.
Alternative Splicing Signatures in RNA‐seq Data: Percent Spliced in (PSI)
Authors: Schafer Sebastian , Miao Kui , Benson Craig C. , Heinig Matthias , Cook Stuart A. , Hubner Norbert 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThousands of alternative exons are spliced out of messenger RNA to increase protein diversity. High‐throughput sequencing of short cDNA fragments (RNA‐seq) generates a genome‐wide snapshot of these post‐transcriptional processes. RNA‐seq reads yield insights into the regulation of alternative splicing by revealing the usage of known or unknown splice sites as well as the expression level of exons. Constitutive exons are never covered by split alignments, whereas alternative exonic parts are located within highly expressed splicing junctions. The ratio between reads including or excluding exons, also known as percent spliced in index (PSI), indicates how efficiently sequences of interest are spliced into transcripts. This protocol describes a method to calculate the PSI without prior knowledge of splicing patterns. It provides a quantitative, global assessment of exon usage that can be integrated with other tools that identify differential isoform processing. Novel, complex splicing events along a genetic locus can be visualized in an exon‐centric manner and compared across conditions. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Atmosphere‐ocean coupled processes in the Madden‐Julian oscillation
Authors: DeMott Charlotte A. , Klingaman Nicholas P. , Woolnough Steven J. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe Madden‐Julian oscillation (MJO) is a convectively coupled 30–70 day (intraseasonal) tropical atmospheric mode that drives variations in global weather but which is poorly simulated in most atmospheric general circulation models. Over the past two decades, field campaigns and modeling experiments have suggested that tropical atmosphere‐ocean interactions may sustain or amplify the pattern of enhanced and suppressed atmospheric convection that defines the MJO and encourage its eastward propagation through the Indian and Pacific Oceans. New observations collected during the past decade have advanced our understanding of the ocean response to atmospheric MJO forcing and the resulting intraseasonal sea surface temperature fluctuations. Numerous modeling studies have revealed a considerable impact of the mean state on MJO ocean‐atmosphere coupled processes, as well as the importance of resolving the diurnal cycle of atmosphere‐upper ocean interactions. New diagnostic methods provide insight to atmospheric variability and physical processes associated with the MJO but offer limited insight on the role of ocean feedbacks. Consequently, uncertainty remains concerning the role of the ocean in MJO theory. Our understanding of how atmosphere‐ocean coupled processes affect the MJO can be improved by collecting observations in poorly sampled regions of MJO activity, assessing oceanic and atmospheric drivers of surface fluxes, improving the representation of upper ocean mixing in coupled model simulations, designing model experiments that minimize mean state differences, and developing diagnostic tools to evaluate the nature and role of coupled ocean‐atmosphere processes over the MJO cycle.
Anticipating the Anthropocene
Authors: Trachtenberg Zev 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThere is an important precedent in the history of ideas for the Anthropocene proposal. This is not found in the precursors that have been proposed to the formal scientific concept, but rather in the work of the eighteenth‐century social theorist Jean‐Jacques Rousseau. I argue that Rousseau's speculative account of the development of human society models a way of viewing the condition of the physical environment as an expression of the social and economic institutions that support human beings' way of life.
Phanerozoic surface history of southern Peninsular India from apatite (U‐Th‐Sm)/He data
Authors: Mandal Sanjay Kumar , Fellin Maria Giuditta , Burg Jean‐Pierre , Maden Colin 
Published: October 2015

AbstractQuantifying bedrock cooling history is crucial for understanding the long‐term landform evolution across passive margins and its control onto the sediment routing system. To constrain the low‐temperature cooling history and its relationships to the Phanerozoic tectonic events of southern Peninsular India, we present new apatite (U‐Th‐Sm)/He (AHe) analyses of 39 Precambrian basement samples. The new AHe ages range from 38.1 ± 6.8 to 364.2 ± 44.6 Ma: they are younger than 50 Ma in the Palghat Gap region and older than 200 Ma in the interior of the Deccan Plateau. Thermal modeling based on AHe data indicates enhanced cooling and exhumation in the interior of the Deccan Plateau by Permian‐Triassic times followed by gradual cooling up to the Present. This discrete episode of Permian‐Triassic cooling is associated with continental extension that preceded the Early Jurassic breakup of Gondwana. Bedrock cooling and exhumation on the southeastern and southern limits of the Deccan Plateau was likely accomplished by Late Cretaceous drainage reorganization. The distribution of old (>200 Ma) AHe ages over the >2600 m high Nilgiri Plateau reflects very low erosion/exhumation rates and adds to examples of long‐lived postorogenic topography. The relatively younger AHe ages from the ∼30 km wide low mountain pass (Palghat Gap) within the Western Ghat Mountains attest for intense Cenozoic erosion likely facilitated by the erodible lithological backbone of the Neoproterozoic shear zone. AHe ages across the western coastal plain challenge the widely hold notion of ∼3 km of post‐breakup isostatic rebound in response to erosion of the margin. Instead, the new AHe data are more compatible with less than 1–1.5 km of crustal denudation along the coastal strip.
A GRACE‐based assessment of interannual groundwater dynamics in the Community Land Model
Authors: Swenson S. C. , Lawrence D. M. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe estimation of groundwater storage variations is important for quantifying available water resources and managing storage surpluses to alleviate storage deficiencies during droughts. This is particularly true in semi‐arid regions, where multiyear droughts can be common. To complement the local information provided by soil moisture and well level measurements, land models such as the Community Land Model (CLM) can be used to simulate regional scale water storage variations. CLM includes a bulk aquifer model to simulate saturated water storage dynamics below the model soil column. Aquifer storage increases when it receives recharge from the overlying soil column, and decreases due to lateral flow (i.e., base flow) and capillary rise. In this study, we examine the response of the CLM aquifer model to transitions between low and high recharge inputs, and show that the model simulates unrealistic long‐period behavior relative to total water storage (TWS) observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). We attribute the model's poor response to large wetting events to the lack of a finite lower boundary in the bulk aquifer model. We show that by removing the bulk aquifer model and adding a zero‐flux boundary condition at the base of the soil column, good agreement with GRACE observations can be achieved. In addition, we examine the sensitivity of simulated total water storage to the depth at which the zero‐flux boundary is applied, i.e., the thickness of the soil column. Based on comparisons to GRACE, an optimal soil thickness map is constructed. Simulations using the modified CLM with the derived soil thickness map are shown to perform as well or better than standard CLM simulations. The improvements in simulated, climatically induced, long‐period water storage variability will reduce the uncertainty in GRACE‐based estimates of anthropogenic groundwater depletion.
Diverting Hydrogenations with Wilkinson's Catalyst towards Highly Reactive Rhodium(I) Species
Authors: Perea‐Buceta Jesus E. , Fernández Israel , Heikkinen Sami , Axenov Kirill , King Alistair W. T. , Niemi Teemu , Nieger Martin , Leskelä Markku , Repo Timo 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe addition of Barton's base has a dramatic effect on the classic rhodium(III)‐mediated hydrogenations promoted by Wilkinson′s catalyst. Following the initial oxidative addition, a barrierless reductive elimination of HCl from the traditional rhodium(III) intermediates instantly produces a rhodium(I) monohydride species, which is remarkably reactive in the hydrogenation of several internal alkynes and functionalized trisubstituted alkenes. The direct formation of this species is unprecedented upon addition of molecular hydrogen and its catalytic potential has been hitherto barely explored.
Direct Air Capture of CO2 by Physisorbent Materials
Authors: Kumar Amrit , Madden David G. , Lusi Matteo , Chen Kai‐Jie , Daniels Emma A. , Curtin Teresa , Perry John J. , Zaworotko Michael J. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractSequestration of CO2, either from gas mixtures or directly from air (direct air capture, DAC), could mitigate carbon emissions. Here five materials are investigated for their ability to adsorb CO2 directly from air and other gas mixtures. The sorbents studied are benchmark materials that encompass four types of porous material, one chemisorbent, TEPA‐SBA‐15 (amine‐modified mesoporous silica) and four physisorbents: Zeolite 13X (inorganic); HKUST‐1 and Mg‐MOF‐74/Mg‐dobdc (metal–organic frameworks, MOFs); SIFSIX‐3‐Ni, (hybrid ultramicroporous material). Temperature‐programmed desorption (TPD) experiments afforded information about the contents of each sorbent under equilibrium conditions and their ease of recycling. Accelerated stability tests addressed projected shelf‐life of the five sorbents. The four physisorbents were found to be capable of carbon capture from CO2‐rich gas mixtures, but competition and reaction with atmospheric moisture significantly reduced their DAC performance.
An Autocatalytic System of Photooxidation‐Driven Substitution Reactions on a FeII4L6 Cage Framework
Authors: Neelakandan Prakash P. , Jiménez Azucena , Thoburn John D. , Nitschke Jonathan R. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe functions of life are accomplished by systems exhibiting nonlinear kinetics: autocatalysis, in particular, is integral to the signal amplification that allows for biological information processing. Novel synthetic autocatalytic systems provide a foundation for the design of artificial chemical networks capable of carrying out complex functions. Here we report a set of FeII4L6 cages containing BODIPY chromophores having tuneable photosensitizing properties. Electron‐rich anilines were observed to displace electron‐deficient anilines at the dynamic‐covalent imine bonds of these cages. When iodoaniline residues were incorporated, heavy‐atom effects led to enhanced 1O2 production. The incorporation of (methylthio)aniline residues into a cage allowed for the design of an autocatalytic system: oxidation of the methylthio groups into sulfoxides make them electron‐deficient and allows their displacement by iodoanilines, generating a better photocatalyst and accelerating the reaction.
Wrinkled Graphene Monoliths as Superabsorbing Building Blocks for Superhydrophobic and Superhydrophilic Surfaces
Authors: Lv Li‐Bing , Cui Tian‐Lu , Zhang Bing , Wang Hong‐Hui , Li Xin‐Hao , Chen Jie‐Sheng 
Published: October 2015

AbstractSuperhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces are of great interest because of a large range of applications, for example, as antifogging and self‐cleaning coatings, as antibiofouling paints for boats, in metal refining, and for water–oil separation. An aqueous ink based on three‐dimensional graphene monoliths (Gr) can be used for constructing both superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces on arbitrary substrates with different surficial structures from the meso‐ to the macroscale. The surface wettability of a Gr‐coated surface mainly depends on which additional layers (air for a superhydrophobic surface and water for a superhydrophilic surface) are adsorbed on the surface of the graphene sheets. Switching a Gr‐coated surface between being superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic can thus be easily achieved by drying and prewetting with ethanol. The Gr‐based superhydrophobic membranes or films should have great potential as efficient separators for fast and gravity‐driven oil–water separation.
Delineating the Role of Helical Intermediates in Natively Unfolded Polypeptide Amyloid Assembly and Cytotoxicity
Authors: De Carufel Carole Anne , Quittot Noé , Nguyen Phuong Trang , Bourgault Steve 
Published: October 2015

AbstractAmyloid deposition is a hallmark of many diseases, such as the Alzheimer’s disease. Numerous amyloidogenic proteins, including the islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) associated with type II diabetes, are natively unfolded and need to undergo conformational rearrangements allowing the formation of locally ordered structure(s) to initiate self‐assembly. Recent studies have indicated that the formation of α‐helical intermediates accelerates fibrillization, suggesting that these species are on‐pathway to amyloid assembly. By identifying an IAPP derivative with a restricted conformational ensemble that co‐assembles with IAPP, we observed that helical species were off‐pathway in homogenous environment and in presence of lipid bilayers or glycosaminoglycans. Moreover, preventing helical folding potentiated membrane perturbation and IAPP cytotoxicity, indicating that stabilization of helical motif(s) is a promising strategy to prevent cell degeneration associated with amyloidogenesis.
Disappearing Enantiomorphs: Single Handedness in Racemate Crystals
Authors: Parschau Manfred , Ernst Karl‐Heinz 
Published: October 2015

AbstractAlthough crystallization is the most important method for the separation of enantiomers of chiral molecules in the chemical industry, the chiral recognition involved in this process is poorly understood at the molecular level. We report on the initial steps in the formation of layered racemate crystals from a racemic mixture, as observed by STM at submolecular resolution. Grown on a copper single‐crystal surface, the chiral hydrocarbon heptahelicene formed chiral racemic lattice structures within the first layer. In the second layer, enantiomerically pure domains were observed, underneath which the first layer contained exclusively the other enantiomer. Hence, the system changed from a 2D racemate into a 3D racemate with enantiomerically pure layers after exceeding monolayer‐saturation coverage. A chiral bias in form of a small enantiomeric excess suppressed the crystallization of one double‐layer enantiomorph so that the pure minor enantiomer crystallized only in the second layer.
Stable Encapsulated Air Nanobubbles in Water
Authors: Wang Yu , Liu Guojun , Hu Heng , Li Terry Yantian , Johri Amer M. , Li Xiaoyu , Wang Jian 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe dispersion into water of nanocapsules bearing a highly hydrophobic fluorinated internal lining yielded encapsulated air nanobubbles. These bubbles, like their micrometer‐sized counterparts (microbubbles), effectively reflected ultrasound. More importantly, the nanobubbles survived under ultrasonication 100‐times longer than a commercial microbubble sample that is currently in clinical use. We justify this unprecedented stability theoretically. These nanobubbles, owing to their small size and potential ability to permeate the capillary networks of tissues, may expand the applications of microbubbles in diagnostic ultrasonography and find new applications in ultrasound‐regulated drug delivery.
Development of a Dinitrosyl Iron Complex Molecular Catalyst into a Hydrogen Evolution Cathode
Authors: Chiou Tzung‐Wen , Lu Tsai‐Te , Wu Ying‐Hao , Yu Yi‐Ju , Chu Li‐Kang , Liaw Wen‐Feng 
Published: October 2015

AbstractDespite extensive efforts, the electrocatalytic reduction of water using homogeneous/heterogeneous Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, W, and Mo complexes remains challenging because of issues involving the development of efficient, recyclable, stable, and aqueous‐compatible catalysts. In this study, evolution of the de novo designed dinitrosyl iron complex DNIC‐PMDTA from a molecular catalyst into a solid‐state hydrogen evolution cathode, considering all the parameters to fulfill the electronic and structural requirements of each step of the catalytic cycle, is demonstrated. DNIC‐PMDTA reveals electrocatalytic reduction of water at neutral and basic media, whereas its deposit on electrode preserves exceptional longevity, 139 h. This discovery will initiate a systematic study on the assembly of [Fe(NO)2] motif into current collector for mass production of H2, whereas the efficiency remains tailored by its molecular precursor [(L)Fe(NO)2].
The effect of oxidized ferulic acid on physicochemical properties of bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia) protein‐based films
Authors: Arabestani Akram , Kadivar Mahdi , Shahedi Mohammad , Goli Sayed Amir Hossein , Porta Raffaele 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACTThe aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of oxidized ferulic acid on some physicochemical features of bitter vetch protein concentrate‐based films. Our results indicate that moisture content, total soluble matter, water vapor permeability, and mechanical resistance values of the films prepared in the presence of oxidized ferulic acid were significantly modified in comparison with the ones detected with films obtained in its absence. In fact, film moisture content, total soluble matter, and water vapor permeability significantly decreased when oxidized ferulic acid was added to the film forming solutions, whereas both film tensile strength and elongation at break resulted markedly higher. Moreover, atomic force and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed that film morphology was also markedly affected by the presence of oxidized ferulic acid, film surface roughness, and compactness resulting higher than the ones observed in control samples. Therefore, these findings show a marked improvement in obtaining edible films derived from cheap starting biopolymers, such as bitter vetch proteins, potentially useful for different food and pharmaceutical applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 42894.
Development of Purification Concepts for Nutraceuticals from Algae – Part II: Design of Purification Strategies
Authors: Fröhlich Holger , Gasser Kurt , Gaul Simon , Grützner Thomas , Strube Jochen 
Published: October 2015

AbstractOmega‐3 fatty acids are well‐known for health‐preserving effects like blood pressure reduction. Main source of fatty acids is fish oil which has recorded a significant price increase. This has stimulated research on recovering omega‐3 fatty acids from other sources, like the microalgae Ulkenia sp. These stems have in common that the fatty acids are built as storage lipids in the cell interior. Due to the cell wall stability of the cell systems, high disruption energies need to be applied which leads to formation of stable emulsions. Innovative downstream concepts are developed which in contrast to conventional processes are operated free from organic solvents. Several approaches are discussed and compared in terms of cost to common process concepts.