Unambiguous Understanding Research Articles

Effects of calcium and ferric ions on struvite precipitation: A new assessment based on quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis

The precipitation of struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) from waste streams has attracted considerable attention due to its potential for recovering phosphorus for fertilization. As struvite is primarily acquired by means of precipitation and crystallization from aqueous solutions, it is important to evaluate the roles of common metal ions, particularly those that are commonly found in wastewater, in the struvite crystallization process. This study was performed to quantitatively evaluate the effects of calcium and ferric ions on struvite crystallization using the Rietveld refinement method, which is based on the analysis of X-ray diffraction data. The results indicate that both calcium and ferric ions significantly inhibit the formation of struvite crystals, and the effects vary under different pH conditions. There was a negative linear correlation between the struvite weight content in the precipitates and the Ca/Mg molar ratio in the initial solution. However, ferric ions were confirmed to be a more efficient inhibitor of struvite crystallization. Ca2+ and Fe3+ further modified the needle-like struvite into irregular shapes. An unambiguous and quantitative understanding of the effects of foreign ions on struvite crystallization will help to reliably improve the quality of struvite products recovered from wastewater and the control of struvite deposits in water and sludge piping systems.

Influence of grain structure on the deformation mechanism in martensitic shear reversion-induced Fe-16Cr-10Ni model austenitic alloy with low interstitial content: Coarse-grained versus nano-grained/ultrafine-grained structure

Nanograined/ultrafine-grained (NG/UFG) materials characterized by high strength-high ductility combination are excellent vehicles to obtain an unambiguous understanding of deformation mechanisms vis-à-vis their coarse-grained counterparts. In this context, the innovative concept of phase reversion-induced NG/UFG structure enabled achieving high strength besides comparable ductility, for instance, in metastable austenitic stainless steels. In the phase reversion process, severe deformation of austenite at room temperature (typically ~60–80%) transforms face-centered cubic austenite (γ) to body centered cubic martensite (α′). Upon annealing, martensite reverts to austenite leading to extensive grain refinement. The objective of the present study to fundamentally understand the deformation mechanisms in NG/UFG structure in relation to that of the coarse-grained (CG) structure was accomplished by combining depth-sensing nanoscale experiments on an Fe-16Cr-10Ni model austenitic alloy conducted at different strain rates, followed by the study of structural evolution in the deformed zone using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the high strength NG/UFG steel (YS~585MPa), stacking faults and nanotwins contributed to the enhanced ductility (El~35%), while in the case of low strength (YS~260MPa) coarse-grained (CG) counterpart, ductility was also high (El~40%), but chiefly due to strain-induced martensite, which points to a clear case of grain size effect (and the corresponding level of strength). The distinct change in the deformation mechanism from stacking faults and twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) in the NG structure to transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) in the CG structure is elucidated in terms of austenite stability-strain energy relationship. The insights on the relationship between grain structure (and strength) and deformation mechanisms are envisaged to be important in providing a new direction for the futuristic design of high strength-high ductility NG/UFG materials such as austenitic stainless steel and twinning induced plasticity steels.

ANALYSIS TERMINOLOGICAL APPARATUS SERVICES HOUSING AND COMMUNAL SERVICES

This paper presents an analysis of regulatory documents for the presence of each other and compliance with the basic concepts of the field of housing and communal services "housing and communal services", "public infrastructure" and "organization of public utilities." The results showed that at the moment there is no clear and unambiguous understanding of any of the concepts in question, resulting in signifi cantly complicates the process of state regulation of public utilities, the purpose of which is speedy modernization and improvement of its efficiency.

Classification of Recombinant Biologics in the EU: Divergence Between National Pharmacovigilance Centers.

Background and ObjectiveBiological medicinal products (biologics) are subject to specific pharmacovigilance requirements to ensure that biologics are identifiable by brand name and batch number in adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports. Since Member States collect ADR data at the national level before the data is aggregated at the European Union (EU) level, it is important that an unambiguous understanding of which medicinal products belong to the biological product category exists. This study aimed to identify the level of consistency between Member States regarding the classification of biologics by national authorities responsible for ADR reporting.MethodsA sample list of recombinant biologics from the European Medicines Agency database of European Public Assessment Reports was created to analyze five Member States (Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) according to which products were classified as biologics by each Member State. We calculated the Fleiss kappa value to analyze interrater reliability.ResultsA considerable divergence was identified regarding the classification of the 146 recombinant biologics from the sample list: one Member State classified 100 % of the recombinant biologics from the sample list as biologics, whereas the classification rates in the remaining four Member States ranged between 70 and 88 % for products available on the national market. The interrater reliability for 87 products available on the market in all five Member States was considered poor.ConclusionDiscrepancies exist between Member States in the classification of biologics; less divergence exists for common well-known biologics. These findings highlight the need to think about the best approaches to translate EU legislation into national practices. Additionally, we recommend a publicly available and frequently updated list of centrally authorized biologics.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40259-015-0149-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Drift, not selection, shapes toll-like receptor variation among oceanic island populations.

Understanding the relative role of different evolutionary forces in shaping the level and distribution of functional genetic diversity among natural populations is a key issue in evolutionary and conservation biology. To do so accurately genetic data must be analysed in conjunction with an unambiguous understanding of the historical processes that have acted upon the populations. Here, we focused on diversity at toll‐like receptor (TLR) loci, which play a key role in the vertebrate innate immune system and, therefore, are expected to be under pathogen‐mediated selection. We assessed TLR variation within and among 13 island populations (grouped into three archipelagos) of Berthelot's pipit, Anthus berthelotii, for which detailed population history has previously been ascertained. We also compared the variation observed with that found in its widespread sister species, the tawny pipit, Anthus campestris. We found strong evidence for positive selection at specific codons in TLR1LA, TLR3 and TLR4. Despite this, we found that at the allele frequency level, demographic history has played the major role in shaping patterns of TLR variation in Berthelot's pipit. Levels of diversity and differentiation within and across archipelagos at all TLR loci corresponded very closely with neutral microsatellite variation and with the severity of the bottlenecks that occurred during colonization. Our study shows that despite the importance of TLRs in combating pathogens, demography can be the main driver of immune gene variation within and across populations, resulting in patterns of functional variation that can persist over evolutionary timescales.

Who Inhabits a Business Ecosystem? The Technospecies as a Unifying Concept

Currently, many terms are used to describe business ecosystems and their inhabitants. These terms have meanings that can cause definitional confusion and an ambiguous level of analysis as to what constitutes a business ecosystem. To understand business ecosystem relationships, an unambiguous understanding of the ecosystem components is required. The importance of standardized terminology and clear definitions of these components has been recognized in the literature. From a managerial perspective, identifying the relationships a firm is situated in is valuable and useful information that can be practically applied. We propose a business ecosystem model anchored around interdependent technospecies similar to the biological model that many of the existing concepts are drawn from. Technospecies are unique entities based on their organizational routines, capabilities, and use of technology. This article will present an alternative formulation of the business ecosystem model with the aim of synthesizing the diverse terminology presently in use into a concise, common language. For evolution is not only substitution of independent components; it is also integration of the components to form adaptively coherent systems.

Nomads, warriors and bureaucrats: nation-building and film in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

Nation-building is a process which is often contested, not just among different ethnicities within a nation-state, but also among the titular ethnic majority. This article explores the contested nature of the nation-building process in post-Soviet Kazakhstan through examining cinematic works. Utilizing a post-modern perspective which views nations and national identity as invented, imagined and ambivalent it identifies four discursive strands within recent post-Soviet Kazakh cinema pertaining to nationhood and national identity (ethno-centric, civic, religious and socioeconomic). Rather than viewing government-sponsored efforts of identity formation in cinema as a top-down process in which the regime transmits its version of nationhood and identity, the discursive strands revealed in this article illustrate there are varying understandings of what constitutes the nation and national identity in Kazakh cinematic works. Furthermore, the strand which focuses on the socioeconomic tensions of modern nation-building in Kazakhstan uncovers how film is used as a site for dissent and social critique of Kazakhstan's modern political condition. What the article illuminates is how discourses related to nation-building can be both competing and complementary and that nation-building is a fluid and transgressive process in which among the titular majority there is no fixed unambiguous understanding of nationhood and national identity.

Modern Term System of Methodical Activities

At present time methodical activity of libraries acquires great importance among the professional community. Study of this area of library science requires clear and unambiguous understanding of terms and definitions; therefore the problem of conceptual framework of methodical activities is highly relevant to the theory and practice of librarianship. The article presents the modern term system of methodical activities of libraries. Terminological aspects are considered on the basis of wide range of sources, including regulations. The basic terms and definitions in the area of library science and scientific approaches to term formation are analyzed in the paper. The attention is paid to the conceptual meaning and relationship between such terms as “Methodical Work”, “Methodical Guidance”, and “Methodical Support”. It is proposed for consideration the term “Methodical Support” as the most functional one which can be used to describe the concept both at the legislative level and within the library community.

Quantitative X-ray Diffraction (QXRD) analysis for revealing thermal transformations of red mud

Red mud is a worldwide environmental problem, and many authorities are trying to find an economic solution for its beneficial application or/and safe disposal. Ceramic production is one of the potential waste-to-resource strategies for using red mud as a raw material. Before implementing such a strategy, an unambiguous understanding of the reaction behavior of red mud under thermal conditions is essential. In this study, the phase compositions and transformation processes were revealed for the Pingguo red mud (PRM) heat-treated at different sintering temperatures. Hematite, perovskite, andradite, cancrinite, kaolinite, diaspore, gibbsite and calcite phases were observed in the samples. However, unlike those red mud samples from the other regions, no TiO2 (rutile or anatase) or quartz were observed. Titanium was found to exist mainly in perovskite and andradite while the iron mainly existed in hematite and andradite. A new silico-ferrite of calcium and aluminum (SFCA) phase was found in samples treated at temperatures above 1100°C, and two possible formation pathways for SFCA were suggested. This is the first SFCA phase to be reported in thermally treated red mud, and this finding may turn PRM waste into a material resource for the iron-making industry. Titanium was found to be enriched in the perovskite phase after 1200°C thermal treatment, and this observation indicated a potential strategy for the recovery of titanium from PRM. In addition to noting these various resource recovery opportunities, this is also the first study to quantitatively summarize the reaction details of PRM phase transformations at various temperatures.

Regularities of Creating in the XVIII - Mid XX Centuries a Regular Agglomeration of St. Petersburg - Leningrad and Problems of its Preservation as a World Heritage Object

Before the foundation of St. Petersburg in 1703, there had for centuries existed a developed system of rural settlements located on the flat valleys and areas along the Neva River and around the Ladoga Lake. Since 1703, under the leadership of Peter I and his followers, there was carried out a systematic creation of the capital St. Petersburg agglomeration (St. Petersburg and residential suburbs around it), which was done on the basis of purposefully introduced principles of regularity and harmony of architectural ensembles, by the methods of large-scale reconstruction of the previous irregular system of the population settlement distribution. The scale of this new agglomeration had no analogues in world town-planning practice of the XVIII century and united spaces with the total area over 200 square kilometers, which extended from the town of Sestroretsk in the North to the town of Novgorod in the South, from the town of Narva in the West to the Volkhov River in the East. The regularity and multi-center character of the central city formed according to the pattern of a mesh and cellular structure (with the dimensions of 10 km by 15 km), was supplemented with a regularity of suburban ensembles` layout and multi-kilometer rectilinear axes – roads connecting them. Some of the roads had the length of several hundred km (such as the road from Moscow to St. Petersburg built in 1706-1718, that was as long as nearly 700 km). Huge suburban forest-park and natural-landscape spaces between palace and park ensembles were united as star-patterned compositions. This historically created agglomeration is deservedly included in the List of Objects of the World Heritage, but so far it has not received a unambiguous understanding of its uniqueness and needs a considerable effort in searching new individual ways of the historical heritage preservation. On the basis of the archive records, the contribution presents an analysis of regularities of consecutive and purposeful transformation of the historical rural settlements system existing up to the foundation of St. Petersburg into the capital St. Petersburg agglomeration of regular type.

Defining the colour pattern phenotype in bumble bees (Bombus): a new model for evo devo

Few insects exhibit the striking colour pattern radiation found in bumble bees (Bombus), which have diversified globally into a wide range of colours and patterns. Their potent sting is often advertised by conspicuous bands of contrasting colour commonly mimicked by scores of harmless (Batesian mimics) and noxious species (Mullerian co-mimics). Despite extensive documentation of colour pattern diversification, next to nothing is known about the genetic regulation of pattern formation in bumble bees, hindering progress toward a more general model of the evolution of colour pattern mimicry. A critical first step in understanding the colour pattern genotype is an unambiguous understanding of the phenotype under selection, which has not been objectively defined in bumble bees. Here, we quantitatively define the principal colour pattern elements that comprise the phenotype array across all species. Matrix analysis of meticulously scored colour patterns of ∼95% of described species indicates there are 12 discrete primary ‘ground plan’ elements in common among all species, many of which correspond to segmentation patterning. Additional secondary elements characterize individual species and geographical variants. The boundaries of these elements appear to correspond to expression patterns of Hox genes in Drosophila and Apis but also suggest novel post-Hox specialization of abdominal patterning. Our findings provide the first foundation for exploring candidate genes regulating adaptive pattern variation in bumble bees and broaden the framework for understanding common genetic mechanisms of pattern evolution in insects. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113, 384‐404.

Pre-adsorption of protein on electrochemically grooved nanostructured stainless steel implant and relationship to cellular activity.

The successful integration of a biomedical device is governed by the surface properties of the material and also depends on the interaction with the physiological fluid involving adsorption of proteins on the surface. Pre-adsorbed proteins act as pilots for cell adhesion and subsequently govern cellular activity. In this regard, nanograined materials are excellent vehicles to obtain an unambiguous understanding of protein adsorption, which regulate cell adhesion and cellular activity. Toward this end, we have used the concept of phase reversion-induced nanograined structure to understand grain structure-induced self-assembly of a model protein, bovine serum albumin. Furthermore, in the context of bio-mechanical interlocking between implant and bone, and osseointegration of the implant, grain boundaries were electrochemically grooved and studied for osteoblast functions. Experiments indicated that the significant differences in cell attachment, proliferation, and expression level of prominent proteins (actin, vinculin, and fibronectin) is related to synergistic effects of grain structure, pre-adsorbed protein, and grooving of grain boundaries such that the osteoblasts functions and cellular activity is promoted on the nanostructured surface in relation to the coarse-grained counterpart.

Future Teachers Professional Competence Development within Bachelor Program

At present in the psychological and educational literature the concept of “competence” are widely used and the idea of competence approach in education is actively discussed. For example, the American researcher R. Meyers implies competence as not only compliance with the certain criteria of the activity, but also a demonstration of the behavioral problems at work implementation (Meyers, 1998). Though the specialists of Center for Vocational Education and Training of Ohio State University understand competence as specific, well-diagnosed knowledge, skills necessary for the effective activity of chosen area (Columbus, 1995). This definition limits the concept as it takes into account only the area of knowledge, abilities, skills and does not consider personal ability, his personal and social characteristics that would reveal the level of mobility. However in the scientific and educational community there is still not common, clear and unambiguous understanding of the terms “competence”, “professional competence”. There are no specified means and psychological-pedagogical conditions for the development of personal competencies that reflect the results of the students’ personal qualities in the educational process during bachelor program at university. In the experiment to obtain objective information various separate methods and their synthetic use of the studied process were used. A series of comparative pedagogical experiments with the use of profession-based education technology at the university was used as well. As a result it was possible to identify and substantiate the psychological and educational conditions conducive to the future teachers’ professional competence development.

Closing the gap between T-cell life span estimates from stable isotope-labeling studies in mice and humans

AbstractQuantitative knowledge of the turnover of different leukocyte populations is a key to our understanding of immune function in health and disease. Much progress has been made thanks to the introduction of stable isotope labeling, the state-of-the-art technique for in vivo quantification of cellular life spans. Yet, even leukocyte life span estimates on the basis of stable isotope labeling can vary up to 10-fold among laboratories. We investigated whether these differences could be the result of variances in the length of the labeling period among studies. To this end, we performed deuterated water-labeling experiments in mice, in which only the length of label administration was varied. The resulting life span estimates were indeed dependent on the length of the labeling period when the data were analyzed using a commonly used single-exponential model. We show that multiexponential models provide the necessary tool to obtain life span estimates that are independent of the length of the labeling period. Use of a multiexponential model enabled us to reduce the gap between human T-cell life span estimates from 2 previously published labeling studies. This provides an important step toward unambiguous understanding of leukocyte turnover in health and disease.

Saving Your Wellness Program

Given the poor health status of U.S. citizens, it is critical to maintain, and even increase, students' opportunities to learn about unhealthy behaviors and to practice healthy ones. However, the current economic environment has led to a dramatic reduction in educational opportunities. Many physical education, health, and wellness programs are not receiving the necessary resources to provide the quality services needed, and are being forced to increasingly justify the need for such programs. This article presents six advocacy secrets that can be used to retain wellness in the curriculum. These suggestions include essential tools for ensuring that institutional decision makers have an unambiguous understanding of the benefits of a wellness program and of how such a program fits into the larger picture of the institution and nation.

Development of projects on international nanotechnology standardization

Projects on nanotechnology standardization carried out by international standardization organizations in 2011–2012 are reviewed and the involvement of the Russian delegation in this work is shown. Special attention is paid to the standardization of nanotechnology terms to promote the unambiguous understanding of information.

A New Method for Estimating Surface Band Energies of a Semiconductor Electrode in Contact with an Electrolyte Solution

Abstract Surface band energies of a semiconductor electrode are a key quantity for knowing the reactivity of electrons and holes, but no unambiguous understanding has yet been obtained about how they are determined when various kinds of electric charges are present simultaneously near the surface. This letter reports that the problem can be clearly solved by working out a new graphical method to estimate surface band energies definitely and consistently under diverse conditions.

Who can Really be Called a Lexicographer?

Lexicographers define words but still lack a clear and unambiguous understanding of the word lexicographer. This paper gives a brief discussion of the problems experienced in trying to determine exactly what a lexicographer is. The distinction between theoretical and practical lexicographers is quite clear but within both these categories there are grey areas where it is not so clear whether a specific participant in lexicographic activities qualifies to be called a lexicographer. The lack of formal professional lexicographic qualifications impedes an unambiguous understanding of the word. The emergence of lexicography as an independent discipline compels lexicographers to take a closer look at criteria relevant to identifying someone as being a lexicographer.

A standard language for service delivery: Enabling understanding among stakeholders

In Integrated Service Delivery (ISD), multiple service providers have to collaborate in order to serve as a one-stop shop for their clients. Although technical standards have been met, collaboration is difficult. Service providers do not know what kind of information other providers need, are not aware of each other's processes or simply do not understand each other due to the use of ambiguous terms. In this paper, foundations for a language are developed to specify the requirements for ISD and enable the unambiguous understanding of these requirements. A combination of the standards Object-Role Modeling (ORM) and Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules (SBVR) is used to ensure human readability and to have the full expressive power of formal languages. Composed expressions are developed to express logical, temporal, and geographical requirements. This enables service providers to understand how, when, and where services need to be integrated. By utilizing these foundations to generate a standard language for ISD, service providers can collaborate and they can understand complex client requirements which lead to improved ISD.

Design and deployment of a new wireless sensor node platform for building environmental monitoring and control

It is commonly agreed that a 15–40% reduction of building energy consumption is achievable by efficiently operated buildings when compared with typical practice. Existing research has identified that the level of information available to Building Managers with existing Building Management Systems and Environmental Monitoring Systems is insufficient to perform the required performance-based building assessment. The majority of today’s buildings are insufficiently sensored to obtain an unambiguous understanding of performance. The cost of installing additional sensors and meters is extremely high, primarily due to the estimated cost of wiring and the needed labour. From these perspectives wireless sensors technology proves to have a greater cost-efficiency while maintaining high levels of functionality and reliability. In this paper, a wireless sensor network mote hardware design and implementation are introduced particularly for building deployment application. The core of the mote design is based on the 8-bit AVR microcontroller, Atmega1281 and 2.4 GHz wireless communication chip, CC2420. The sensors were selected carefully to meet both the building monitoring and design requirements. Beside the sensing capability, actuation and interfacing to external meters/sensors are provided to perform different management control and data recording tasks.