bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Naturalism
Authors: Campbell Donna
Published: July 2017

The term
naturalism
refers to a late nineteenth‐century and early twentieth‐century literary movement whose practitioners used the techniques and theories of science to convey a truthful picture of life. The characteristics of naturalism include a carefully detailed presentation of modern society, often featuring lower‐class characters in an urban setting or a panoramic view of a slice of contemporary life; a deterministic philosophy that emphasizes the effects of heredity and environment; characters who act from passion rather than reason and show little insight into their behavior; and plots of decline that show the characters’ descent as the inevitable result of the choices they have made. The critic George Becker once defined naturalism as “pessimistic materialistic determinism” (35), but its elements are more complex than that phrase would suggest. For example, David Baguley identifies naturalistic novels as those that treat sociological or scientific subjects, often to expose individual or cultural pathologies, through a combination of dysphoric plots of decline and minutely detailed settings; they also “undermine parodically the myths, plots, idealized situations, and heroic character types of the romantic and the institutionalized literature to which they are opposed” (21). In its frank presentation of violence and
sexuality
, naturalism broke free from earlier and more genteel conventions of
realism
and revealed a vision of life previously considered too brutally graphic for middle‐class audiences. It tested the limits of what publishers would print and what audiences would read, thus setting a new standard for serious fiction and paving the way for later authors (see
publishing
).
Novel Theory (19th Century)
Authors: Dames Nicholas
Published: July 2017

There was little that went under the name of “novel theory” in the nineteenth century in Europe; indeed, the first real use of the term “theory” in connection with the novel form came late in the century, with the 1883 publication of the German novelist Friedrich Spielhagen's
Beiträge zur Theorie und Technik des Romans (Essays on the Theory and Technique of the Novel)
. This absence of an easily identifiable nineteenth‐century “novel theory” has led most contemporary scholars to decide that before the twentieth century the novel had not been truly theorized. Most histories and anthologies of “novel theory” begin no earlier than the critical works of Henry James, assuming that the twentieth century was the period that belatedly attempted to understand the genre that the nineteenth century unreflectively generated (see
novel theory
(20
th
c.)). This is a mistake born of the nineteenth century's very different labels for, ideas about, and locations of theorizing the novel form. To excavate the novel theories of the nineteenth century, we need first to reorient our sense of where, in literary and cultural space, they could be found.
Parody/Satire
Authors: Palmeri Frank
Published: July 2017

Satiric narratives have been crucial for the development of novelistic forms in the West; Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra'sDon Quixote(1605, 1615) provides the paradigmatic instance of this relation between satire and novel. Nevertheless, satire stands in a vexed relation to novelistic forms. They may be closely related, but there is a general consensus that satires such as Jonathan Swift'sGulliver's Travels(1726) differ from novels in their typical plot, treatment of character, and mode of representation: generally, the interior life of characters in satires is not available as it is in most novels; satires also tend to conclude inconclusively, without a change in the condition of the world that led to their composition (Kernan); finally, satires do not provide the same level of verisimilitude in the detailed depiction of objects (but may employ long and wildly heterogeneous lists instead). Although these distinctions may seem well established, they would not be accepted by Mikhailbakhtin, one of the foremost theorists of novelistic forms, whose extremely expansive understanding of novels encompasses almost any long fictional narrative (except epic), including ancient Greek romances, thousand‐page‐long seventeenth‐century French romances, and satires such as François Rabelais'sGargantuaandPantagruel(1532–52), as well as eighteenth‐, nineteenth‐, and twentieth‐century novels of contemporary life, bildungsromane, and historical novels. Bakhtin considers the romances and psychologically realistic narratives to belong to one line or tradition of the novel and parodie satires to be characteristic of a second line. Individual fictional narratives can be placed along a spectrum on which the two types approach each other: William Makepeace Thackeray'sVanity Fair(1848) is a novel with strong and sustained satiric implications, while Gustave Flaubert'sBouvard et Pécuchet(1881) is a satiric narrative with some novelistic features.
Psychological Novel
Authors: Vrettos Athena
Published: July 2017

The psychological novel is traditionally understood as a genre of prose fiction that focuses intensively on the interior life of characters, representing their subjective thoughts, feelings, memories, and desires. While in its broadest usage the term psychological novel can refer to any work of narrative fiction with a strong emphasis on complex characterization, it has been associated specifically with literary movements such as nineteenth‐century psychological
realism
, twentieth‐century literary
modernism
, and the “stream‐of‐consciousness” novel, and with narrative techniques such as free indirect
discourse
and the interior monologue. The term psychological novel also refers to works of prose fiction that draw upon contemporary psychological theories (see
psychoanalytic
), and recent studies of the psychological novel have focused on historical convergences between the two fields.
Queer Novel
Authors: Caserío Robert L.
Published: July 2017

“The queer novel” addresses a complex object. The phrase points to fiction in which characters are identified as gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgendered, and in which same‐sex love is prominent. But that is only one meaning of the phrase. Scholarly use of the term “queer” intends to undo our certainties about erotic desire and our definitions of agents of desire, even when eros and its agents are denominated as gay or lesbian. Hence “the queer novel” comprehends more than “gay fiction” or “lesbian fiction,” more than fiction by gay or lesbian authors, even though it takes inspiration from the same‐sex eros that religion, law, and society might identify as unnatural or abnormal. Identification of what is “abnormal” overlooks the arbitrariness and instability of the institutionalized conventions on which “normality” is based. “Heterosexuality” is also an unstable category or identity, itself a queer business. As Sigmund Freud declares in 1915 in a footnote to the first of his
Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality
, “the exclusive sexual interest felt by men for women is … a problem that needs elucidating and is not a self‐evident fact.” Eros is unruly; attempts to regulate it are costly. “The requirement… that there be a single kind of sexual life for everyone,” Freud protests in
Civilization and Its Discontents
, “disregards the dissimilarities, whether innate or acquired, in the sexual constitution of human beings” (chap. 4).
Regional Novel
Authors: Lambert Caren S.
Published: July 2017

The regional novel is based on the idea that there is a connection between a region and the literature it produces, whether one understands region to mean a distinct physical environment (from the Latin
regionem
, “boundary or district”) or a part of some larger political entity (from
regere
, “to direct or to rule”). The traditional understanding of regional identity is grounded in eighteenth‐century political philosophy concerning national identity, which assumes that material circumstances (climate, quality of soil, topography, natural resources) shape individual inhabitants in similar ways, producing patterns of social, economic, and political behavior. These shared patterns of behavior, in turn, form both the nation's institutions and its cultural expressions. Its theoretical basis goes back at least as far as Montesquieu's
De l'esprit des lois
(1748,
The Spirit of the Laws)
, a comparative study of legal and political institutions in which he asserts that the “empire of the climate is the first, the most powerful of empires” (ed. D. W. Carrithers, 1997, 294). It continues in the work of German Romantic thinkers such as Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), who maintained that folk thought was the organic root of national spirit, or William von Humboldt (1767–1835), who asserted that language is the expression of the genius of a people.
Rhetoric and Figurative Language
Authors: McKain Aaron , Merrill Trevor
Published: July 2017

Defining a 2,500‐year‐old literary tradition in 2,000 words is a difficult task; doubly so when that tradition has spent so much of its time haggling over its own meaning. But that is the task of this entry, and “rhetoric,” despite its wide and narrow definitions, does provide many, more or less agreed upon, talking points and touchstones. The firstand it is a first that, as is the case throughout this entry, comes first conceptually, not chronologicallyis Aristotle's (384–324bce)On Rhetoric, the treatise which provides the definition of rhetoric now familiar to two millennia of students, “the art of seeing the available means of persuasion in any given situation” (bk. I).
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Authors: Wegner Phillip E.
Published: July 2017

Darko Suvin defines science fiction as a genre whose “necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author's empirical environment” (1979,
Metamorphoses of Science Fiction
, 7–8). Science fiction estranges or denaturalizes the world that currently exists, showing its apparently immutable foundations to be contingent and changeable. If high modernist fiction accomplishes this through formal experimentation, science fiction does so through the portrayal of “other” worlds: the future, different planets, or a version of our own world into which has been introduced a
novum
or new element in the form of an event, alien, or technology. (Each of these worlds corresponds to one of Mark Rose's four coordinates of the genre: time, space, monster, and machine; 1981,
Alien Encounters
.) However, unlike both older fantastic literatures
and
modern fantasy, science fiction portrays worlds bound by the scientific, historical, or “cognitive” laws of our own. Although significant precursors are to be found in the
gothic
novel, nineteenthcentury utopias and dystopias, and Jules Verne's “
voyages extraordinaires,”
it is the great “scientific romances” of H. G. Wells—in particular
The Time Machine
(1895) and
The War of the Worlds
(1898)—that establish the genre. Wells's work also demonstrates science fiction's critical potential, as
The Time Machine
uses its allegorical capacity to attack Great Britain's contemporary social inequities, while
The War of the Worlds
unveils the brutalities of European colonialism.
Nanostructured Mineral Coatings Stabilize Proteins for Therapeutic Delivery
Authors: Yu Xiaohua , Biedrzycki Adam H. , Khalil Andrew S. , Hess Dalton , Umhoefer Jennifer M. , Markel Mark D. , Murphy William L.
Published: July 2017

Proteins tend to lose their biological activity due to their fragile structural conformation during formulation, storage, and delivery. Thus, the inability to stabilize proteins in controlled‐release systems represents a major obstacle in drug delivery. Here, a bone mineral inspired protein stabilization strategy is presented, which uses nanostructured mineral coatings on medical devices. Proteins bound within the nanostructured coatings demonstrate enhanced stability against extreme external stressors, including organic solvents, proteases, and ethylene oxide gas sterilization. The protein stabilization effect is attributed to the maintenance of protein conformational structure, which is closely related to the nanoscale feature sizes of the mineral coatings. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) released from a nanostructured mineral coating maintains its biological activity for weeks during release, while it maintains activity for less than 7 d during release from commonly used polymeric microspheres. Delivery of the growth factors bFGF and vascular endothelial growth factor using a mineral coated surgical suture significantly improves functional Achilles tendon healing in a rabbit model, resulting in increased vascularization, more mature collagen fiber organization, and a two fold improvement in mechanical properties. The findings of this study demonstrate that biomimetic interactions between proteins and nanostructured minerals provide a new, broadly applicable mechanism to stabilize proteins in the context of drug delivery and regenerative medicine.
Low‐Voltage Gaseous HCl Electrolysis with an Iron Redox‐Mediated Cathode for Chlorine Regeneration
Authors: Zhao Yun , Gu Shuang , Gong Ke , Zheng Jie , Wang Junhua , Yan Yushan
Published: July 2017

Gaseous HCl as a by‐product is often produced from chlorination processes using Cl2 gas. Onsite Cl2 regeneration from HCl is highly desirable as it eliminates the need to buy new Cl2 and dispose HCl waste. A gaseous HCl electrolysis with Fe3+/Fe2+ redox‐mediated cathode is demonstrated for Cl2 regeneration. HCl is oxidized to generate Cl2 and protons in the anode while Fe3+ is reduced to Fe2+ in the cathode. Simultaneously Fe3+ is regenerated by chemical oxidation of Fe2+ by oxygen (air) that also produces water. A low operational voltage and high coulombic efficiency are achieved by using a novel composite porous membrane and hydrophobic anode. Specifically, a cell voltage of only 0.64 V is needed at the typical current density of 4 kA m−2, leading to a low energy consumption of 483 kWh per ton of Cl2 (124 kJ mol
−1) which is about 50–55 % of state‐of‐the‐art HCl electrolysis processes.
Covalently Interlocked Cyclohexa‐m‐phenylenes and Their Assembly: En Route to Supramolecular 3D Carbon Nanostructures
Authors: Dumslaff Bastian , Reuss Anna N. , Wagner Manfred , Feng Xinliang , Narita Akimitsu , Fytas George , Müllen Klaus
Published: July 2017

In our search to cluster as many phenylene units as possible in a given space, we have proceeded to the three‐dimensional world of benzene‐based molecules by employing covalently interlocked cyclohexa‐m‐phenylenes, as present in the unique paddlewheel‐shaped polyphenylene 10. A precursor was conceived, in which freely rotating m‐chlorophenylene units provide sufficient solubility along with the necessary proximity for the final ring closure to give 10. Monitoring the assembly of solubilized tert‐butyl derivatives of 10 into supramolecular carbon nanostructures by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Brillouin light scattering (BLS) revealed the dimensions of the initially formed aggregates as well as the amorphous character of the solid state.
FAM107B is regulated by S100A4 and mediates the effect of S100A4 on the proliferation and migration of MGC803 gastric cancer cells
Authors: Guo Junfu , Bian Yue , Wang Yu , Chen Lisha , Yu Aiwen , Sun Xiuju
Published: July 2017

FAM107B expression was decreased in stomach cancer and many other kinds of cancer. The forced expression of FAM107B in HeLa cells diminished proliferation in response to growth factors, suggesting that FAM107B might play important roles in many types of cancers. But the mechanisms underlying the decreased expression of FAM107B in cancers are not clear, the functional significance needs to be further clarified. Our previous findings from cDNA microarray showed that there are 179 differentially expressed genes after S100A4 inhibition in gastric cancer cells MGC803. FAM107B was an upregulated one among them. In the present study, we confirmed that FAM107B expression was upregulated in MGC803 cells after S100A4 inhibition by qRT‐PCR. We demonstrated for the first time that FAM107B was downregulated by S100A4. The results from CCK‐8 and transwell assay showed that FAM107B inhibition by siRNA led to significantly increased proliferation and migrating abilities of MGC803 cells, respectively, indicating that FAM107B plays important roles in inhibiting the proliferation and migration of MGC803 cells. The rescue experiment showed that FAM107B‐siRNA transfection reversed the reduced proliferation and migration abilities induced by S100A4 inhibition in the cells. These findings suggest that, as a downstream effector, FAM107B at least partly mediates the effect of S100A4 on the proliferation and migration of MGC803 cells. In conclusion, we first provide experimental evidence suggesting that FAM107B was downregulated by S100A4 in gastric cancer MGC803 cells. And FAM107B at least partially mediates the biological effect of S100A4 in the cells.
Mesoporous Ruthenium/Ruthenium Oxide Thin Films: Active Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Authors: Kibsgaard Jakob , Hellstern Thomas R. , Choi Shin‐Jung , Reinecke Benjamin N. , Jaramillo Thomas F.
Published: July 2017

We report the first synthesis of a fully contiguous large area supported thin film of highly ordered mesoporous Ru and RuO2 and investigate the electrocatalytic properties towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). We find that the nanoscale porous network of these catalysts provides significant enhancements in geometric OER activity without any loss in specific activity. This work demonstrates a strategy for engineering materials at the nanoscale that can simultaneously decrease precious metal loading and increase electrode activity.
CSR Performance and the Readability of CSR Reports: Too Good to be True?
Authors: Wang Zhihong , Hsieh Tien‐Shih , Sarkis Joseph
Published: July 2017

Using a manually collected sample of 331 corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports issued by US public companies, we examine the relationship between the CSR performance and the readability of CSR reports. We adopt three indices – Fog, Kincaid, and Flesch – to measure the readability of CSR reports and draw upon two databases – ESG and KLD – to measure CSR performance from both environmental and social perspectives. The results show a significant positive relationship between CSR performance and the readability of CSR reports, indicating that companies with stronger CSR performance are more likely to have CSR reports with higher readability. Further, the association of the readability of CSR reports with social performance is stronger than with environmental performance. This study helps investors more comprehensively evaluate the CSR information disclosed on CSR reports. Our results also point to the importance of regulating the narrative disclosure of CSR information, especially social performance. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Sciatic nerve regeneration by transplantation of Schwann cells via erythropoietin controlled‐releasing polylactic acid/multiwalled carbon nanotubes/gelatin nanofibrils neural guidance conduit
Authors: Salehi Majid , Naseri‐Nosar Mahdi , Ebrahimi‐Barough Somayeh , Nourani Mohammdreza , Khojasteh Arash , Hamidieh Amir‐Ali , Amani Amir , Farzamfar Saeed , Ai Jafar
Published: July 2017

The current study aimed to enhance the efficacy of peripheral nerve regeneration using an electrically conductive biodegradable porous neural guidance conduit for transplantation of allogeneic Schwann cells (SCs). The conduit was produced from polylactic acid (PLA), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and gelatin nanofibrils (GNFs) coated with the recombinant human erythropoietin‐loaded chitosan nanoparticles (rhEpo‐CNPs). The PLA/MWCNTs/GNFs/rhEpo‐CNPs conduit had the porosity of 85.78 ± 0.70%, the contact angle of 77.65 ± 1.91° and the ultimate tensile strength and compressive modulus of 5.51 ± 0.13 MPa and 2.66 ± 0.34 MPa, respectively. The conduit showed the electrical conductivity of 0.32 S cm−1 and lost about 11% of its weight after 60 days in normal saline. The produced conduit was able to release the rhEpo for at least 2 weeks and exhibited favorable cytocompatibility towards SCs. For functional analysis, the conduit was seeded with 1.5 × 104 SCs and implanted into a 10 mm sciatic nerve defect of Wistar rat. After 14 weeks, the results of sciatic functional index, hot plate latency, compound muscle action potential amplitude, weight‐loss percentage of wet gastrocnemius muscle and Histopathological examination using hematoxylin‐eosin and Luxol fast blue staining demonstrated that the produced conduit had comparable nerve regeneration to the autograft, as the gold standard to bridge the nerve gaps. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 1463–1476, 2018.
Topological Minors of Cover Graphs and Dimension
Authors: Micek Piotr , Wiechert Veit
Published: July 2017

We show that posets of bounded height whose cover graphs exclude a fixed graph as a topological minor have bounded dimension. This result was already proven by Walczak. However, our argument is entirely combinatorial and does not rely on structural decomposition theorems. Given a poset with large dimension but bounded height, we directly find a large clique subdivision in its cover graph. Therefore, our proof is accessible to readers not familiar with topological graph theory, and it allows us to provide explicit upper bounds on the dimension. With the introduced tools we show a second result that is supporting a conjectured generalization of the previous result. We prove that ‐free posets whose cover graphs exclude a fixed graph as a topological minor contain only standard examples of size bounded in terms of k.
Determination of methyl methanesulfonate and ethyl methanesulfonate in methanesulfonic acid by derivatization followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection
Authors: Zhou Jie , Xu Jie , Zheng Xiangyuan , Liu Wenyuan , Zheng Feng
Published: July 2017

Methanesulfonic acid is routinely used in pharmaceuticals but can contain potentially genotoxic impurities such as methyl methanesulfonate and ethyl methanesulfonate. The aim of this study was to develop a simple high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection method for determining methyl methanesulfonate and ethyl methanesulfonate in methanesulfonic acid. Samples (250 mg) in water/acetonitrile (200 μL) were first combined with 10.0 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution (270 μL). Then they were mixed with 2.0 mg/mL N,N‐diethyldithiocarbamate (500 μL), diluted to 5 mL with N,N‐dimethylacetamide and allowed to react at 80°C for 1 h. The derivatives were analyzed using gradient high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (277 nm) and structurally elucidated by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. With acetonitrile/5 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution as the eluent and 1 mL/min as the flow rate on a C18 column, the derivatives were eluted at 10.6 and 14.8 min. Good linearity (correlation coefficients > 0.999) and low limits of quantitation (0.6 ppm) were obtained. The recoveries were in the range of 80–115% with relative standard deviation < 5.0%. Finally, the established method was successfully used for the determination of methyl methanesulfonate and ethyl methanesulfonate in methanesulfonic acid.
Interhalogenierung: Problemkind der Alkenbromierung
Authors: Thiel Niklas O. , Teichert Johannes F.
Published: July 2017

Die Inter‐ oder Heterodihalogenierung überträgt zwei unterschiedliche Halogenatome stereoselektiv auf ein Molekül. Die Reaktion funktioniert mit einem Alken und zwei verschiedenen Halogenüberträgern, ein chirales Additiv sorgt für Enantioselektivität.
Site‐Specific SERS Assay for Survivin Protein Dimer: From Ensemble Experiments to Correlative Single‐Particle Imaging
Authors: Wissler Jörg , Bäcker Sandra , Feis Alessandro , Knauer Shirley K. , Schlücker Sebastian
Published: July 2017

An assay for Survivin, a small dimeric protein which functions as modulator of apoptosis and cell division and serves as a promising diagnostic biomarker for different types of cancer, is presented. The assay is based on switching on surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) upon incubation of the Survivin protein dimer with Raman reporter‐labeled gold nanoparticles (AuNP). Site‐specificity is achieved by complexation of nickel‐chelated N‐nitrilo‐triacetic acid (Ni‐NTA) anchors on the particle surface by multiple histidines (His6‐tag) attached to each C‐terminus of the centrosymmetric protein dimer. Correlative single‐particle analysis using light sheet laser microscopy enables the simultaneous observation of both elastic and inelastic light scattering from the same sample volume. Thereby, the SERS‐inactive AuNP‐protein monomers can be directly discriminated from the SERS‐active AuNP‐protein dimers/oligomers. This information, i.e. the percentage of SERS‐active AuNP in colloidal suspension, is not accessible from conventional SERS experiments due to ensemble averaging. The presented correlative single‐particle approach paves the way for quantitative site‐specific SERS assays in which site‐specific protein recognition by small chemical and in particular supramolecular ligands can be tested.
Drift demand of the outer‐skin curtain wall system of the Shanghai Tower
Authors: Huang Baofeng , Lu Wensheng , Chen Shiming , Mosalam Khalid M.
Published: July 2017

As a drift‐sensitive nonstructural component, the in‐plane deformation ability of the curtain wall (CW) in a tall building is critical to the seismic performance. The immediate earthquake excitation of the CW system is the floor response where the CW is located. To evaluate the drift demand of the outer‐skin CW system of the Shanghai Tower, floor responses of the reinforced stories of each vertical zone are analyzed. Drift demands, including the interzone drift ratio (IDR) and interzone drift response spectrum (IDRS), are obtained to define the engineering demand parameters related to the in‐plane relative displacement of the CW system. The results show that the 3‐dimensional ground motion (GM) excitations generate larger heightwise IDR distribution profiles and larger IDRSs than the 1‐dimensional GMs. The obtained IDR demands are shown to be 1/250, 1/150, and 1/100 for 3 key earthquake intensity levels. These values are different from those given by the current code provisions of China and other countries. The IDR distribution profiles of each vertical zone increase with height. The mean IDRSs of all 8 main vertical zones under selected GM excitations are determined as the representative drift spectra for each earthquake intensity level. Based on these mean spectra, simplified bilinear drift spectra are constructed for seismic design and analysis of the outer‐skin CW system of the Shanghai Tower.
Monitoring the dynamics of wheat stem elongation: genotypes differ at critical stages
Authors: Kronenberg Lukas , Yu Kang , Walter Achim , Hund Andreas
Published: July 2017

Stem elongation is a critical phase for yield formation in wheat (Triticum aestivum). This study proposes the use of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for phenotyping of growth dynamics during wheat stem elongation in high temporal resolution and high throughput in the field. TLS was implemented on a novel field phenotyping platform carrying a cable suspended sensor head moveable in 3D over a 1 ha field. Canopy height was recorded on 335 winter wheat genotypes across two consecutive years. Scans were done in 3-d intervals during the stem elongation phase. Per day, 714 plots (two replications plus checks) were scanned within 3.5 h. The results showed that canopy height increased linearly with thermal time. Based on this linearity, 15 and 95% of final height were used as proxy measures for the onset and termination of stem elongation, respectively. We observed high heritability between 0.76 and 0.91 for the onset, termination and duration of stem elongation. The onset of stem elongation showed a positive covariance with the termination of stem elongation and final height indicating some regulatory dependencies. Yet there was no apparent relationship between onset and duration of stem elongation. Due to its precision, the TLS method allows to measure the dynamics of stem elongation in large sets of genotypes. This in turn offers opportunities to investigate the genetic control of the transitions between early vegetative growth, stem elongation and flowering. Understanding the genetic control of these transitions is an important milestone towards knowledge-based crop improvement.
Distinct clinical characteristics of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria in patients in Southern Taiwan: A multicenter investigation
Authors: Wang Hui‐Ching , Kuo Ching‐Yuan , Liu I‐Ting , Chen Tsai‐Yun , Chang Yu‐Hsiang , Lin Shyh‐Jer , Cho Shih‐Feng , Liu Yi‐Chang , Liu Ta‐Chih , Lin Sheng‐Fung , Chang Chao‐Sung
Published: July 2017

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is an extremely rare acquired disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate the demographics, clinical manifestations, and outcomes of PNH patients in southern Taiwan. Data on PNH patients diagnosed over a 30‐year period (1985–2015) were retrospectively collected from four tertiary medical centers in southern Taiwan. Blood samples were collected for hematologic panel testing and flow cytometry detection of PNH clones. Radiologic studies were performed to assess the frequency of complications. Twenty‐four patients were enrolled in this study. The median duration of disease in the study participants was 10.8 years. The median granulocyte PNH clone size was 92.5% (range, 1.3%–99.8%), and the median lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level was 2920.2 ± 1462.0 IU/L. The incidence of thromboembolism and impaired renal function was 16.7% and 29.2%, respectively. The primary treatment strategies included steroids (79.2%), androgens (42.0%), eculizumab (33.3%), immunosuppressants (16.7%), and anticoagulants (4.2%). In eight patients treated with eculizumab, there was a marked reduction in the LDH levels of 14.89‐fold–1.63‐fold that of the upper limit of normal; seven patients exhibited decreased transfusion requirements. Twenty‐one patients were alive with regular follow‐up at the time of publication. Our study demonstrates that PNH patients in southern Taiwan may exhibit different clinical characteristics and outcomes relative to patients in other countries. There was a trend toward a greater PNH granulocyte clone size, which may lead to more hemolysis. In our study, the percentage of patients with impaired renal function, but not the percentage of patients with thrombotic events, was higher than values reported worldwide and in the observational cross‐sectional International PNH Registry. More large‐scale studies with comprehensive data on the clinical response to different treatments are needed.
Understanding Collapse
Authors: Middleton Guy D.
Published: July 2017

Understanding Collapse explores the collapse of ancient civilisations, such as the Roman Empire, the Maya, and Easter Island. In this lively survey, Guy D. Middleton critically examines our ideas about collapse - how we explain it and how we have constructed potentially misleading myths around collapses - showing how and why collapse of societies was a much more complex phenomenon than is often admitted. Rather than positing a single explanatory model of collapse - economic, social, or environmental - Middleton gives full consideration to the overlooked resilience in communities of ancient peoples and the choices that they made. He offers a fresh interpretation of collapse that will be accessible to both students and scholars. The book is an engaging, introductory-level survey of collapse in the archaeology/history literature, which will be ideal for use in courses on the collapse of civilizations, sustainability, and climate change. It includes up-to-date case studies of famous and less well-known examples of collapses, and is illustrated with 25 black and white illustrations, 3 line drawings, 16 tables and 18 maps.
Hesiod and Classical Greek Poetry
Authors: Stamatopoulou Zoe
Published: July 2017

Hesiod was regarded by the Greeks as a foundational figure of their culture, alongside Homer. This book examines the rich and varied engagement of fifth-century lyric and drama with the poetic corpus attributed to Hesiod as well as with the poetic figure of Hesiod. The first half of the book is dedicated to Hesiodic reception in Pindaric and Bacchylidean poetry, with a particular focus on poetics, genealogies and mythological narratives, and didactic voices. The second half examines how Hesiodic narratives are approached and appropriated in tragedy and satyr drama, especially in the Prometheus plays and in Euripides' Ion. It also explores the multifaceted engagement of Old Comedy with the poetry and authority associated with Hesiod. Through close readings of numerous case studies, the book surveys the complex landscape of Hesiodic reception in the fifth century BCE, focusing primarily on lyric and dramatic responses to the Hesiodic tradition.
Tax Law and Social Norms in Mandatory Palestine and Israel
Authors: Likhovski Assaf
Published: July 2017

This book describes how a social-norms model of taxation rose and fell in British-ruled Palestine and the State of Israel in the mid-twentieth century. Such a model, in which non-legal means were used to foster compliance, appeared in the tax system created by the Jewish community in 1940s Palestine and was later adopted by the new Israeli state in the 1950s. It gradually disappeared in subsequent decades as law and its agents, lawyers and accountants, came to play a larger role in the process of taxation. By describing the historical interplay between formal and informal tools for creating compliance, Tax Law and Social Norms in Mandatory Palestine and Israel sheds new light on our understanding of the relationship between law and other methods of social control, and reveals the complex links between taxation and citizenship.
Guest Editors’ Introduction: Ethical Management of Intangible Assets in Contemporary Organizations
Authors: Gambetti Rossella C. , Melewar T. C. , Martin Kelly D.
Published: July 2017

This essay explains how intangible asset management oriented toward enhancing corporate performance increasingly embeds ethical concerns, primarily to address stakeholder expectations. We discuss how ethical dimensions in intangible asset management may be co-constructed and intertwined in organization-stakeholder interactions to generate collaborative meaning making according to a stakeholder-centric view of the firm. In so doing, we adopt an ethical view that acknowledges that stakeholders beyond the firm have equal status and agency to engage in a social construction process of intangible assets nurtured by ongoing dialogue and reciprocal understanding between organization and stakeholders. The essay concludes by envisioning how the dialogic process of social construction of intangible assets involving both organization and stakeholders is best conceived as a social contract between the two that enacts a cultural bond between intangible assets together with ethical and societal resources that are collectively generated, owned, and maintained.
Electromagnetic zonal flow residual responses
Authors: Catto Peter J. , Parra Felix I. , Pusztai István
Published: July 2017

The collisionless axisymmetric zonal flow residual calculation for a tokamak plasma is generalized to include electromagnetic perturbations. We formulate and solve the complete initial value zonal flow problem by retaining the fully self-consistent axisymmetric spatial perturbations in the electric and magnetic fields. Simple expressions for the electrostatic, shear and compressional magnetic residual responses are derived that provide a fully electromagnetic test of the zonal flow residual in gyrokinetic codes. Unlike the electrostatic potential, the parallel vector potential and the parallel magnetic field perturbations need not relax to flux functions for all possible initial conditions.
Robotic magnetic mapping with the Kapvik planetary micro-rover
Authors: Hay A. , Samson C. , Ellery A.
Published: July 2017

Geomagnetic data gathering by micro-rovers is gaining momentum both for future planetary exploration missions and for terrestrial applications in extreme environments. This paper presents research into the integration of a planetary micro-rover with a potassium total-field magnetometer. The 40 kg Kapvik micro-rover is an ideal platform due to an aluminium construction and a rocker-bogie mobility system, which provides good manoeuvrability and terrainability. A light-weight GSMP 35U (uninhabited aerial vehicle) magnetometer, comprised of a 0.65 kg sensor and 0.63 kg electronics module, was mounted to the chassis via a custom 1.21 m composite boom. The boom dimensions were optimized to be an effective compromise between noise mitigation and mechanical practicality. An analysis using the fourth difference method was performed estimating the magnetic noise envelope at ±0.03 nT at 10 Hz sampling frequency from the integrated systems during robotic operations. A robotic magnetic survey captured the total magnetic intensity along three parallel 40 m long lines and a perpendicular 15 m long tie line over the course of 3.75 h. The total magnetic intensity data were corrected for diurnal variations, levelled by linear interpolation of tie-line intersection points, corrected for a regional gradient, and then interpolated using Delaunay triangulation to lead a residual magnetic intensity map. This map exhibited an anomalous linear feature corresponding to a magnetic dipole 650 nT in amplitude. This feature coincides with a storm sewer buried approximately 2 m in the subsurface. This work provides benchmark methodologies and data to guide future integration of magnetometers on board planetary micro-rovers.
Drivers of farmers’ decisions to adopt agroforestry: Evidence from the Sudanian savanna zone, Burkina Faso
Authors: Sanou L. , Savadogo P. , Ezebilo Eugene E. , Thiombiano A.
Published: July 2017

In most developing countries, there has been a long-standing conflict of interest between using land for agriculture and the conservation of biodiversity. This paper reports on a study of factors influencing farmers’ decisions to integrate trees into their agricultural practice. We also discuss the possibility of protecting and managing planted and naturally regenerating trees on farmland in order to restore degraded land and improve biodiversity. Data were collected from interviews with farmers in the Center-West region of Burkina Faso and analyzed using Principal Component Analysis, multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression. The results show that farmers’ decisions to incorporate trees into their farmland were mainly influenced by silvicultural knowledge and skills, participation in farmers’ groups or other social organizations with an interest in tree conservation, the social value of biodiversity in the rural landscape, and the perceived economic benefits of trees on farmland. The most important factors associated with variation in levels of motivation to conserve trees on farms included household wealth, gender, age, education level, marital status, residence status, farmland size, household size and technical support. We conclude that an agroforestry project will be more successful if the local biophysical conditions and diversity of smallholder socio-economic characteristics and their perceptions, needs and preferences are considered in its design. There is also an immediate need for coordinated development of information and training to raise local community awareness of the potential of agroforestry as well as to disseminate information about adding value to tree products in order to encourage farmers to protect on-farm trees.
Metformin-induced ablation of microRNA 21-5p releases Sestrin-1 and CAB39L antitumoral activities
Authors: Pulito Claudio , Mori Federica , Sacconi Andrea , Goeman Frauke , Ferraiuolo Maria , Pasanisi Patrizia , Campagnoli Carlo , Berrino Franco , Fanciulli Maurizio , Ford Rebecca J , Levrero Massimo , Pediconi Natalia , Ciuffreda Ludovica , Milella Michele , Steinberg Gregory R , Cioce Mario , Muti Paola , Strano Sabrina , Blandino Giovanni
Published: July 2017

Metformin is a commonly prescribed type II diabetes medication that exhibits promising anticancer effects. Recently, these effects were found to be associated, at least in part, with a modulation of microRNA expression. However, the mechanisms by which single modulated microRNAs mediate the anticancer effects of metformin are not entirely clear and knowledge of such a process could be vital to maximize the potential therapeutic benefits of this safe and well-tolerated therapy. Our analysis here revealed that the expression of miR-21-5p was downregulated in multiple breast cancer cell lines treated with pharmacologically relevant doses of metformin. Interestingly, the inhibition of miR-21-5p following metformin treatment was also observed in mouse breast cancer xenografts and in sera from 96 breast cancer patients. This modulation occurred at the levels of both pri-miR-21 and pre-miR-21, suggesting transcriptional modulation. Antagomir-mediated ablation of miR-21-5p phenocopied the effects of metformin on both the clonogenicity and migration of the treated cells, while ectopic expression of miR-21-5p had the opposite effect. Mechanistically, this reduction in miR-21-5p enhanced the expression of critical upstream activators of the AMP-activated protein kinase, calcium-binding protein 39-like and Sestrin-1, leading to AMP-activated protein kinase activation and inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin signaling. Importantly, these effects of metformin were synergistic with those of everolimus, a clinically relevant mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor, and were independent of the phosphatase and tensin homolog status. This highlights the potential relevance of metformin in combinatorial settings for the treatment of breast cancer.
The m6A pathway facilitates sex determination in Drosophila
Authors: Kan Lijuan , Grozhik Anya V. , Vedanayagam Jeffrey , Patil Deepak P. , Pang Nan , Lim Kok-Seong , Huang Yi-Chun , Joseph Brian , Lin Ching-Jung , Despic Vladimir , Guo Jian , Yan Dong , Kondo Shu , Deng Wu-Min , Dedon Peter C. , Jaffrey Samie R. , Lai Eric C.
Published: July 2017

The conserved modification N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modulates mRNA processing and activity. Here, we establish the Drosophila system to study the m6A pathway. We first apply miCLIP to map m6A across embryogenesis, characterize its m6A ‘writer’ complex, validate its YTH ‘readers’ CG6422 and YT521-B, and generate mutants in five m6A factors. While m6A factors with additional roles in splicing are lethal, m6A-specific mutants are viable but present certain developmental and behavioural defects. Notably, m6A facilitates the master female determinant Sxl, since multiple m6A components enhance female lethality in Sxl sensitized backgrounds. The m6A pathway regulates Sxl processing directly, since miCLIP data reveal Sxl as a major intronic m6A target, and female-specific Sxl splicing is compromised in multiple m6A pathway mutants. YT521-B is a dominant m6A effector for Sxl regulation, and YT521-B overexpression can induce female-specific Sxl splicing. Overall, our transcriptomic and genetic toolkit reveals in vivo biologic function for the Drosophila m6A pathway.
Correlated rotational switching in two-dimensional self-assembled molecular rotor arrays
Authors: Wasio Natalie A. , Slough Diana P. , Smith Zachary C. , Ivimey Christopher J. , Thomas III Samuel W. , Lin Yu-Shan , Sykes E. Charles H.
Published: July 2017

Molecular devices are capable of performing a number of functions from mechanical motion to simple computation. Their utility is somewhat limited, however, by difficulties associated with coupling them with either each other or with interfaces such as electrodes. Self-assembly of coupled molecular devices provides an option for the construction of larger entities that can more easily integrate with existing technologies. Here we demonstrate that ordered organometallic arrays can be formed spontaneously by reaction of precursor molecular rotor molecules with a metal surface. Scanning tunnelling microscopy enables individual rotors in the arrays to be switched and the resultant switches in neighbouring rotors imaged. The structure and dimensions of the ordered molecular rotor arrays dictate the correlated switching properties of the internal submolecular rotor units. Our results indicate that self-assembly of two-dimensional rotor crystals produces systems with correlated dynamics that would not have been predicted a priori.
Correction: Corrigendum: Leukocyte integrin Mac-1 regulates thrombosis via interaction with platelet GPIbα
Authors: Wang Yunmei , Gao Huiyun , Shi Can , Erhardt Paul W. , Pavlovsky Alexander , Soloviev Dmitry A. , Bledzka Kamila , Ustinov Valentin , Zhu Liang , Qin Jun , Munday Adam D. , Lopez Jose , Plow Edward , Simon Daniel I.
Published: July 2017

Nature Communications 8: Article number:15559 (2017); Published 30 May 2017; Updated 4 July 2017 The original version of this Article contained an error in the email address of the corresponding author Daniel I. Simon. The correct email is Daniel.Simon@UHHospitals.org. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.
Correction: Corrigendum: The genetic landscape of benign thyroid nodules revealed by whole exome and transcriptome sequencing
Authors: Ye Lei , Zhou Xiaoyi , Huang Fengjiao , Wang Weixi , Qi Yicheng , Xu Heng , Shu Yang , Shen Liyun , Fei Xiaochun , Xie Jing , Cao Min , Zhou Yulin , Zhu Wei , Wang Shu , Ning Guang , Wang Weiqing
Published: July 2017

Nature Communications 8: Article number:15533 (2017); Published 5 June 2017; Updated 4 July 2017 The original version of this Article contained an error in the formatting of the author name Yang Shu, which was incorrectly given as Shu Yang. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.
MIST: Accurate and Scalable Microscopy Image Stitching Tool with Stage Modeling and Error Minimization
Authors: Chalfoun Joe , Majurski Michael , Blattner Tim , Bhadriraju Kiran , Keyrouz Walid , Bajcsy Peter , Brady Mary
Published: July 2017

Automated microscopy can image specimens larger than the microscope’s field of view (FOV) by stitching overlapping image tiles. It also enables time-lapse studies of entire cell cultures in multiple imaging modalities. We created MIST (Microscopy Image Stitching Tool) for rapid and accurate stitching of large 2D time-lapse mosaics. MIST estimates the mechanical stage model parameters (actuator backlash, and stage repeatability ‘r’) from computed pairwise translations and then minimizes stitching errors by optimizing the translations within a (4r)2 square area. MIST has a performance-oriented implementation utilizing multicore hybrid CPU/GPU computing resources, which can process terabytes of time-lapse multi-channel mosaics 15 to 100 times faster than existing tools. We created 15 reference datasets to quantify MIST’s stitching accuracy. The datasets consist of three preparations of stem cell colonies seeded at low density and imaged with varying overlap (10 to 50%). The location and size of 1150 colonies are measured to quantify stitching accuracy. MIST generated stitched images with an average centroid distance error that is less than 2% of a FOV. The sources of these errors include mechanical uncertainties, specimen photobleaching, segmentation, and stitching inaccuracies. MIST produced higher stitching accuracy than three open-source tools. MIST is available in ImageJ at isg.nist.gov.