bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Establishing a discrete Ising model for zeolite deactivation: inspiration from the game of Go
Authors: Cai Dali , Ma Yunhai , Hou Yilin , Cui Yu , Jia Zhao , Zhang Chenxi , Wang Yao , Wei Fei
Published: April 2017

A discrete model for zeolite deactivation is built considering cage connectivity, in the inspiration of the game of Go.
Bio-inspired synthetic approaches: from hierarchical, hybrid supramolecular assemblies to CaCO3-based microspheres
Authors: Marzec Bartosz , Zhang Lei , Zhu Nianyong , Schmitt Wolfgang
Published: April 2017

A bio-inspired synthetic approach to Ca(ii)-based coordination assemblies is reported; the supramolecular system was used as habit modifier for CaCO3 materials.
Highly thermally stable and robust enantiopure zirconium NNN-scorpionates for the controlled ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide
Authors: Otero Antonio , Fernández-Baeza Juan , Garcés Andrés , Sánchez-Barba Luis F. , Lara-Sánchez Agustín , Martínez-Ferrer Jaime , Carrión María P. , Rodríguez Ana M.
Published: April 2017

An enantiopure NNN-scorpionate zirconium alkoxide as the highest active group 4-based initiator in ROP of unpurified rac-LA under industrially preferred conditions.
Strikingly diverse reactivity of structurally identical silylene and stannylene
Authors: Parvin Nasrina , Dasgupta Rajarshi , Pal Shiv , Sen Sakya S. , Khan Shabana
Published: April 2017

The divergent reactivity of structurally similar silylene and stannylene was observed with coinage metal halides. While the former tends to form an adduct, the latter undergoes ligand exchange reaction.
Giant vesicles from rehydrated crude mixtures containing unexpected mixtures of amphiphiles formed under plausibly prebiotic conditions
Authors: Fiore Michele , Madanamoothoo Warren , Berlioz-Barbier Alexandra , Maniti Ofelia , Girard-Egrot Agnès , Buchet René , Strazewski Peter
Published: April 2017

Giant lipid vesicles resemble compartments of biological cells, mimicking them in their dimension, membrane structure and partly in their membrane composition.
Statins, PCSK9 inhibitors and cholesterol homeostasis: a view from within the hepatocyte
Authors: Sniderman Allan D. , Kiss Robert Scott , Reid Thomas , Thanassoulis George , Watts Gerald F.
Published: April 2017

Statins and PCSK9 inhibitors dramatically lower plasma LDL levels and dramatically increase LDL receptor number within hepatocyte cell membranes. It seems self-evident that total clearance of LDL particles from plasma and total delivery of cholesterol to the liver must increase in consequence. However, based on the results of stable isotope tracer studies, this analysis demonstrates the contrary to be the case. Statins do not change the production rate of LDL particles. Accordingly, at steady state, the clearance rate cannot change. Because LDL particles contain less cholesterol on statin therapy, the delivery of cholesterol to the liver must, therefore, be reduced. PCSK9 inhibitors reduce the production of LDL particles and this further reduces cholesterol delivery to the liver. With both agents, a larger fraction of a smaller pool is removed per unit time. These findings are inconsistent with the conventional model of cholesterol homeostasis within the liver, but are consistent with a new model of regulation, the multi-channel model, which postulates that different lipoprotein particles enter the hepatocyte by different routes and have different metabolic fates within the hepatocyte. The multi-channel model, but not the conventional model, may explain how statins and PCSK9 inhibitors can produce sustained increases in LDL receptor number.
Green Organocatalytic Synthesis of Dihydrobenzofurans by Oxidation–Cyclization of Allylphenols
Authors: Kokotos Christoforos , Triandafillidi Ierasia , Sideri Ioanna , Tzaras Dimitrios , Spiliopoulou Nikoleta
Published: April 2017

A green and cheap protocol for the synthesis of dihydrobenzofurans via an organocatalytic oxidation of o-allylphenols is presented. The use of 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone and H2O2 as the oxidation system, leads to a highly useful synthetic method, where a variety of substituted o-allylphenols were cyclized in high yields.
PDE 2015: cAMP Signaling, Protein Kinase A (PKA) and Phosphodiesterases (PDEs): How Genetics Changed the Way We Look at One of the Most Studied Signaling Pathways
Authors: Stratakis Constantine A. , Kelestimur Fahrettin , Bertherat Jérôme
Published: April 2017

This special issue of Hormone and Metabolic Research presents the proceedings of the 4th international workshop (PDE 2015) on cyclic AMP (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling and phosphodiesterases (PDEs). The meeting took place at Erciyes University, in Kayseri, Turkey, (Fig. 1) and followed the previous workshops that were held in Paris, France, and in Bethesda, MD 1 2. We are indebted to the host, one of the newest and most advanced universities in Turkey, an example of how science can be inclusive and bridge not only disciplines, but also cultures. We visited the historic Cappadocia region with its rich Greek heritage, and enjoyed the local food and traditions, as well as the beautiful Ottoman architecture of Kayseri and its surroundings.
Correlates of sexually transmissible infection testing among a sample of at-risk young Australians
Authors: Douglass Caitlin H. , Vella Alyce M. , Hellard Margaret E. , Lim Megan S. C.
Published: April 2017

Annual chlamydia testing is recommended for all sexually active Australians aged 15–29 years; however, the testing rate is below recommended levels. Three surveys at a Melbourne music festival were conducted over 2012–14 to identify correlates of sexually transmissible infection (STI) testing among young people at risk of STIs. In total, 3588 participants were recruited; 72% reported having sex in the past year. Based on sexual behaviours, 38% of sexually active participants were classified as at risk of contracting STIs. In the past year, at-risk participants had significantly higher odds of reporting a STI test (37%) than participants classified as not at risk (24%) (OR=1.9; CI=1.6–2.3). Among at-risk participants, correlates of STI testing in the past year included being aged 20–24 years, visiting a GP, higher knowledge levels, earlier sexual debut and reporting more than five lifetime partners. Testing rates in our sample did not meet levels required to reduce chlamydia prevalence. However, the testing rate was higher in at-risk participants than participants who were not at risk. Future programs aiming to increase chlamydia testing should improve knowledge and promote the importance of testing after risk exposure, particularly among 16- to 19-year-olds.
Higher sensitivity and lower specificity in post-fire mortality model validation of 11 western US tree species
Authors: Kane Jeffrey M. , van Mantgem Phillip J. , Lalemand Laura B. , Keifer MaryBeth
Published: April 2017

Managers require accurate models to predict post-fire tree mortality to plan prescribed fire treatments and examine their effectiveness. Here we assess the performance of a common post-fire tree mortality model with an independent dataset of 11 tree species from 13 National Park Service units in the western USA. Overall model discrimination was generally strong, but performance varied considerably among species and sites. The model tended to have higher sensitivity (proportion of correctly classified dead trees) and lower specificity (proportion of correctly classified live trees) for many species, indicating an overestimation of mortality. Variation in model accuracy (percentage of live and dead trees correctly classified) among species was not related to sample size or percentage observed mortality. However, we observed a positive relationship between specificity and a species-specific bark thickness multiplier, indicating that overestimation was more common in thin-barked species. Accuracy was also quite low for thinner bark classes (<1cm) for many species, leading to poorer model performance. Our results indicate that a common post-fire mortality model generally performs well across a range of species and sites; however, some thin-barked species and size classes would benefit from further refinement to improve model specificity.
Quantum unique ergodicity and the number of nodal domains of eigenfunctions
Authors: Jang Seung uk , Jung Junehyuk
Published: April 2017

We prove that the Hecke-Maass eigenforms for a compact arithmetic triangle group have a growing number of nodal domains as the eigenvalue tends to

+
∞

+\infty

. More generally the same is proved for eigenfunctions on negatively curved surfaces that are even or odd with respect to a geodesic symmetry and for which quantum unique ergodicity holds.
1. The Revolution’s origins
Authors: Allison Robert J.
Published: April 2017

The British government had not regarded the thirteen colonies, with their different social structures and political systems, as essential parts of the empire as a whole. ‘The Revolution's origins’ explains that when the French threatened to take control of the continent's interior, the colonists did not unite in the interest of the British Empire. American opponents of the Stamp Act, which Parliament passed in 1765, called themselves Sons of Liberty. This group turned resistance into full-scale revolt. The 1767 Townshend Acts, new revenue laws taxing imports into the colonies, ignited renewed political and social agitation, including a boycott of British goods.
1. Words, images, meanings
Authors: Bernstein R. B.
Published: April 2017

The phrase “founding fathers” is central to how Americans talk about politics, and “Words, images, meanings” describes when the phrase was first coined, what it really means, and how artists have depicted the “founding fathers”—those who helped to found the United States as a nation and a political experiment. This group has two subsets. First are the Signers, delegates to the Second Continental Congress, who in July 1776 declared American independence and signed the Declaration of Independence. Second are the Framers, the delegates to the Federal Convention who in 1787 framed the United States Constitution. They include Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
2. Contexts
Authors: Bernstein R. B.
Published: April 2017

The founding fathers were born into a remarkable variety of families, occupations, religious loyalties, and geographic settings: from landed gentry destined to join the ruling elite, to middling or common sorts who chose the law or medicine as a professional path to distinction, or immigrants from other parts of the British Empire. They lived within and were shaped by three interlocking contexts—the intellectual world of the transatlantic Enlightenment; the political context within which Americans sought to preserve and improve the best of the Anglo-American constitutional heritage; and the social, economic, and cultural context formed as a result of their living on the Atlantic world’s periphery.
4. Legacies
Authors: Bernstein R. B.
Published: April 2017

“Legacies: What history has made of the founding fathers” shows that the founding fathers’ history has unfolded in two ways—one being their developing role in the American people’s historical memory, the other being their evolving place in history as interpreted by generations of historians. It also highlights how posterity has chosen individuals to revere or to chastise. The reputations of some founding fathers (George Washington and Benjamin Franklin) have remained consistently high; the reputations of others (Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton) have risen and fallen in historical cycles; others (John Adams, James Madison, and John Jay) have languished in neglect, only to be rediscovered and restored to the national pantheon.
4. Who are Republicans? Who are Democrats? Who are the “others”?
Authors: Maisel L. Sandy
Published: April 2017

‘Who are Republicans? Who are Democrats? Who are the “others”?’ looks at party affiliation and the different relationships citizens have with political parties. Most American citizens have no formal affiliation with a political party, but hold a strong impression of what the two major parties stand for. Many who consider themselves independent will vote for either Democrats or Republicans. Candidates run with the support of party organizations, and once elected they identify with a party label but exercise a great deal of independence, while the electorate frequently switches support from one party to another.
7. Far from the perfect democracy
Authors: Maisel L. Sandy
Published: April 2017

Americans, even those familiar with the details of the electoral process, remain convinced that American democracy represents the ideal toward which others should strive. ‘Far from the perfect democracy’ examines some of the continuing flaws in the system which sees such low levels of participation, the unsatisfactory nomination process and election campaigns, and the huge costs and lack of competition in the process. While these flaws have been pointed out by many reformers, solutions are not necessarily easy to come by without creating new problems, and few politicians relish the challenge of putting aside their own political interests to address these issues.
5. The atom factories: making new elements
Authors: Ball Philip
Published: April 2017

‘The atom factories: making new elements’ explores the synthesis of new elements. The transmutation of new elements is only possible due to radioactivity. Rutherford discovered that bombarding nuclei with protons caused nuclear decay, and Fermi realised that neutron bombardment could create transuranic elements. Both processes released vast amounts of energy, harnessed by the United States in World War II. As well as being broken apart, nuclei can also be fused into heavier nuclei. This releases even more energy. This process occurs in the Sun, but is much harder to perform on Earth. As heavier and heavier elements have been found, arguments have raged about priority and naming rights.
6. The chemical brothers: why isotopes are useful
Authors: Ball Philip
Published: April 2017

‘The chemical brothers: why isotopes are useful’ explains the chemistry and application of isotopes. The arrangement of isotopes in the Periodic Table by weight did not always make sense, until Francis Aston discovered the presence of isotopes: chemically identical atoms which differ only in atomic weight due to differing numbers of neutrons. Radioactive isotopes differ in the stability of their nuclei. Measuring the speed of decay allows scientists to date archaeological finds, and even the universe itself. Stable isotopes can be used to give a record of climate change. Isotopes are also commonly used in medical imaging and cancer treatment.
7. For all practical purposes: technologies of the elements
Authors: Ball Philip
Published: April 2017

‘For all practical purposes: technologies of the elements’ considers the variety that exists within the elements, and how they can be applied to our everyday lives. Iron and steel gave early armies the edge in battle, but the role of carbon in steel production was not understood until the eighteenth century. Silicon was used in glass for centuries, but its semiconducting properties make it the ideal substance for computer chips. The platinum group metals were unsuccessfully marketed as alternatives to silver, but now they are integral in catalytic converters. Palladium gained notoriety as a key ingredient of ‘cold fusion’, and rare earth metals are used in television screens.
The Man and His Work
Authors: Barnes Jonathan
Published: April 2017

‘The man and his work’ describes Aristotle as a scholar whose scientific explorations were as wide-ranging as his philosophical speculations were profound; a teacher who enchanted and inspired. While the facts of his life are lost in the mists of time, his whole career and his every known activity testify to the fact that Aristotle was concerned before all else to promote the discovery of truth and to increase the sum of human knowledge. His output was vast; yet it is more remarkable for its scope and variety than for its quantity. Aristotle’s writings for the most part are terse and his arguments concise — occasionally both tough and vexing.
Ideal and Achievement
Authors: Barnes Jonathan
Published: April 2017

Some scholars have disputed that Aristotle was a system-builder. For them, Aristotle’s philosophy is ‘aporetic’: it consists in posing, and developing solutions to, particular puzzles. This anti-systematic interpretation of Aristotle’s thought is widely accepted. However, although systematization is not achieved in the treatises, it is an ideal, ever present. ‘Ideal and achievement’ points out that Aristotle’s system is a design for completed sciences, not the activities of the scientific researcher. Since the treatises are not definitive presentations of an achieved science, we should not expect to find an orderly succession of axioms and deductions. Aristotle was a systematic thinker; his surviving treatises present a partial, unfinished sketch of his system.
Evidence and Theory
Authors: Barnes Jonathan
Published: April 2017

‘Evidence and Theory’ argues that Aristotle’s account of the world is wholly exploded, mostly because sixteenth- and seventeenth-century scientists applied quantitative methods in studying inanimate nature. Aristotle’s failing is largely due to conceptual poverty. He lacked our concepts of mass, force, velocity, temperature, and thus some of the major conceptual tools of the physical sciences. Conceptual poverty is linked to technological poverty: Aristotle had no accurate clock, and no thermometer. He is often criticized for subordinating fact to theory and for seeking purposes in the world of nature. However, Aristotle was committed to the primacy of observation, and his scientific treatises — especially those on biology — remain true to that view.
The burning issue: molecules and energy
Authors: Ball Philip
Published: April 2017

‘The burning issue: molecules and energy’ describes how energy can be transferred through molecular reactions. Metabolic processes are the foundation of cellular life. All chemical reactions increase entropy (or disorder), but living cells maintain their order by carefully controlling metabolic reactions. In living organisms glucose is broken down into pyruvate through glycolysis. Pyruvate then enters the citric acid cycle, which is a series of reactions that generate electrons which generate ATP — the cell's ‘fuel’. Many scientists, most notably Alfred Nobel, have sought to develop molecules which contain huge amounts of energy safely. These molecules can be used to build civilization — or destroy life.
Delivering the message: molecular communication
Authors: Ball Philip
Published: April 2017

‘Delivering the message: molecular communication’ explains how molecules can enable communication between cells and in synthetic systems. Hormones are biological messengers which can have short–term or long–term effects. When released into the bloodstream, they travel to the target cells and bind with transmembrane proteins, initiating a signal transduction relay inside the cell. Neurons cells carry electrical action potentials along the nervous system. At neuronal synapses, chemical neurotransmitters carry signals across the synaptic cleft and transfer them to the next neuron along. Supramolecular chemists aim to utilise or mimic signal transduction pathways in a range of applications, from pharmaceuticals to mechanical olfaction.
2. Copyright, culture, and commerce
Authors: Vaidhyanathan Siva
Published: April 2017

Copyright is the most pervasive cultural regulatory system in the world. In recent decades, copyright law has become stronger, covers more activities, restricts more uses, and lasts longer than ever before. Is the current system the best possible system for the current and future creative environment? And are the benefits of the copyright system justly distributed or do the wealthy and powerful continue to reap the bulk of the rewards for it at the expense of everyone else? “Copyright, commerce, and culture” considers what copyright does, and the four major limits of copyright—expiration, fair use or fair dealing, first sale, and the idea/expression dichotomy.
Conclusion: The politics of resistance
Authors: Vaidhyanathan Siva
Published: April 2017

Intellectual property exists as it does because powerful interests want it to exist. Our global intellectual property systems reflect three centuries of changes in industries, politics, economics, and social values. Thus, intellectual property is fundamentally political. The “Conclusion” asks what we must do as citizens of our various states to ensure that these systems work well for most people. How can we ensure that copyright fosters creativity at all levels without squelching it among some quarters? It also explains the rise of global activist movements—generally called the “Access to Knowledge” movement—devoted to fighting excessive intellectual property protection. To varying degrees these movements have succeeded and have certainly changed the conversation.
1. Looking at rights
Authors: Clapham Andrew
Published: April 2017

Where does the concept of human rights come from? How has the human rights movement developed such a solid set of obligations that can be applied worldwide? The human rights issue is often contentious and the language of international human rights has become associated with all sorts of claims and disputes. ‘Looking at rights’ considers early historical invocations of the concept of rights and how modern rights theorists have sought to justify the existence and importance of rights by reference to some overriding value, such as freedom, fairness, autonomy, equality, personhood, or dignity. It shows how the concept of a ‘human rights culture’ means different things to different people.
4. Hearing sound
Authors: Goldsmith Mike
Published: April 2017

Our ears have two functions, hearing and balance, but what do they hear and how? We can experience a whole world of sound due to the precise coordination of highly evolved anatomical, electro-chemical, and neurological processing systems. ‘Hearing sound’ describes the anatomy of the outer, middle, and inner ear along with the nerve signals sent to the brain. What happens in the brain’s hearing and language centres is not entirely clear, but the first stage in processing is to extract salient features from the stream of input data from the auditory nerve. Problems with hearing, including deafness and tinnitus, are explained along with how we make different sounds.
6. Ultrasound and infrasound
Authors: Goldsmith Mike
Published: April 2017

‘Ultrasound and infrasound’ explains that humans can hear sounds with frequencies in the range of 20 Hz to around 17 kHz, but there is a wide ultrasound soundscape beyond this range. Bats, for example, are able to navigate and hunt using echolocation, generating ultrasounds and timing the delays until they hear the echoes, which inform them of the distances to nearby objects. Ultrasound can also be used medically to help repair damaged muscles, scan foetuses, or treat inoperable tumours. At extremely high frequencies, sounds behave like particles called phonons. Infrasound occurs at lower frequencies and can travel far further than audible sound, through sea, ground, or air.
Savanna landscapes
Authors: Furley Peter A.
Published: April 2017

What are savannas and where are they? ‘Savanna landscapes’ considers these dynamic and diverse biomes—the most widespread form of vegetation in the tropics and sub-tropics. They are areas covered by a nearly continuous grassy layer, interspersed with trees and shrubs of varying densities and heights, but their nature and distribution is affected by the local topography and is closely allied with continental evolution. Marked seasonal variation is characterized by unpredictably long wet or dry spells and there is a wide range of flora and fauna across the major continental savannas. There are numerous theories on the role of savannas in shaping the emergence and spread of human populations.
Savanna vegetation
Authors: Furley Peter A.
Published: April 2017

Why do savannas differ? Savannas have developed in an uneasy equilibrium over time with varying pressures, leading to an amalgamation of landscape patterns. They are also the product of disturbance and conversion from other ecosystems, especially tropical forests. Each continent has developed a unique collection of plants and animals with a particular environmental evolution and history of human occupation. As a result they have followed different evolutionary pathways leading to distinct landscapes and particular challenges for their futures. ‘Savanna vegetation’ considers the primary productivity of plants, the vegetation structure, and species richness across savannas in Africa, tropical America (including Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela), Central America and the Caribbean, and Australasia.
Savanna futures
Authors: Furley Peter A.
Published: April 2017

Constant change is the driving force in the history of savannas, and some conception of the future can be gauged from evidence of past changes and from trends experienced today. The potential futures for savanna landscapes may be depicted as two interconnected sets of processes: variations caused by natural events including climatic change; and changes resulting from human activities. ‘Savanna futures’ shows that the main concerns which could impact on the savannas can be reduced to a number of key issues: coastal savanna areas at risk of flooding and salt-water incursions; food security and food production systems; loss of biodiversity; conservation issues; urban expansion; and human health and security.
2. Symmetry
Authors: Glazer A. M.
Published: April 2017

In order to explain what crystals are and how their structures are described, we need to understand the role of symmetry, for this lies at the heart of crystallography. ‘Symmetry’ explains the different types of symmetry: rotational, mirror or reflection, point, chiral, and translation. There are thirty-two point groups and seven crystal systems, according to which symmetries are present. These are triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, trigonal, hexagonal, and cubic. Miller indices, lattices, crystal structure, and space groups are described in more detail. Any normal crystal belongs to one of the 230 space group types. Crystallographers generally use the International Notation system to denote these space groups.
5. Seeing atoms
Authors: Glazer A. M.
Published: April 2017

It is clear that knowledge of the relative phases is essential if we wish to find the atoms in a crystal. So what do we do if we do not have phase information? ‘Seeing atoms’ describes the phase problem and the different methods of phase determination used by crystallographers: a difference Fourier map; the Patterson method; electron density maps; multiple isomorphous replacement; multiple-wavelength anomalous dispersion using synchrotron radiation, which is often used in macromolecular crystallography; molecular replacement, commonly used in protein crystallography; the Sayre equation, a mathematical relationship that enables probable values for the phases of some diffracted beams to be found; and a new technique called charge flipping.
6. Sources of radiation
Authors: Glazer A. M.
Published: April 2017

To observe diffraction from crystals it is necessary to have a source of radiation whose wavelength is of the same order as the atomic spacings. ‘Sources of radiation’ shows that the electromagnetic spectrum’s X-ray region does this nicely and describes the use of X-ray tubes. Another source of radiation is synchrotron radiation, which exhibits a number of special properties: the radiation emitted ranges from the hard X-ray region, through the ultraviolet and infra-red wavelengths up to visible light; the X-ray beam is plane-polarized within the horizontal plane; and the radiation is highly collimated in the vertical plane. Radiation from free-electron lasers, neutron sources, and electron diffraction is also discussed.
7. Exotic nuclei
Authors: Close Frank
Published: April 2017

‘Exotic nuclei’ discusses halo nuclei, borromean nuclei, hypernuclei, strange matter, and antimatter. Unstable isotopes with a larger excess of neutrons, or an excess of protons may form halos around a central core—halo nuclei or borromean structures, which have short half-lives, typically of the order of milliseconds. If a quark in a neutron or proton is replaced by a strange quark, the resulting particle carries the property of strangeness, and is generically known as a ‘hyperon’. A hypernucleus is formed when a hyperon replaces a nucleon within a nucleus. Antimatter exists in quantum theory, but there seems no evidence that it occurs in practice in the observable universe.
6. Projection
Authors: Lenton Tim
Published: April 2017

Where is the Earth system heading in the Anthropocene? To even begin to answer this question requires a model of how the Earth system works, and the answer depends on our collective activities as a species, and how the Earth system responds to those. The model’s role is to forecast the consequences of different assumptions about future human activities. ‘Projection’ introduces ‘Earth system models’ and some of the crucial assumptions that go into using them to forecast the future. It outlines their projections, going from shorter to longer timescales, and from the specific challenge of projecting climate change to the broader challenge of exploring other global changes.
8. Generalization
Authors: Lenton Tim
Published: April 2017

This VSI has introduced how one habitable planet—the Earth—can be studied as a system. However, in just the past few years, scientists have made the remarkable discovery that there are potentially habitable planets—exoplanets—orbiting other stars. Just as humanity’s first view of the Earth from space changed how we saw and studied our home planet, our first ‘view’ of an Earth-like planet around another star will surely change our perspective again. ‘Generalization’ explores how our understanding of the Earth system can be generalized into a science of habitable worlds in general.
2. Wit
Authors: van Es Bart
Published: April 2017

‘Wit’ considers Shakespeare’s jokes, including puns, double meanings, and the psychology of laughter. Many aspects of Shakespeare’s comedy remain constant, but there are also developments over the course of his career. The earliest plays are more lyrical; the middle ones (c.1600–5) contain harsher satire; and the late plays (written after 1607) have a fairy-tale aspect and are generally referred to as ‘romances’ and not as comedies at all. One striking change comes in 1600 when Shakespeare’s longstanding lead comic actor, Will Kemp, was replaced by a very different performer: the diminutive and satirical writer-performer Robert Armin. This shift produced an immediate alteration in the way that Shakespeare used wit.
9. Partitions
Authors: Wilson Robin
Published: April 2017

How many ways can a number be split into two, three, or more pieces? ‘Partitions’ considers this interesting problem and the way in which Leonard Euler started to investigate them around 1740. Euler considered the generating function of the sequence of partition numbers and devised his pentagonal number formula. His publication Introduction to the Analysis of Infinities in 1748 outlined the difference between distinct and odd partitions. Many mathematicians worked on the partition problem, but it was not resolved until G. H. Hardy and his collaborator Srinivasa Ramanujan in 1918 published an exact formula for partition numbers using a new method in the theory of numbers called the ‘circle method’.
9. Uranium, thorium, and their daughters
Authors: Ellam Rob
Published: April 2017

All isotopes heavier than 208Pb (lead) are radioactive and many of these have half-lives that are long compared to the age of our Solar System. ‘Uranium, thorium, and their daughters’ describes the natural decay series where radioactive isotopes of uranium and thorium decay by α- and β-emission through several stages until a stable lead isotope is produced. The age of the Solar System and Earth has been established at 4.55 Ga through the isochron approach; U-Pb dating was also used to date the boundary between the Cretaceous and Palaeogene geological periods to 66 Ma, the period associated with a mass extinction on Earth when 70 per cent of living things died out.
3. Progressive reform across the globe
Authors: Theodoulou Stella Z. , Roy Ravi K.
Published: April 2017

Modern, rationally structured, hierarchical state administrative bureaucracies coincided with the centralization of government authority and expansion of European imperialist military systems in the 18th and 19th centuries. ‘Progressive reform across the globe’ explains that the characteristics and dimensions of the modern nation-state helped lay the foundations of modern public administration and social welfare systems in America and Western Europe. The American Progressive era and the progressive reforms that shaped European welfare states are discussed. Public administrators were compelled to adopt new bureaucratic methods and processes to carry out their functions and mandates. These new administrative processes were rooted in principles and methods associated with the Gilded Age and the Scientific Revolution.
5. The New Public Management goes global
Authors: Theodoulou Stella Z. , Roy Ravi K.
Published: April 2017

The so-called ‘golden age’ of the Keynesian State was turbulently interrupted by a series of economic shocks in the 1970s. Traditional administrative hierarchies were regarded as too inflexible to adapt to the dynamic political and economic forces unleashed in the global age. Emphasizing private sector values such as timeliness, responsiveness, and cost savings, a new kind of managerialism—New Public Management (NPM)—began to take root in some of the world’s leading public bureaucracies. ‘The New Public Management goes global’ explains that, today, the NPM’s emphasis on customer service, management by objectives, and quantitative-based performance and accountability standards is evident at all levels of governance. But is there an alternative?
3. Myth and religion
Authors: Segal Robert A.
Published: April 2017

‘Myth and religion’ explores how twentieth-century theories from religious studies have sought to reconcile myth with science by reconciling religion with science. One tactic has been to re-characterize the subject matter of religion and therefore of myth. Another has been to elevate seemingly secular phenomena to religious ones. As part of this elevation, myth is no longer confined to explicitly religious ancient tales. Plays, books, and films are like myths because they reveal the existence of another, often earlier world alongside the everyday one—a world of extraordinary figures and events akin to those found in traditional myths.
6. Myth and psychology
Authors: Segal Robert A.
Published: April 2017

‘Myth and psychology’ explains how, in psychology, the theories of Sigmund Freud and of Carl Jung have almost monopolized the study of myth. They both parallel myths to dreams. Freud analyzes myths throughout his writings, but his main discussion is of Oedipus. For Freud, myth functions through its meaning: myth vents Oedipal desires by presenting a story in which, symbolically, they are enacted. Like Freudians, Jungians at once analyze all kinds of myths, not just hero myths, and interpret other kinds heroically. Creation myths, for example, symbolize the creation of consciousness out of the unconscious. For Freud, heroism involves relations with parents and instincts. For Jung, heroism involves, in addition, relations with the unconscious.
8. Myth and politics
Authors: Segal Robert A.
Published: April 2017

‘Myth and politics’ examines the treatment of myth in the work of Bronislaw Malinowski, Georges Sorel, Ernst Cassirer, Georges Dumézil, and René Girard. For Malinowski, myth deals with social phenomena. In the case of physical phenomena, the beneficiary of myth is the individual. In the case of social phenomena, the beneficiary is society itself. For Sorel, myth is eternal, not merely primitive, and serves not to bolster society but to topple it. By ‘myth’ he means a guiding ideology, one that advocates a fight to the death with the ruling class. Cassirer came to focus on the modern political myth of Nazism and considered how political myths take and keep hold.
4. The culture of irrationalism
Authors: Beller Steven
Published: April 2017

Why has antisemitism been defined as ‘irrational’ hostility to Jews? This cultural approach was a reaction against the rationalist claim that all human experience and endeavour could be reduced to rational, calculable objects and relations. ‘The culture of irrationalism’ looks at the strong link between German cultural ‘irrationalism’, Romanticism, and antisemitism, and how influential people in the arts contributed to this. Even irrational thinkers who opposed antisemitism, such as Friedrich Nietzsche, also contributed in some way to the antisemitic thrust of German irrationalist culture. Jews, as allies of rationalist modernity, became the targets of many of those in Central and Eastern Europe who suffered from the dislocations of economic modernization.
2. An enduring value
Authors: Wacks Raymond
Published: April 2017

The notion of ‘privacy’ in its broadest, and least lucid, sense is founded upon a conception of the individual and his or her relationship with society. Individuals need privacy for psychological, emotional, and social purposes. Autonomy, creativity—and even sanity—depend on a degree of private space. Society has an interest in facilitating these goals. Privacy, moreover, enhances democratic ideals by ensuring the privacy of political choice. The pursuit of a satisfactory definition of privacy has borne little fruit, largely because the premises upon which the proposed definitions are based are materially different. The concept, particularly in the US, continues to provide a forum for contesting, inter alia, the rights of women (especially in respect of abortion), the use of contraceptives, the freedom of homosexuals and lesbians. This chapter endeavours both to set privacy in its wider social context and to clarify the issues.
10. Vector spaces
Authors: Higgins Peter M.
Published: April 2017

‘Vector spaces’ discusses the algebra of vector spaces, which are abelian groups with an additional scalar multiplication by a field. Every finite abelian group is the direct product of cyclic groups. Any finite abelian group can be represented in one of two special ways based on numerical relationships between the subscripts of the cyclic groups involved. In one representation, all the subscripts are powers of primes; in the alternative, each subscript is a divisor of its successor. It concludes by bringing together the ideas of modular arithmetic, the construction of the complex numbers, factorization of polynomials, and vector spaces to explain the existence of finite fields.
2. Computational artefacts
Authors: Dasgupta Subrata
Published: April 2017

The modern computer is a hierarchically organized system of computational artefacts. Inventing, understanding, and applying rules and principles of hierarchy is a subdiscipline of computer science. ‘Computational artefacts’ explains the concepts of compositional hierarchy, the abstraction/refinement principle, and hierarchy by construction. There are three classes of computational artefacts—abstract, material, and liminal. An important example of an abstract artefact is the Turing machine. Sciences involving artefacts are sciences of the artificial, entailing the study of the relationship between means and ends. The ‘science’ in computer science is, thus, a science of means and ends. It asks: how can a computational artefact demonstrably achieve a given human need, goal, or purpose?
5. The discipline of computer architecture
Authors: Dasgupta Subrata
Published: April 2017

The physical computer is itself complex enough to have its own internal hierarchy, designed and described at multiple levels of abstraction. A significant aspect of this hierarchy is the distinction of the physical computer, as a symbol processing computational artefact, from the physical components obeying the laws of physics realizing this artefact: the computer’s architecture. ‘The discipline of computer architecture’ describes the areas of computer science concerned with design, descriptions, analysis, and study of the logical organization, behaviour, and functional elements of a physical computer. Outer and inner architectures are explained along with the control unit, microprogramming, and parallel computing. Computer architecture is an experimental, heuristic science of the artificial.
6. Heuristic computing
Authors: Dasgupta Subrata
Published: April 2017

Many ordinary problems and everyday activities are not conducive to algorithmic solutions. Yet, people do perform these tasks and solve such problems, so what other computational means are available to perform such tasks? The answer is to resort to a mode of computing that deploys heuristics—rules, precepts, principles, hypotheses based on common sense, experience, judgement, analogies, informed guesses, etc., which offer promise but are not guaranteed to solve problems. Heuristic computing encompasses both heuristic search and heuristic algorithms. ‘Heuristic computing’ explains a meta-heuristic called ‘satisficing’; the difference between exact and heuristic algorithms; how heuristics is used in artificial intelligence; weak and strong methods; and how to interpret heuristic rules.
7. Computational thinking
Authors: Dasgupta Subrata
Published: April 2017

What is computational thinking? The AI researcher Paul Rosenbloom’s interpretation focuses on two relationships: interaction (a ‘reciprocal action, effect or influence’ between two entities); and implementation (to ‘put into effect’ a system A at a higher abstraction level in terms of interacting processes within a system B at a lower level of abstraction). ‘Computational thinking’ explains how computational thinking entails more than analytical and problem solving skills. It encompasses a way of imagining, by way of seeing analogies and constructing metaphors. The influence of computational thinking on cognitive psychology and connectionism, and the emergence of cognitive science and its impact on understanding human creativity and molecular information processing are discussed.
7. Moons of small bodies
Authors: Rothery David A.
Published: April 2017

The small bodies of our Solar System consist of: asteroids (rocky or carbonaceous objects that are mainly concentrated in the space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter); trans-Neptunian objects (icy bodies beyond Neptune’s orbit); comets (small icy bodies with strongly elliptical orbits that can come close to the Sun); and centaurs (asteroid-like bodies of dominantly icy rather than rocky composition, whose orbits lie beyond that of Jupiter, but inside Neptune’s). Of these, only comets are devoid of known moons. ‘Moons of small bodies’ describes some of the 165 asteroids known to have moons, as well as the moons of centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects, including the dwarf planet Pluto.
8. Moons in other planetary systems
Authors: Rothery David A.
Published: April 2017

The first definite discovery of a planet around another star—an ‘exoplanet’—was made in 1995. We now know of more than 1,000 stars with exoplanets. In our Solar System, moons are considerably more numerous than planets, so it would be surprising if exomoons did not outnumber exoplanets. Only a few exceptional exoplanets have been seen by direct imaging and any exomoons are presently well below the visibility threshold. ‘Moons in other planetary systems: exomoons’ considers why exomoons matter. If hydrothermal vents on ocean floors really are a good place for life to begin, then icy exomoons with internal oceans throughout the galaxy could host microbial life.
5. Bodies as commodities
Authors: Shilling Chris
Published: April 2017

Bodies have been conceptualized and valued in a wide variety of ways across contrasting cultures. There has been a multiplication of methods through which the physical appearance, organs, and flesh of the living and the dead have become implicated in market transactions. ‘Bodies as commodities’ considers marketing appearance, medicalizing bodies for profit, trafficking body parts, and selling embodied subjects into forced labour and slavery, which each highlight a breakdown of the distinction between physical subjects and commodities. It also discusses the resistance of such commodification by international bodies and anti-slavery organizations working to end forced and indentured labour, and alternative practices challenging the commodification of body parts, fluids, and processes.
1. The scholar and the devotee
Authors: Knott Kim
Published: April 2017

In western countries, Hinduism is considered to be a religious system. Is this accurate? To what extent is Hinduism a religion like others and what are the principle characteristics which define it? ‘The scholar and the devotee’ begins to examine these questions by raising related methodological questions: how do people study Hinduism and do people who practise Hinduism see it in the same way as those that study it? Scholars and devotees have often been motivated by different principles in their ideas about Hinduism: its history, scriptures, and practices. There have also been differences within each camp.
1. Introduction
Authors: Nesbitt Eleanor
Published: April 2017

Sikhism is sometimes described as the newest of the world’s religions. Its media image is mainly male and Sikhism conjures up images of swords and turbans. The Introduction sets out the aims of this VSI and outlines the history of the term ‘Sikhism’. Sikhs have a strong sense of community with a history of struggle. A Sikh is a learner or disciple, and is the disciple of the Guru. There are around twenty-four million Sikhs worldwide, the majority living in the Punjab region of India, but there are now Sikh communities in many other countries as well, the two largest being in Canada and the United Kingdom.
6. Sikhism outside India
Authors: Nesbitt Eleanor
Published: April 2017

About 5 per cent of the global Sikh population live outside India. The affluence of overseas Sikh communities, especially in the UK and North America, has increased the relative importance of this diaspora. ‘Sikhism outside India’ looks at how changes in circumstances have affected Sikh practice and how Sikhs have affected the societies in which they live. For many decades, Sikhs have struggled to maintain the Khalsa form given the social and legal constraints they are faced with. What are these constraints and how do they differ in different locations? The interaction between political and religious currents in Punjab and developments in far-flung Sikh communities is also discussed.
4. Counter-revolution and Constitutionalism (1913–1914)
Authors: Knight Alan
Published: April 2017

The coup of February 1913, involving the overthrow and killing of Madero, had decisive effects. ‘Counter-revolution and Constitutionalism’ outlines how Huerta, the interim president, relied on the old Federal Army to support his leadership. In reaction, many of the components of the fragmented Maderista coalition began to reassemble and reorganize. The big northern frontier states—Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Sonora—played a key role under the leadership of Carranza, Obregón, and Villa, alongside the continued Zapatista revolt in Morelos. The rebels made the transition from guerrilla to conventional warfare, aided by the US lifting its arms embargo in early 1914. In August 1914, rebel forces approached Mexico City and Huerta resigned.