bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identifying ferroelectric phase and domain structure using angle-resolved piezoresponse force microscopy
Authors: Kim K. L. , Huber J. E.
Published: March 2014

We used angle-resolved piezoresponse force microscopy (AR-PFM), vertical PFM (VPFM), and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to provide a systematic interpretation of domain patterns in polycrystalline, near-morphotropic lead zirconate titanate. This material was used to illustrate the power of AR-PFM methods in resolving complex domain patterns where multiple phases may be present. AR-PFM was carried out with a 30° rotation interval, and the resulting data were analysed to identify the orientation of the underlying axis of piezoelectricity. The additional information provided by AR-PFM was studied, comparing its capabilities to those of 3-dimensional PFM, consisting of one VPFM image and two orthogonal lateral PFM (LPFM) images. We show that, in certain conditions, using AR-PFM can identify the phases present at the sub-grain scale. This was confirmed using VPFM and EBSD data. Furthermore, the method can discriminate laminated domain patterns that appear similar in VPFM and can reliably expose domain patterns that may not be seen in LPFM data from a single orientation, or even in 3D PFM data.
One-dimensional coupled Burgers’ equation and its numerical solution by an implicit logarithmic finite-difference method
Authors: Srivastava Vineet K. , Tamsir M. , Awasthi Mukesh K. , Singh Sarita
Published: March 2014

In this paper, an implicit logarithmic finite difference method (I-LFDM) is implemented for the numerical solution of one dimensional coupled nonlinear Burgers’ equation. The numerical scheme provides a system of nonlinear difference equations which we linearise using Newton's method. The obtained linear system via Newton's method is solved by Gauss elimination with partial pivoting algorithm. To illustrate the accuracy and reliability of the scheme, three numerical examples are described. The obtained numerical solutions are compared well with the exact solutions and those already available.
Temperature dependent electrical behaviour of Cu2SnS3 films
Authors: Dias Sandra , Krupanidhi S. B.
Published: March 2014

The temperature dependent electrical properties of the dropcasted Cu2SnS3 films have been measured in the temperature range 140 K to 317 K. The log I versus √V plot shows two regions. The region at lower bias is due to electrode limited Schottky emission and the higher bias region is due to bulk limited Poole Frenkel emission. The ideality factor is calculated from the ln I versus V plot for different temperatures fitted with the thermionic emission model and is found to vary from 6.05 eV to 12.23 eV. This large value is attributed to the presence of defects or amorphous layer at the Ag / Cu2SnS3 interface. From the Richardson's plot the Richardson's constant and the barrier height were calculated. Owing to the inhomogeneity in the barrier heights, the Richardson's constant and the barrier height were also calculated from the modified Richardson's plot. The I-V-T curves were also fitted using the thermionic field emission model. The barrier heights were found to be higher than those calculated using thermionic emission model. From the fit of the I-V-T curves to the field emission model, field emission was seen to dominate in the low temperature range of 140 K to 177 K. The temperature dependent current graphs show two regions of different mechanisms. The log I versus 1000/T plot gives activation energies Ea1 = 0.367095 − 0.257682 eV and Ea2 = 0.038416 − 0.042452 eV. The log (I/T2) versus 1000/T graph gives trap depths Φo1 = 0.314159 − 0.204752 eV and Φo2 = 0.007425 − 0.011163 eV. With increasing voltage the activation energy Ea1 and the trap depth Φo1 decrease. From the ln (IT1/2) versus 1/T1/4 graph, the low temperature region is due to variable range hopping mechanism and the high temperature region is due to thermionic emission.
A Strategic Analysis of Urban Renewal in Taipei City Using Game Theory
Authors: Lin Yu-Chih , Lin Feng-Tyan
Published: March 2014

One of the difficult tasks in urban renewal is land assembly because it requires consent from landowners. The major obstacle for negotiation comes from the fact that some landowners ask higher than market price for their land. The characteristics of landowners are classified into two types according to prospect theory. This study adopts game theory to analyze strategic interaction and negotiation processes between a developer and landowners in Taiwan. The aim of this study is to show the impact of the characteristics of landowners on the implementation of the project and the best strategy for developers to deal with the uncertainty of landowners' characteristics. We found that not only the characteristics of the landowners, but also the strategies adopted by a developer may hinder the implementation of an urban renewal plan.
The Typological Process and the Morphological Period: A Cross-Cultural Assessment
Authors: Whitehand J W R , Gu Kai , Conzen Michael P , Whitehand Susan M
Published: March 2014

The concepts ‘typological process’ and ‘morphological period’ have received surprisingly little empirical substantiation despite their familiarity to many urban morphologists. They are examined here in two contrasting cultural areas—England and the Shanghai area, China—over the period from the mid-19th century to the late-20th century. Sequences of ordinary residential building types are recognized in the two areas: for example, historical series of terraced house types in England and historical variations on the lilong development unit in the Shanghai area. Periods characterized by different types and connections between those types are identified. The areas are different in both their building types and their periodizations but commonalities in their processes of change, including those related to the spread of Western fashions, are found. The difficulty of uncovering the mechanism of the typological process whereby one form type is succeeded by another reflects major problems of assembling the requisite data. Many more comparative studies, including between contrasting cultural areas, are needed.
Evaluating growth platforms and stress scenarios to assess the salt tolerance of wheat plants
Authors: Hackl Harald , Hu Yuncai , Schmidhalter Urs
Published: March 2014

Crops are routinely subjected to a combination of different abiotic stresses. Simplified platforms, stress scenarios and stress protocols are used to study salt tolerance under largely controlled and uniform conditions that are difficult to extrapolate to real arid and semiarid field conditions. To address the latter deficit, this work compares a realistic stress protocol (for salinity alone, drought alone and combined salinity plus drought stress) simulating a field environment in large containers to equivalent results from a more artificial pot environment. The work was based on two wheat cultivars known to differ in their salt tolerance (salt-sensitive Sakha 61 and salt-tolerant Sakha 93). Our results showed that previously established differences in the salt tolerances of the two wheat cultivars were no longer valid when the plants were exposed to a combined stress of salinity plus drought, regardless of the growth platform. Furthermore, in comparing a simulated field root-environment (containers) with pots, our results showed an interactive effect between the different treatments and platforms for both of the investigated cultivars. We conclude that a combined salinity + drought stress scenario and a reliable growth platform are of utmost importance in screening for salt tolerance of spring wheat. In future studies, increased emphasis should be placed on combining salinity with drought stress in well suited platforms to better mimic real field conditions where salinity is present.
Antioxidant enzyme activities and gene expression patterns in peanut nodules during a drought and rehydration cycle
Authors: Furlan Ana Laura , Bianucci Eliana , Tordable María del Carmen , Castro Stella , Dietz Karl-Josef
Published: March 2014

Drought stress is one of the most important environmental factors that affect plant growth and limit biomass production. Most studies focus on drought stress development but the reversibility of the effects receives less attention. Therefore, the present work aims to explore the biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) of the symbiotic association between peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and Bradyrhizobium sp. during a drought–recovery cycle with a focus on the response of enzyme activity and gene expression of the antioxidant system. Peanuts exposed to drought stress had impaired BNF, as indicated by lower nitrogenase activity, and decreased leghaemoglobin content; the latter was reversed to control values upon rehydration. Previous results demonstrated that reactive oxygen species (O2·− and H2O2) were accumulated as a consequence of drought stress, suggesting that nodules experience oxidative stress. In addition, marker transcripts responsive to drought, abscisic acid and H2O2 were upregulated. Increased transcript levels of glutathione reductase were associated with an increased enzyme activity but superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase activities were unchanged, despite upregulated gene transcription. In contrast, increased activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was unrelated with changes in cytosolic APX transcript levels suggesting isogene specificity. In conclusion, the work exemplarily demonstrates the efficient and dynamic regulation of antioxidant enzymes and marker compounds during drought cycling, which is likely to be a prerequisite for functional optimisation of nodule metabolism.
Validation of computer-assisted sperm-motility analysis in the amphibian Silurana tropicalis
Authors: Larroze Severine , Pickford Daniel B. , Holt William V.
Published: March 2014

We have developed and validated a computer-assisted sperm-motility assessment (CASA) method for use with the emerging amphibian model Silurana tropicalis. The testicular sperm-activation method was validated by analysing activation replicate coefficients of variation, effects of tracking time settings on velocity distributions and the relative partitioning of differentially motile sperm subpopulations between matched right and left testes. Two major sperm subpopulations were identified using multivariate pattern analysis and their relative frequencies were consistent between samples from matched right and left testes and from randomly drawn subsets of six frogs sampled from the total set of 16 frogs. The power of this approach for detecting treatment effects targeting the hypothalamic–pituitary–­gonadal axis was investigated by injecting a group of frogs with 100 IU human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) 2 h before sampling and comparing their sperm-subpopulation frequencies with non-injected controls. While parametric analysis across sperm samples failed to detect treatment effects, subpopulation analysis showed that hCG significantly increased the proportion of progressive and non-sinuous spermatozoa compared with controls (Chi square = 6.40, DF = 1, P = 0.011). This demonstrated the potential value of analysing objectively measured sperm behaviour as an endpoint.
Whole-exome sequencing reveals
LRP5
mutations and canonical Wnt signaling associated with hepatic cystogenesis
Authors: Cnossen Wybrich R. , te Morsche René H. M. , Hoischen Alexander , Gilissen Christian , Chrispijn Melissa , Venselaar Hanka , Mehdi Soufi , Bergmann Carsten , Veltman Joris A. , Drenth Joost P. H.
Published: March 2014

Significance

Polycystic liver disease (PCLD) is an autosomal dominantly inherited disorder characterized by multiple fluid-filled hepatic cysts that may cause an extremely enlarged liver. PCLD is genetically heterogeneous, and mutations in
PRKCSH
and
SEC63
are present in ∼25% of PCLD patients. This research identifies four unique
LRP5
mutations in four independent families that were all located at highly conserved protein domains. Functional activity analyses suggest that mutant
LRP5
reduces wingless (Wnt) signal activation. This study suggests that imbalanced Wnt signaling is related to hepatic cyst formation.
Visualization of two-fluid flows of superfluid helium-4
Authors: Guo Wei , La Mantia Marco , Lathrop Daniel P. , Van Sciver Steven W.
Published: March 2014

Cryogenic flow visualization techniques have been proved in recent years to be a very powerful experimental method to study superfluid turbulence. Micron-sized solid particles and metastable helium molecules are specifically being used to investigate in detail the dynamics of quantum flows. These studies belong to a well-established, interdisciplinary line of inquiry that focuses on the deeper understanding of turbulence, one of the open problem of modern physics, relevant to many research fields, ranging from fluid mechanics to cosmology. Progress made to date is discussed, to highlight its relevance to a wider scientific community, and future directions are outlined. The latter include, e.g., detailed studies of normal-fluid turbulence, dissipative mechanisms, and unsteady/oscillatory flows.
Modeling quantum fluid dynamics at nonzero temperatures
Authors: Berloff Natalia G. , Brachet Marc , Proukakis Nick P.
Published: March 2014

The detailed understanding of the intricate dynamics of quantum fluids, in particular in the rapidly growing subfield of quantum turbulence which elucidates the evolution of a vortex tangle in a superfluid, requires an in-depth understanding of the role of finite temperature in such systems. The Landau two-fluid model is the most successful hydrodynamical theory of superfluid helium, but by the nature of the scale separations it cannot give an adequate description of the processes involving vortex dynamics and interactions. In our contribution we introduce a framework based on a nonlinear classical-field equation that is mathematically identical to the Landau model and provides a mechanism for severing and coalescence of vortex lines, so that the questions related to the behavior of quantized vortices can be addressed self-consistently. The correct equation of state as well as nonlocality of interactions that leads to the existence of the roton minimum can also be introduced in such description. We review and apply the ideas developed for finite-temperature description of weakly interacting Bose gases as possible extensions and numerical refinements of the proposed method. We apply this method to elucidate the behavior of the vortices during expansion and contraction following the change in applied pressure. We show that at low temperatures, during the contraction of the vortex core as the negative pressure grows back to positive values, the vortex line density grows through a mechanism of vortex multiplication. This mechanism is suppressed at high temperatures.
Quantum turbulence generated by oscillating structures
Authors: Vinen William F. , Skrbek Ladislav
Published: March 2014

The paper summarizes important aspects of quantum turbulence that have been studied successfully with oscillating structures. It describes why some aspects are proving hard to interpret, and it outlines the need for new types of experiment and new developments in theoretical and computational work.
Distinct phenotype of a Wilson disease mutation reveals a novel trafficking determinant in the copper transporter ATP7B
Authors: Braiterman Lelita T. , Murthy Amrutha , Jayakanthan Samuel , Nyasae Lydia , Tzeng Eric , Gromadzka Grazyna , Woolf Thomas B. , Lutsenko Svetlana , Hubbard Ann L.
Published: March 2014

Significance

Wilson disease (WD) is a disorder of copper overload whose variable presentation poses diagnostic and treatment challenges. WD is caused by mutations in ATP7B, a transporter that loads Cu(I) onto newly synthesized cupro-enzymes in the
trans
-Golgi network (TGN) and exports excess copper by trafficking from the TGN to the plasma membrane. This multidisciplinary study established that a patient mutation, ATP7B-S653Y, has Cu(I) transport activity in the TGN, but completely disrupts Cu(I)-responsive trafficking. ATP7B-S653Y perturbs long-range interdomain interactions mediated by transmembrane segments TM1/TM2, suggesting a new functional role for this region. ATP7B-S653Y is the best-characterized example of a new functional class of WD mutants. We suggest that functional classification of WD mutations may facilitate targeted therapy for patients.
Citrate bridges between mineral platelets in bone
Authors: Davies Erika , Müller Karin H. , Wong Wai Ching , Pickard Chris J. , Reid David G. , Skepper Jeremy N. , Duer Melinda J.
Published: March 2014

Significance

Bone contains ∼2% wt citrate; however, its role in bone remains a much-debated question. We propose a new structure for bone mineral in which citrate in hydrated layers forms bridges between mineral platelets, which can explain a number of observations at odds with previous models. The incorporation of citrate between mineral platelets can explain the flat, plate-like morphology of bone mineral platelets and may be important in controlling the crystallinity of bone mineral, which in turn, is highly relevant to the mechanical properties of bone.
Hypocretin (orexin) facilitates reward by attenuating the antireward effects of its cotransmitter dynorphin in ventral tegmental area
Authors: Muschamp John W. , Hollander Jonathan A. , Thompson Jennifer L. , Voren George , Hassinger Linda C. , Onvani Sara , Kamenecka Theodore M. , Borgland Stephanie L. , Kenny Paul J. , Carlezon William A.
Published: March 2014

Significance

Hypocretin (orexin) and dynorphin are neuromodulators that play an important role in regulating affect and motivation. Orexin is critical for reward and is implicated in drug seeking, whereas dynorphin mediates negative mood and is implicated in depressive-like states. Considering these opposing effects, reports that both peptides are expressed in the same neurons and are coreleased are counterintuitive. Here, we demonstrate that orexin and dynorphin are coexpressed within the same synaptic vesicles and that this colocalization has a profound influence on reward, drug taking, and impulsive-like behavior. The fact that orexin occludes the depressive-like antireward effects of dynorphin significantly changes how we view the functional role of orexin in the brain.
Dynamin 2 along with microRNA-199a reciprocally regulate hypoxia-inducible factors and ovarian cancer metastasis
Authors: Joshi Hemant P. , Subramanian Indira V. , Schnettler Erica K. , Ghosh Goutam , Rupaimoole Rajesha , Evans Colleen , Saluja Manju , Jing Yawu , Cristina Ivan , Roy Sabita , Zeng Yan , Shah Vijay H. , Sood Anil K. , Ramakrishnan Sundaram
Published: March 2014

Significance

Tumor cells adapt to hypoxia by modulating energy production and utilization. Endocytosis is an energy-consuming process that is suppressed during hypoxia. Our studies show that Dynamin 2 (DNM2), a key component of endocytic machinery, is transcriptionally suppressed by HIF-1. Genetic and pharmacological inactivation of DNM2 stabilized HIF-1α and HIF-2α. Furthermore, miR-199a, which is encoded from the opposite strand of
DNM2
, exerts reciprocal negative regulation upon HIF-1α and HIF-2α. Overexpression of miR-199a decreased HIF-1α and HIF-2α, cell migration, and metastasis. These findings establish a regulatory loop between endocytic pathway and hypoxic response in tumor cells.
Ability of preventive therapy to cure latent
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
infection in HIV-infected individuals in high-burden settings
Authors: Houben Rein M. G. J. , Sumner Tom , Grant Alison D. , White Richard G.
Published: March 2014

Significance

Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) is a key tuberculosis prevention strategy in high-HIV-prevalent settings. While randomized controlled trials have shown IPT provides protection against tuberculosis disease in HIV-positive patients during therapy, protection was quickly lost after cessation of therapy. It was not known whether this loss of protection is due to reinfection and rapid progression to disease, or lack of cure. Using mathematical modeling, fitted to trial data, we show IPT does not cure
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
infection in the majority of HIV-infected individuals. These results contrast with long-held beliefs about the working mechanism of IPT, but explain the empirical results. These results are important for determining appropriate clinical guidelines for IPT use in varying epidemiological settings.
A role for primate subgenual cingulate cortex in sustaining autonomic arousal
Authors: Rudebeck Peter H. , Putnam Philip T. , Daniels Teresa E. , Yang Tianming , Mitz Andrew R. , Rhodes Sarah E. V. , Murray Elisabeth A.
Published: March 2014

Significance

Dysregulation of emotion is central to the etiology of mood disorders, such as depression. A causal understanding of how neural structures regulate emotion and arousal could help to improve treatments for these psychiatric disorders. Studies of patients with depression indicate that a particular part of the frontal lobe, the subgenual cingulate cortex, plays an important role in affective processing, though its precise contribution remains unclear. Here we show that, in macaque monkeys, this small part of the frontal cortex is necessary for sustaining elevated arousal in anticipation of positive emotional events. This finding suggests a mechanism for the contribution of this area to affective regulation, including an account for the lack of pleasure and passivity that characterizes mood disorders.
Ubiquitous nucleosome crowding in the yeast genome
Authors: Chereji Răzvan V. , Morozov Alexandre V.
Published: March 2014

Significance

In eukaryotic cells, up to 90% of genomic DNA is occluded by nucleosomes, fundamental units of chromatin in which DNA is tightly bent around the surface of a histone octamer. We present evidence that many nucleosomes in a single-cell eukaryote,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
, are wrapped only partially, allowing them to invade genomic territories of their neighbors. These findings significantly extend the canonical view of nucleosomes as separate “beads on a string” and raise the question of how cellular functions are carried out in this crowded environment.
In vivo radiation response of proneural glioma characterized by protective p53 transcriptional program and proneural-mesenchymal shift
Authors: Halliday John , Helmy Karim , Pattwell Siobhan S. , Pitter Kenneth L. , LaPlant Quincey , Ozawa Tatsuya , Holland Eric C.
Published: March 2014

Significance

Glioblastoma is one of the most radio-resistant tumors, and the mechanisms of radioresistance are intensely studied. Here, we use a mouse model of proneural glioma to evaluate in vivo radiation-induced gene expression regulation at both the translational and transcriptional levels. We found that p53 and E2F are major regulators of the in vivo radiation response, and that there is little contribution from translational regulation, in contrast to previous in vitro reports. We also found that radiation induces a rapid shift in subtype from proneural to mesenchymal, which may have important implications for attempts to tailor targeted therapy regimens to tumor subtype.
Shape matters in protein mobility within membranes
Authors: Quemeneur François , Sigurdsson Jon K. , Renner Marianne , Atzberger Paul J. , Bassereau Patricia , Lacoste David
Published: March 2014

Significance

Lateral Brownian diffusion of proteins in lipid membranes has been predicted by Saffman and Delbrück to depend only on protein size and on the viscosity of the membrane and of the surrounding medium. Using a single-molecule tracking technique on two transmembrane proteins that bend the membrane differently and are reconstituted in giant unilamellar vesicles, we show that the mobility of a membrane protein is crucially dependent on the local membrane deformation self-generated around the protein, which can be tuned by adjusting membrane tension. The feedback between membrane shaping and mobility is well explained by analytical and numerical models that include the friction of the deformed membrane patch with the surrounding medium and the friction internal to the bilayer.
Fungal prion HET-s as a model for structural complexity and self-propagation in prions
Authors: Wan William , Stubbs Gerald
Published: March 2014

Significance

Prions are self-propagating infectious proteins that have been implicated in a number of invariably fatal diseases. Increasing evidence suggests that this self-propagating activity is present in most or all amyloid diseases. To understand the pathology of these diseases, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms involved in self-propagation. To this end, we have used the fungal prion-forming domain HET-s(218–289) as a model system for studying sequence determinants required for structural propagation. We have determined the requirements for folding into the biologically active β-solenoid conformation and characterized the roles of different interactions in the assembly and overall stability of HET-s(218–289) prions. Our results provide insights into the fundamental mechanisms of prion assembly and propagation.
Beta cyclodextrins bind, stabilize, and remove lipofuscin bisretinoids from retinal pigment epithelium
Authors: Nociari Marcelo M. , Lehmann Guillermo L. , Perez Bay Andres E. , Radu Roxana A. , Jiang Zhichun , Goicochea Shelby , Schreiner Ryan , Warren J. David , Shan Jufang , Adam de Beaumais Ségolène , Ménand Mickaël , Sollogoub Matthieu , Maxfield Frederick R. , Rodriguez-Boulan Enrique
Published: March 2014

Significance

Lipofuscin accumulation in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a hallmark of aging. High lipofuscin levels in the RPE have been associated with retinal degeneration and blindness in Stargardt disease patients and animal models. Currently, there is no treatment to prevent and/or revert lipofuscin-driven retinal degenerative changes. In this study, we report that beta cyclodextrins, cyclic sugars composed of seven glucose units, can bind retinal lipofuscin, prevent its oxidation and remove it from RPE. This study opens an avenue to develop small drugs against, currently untreatable, lipofuscin-associated blinding disorders.
Role of granule-cell transmission in memory trace of cerebellum-dependent optokinetic motor learning
Authors: Wada Norio , Funabiki Kazuo , Nakanishi Shigetada
Published: March 2014

Significance

Purkinje cells and vestibular nuclei receive optokinetic and retinal slip signals that induce optokinetic motor learning. The role of multiple cerebellar circuits in the adaptive optokinetic response (OKR) was investigated by selective and reversible blockade of granule-cell transmission to Purkinje cells. This blockade abrogated both short-term and long-term OKR adaptation, but adaptive OKRs were immediately induced when the granule-cell transmission was recovered in pretrained, adaptive OKR-negative mice. Eye movement by electrical stimulation of the flocculus was elevated by long-term but not by short-term OKR training. Simultaneous flocculus and OKR stimulation produced normal OKR adaptation in adaptive OKR-negative mice. This study demonstrates that vestibular nuclei serve as a critical circuit responsible for formation and storage of OKR adaptation.
Transglutaminase 2 is essential for adherence of
Porphyromonas gingivalis
to host cells
Authors: Boisvert Heike , Lorand Laszlo , Duncan Margaret J.
Published: March 2014

Significance

Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is widely distributed inside and outside cells, and is one of a family of nine proteins in the human genome that likely evolved from the papain group of cysteine proteases. Apart from its transamidating activity, TG2 is known to form tight association with fibronectin (FN), a universal component of ECM. New findings presented in our paper demonstrate that the TG2–FN complex mediates the attachment of
Porphyromonas gingivalis,
an oral bacterium and causative agent of periodontal disease, to the host cell.
Deep classification of a large cryo-EM dataset defines the conformational landscape of the 26S proteasome
Authors: Unverdorben Pia , Beck Florian , Śledź Paweł , Schweitzer Andreas , Pfeifer Günter , Plitzko Jürgen M. , Baumeister Wolfgang , Förster Friedrich
Published: March 2014

Significance

The 26S proteasome is a multisubunit molecular machine for the targeted degradation of intracellular proteins. It has an essential role in the maintenance of protein homeostasis. During its functional cycle the proteasome undergoes large-scale conformational changes. For a detailed mechanistic understanding, an analysis of its conformational landscape is indispensable. Capitalizing on a very large dataset of more than 3 million individual particles and using a novel image-classification strategy, we have been able to deconvolute coexisting conformational states. This led to the discovery of conformation intermediates that provide deeper insights into the sequence of events following the initial binding of ubiquitylated substrates.
Brain galanin system genes interact with life stresses in depression-related phenotypes
Authors: Juhasz Gabriella , Hullam Gabor , Eszlari Nora , Gonda Xenia , Antal Peter , Anderson Ian Muir , Hökfelt Tomas G. M. , Deakin J. F. William , Bagdy Gyorgy
Published: March 2014

Significance

Early and recent environmental stressors, such as maltreatment in childhood, or stressful life events in adulthood, are important risk factors for depression. Nevertheless, not all people who suffer from these will be depressed. The resilience or vulnerability to these stressors, and thus depression, is likely to reside in our genes. In the present study, we used different statistical methods to demonstrate that variations in genes for galanin and its receptors increase the risk of depression only in heavily stress-exposed subjects. The work was predicated on the finding that galanin expression is strongly stimulated by stress in animal studies. In humans, variation in galanin function would appear to be important determinants of the outcome of psychosocial stress.
Recipes and food discourse in English – a historical menu
Authors: Diemer Stefan
Published: March 2014

The article provides a diachronic overview of the discourse of food on the basis of various examples of recipes and more general food related texts, from Old English to the late 20th century. After comparing lexis, syntax and discourse features, three main diachronic tendencies can be observed: first, the focus on a less and less professional audience, second, the gradual introduction of more precise measurements and more procedural detail, and third, an overall reduction in lexical complexity. In addition, some syntactical features remain universal diachronically while others, like the ellipsis of the definite article, are comparatively recent developments. Increasingly frequent is the use of “supporters” and “controllers,” sentences that directly address the reader and provide advice for problematic steps in the procedure and a means to check if these steps were successfully completed. In the most recent examples, more extraneous information, such as health advice, is added. Thus, food discourse is established as a dynamic genre with distinct linguistic developmental patterns.
Comparing drinking toasts – Comparing contexts
Authors: Kotthoff Helga
Published: March 2014

In this article I discuss drinking toasts given in cultures that attach great importance to this genre in everyday life (Georgia, Russia, Sweden) and toasts given by guests from countries where the genre is less important (Germany, the Netherlands). I show that Georgian toasts entail the most elaborate and a very specific performance. In comparison, Russian and Swedish toasts are simpler, even though there are many similarities. Beyond a formula such as “cheers” and clinking glasses toasts in all three countries communicate moral values and underline national particularities (“do culture” in an ethnomethodological sense) and combine poetics with conversation (see Knoblauch & Kotthoff 2001; Norrick 2002). When performing toasts in these countries, foreign visitors often deviate from local cultural norms, but this is not problematic, provided they comply with the minimal genre standards (such as expressing the central formula of the na zdarovie-type at the end) and with those of ‘positive politeness’ in Goffman’s sense (1967).
Differing conceptualizations of the same landscape
Authors: Holton Gary
Published: March 2014

This paper further explores the non-universality of landscape terms by focusing on one particular landscape, the Yukon Intermontane Plateau of western Alaska. This region serves as the boundary between two great language families of North America, Athabaskan and Eskimo, and thus offers a unique laboratory in which to examine the extent to which cultural factors in two genetically unrelated languages influence the categorization of a single, fixed landscape. Drawing on published lexical sources, unpublished place name documentation, and first-hand interviews with Native speakers, the results presented here demonstrate that, while Athabaskan and Eskimo speakers may occupy the same landscape, their respective languages conceptualize that landscape in different ways.
Classifying landscape character
Authors: Brabyn Lars , Mark David M.
Published: March 2014

This chapter discusses landscape character classification and provides an example of how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to produce landscape classifications. The first section examines the complexities of classifying landscapes; landscape has a range of meanings and can be conceptualized at a range of scales. The second section discusses the important role that landscape classification plays in communication and in determining how geographic space itself is conceptualized. The third section demonstrates how a landscape classification can be constructed with a GIS and uses the New Zealand Landscape Classification as an example. The last section reflects on how this classification can be improved through collaboration between landscape scientists and linguistic and cultural researchers.
Language contact as an inhibitor of sound change
Authors: Rice Keren
Published: March 2014

In the past 150 years, the Fort Good Hope variety of Dene (also called Slavey), an Athabaskan language of northern Canada’s Mackenzie River valley, has undergone several phonological shifts. I focus on the change of nasals to r. Not all nasals shift in the appropriate environment. At first, this failure to shift appears attributable to functional factors like frequency and uniformity of exponence. Another factor plays a major role: contact with a related language where the n’s that shift to r in Fort Good Hope are distinct from those that do not. Historical records indicate contact occurred around the time of the shift. Both grammatical and social factors play an important role in blocking certain n’s from shifting to r. Keywords: Dene; phonological shift; phonology; historical linguistics
The phonetic correlates of Southern Ute stress
Authors: Oberly Stacey
Published: March 2014

Endangered languages are in need of urgent documentation. Following the phonetic tradition of Ladefoged and Maddieson, this chapter reports results of the first phonetic instrumental analysis of stress in Southern Ute, a severely endangered Uto-Aztecan language. The phonetic correlates of stress could include changes in duration, pitch and/or intensity (Ladefoged 2006). This analysis is based on a list of 100 words designed to determine the phonetic correlates of stress. Five speakers (three female and two male) were recorded using a frame sentence to control intonation. Stress placement data was elicited from one male and one female speaker. This prosodic information forms the basis of revitalization and documentation efforts as well as further phonological investigation.
A case-study in grass roots development of web resources for language workers
Authors: Bischoff Shannon T. , Fountain Amy V.
Published: March 2014

“Community language workers, speakers, and other members of local groups are both participants and overhearers in a global conversation about language endangerment in which the voices of academics and policymakers are especially prominent. How might this global conversation resonate for members of communities that are custodians of endangered languages – communities that are themselves a diverse audience? Do they find it empowering and encouraging, unintelligible and alienating, or something in between?” (Hill 2002: 119). We discuss ‘grass roots digital archiving’ as a method of addressing Hill’s questions. Specifically, we discuss the Coeur d’Alene Archive and Online Language Resources as a case study of digital archiving undertaken in the spirit of grass roots archiving and digital resource creation.
Natural Versification in French and German counting-out rhymes
Authors: Dufter Andreas , Noel Aziz Hanna Patrizia
Published: March 2014

Nursery rhymes have frequently been regarded as a testing ground for hypotheses concerning metrical and prosodic unmarkedness. The recurrence of tetrametric patterns and the unmarkedness of binary feet, for example, have been interpreted as a universal of child(-directed) verse, and of folk verse in general. According to other approaches, however, nursery rhymes as part of poetic folklore emerge on the basis of language-specific prosody in the characteristic ways of Natural Versification. In our contribution we have analyzed corpora of French and German counting-out rhymes. In French, both lines containing ternary alternation and lines with more than four beats are of marginal frequency. By contrast, stress clash as well as shorter lines occur, albeit typically with nonce items. By analyzing Standard German as well as dialectal German data, we have investigated the impact of some varieties of German on metrical patterns. Unlike French, almost one third of the German counting-out rhymes have ternary feet; in a number of cases, ternarity is even enhanced by the use of nonce items. Interestingly, German nursery rhymes regularly show a stress clash pattern at the end of lines with a final reduced syllable. We suggest that this pattern is best understood as a historical residue. On the basis of cross-linguistic and cross-dialectal comparisons, we conclude with a discussion of the relative importance of markedness, naturalness, poetic traditions, and text-pragmatic factors.
Towards a universal definition of the caesura
Authors: Dominicy Marc , Nasta Mihai
Published: March 2014

In modern verse, the caesura can be roughly defined as the first word-boundary that follows the nucleus of a non-final break syllable; it is synthetical if, and only if, it is associated with the break syllable, otherwise it is analytical. This approach runs into difficulties when applied to the Homeric hexameter and the iambic trimeter of Greek tragedy or comedy. Relying on a theory which explicitly distinguishes between underlying feet and the various surface feet that may realize them in a verse instance, and on the hypothesis that, in terms of metrical tree structure, both the hexameter and the trimeter consist of a dimetric expansion of four feet and a monometric clausula of two feet, we show that the rules or regularities which relate caesura location to the distribution of word boundaries within the whole line can be conceived of as contour principles that govern a series of contrasts between suprasyllabic units at all levels (Expansion vs Clausula, Metron, Foot, Position). We also argue that, while caesura location may be constrained in very divergent ways with respect to the various relevant suprasyllabic units, it is always primarily constrained with respect to the most prominent non-final metron. This allows us to formulate a tentative definition of the universal notion of caesura syntheticity and to claim that Greek and Latin meters make use of both progressive and regressive analyticity.
Metrical alignment
Authors: Hanson Kristin
Published: March 2014

More fundamentally, why is bracketing, both in the linguistic representation and in the metrical pattern, a necessary ingredient of metrical form? The answer to this question, if ever found, will form a central part of the theory of universal metrics. Bruce Hayes (1989: 258) French and Italian decasyllabic meters include obligatory constraints on the placement of caesuras. The English iambic pentameter is historically modeled on these meters, but does not overtly share these constraints. However, choices about caesura placement do have profound aesthetic effects in English poetry, and conformity to the Romance constraints is statistically significant (Duffell 2000). Here I suggest that properly formalizing the Romance constraints illuminates their formal role in English. First, I propose that the universal theory of poetic meter in Hanson & Kiparsky (1996) incorporate a family of metrical constraints parallel to the general alignment constraints which have been posited for grammar (McCarthy & Prince 1993). Then I revisit the longstanding question of why English poets allow exceptions to their meter’s cardinal rule on stress placement specifically for initial syllables, and suggest that the Romance constraints persist covertly as the conditions licencing these exceptions, precisely because the exceptions and the constraints accomplish a common end of signalling metrical boundaries. In this way, exceptions Hayes (1989) attributes to a general aesthetic tendency to allow beginnings to be lax may be grounded more directly in grammar.
Bare resumptives
Authors: Adger David
Published: March 2014

This paper shows that some languages have ‘bare resumptives’, that is, resumptive pronouns lacking the usual ö-features. It then shows that bare resumptives must be local to their binder (do not violate islands) unlike ö-featured resumptives. This behaviour is explained by a theory which takes pronouns in general to be projections of a category which denotes a variable. Variables must be bound before interpretation, which, within a phase based model, means before Merge of the next phase head. I argue that D serves this purpose for ö-featured resumptives, while C does for bare resumptives. The locality effects follow, and the system as a whole extends to bound pronouns and to locality conditions on the ‘fake indexicals’ recently discussed in the semantics literature (e.g. Kratzer 2009).
Features, segments, and the sources of phonological primitives
Authors: Cohn Abigail C.
Published: March 2014

I review the role of distinctive features in early generative theory, focusing on their multifaceted role as defined by Chomsky Halle (1968) for capturing contrast, phonological patterns, and the phonetic realization of these patterns. Based on evidence from these multiple aspects of phonological representation, I conclude that the characterization of segments as combinations of universally-defined distinctive features is approximately, but not literally, correct. This leads to the question of how young children learn the elements of their phonology to achieve the knowledge of an adult phonological system? Crucially the evidence suggests that how we learn is not the same as what we know. Rather, an approximately categorical and compositional system is learned out of a more continuous, gradient one.
What features underline the /s/ vs. /s’/ contrast in Korean?
Authors: Kim Hyunsoon
Published: March 2014

This paper is concerned with how the Korean lenis and fortis fricatives /s, s’/ are laryngeally specified. Based on the sound patterning of the fricatives as well as recent phonetic studies (H. Kim et al. 2008, 2010b; H. Kim & Park 2010), we propose that both of the voiceless fricatives are specified for the feature [-spread glottis] and that they are different in terms of the feature [tense]: the lenis /s/ is specified as [-tense] and the fortis /s’/ as [+tense], like lenis and fortis stops (H. Kim 2003, 2005; H. Kim et al. 2005, 2010a). It is also proposed that the fortis /s’/ is distinguished from the lenis /s/ by the feature [tense] and not by a timing slot in phonetics and phonology. Keywords: Korean lenis and fortis fricatives; [spread glottis]; [tense]
Features in child phonology
Authors: Menn Lise , Vihman Marilyn
Published: March 2014

The emergence of features plays a key role in any theory of phonological development that does not assume that they are innately available before the onset of speech. After reviewing Jakobson’s claims for universal orders of emergence, we consider possible criteria for feature or segment acquisition, and then discuss data from nearly 50 children (10 languages including Estonian, Finnish, Japanese, and Welsh as well as several Germanic and Romance languages). Small early vocabularies and phonetic variability make minimal pairs rare in most children. While a few children show clear evidence of utilizing features or segments, others show none, and most fall between these extremes. Gradually increasing evidence of segmental structure and systematicity reflects the slow transition to a more orderly phonology. These data support an emergentist model of feature acquisition that has many possible routes to (re-)creating phonological organization within the individual child’s mind.
Chapter 3. Lexical change and the architecture of the Lexicon
Authors: Ouhalla Jamal
Published: March 2014

This chapter explores new evidence from lexical change in connection with the debate concerning the nature of the Lexicon: whether it is root-based or word-based. A principled distinction is drawn between (genuine) lexical change, which affects roots, and grammaticalization, which affects selected words in sentence contexts and involves copying the targeted words. The data is mostly drawn from various Arabic dialects with implications for other similar Semitic languages such as Hebrew, where roots are purely consonantal and where words consist of consonantal roots and vocalic melodies in a non-concatinative arrangement.
Chapter 5. The metrical system of William Carlos Williams
Authors: Bowers John
Published: March 2014

This paper attempts to explain the metrical practice and theorizing of the American poet William Carlos Williams. Observing that in many of his short poems, the total number of syllables is exactly, or nearly exactly, equal to the total number of positions in an abstract metrical representation containing a regular line and stanza structure, it is argued that Williams invented a remarkably successful new type of prosody, termed ‘syllabic-rhythmic’ verse, in which relative ‘speed’ or ‘tempo’ is computed by comparing the actual number of syllables in a line to the number of positions in the metrical schema. Williams’ later theory of the ‘variable foot’ and the ‘triadic line’ is further accounted for by incorporating the unit ‘foot’ in metrical schemata.
The transcription factor E4bp4/Nfil3 controls commitment to the NK lineage and directly regulates Eomes and Id2 expression
Authors: Male Victoria , Nisoli Ilaria , Kostrzewski Tomasz , Allan David S.J. , Carlyle James R. , Lord Graham M. , Wack Andreas , Brady Hugh J.M.
Published: March 2014

The transcription factor E4bp4 (Nfil3) is essential for natural killer (NK) cell production. Here, we show that E4bp4 is required at the NK lineage commitment point when NK progenitors develop from common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) and that E4bp4 must be expressed at the CLP stage for differentiation toward the NK lineage to occur. To elucidate the mechanism by which E4bp4 promotes NK development, we identified a central core of transcription factors that can rescue NK production from E4bp4−/− progenitors, suggesting that they act downstream of E4bp4. Among these were Eomes and Id2, which are expressed later in development than E4bp4. E4bp4 binds directly to the regulatory regions of both Eomes and Id2, promoting their transcription. We propose that E4bp4 is required for commitment to the NK lineage and promotes NK development by directly regulating the expression of the downstream transcription factors Eomes and Id2.