bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strong swirl approximation and intensive vortices in the atmosphere
Authors: Klimenko A. Y.
Published: December 2013

This work investigates intensive vortices, which are characterised by the existence of a converging radial flow that significantly intensifies the flow rotation. Evolution and amplification of the vorticity present in the flow play important roles in the formation of the vortex. When rotation in the flow becomes sufficiently strong (this implies the validity of the strong swirl approximation, which has been developed in a series of publications since the 1950s) the previous analysis of the author and the present work determine that further amplification of vorticity is moderated by interactions of vorticity and velocity. This imposes physical constraints on the flow, resulting in the so-called compensating regime, where the radial distribution of the axial vorticity is characterised by the $4/ 3$ and $3/ 2$ power laws. This asymptotic treatment of a strong swirl is based on vorticity equations and involves higher-order terms. This treatment incorporates multi-scale analysis indicating downstream relaxation of the flow to the compensating regime. The present work also investigates and takes into account viscous and transient effects. One of the main points of this work is the applicability of the power laws of the compensating regime to intermediate regions in large atmospheric vortices, such as tropical cyclones and tornadoes.
Acute Coronary Syndrome as a Teachable Moment for Smoking Cessation
Authors: Tofler Geoffrey H. , May Robin , Bartrop Roger , Kirkness Ann , Glinatsis Helen , de Burgh Simon
Published: December 2013

Introduction: Although the teachable moment has been recognised as an important contributor to behaviour change, its role in smoking cessation merits further investigation.

Aim: We prospectively evaluated 116 patients hospitalised with a suspected acute coronary syndrome in two tertiary referral hospitals. The patients comprised 84 men and 32 women, aged 54.2 ± 8.5 years, and the final diagnosis was myocardial infarction in 90 and angina in 26.

Results/Findings: At one month, the self-reported quit rate was 65%, maintained to 61% at 12 months. The quit rate was greater at one and 12 months for those diagnosed with myocardial infarction (70% and 67%) compared with those who had angina (46% and 40%), p<0.05. The strongest motivators for quitting were the heart attack and the consequences of the diagnosis. Of those who quit at 1 month, 77% did so without additional aids.

Conclusions: Hospitalisation with an acute coronary syndrome is associated with a high quit rate, and the diagnosis of heart attack with its potential consequences represents a strong teachable moment to stop smoking. The findings support further investigation of the teachable moment to aid in smoking cessation.
Typhoid Fever in Nineteenth-Century Colombia: Between Medical Geography and Bacteriology
Authors: GARCÍA MÓNICA
Published: December 2013

This paper analyses how the Colombian medical elites made sense of typhoid fever before and during the inception of bacteriological ideas and practices in the second half of the nineteenth century. Assuming that the identity of typhoid fever has to be understood within the broader concerns of the medical community in question, I show how doctors first identified Bogotá’s epidemics as typhoid fever during the 1850s, and how they also attached specificity to the fever amongst other continuous fevers, such as its European and North American counterparts. I also found that, in contrast with the discussions amongst their colleagues from other countries, debates about typhoid fever in 1860–70 among doctors in Colombia were framed within the medico-geographical scheme and strongly shaped by the fear of typhoid fever appearing alongside ‘paludic’ fevers in the highlands. By arguing in medico-geographical and clinical terms that typhoid fever had specificity in Colombia, and by denying the medico-geographical law of antagonism between typhoid and paludic fevers proposed by the Frenchman Charles Boudin, Colombian doctors managed to question European knowledge and claimed that typhoid fever had distinct features in Colombia. The focus on paludic and typhoid fevers in the highlands might explain why the bacteriological aetiology of typhoid fever was ignored and even contested during the 1880s. Anti-Pasteurian arguments were raised against its germ identity and some physicians even supported the idea of spontaneous origin of the disease. By the 1890s, Pasteurian knowledge had come to shape clinical and hygienic practices.
Recapturing the History of Surgical Practice Through Simulation-based Re-enactment
Authors: Kneebone Roger , Woods Abigail
Published: December 2013

This paper introducessimulation-based re-enactment(SBR) as a novel method of documenting and studying the recent history of surgical practice. SBR aims to capture ways of surgical working that remain within living memory but have been superseded due to technical advances and changes in working patterns. Inspired by broader efforts in historical re-enactment and the use of simulation within surgical education, SBR seeks to overcome some of the weaknesses associated with text-based, surgeon-centred approaches to the history of surgery. The paper describes how we applied SBR to a previously common operation that is now rarely performed due to the introduction of keyhole surgery: open cholecystectomy or removal of the gall bladder. Key aspects of a 1980s operating theatre were recreated, and retired surgical teams (comprising surgeon, anaesthetist and theatre nurse) invited to re-enact, and educate surgical trainees in this procedure. Video recording, supplemented by pre- and post-re-enactment interviews, enabled the teams’ conduct of this operation to be placed on the historical record. These recordings were then used to derive insights into the social and technical nature of surgical expertise, its distribution throughout the surgical team, and the members’ tacit and frequently sub-conscious ways of working. While acknowledging some of the limitations of SBR, we argue that its utility to historians – as well as surgeons – merits its more extensive application.
ADAPTABILITY OF MAIZE (Zea maysL.) TO CULTIVATION ON CLOSED LANDFILL WITH REDUCED TILLAGE INPUTS
Authors: TESIO FRANCO , FOLLIS FRANCESCA , ANDRES ANDRÉ
Published: December 2013

Cultivation of less productive soils such as closed landfills has become convenient because European subsidies covered part of the risk to obtain production. Aim of the research was to evaluate grain yields of maize hybrids belonging to different maturity classes (FAO 200, 300 and 400) (Gretzmacher, R. (1979).Die Bodenkultur30:256--280) grown on closed landfills by the adoption of two minimum tillage methods (chisel plowing at 0.35 m plus disk harrowing at 0.20 m, or only disk harrowing at 0.20 m). Maize cultivation inserted in a winter cereal rotation had a grain production ranging from 4.6 t ha−1(FAO 200, disk harrowing only) to 8.3 t ha−1(FAO class 400, chisel plowing plus disk harrowing) in the two considered years (2011 and 2012). The adoption of chisel plowing coupled with disk harrowing reduced yield fluctuation between years, and furnished higher yield performance if compared with the single disk harrowing passage. The best growing hybrid cycles were those belonging to FAO class 300 with production similar to that of the longest maturity class, and with moisture content equal to the shortest maturity class.
Spacing between rows: effects on water-use efficiency of double-cropped wheat and soybean
Authors: Zhou X. B. , Chen Y. H. , Ouyang Z.
Published: December 2013

Productivity and water resource usage efficiency are crucial issues in sustainable agriculture. The aims of the present research were to compare and evaluate the soil moisture content (SMC), evapotranspiration (ETa), yield, water-use efficiency (WUE), and net return of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] under different plant population distribution patterns and to identify the possible ways to improve water utilization. Using the same plant population for a given crop, the experiments consisted of four spacings between rows (row spacings) for winter wheat (cvar Shannong 919) under both rainfed and irrigated conditions and five row spacings for summer soybean (cvar Ludou 4) under rainfed conditions. For winter wheat, the stem number with row spacing of 49 cm was the lowest in all treatments. The SMC was enhanced by irrigation, particularly at the 10–40 cm depth. The yield and WUE were negatively correlated with row spacing and were greater with narrower row spacing than with wider rows. For soybean, SMC in uniform distribution (spacing between plants) treatments was greater at lower depths than at shallower depths for each row spacing treatment. A high yield, WUE and net return of winter wheat and soybean can be achieved with narrower row spacing. Combining winter wheat row spacing of 14 cm with soybean row spacing of 18 cm and soybean row spacing of 27 cm is a highly suitable planting system for the plains of Northern China.
A NATIONAL STUDY OF SOCIAL NETWORKS AND PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH AMONG URBAN AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVES AND NON-HISPANIC WHITES
Authors: BASSETT DEBORAH R. , NELSON LONNIE , RHOADES DOROTHY A. , KRANTZ ELIZABETH M. , OMIDPANAH ADAM
Published: December 2013

Using data from The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, the strength of social networks and the association of self-reported health among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) and non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) were compared. Differences in social network–health relationships between AI/ANs and NHWs were also examined. For both groups, those with fewer network members were more likely to report fair or poor health than those with average or more network members, and persons with the fewest types of relationships had worse self-reported health than those with the average or very diverse types of relationships. Furthermore, small social networks were associated with much worse self-reported health in AI/ANs than in NHWs.
Molecular approaches to differentiate three species of Nematodirus in sheep and goats from China based on internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequences
Authors: Zhao G.H. , Jia Y.Q. , Bian Q.Q. , Nisbet A.J. , Cheng W.Y. , Liu Y. , Fang Y.Q. , Ma X.T. , Yu S.K.
Published: December 2013

Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences of three Nematodirus species from naturally infected goats or sheep in two endemic provinces of China were analysed to establish an effective molecular approach to differentiate Nematodirus species in small ruminants. The respective intra-specific genetic variations in ITS1 and ITS2 rDNA regions were 0.3–1.8% and 0–0.4% in N. spathiger, 0–6.5% and 0–5.4% in N. helvetianus, and 0–4.4% and 0–6.1% in N. oiratianus from China. The respective intra-specific variations of ITS1 and ITS2 were 1.8–4.4% and 1.6–6.1% between N. oiratianus isolates from China and Iran, 5.7–7.1% and 6.3–8.3% between N. helvetianus samples from China and America. For N. spathiger, compared with samples from China, sequence differences in ITS1 rDNA were 0.3–2.4% in isolates from America, 0.3–2.9% in New Zealand and 2.1–2.4% in Australia. Genetic variations in ITS2 rDNA of N. spathiger were 0–0.4% between samples from China and America, and 0–0.8% between samples from China and New Zealand. Using mutation sites, polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and specific PCR techniques were developed to differentiate these three Nematodirus species. The specific PCR assay allowed the accurate identification of N. oiratianus from other common nematodes with a sensitivity of 0.69 pg and further examination of Nematodirus samples demonstrated the reliability of these two molecular methods.
The Blood from Abel to Zechariah in the History of Interpretation
Authors: Gallagher Edmon L.
Published: December 2013

The saying in the Gospels about the blood ‘from Abel to Zechariah’ has generated a number of theories regarding the identity of Zechariah and why Jesus specifically mentions these two victims. While a prominent interpretation today regards the names as pointing to the bookends of the Hebrew Bible, the Greek and Latin Fathers had their own peculiar ways of solving the exegetical puzzles connected to the saying. It seems that the invention of the printing press, and the stable sequence of books it created, exerted an influence on the development of the popular modern view.
The Creation of a Fourth-Century Witness to the Andreas Text Type: A Misreading in the Apocalypse's Textual History
Authors: Hernández Juan
Published: December 2013

The publication of Josef Schmid's landmark work on the textual history of the Apocalypse seemingly established the Andreas Text Type as a fourth-century product. The primary evidence for Schmid's claim came from the fourth-century corrections of the Apocalypse in Codex Sinaiticus, corrections which bore a close resemblance to the Andreas text of the Apocalypse. Schmid's reconstruction, however, is flawed. The fourth-century corrections he identified are actually from the seventh century. The data supporting a fourth-century Andreas text type does not exist. Schmid's widely influential error appears to have been based on a misreading of Milne and Skeat'sScribes and Correctors of the Codex Sinaiticus.
Ein flavischer Nero: Zur Domitian-Darstellung und Datierung der Johannesoffenbarung
Authors: Mucha Robert
Published: December 2013

Recent archaeological and historical research has stressed the manifold relationship between Nero and Domitian thereby opening fresh insights into both the ‘remembered persecution’ of Christians by Domitian and the probable date of the Book of Revelation. It is this form of memorial strategy that throws new light on the old problem of Domitian and Revelation.
The Perfect Tense-Form and the Son of Man in John 3.13: Developments in Greek Grammar as a Viable Solution to the Timing of the Ascent and Descent
Authors: Pierce Madison N. , Reynolds Benjamin E.
Published: December 2013

The perfect tense-form verb ἀναβέβηκεν in John 3.13 is usually interpreted in light of traditional verb theory, as a ‘past action with present results’. This interpretation introduces an apparent problematic chronology in that the Son of Man ascends before descending; however, recent developments in Greek grammar, particularly verbal aspect theory, provide a viable solution to this grammatical ‘problem’ and indicate that the Son of Man's descent precedes his ascent.
Healthy incentive scheme in the Irish full-day-care pre-school setting
Authors: Molloy Charlotte Johnston , Kearney John , Hayes Nóirín , Slattery Corina Glennon , Corish Clare
Published: December 2013

A pre-school offering a full-day-care service provides for children aged 0–5 years for more than 4 h/d. Researchers have called for studies that will provide an understanding of nutrition and physical activity practices in this setting. Obesity prevention in pre-schools, through the development of healthy associations with food and health-related practices, has been advocated. While guidelines for the promotion of best nutrition and health-related practice in the early years’ setting exist in a number of jurisdictions, associated regulations have been noted to be poor, with the environment of the child-care facility mainly evaluated for safety. Much cross-sectional research outlines poor nutrition and physical activity practice in this setting. However, there are few published environmental and policy-level interventions targeting the child-care provider with, to our knowledge, no evidence of such interventions in Ireland. The aim of the present paper is to review international guidelines and recommendations relating to health promotion best practice in the pre-school setting: service and resource provision; food service and food availability; and the role and involvement of parents in pre-schools. Intervention programmes and assessment tools available to measure such practice are outlined; and insight is provided into an intervention scheme, formulated from available best practice, that was introduced into the Irish full-day-care pre-school setting.
The Impresarios of Beale Street: African American and Italian American Theatre Managers in Memphis, 1900–1915
Authors: Huff Stephen
Published: December 2013

Music scholars Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff have researched what they call “a deep African American vaudeville theater tradition” in Memphis during the first decade of the twentieth century that helped lead the way to the commercialization of the blues. Their body of work provides a very useful and fascinating historical overview of the black vaudeville scene of the time on the national level. This article seeks to broaden that overview, using a much more focused, microhistorical perspective on the history of theatre management on one particular street in one particular, midsized southern city. It argues that in Memphis, the story of African American and Italian American theatre managers shows that realities were often much more complex than histories that portray a rigid and heavily drawn color line have suggested.
The Mysterious Victory of the Newsboys: The Grand Duke Theatre's 1874 Challenge to the Theatre Licensing Law
Authors: Granshaw Michelle
Published: December 2013

In 1874, a group of newsboys took on some of the wealthiest, most respected, and most powerful New Yorkers and emerged victorious. The Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, a philanthropic organization that worked to guard public morals and championed Christian values, faced two challenges that year over the city's theatre licensing fee. Its prominent members and their financial power made the organization a formidable force in local city matters. As a result of the 1872 Act to Regulate Places of Public Amusement in the City of New York, theatre managers were required to pay $500 to the city for an operating license. The city gave the fees to the society, which it used to operate the city's House of Refuge. The society believed that theatres corrupted the city's youth and that, therefore, the theatres should help fund youth reform efforts. In its legal proceedings against theatres without licenses, the society typically targeted cheap entertainment establishments in poor neighborhoods. These playhouses “werenotparticularly powerful and presumably would not put up too strenuous a legal battle.”
Dynamic bipedal walking of a dinosaur-like robot with an extant vertebrate's nervous system
Authors: Fukuoka Yasuhiro , Akama Junki
Published: December 2013

In this study, we attempt to develop a biped dinosaur-like walking robot by focusing on its nervous system as well as its mechanism. We developed a robot ‘Dinobot’ on the basis of palaeontological knowledge on dinosaurs and extant animals. In addition, we employed typical biologically inspired walking gait generation and control methods derived from an extant vertebrate's nervous system. In particular, we utilized a central pattern generator (CPG), which is a locomotion rhythm generator in a vertebrate's spinal cord, to generate the robot's walking rhythm. Moreover, a reflex centre was placed below CPG and it produced joint torque of the legs in the swing and stance phases. Thus, we successfully achieved adaptive 3D dynamic walking generated by the interaction between the original mechanism of dinosaurs and the nervous system of extant animals. Our future goal is to find out a dinosaur's robust locomotive nervous system suitable for its mechanism.
Analysis of Mobile 3-D Radar Error Registration when Radar Sways with Platform
Authors: Chen L. , Wang G.H. , He Y. , Progri I.
Published: December 2013

For mobile radars installed on a gyro-stabilised platform (GSP) that can steadily follow an East-North-Up (ENU) frame, attitude biases (ABs) of the platform and offset biases (OBs) of the radar are linear dependent variables. Therefore ABs and OBs are unobservable in the linearized registration equations; however, when combining them as new variables, the system becomes observable, and this model has been called the unified registration model (URM). Unlike GSP mobile radars, un-stabilised GSP (or UGSP) mobile radars are installed on the platform directly and rotate with the platform simultaneously. For UGSP, it is testified that both types of biases are independent and observable because the time-varying attitude angles (AAs)1 of the platform are included in the registration equations, which destroy the dependencies of both kinds of biases and lead us to propose a completely different linearized registration model– the All Augmented Model (AAM). AAM employs all OBs and ABs in the state vector and a Kalman filter (KF) to produce their estimates. Numerical simulation results show that the estimated performance of AAM is close to the Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB) and that the Root Mean Square Errors (RMSEs) of the rectified measurements by using AAM are more than 500 m smaller than by URM in all directions.
A Presence of the Past: The Legal Protection of Singapore's Archaeological Heritage
Authors: Lee Jack Tsen-Ta
Published: December 2013

Singapore is not well known for its archaeological heritage. In fact, chance finds in the early twentieth century and systematic archaeological excavations since the 1980s conducted at sites around the Singapore River have unearthed artifacts shedding light on the island's early history. In addition, the value of archaeology for a deeper knowledge of Singapore's British colonial past is increasingly being recognized. Nonetheless, Singapore law provides only a rudimentary framework to facilitate archaeological investigations and protect cultural artifacts. This article considers how the National Heritage Board Act (Cap. 196A, 1994 Rev. Ed.), the Planning Act (Cap. 232, 1998 Rev. Ed.), and the recent Preservation of Monuments Board Act 2009 (No. 16 of 2009, now Cap. 239, 2011 Rev. Ed.) may be strengthened in this regard.
Dead and Gone? Reply to Jenkins
Authors: EKENDAHL KARL , JOHANSSON JENS
Published: December 2013

In a recent article, Joyce L. Jenkins challenges the common belief that desire satisfactionists are committed to the view that a person's welfare can be affected by posthumous events. Jenkins argues that desire satisfactionists can and should say that posthumous events only play an epistemic role: though such events cannot harm me, they can reveal that I have already been harmed by something else. In this response, however, we show that Jenkins's approach collapses into the view she aims to avoid.
Sustainable agriculture in the Blue Nile Basin: land and watershed management practices in Ethiopia
Authors: Schmidt Emily , Tadesse Fanaye
Published: December 2013

The trade-off between short-term welfare and long-term agricultural development in the highlands of Ethiopia represents a challenge to successful economic development in a predominantly agriculture-based economy. We employ nearest neighbor and kernel-based matching techniques to measure the impact of sustainable land and watershed management (SLWM) on the value of production at the plot level. Analysis suggests that plots that received SLWM investments (terraces, bunds, check dams) within the first study period (1992–2002) had a 24 per cent higher value of production in 2010. In addition, continuous treatment effects analysis provides a robustness check and suggests that plots with existing SLWM infrastructure have a positive and increasing value of production seven years after construction. Although value of production increases over time, net benefits may not outweigh costs, and mechanisms to incentivize maintenance may be needed.
An Early Fragment of Ibn Jazlah's Tabulated Manual “Taqwīm al-Abdān” from the Cairo Genizah (T-S Ar.41.137)
Authors: LEV EFRAIM
Published: December 2013

Ibn Jazlah was born and raised as a Christian in Karkh (Baghdad) and died in the year 1100. He acquired his medical education in Baghdad, worked at the ʿAḍuḍi hospital, and was appointed as a registrar and physician for the court at the ʿAbbāsid capital and later became a court physician of Caliph al-Muqtadī. Ibn Jazlah wrote several books on various subjects, mainly on medicine. During the process of reconstructing the medical library of the medieval Jewish practitioners in Cairo, a Genizah fragment of a unique tabular medical book in Arabic was identified as Ibn Jazlah's tabulated manual “Taqwīm al-abdān”, which is most probably part of the earliest known copy of the text. A study of the T-S Ar.41.137 clearly shows that it was an uncompleted draft, and can therefore teach us how the medieval copier worked. The image of the fragment is presented here, as well as its transliteration, translation and analysis.
INTRODUCTION TO “SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS CYCLES, FINANCIAL MARKETS, AND INFLATION: ESSAYS IN HONOR OF CHARLES NELSON”
Authors: Kim Chang-Jin , Morley James , Piger Jeremy
Published: December 2013

Time series analysis of macroeconomic and financial variables requires a deep understanding of many econometric pitfalls if an empirical researcher hopes to avoid making spurious inferences. This understanding is the hallmark of Charles Nelson's research over four decades and it develops out of a healthy skepticism about “conventional wisdom,” yet a pragmatic belief that, despite the econometric hurdles, it is possible to learn from data. The papers in this special issue build on Charles Nelson's research legacy to address many important empirical questions related to business cycles, financial markets, and inflation, always with respect for the data, but wary of spurious inferences.
Nonfinite verbs and negotiating bilingualism in codeswitching: Implications for a language production model
Authors: MYERS-SCOTTON CAROL , JAKE JANICE L.
Published: December 2013

This paper argues that a set of codeswitching data has implications for the nature of cognitive control in bilingualism and for models of language production in general. The data discussed are Embedded Language (EL) nonfinite verbs that occur in Matrix Language (ML) frames with appropriate ML inflectional morphology in some codeswitching (CS) corpora. Notably EL infinitives are involved, as inwo muconçevoirbe nuɖe. . . “they don't imagine that something . . .” (from Ewe–French CS). The main argument is that such nonfinite forms are selected because they only need checking at the lexical-conceptual level of abstract structure with the speaker's intended semantic-pragmatic meaning. That is, they do not project information about syntactic and argument structure that is included in the abstract structure of finite verbs. Nonfinite EL verbs occur because they better satisfy the speaker's intentions regarding semantic and pragmatic meaning than NL finite verbs. The employment of nonfinite EL verbs instead of EL finite verbs partially explains why codeswitching in general and such verb phrases in particular is perceived as fast and effortless. How one lexical entry (the EL nonfinite verb) can take on the morphosyntactic role of another one (the ML finite verb) implies flexibility in cognitive control at an abstract level. It also implies a certain malleability at an abstract level in the ML morphosyntactic frame that makes it possible to take in a nonfinite verb in a slot for a finite verb.
Seasonal and genetic variations in water-soluble carbohydrates and other quality traits in ecotypes and cultivars of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenneL.)
Authors: McGrath Sarah , Hodkinson Trevor R. , Frohlich Andreas , Grant Jim , Barth Susanne
Published: December 2013

Phenotyping of genetic resources remains the bottleneck in the characterization of genetic resources, since the advent of modern next-generation sequencing technologies has made genotyping much more cost- and time-effective. This article reports on the phenotyping of agriculturally important traits in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). In the present study, water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC), crude protein and dry matter contents were recorded for 1320 individuals, pooled into 132 samples from 33 perennial ryegrass ecotypes and cultivars at five different harvest time points across the 2004 growing season. While, in general, the cultivars had higher WSC contents than the ecotypes, individual ecotypes did show potential to be used in breeding programmes, as they had higher values than all other accessions at particular cutting time points. In correlation analyses, positive relationships were observed between dry matter and glucose contents both early and late in the growing season. Principal components analysis allowed the split either between cultivars and ecotypes or between tetraploid cultivars and the rest of the accessions at four of the five cutting time points. In the analysis of variance, cutting time was the most significant factor influencing the variation in traits.
Fuller on legal fictions: a Benthamic perspective
Authors: Quinn Michael
Published: December 2013

This paper attempts first to explain Bentham's distinction between a fiction and the name of a fictitious entity, and to relate that distinction to his rationale for the critique of legal fictions. A second goal of the paper is to investigate the tensions involved in Bentham's ontology and epistemology, and more specifically the tension between the objectivist and subjectivist Bentham. It is argued that Bentham's objections to legal fictions were traceable to their use in deceptive or fallacious argument, whilst his logic provided a means of rehabilitating the use of the names of those fictitious entities which could be explicated through his technique of paraphrasis (that is, explained in terms of real entities), in relation to which both meaning and truth might be exchanged. This realist perspective differs markedly from that of Fuller, who, following Vaihinger, rejects the attempt to replace fiction with truth. There are significant areas of agreement between Bentham and Fuller, on the figurative nature of much language, and even, in certain contexts, on the utility of the self-conscious deployment of fictions. However, in the context of law and morality, it appears that his development of a route to truth through paraphrasis makes Bentham the enemy of fictions, since, in this field at least, truth and utility stand or fall together.
Unsafe law: health, rights and the legal response to HIV
Authors: Weait Matthew
Published: December 2013

This paper describes the ways in which, over the past three decades, law has come to serve as an obstacle in the fight against HIV, and how it contributes to the stigmatisation of, and discrimination against, people living with the virus. It argues that in order to make unsafe law safer, policy-makers, legislators and those responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of law must base their HIV response not on populist morality but on the strong evidence base provided by three decades of clinical, scientific and social research. Drawing on that research and the author's own involvement in policy development in this area, it suggests that rights-based arguments are, while important, insufficient as the basis for delivering the changes that are necessary, discusses the difficulties involved in achieving those changes, and argues that legal scholarship and research has an important role to play in HIV activism and combating the global epidemic.
Hate speech and the normative foundations of regulation
Authors: Heinze Eric
Published: December 2013

Racist incidents on American university campuses in the 1980s triggered a storm of publications by scholars who coined the phrase ‘hate speech’ for the legal lexicon. Some of the offences had already been subject to legal or institutional penalties for harassment or vandalism. Several universities nevertheless adopted broad codes of conduct to penalise hateful expression. For two decades, however, the US Supreme Court had been marching in the opposite direction. It was interpreting the Constitution's First Amendment to prevent federal or state government from punishing speakers solely on grounds of the viewpoints they express.
The ICRC and the detainees in Nazi concentration camps (1942–1945)
Authors: Farré Sébastien
Published: December 2013

A sharp debate has emerged about the importance of humanitarian organisations speaking out against misdeeds and, more generally, on the ethical and moral aspects of doing humanitarian work in the face of mass violence. That debate has pushed out of the spotlight a number of essential questions regarding the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during the Second World War. The aim of this text is to scrutinize the ICRC's humanitarian operations for detainees of Nazi concentration camps during the final phase of the war in Europe. We look beyond the risks faced by ICRC delegates working in Germany to show how difficult the organisation found it to carry out a humanitarian operation for concentration-camp detainees in the very particular circumstances that prevailed in Europe at that time. The ICRC was an organisation designed to collect information on and to protect and assist prisoners of war, and its hastily mounted response is indicative of the strenuous task it faced in re-inventing itself during the final stages of the war and the minor role it was assigned in the occupation programmes imposed by the Allied forces.
Do Cigarette Smokers Have Different Personality Patterns than Non-Smokers?
Authors: Becoña Elisardo , Fernández del Río Elena , López-Durán Ana , Martínez Úrsula , Piñeiro Bárbara , Míguez Mª Carmen , Vázquez Mª Isabel
Published: December 2013

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between cigarette smoking and personality patterns in the general population, taking into account the possible influence of nicotine dependence. We used a stratified random sample of 1,081 adults from the general population (519 smokers and 562 non-smokers) in the region of Galicia (Spain). Personality patterns were assessed with the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). The results indicated that nicotine-dependent smokers had a higher probability of obtaining a PREV > 75 in the histrionic and antisocial personality patterns and non-nicotine-dependent smokers are more likely to present a PREV > 75 in paranoid personality pattern than non-smokers. On the contrary, non-smokers are more likely to have a PREV > 75 on the compulsive personality scale. Our findings suggest that there are different personality patterns according to smoking status (smoker/non-smoker) and according to the presence of nicotine dependence. We concluded that it is necessary to identify the personality characteristics of smokers, since these characteristics could be key variables in increased risk of being a smoker and of difficulties for quitting smoking.
Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Children Assertive Behavior Scale
Authors: Mesa Juani , García Dolores , Betancort Moisés , Segura Manuel
Published: December 2013

The main goal of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Cuestionario para Evaluar la Asertividad (CEA-ESO). This questionnaire is the Spanish version of the Children’s Assertive Behavior Scale (CABS) on which students self-rate their inhibited, assertive, and aggressive relational styles. The questionnaire was administered to 640 students of Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) aged between 11 and 16 years old, from various schools of the province of Barcelona, Spain. The homogeneity analysis carried out suggests a bidimensional structure in contrast to the tridimensional structure proposed for the original version of the CABS, that is, the CEA-ESO is effective for the discrimination of students’ assertive and aggressive behaviors, but inhibition is weakly represented. The reliability analyses of the questionnaire reveal a scale originally targeting students over 15 years of age, but with adequate internal consistency also for age groups between 12 and 14 years. The advantages of using a single instrument for the entire period of CSE are commented on. The Spanish adaptation of the CABS is considered an adequate instrument to assess assertiveness at school, but further research is required to confirm its capacity to discriminate students’ three interpersonal relational styles.
Structural basis of a nucleosome containing histone H2A.B/H2A.Bbd that transiently associates with reorganized chromatin
Authors: Arimura Yasuhiro , Kimura Hiroshi , Oda Takashi , Sato Koichi , Osakabe Akihisa , Tachiwana Hiroaki , Sato Yuko , Kinugasa Yasuha , Ikura Tsuyoshi , Sugiyama Masaaki , Sato Mamoru , Kurumizaka Hitoshi
Published: December 2013

Human histone H2A.B (formerly H2A.Bbd), a non-allelic H2A variant, exchanges rapidly as compared to canonical H2A and preferentially associates with actively transcribed genes. We found that H2A.B transiently accumulated at DNA replication and repair foci in living cells. To explore the biochemical function of H2A.B, we performed nucleosome reconstitution analyses using various lengths of DNA. Two types of H2A.B nucleosomes, octasome and hexasome, were formed with 116, 124, or 130 base pairs (bp) of DNA and only the octasome was formed with 136 or 146 bp DNA. In contrast, only hexasome formation was observed by canonical H2A with 116 or 124 bp DNA. A small-angle X-ray scattering analysis revealed that the H2A.B octasome is more extended, due to the flexible detachment of the DNA regions at the entry/exit sites from the histone surface. These results suggested that H2A.B rapidly and transiently forms nucleosomes with short DNA segments during chromatin reorganization.
Unsymmetrical N-heterocyclic carbenes with a 1,1′-ferrocenediyl backbone
Authors: Rittinghaus Stefan , Färber Christian , Bruhn Clemens , Siemeling Ulrich
Published: December 2013

N-Substituents have only a marginal influence on the electronic properties, but a strong influence on the steric properties of ferrocene-based NHC ligands, which therefore offer great potential for rational fine-tuning.
Pyruvate kinases have an intrinsic and conserved decarboxylase activity
Authors: Zhong Wenhe , Morgan Hugh P. , Nowicki Matthew W. , McNae Iain W. , Yuan Meng , Bella Juraj , Michels Paul A. M. , Fothergill-Gilmore Linda A. , Walkinshaw Malcolm D.
Published: December 2013

The phosphotransfer mechanism of PYKs (pyruvate kinases) has been studied in detail, but the mechanism of the intrinsic decarboxylase reaction catalysed by PYKs is still unknown. 1H NMR was used in the present study to follow OAA (oxaloacetate) decarboxylation by trypanosomatid and human PYKs confirming that the decarboxylase activity is conserved across distantly related species. Crystal structures of TbPYK (Trypanosoma brucei PYK) complexed with the product of the decarboxylase reaction (pyruvate), and a series of substrate analogues (D-malate, 2-oxoglutarate and oxalate) show that the OAA analogues bind to the kinase active site with similar binding modes, confirming that both decarboxylase and kinase activities share a common site for substrate binding and catalysis. Decarboxylation of OAA as monitored by NMR for TbPYK has a relatively low turnover with values of 0.86 s−1 and 1.47 s−1 in the absence and presence of F26BP (fructose 2,6-bisphosphate) respectively. Human M1PYK (M1 isoform of PYK) has a measured turnover value of 0.50 s−1. The X-ray structures explain why the decarboxylation activity is specific for OAA and is not general for α-oxo acid analogues. Conservation of the decarboxylase reaction across divergent species is a consequence of piggybacking on the conserved kinase mechanism which requires a stabilized enol intermediate.
A novel pneumatic micropipette aspiration method using a balance pressure model
Authors: Zhao Qili , Wu Ming , Cui Maosheng , Qin Yanding , Yu Jin , Sun Mingzhu , Zhao Xin , Feng Xizeng
Published: December 2013

This paper presents a novel micropipette aspiration (MA) method based on a common pneumatic micro-injection system. This method is the first to quantify the influence of capillary effect on aspiration pressure using a balance pressure model, and in return, uses the capillary effect to quantify the aspiration pressure. Subsequently, the seal between the cell and the micropipette is detected to judge and exclude the ineffective MA attempts. The rationality of the balance pressure model is validated by the designed micropipette-filling experiments. Through applied to elasticity-determination of the cells with different sizes, the feasibility and versatility of this MA method are proved. With abilities to quantify aspiration pressures and detect the seam between the cell and the micropipette, our method is expected to advance the application of the commercial pneumatic injector in the MA of cells. Moreover, with the quantified volume of the liquid entering into the micropipette during MA process, our method also has a potential applicability to the study of the permeability of the cell membrane in the future.
Transport properties of individual C60-molecules
Authors: Géranton G. , Seiler C. , Bagrets A. , Venkataraman L. , Evers F.
Published: December 2013

Electrical and thermal transport properties of C60 molecules are investigated with density-functional-theory based calculations. These calculations suggest that the optimum contact geometry for an electrode terminated with a single-Au atom is through binding to one or two C-atoms of C60 with a tendency to promote the  sp2-hybridization into an  sp3-type one. Transport in these junctions is primarily through an unoccupied molecular orbital that is partly hybridized with the Au, which results in splitting the degeneracy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital triplet. The transmission through these junctions, however, cannot be modeled by a single Lorentzian resonance, as our results show evidence of quantum interference between an occupied and an unoccupied orbital. The interference results in a suppression of conductance around the Fermi energy. Our numerical findings are readily analyzed analytically within a simple two-level model.
A comprehensive analysis of molecule-intrinsic quasi-atomic, bonding, and correlating orbitals. I. Hartree-Fock wave functions
Authors: West Aaron C. , Schmidt Michael W. , Gordon Mark S. , Ruedenberg Klaus
Published: December 2013

Through a basis-set-independent web of localizing orbital-transformations, the electronic wave function of a molecule is expressed in terms of a set of orbitals that reveal the atomic structure and the bonding pattern of a molecule. The analysis is based on resolving the valence orbital space in terms of an internal space, which has minimal basis set dimensions, and an external space. In the internal space, oriented quasi-atomic orbitals and split-localized molecular orbitals are determined by new, fast localization methods. The density matrix between the oriented quasi-atomic orbitals as well as the locations of the split-localized orbitals exhibit atomic populations and inter-atomic bonding patterns. A correlation-adapted quasi-atomic basis is determined in the external orbital space. The general formulations are specified in detail for Hartree-Fock wave functions. Applications to specific molecules exemplify the general scheme.
Ultrafast supercontinuum fiber-laser based pump-probe scanning magneto-optical Kerr effect microscope for the investigation of electron spin dynamics in semiconductors at cryogenic temperatures with picosecond time and micrometer spatial resolution
Authors: Henn T. , Kiessling T. , Ossau W. , Molenkamp L. W. , Biermann K. , Santos P. V.
Published: December 2013

We describe a two-color pump-probe scanning magneto-optical Kerr effect microscope which we have developed to investigate electron spin phenomena in semiconductors at cryogenic temperatures with picosecond time and micrometer spatial resolution. The key innovation of our microscope is the usage of an ultrafast “white light” supercontinuum fiber-laser source which provides access to the whole visible and near-infrared spectral range. Our Kerr microscope allows for the independent selection of the excitation and detection energy while avoiding the necessity to synchronize the pulse trains of two separate picosecond laser systems. The ability to independently tune the pump and probe wavelength enables the investigation of the influence of excitation energy on the optically induced electron spin dynamics in semiconductors. We demonstrate picosecond real-space imaging of the diffusive expansion of optically excited electron spin packets in a (110) GaAs quantum well sample to illustrate the capabilities of the instrument.
Quasi-linear heating and acceleration in bi-Maxwellian plasmas
Authors: Hellinger Petr , Passot Thierry , Sulem Pierre-Louis , Trávníček Pavel M.
Published: December 2013

Quasi-linear acceleration and heating rates are derived for drifting bi-Maxwellian distribution functions in a general nonrelativistic case for arbitrary wave vectors, propagation angles, and growth/damping rates. The heating rates in a proton-electron plasma due to ion-cyclotron/kinetic Alfvén and mirror waves for a wide range of wavelengths, directions of propagation, and growth or damping rates are explicitly computed.
Effect of current induced charge-order melting of Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 in partially masked superconducting Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3/YBa2Cu3O7 bilayer
Authors: Kumar Baisnab Dipak , Janawadkar M. P. , Vaidhyanathan L. S. , Bharathi A.
Published: December 2013

In order to investigate the effect of current induced charge-order melted ferromagnetic Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 on superconducting YBa2Cu3O7, current and magnetic field dependent resistance measurements have been carried out in Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3/YBa2Cu3O7 thin film heterostructure in which a part of the YBa2Cu3O7 thin film is covered by Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3. The measurements show that superconducting transition temperature of the uncovered YBa2Cu3O7 is suppressed to lower temperatures with a progressive increase in current. Results show the possibility of controlling the superconducting properties of the uncovered part of the YBa2Cu3O7 thin film by influencing the part covered by Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3.
Stabilizing a hexagonal Ru2C via Lifshitz transition under pressure
Authors: Sun Weiwei , Chakraborty Sudip , Ahuja Rajeev
Published: December 2013

A unique type of heavy transition metal carbide Ru2C was synthesized experimentally at high pressure-high temperature and consequently quenched to ambient condition. The dynamical stability study reveals the instability at ambient condition. We have found that it can be stabilized from 30 to 110 GPa. The stronger 4d-2p hybridization and the formation of a cage like Fermi surface do impact the stability. The mixed bands primarily 2p characteristic weighted crossing the Fermi level form a Fermi surface piece at Gamma point under pressure. The clear change of topology of Fermi surface verifies the Lifshitz transition from ambient condition to high pressure.
Cellular-foam polypropylene ferroelectrets with increased film thickness and reduced resonance frequency
Authors: Sborikas Martynas , Wegener Michael
Published: December 2013

Ferroelectrets are piezoelectric materials suitable for acoustic applications such as airborne ultrasonic transducers. Typical ferroelectrets exhibit resonance frequencies in the high kHz to low MHz range. In order to decrease the transducer resonance frequencies to the low kHz range, processes such as gas-diffusion expansion and electric charging were adjusted to cellular films which are initially twice as thick as in earlier studies. The demonstrated film expansion and electric charging lead to mechanically soft cellular structures which show high piezoelectric activities with coefficients up to 130 pC/N. Due to the simultaneously increased film thicknesses, the resonance frequencies are lowered down to about 233 kHz.