bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Strategies for Materials Design using Uncertainties
Authors: Balachandran Prasanna V. , Xue Dezhen , Theiler James , Hogden John , Lookman Turab
Published: January 2016

We compare several adaptive design strategies using a data set of 223 M2AX family of compounds for which the elastic properties [bulk (B), shear (G) and Young’s (E) modulus] have been computed using density functional theory. The design strategies are decomposed into an iterative loop with two main steps: machine learning is used to train a regressor that predicts elastic properties in terms of elementary orbital radii of the individual components of the materials; and a selector uses these predictions and their uncertainties to choose the next material to investigate. The ultimate goal is to obtain a material with desired elastic properties in as few iterations as possible. We examine how the choice of data set size, regressor and selector impact the design. We find that selectors that use information about the prediction uncertainty outperform those that don’t. Our work is a step in illustrating how adaptive design tools can guide the search for new materials with desired properties.
Toxicity of AMPA to the earthworm Eisenia andrei Bouché, 1972 in tropical artificial soil
Authors: Domínguez Anahí , Brown George Gardner , Sautter Klaus Dieter , Ribas de Oliveira Cintia Mara , de Vasconcelos Eliane Carvalho , Niva Cintia Carla , Bartz Marie Luise Carolina , Bedano José Camilo
Published: January 2016

Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) - one of glyphosate’s main metabolites - has been classified as persistent in soils, raising concern regarding the widespread use of glyphosate in agriculture and forestry. Glyphosate may have negative or neutral effects on soil biota, but no information is available on the toxicity of AMPA to soil invertebrates. Therefore our aim was to study the effect of AMPA on mortality and reproduction of the earthworm species Eisenia andrei using standard soil ecotoxicological methods (ISO). Field-relevant concentrations of AMPA had no significant effects on mortality in acute or chronic assays. Except at the highest concentration tested, a significant biomass loss was observed compared to controls in the chronic assay. The number of juveniles and cocoons increased with higher concentrations of AMPA applied, but their mean weights decreased. This mass loss indicates higher sensitivity of juveniles than adults to AMPA. Our results suggest that earthworms coming from parents grown in contaminated soils may have reduced growth, limiting their beneficial roles in key soil ecosystem functions. Nevertheless, further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the sublethal effects observed here.
Metallic conduction induced by direct anion site doping in layered SnSe2
Authors: Kim Sang Il , Hwang Sungwoo , Kim Se Yun , Lee Woo-Jin , Jung Doh Won , Moon Kyoung-Seok , Park Hee Jung , Cho Young-Jin , Cho Yong-Hee , Kim Jung-Hwa , Yun Dong-Jin , Lee Kyu Hyoung , Han In-taek , Lee Kimoon , Sohn Yoonchul
Published: January 2016

The emergence of metallic conduction in layered dichalcogenide semiconductor materials by chemical doping is one of key issues for two-dimensional (2D) materials engineering. At present, doping methods for layered dichalcogenide materials have been limited to an ion intercalation between layer units or electrostatic carrier doping by electrical bias owing to the absence of appropriate substitutional dopant for increasing the carrier concentration. Here, we report the occurrence of metallic conduction in the layered dichalcogenide of SnSe2 by the direct Se-site doping with Cl as a shallow electron donor. The total carrier concentration up to ~1020 cm−3 is achieved by Cl substitutional doping, resulting in the improved conductivity value of ~170 S·cm−1 from ~1.7 S·cm−1 for non-doped SnSe2. When the carrier concentration exceeds ~1019 cm−3, the conduction mechanism is changed from hopping to degenerate conduction, exhibiting metal-insulator transition behavior. Detailed band structure calculation reveals that the hybridized s-p orbital from Sn 5s and Se 4p states is responsible for the degenerate metallic conduction in electron-doped SnSe2.
Role of Ag2S coupling on enhancing the visible-light-induced catalytic property of TiO2 nanorod arrays
Authors: Li Zhengcao , Xiong Shan , Wang Guojing , Xie Zheng , Zhang Zhengjun
Published: January 2016

In order to obtain a better photocatalytic performance under visible light, Ag2S-coupled TiO2 nanorod arrays (NRAs) were prepared through the electron beam deposition with glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique, annealing in air, followed by the successive ionic layer absorption and reaction (SILAR) method. The properties of the photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) were thus conducted. The presence of Ag2S on TiO2 NRAs was observed to have a significant improvement on the response to visible light. It’s resulted from that Ag2S coupling can improve the short circuit photocurrent density and enhance the photocatalytic activity remarkably.
Lifetime of Ionic Vacancy Created in Redox Electrode Reaction Measured by Cyclotron MHD Electrode
Authors: Sugiyama Atsushi , Morimoto Ryoichi , Osaka Tetsuya , Mogi Iwao , Asanuma Miki , Miura Makoto , Oshikiri Yoshinobu , Yamauchi Yusuke , Aogaki Ryoichi
Published: January 2016

The lifetimes of ionic vacancies created in ferricyanide-ferrocyanide redox reaction have been first measured by means of cyclotron magnetohydrodynamic electrode, which is composed of coaxial cylinders partly exposed as electrodes and placed vertically in an electrolytic solution under a vertical magnetic field, so that induced Lorentz force makes ionic vacancies circulate together with the solution along the circumferences. At low magnetic fields, due to low velocities, ionic vacancies once created become extinct on the way of returning, whereas at high magnetic fields, in enhanced velocities, they can come back to their initial birthplaces. Detecting the difference between these two states, we can measure the lifetime of ionic vacancy. As a result, the lifetimes of ionic vacancies created in the oxidation and reduction are the same and the intrinsic lifetime is 1.25 s and the formation time of nanobubble from the collision of ionic vacancies is 6.5 ms.
Polyol route synthesis of a Fe3O4@CuS nanohybrid for fast preconcentration of gold ions
Authors: Beyki Mostafa Hossein , Shirkhodaie Mahsa , Shemirani Farzaneh
Published: January 2016

A magnetic Fe3O4@CuS nanohybrid was employed for fast preconcentration of gold ions.
Multifunctional oligomer incorporation: a potent strategy to enhance the transfection activity of poly(l-lysine)
Authors: Liu Shuai , Yang Jixiang , Ren Hongqi , O'Keeffe-Ahern Jonathan , Zhou Dezhong , Zhou Hao , Chen Jiatong , Guo Tianying
Published: January 2016

The multifunctional oligomer incorporation strategy is used for the first time to evaluate target effects by the ligand modified oligomer assembly, forming complexes with DNA and polycations.
Boosting one-step conversion of cyclohexane to adipic acid by NO2 and VPO composite catalysts
Authors: Jian Jian , You Kuiyi , Duan Xuezhi , Gao Hongxu , Luo Qing , Deng Renjie , Liu Pingle , Ai Qiuhong , Luo He'an
Published: January 2016

A highly selective one-step synthesis of adipic acid from the catalytic oxidation of cyclohexane with NO2.
Direct organelle thermometry with fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy in single myotubes
Authors: Itoh Hideki , Arai Satoshi , Sudhaharan Thankiah , Lee Sung-Chan , Chang Young-Tae , Ishiwata Shin'ichi , Suzuki Madoka , Lane E. Birgitte
Published: January 2016

FLIM of ER thermo yellow and non-targeted mCherry reveals the Ca2+-dependent heat production localized to SR in C2C12 myotube.
Insight into the adsorption profiles of the Saprolegnia monoica chitin synthase MIT domain on POPA and POPC membranes by molecular dynamics simulation studies
Authors: Kuang Guanglin , Liang Lijun , Brown Christian , Wang Qi , Bulone Vincent , Tu Yaoquan
Published: January 2016

The binding mode and binding free energy of the Saprolegnia monoica chitin synthase MIT domain with the POPA membrane have been studied by molecular simulation methods.
Concentration dependent effects of urea binding to poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes: a combined experimental and numerical study
Authors: Micciulla Samantha , Michalowsky Julian , Schroer Martin A. , Holm Christian , von Klitzing Regine , Smiatek Jens
Published: January 2016

The concentration-dependent binding of urea to PNIPAM influences the chain conformation as a result of the subtle interplay between hydration properties and urea repartition around the polymer surface.
Synthesis, structure and luminescent properties of lanthanide fluoroalkoxides
Authors: Kuzyaev D. M. , Balashova T. V. , Burin M. E. , Fukin G. K. , Rumyantcev R. V. , Pushkarev A. P. , Ilichev V. A. , Grishin I. D. , Vorozhtsov D. L. , Bochkarev M. N.
Published: January 2016

A set of new lanthanide fluoroalkoxides have been synthesized and characterized, some of them revealed ultraviolet photoluminescence.
Large scale computational screening and experimental discovery of novel materials for high temperature CO2 capture
Authors: Dunstan Matthew T. , Jain Anubhav , Liu Wen , Ong Shyue Ping , Liu Tao , Lee Jeongjae , Persson Kristin A. , Scott Stuart A. , Dennis John S. , Grey Clare P.
Published: January 2016

A combined computational and experimental methodology is developed to predict new materials that should have desirable properties for CCS looping, and then select promising candidates to experimentally validate these predictions.
Characterization of sequence-specific errors in various next-generation sequencing systems
Authors: Shin Sunguk , Park Joonhong
Published: January 2016

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a powerful method for functional microbial ecology in a variety of environments including human's body. In this work, novel sequence-specific errors (SSEs) from the currently popular NGS systems and their hotspots were discovered, providing a scientific basis for filtering poor-quality sequence reads from the different NGS systems.
A design concept of amphiphilic molecules for directing hierarchical porous zeolite
Authors: Xu Dongdong , Che Shunai , Terasaki Osamu
Published: January 2016

This review describes a design concept of novel amphiphilic molecules for a one-step preparation of hierarchically porous zeolites containing mesopores with certain orders.
Perovskite solar cells fabricated using dicarboxylic fullerene derivatives
Authors: Erten-Ela Sule , Chen Haiwei , Kratzer Andreas , Hirsch Andreas , Brabec Christoph J.
Published: January 2016

Perovskite solar cells were fabricated using a novel benzoic acid fullerene bis adduct material (BAFB). The BAFB material was found to be a promising material for use in perovskite hybrid organic–inorganic solar cells. The efficiency was reported to be 9.63% for perovskite solar cells.
Highly efficient solvent free synthesis of α-aminophosphonates catalyzed by recyclable nano-magnetic sulfated zirconia (Fe3O4@ZrO2/SO42−)
Authors: Ghafuri Hossein , Rashidizadeh Afsaneh , Esmaili Zand Hamid Reza
Published: January 2016

In this project, nano-magnetic sulfated zirconia Fe3O4@ZrO2/SO42− was prepared and characterized using various instrumental methods and used in the synthesis of α-aminophosphonate derivatives in the Kabachnik–Fields reaction.
Highly specific determination of gentamicin by induced collapse of Au–lipid capsules
Authors: Liu Qianjin , Mu Haibo , Sun Chunli , Duan Jinyou
Published: January 2016

Residues of gentamicin in food pose a threat to human health.
Heterogeneous activation of hydrogen peroxide using γ-Al2O3 supported bimetallic Fe, Mn for the degradation of reactive black 5
Authors: Wang Yan , Wang Jianfei , Zou Haimin , Xie Yue
Published: January 2016

A Fe–Mn/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was prepared via a wet impregnation method and used for the degradation of reactive black 5 (RB5) as an activator of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
A novel aptamer-mediated CuInS2quantum dots@graphene oxide nanocomposites-based fluorescence “turn off–on” nanosensor for highly sensitive and selective detection of kanamycin
Authors: Liu Ziping , Tian Chengshuo , Lu Lehui , Su Xingguang
Published: January 2016

A novel aptamer-mediated fluorescence “turn off–on” nanosensor for highly sensitive and selective detection of kanamycin using CuInS2quantum dots@graphene oxide.
Etherification over Hβ zeolite modified by lanthanum ion exchange combined with low-temperature steam treatment
Authors: Yan Ximing , Ke Ming , Song Zhaozheng , Jiang Qingzhe , Yu Pei
Published: January 2016

Lanthanum ion exchange, steam treatment and La/steam combined modification were used to modify Hβ zeolite, and then comparative studies were performed on the influences of single and compound modified methods on the etherification activity.
Selective hydrogenation of acetylene over TiO2-supported PdAg cluster: carbon species effect
Authors: Liu Jian-Hong , Meng Ling-Dong , Lv Cun-Qin , Wang Gui-Chang
Published: January 2016

The carbon species effects on the behavior of selective hydrogenation over the metal oxide supported palladium-based catalysts were Investigated.
Modification of mechanical properties of vertical graphene sheets via fluorination
Authors: Davami Keivan , Jiang Yijie , Lin Chen , Cortes John , Robinson Jeremy T. , Turner Kevin T. , Bargatin Igor
Published: January 2016

Fluorination can significantly enhance the reduced modulus of surfaces comprised of vertical graphene sheets.
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection of fluorosurfactants in firefighting foams
Authors: Fang C. , Megharaj M. , Naidu R.
Published: January 2016

We demonstrated SERS (surface-enhanced Raman scattering) detection of fluorosurfactants (FSs), which are commonly formulated in aqueous firefighting foams (AFFFs), by increasing their loading affinity and boosting their Raman activity.
Preparation of Au@Ag nanoparticles at a gas/liquid interface and their application for sensitive detection of hydrogen peroxide
Authors: Li Zhi , Zheng Xiaohui , Sheng Qinglin , Yang Ziyin , Zheng Jianbin
Published: January 2016

Preparation of Au@Ag NPs at a gas/liquid interface by a seed-mediated growth procedure and their application for sensitive detection of hydrogen peroxide.
Novel MnO/carbon composite anode material with multi-modal pore structure for high performance lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Tang Xuemei , Sui Gang , Cai Qing , Zhong Weihong , Yang Xiaoping
Published: January 2016

A novel MnO/carbon composite anode material with multi-modal pore structure was prepared, which exhibited superior electrochemical performance.
The role of H2O in the electron transfer-activation of substrates using SmI2: insights from DFT
Authors: Zhao Xuefei , Perrin Lionel , Procter David J. , Maron Laurent
Published: January 2016

The first detailed theoretical study on the synthetically important electron transfer reductant SmI2–H2O has been conducted in the context of the activation of important alkyliodide, ketone, lactone and ester substrates, processes of importance in cross-coupling.
Surface capillary currents: Rediscovery of fluid-structure interaction by forced evolving boundary theory
Authors: Wang Chunbai , Mitra Ambar K.
Published: January 2016

Any boundary surface evolving in viscous fluid is driven with surface capillary currents. By step function defined for the fluid-structure interface, surface currents are found near a flat wall in a logarithmic form. The general flat-plate boundary layer is demonstrated through the interface kinematics. The dynamics analysis elucidates the relationship of the surface currents with the adhering region as well as the no-slip boundary condition. The wall skin friction coefficient, displacement thickness, and the logarithmic velocity-defect law of the smooth flat-plate boundary-layer flow are derived with the advent of the forced evolving boundary method. This fundamental theory has wide applications in applied science and engineering.
Concentric transmon qubit featuring fast tunability and an anisotropic magnetic dipole moment
Authors: Braumüller Jochen , Sandberg Martin , Vissers Michael R. , Schneider Andre , Schlör Steffen , Grünhaupt Lukas , Rotzinger Hannes , Marthaler Michael , Lukashenko Alexander , Dieter Amadeus , Ustinov Alexey V. , Weides Martin , Pappas David P.
Published: January 2016

We present a planar qubit design based on a superconducting circuit that we call concentric transmon. While employing a straightforward fabrication process using Al evaporation and lift-off lithography, we observe qubit lifetimes and coherence times in the order of 10 μs. We systematically characterize loss channels such as incoherent dielectric loss, Purcell decay and radiative losses. The implementation of a gradiometric SQUID loop allows for a fast tuning of the qubit transition frequency and therefore for full tomographic control of the quantum circuit. Due to the large loop size, the presented qubit architecture features a strongly increased magnetic dipole moment as compared to conventional transmon designs. This renders the concentric transmon a promising candidate to establish a site-selective passive direct Ẑ coupling between neighboring qubits, being a pending quest in the field of quantum simulation.
Giant magnetoelectric effect in negative magnetostrictive/piezoelectric/positive magnetostrictive semiring structure
Authors: Zeng Lingyu , Zhou Minhong , Bi Ke , Lei Ming
Published: January 2016

Magnetoelectric (ME) Ni/PZT/TbFe2 and TbFe2/PZT composites with two semiring structures are prepared. The dependence between ME coupling and magnetostrictive property of the composite is discussed. Because Ni possesses negative magnetostrictive property and TbFe2 shows positive magnetostrictive property, the ME voltage coefficient of Ni/PZT/TbFe2 semiring structure is much larger than that of TbFe2/PZT. In these composites, the ME voltage coefficient increases and the resonance frequency gradually decreases with the increase of the semiring radius, showing that structural parameters are key factors to the composite properties. Due to the strong ME coupling effect, a giant ME voltage coefficient αE = 44.8 V cm−1 Oe−1 is obtained. This approach opens a way for the design of ME composites with giant ME voltage coefficient.
The Feller property for graphs
Authors: Wojciechowski Radosław
Published: January 2016

The Feller property concerns the preservation of the space of functions vanishing at infinity by the semigroup generated by an operator. We study this property in the case of the Laplacian on infinite graphs with arbitrary edge weights and vertex measures. In particular, we give conditions for the Feller property involving curvature-type quantities for general graphs, characterize the property in the case of model graphs and give some comparison results to the model case.
Functional analysis of the interface between the tandem C2 domains of synaptotagmin-1
Authors: Evans Chantell S. , He Zixuan , Bai Hua , Lou Xiaochu , Jeggle Pia , Sutton R. Bryan , Edwardson J. Michael , Chapman Edwin R.
Published: January 2016

C2 domains are widespread motifs that often serve as Ca2+-binding modules; some proteins have more than one copy. An open issue is whether these domains, when duplicated within the same parent protein, interact with one another to regulate function. In the present study, we address the functional significance of interfacial residues between the tandem C2 domains of synaptotagmin (syt)-1, a Ca2+sensor for neuronal exocytosis. Substitution of four residues, YHRD, at the domain interface, disrupted the interaction between the tandem C2 domains, altered the intrinsic affinity of syt-1 for Ca2+, and shifted the Ca2+dependency for binding to membranes and driving membrane fusion in vitro. When expressed in syt-1 knockout neurons, the YHRD mutant yielded reductions in synaptic transmission, as compared with the wild-type protein. These results indicate that physical interactions between the tandem C2 domains of syt-1 contribute to excitation–secretion coupling.
Points of Departure
Authors: Newitt Malyn
Published: January 2016

This chapter examines the reasons for emigration from Portugal and the scale of migration over the centuries. It looks at land tenure and the rural economy; the origins of Portuguese overseas expansion and the role of the royal family and nobility; the long term structures of the Portuguese economy and society and the importance of emigrant remittances; official emigration schemes; and the exile of convicts and gipsies and the placement of orphans.
The Portuguese in Brazil
Authors: Newitt Malyn
Published: January 2016

This chapter traces Portuguese settlement in Brazil, which began in the early sixteenth century and grew with the expansion of the Brazilian economy. The production of sugar and tobacco was followed by the settlement of the interior after the discovery of gold at the end of the seventeenth century. The expanding frontier took Portuguese settlers to Amazonia, to the Rio de la Plata and as far as the Andes, settlements characterized by slaving, cattle ranching and the planting of missions in the backlands. After the independence of Brazil from Portugal in 1822 emigration continued with Portuguese joining families already established in the commercial sector of the cities or seeking work on the plantations after the end of the slave trade in 1851. Brazil remained the principal destination of Portuguese emigrants until after the Second World War.
Portuguese Emigration in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Newitt Malyn
Published: January 2016

Emigration in the twentieth century became a politically contentious topic in Portugal. This chapter looks at the numbers involved and the difficulty of establishing exact figures, the geographical and social distribution of emigrants, their destinations, the factors that led to continued migration and the balance sheet of benefits and problems caused by emigration. Remittances remained a key factor in Portugal’s balance of payments. Differences emerged between islanders who looked towards the Americas and mainland Portuguese who increasingly emigrated to northern Europe, especially France and Germany.
The Caribbean, Canada and South America
Authors: Newitt Malyn
Published: January 2016

In the nineteenth century Portuguese from Madeira emigrated in large numbers to the British Caribbean islands, especially British Guiana where they established themselves first as plantation workers and then in the commercial sectors. There they were treated as a separate racial category from other European settlers. At the end of the nineteenth century emigration also began to Argentina, especially from southern Portugal. Integration into the Spanish-speaking population was relatively swift, as it was in neighbouring Uruguay. After World War II large-scale emigration also took place to Venezuela. Emigration to Canada began in the 1950s and large Portuguese emigrant populations settled in Toronto and Montreal. The chapter follows the trajectory of emigrants from the earliest unskilled arrivals to second and third generations of settled Portuguese Canadians.
The Portuguese Diaspora in the United States
Authors: Newitt Malyn
Published: January 2016

Portuguese emigration to the United States began with whalers from the Azores and Cape Verde islands. Most settled in New England where significant communities grew up in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The chapter looks in detail at the community in Gloucester, Mass. Madeirans also went to Hawaii to work in the sugar industry. Later, many moved on to California where they became well established in the dairy industry. This chapter looks at the way Portuguese have been represented by American writers from Bullen in the nineteenth century to Jack London, Steinbeck, Ross and the recent generation of Azorean writers like Lewis, Fagundes and Gaspar.
Electromagnetic Theory
Authors: Guenther B. D.
Published: January 2016

Electromagnetic theory, Maxwell’s equations, and Poynting’s theorem are used to derive the following properties of light waves: (1) the wave nature of light; (2) the fact that light is a transverse wave; (3) the velocity of light in terms of fundamental electromagnetic properties of materials; (4) the relative magnitude of the electric and magnetic fields and relationships between the two fields; and finally (5) the energy associated with a light wave. The concept of polarized light and a geometrical construction used to visualize its behavior are introduced.
Diffraction and Gaussian Beams
Authors: Guenther B. D.
Published: January 2016

A descriptive scalar theory, based on Huygens’ principle is used to derive an integral called the Huygens–Fresnel integral. Two more rigorous mathematical treatments of scalar diffraction theory: Fresnel–Kirchhoff diffraction and the Rayleigh–Sommerfeld formula, are given in appendices. To justify the use of Huygens’ principle, the principle is used to derive the laws of reflection and refraction. Another approach to determining the propagation of light through an optical system is the solution of the Helmholtz equation. A particular solution is shown to be a Gaussian wave. The Gaussian wave can be characterized by a beam waist (the diameter of the beam of light at the half-power points of the Gaussian distribution) and the radius of curvature of the wave’s phase front. The ABCD law for Gaussian waves is derived and used to design a laser cavity.
Fresnel Diffraction
Authors: Guenther B. D.
Published: January 2016

Fresnel diffraction is an approximate solution of the Huygens–Fresnel integral assuming the phase of the wavefront in the aperture has a quadratic dependence upon aperture coordinates. Only that portion of the aperture near the line connecting source and observation points contributes to Fresnel diffraction. For different symmetries, the integral is solved using different mathematical techniques. With separable rectangular coordinates, a table of Fresnel integrals or a graphical technique based on a plot of the Fresnel integral called the Cornu spiral is used. For circular symmetric apertures, a geometrical construction called Fresnel zones is used. The impact of the obliquity factor in calculating the contribution of Fresnel zones is discussed. The existence of Poisson’s spot behind an opaque screen and the performance of a pinhole camera are derived. The design of a zone plate is discussed. The Fresnel zone construction is used to provide additional physical insight into Fermat’s principle.
Optical Modulation
Authors: Guenther B. D.
Published: January 2016

The use of an electric, magnetic, or stress field to modify the optical properties of a medium is examined. The application of one of these disturbances produces an anisotropy in the medium that requires a tensor description and generates a birefringence. The technique used to convert the modification of the polarization by the birefringence to an intensity modulation is described and its implementation in the design of an electro-optic modulator is discussed. Application of a stress to a material modifies its optical properties by producing an anisotropy in its density. The spatial density variation produces a birefringence in the material, and both phenomenological and scattering theories are described that explain the operation of an acousto-optic modulator.
A Cognitive Approach to Greek Metre: Hermann’s Bridge in the Homeric Hexameter and the Interpretation of Iliad 24
Authors: Schein Seth L.
Published: January 2016

A study of violations of Hermann’s Bridge in the Homeric hexameter, grounded in cognitive studies of ‘Event-related Brain Potentials’, complements Russian formalist and structuralist theory in suggesting that such violations are often associated with other deviations from normal hexameter colometry and that they often are, by a process of defamiliarization, marked and mimetically or semantically meaningful. Detailed analysis of violations of Hermann’s Bridge, whether or not they involve enclitics, illustrates the kinds of meaning that can be produced by such metrical anomalies. Close attention to the first 73 lines of Iliad 24, in which there are violations of Hermann’s Bridge in lines 35 and 60 in the speeches of Apollo and Hera, suggests parallels between significant non-normative metrical phenomena and significant mythological allusion and demonstrates how detailed study of the violation of metrical form and of mythological allusion opens pathways into literary interpretation.
Milman Parry and the Literary Interpretation of Homeric Poetry
Authors: Schein Seth L.
Published: January 2016

Milman Parry’s ‘The Historical Method in Literary Criticism’ reflects his insistence on exact scholarship and rigorous analysis and his belief that an empathetic reader of Homeric epic can, like an anthropologist, become part of a culture he or she is studying. Committed to both principles, Parry did not fully appreciate the difficulties raised when they are in conflict. Parry’s ‘fieldwork’ in both Homeric and Yugoslav cultures led him to attach moral significance to the study of literature as he himself practised it: he identified with the men of the heroic past and argued that through such identification, readers could ‘gain through their literature an understanding of men and life and a power for effective and noble action…’. Parry, however, though he spoke of readers, was committed to his own ways of reading and identification; he did not appreciate how other readers and audiences might approach and understand Homer differently.
Ioannis Kakridis and Neoanalysis
Authors: Schein Seth L.
Published: January 2016

Ioannis Kakridis created the method of Homeric scholarship known as Neoanalysis. Starting from the Unitarian belief that the Iliad is the work of one great poet, he also drew on Analytical scholarship. Where, however, Analysts detected inartistic clumsiness and signs of multiple authorship, Kakridis saw poetic creativity and Homeric artistry in the appropriation and adaptation of motifs, speeches, and scenes present in pre-Homeric epic, folklore, and popular song, often by transferring material from one character or myth to another. Kakridis discovered in Homeric epic structural motifs and narrative techniques familiar from medieval and modern Greek folktales and popular songs. He suggested that there had been analogous, pre-Homeric folktales and songs on which the poet drew for his own artistic purposes. Kakridis shared with M. Parry an understanding of poetic tradition based not only on philological scholarship, but on a somewhat romanticizing approach to the heroic world of Homeric epic.
Cavafy and Iliad 24: A Modern Alexandrian Interprets Homer
Authors: Schein Seth L.
Published: January 2016

Constantine Cavafy’s ‘Priamou Nuktoporeia’ (‘Priam’s Night-Journey’), based on Priam’s journey to ransom Hektor’s corpse from Achilles’ in Iliad 24, was composed in 1893, when the poet was developing his distinctive poetic voice through an intertextuality that calls attention to the differences between his poem and its Homeric ‘source’. Cavafy omits nearly everyone and everything mentioned in Book 24, except for Priam himself and the dead Hektor. It focuses on the king, whose actions, thoughts, and wishes are the real subject of the second half of the poem. Cavafy endows the Priam with mental interiority and psychological depth, and the night, and the night-journeying with symbolic meaning that seems strikingly modern. The king brings his despair with him from Troy as an interior mental barrier, which renders his chariot’s swift movement futile. For all we know, he may never reach Achilles or ransom Hektor, nor, in the end, does this seem to matter.
An American Homer for the Twentieth Century
Authors: Schein Seth L.
Published: January 2016

In North American colleges and universities, the Iliad and Odyssey (in translation) are often required reading in so-called Great Books courses. The origins of these courses were ideological, first as ‘war aims’ courses during World War 1, then as courses aiming to acculturate students, mainly of southern and eastern European extraction, who were attending college in large numbers for the first time in the 1920s and 1930s. In these courses, the Homeric poems are frequently de-contextualized, de-historicized, and taught mainly in relation to other texts considered to possess ‘timeless’ literary and ethical qualities that make them expressions of Western, or specifically American, institutions and values. This ideology and pedagogy often encourage students to read complacently, on the assumption that the Homeric epics transparently affirm these sociocultural institutions and values. This insufficiently critical approach, however, risks losing contact with the ways in which the poems also call into question or challenge them.
The Waters at the End of the World
Authors: Murray Donald
Published: January 2016

This chapter takes a comparative approach to the study of ancient conceptions of space by using an understanding of Mesopotamian cosmic geography, and its application in Achaemenid rhetoric, to read Herodotus’s account of Persian incursions westwards as physical enactments of an imperial ideology of world domination. It explores how the Babylonian Mappa Mundi, which uses abstract geometric shapes to represent topographic features, and an inscription from Persepolis, in which Darius refers to the waters at the end of the world as a ‘bitter river’ (nārmarratum), together express the ideology that the lands enclosed by the all-encircling Ocean are civilized, and that absolute world rule results from crossing that ‘bitter river’. Reading the Mappa Mundi alongside Herodotus allows us to regard the campaigns of Darius and Xerxes as not simply attempting to add new territories to the empire, but journeying forth into uncharted space, justifying their claims to absolute world rule.
Map, Catalogue, Drama, Narrative
Authors: Ceccarelli Paola
Published: January 2016

This chapter looks at how perceptions of the Aegean space change as they are conveyed across different ‘genres’ (visual images, such as the map attributed to the Milesian philosopher Anaximander; catalogue texts, as represented by the Periegesis of Hecataeus; drama, and in particular Aeschylus’ Persians; and prose narrative, specifically Herodotus’ Histories) and across time (from the mid-sixth century to the end of the fifth century bc, a period marked by a significant recalibration in the balance of power in this area). What emerges is the strong influence of genre, as well as the contingent historical situation, on the perception (and presentation) of this disputed space.
Mapping Spatial and Temporal Distance in Herodotus and Thucydides
Authors: Rood Tim
Published: January 2016

This chapter explores the intersection of space and time in both Greek and modern writers. The first section analyses the idea of parallels between the way of life found in distant areas and in the distant past. The second section discusses how Thucydides explicitly elaborates in his Archaeology a theory of human development according to which practices that were once common to all peoples now survive in certain parts of the Greek world as well as among non-Greeks, and how he sees the Peloponnesian War as marking the breakdown of the spatial and temporal divisions set up in the Archaeology. The final section shows how many aspects of this sort of (explicit and implicit) spatial-temporal patterning can be found in Herodotus’ work. It suggests some reasons why (unlike Thucydides) Herodotus does not unite these aspects in a concentrated vision of spatio-temporal developments.
From Herodotus to a ‘Hellenistic’ World? The Eastern Geographies of Aristotle and Theophrastus
Authors: Stevens Kathryn
Published: January 2016

The conquests of Alexander the Great and his successors reconfigured the political geography of the Mediterranean and Near East. But what was the impact of these transformations upon intellectual geographies? This chapter traces changes in Greek knowledge and perceptions of the East in the early Hellenistic period, using as a case study Aristotle’s Historia Animalium and Theophrastus’ Historia Plantarum —works similar in scope but written at different stages of this transitional period. By comparing the geographical range of place names it is possible to map an increase in knowledge of eastern regions between Aristotle’s work and that of Theophrastus. There is also a conceptual shift, reflecting intensified contacts between the Mediterranean and Near East: eastern areas which in the Historia Animalium are vaguely localized and highly alien appear in the Historia Plantarum as increasingly well-defined territories, comparable to and connected with the rest of the oikoumenē.
Between East and West
Authors: Bouzarovski Stefan , Barker Elton
Published: January 2016

This chapter explores the spatial relationships in Herodotus’ Histories with the aid of heuristic tools and theoretical frameworks developed in classics and geography. As such, the chapter aims to provide a novel perspective on the geographic realities and imaginations contained in the Histories, while opening the path for a unique interdisciplinary integration of conceptual approaches that have rarely entered into dialogue with each other. Using methodological devices originally developed in social network analysis, this chapter generates a range of visualizations to bring to the surface the deep structure of spatial relations that makes up Herodotus’ narrative. These are based on a four-level classification of the connections between places, nations, and territories described in the Histories.
Telling Stories with Maps
Authors: Barker Elton , Isaksen Leif , Ogden Jessica
Published: January 2016

This chapter lays out the technologies and technical decisions that underpin Hestia’s digital analysis of Herodotus’ construction of space. The chapter discusses the new understandings of Herodotus’ spatial imaginary that digital technologies can help bring to light, and also outlines the process of data preparation, examines the different techniques of a digital-based enquiry, and considers the problems of and limitations to a technological approach. It ends with a brief discussion of developments that this initial work has led to, in order to indicate the possible future directions of geospatial analysis and the extent to which humanistic concerns can help shape technological development.
Space-travelling in Herodotus Book 5
Authors: Barker Elton , Pelling Christopher
Published: January 2016

This chapter takes a more discursive approach to interpreting the spatial structure underpinning Herodotus’ Histories by tracing the destabilizing idea of movement in the story of those ‘Persians whom Darius had left in Europe’ at the beginning of Book 5. A more complex picture of East–West relations emerges than the usual polarized view: it is not that there is no division between Asia and Europe, but rather the divisions are frequently temporary or partial or are subject to constant revision or challenge. The way Herodotus gets to his representation of war, on a meandering path that leads us through a series of overlapping and increasingly complex networks to depict a world in flux, challenges the notion of an abstract, mappable topography. Instead, it is in the realm of discursive narrative that readers might be better able to grasp the multi-dimensions of the space around them.
A View from the Boundary
Authors: Pelling Christopher
Published: January 2016

This epilogue draws together, examines, and reflects on the major themes and issues raised in the book. It considers both the benefits of and limitations to using digital techniques for analysing aspects of time and space in Herodotus and other texts; it assesses the relationship between different representations of space, notably the hodological versus the ‘bird’s-eye-view’; and it explores the potential for understanding the connections between physical and relational space via alternative visualizations and narrations. While the book as a whole demonstrates that technical methodologies may be increasingly useful in spatial mapping and textual analysis, especially within humanities disciplines, this chapter emphasizes one of its critical ideas: that a balance must be maintained between digital and traditional approaches if one is to pursue lines of inquiry that might be profitable beyond Herodotus for other ancient historical narratives.
The development of a time series methodology: from recursive residuals to dynamic conditional score models
Authors: Harvey Andrew
Published: January 2016

This chapter discusses the developments in unobserved components time series models and their statistical and econometric treatments from the early 1970s to the present day.
A state-dependent model for inflation forecasting
Authors: Stella Andrea , Stock James H.
Published: January 2016

A parsimonious bivariate model of inflation and unemployment is developed that allows for persistent variation in trend inflation and in the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment. The model, which consists of five unobserved components (including the trends) with stochastic volatility, implies a time-varying vector autoregression model for changes in the rates of inflation and unemployment. The implied backwards-looking Phillips curve has a time-varying slope that is steeper in the 1970s than in the 1990s. Pseudo out-of-sample forecasting experiments indicate improvements upon univariate benchmarks. Since 2008, the implied Phillips curve has become steeper and the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment has increased.
Measuring the tracking error of exchange traded funds
Authors: De Rossi Giuliano
Published: January 2016

The “true” net asset value of an exchange traded fund cannot be measured directly due to management fees, tax liabilities, asset illiquidity, asynchronous prices, and exchange rate fluctuations. This chapter shows that this errors-in-variables problem may cause a strong upward bias in the estimates of a fund’s tracking error, The issue has practical implications for investors who need to select an exchange traded fund based on its tracking error. A novel solution is proposed here, based on an unobserved components approach. By incorporating stochastic volatility in the model, persistence in the dynamics of tracking error is generated. The method is shown to be successful in dealing with the errors-in-variables problem and it detects significant time variation in the measure. A key implication of the results is that some exchange traded funds track the relevant index well over long investment horizons, while others do a better job over short holding periods.
Forecasting the Boat Race
Authors: Mesters Geert , Koopman Siem Jan
Published: January 2016

This chapter looks at the forecasting of the yearly outcome of the Boat Race between Cambridge and Oxford. The relative performance of different dynamic models for forty years of forecasting is compared. Each model is defined by a binary density conditional on a latent signal that is specified as a dynamic stochastic process with fixed predictors. The out-of-sample predictive ability of the models is compared with each other by using a variety of loss functions and predictive ability tests. It is found that the model with its latent signal specified as an autoregressive process cannot be outperformed by the other specifications. This model is able to correctly forecast thirty-one out of forty outcomes of the Boat Race.
Tests for serial dependence in static, non-Gaussian factor models
Authors: Fiorentini Gabriele , Sentana Enrique
Published: January 2016

Here, the simple algebraic expressions are derived for score tests of serial correlation in the levels and squares of common and idiosyncratic factors in static factor models with (semi) parametrically specified elliptical distributions even though one must generally compute the likelihood by simulation. The chapter also robustifies the Gaussian tests against non-normality. The orthogonality conditions resemble the orthogonality conditions of models with observed factors but the weighting matrices reflect their unobservability. The Monte Carlo exercises assess the finite sample reliability and power of the proposed tests, and compare them to other existing procedures. Finally, the methods are applied to monthly U.S. stock returns.
More is not always better: Kalman filtering in dynamic factor models
Authors: Poncela Pilar , Ruiz Esther
Published: January 2016

For dynamic factor models the relationship between the mean square error of the Kalman filter estimator of the underlying factors and the number of variables in the model is established. It is shown that, in situations of empirical interest, if the model parameters are known, the filter uncertainty only decreases marginally when the cross-sectional dimension is beyond a relatively small number. Furthermore, the consistency of the real time factor filtered estimates is proved, when the number of variables tend to infinity in a simple, potentially non-stationary, dynamic factor model with serially uncorrelated idiosyncratic noises with weak contemporaneous correlations. In practice, the model parameters are estimated, adding further uncertainty to the estimated factors. Using simulations, it is shown that, for the sample sizes usually encountered when dynamic factor models are fitted to macroeconomic variables, the parameter uncertainty can represent a considerable percentage of the total uncertainty involved in factor extraction.
The nuclear dust lane of Circinus: collimation without a torus
Authors: Mezcua M. , Prieto M. A. , Fernández-Ontiveros J. A. , Tristram K. R. W.
Published: January 2016

In some AGN, nuclear dust lanes connected to kpc-scale dust structures provide all the extinction required to obscure the nucleus, challenging the role of the dusty torus proposed by the Unified Model. In this letter, we show the pc-scale dust and ionized gas maps of Circinus constructed using sub-arcsec-accuracy registration of infrared VLT AO images with optical Hubble Space Telescope images. We find that the collimation of the ionized gas does not require a torus but is caused by the distribution of dust lanes of the host galaxy on ∼10 pc scales. This finding questions the presumed torus morphology and its role at parsec scales, as one of its main attributes is to collimate the nuclear radiation, and is in line with interferometric observations which show that most of the pc-scale dust is in the polar direction. We estimate that the nuclear dust lane in Circinus provides 1/3 of the extinction required to obscure the nucleus. This constitutes a conservative lower limit to the obscuration at the central parsecs, where the dust filaments might get optically thicker if they are the channels that transport material from ∼100 pc scales to the centre.