bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RIXS at the cerium L3-edge of Ce(III) and Ce(IV) systems: some observations
Authors: Sham T.K. , Gordon R.A.
Published: September 2014

We report recent observations of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at the cerium L3-edge of CePO4, CeO2, and Ce3+ ion in aqueous solution. The intensity of the emission spectrum, including the dispersive Raman below the edge and the emerging nondispersive fluorescence above the edge, was recorded with a solid-state detector with low-energy resolution and a WDX detector with modestly high-energy resolution. The yield of the emission was used to monitor the cerium L3-edge X-ray absorption near edge structures (XANES) in a constant initial state (CIS) mode as the photon energy sweeps across the cerium L3-edge. The CIS XANES is compared with the XANES recorded using the nondispersive fluorescence yield, Lα, in a constant final state (CFI) mode. It is found that the Raman yield dominates the total emission in the pre-edge region and diminishes rapidly at threshold. The RIXS of Ce3+ in aqueous solution exhibits similar behavior as CePO4. The post-whiteline RIXS intensity of CePO4 exhibits a correlation with excitation energy. CeO2 also exhibits a less intense whiteline in CIS XANES compared with the XANES detected with normal fluorescence. The implications of these observations with improved instrumental resolution are noted.
Synthesis of bacterial polysaccharides via the Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway
Authors: Islam Salim T. , Lam Joseph S.
Published: September 2014

The surfaces of bacteria mediate a multitude of functions in the environment and in an infected host, including adhesion to both biotic and abiotic substrata, motility, immune system interaction and (or) activation, biofilm formation, and cell–cell communication, with many of these features directly influenced by cell-surface glycans. In both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, the majority of cell-surface polysaccharides are produced via the Wzx/Wzy-dependent assembly pathway; these glycans include heteropolymeric O-antigen, enterobacterial common antigen, exopolysaccharide, spore coat, and capsule in diverse bacteria. The key components of this assembly pathway are the integral inner membrane Wzx flippase, Wzy polymerase, and Wzz chain-length regulator proteins, which until recently have resisted detailed structural and functional characterization. In this review, we have provided a comprehensive synthesis of the latest structural and mechanistic data for each protein, as well as an examination of substrate specificity for each assembly step and complex formation between the constituent proteins. To complement the unprecedented explosion of genomic-sequencing data for bacteria, we have also highlighted both classical and state-of-the-art methods by which encoded Wzx, Wzy, and Wzz proteins can be reliably identified and annotated, using the model Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa as an example data set. Lastly, we outline future avenues of research, with the aim of stimulating researchers to take the next steps in investigating the function of, and interplay between, the constituents of this widespread assembly scheme.
Numerical comparative analysis of Richtmyer–Meshkov instability simulated by different SGS models
Authors: Wang T. , Tao G. , Bai J.S. , Li P. , Wang B.
Published: September 2014

The multi-mode Richtmyer–Meshkov instability is numerically simulated by the large-eddy simulation code MVFT (multi-viscous-flow and turbulence). The Vreman, dynamic Smagorinsky, and stretched-vortex models are used to model the subgrid-scale flux of turbulence transport in simulations. The calculated widths of turbulent mixing zones are all in good agreement with the experimental results, and there is a little difference among the different SGS models. However, the decay factors of turbulent kinetic energy differ significantly for different SGS models, with relative error up to about 50%. It is concluded that the dynamic Smagorinsky model and stretched-vortex model can both predict the energy backscatter, with the prediction of the former weaker, while after reshock, the dynamic Smagorinsky model is absolutely as dissipative as the Vreman model.
Power-law entropy-corrected new holographic dark energy in Brans–Dicke cosmology
Authors: Borah Bharat , Ansari M.
Published: September 2014

The purpose of this paper is to study power-law entropy-corrected holographic dark energy (PLECHDE) in the framework of Brans–Dicke cosmology with Granda–Oliveros (G-O) IR-cutoff. Considering the interacting and non-interacting scenario of PLECHDE with dark matter, we investigate the cosmological implications of this model in detail. We obtain the equation of state parameter, deceleration parameter, and evolution of dark energy density to explain expansion of the universe. We also determine these parameters for Ricci scale. We extend our study of the power-law entropy-corrected agegraphic dark energy model and calculate some cosmological parameters. Further, we show that the results that we calculate have good compatibility with previous work and matches it in the limiting case. Finally, we find a cosmological application of our work by evaluating the equation of state of dark energy for low red-shift.
Parallel-Machine Scheduling to Minimize Flowtime, Holding, and Batch Delivery Costs
Authors: Yin Yunqiang , Cheng Shuenn-Ren , Wu Chin-Chia
Published: September 2014

This paper considers a batch delivery scheduling problem in which n independent and simultaneously available jobs are to be processed on m unrelated or uniform parallel machines. The jobs scheduled on the same machine are delivered in batches to customers and the delivery date of a batch equals the completion time of the last job in the batch. The number of jobs in each delivery batch is constrained by the batch size, and the cost of delivering a batch depends not only on the number of jobs in the batch but also on the machine on which the batch is processed. The objective is to find jointly the optimal number of batches on each machine, the optimal assignment of jobs to the batches, and the optimal job processing sequence to minimize the sum of total flowtime, total holding time, and delivery costs. When the number of batches has a fixed upper bound, we present polynomial-time algorithms to solve the problems with unrelated and uniform parallel machines. If the bound constraint on the number of batches is relaxed, we provide polynomial-time algorithms to solve two special cases of the problem with uniform parallel machines.
Balanced and strongly Gauduchon cones on solvmanifolds
Authors: Latorre Adela , Ugarte Luis , Villacampa Raquel
Published: September 2014

We show conditions under which the balanced and strongly Gauduchon cones of a complex solvmanifold are non-degenerate. These cones are explicitly described on the complex nilmanifolds with underlying Lie algebra [Formula: see text].
Noise-enhanced transmission efficacy of aperiodic signals in nonlinear systems
Authors: Duan Fabing , Chapeau-Blondeau François , Abbott Derek
Published: September 2014

We study the aperiodic signal transmission in a static nonlinearity in the context of aperiodic stochastic resonance. The performance of a nonlinearity over that of the linear system is defined as the transmission efficacy. The theoretical and numerical results demonstrate that the noise-enhanced transmission efficacy effects occur for different signal strengths in various noise scenarios.
Are there quantum jumps
Authors: Ferry D. K.
Published: September 2014

Generally, one thinks of a “quantum jump” as the process in which an electron “jumps” between a pair of quantum states, even as the process is treated within perturbation theory. This jump of an electron has remained a key point of conservative (i.e., traditional) quantum mechanics. But, the question of the time dependence of such a transition, e.g. the time for an atom to be ionized by radiation, is somewhat different than this view. A detailed approach in which an incoming wave first polarizes the quantum states and then completes the transition has allowed for a detailed discussion of the smooth transition of the electron from one state to the next. Here, we will discuss the history of the process, and illustrate the approach with the question of “how long does it take for an electron to emit a phonon?” The entire process arises from the proper application of wave mechanics and obviates the need to even consider a discussion of quantum jumps.
Mining User Check-In Behavior with a Random Walk for Urban Point-of-Interest Recommendations
Authors: Ying Josh Jia-Ching , Kuo Wen-Ning , Tseng Vincent S. , Lu Eric Hsueh-Chan
Published: September 2014

In recent years, research into the mining of user check-in behavior for point-of-interest (POI) recommendations has attracted a lot of attention. Existing studies on this topic mainly treat such recommendations in a traditional manner—that is, they treat POIs as items and check-ins as ratings. However, users usually visit a place for reasons other than to simply say that they have visited. In this article, we propose an approach referred to as Urban POI-Walk (UPOI-Walk), which takes into account a user's social-triggered intentions (SI), preference-triggered intentions (PreI), and popularity-triggered intentions (PopI), to estimate the probability of a user checking-in to a POI. The core idea of UPOI-Walk involves building a HITS-based random walk on the normalized check-in network, thus supporting the prediction of POI properties related to each user's preferences. To achieve this goal, we define several user--POI graphs to capture the key properties of the check-in behavior motivated by user intentions. In our UPOI-Walk approach, we propose a new kind of random walk model—Dynamic HITS-based Random Walk—which comprehensively considers the relevance between POIs and users from different aspects. On the basis of similitude, we make an online recommendation as to the POI the user intends to visit. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work on urban POI recommendations that considers user check-in behavior motivated by SI, PreI, and PopI in location-based social network data. Through comprehensive experimental evaluations on two real datasets, the proposed UPOI-Walk is shown to deliver excellent performance.
Home Location Identification of Twitter Users
Authors: Mahmud Jalal , Nichols Jeffrey , Drews Clemens
Published: September 2014

We present a new algorithm for inferring the home location of Twitter users at different granularities, including city, state, time zone, or geographic region, using the content of users’ tweets and their tweeting behavior. Unlike existing approaches, our algorithm uses an ensemble of statistical and heuristic classifiers to predict locations and makes use of a geographic gazetteer dictionary to identify place-name entities. We find that a hierarchical classification approach, where time zone, state, or geographic region is predicted first and city is predicted next, can improve prediction accuracy. We have also analyzed movement variations of Twitter users, built a classifier to predict whether a user was travelling in a certain period of time, and use that to further improve the location detection accuracy. Experimental evidence suggests that our algorithm works well in practice and outperforms the best existing algorithms for predicting the home location of Twitter users.
The Future of Synchronization on Multicores
Authors: Herlihy Maurice
Published: September 2014

Synchronization bugs such as data races and deadlocks make every programmer cringe traditional locks only provide a partial solution, while high-contention locks can easily degrade performance. Maurice Herlihy proposes replacing locks with transactions. He discusses adapting the well-established concept of data base transactions to multicore systems and shared main memory.
Asking Research Questions
Authors: Tenenberg Josh
Published: September 2014

Asking significant research questions is a crucial aspect of building a research foundation in computer science (CS) education. In this article, I argue that the questions that we ask are shaped by internalized theoretical presuppositions about how the social and behavioral worlds operate. And although such presuppositions are essential in making the world sensible, at the same time they preclude carrying out many research studies that may further our collective research enterprise. I build this argument by first considering a few proposed research questions typical of much of the existing research in CS education, making visible the cognitivist assumptions that these questions presuppose. I then provide a different set of assumptions based on sociocultural theories of cognition and enumerate some of the (different) research questions to which these presuppositions give rise. My point is not to debate the merits of the contrasting theories but to demonstrate how theories about how minds and sociality operate are imminent in the very questions that researchers ask. Finally, I argue that by appropriating existing theory from the social, behavioral, and learning sciences, and making such theories explicit in carrying out and reporting their research, CS education researchers will advance the field.
BadgerTrap
Authors: Gandhi Jayneel , Basu Arkaprava , Hill Mark D. , Swift Michael M.
Published: September 2014

The overheads of memory management units (MMUs) have gained importance in today's systems. Detailed simulators may be too slow to gain insights into micro-architectural techniques that improve MMU efficiency. To address this issue, we propose a novel tool, BadgerTrap, which allows online instrumentation of TLB misses. It allows first-order analysis of new hardware techniques to improve MMU efficiency. The tool helps to create and analyze x86-64 TLB miss trace. We describe example studies to show various ways this tool can be applied to gain new research insights.
On a Boat: A Case in Australia of Endophthalmitis and Pyogenic Liver, Prostatic, and Lung Abscesses in a Previously Well Patient due toKlebsiella pneumoniae
Authors: Vandevelde Alecia , Stepanovic Bojana
Published: September 2014

This is a case report about a patient who arrived in our emergency department in Western Australia to the care of the urologists having just gotten off a ship with a bacterial infection that would result in a 44-day stay in hospital and have quite devastating lasting effects for the young male. His story was in fact reflective of an emerging global phenomenon. Once thought to generally be a bacterium of threat only to the elderly and alcoholics, causing pneumonia and urinary tract infections, this case report describes the potentially devastating consequences of what is now becoming recognized as a hypervirulent form ofKlebsiella pneumoniaewith the potential to spread throughout the system rapidly seeding abscesses and causing significant morbidity in nonimmunocompromised patients. Initially noticed in Asia increasingly case reports are emerging in Western countries suggesting a global spread.
Prediction of Progressive Failure Behaviour of Composite Skewed Hypar Shells Using Finite Element Method
Authors: Ghosh Arghya , Chakravorty Dipankar
Published: September 2014

Progressive failure behaviour of laminated composite skewed hypar shells is investigated in this paper through finite element approach. For composite materials which are weak in transverse shear, failure may initiate at any inner lamina or interface and may remain undetected and unattended to. Such latent damages may progress gradually and lead to a sudden total ply failure. An iterative method is adopted using the various failure theories to predict the first ply failure load. After the first ply failure, the stiffness of the failed element is totally discarded from the laminate and the remaining laminate is considered for further analysis. The developed finite element code is validated through solution of a benchmark problem. Numerical experiments are carried out to obtain the first ply and progressive failure of simply supported hypar shells under transverse distributed load. While obtaining the failure loads, the shell is considered to be under plane stress condition and in linear elastic range. Results are studied meticulously to extract a set of conclusions of practical significance regarding the failure characteristics of composite hypar shells.
Wall-to-Bed Heat Transfer at Minimum Gas-Solid Fluidization
Authors: Zhang Huili , Degrève Jan , Baeyens Jan , Dewil Raf
Published: September 2014

The heat transfer from a fluidized bed to the cooling jacket of the vessel has been studied for various powders at minimum fluidization conditions, by both convection and conduction approaches. These heat transfer characteristics are important as the point of transition between packed and fluidized bed operations and are needed in designing heat transfer operations where bubble-flow is not permitted. The effective thermal conductivity of the emulsion moreover determines the contact resistance at the heating or cooling surface, as used in packet renewal models to predict the wall-to-bed heat transfer. In expressing the overall heat transfer phenomenon as a convective heat transfer coefficient, it was found that the results could be fitted by Numf,j=0.01Ar0.42.
Superoptimal Rate of Convergence in Nonparametric Estimation for Functional Valued Processes
Authors: Chesneau Christophe , Maillot Bertrand
Published: September 2014

We consider the nonparametric estimation of the generalised regression
function for continuous time processes with irregular paths when the regressor takes values
in a semimetric space. We establish the mean-square convergence of our estimator with
the same superoptimal rate as when the regressor is real valued.
p38δMAPK: Emerging Roles of a Neglected Isoform
Authors: O’Callaghan Carol , Fanning Liam J. , Barry Orla P.
Published: September 2014

p38δmitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) is a unique stress responsive protein kinase. While the p38 MAPK family as a whole has been implicated in a wide variety of biological processes, a specific role for p38δMAPK in cellular signalling and its contribution to both physiological and pathological conditions are presently lacking. Recent emerging evidence, however, provides some insights into specific p38δMAPK signalling. Importantly, these studies have helped to highlight functional similarities as well as differences between p38δMAPK and the other members of the p38 MAPK family of kinases. In this review we discuss the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying p38δMAPK activity. We outline a role for p38δMAPK in important cellular processes such as differentiation and apoptosis as well as pathological conditions such as neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, and inflammatory disease. Interestingly, disparate roles for p38δMAPK in tumour development have also recently been reported. Thus, we consider evidence which characterises p38δMAPK as both a tumour promoter and a tumour suppressor. In summary, while our knowledge of p38δMAPK has progressed somewhat since its identification in 1997, our understanding of this particular isoform in many cellular processes still strikingly lags behind that of its counterparts.
Sinc Collocation Method for Finding Numerical Solution of Integrodifferential Model Arisen in Continuous Mixed Strategy
Authors: Shekarabi F. Hosseini
Published: September 2014

One of the new techniques is used to solve numerical problems involving integral equations and ordinary differential equations known as Sinc collocation methods. This method has been shown to be an efficient numerical tool for finding solution. The construction mixed strategies evolutionary game can be transformed to an integrodifferential problem. Properties of the sinc procedure are utilized to reduce the computation of this integrodifferential to some algebraic equations. The method is applied to a few test examples to illustrate the accuracy and implementation of the method.
A Descriptive Study of Nosocomial Infections in an Adult Intensive Care Unit in Fiji: 2011-12
Authors: Naidu Keshni , Nabose Ilisapeci , Ram Sharan , Viney Kerri , Graham Stephen M. , Bissell Karen
Published: September 2014

Nosocomial infections in an intensive care unit (ICU) are common and associated with a high mortality but there are no published data from the Oceania region. A retrospective study in Fiji’s largest ICU (2011-12) reported that 114 of a total 663 adult ICU admissions had bacteriological culture-confirmed nosocomial infection. The commonest sites of infection were respiratory and bloodstream. Gram negative bacteria were the commonest pathogens isolated, especiallyKlebsiella pneumoniae(extended-spectrumβ-Lactamase-producing),Acinetobacter,andPseudomonasspecies. Mortality for those with a known outcome was 33%. Improved surveillance and implementation of effective preventive interventions are needed.
Novel Low Spin Mixed Ligand Thiohydrazide Complexes of Iron(III): Synthesis, Spectral Characterization, Molecular Modeling, and Antibacterial Activity
Authors: Sengupta Dolan , Gangopadhyay Snigdha , Goswami Sanchita , Dutta Arnab , Kumar Vikash , De Sudipta , Gangopadhyay Pijush Kanti
Published: September 2014

Mixed ligand complexes of Fe(III) with aromatic thiohydrazides of general composition [Fe(acac)(L)2] have been synthesized and characterized (acac-acetylacetonate, L = bidentate uninegative aromatic thiohydrazide ligand, for example, thiobenzhydrazide, 2-hydroxythiobenzhydrazide, furan-2-thiohydrazide, and thiophen-2-thiohydrazide). The magnetic susceptibility data and the EPR spectra of these complexes suggested the formation of rhombically distorted low spin iron center (d5) in octahedral environment, which was also supported by the UV-vis spectral data of the complexes. Biological studies of these complexes also indicated that the iron-thiohydrazido complexes have superior antibacterial properties compared to the corresponding ligands.
Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in Soil
Authors: Moreno Carmen , Mancebo Ignacio , Saa Antonio , Moreno Marta M.
Published: September 2014

Mulching is used to improve the condition of agricultural soils by covering the soil with different materials, mainly black polyethylene (PE). However, problems derived from its use are how to remove it from the field and, in the case of it remaining in the soil, the possible effects on it. One possible solution is to use biodegradable plastic (BD) or paper (PP), as mulch, which could present an alternative, reducing nonrecyclable waste and decreasing the environmental pollution associated with it. Determination of mulch residues in the ground is one of the basic requirements to estimate the potential of each material to degrade. This study has the goal of evaluating the residue of several mulch materials over a crop campaign in Central Spain through image analysis. Color images were acquired under similar lighting conditions at the experimental field. Different thresholding methods were applied to binarize the histogram values of the image saturation plane in order to show the best contrast between soil and mulch. Then the percentage of white pixels (i.e., soil area) was used to calculate the mulch deterioration. A comparison of thresholding methods and the different mulch materials based on percentage of bare soil area obtained is shown.
Towards Internet QoS Provisioning Based on Generic Distributed QoS Adaptive Routing Engine
Authors: Haikal Amira Y. , Badawy M. , Ali Hesham A.
Published: September 2014

Increasing efficiency and quality demands of modern Internet technologies drive today’s network engineers to seek to provide quality of service (QoS). Internet QoS provisioning gives rise to several challenging issues. This paper introduces a generic distributed QoS adaptive routing engine (DQARE) architecture based on OSPFxQoS. The innovation of the proposed work in this paper is its undependability on the used QoS architectures and, moreover, splitting of the control strategy from data forwarding mechanisms, so we guarantee a set of absolute stable mechanisms on top of which Internet QoS can be built. DQARE architecture is furnished with three relevant traffic control schemes, namely, service differentiation, QoS routing, and traffic engineering. The main objective of this paper is to (i) provide a general configuration guideline for service differentiation, (ii) formalize the theoretical properties of different QoS routing algorithms and then introduce a QoS routing algorithm (QOPRA) based on dynamic programming technique, and (iii) propose QoS multipath forwarding (QMPF) model for paths diversity exploitation. NS2-based simulations proved the DQARE superiority in terms of delay, packet delivery ratio, throughput, and control overhead. Moreover, extensive simulations are used to compare the proposed QOPRA algorithm and QMPF model with their counterparts in the literature.
Accuracy of Dose Delivery in Multiple Breath-Hold Segmented Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy: A Static Phantom Study
Authors: Noto Kimiya , Ueda Shinichi , Kojima Hironori , Isomura Naoki , Takemura Akihiro , Takamatsu Shigeyuki , Kumano Tomoyasu , Takanaka Tsuyoshi
Published: September 2014

Purpose. Accuracy of dose delivery in multiple breath-hold segmented volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) was evaluated in comparison to noninterrupted VMAT using a static phantom. Material and Methods. Five VMAT plans were evaluated. A Synergy linear accelerator (Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden) was employed. A VMAT delivery sequence was divided into multiple segments according to each of the predefined breath-hold periods (10, 15, 20, 30, and 40 seconds). The segmented VMAT delivery was compared to noninterrupted VMAT delivery in terms of the isocenter dose and pass rates of a dose difference of 1% with a dose threshold of 10% of the maximum dose on a central coronal plane using a two-dimensional dosimeter, MatriXX Evolution (IBA Dosimetry, Schwarzenbruck, Germany). Results. Means of the isocenter dose differences were 0.5%, 0.2%, 0.2%, 0.0%, and 0.0% for the beam-on-times between interrupts of 10, 15, 20, 30, and 40 seconds, respectively. Means of the pass rates were 85%, 99.9%, 100%, 100%, and 100% in the same order as the above. Conclusion. Our static phantom study indicated that the multiple breath-hold segmented VMAT maintains stable and accurate dose delivery when the beam-on-time between interrupts is 15 seconds or greater.
Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease Associated with Symptomatic CD4 Lymphocytopenia
Authors: Yogarajah Meera , Sivasambu Bhradeev
Published: September 2014

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is a rare benign condition of necrotising histiocytic lymphadenitis with unknown aetiology. We describe here a 30-year-old African American female who presented with fever, generalized rash, cervical lymphadenopathy, and oral candidiasis and was found to have Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease on lymph node biopsy with low CD4 count. The initial presentation was concerning for acute retroviral infection. Her HIV serology and HIV RNA PCR were negative however she had low CD4 count with reversal of CD4/CD8 ratio. Although low CD4 count has been associated with autoimmune disease, it has not been described with Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. We report the first case of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease associated with symptomatic CD4 lymphocytopenia.
Pneumocystis jiroveciiPneumonia in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Abatacept
Authors: Ospina Fabio E. , Agualimpia Andrés , Bonilla-Abadía Fabio , Cañas Carlos A. , Tobón Gabriel J.
Published: September 2014

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by synovial membrane inflammation and joint cartilage destruction. Abatacept is a biologic agent that blocks the costimulation signals, preventing antigen presentation and proliferation of T lymphocytes. It is approved for the treatment of patients with RA.Pneumocystis jiroveciipneumonia (PJP) is an infectious disease complicating several immunosuppressive drugs. PJP associated with abatacept has not been reported yet in the medical literature. Various factors, such as the mechanism of action of abatacept, may contribute to predisposing to  Pneumocystis jiroveciiinfection. In this paper, we report a patient with RA who developed PJP under abatacept treatment.
Deubiquitination of γ-Tubulin by BAP1 Prevents Chromosome Instability in Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Zarrizi Reihaneh , Menard Julien Albert , Belting Mattias , Massoumi Ramin
Published: September 2014

Microtubule nucleation requires the γ-tubulin ring complex, and during the M-phase (mitosis) this complex accumulates at the centrosome to support mitotic spindle formation. The posttranslational modification of γ-tubulin through ubiquitination is vital for regulating microtubule nucleation and centrosome duplication. Blocking the BRCA1/BARD1-dependent ubiquitination of γ-tubulin causes centrosome amplification. In the current study, we identified BRCA1-associated protein-1 (BAP1) as a deubiquitination enzyme for γ-tubulin. BAP1 was downregulated in metastatic adenocarcinoma breast cell lines compared with noncancerous human breast epithelial cells. Furthermore, low expression of BAP1 was associated with reduced overall survival of patients with breast cancer. Reduced expression of BAP1 in breast cancer cell lines was associated with mitotic abnormalities. Importantly, rescue experiments including expression of full length but not the catalytic mutant of BAP1 reduced ubiquitination of γ-tubulin and prevented mitotic defects. Our study uncovers a new mechanism for BAP1 involved in deubiquitination of γ-tubulin, which is required to prevent abnormal mitotic spindle formation and genome instability. Cancer Res; 74(22); 6499–508. ©2014 AACR.
Prediction of Sarcomere Mutations in Subclinical Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Captur Gabriella , Lopes Luis R. , Mohun Timothy J. , Patel Vimal , Li Chunming , Bassett Paul , Finocchiaro Gherardo , Ferreira Vanessa M. , Esteban Maite Tome , Muthurangu Vivek , Sherrid Mark V. , Day Sharlene M. , Canter Charles E. , McKenna William J. , Seidman Christine E. , Bluemke David A. , Elliott Perry M. , Ho Carolyn Y. , Moon James C.
Published: September 2014

Background—

Sarcomere protein mutations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy induce subtle cardiac structural changes before the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). We have proposed that myocardial crypts are part of this phenotype and independently associated with the presence of sarcomere gene mutations. We tested this hypothesis in genetic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy pre-LVH (genotype positive, LVH negative [G+LVH−]).

Methods and Results—

A multicenter case–control study investigated crypts and 22 other cardiovascular magnetic resonance parameters in subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to determine their strength of association with sarcomere gene mutation carriage. The G+LVH− sample (n=73) was 29±13 years old and 51% were men. Crypts were related to the presence of sarcomere mutations (for ≥1 crypt, β=2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.5–4.4;
P
=0.014 and for ≥2 crypts, β=3.0; 95% CI, 0.8–7.9;
P
=0.004). In combination with 3 other parameters: anterior mitral valve leaflet elongation (β=2.1; 95% CI, 1.7–3.1;
P
<0.001), abnormal LV apical trabeculae (β=1.6; 95% CI, 0.8–2.5;
P
<0.001), and smaller LV end-systolic volumes (β=1.4; 95% CI, 0.5–2.3;
P
=0.001), multiple crypts indicated the presence of sarcomere gene mutations with 80% accuracy and an area under the curve of 0.85 (95% CI, 0.8–0.9). In this G+LVH− population, cardiac myosin-binding protein C mutation carriers had twice the prevalence of crypts when compared with the other combined mutations (47 versus 23%; odds ratio, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.1–7.9;
P
=0.045).

Conclusions—

The subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy phenotype measured by cardiovascular magnetic resonance in a multicenter environment and consisting of crypts (particularly multiple), anterior mitral valve leaflet elongation, abnormal trabeculae, and smaller LV systolic cavity is indicative of the presence of sarcomere gene mutations and highlights the need for further study.
Actin Binding GFP Allows 4D In Vivo Imaging of Myofilament Dynamics in the Zebrafish Heart and the Identification of Erbb2 Signaling as a Remodeling Factor of Myofibril Architecture
Authors: Reischauer Sven , Arnaout Rima , Ramadass Radhan , Stainier Didier Y.R.
Published: September 2014

Rationale
:

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of congestive heart failure and a debilitating complication of antineoplastic therapies. Despite disparate causes for dilated cardiomyopathy, maladaptive cardiac remodeling and decreased systolic function are common clinical consequences, begging an investigation of in vivo contractile dynamics in development and disease, one that has been impossible to date.

Objective
:

To image myocardial contractile filament dynamics in vivo and to assess potential causes of dilated cardiomyopathy in antineoplastic therapies targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor Erbb2.

Methods and Results
:

We generated a transgenic zebrafish line expressing an actin-binding green fluorescent protein in cardiomyocytes, allowing an in vivo imaging of myofilaments. Analysis of this line revealed architectural differences in myofibrils of the distinct cardiomyocyte subtypes. We used this model to investigate the effects of Erbb2 signaling on myofibrillar organization because drugs targeting ERBB2 (HER2/NEU) signaling, a mainstay of breast cancer chemotherapy, cause dilated cardiomyopathy in many patients. High-resolution in vivo imaging revealed that Erbb2 signaling regulates a switch between a dense apical network of filamentous myofibrils and the assembly of basally localized myofibrils in ventricular cardiomyocytes.

Conclusions
:

Using this novel line, we compiled a reference for myofibrillar microarchitecture among myocardial subtypes in vivo and at different developmental stages, establishing this model as a tool to analyze in vivo cardiomyocyte contractility and remodeling for a broad range of cardiovascular questions. Furthermore, we applied this model to study Erbb2 signaling in cardiomyopathy. We show a direct link between Erbb2 activity and remodeling of myofibrils, revealing an unexpected mechanism with potentially important implications for prevention and treatment of cardiomyopathy.
Cudworth on Self-Consciousness and the I Myself
Authors: Pécharman Martine
Published: September 2014

In the last two decades, Ralph Cudworth (1617-88) has been acknowledged as one of the paramount figures in the history of theories of consciousness. This paper discusses the interpretation defended by Udo Thiel (1991) and Vili Lähteenmäki (2010). Both contend that, for Cudworth, the reflexivity defining consciousness does not constitute self-consciousness, which, they say, requires self-determination for practical ends. On the contrary, I argue that for Cudworth any degree of consciousness implies a species of self-perception that must be considered a degree of self-consciousness. To do justice to Cudworth’s full position, I claim, we must take into account a kind of consciousness that I call ‘to-oneself ’ consciousness. Furthermore, I argue, the problem of the ethical self-formation of every human soul as one personality (which Cudworth calls “I myself in every man”) should be seen as going beyond the mere consideration of practical rationality.
Anthony Collins on the Status of Consciousness
Authors: Lähteenmäki Vili
Published: September 2014

Anthony Collins (1676-1729) maintains that consciousness might be a material process or result from material processes. On the one hand, Collins accepts Locke’s view that from consciousness, i.e., the activity of thinking, we acquire no knowledge about the nature of the thinking substance. On the other, he takes seriously Samuel Clarke’s challenge that the thinking substance must be suitably unified because consciousness is unified. In this paper, I argue that, throughout his correspondence with Clarke, Collins maintains that consciousness signifies actual thinking and does not refer to the capacity of thinking. His main materialist thesis is that the powers of parts of material systems can bring about unified powers and that the power of thinking may be such a power. Collins attempts to satisfy the unity requirement by arguing that a unity correspondence can obtain between consciousness and the power of thinking that is realized in a material composite.
Individual variation in the advertisement calls of a Neotropical treefrog (Scinax constrictus)
Authors: Gambale Priscilla Guedes , Signorelli Luciana , Bastos Rogério Pereira
Published: September 2014

Studies of the variability of signals at different levels are important to resolve issues related to the evolution of a species’ recognition system. We analysed the variation within males, among individuals, and among three breeding seasons in the advertisement calls of Scinax constrictus, a Neotropical hylid frog endemic to the Cerrado of Brazil. We assessed the influence of different temperature ranges and different body condition ranges over a three-year period of breeding season on the acoustical features of the advertisement calls of 62 individuals. Air temperature had negative relationship with call duration and note number. Body condition had a negative relationship with the dominant frequency and positive effects on pulse number and note duration. The acoustic parameters of S. constrictus were stable across breeding seasons. Temporal parameters were highly variable within individuals, whereas the dominant frequency was the most stereotyped property of advertisement calls. Individuals of S. constrictus have sufficient among-male variability, especially for temporal parameters (call duration, number of notes, and note duration), to permit discrimination between conspecific calling males at a reproductive site by statistical analysis. The results highlight the informativeness of non-invasive bioacoustic features for population-level studies and biological conservation.
Morphological effects of bacterial compounds on the testes of Eupemphix nattereri (Anura)
Authors: Franco-Belussi Lilian , Baroni Leite Gabriela , Silberschmidt Freitas Juliane , de Oliveira Classius
Published: September 2014

Amphibians are susceptible to environmental pollutants and these compounds influence the development, morphology, physiology, behavior, and reproduction of these animals. Escherichia coli is common in aquatic habitats of frogs and could also damage their reproductive activity. Thus, our objective was to evaluate the effects of E. coli lipopolysaccharide on the testes of Eupemphix nattereri after 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours. As in other anurans, the testes of E. nattereri are paired structures and spermatogenesis into the locule is cystic, with mast cells in the interstitial region as well as testicular melanocytes. The administration of lipopolysaccharide decreased the absolute locular volume after 12 h while increasing the interstitial volume. In addition, lipopolysaccharide treatment decreased the absolute volume of all cell types in animals analyzed after 12 h. The amount of mast cells in the interstitial region increased after 12 h of inoculation. Acute exposure to lipopolysaccharide clearly alters testicular morphology, decreasing the volume of both locular and germ cells. However, acute treatment did not impair spermatogenesis and after 24 h, the treatment effects were minimized. Thus, this study was the first to demonstrate that lipopolysaccharide is a potential agent for causing damage to the testes of anurans.
Cosmopolitan Subjects: Critical Reflections on Dualism, International Criminal Law and Sovereignty
Authors: Jennings Ronald C.
Published: September 2014

Is contemporary international criminal law (icl) compatible with sovereignty and traditional international law (il) as it is comprehended by the doctrine of Dualism, as understood by the great majority of international jurists, scholars, government representatives and those working at the tribunals? What the literature has entirely missed is that three most important figures in the initial creation and institutionalization of ilc for the Yugoslavia Tribunal in 1994 – Antonio Cassese, Cherif Bassiouni and Theodor Meron – all shared a commitment to a monistic view based on expansive and radical interpretation of icl in which international criminal jurisdiction (iicj) – because it makes individuals its sole legal subject – as radically legally, politically and even ontologically incompatible with – and inherently to superior – sovereignty, as well as all those institutions based on traditional sovereign il (e.g., international humanitarian law, the un Charter system, and human rights). Normatively, they call for “the humanization” or individualization of international law marked by direct and unmediated relationships between iicj institutions and the individual. Practically, they acknowledge icl’s basis in modern statist domestic criminal law and Security Council power means that it is necessarily a unitary, top-down and subjecting power, incompatible with the claims of both dualists and pluralists. If the monists are correct, the African Union (au) must be very careful not to presume that what one likes about international courts (African, treaty- or sovereignty based tribunals) can be easily separated from what one does not like (unsc power, icc), because it was icl itself, not the tribunals, which is fundamentally anti-sovereign. As a result, this article concludes that icl itself is now too closely ground in iicj to think that it could be separated in an African court.
The African Union, the United Nations Security Council and the Politicisation of International Justice in Africa
Authors: Olugbuo Benson Chinedu
Published: September 2014

There are two questions with multiple answers regarding the relationship between Africa and the International Criminal Court. The first is whether the International Criminal Court is targeting Africa and the second is if politics plays any role in the decision to investigate and prosecute crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. For the African Union, the International Criminal Court has become a western court targeting weak African countries and ignoring the atrocities committed by big powers including permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The accusation by the African Union against the International Criminal Court leads to the argument that the International Criminal Court is currently politised. This is a charge consistently denied by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The aim of this paper is to discuss the relationship between the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court and the African Union. It articulates the role of the three institutions in the fight against impunity and the maintenance of international peace and security with reference to the African continent. The paper argues that complementarity should be applied to regional organisations and that the relationship between the African Union and the International Criminal Court should be guided by the application of positive complementarity and a nuanced approach to the interests of justice. This offers the International Criminal Court and the African Union an opportunity to develop mutual trust and result-oriented strategies to confront the impunity on the continent. The paper further argues that the power of the United Nations Security Council to refer situations to the International Criminal Court and defer cases before the Court is a primary source of the disagreement between the prosecutor and the African Union and recommends a division of labour between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council.
When Elephants Collide it is the Grass that Suffers: Cooperation and the Security Council in the Context of the au/icc Dynamic
Authors: Tladi Dire
Published: September 2014

Much has been written about the tension between the African Union and the icc. Equally, the relationship between the icc and the Security Council has received a significant amount of attention. Very often, the discourse has presented the debate a stand-off between the protagonist fighting the good fight and antagonists intent on wanton destruction. This article is concerned with the relationships between the icc, au and the Security Council. It argues that the relationships can be characterised as triangular conflictual relationship in which all three sides of the triangle are straddled by cooperation. The paper argues that all three entities, the icc, the au and Security Council are culpable in the use and abuse of cooperation against each other in the pursuit of narrow interests.
Society of Imperial Power: Reinterpreting China’s “Feudal Society”
Authors: Tianyu Feng
Published: September 2014

Abstract

To call the period from Qin Dynasty to Qing Dynasty a “feudal society” is a misrepresentation of China’s historical reality. The fengjian system only occupied a secondary position in Chinese society from the time of Qin. It was the system of prefectures and counties (junxianzhi) that served as the cornerstone of the centralized power structure. This system, together with the institution of selecting officials through the imperial examination, constituted the centralized bureaucracy that intentionally crippled the hereditary tradition and the localized aristocratic powers, and hence bolstered the unity of the empire. Feudalism in medieval Western Europe shares many similarities with that of China during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but is quite different from the monarchical centralism since the time of Qin and Han. Categorizing the social form of the period from Qin to Qing as “feudal” makes the mistake of over-generalizing and distorting this concept. It runs counter to the original Chinese meaning of fengjian, and severely deviates from the western connotation of feudalism. Moreover, the decentralized feudalism in pre-Qin dynasties and the later centralized imperial system from Qin onwards influenced the generation and evolution of Chinese culture in vastly different ways.
The Era of Prefectures and Counties: An Inquiry into the Power Structure and State Governance in Ancient Chinese Society
Authors: Ruohui Li
Published: September 2014

Abstract

In spite of all the vicissitudes that Chinese society underwent from the Qin (221-206 bc) to the Qing (ad 1644-1911) dynasties, the system of social government throughout this period as a whole was markedly different from that of Zhou. While the post-Qin dynasties adopted fa or laws to govern the nation, it was li or rituals that dominated in Zhou as a norm of social control. Hence the key to a fruitful inquiry into the administrative evolution of society from Zhou through Qing, a period spanning over two thousand years, lies in the investigation of the political shift from Zhou as a kingdom to Qin as an empire. Since li is a system of ritual propriety representing a consensus of both the upper and lower social strata on the constitution of state power, it is fundamentally different from fa due to its lack of a binding or coercive force. An artificial reorganization of society by a new form of social government called for a new political system known as junxian zhi (郡縣制), a bureaucratic system of centrally appointed local magistrates in “prefectures and counties.” The compulsory force of the law was guaranteed by the national army, and so a system of military officialdom ensured the command and monopoly over the army by the monarch. A fluid bureaucratic system, which enabled the ruling sovereign or monarch to delegate his authority to ministers and local officials, replaced the hereditary system of power by clan lineage. This paper begins with an analysis of the differences between the Confucians’ idea of rule by li and the Legalists’ idea of rule by law, and ends with a discussion on the birth and characteristics of the system of prefectures and commanderies.