bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
International Relations Theory
Authors: Hoskins Richard J.
Published: February 2021

The study of international relations is dominated by the school of Realism, articulated in its classical form by Hans Morgenthau. It teaches that great powers are focused on enhancing their national interest defined in terms of power: military, political, and economic. Reinhold Niebuhr became known as the father of Christian Realism, adding his own biblical and Augustinian insights about human nature and its effects on the evil uses of power. Traditionally, both forms of Realism incorporated ethical judgement within their analysis. After Niebuhr’s death, Realism became neorealism, a value-free social science which eschews ethical judgement as any part of international relations study, as did the other major schools—except for the English School. This chapter argues that the English School represents the modern paradigm closest to Niebuhr’s perspective.
H. Richard Niebuhr
Authors: Johnson William Stacy
Published: February 2021

After their famous clash over the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1932, Reinhold and H. Richard Niebuhr resolved never to criticize one another in such a direct and public way again. Nevertheless, a side-by-side reading of their major works reveals significant engagement with one another’s writings throughout their careers. This chapter compares: Reinhold’s political realism with Richard’s theocentric perfectionism; Reinhold’s liberalism with Richard’s communitarianism; Reinhold’s emphasis on human sin with Richard’s focus on divine goodness; Reinhold’s portrait of love as self-sacrifice with Richard’s insistence on love as self-giving; and Reinhold’s defence of Christian symbols with Richard’s eventual call for a resymbolization of Christianity. The chapter underscores how their ongoing debates over the role of religion in society remain strikingly relevant for theology, ethics, and politics today.
George Kennan
Authors: Inboden William
Published: February 2021

Though Reinhold Niebuhr and George Kennan did not have a close personal relationship, they nonetheless developed a mutual admiration and reciprocal influence that extended over decades. Each believed in the pervasiveness of original sin, the ironic and often tragic outcomes of human aspirations, and the hand of Providence over history. Together they stand as two of the most important shapers of international relations realism. Their lives and work also influenced US policy in the early and middle decades of the Cold War, from their early opposition to Soviet communism and support for nuclear weapons, to their later disillusionment with the arms race and opposition to the Vietnam War. They differed primarily over democracy. Niebuhr retained an abiding belief in the possibility of self-government, while Kennan grew disenchanted with participatory government and favoured rule by enlightened elites.
Speaking Back
Authors: Gelber Katharine
Published: February 2021

This chapter studies the idea that the best remedy for speech with which one disagrees, or which one finds intolerable, is to engage in counter-speech, to speak back. This view, that speech will expose lies and silence will not, and that engaging in more speech is educative and therefore the appropriate remedy to speech with which one disagrees, is attractive because it engages one’s sense of fair play and justice. Given some of the free speech challenges facing the globe today, understanding the contours of counter-speech appears more important than it has ever been. The chapter then traces the origins of the idea of speaking back and its connection with theories of freedom of speech. It shows the contours of the debate around when it is, or may not be, appropriate to rely on speaking back as the preferred remedy to bad speech. The chapter also outlines alternative conceptions of speaking back, which suggest that effective speaking back requires that both it and free speech be thought of in positive, and not negative, terms. Speaking back is essential to participatory political discourse, and its realization requires more than the traditional negative conception of freedom of speech implies.
Defamation Law, Sullivan, and the Shape of Free Speech
Authors: Kenyon Andrew T.
Published: February 2021

This chapter examines how free speech interacts with defamation law. When thinking about defamation law and free speech, it can be difficult not to consider the classic US case of New York Times v Sullivan. The decision substantially changed how US defamation law treats political speech, and has resonated widely in other jurisdictions. It increased the burdens facing public officials who sue in defamation, making it far more difficult for them to succeed. The chapter draws out two broad issues from Sullivan and subsequent decisions which have relevance for understanding defamation and free speech more generally, especially democratic aspects of freedom of expression. It also highlights three ways in which the reform of defamation law could better protect free speech. First, legal doctrine could be reformed. Second, remedies could be altered to reduce the chill of defamation law. Third, and perhaps less often recognized, the effective degree of freedom of speech provided under any given defamation law depends greatly on litigation practice. Reforming defamation litigation has been tried in many jurisdictions and there have long been proposals for larger reforms, such as developing alternative dispute resolution methods and venues for defamation claims.
The Internet and Social Media
Authors: Magarian Gregory P.
Published: February 2021

This chapter surveys the distinctive free speech problems raised by the Internet and social media, discussing the most pressing, prominent issues around Internet speech regulation, with attention to variations across legal systems. It begins by briefly describing the Internet’s communicative architecture. The chapter then looks at structural concerns that have limited online free speech or prompted regulatory attention in the Internet Age. These include inequalities of access; power relationships among governments, private speech intermediaries, and Internet users; and the ways the Internet’s architecture complicates effective regulation. Finally, the chapter considers key substantive issues for online communication, including hate speech, privacy, intellectual property, and the credibility and influence of online news sources.
Free Speech and Commercial Advertising
Authors: Schauer Frederick
Published: February 2021

This chapter studies the relationship between free speech and commercial advertising. In the contemporary world, a substantial percentage of the universe of public communication consists of advertising. Speech offering to sell goods and services, typically with inducements to purchase, and often including the price and other conditions of the proposed sale, is a ubiquitous part of modern life. An important question in the theory and practice of freedom of speech is the extent to which, if at all, such communications should be protected against government regulation. Given that the United States is something of a protective outlier on free speech questions generally, even when compared to other liberal industrialized democracies, it is not surprising that free speech protection for commercial advertising is more robust in American law than it is anywhere else in the world. But the question has arisen in many other countries that profess to take the freedom of speech seriously, and thus the chapter will deal with the question of free speech protection for commercial advertising of some sort and to some degree as a question with worldwide implications, and with both theoretical and doctrinal dimensions. It is common in much of the relevant literature to refer to the topic under discussion as ‘commercial speech’.
The Truth Justification for Freedom of Speech
Authors: Marshall William P.
Published: February 2021

This chapter investigates the complexities of the truth justification for freedom of speech. According to this rationale, protecting freedom of speech creates a marketplace of ideas in which truth ultimately prevails over falsity. Speech therefore must not be restricted because to do so would inhibit this search for truth. The chapter then presents brief accounts of how the truth justification developed, how it has been applied in United States First Amendment jurisprudence, and how it has been accepted in legal systems outside the United States. It also explores the reasons that have been advanced in defence of the truth justification and the attacks that have been raised against its validity. Finally, the chapter discusses another possible explanation in support of the truth justification—that the search for truth provides a valuable narrative for human existence even if the goal of discovering truth is unlikely to be realized.
Northwestern Europe
Authors: Riad Tomas , Peters Jörg
Published: February 2021

The Continental Germanic languages fall into a northern group including Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish, and a western group including Dutch, High German, Low German, West Frisian, Afrikaans, and Yiddish. This chapter gives an overview of the lexical tone accent systems that are found in languages of both groups; these appear to be unrelated, in view of the variable conditioning. Central properties of the stress systems are summarized, as are the main features of the intonation systems. In general, it would appear that intonation is more varied in the Continental West Germanic languages and its tonal varieties than in the Continental North Germanic languages.
Cortical and Subcortical Processing of Linguistic Pitch Patterns
Authors: Lau Joseph C. Y. , Xie Zilong , Chandrasekaran Bharath , Wong Patrick C. M.
Published: February 2021

Pitch is one of the major prosodic cues in speech. A central research question is the way the brain derives the percept of pitch from incoming acoustic information. After introducing the functional architecture of the human auditory system, this chapter reviews lesion and neuroimaging studies and human electrophysiological studies of the processing of linguistically relevant pitch patterns at the cortical and subcortical levels, respectively. Recent evidence demonstrates the malleability of pitch processing in response to long-term and short-term auditory experiences as well as to the immediate history of the sensory inputs. In addition, the role of pitch in syntax-level processing will be evaluated. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how these findings, along with recent technical advances, will allow future studies to explore the neurocognitive bases of phonological theories of pitch representation and, conversely, of how prosodic theories may inform the intricate nature of neural pitch processing.
The Role of Phrase-Level Prosody in Speech Production Planning
Authors: Shattuck-Hufnagel Stefanie
Published: February 2021

It has long been recognized that speakers organize the words of a spoken utterance into phrases, and accent some words and syllables rather than others. For many years these characteristics were regarded as reflections of the syntax structure of the sentence, signalled by acoustic cues to grouping and prominence, such as fundamental frequency (f0), duration, and amplitude. In the past decades, however, it has become clear that a second set of structures, parallel to but independent of the syntactic structure of a sentence, governs the context-specific surface characteristics of any particular spoken utterance of a sentence, and that the cues signalling these prosodic structures are many. These hierarchical prosodic structures are reflected in the intonation and timing contour of the utterance, and also in the surface phonetic shapes of its words. Consequently, models of speech production planning have begun to incorporate prosodic structure at the phrase level and higher as a governing framework.
Prosodic Bootstrapping
Authors: Gervain Judit , Christophe Anne , Mazuka Reiko
Published: February 2021

This chapter covers theoretical frameworks and experimental findings showing that young infants are already sensitive to language prosody prenatally and can use it to learn about the lexical and morphosyntactic features of their native language(s). Specifically, the chapter first summarizes how prosody relates to the lexicon and the grammar in different languages. It then reviews empirical evidence about prosodic perception in infants. Subsequently, it shows how this early sensitivity to prosody facilitates language learning. Three areas are discussed. First, evidence is presented showing that infants can use their knowledge of lexical stress to constrain word learning. Second, the chapter argues that infants use prosody to learn about basic word order. Third, the chapter shows that infants can use prosody to constrain syntactic analysis and thus word learning. The chapter concludes by discussing the theoretical implications of the reviewed findings, and by highlighting open questions.
Word Prosody in Second Language Acquisition
Authors: Jongman Allard , Tremblay Annie
Published: February 2021

The production and perception of a second language (L2) will be affected by any differences between native language (L1) and L2 lexical stress and lexical tone. This chapter first discusses L1 effects on the perception of L2 words that differ in stress, comparing the explanatory power of phonological (stress-parameter-based) and phonetic (cue-based) approaches for L2 learners’ performance in word recognition. Equally, it discusses L1 effects on the production of stress in L2 words, from both a phonological and a phonetic perspective. The discussion then moves on to the L2 acquisition of lexical tone, focusing on differences in the way native speakers and L2 learners make use of lower-level acoustic-phonetic and higher-level linguistic information, their weighting of tonal cues (pitch height and pitch direction), and the role of contextual phonetic and prosodic information. Special attention is paid to major typological differences between L1 and L2 (non-tonal vs. tonal; level tones vs. contour tones). Finally, the efficacy of short-term auditory training in the acquisition of new tonal categories is evaluated. Throughout, the chapter addresses the influence of factors such as age of acquisition and proficiency.
The History of Septuagint Studies
Authors: Mandelbrote Scott
Published: February 2021

This chapter surveys the major developments in the knowledge and study of the Septuagint in Western Europe between 1450 and 1850. It concentrates on the editing and presentation of the text and its critical interpretation, discussing the impact of the discovery of new manuscripts and versions based on the Septuagint. It considers the growth of critical scholarship and the importance of debates, such as that around biblical chronology, which most involved the witness of the Septuagint. It identifies three distinct periods in the development of the text and in Septuagint scholarship.
Quinta, Sexta, and Septima
Authors: Marsh Bradley John
Published: February 2021

Eusebius reports that Origen added three further Greek versions to his synoptic Hexapla Maior along with Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. These anonymous translations were differentiated by their placement in relation to the columns of the Three and the Origenian LXX (Field [1875] 2005: 83). Because of this, they became known as Quinta, Sexta, and Septima and were designated in MSS with Greek (or Syriac) alphabetic sigla: ε΄ (heh), ς΄ (waw), and ζ΄, respectively. As these versions have not survived in full, little is known about them. This chapter thus aims only to survey the evidence and secondary literature.
The Use of the Septuagint in the Liturgy and Lectionary of the Greek Orthodox Church
Authors: Lee John
Published: February 2021

The Septuagint has made a major contribution to the Greek Orthodox Christian liturgy, but this is an aspect of its reception history that has hitherto received little scholarly attention. In this chapter, aspects of the contribution are examined under five headings, ‘The Psalms’, ‘The Odes’, ‘Old Testament Readings’, ‘Quotations and Allusions’, and ‘Vocabulary’. The question of how the Septuagint came to play this role in Christian worship, and especially whether it reflects prior Jewish use of Greek Scripture in the liturgy of the synagogue, is considered in a final section, ‘Origins’, surveying the information available and current opinions and debates in this difficult field.
Reception of the Septuagint among Greek Christian Writers
Authors: Ceulemans Reinhart
Published: February 2021

This chapter opens by explaining how profoundly patristic and Byzantine Christianity was shaped by the LXX. Not only learned literature (to which the chapter confines itself) but also popular texts, non-literary documents, buildings, ceremonies, etc. testify to the deep but diverse impact that the LXX had on everyday life. In the first of two main sections, the chapter discusses the ways in which Greek Christianity received and transmitted the text of the LXX (and of related Greek versions). The various forms in which the LXX was explained are presented in the following part, which combines a general image with a treatment of the catena format in particular. Throughout the chapter, particular aspects are highlighted with regard to which modern (Western) LXX scholarship still strongly depends (whether it realizes it or not) on views developed by patristic and Byzantine Christians.
Isaiah
Authors: de Sousa Rodrigo F.
Published: February 2021

LXX Isaiah is one of the most debated texts in the entire corpus of the Septuagint. Modern research on the version has outlined its main characteristics, such as a certain freedom in the handling of its Vorlage and the competent but inconsistent use of the Greek language. Many contemporary debates focus on the issue of the theological hermeneutics of the translator. Some scholars detect a pervasive use of ‘actualizing’ interpretation, while others see a predominantly literal translation and tend to minimize the influence of theological factors on deviating renderings. This chapter proposes that the two approaches can be seen as complementary, in the sense that each one touches important, albeit contradictory, aspects of the version. The tendency of scholarship on LXX Isaiah is to continue to refine this discussion.
Introduction
Authors: Salvesen Alison G.
Published: February 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the Handbook and its consciously wide-ranging approach. Part I defines and explains the term Septuagint, and describes the development of the study of this significant corpus from the early modern period to the present day. Part II gives an overview of the socio-historical setting of the Septuagint, setting out prominent aspects of its nature as a translation including its incorporation of religious ideas and discussing the influence of the myth of Septuagint origins in the so-called Letter of Aristeas . It also surveys its early transmission in papyri, inscriptions, and manuscripts. Part III sets out in separate chapters the nature of the individual books of the Septuagint. Part IV looks at the Jewish reception and usage of the translated books, including revisions to the texts and the creation of alternative Greek versions. Part V turns to Christian use of the Septuagint, from the New Testament through to Greek and Latin writers. Part VI explains the significance of the ‘daughter’ versions rendered from Greek into a number of languages for the purposes of early Christian communities, and also some recent major scholarly translations of the Septuagint into modern European tongues. The last section, Part VII, provides some reflections on the significance of the Septuagint for biblical studies, especially textual criticism and New Testament, and for Christian theology. It finally looks at how illustrations in Septuagint manuscripts have interpreted the biblical text.
Theology in the septuagint?
Authors: Müller Mogens
Published: February 2021

This chapter is an attempt to outline, not a theology of the Septuagint, but the theology which reveals itself in the special Greek wording of the translation in contrast to its Hebrew Vorlage. An introduction sketches the history of interpretation with regard to the interpretative character of the translation and stresses the importance of distinguishing between what the translators may have intended and what the chosen translation occasioned. There follows an overview of a series of the most significant choices, namely the designations for God, the rendering of ‘Torah’ by ‘Law’, messianic interpretations, and transformations of eschatology. In addition, theology as enculturation is discussed. A conclusion emphasizes the Septuagint as an important chapter in the reception history of the Hebrew Bible and its impact on the development of theology in the New Testament.
Fanconi anemia ortholog FANCM regulates meiotic crossover distribution in plants
Authors: Li Xiang , Yu Mingsen , Bolaños-Villegas Pablo , Zhang Jun , Ni Di'an , Ma Hong , Wang Yingxiang
Published: February 2021

Meiotic recombination increases genetic diversity and manipulation of its frequency and distribution holds great promise in crop breeding. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FANCM (a homolog of mammalian Fanconi anemia complementation group M) suppresses recombination and its function seems conserved in other species including the rosids Brassica spp. and pea (Pisum sativum), and the monocot rice (Oryza sativa). To examine the role of FANCM during meiotic recombination in lettuce (Lactuca sativa, an asterid), we characterized the function of lettuce LsFANCM and found that it can functionally substitute for AtFANCM in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Moreover, three independent CRISPR/Cas9-edited lettuce Lsfancm mutants showed reduced pollen viability and seed setting. Unexpectedly, analyses of chromosome behavior revealed that 77.8% of Lsfancm meiocytes exhibited univalents. The normal formation of double-strand breaks in DNA and the discontinuous assembly of synaptonemal complex in Lsfancm mutants supports the hypothesis that LsFANCM might be dispensable for the initiation of meiotic recombination but required for normal synapsis. Furthermore, the frequency of lettuce HEI10 (Human Enhancer of Invasion 10) foci, a marker for Class-I crossovers (COs), was similar between wild-type (WT) and Lsfancm. Strikingly, the distribution of LsHEI10 foci and chiasmata in Lsfancm meiotic chromosomes was markedly different from the WT. A similar alteration in the distribution of Class-I COs was also observed in the Arabidopsis Atfancm mutant. Taken together, these results demonstrate that FANCM is important for shaping the distribution of meiotic Class-I COs in plants, and reveal an evolutionarily divergent role for FANCM in meiotic bivalent formation between Arabidopsis and lettuce.
Effect of Cross-Orientation Normalization on Different Neural Measures in Macaque Primary Visual Cortex
Authors: Das Aritra , Ray Supratim
Published: February 2021

Divisive normalization is a canonical mechanism that can explain a variety of sensory phenomena. While normalization models have been used to explain spiking activity in response to different stimulus/behavioral conditions in multiple brain areas, it is unclear whether similar models can also explain modulation in population-level neural measures such as power at various frequencies in local field potentials (LFPs) or steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) that is produced by flickering stimuli and popular in electroencephalogram studies. To address this, we manipulated normalization strength by presenting static as well as flickering orthogonal superimposed gratings (plaids) at varying contrasts to 2 female monkeys while recording multiunit activity (MUA) and LFP from the primary visual cortex and quantified the modulation in MUA, gamma (32–80 Hz), high-gamma (104–248 Hz) power, as well as SSVEP. Even under similar stimulus conditions, normalization strength was different for the 4 measures and increased as: spikes, high-gamma, SSVEP, and gamma. However, these results could be explained using a normalization model that was modified for population responses, by varying the tuned normalization parameter and semisaturation constant. Our results show that different neural measures can reflect the effect of stimulus normalization in different ways, which can be modeled by a simple normalization model.
Parent Attitudes Toward Enhancing Cognition and Clinical Research Trials in Down Syndrome: A Mixed Methods Study
Authors: Christensen Kirsten M. , Hojlo Margaret , Milliken Anna , Baumer Nicole T.
Published: February 2021

Objective:

As understanding of the neurobiological basis of cognitive impairment in Down syndrome (DS) advances and new pharmaceutical interventions targeting neurodevelopment become available, an in-depth understanding of the family perspective is essential to inform research efforts. A mixed methods study was conducted with parents of individuals with DS to learn about attitudes toward pharmacological interventions to enhance cognition, participation in clinical research trials in DS, and the relationship between child/family-specific factors and parent attitudes.

Method:

Parents completed an online survey (N = 37) assessing family/child sociodemographic factors and to capture thoughts on cognitive enhancement and participation in clinical drug trials. A subset of interested parents participated in a follow-up phone interview (N = 21) or focus group (N = 3; 1 FG). Double-blind thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data.

Results:

Parents' attitudes toward improving cognition, reversing intellectual disability, and participation in clinical trials correlated with each other and were informed by specific parent and child factors (e.g., child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder/behavioral diagnosis and parent education). Qualitative themes included advantages, disadvantages, and ethical implications of enhancing cognition. In addition, themes emerged regarding the need to understand the mechanism and potential side effects of experimental drugs, logistical factors relating to willingness to participate in clinical trials, and the evolution of parents' attitudes over time.

Conclusion:

The findings highlight the complexity of issues and implications of clinical trials for enhancing cognition in DS. Child-specific factors, logistical and safety considerations, and personal belief systems all inform parent attitudes and decision making. The findings reflect the importance of incorporating parent perspectives and values in research direction and design.
Exploring Links Between Prenatal Adversity and Adolescent Psychiatric Risk in a Canadian Population-Based Sample
Authors: Faltyn Mateusz , Savoy Calan , Krzeczkowski John E. , Ferro Mark A. , Colman Ian , Van Lieshout Ryan J.
Published: February 2021

Objective:

Adverse prenatal and postnatal exposures may have long-lasting effects on health and development. However, it remains unclear whether being exposed to a greater number of prenatal adversities affects mental health risk. The current study examined whether exposure to maternal health problems prenatally is associated with an increasing risk of psychiatric morbidity in adolescents.

Methods:

Using data from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS), we examined associations between a count of 7 prenatal risk factors (maternal hypertension, diabetes mellitus, bleeding during pregnancy, influenza, urinary tract infection, thyroid disease, and depression/anxiety) and adolescent psychiatric morbidity. Adolescents (N = 2219) aged 12 to 17 years were assessed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents.

Results:

Exposure to each additional prenatal adversity was correlated with increased odds of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03–1.60), generalized anxiety disorder (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.05–1.55), and social anxiety disorder (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.01–1.80) after adjustment for confounding variables.

Conclusion:

Exposure to prenatal adversity in the form of maternal health problems was correlated with an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders in adolescence. Future studies should further investigate the effects of antenatal environmental exposures on these associations to determine the potential value of close monitoring of those exposed to prenatal risks.
Nurse- and Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist-Led Bowel Training in Patients With Fecal Incontinence in a Tertiary Care Center
Authors: Visscher Arjan P. , Leemeijer Anna , Felt-Bersma Richelle J. F.
Published: February 2021

Little is known about nurse- and pelvic floor physical therapist-led bowel training in fecal incontinence after previous conservative management has been deemed unsatisfactory. The objective of this study was to evaluate combined nurse- and physical therapist-led bowel training sessions in a tertiary care center. This was a prospective, cross-sectional study. All patients with fecal incontinence between 2015 and 2016 with and without previous conservative management were included. Combined conservative treatment was defined as the use of stool-bulking agents (psyllium fibers) with or without antidiarrheal medication (loperamide) in combination with biofeedback or pelvic floor muscle training. Questionnaires regarding fecal incontinence (Vaizey incontinence score) and quality of life (Short Form Health Survey-36) were used. A decrease in the Vaizey incontinence score of 5 or more points was deemed to be clinically significant. Vaizey incontinence scores in all 50 patients decreased from 14.7 (SD = 4.5) to 9.9 (SD = 4.8) at follow-up (p < .001). Forty percent of patients reported an improvement in their Vaizey incontinence score (change of 5 or more points). Improvement was noted in those with and without previous treatment. Quality of life improved significantly. The limitation of the study includes lack of a standardized treatment protocol. Fecal incontinence reduced after nurse- and physical therapist-led bowel training sessions in patients with and without previous treatment, increasing their quality of life.
Comparison of the temporal efficacy of Aquatain surface films for the control of
Anopheles arabiensis
and
Ochlerotatus caspius
larvae from Sudan
Authors: Almalik Alaa Mahmoud Ali , Guy Reeves R. , Azrag Rasha Siddig
Published: February 2021

Aquatain mosquito formulation (AMF) is a surfactant that spreads across the surface of water bodies to produce a monomolecular film. This study experimentally evaluates the temporal efficacy of AMF against aquatic stages of
Anopheles arabiensis
and
Ochlerotatus caspius
under laboratory conditions. Using the recommended application dose of 1 ml m
−2
, a large species-specific difference in the median lethal time for L3–L4 larvae was observed. The median lethal time to 50% mortality (LT50) and 90% mortality (LT90) was 1.3 h, 95% CI [1.2, 1.4] and 3.8 h, 95% CI [3.6, 4.0], respectively, for
Oc. caspius
. The corresponding values for
An. arabiensis
were 8.1 h, 95% CI [7.3, 9.0] and 59.6 h, 95% CI [48.5, 76.2]. Based on data from published laboratory studies for a total of seven mosquito species, drawn from four genera, results in the following three groups, [LT50 = 1–2 h,
Culex quinquefasciatus
,
Ochlerotatus caspius
] [LT50 = 8–24, hours,
Anopheles minimus
,
Anopheles arabiensis, Anopheles gambiae
s.s.] and [LT50 = 72–143 h,
Anopheles stephensi
,
Aedes aegypti
]. In all experiments, 100% mortality was achieved given sufficient time. The potential relevance of mortality rate estimates, in the context of other studies, on the use of monomolecular films for the control of malaria and arbovirus diseases is discussed.
The validation of new phase-dependent gait stability measures: a modelling approach
Authors: Jin Jian , Kistemaker Dinant , van Dieën Jaap H. , Daffertshofer Andreas , Bruijn Sjoerd M.
Published: February 2021

Identification of individuals at risk of falling is important when designing fall prevention methods. Current measures that estimate gait stability and robustness appear limited in predicting falls in older adults. Inspired by recent findings on changes in phase-dependent local stability within a gait cycle, we devised several phase-dependent stability measures and tested for their usefulness to predict gait robustness in compass walker models. These measures are closely related to the often-employed maximum finite-time Lyapunov exponent and maximum Floquet multiplier that both assess a system's response to infinitesimal perturbations. As such, they entail linearizing the system, but this is realized in a rotating hypersurface orthogonal to the period-one solution followed by estimating the trajectory-normal divergence rate of the swing phases and the foot strikes. We correlated the measures with gait robustness, i.e. the largest perturbation a walker can handle, in two compass walker models with either point or circular feet to estimate their prediction accuracy. To also test for the dependence of the measures under state space transform, we represented the point feet walker in both Euler–Lagrange and Hamiltonian canonical form. Our simulations revealed that for most of the measures their correlation with gait robustness differs between models and between different state space forms. In particular, the latter may jeopardize many stability measures' predictive capacity for gait robustness. The only exception that consistently displayed strong correlations is the divergence of foot strike. Our results admit challenges of using phase-dependent stability measures as objective means to estimate the risk of falling.
The utilization of micro-mesoporous carbon-based filler in the P84 hollow fibre membrane for gas separation
Authors: Gunawan Triyanda , Widiastuti Nurul , Fansuri Hamzah , Wan Salleh Wan Norharyati , Ismail Ahmad Fauzi , Lin Rijia , Motuzas Juliuz , Smart Simon
Published: February 2021

This research involved carrying out a unique micro-mesoporous carbon particle incorporation into P84 co-polyimide membrane for improved gas separation performance. The carbon filler was prepared using a hard template method from zeolite and known as zeolite-templated carbon (ZTC). This research aims to study the loading amount of ZTC into P84 co-polyimide toward the gas separation performance. The ZTC was prepared using simple impregnation method of sucrose into hard template of zeolite Y. The SEM result showing a dispersed ZTC particle on the membrane surface and cross-section. The pore size distribution (PSD) of ZTC revealed that the particle consists of two characteristics of micro and mesoporous region. It was noted that with only 0.5 wt% of ZTC addition, the permeability was boosted up from 4.68 to 7.06 and from 8.95 to 13.15 barrer, for CO2and H2respectively when compared with the neat membrane. On the other hand, the optimum loading was at 1 wt%, where the membrane received thermal stability boost of 10% along with the 62.4 and 35% of selectivity boost of CO2/CH4and H2/CH4, respectively. It was noted that the position of the filler on the membrane surface was significantly affecting the gas transport mechanism of the membrane. Overall, the results demonstrated that the addition of ZTC with proper filler position is a potential candidate to be applicable in the gas separation involving CO2and H2.
Slaying the last unicorn: discovery of histones in the microalga
Nanochlorum eucaryotum
Authors: Soo Valerie W. C. , Warnecke Tobias
Published: February 2021

Histones are the principal constituents of eukaryotic chromatin. The four core histones (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4) are conserved across sequenced eukaryotic genomes and therefore thought to be universal to eukaryotes. In the early 1980s, however, a series of biochemical investigations failed to find evidence for histones or nucleosomal structures in the microscopic green alga
Nanochlorum eucaryotum
. If true, derived histone loss in this lineage would constitute an exceptional case that might help us further understand the principles governing eukaryotic gene regulation. To substantiate these earlier reports of histone loss in
N. eucaryotum,
we sequenced, assembled and quantified its transcriptome. Following a systematic search for histone-fold domains in the assembled transcriptome, we detect orthologues to all four core histones. We also find histone mRNAs to be highly expressed, comparable to the situation in other eukaryotes. Finally, we obtain characteristic protection patterns when
N. eucaryotum
chromatin is subjected to micrococcal nuclease digestion, indicating widespread formation of nucleosomal complexes
in vivo
. We conclude that previous reports of missing histones in
N. eucaryotum
were mistaken. By all indications,
Nanochlorum eucaryotum
has histone-based chromatin characteristic of most eukaryotes.
Contributions of spatial and temporal control of step length symmetry in the transfer of locomotor adaptation from a motorized to a non-motorized split-belt treadmill
Authors: Gregory Daniel L. , Sup Frank C. , Choi Julia T.
Published: February 2021

Walking requires control of where and when to step for stable interlimb coordination. Motorized split-belt treadmills which constrain each leg to move at different speeds lead to adaptive changes to limb coordination that result in after-effects (e.g. gait asymmetry) on return to normal treadmill walking. These after-effects indicate an underlying neural adaptation. Here, we assessed the transfer of motorized split-belt treadmill adaptations with a custom non-motorized split-belt treadmill where each belt can be self-propelled at different speeds. Transfer was indicated by the presence of after-effects in step length, foot placement and step timing differences. Ten healthy participants adapted on a motorized split-belt treadmill (2 : 1 speed ratio) and were then assessed for after-effects during subsequent non-motorized treadmill and motorized tied-belt treadmill walking. We found that after-effects in step length difference during transfer to non-motorized split-belt walking were primarily associated with step time differences. Conversely, residual after-effects during motorized tied-belt walking following transfer were associated with foot placement differences. Our data demonstrate decoupling of adapted spatial and temporal locomotor control during transfer to a novel context, suggesting that foot placement and step timing control can be independently modulated during walking.
Thermal niches of specialized gut symbionts: the case of social bees
Authors: Hammer Tobin J. , Le Eli , Moran Nancy A.
Published: February 2021

Responses to climate change are particularly complicated in species that engage in symbioses, as the niche of one partner may be modified by that of the other. We explored thermal traits in gut symbionts of honeybees and bumblebees, which are vulnerable to rising temperatures.In vitroassays of symbiont strains isolated from 16 host species revealed variation in thermal niches. Strains from bumblebees tended to be less heat-tolerant than those from honeybees, possibly due to bumblebees maintaining cooler nests or inhabiting cooler climates. Overall, however, bee symbionts grew at temperatures up to 44°C and withstood temperatures up to 52°C, at or above the upper thermal limits of their hosts. While heat-tolerant, most strains of the symbiontSnodgrassellagrew relatively slowly below 35°C, perhaps because of adaptation to the elevated body temperatures that bees maintain through thermoregulation. In a gnotobiotic bumblebee experiment,Snodgrassellawas unable to consistently colonize bees reared at 29°C under conditions that limit thermoregulation. Thus, host thermoregulatory behaviour appears important in creating a warm microenvironment for symbiont establishment. Bee–microbiome–temperature interactions could affect host health and pollination services, and inform research on the thermal biology of other specialized gut symbionts.
Psychoactive pollution suppresses individual differences in fish behaviour
Authors: Polverino Giovanni , Martin Jake M. , Bertram Michael G. , Soman Vrishin R. , Tan Hung , Brand Jack A. , Mason Rachel T. , Wong Bob B. M.
Published: February 2021

Environmental contamination by pharmaceuticals is global, substantially altering crucial behaviours in animals and impacting on their reproduction and survival. A key question is whether the consequences of these pollutants extend beyond mean behavioural changes, restraining differences in behaviour between individuals. In a controlled, two-year, multigenerational experiment with independent mesocosm populations, we exposed guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to environmentally realistic levels of the ubiquitous pollutant fluoxetine (Prozac). Fish (unexposed:n= 59, low fluoxetine:n= 57, high fluoxetine:n= 58) were repeatedly assayed on four separate occasions for activity and risk-taking behaviour. Fluoxetine homogenized individuals' activity, with individual variation in populations exposed to even low concentrations falling to less than half that in unexposed populations. To understand the proximate mechanism underlying these changes, we tested the relative contribution of variation within and between individuals to the overall decline in individual variation. We found strong evidence that fluoxetine erodes variation in activity between but not within individuals, revealing the hidden consequences of a ubiquitous contaminant on phenotypic variation in fish—likely to impair adaptive potential to environmental change.
Noise distracts foraging bats
Authors: Allen Louise C. , Hristov Nickolay I. , Rubin Juliette J. , Lightsey Joseph T. , Barber Jesse R.
Published: February 2021

Predators frequently must detect and localize their prey in challenging environments. Noisy environments have been prevalent across the evolutionary history of predator–prey relationships, but now with increasing anthropogenic activities noise is becoming a more prominent feature of many landscapes. Here, we use the gleaning pallid bat,
Antrozous pallidus
, to investigate the mechanism by which noise disrupts hunting behaviour. Noise can primarily function to
mask
—obscure by spectrally overlapping a cue of interest, or
distract
—occupy an animal's attentional or other cognitive resources. Using band-limited white noise treatments that either overlapped the frequencies of a prey cue or did not overlap this cue, we find evidence that distraction is a primary driver of reduced hunting efficacy in an acoustically mediated predator. Under exposure to both noise types successful prey localization declined by half, search time nearly tripled, and bats used 25% more sonar pulses than when hunting in ambient conditions. Overall, the pallid bat does not seem capable of compensating for environmental noise. These findings have implications for mitigation strategies, specifically the importance of reducing sources of noise on the landscape rather than attempting to reduce the bandwidth of anthropogenic noise.
Mammalian intestinal allometry, phylogeny, trophic level and climate
Authors: Duque-Correa María J. , Codron Daryl , Meloro Carlo , McGrosky Amanda , Schiffmann Christian , Edwards Mark S. , Clauss Marcus
Published: February 2021

An often-stated ecomorphological assumption that has the status of ‘textbook knowledge’ is that the dimensions of the digestive tract correlate with diet, where herbivores—consuming diets of lower digestibility—have longer intestinal tracts than faunivores—consuming diets of higher digestibility. However, statistical approaches have so far failed to demonstrate this link. Here, we collated data on the length of intestinal sections and body mass of 519 mammal species, and test for various relationships with trophic, climatic and other biological characteristics. All models showed a strong phylogenetic signal. Scaling relationships with body mass showed positive allometry at exponents greater than 0.33, except for the caecum, which is particularly large in smaller species. Body mass was more tightly linked to small intestine than to large intestine length. Adding a diet proxy to the relationships increased model fit for all intestinal sections, except for the small intestine when accounting for phylogeny. Thus, the diet has a main effect on the components of the large intestine, with longer measures in herbivores. Additionally, measures of habitat aridity had a positive relationship with large intestine length. The small intestine was longer in species from colder habitats at higher latitudes, possibly facilitating the processing of peak intake rates during the growing season. This study corroborates intuitive expectations on digestive tract anatomy, while the dependence of significant results on large sample sizes and inclusion of specific taxonomic groups indicates that the relationships cannot be considered fixed biological laws.
Status of rpoB gene mutation associated with rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated in a rural setting in Nepal
Authors: Adhikari Saroj , Saud Bhuvan , Sunar Sunil , Ghimire Sheshraj , Yadav Bhawani Prasad
Published: February 2021

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

ranks among the top 10 causes of deaths in Nepal despite the country having a long history of national tuberculosis prevention programmes that have proved very successful in the control of tuberculosis. Several cases of active or latent tuberculosis are still missing despite that the number of infected individuals is increasing each year. Microscopy has its own limitations and factors like low bacterial load, quality of sample, quality of smear, experience of microscopist etc. influence the overall sensitivity of the test. The implementation of a molecular technique-based rapid, point-of-care testing system offers higher sensitivity in the early diagnosis of tuberculosis. Cepheid GeneXpert is the most commonly used molecular technology in Nepal. It is a cartridge-based semi-quantitative, nested real-time PCR-based diagnostic system. It detects mutations in the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase (rpoB) gene that lead to rifampicin resistance (RR) in

M. tuberculosis

complex. The present study aims to increase our understanding of the epidemiology of mutations in the rpoB gene in tuberculosis-positive patients by using the Xpert MTB/RIF assay in a rural setting in Pyuthan Hospital, Nepal. Sputum from 2733 patients was tested for the diagnosis of tuberculosis using the Cepheid GeneXpert system between July 2018 and January 2020 at Pyuthan Hospital. Two hundred and ninety-seven of these samples (10.86 %) were positive for

M. tuberculosis

, of which 3.3 % (10/297) were rifampicin-resistant. Among rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) patients, 50.0 % (5/10) showed mutations located in codons 529–533 (probe E) of the rpoB gene, followed by others. The GeneXpert system can be a convenient, highly sensitive, rapid and accurate tool for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, also identifying RR-TB and at the same time determining the molecular epidemiology of rifampin resistance-associated mutations in rural and/or resource-limited laboratory settings.