bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The study of dynamic force acted on water strider leg departing from water surface
Authors: Sun Peiyuan , Zhao Meirong , Jiang Jile , Zheng Yelong
Published: January 2018

Water-walking insects such as water striders can skate on the water surface easily with the help of the hierarchical structure on legs. Numerous theoretical and experimental studies show that the hierarchical structure would help water strider in quasi-static case such as load-bearing capacity. However, the advantage of the hierarchical structure in the dynamic stage has not been reported yet. In this paper, the function of super hydrophobicity and the hierarchical structure was investigated by measuring the adhesion force of legs departing from the water surface at different lifting speed by a dynamic force sensor. The results show that the adhesion force decreased with the increase of lifting speed from 0.02 m/s to 0.4 m/s, whose mechanic is investigated by Energy analysis. In addition, it can be found that the needle shape setae on water strider leg can help them depart from water surface easily. Thus, it can serve as a starting point to understand how the hierarchical structure on the legs help water-walking insects to jump upward rapidly to avoid preying by other insects.
Electromagnetic interference shielding performance of nano-layered Ti3SiC2 ceramics at high-temperatures
Authors: Li Sigong , Tan Yongqiang , Xue Jiaxiang , Liu Tong , Zhou Xiaosong , Zhang Haibin
Published: January 2018

The X-band electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties of nano-layered Ti3SiC2 ceramics were evaluated from room temperature up to 800°C in order to explore the feasibility of Ti3SiC2 as efficient high temperature EMI shielding material. It was found that Ti3SiC2 exhibits satisfactory EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) close to 30 dB at room temperature and the EMI SE shows good temperature stability. The remarkable EMI shielding properties of Ti3SiC2 can be mainly attributed to high electrical conductivity, high dielectric loss and more importantly the multiple reflections due to the layered structure.
2 kV slanted tri-gate GaN-on-Si Schottky barrier diodes with ultra-low leakage current
Authors: Ma Jun , Matioli Elison
Published: January 2018

This letter reports lateral GaN-on-Si power Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with unprecedented voltage-blocking performance by integrating 3-dimensionally a hybrid of tri-anode and slanted tri-gate architectures in their anode. The hybrid tri-anode pins the voltage drop at the Schottky junction (VSCH), despite a large applied reverse bias, fixing the reverse leakage current (IR) of the SBD. Such architecture led to an ultra-low IR of 51 ± 5.9 nA/mm at −1000 V, in addition to a small turn-on voltage (VON) of 0.61 ± 0.03 V. The slanted tri-gate effectively distributes the electric field in OFF state, leading to a remarkably high breakdown voltage (VBR) of −2000 V at 1 μA/mm, constituting a significant breakthrough from existing technologies. The approach pursued in this work reduces the IR and increases the VBR without sacrificing the VON, which provides a technology for high-voltage SBDs, and unveils the unique advantage of tri-gates for advanced power applications.
Kinetic boundaries and phase transformations of ice i at high pressure
Authors: Wang Yu , Zhang Huichao , Yang Xue , Jiang Shuqing , Goncharov Alexander F.
Published: January 2018

Raman spectroscopy in diamond anvil cells has been employed to study phase boundaries and transformation kinetics of H2O ice at high pressures up to 16 GPa and temperatures down to 15 K. Ice i formed at nearly isobaric cooling of liquid water transforms on compression to high-density amorphous (HDA) ice at 1.1–3 GPa at 15-100 K and then crystallizes in ice vii with the frozen-in disorder (ice vii′) which remains stable up to 14.1 GPa at 80 K and 15.9 GPa at 100 K. Unexpectedly, on decompression of ice vii′, it transforms to ice viii in its domain of metastability, and then it relaxes into low-density amorphous (LDA) ice on a subsequent pressure release and warming up. On compression of ice i at 150-170 K, ice ix is crystallized and no HDA ice is found; further compression of ice ix results in the sequential phase transitions to stable ices vi and viii. Cooling ice i to 210 K at 0.3 GPa transforms it to a stable ice ii. Our extensive investigations provide previously missing information on the phase diagram of water, especially on the kinetic paths that result in formation of phases which otherwise are not accessible; these results are keys for understanding the phase relations including the formation of metastable phases. Our observations inform on the ice modifications that can occur naturally in planetary environments and are not accessible for direct observations.
The influence of superimposed DC current on electrical and spectroscopic characteristics of HiPIMS discharge
Authors: Zuo Xiao , Chen Rende , Liu Jingzhou , Ke Peiling , Wang Aiying
Published: January 2018

The electrical characteristics and spectroscopic properties have been comprehensively investigated in a DC superimposed high power impulse magnetron sputtering (DC-HiPIMS) deposition system in this paper. The influence of superimposed DC current on the variation of target and substrate current waveforms, active species and electron temperatures with pulse voltages are focused. The peak target currents in DC-HiPIMS are lower than in HiPIMS. The time scales of the two main discharge processes like ionization and gas rarefaction in DC-HiPIMS are analyzed. When the pulse voltage is higher than 600 V, the gas rarefaction effect becomes apparent. Overall, the ionization process is found to be dominant in the initial ∼100 μs during each pulse. The active species of Ar and Cr in DC-HiPIMS are higher than in HiPIMS unless that the pulse voltage reaches 900 V. However, the ionization degree in HiPIMS exceeds that in DC-HiPIMS at around 600 V. The electron temperature calculated by modified Boltzmann plot method based on corona model has a precipitous increase from 0.87 to 25.0 eV in HiPIMS, but varies mildly after the introduction of the superimposed DC current. Additionally, the current from plasma flowing to the substrate is improved when a DC current is superimposed with HiPIMS.
Intermittent flow under constant forcing: Acoustic emission from creep avalanches
Authors: Salje Ekhard K. H. , Liu Hanlong , Jin Linsen , Jiang Deyi , Xiao Yang , Jiang Xiang
Published: January 2018

While avalanches in field driven ferroic systems (e.g., Barkhausen noise), domain switching of martensitic nanostructures, and the collapse of porous materials are well documented, creep avalanches (avalanches under constant forcing) were never observed. Collapse avalanches generate particularly large acoustic emission (AE) signals and were hence chosen to investigate crackling noise under creep conditions. Piezoelectric SiO2 has a strong piezoelectric response even at the nanoscale so that we chose weakly bound SiO2 spheres in natural sandstone as a representative for the study of avalanches under time-independent, constant force. We found highly non-stationary crackling noise with four activity periods, each with power law distributed AE emission. Only the period before the final collapse shows the mean field behavior (ε near 1.39), in agreement with previous dynamic measurements at a constant stress rate. All earlier event periods show collapse with larger exponents (ε = 1.65). The waiting time exponents are classic with τ near 2.2 and 1.32. Creep data generate power law mixing with “effective” exponents for the full dataset with combinations of mean field and non-mean field regimes. We find close agreement with the predicted time-dependent fiber bound simulations, including events and waiting time distributions. Båth's law holds under creep conditions.
Traveling waves in a delayed SIR model with nonlocal dispersal and nonlinear incidence
Authors: Zhang Shou-Peng , Yang Yun-Rui , Zhou Yong-Hui
Published: January 2018

This paper is concerned with traveling waves of a delayed SIR model with nonlocal dispersal and a general nonlinear incidence. The existence and nonexistence of traveling waves of the system are established respectively by Schauder’s fixed point theorem and two-sided Laplace transform. It is also shown that the spread speed c is influenced by the dispersal rate of the infected individuals and the delay τ.
Bacterial artificial chromosome clones randomly selected for sequencing reveal genomic differences between soybean cultivars
Authors: He Tingting , Yang Longshu , Ding Xianlong , Chen Linfeng , Li Yanwei , Wang Tanliu , Zhang Hao , Gai Junyi , Yang Shouping
Published: January 2018

This study pioneered the use of multiple technologies to combine the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) pooling strategy with high-throughput next- and third-generation sequencing technologies to analyse genomic difference. To understand the genetic background of the Chinese soybean cultivar N23601, we built a BAC library and sequenced 10 randomly selected clones followed by de novo assembly. Comparative analysis was conducted against the reference genome of Glycine max var. Williams 82 (2.0). Therefore, our result is an assessment of the reference genome. Our results revealed that 3517 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 662 insertion–deletions (InDels) occurred in ~1.2 Mb of the genomic region and that four of the 10 BAC clones contained 15 large structural variations (72 887 bp) compared with the reference genome. Gene annotation of the reference genome showed that Glyma.18g181000 was missing from the corresponding position of the 10 BAC clones. Additionally, there may be a problem with the assembly of some positions of the reference genome. Several gap regions in the reference genome could be supplemented by using the complete sequence of the 10 BAC clones. We believe that accurate and complete BAC sequence is a valuable resource that contributes to the completeness of the reference genome.
LncRNA IDH1-AS1 links the functions of c-Myc and HIF1α via IDH1 to regulate the Warburg effect
Authors: Xiang Shaoxun , Gu Hao , Jin Lei , Thorne Rick F. , Zhang Xu Dong , Wu Mian
Published: January 2018

Significance

We report in this article that c-Myc-mediated repression of lncRNA IDH1-AS1 sustains activation of the Warburg effect by HIF1α under normoxic conditions. IDH1-AS1 would otherwise enhance IDH1 enzymatic activity through promoting its homodimerization, leading to increased production of α-KG, which, along with decreases in ROS levels similarly resulting from increased IDH1 activity, causes down-regulation of HIF1a and a reduction in glycolysis. Collectively, our results have identified a signaling axis c-Myc-(IDH1-AS1)-IDH1-αKG/ROS-HIF1α that is important for activation of the Warburg effect under normoxia. Moreover, the results reveal IDH1 as a member of c-Myc-responsive metabolic enzymes and demonstrate that c-Myc plays an important part in balancing mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis to ensure glycolysis be executed efficiently in cancer cells under normoxia.
Method to generate highly stable D-amino acid analogs of bioactive helical peptides using a mirror image of the entire PDB
Authors: Garton Michael , Nim Satra , Stone Tracy A. , Wang Kyle Ethan , Deber Charles M. , Kim Philip M.
Published: January 2018

Significance

Using D-amino acids as the building blocks for bioactive peptides can dramatically increase their potency. However, simply swapping regular levorotary amino acids for dextrorotary (D)-amino acids alters the peptide surface topology and function is lost. Current methods to overcome this are not generally applicable and exclude the majority of therapeutic targets. By creating a mirror image of all 111,867 protein structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), we convert this repository into a D-peptide database with 2.8 million D-peptide structures. This D-PDB can be searched to find therapeutically active topologies, demonstrated here by the discovery of D-peptide GLP1R and PTH1R agonists. Evaluation of D-PDB coverage suggests that it holds candidates for most therapeutic targets and, thus, potentially contains hundreds of potent drug leads.
On the complex dynamics of savanna landscapes
Authors: Touboul Jonathan David , Staver Ann Carla , Levin Simon Asher
Published: January 2018

Significance

This paper makes a significant contribution both to ecological theory and to an understanding more generally regarding how complex dynamics can emerge in mathematical models from quite simple underlying assumptions. Empirical and theoretical work has suggested that savanna–forest systems exhibit bistability, potentially flipping from one state to another in the face of environmental change. Here, we show that the dynamics of those systems may be much more complicated (periodic and endogenously driven) and present surprising responses to environmental variability. From a mathematical point of view, the models that we explore exhibit a rich array of behaviors and responses to random perturbations, and we suggest that such dynamics may arise in a variety of contexts.
Automated monitoring of behavior reveals bursty interaction patterns and rapid spreading dynamics in honeybee social networks
Authors: Gernat Tim , Rao Vikyath D. , Middendorf Martin , Dankowicz Harry , Goldenfeld Nigel , Robinson Gene E.
Published: January 2018

Social networks mediate the spread of information and disease. The dynamics of spreading depends, among other factors, on the distribution of times between successive contacts in the network. Heavy-tailed (bursty) time distributions are characteristic of human communication networks, including face-to-face contacts and electronic communication via mobile phone calls, email, and internet communities. Burstiness has been cited as a possible cause for slow spreading in these networks relative to a randomized reference network. However, it is not known whether burstiness is an epiphenomenon of human-specific patterns of communication. Moreover, theory predicts that fast, bursty communication networks should also exist. Here, we present a high-throughput technology for automated monitoring of social interactions of individual honeybees and the analysis of a rich and detailed dataset consisting of more than 1.2 million interactions in five honeybee colonies. We find that bees, like humans, also interact in bursts but that spreading is significantly faster than in a randomized reference network and remains so even after an experimental demographic perturbation. Thus, while burstiness may be an intrinsic property of social interactions, it does not always inhibit spreading in real-world communication networks. We anticipate that these results will inform future models of large-scale social organization and information and disease transmission, and may impact health management of threatened honeybee populations.
Child first language and adult second language are both tied to general-purpose learning systems
Authors: Hamrick Phillip , Lum Jarrad A. G. , Ullman Michael T.
Published: January 2018

Significance

It has long been debated whether the mechanisms that underlie language are dedicated to this uniquely human capacity or whether in fact they serve more general-purpose functions. Our study provides strong evidence that language—indeed both first and second language—is learned, in specific ways, by general-purpose neurocognitive mechanisms that preexist
Homo sapiens
. The results have broad implications. They elucidate both the ontogeny (development) and phylogeny (evolution) of language. Moreover, they suggest that our substantial knowledge of the general-purpose mechanisms, from both animal and human studies, may also apply to language. The study may thus lead to a research program that can generate a wide range of predictions about this critical domain.
Neuronal control of astrocytic respiration through a variant of the Crabtree effect
Authors: Fernández-Moncada Ignacio , Ruminot Iván , Robles-Maldonado Daniel , Alegría Karin , Deitmer Joachim W. , Barros L. Felipe
Published: January 2018

Significance

Neuronal activity is immediately followed by aerobic glycolysis, the partial oxidation of glucose to lactate in the presence of oxygen, a phenomenon that seems paradoxical because full oxidation of glucose to CO
2
would yield much more ATP. Here we show that short-term aerobic glycolysis involves a mechanism whereby neurons obtain oxygen by manipulating the glucose metabolism and mitochondrial respiration of neighboring astrocytes.
Effects of rapamycin on growth hormone receptor knockout mice
Authors: Fang Yimin , Hill Cristal M. , Darcy Justin , Reyes-Ordoñez Adriana , Arauz Edwin , McFadden Samuel , Zhang Chi , Osland Jared , Gao John , Zhang Tian , Frank Stuart J. , Javors Martin A. , Yuan Rong , Kopchick John J. , Sun Liou Y. , Chen Jie , Bartke Andrzej
Published: January 2018

Significance

In various animal species, including mammals, longevity can be extended by rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin). mTOR acts through two complexes: mTORC1 and mTORC2. Antiaging effects of rapamycin are mediated by suppression of mTORC1, while the role of mTORC2 in aging remains to be elucidated. Here, we report that mTORC2 plays a positive role in regulating longevity via maintenance, or enhancement, of whole-body homeostasis. When mTORC2-mediated homeostasis was disrupted by rapamycin in the remarkably long-lived GHR-KO mice (in which mTORC1 signaling is low, while mTORC2 signaling is elevated), their life span was shortened. Hence, a selective approach toward mTORC1 inhibition without impairing mTORC2 is important in devising a strategy for slowing aging.
Disease-causing mutation in α-actinin-4 promotes podocyte detachment through maladaptation to periodic stretch
Authors: Feng Di , Notbohm Jacob , Benjamin Ava , He Shijie , Wang Minxian , Ang Lay-Hong , Bantawa Minaspi , Bouzid Mehdi , Del Gado Emanuela , Krishnan Ramaswamy , Pollak Martin R.
Published: January 2018

Significance

Point mutations in α-actinin-4 (ACTN4) cause a form of kidney disease in humans. Although we know these mutations affect kidney podocytes, the mechanism by which they lead to podocyte dysfunction remains unclear. Here, we show that homozygous mutant Actn4 podocytes developed irrecoverable reductions in their contraction and irreparable disruptions in their actin cytoskeletons when subjected to periodic stretch. This maladaptive response is akin to failure of a brittle material under deformation. Our results clarify the mechanism by which mutations in ACTN4 leave the podocyte more vulnerable to detachment in the progression of kidney disease.
Conceptual frameworks and L2 pedagogy
Authors: Buescher Kimberly , Strauss Susan
Published: January 2018

Prepositions have historically posed challenges to second language (L2) learners, due largely to the fact that prepositions in the first language (L1) typically do not overlap in meaning, function, or use with L2 prepositions. Three prepositions in French, à, dans, and en, reflect this very issue. This chapter presents results from three instructional workshops involving students and teachers of French at a large public university in the northeastern U.S. We introduced our conceptualization-based framework for the target prepositions, based on discourse analysis of a corpus and designed to provide L2 learners and teachers with a unified and systematic conceptual mapping of the trajector and landmark relationships for each preposition, together with other symbols that graphically illustrate the meanings for each form. The combined Cognitive Linguistic (CL) (Langacker, 2008a, 2008b; Taylor, 2002; Tyler, 2012b) and Sociocultural Theoretical (SCT) (Vygotsky, 2012) Concept-Based Instructional (CBI) (see Haenen, 2001) approach helped early intermediate French L2 learners/teachers better understand these three French prepositions and be able to use them appropriately.
Using metacognitive strategies to induce phase shifts
Authors: Becker Shannon R. , Sturm Jessica L.
Published: January 2018

In this chapter, we critically self-evaluate a previously published study through the lens of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory. In this way we propose a Complex Adaptive Systems approach to second language (L2) language development in order to examine the effectiveness of explicit listening instruction and metacognition. We do this by conceiving of problems in listening comprehension as attractors in the state space of L2 language development and interpreting explicit instruction as a way of inducing a phase shift. The original study used a traditional pretest-posttest design to evaluate the effectiveness of a teaching method using metacognitive listening strategies and audiovisual media. We present the original design and results, discuss why this method is insufficient for considering language from a usage-inspired complexity perspective, and offer some suggestions for how it may be re-conceptualized via CAS theory. We argue that a complex systems perspective allows for more freedom in interpreting results by taking into account the nonlinear nature of language development and its inherent variability.
Do findings from artificial language learning generalize to second language classrooms?
Authors: Madlener-Charpentier Karin
Published: January 2018

Usage-based approaches assume that language acquisition proceeds predominantly incidentally and implicitly, based on the processing of meaningful input during contextualized social interaction. By contrast, there is a tradition of investigating the mechanisms of second language (L2) processing and learning through tightly controlled artificial language learning studies in the laboratory. This raises the question to what extent and under which conditions findings from such artificial language learning studies generalize to (instructed) L2 acquisition (and may therefore inform L2 pedagogy). I present and discuss convergent and divergent findings across several domains, including brain imaging, learned attention, and frequency effects. The latter are given special attention, as they are crucial to a usage-based perspective. Comparisons between prior laboratory and classroom studies and data from current classroom research (Madlener, 2015) suggest that (1) not all task types used in artificial language learning studies reliably generalize to (classroom) L2 learning and that (2) artificial language learning models some aspects of L2 acquisition more readily than others.
A systemic functional linguistic approach to usage-based research and instruction
Authors: Gentil Guillaume , Meunier Fanny
Published: January 2018

The present chapter illustrates how Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) can inform a usage-inspired approach to researching and teaching L2 writing in a postsecondary context. We first outline an SFL perspective to multilingual academic literacy development and then illustrate this perspective by means of longitudinal, corpus data on nominalization use in the English academic writing of francophone university students over four years. By means of quantitative indicators (nominalization frequencies, erroneous forms, measures of L2 proficiency scores and syntactic complexity) and qualitative analyses (of the discourse functions that nominalization serve), we argue that French-speaking writers’ use of nominalization in English indexes both language-specific and language-interdependent aspects of multilingual academic literacy development. We conclude with implications for further SFL-informed research and instruction that aims to promote multilingual academic literacy development by raising crosslinguistic awareness of the forms and functions of nominalization in academic discourse.
Formal linguistics and second language acquisition
Authors: White Lydia
Published: January 2018

This paper motivates formal linguistic approaches to second language (L2) acquisition, particularly approaches grounded in generative grammar, and provides an overview of how such approaches have developed over time. The role of the mother tongue grammar and Universal Grammar (UG) in shaping the acquisition of linguistic representations is examined, starting with early debates on the effects of principles and parameters of UG in L2 (the UG access debate). This focus has been replaced with more nuanced analyses of the nature of interlanguage representations, for example, the nature of the initial state, the status of functional categories and features in L2 grammars, as well as potential problems at the linguistic interfaces. Discrepancies between underlying L2 competence and L2 performance are discussed, focusing on research that addresses the question of how representations are accessed and used in real time processing.
Child L2 acquisition
Authors: Chondrogianni Vasiliki (Vicky)
Published: January 2018

Successive childhood bilingualism or child second language (L2) acquisition is the acquisition of an L2 during childhood after some properties of the first language (L1) are already in place. The study of child L2 development can inform us about the mechanisms and processes involved in second language learning and highlight the ways in which these mechanisms are similar or different from those reported for L1 children and L2 adults. Therefore, it is important to investigate how child L2 development compares with child L1 development and adult L2 acquisition, what the role of the L1 in the acquisition process is, whether and when age of L2 exposure effects are observed in the acquisition of an L2 during childhood, and how input quality and quantity can shape the child L2 acquisition process.
Literacy development in linguistically diverse pupils
Authors: Murphy Victoria A.
Published: January 2018

In this chapter the literacy skills (reading accuracy and comprehension and writing) of minority language learners is in focus. The chapter provides a selective review of some of the theoretical and empirical research which has investigated how minority language learners develop reading and writing skills in their majority language. The chapter begins with a discussion of who minority language learners are and why we should be concerned about their literacy development. A section on the development of reading ensues which presents the Simple View of Reading as a theoretical basis and identifies that minority language learners tend not to have difficulties with decoding aspects of reading, but do tend to have problems with reading comprehension skills, argued to stem from less well-developed vocabulary knowledge. Research examining the development of writing in minority language learners is discussed, again presenting a theoretical framework (Simple View of Writing) and illustrating that as with reading, minority language learners tend not to have difficulties with lower-level features of writing (such as transcription and spelling) but do have difficulties with higher-order features (such as organisation of ideas). Educational implications of this work are examined highlighting the need for theoretically motivated educational interventions across a wider range of contexts than is currently available. The effectiveness of different bilingual education programmes is briefly examined, which supports the development of the home language knowledge in minority language learners. Developing home language proficiency and literacy skills enables the opportunity for students to draw upon their L1 which in turn supports the development of their L2 literacy skills. Linguistic diversity is the global norm, and increasingly children are being educated through the medium of a majority language which is not their home language. More work across different contexts is needed in order to better understand, and support, literacy and academic achievement in linguistically diverse pupils.
CHILDES for bilingualism
Authors: Yip Virginia , Mai Ziyin , Matthews Stephen
Published: January 2018

The CHILDES archive has revolutionized the study of bilingual development. We review the available corpora and their properties, some methods that have been used in creating and analyzing corpus data, and the kinds of analyses that it has made possible. These points are illustrated with corpus data from Cantonese-English and other corpora documenting bilingual development.
Syntactic representations in late learners of a second language
Authors: Bernolet Sarah , Hartsuiker Robert J.
Published: January 2018

Several studies have shown that syntactic structures can be primed between the different languages of a bilingual. Bilingual production models put forward by Hartsuiker, Pickering, and Veltkamp (2004) and Pickering and Hartsuiker (2008) therefore assume that bilinguals share syntactic structures between languages as much as possible. In this paper, we discuss a model for the development of these shared syntactic structures in late learners of a second language (Hartsuiker & Bernolet, 2017). More specifically, we discuss evidence for three central claims of the model, namely that (1) L2 syntactic representations move from being item-specific to being more abstract, (2) L2 representations become more and more integrated with existing L1 representations, and (3) L1 influences on syntactic processing and production in the L2 occur in early and late phases of L2 syntactic development. Summarizing, syntactic representations in L2 learners differ according to the L2 proficiency of the learner and the syntax of his/her native language.
Understanding the nature of bilingual aphasia
Authors: Kiran Swathi , Gray Teresa
Published: January 2018

In this chapter, we review the current state of the science with regards to bilingual aphasia. Four important themes emerge from this research. First, bilingual aphasia is an exponentially complex manifestation of a dynamic interaction between age of acquisition, exposure, proficiency, and impairment after brain damage. Second, findings of language coactivation have implications for bilingual aphasia rehabilitation in terms of whether cross language generalization can be expected or not. Third, few studies on bilingual aphasia have begun to examine this notion of domain general versus domain specific language and cognitive control. Finally, there are structural and functional changes in the bilingual brain, and in the case of brain damage, these changes can impact the extent of language impairment and recovery.
Visualizing transcription factor dynamics in living cells
Authors: Liu Zhe , Tjian Robert
Published: January 2018

The assembly of sequence-specific enhancer-binding transcription factors (TFs) at cis-regulatory elements in the genome has long been regarded as the fundamental mechanism driving cell type–specific gene expression. However, despite extensive biochemical, genetic, and genomic studies in the past three decades, our understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying enhancer-mediated gene regulation remains incomplete. Recent advances in imaging technologies now enable direct visualization of TF-driven regulatory events and transcriptional activities at the single-cell, single-molecule level. The ability to observe the remarkably dynamic behavior of individual TFs in live cells at high spatiotemporal resolution has begun to provide novel mechanistic insights and promises new advances in deciphering causal–functional relationships of TF targeting, genome organization, and gene activation. In this review, we review current transcription imaging techniques and summarize converging results from various lines of research that may instigate a revision of models to describe key features of eukaryotic gene regulation.
Isoform-specific requirement for GSK3α in sperm for male fertility†
Authors: Bhattacharjee Rahul , Goswami Suranjana , Dey Souvik , Gangoda Mahinda , Brothag Cameron , Eisa Alaa , Woodgett James , Phiel Christopher , Kline Douglas , Vijayaraghavan Srinivasan
Published: January 2018

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) is a highly conserved protein kinase regulating key cellular functions. Its two isoforms, GSK3α and GSK3β, are encoded by distinct genes. In most tissues the two isoforms are functionally interchangeable, except in the developing embryo where GSK3β is essential. One functional allele of either of the two isoforms is sufficient to maintain normal tissue functions. Both GSK3 isoforms, present in sperm from several species including human, are suggested to play a role in epididymal initiation of sperm motility. Using genetic approaches, we have tested requirement for each of the two GSK3 isoforms in testis and sperm. Both GSK3 isoforms are expressed at high levels during the onset of spermatogenesis. Conditional knockout of GSK3α, but not GSK3β, in developing testicular germ cells in mice results in male infertility. Mice lacking one allele each of GSK3α and GSK3β are fertile. Despite overlapping expression and localization in differentiating spermatids, GSK3β does not substitute for GSK3α. Loss of GSK3α impairs sperm hexokinase activity resulting in low ATP levels. Net adenine nucleotide levels in caudal sperm lacking GSK3α resemble immature caput epididymal sperm. Changes in the association of the protein phosphatase PP1γ2 with its protein interactors occurring during epididymal sperm maturation is impaired in sperm lacking GSK3α. The isoform-specific requirement for GSK3α is likely due to its specific binding partners in the sperm principal piece. Testis and sperm are unique in their specific requirement of GSK3α for normal function and male fertility.
Upper Tail Large Deviations for Arithmetic Progressions in a Random Set
Authors: Bhattacharya Bhaswar B , Ganguly Shirshendu , Shao Xuancheng , Zhao Yufei
Published: January 2018

Let Xk denote the number of k-term arithmetic progressions in a random subset of $\mathbb{Z}/N\mathbb{Z}$ or $\{1, \dots , N\}$ where every element is included independently with probability p. We determine the asymptotics of $\log \mathbb{P}\big (X_{k} \ge \big (1+\delta \big ) \mathbb{E} X_{k}\big )$ (also known as the large deviation rate) where p → 0 with $p \ge N^{-c_{k}}$ for some constant ck > 0, which answers a question of Chatterjee and Dembo. The proofs rely on the recent nonlinear large deviation principle of Eldan, which improved on earlier results of Chatterjee and Dembo. Our results complement those of Warnke, who used completely different methods to estimate, for the full range of p, the large deviation rate up to a constant factor.
The Complete American Constitutionalism, Volume One
Authors: Howard Gillman , Mark A Graber , Keith E Whittington
Published: January 2018

The Complete American Constitutionalism is designed to be the comprehensive treatment and source for debates on the American constitutional experience. It provides the analysis, resources, and materials both domestic and foreign readers must understand with regards to the practice of constitutionalism in the United States. This first volume of a projected eight volume set is entitled: Introduction and The Colonial Era. Here the authors provide the building blocks for constitutional analysis with an in-depth exploration of the constitutional conflicts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that formed the overall American constitutional experience. This is the first collection of materials that focuses on the crucial constitutional documents and debates that structured American constitutional understandings at the time of the American Revolution. It details the roots of the common law rights that Americans demanded be respected and the different interpretations of the English constitutional experience that increasingly divided Members of Parliament from American Revolutionaries.
12 Evolution and Gestalt of the Swiss State
Authors: Benjamin Schindler
Published: January 2018

This chapter highlights the features and development of administrative law in Switzerland. Historically speaking, a peculiarity of the Swiss state and its administration is a lack of a monarchic past and a weakness of bureaucratic tradition. Another characteristic element of Swiss public authorities is the slow growth of their structure from bottom (municipalities, cantons) to top (federal level). Thus, Switzerland is one of the most decentralized countries of Europe. The lack of a central and bureaucratic administration means that the administrative law's emancipation in Switzerland started noticeably later than in its neighbouring countries, such as France, Germany, Austria, and Italy. The establishment of administrative courts was delayed for the same reason.
Part I General and Introductory, 3 From What Date Do the Instruments Apply?
Authors: Trevor C Hartley
Published: January 2018

This chapter considers when Brussels 2012, Lugano 2007, and the Hague Convention came into force and to which legal proceedings they apply. Brussels 2012 was adopted on 12 December 2012 and became applicable on 10 January 2015. It applies only to legal proceedings instituted after its date of application. If proceedings are instituted before that date, their recognition and enforcement will depend on Brussels 2000, even if the application for recognition is made after Brussels 2012 becomes applicable. Lugano 2007 was signed in Lugano on 30 October 2007. It entered into force for the EU, Denmark, and Norway on 1 January 2010; for Switzerland on 1 January 2011 and for Iceland on 1 May 2011. The Hague Convention was adopted on 30 June 2005 and entered into force on 1 October 2015.
Part I General and Introductory, 5 Subject-Matter Scope: Specific Exclusions
Authors: Trevor C Hartley
Published: January 2018

This chapter consider matters specifically excluded from the scope of Brussels 2012, Lugano 2007, and the Hague Convention. Each of these instruments contains a list of subjects — for example, status of natural persons — that are excluded from its scope. Under Brussels, and almost certainly under Lugano and Hague as well, these legal concepts have an autonomous meaning. They are not interpreted according to national law. If this were not so, the scope of the instrument would vary from State to State. Topics discussed include rights in property arising out of a matrimonial relationship, wills and succession, bankruptcy, social security, arbitration, maintenance, consumer contracts, employment contracts, carriage of persons and goods, maritime matters, competition (antitrust) matters, liability for nuclear damage, personal injury, damage to property, matters subject to exclusive jurisdiction, infringement of intellectual property rights, and declarations under the Hague Convention.
Part II Jurisdiction, 8 Special Jurisdiction
Authors: Trevor C Hartley
Published: January 2018

This chapter considers the rules of special jurisdiction contained in Article 7 of Brussels 2012 and Article 5 of Lugano 2007, rules that apply when the defendant is domiciled in another EU or Lugano State. Topics discussed include rules on contract; tort, delict, and quasi-delict; civil claims in criminal proceedings; recovery of cultural objects; branch, agency, or other establishments; trusts; salvage of a cargo or freight; and claims for maintenance. The rules discussed are all subject to an exception where the courts of another Member State have exclusive jurisdiction, under Brussels 2012, Article 24 or 25, or where another Section of Title II of the Regulation sets out a complete code of provisions with regard to a given subject.
Part II Jurisdiction, 14 Submission
Authors: Trevor C Hartley
Published: January 2018

This chapter considers the rules on submission. If the defendant enters an appearance before a court of a Member State (Lugano State) without contesting jurisdiction, that fact alone confers jurisdiction on the court in question. This ensures that a defendant cannot fight the case on the merits and then, if he loses, claim that the court had no jurisdiction. The rule is usually explained on the ground that the entry of an appearance without challenging the court's jurisdiction constitutes an implied choice-of-court agreement. The rule can also apply against the claimant. If the defendant claims set-off and the claimant contests the substance of that claim without challenging the jurisdiction of the court regarding the claim to be set off, that fact alone will confer jurisdiction.
Part IV Procedural and Systemic Issues, 23 Choice-of-Court Agreements: Jurisdictional Conflicts
Authors: Trevor C Hartley
Published: January 2018

This chapter considers the problems that arise when an exclusive choice-of-court agreement, which is claimed to be valid, designates a court or the courts of one Member State (the ‘designated’ court), and proceedings are brought in another court (the ‘non-designated’ court). The basic aspects of choice-of-court agreements were discussed in Chapter 13. The chapter now deals with the interaction of these rules with the rules concerning lis pendens, the recognition of judgments, and other matters. It concludes that the only legitimate mechanism for ensuring respect for an exclusive choice-of-court agreement within the EU context is that provided by Brussels 2012, Article 31(2); both antisuit injunctions and actions for damages for ‘wrongful’ litigation are contrary to EU law.
Sources in the Scholastic Legacy
Authors: Haggenmacher Peter
Published: January 2018

This chapter enquires into the sources of international law in the scholastics. In fact the concept of sources of law obtained general currency in legal discourse, and how international law took shape as a legal discipline only after the heyday of scholasticism. But the two main pillars of what was to become classical international law in the eighteenth century—natural law and the law of nations—were both part of the theologians’ teachings of moral philosophy, especially with the Dominicans and later the Jesuits. Examining the two concepts handed down from Antiquity, Thomas Aquinas had assigned them distinct places in his system of legal norms, while fathoming their respective grounds of validity. His endeavours were continued by his sixteenth-century Spanish followers, who set out to explore the ‘internationalist’ dimensions of the Protean concept of ius gentium as well as the ‘fundamentalist’ properties of ius naturae.
Sources in the Scholastic Legacy
Authors: Brett Annabel
Published: January 2018

This chapter observes that the ‘sources of international law’ is a complicated concept for later scholastic authors. This is because they have no doctrine of ‘sources’ and because the phrase ius gentium, as they employ it, is not appropriately translated by ‘international law’. When they write about the ius gentium, they are engaged in an exercise of hermeneutic reconstruction of a law that has already been legislated, a reconstruction that is also a legitimation of their own position in the present. They draw their materials from scholastic authorities, from natural law, and from human practice and history. The possibility of abrogation, however, puts pressure on even their most innovative thinking about the ius gentium. This shows yet again how difficult they find it to conceptualize making international law in the present, and thus to conceive of sources of international law in anything like the modern sense.
Sources of International Law in the Nineteenth-Century European Tradition
Authors: Vec Miloš
Published: January 2018

This chapter analyses the sources of international law in the nineteenth-century European tradition. It includes scholars and theorists from a range of nationalities, different professions and perspectives, focusing on selected authors from various European and American countries and regions between 1815 and 1914. These jurists, philosophers, political writers, and theologians discussed the notion of ‘source’ and elaborated extensively on a theory of sources. Within this canon of sources, no clear hierarchy existed, and no rules for the collision of different kind of sources were posited. The field thus remained very flexible for attaining any results when debating regulatory matters, although the authors claimed to be non-political.
Sources in the Anti-Formalist Tradition
Authors: García-Salmones Rovira Mónica
Published: January 2018

This chapter traces the legal and political principles of two important schools of the twentieth century—the New Haven School and the School of Carl Schmitt—and situates them in their geographical and historical contexts. It analyses commonalities and especially differences in their political and legal projects. The chapter further argues that reaction against a naïve positivism reigning during the past century in international law essentially determined developments in both schools’ understanding of the concept of sources of law. In the discussion of Schmitt, the chapter focuses on sources of domestic law and seeks to understand the relationship between the sources of domestic and international law as Schmitt saw it through the notion of ‘concrete order thinking’. Finally, this chapter also addresses a trait shared by New Haven and Schmitt when connecting sources of law with politics, international organizations, and institutions.
Sources in Interpretation Theories
Authors: Hollis Duncan B.
Published: January 2018

This chapter examines the relationship between international law’s sources and its theories of interpretation. Challenging assumptions that the two concepts are, at best, casual acquaintances, this chapter reveals and explores a much deeper, interdependent relationship. Sources set the nature and scope of international legal interpretation by delineating its appropriate objects. Interpretation, meanwhile, operates existentially to identify what constitutes the sources of international law in the first place. The two concepts thus appear mutually constitutive across a range of doctrines, theories, and authorities. Understanding these ties may offer a more nuanced image of the current international legal order. At the same time, they highlight future instrumental opportunities where efforts to change one concept might become possible via changes to the other. This chapter concludes with calls for further research on whether and how such changes might occur and asks if international lawyers should embrace (or resist) such a mutually constitutive relationship.
Sources in the Meta-Theory of International Law
Authors: Goldmann Matthias
Published: January 2018

This chapter endeavours to identify common assumptions characterizing the sources doctrine in international law. Those are: the autonomy of international law from politics, morality, economics, etc.; the focus on binding, enforceable rules; and State consent as the source of legitimacy of international law. Today, each of these assumptions is being challenged. To address these challenges, the chapter proposes to further develop the sources theory. It elaborates the concept of principles of international law (as they ensure international law’s autonomy), a concept of authority (as non-binding acts may have similar effects as binding law), and to distinguish international legal rules (or authoritative acts) which require democratic legitimacy from those which do not.
Sources and the Legitimate Authority of International Law
Authors: Martí José Luis
Published: January 2018

This chapter considers that political philosophers in recent years are paying growing attention to the legitimacy of international law and international institutions and are asking who has the right to rule and adequate standing to create international laws, and how. It attempts to contribute to this debate in normative political philosophy through the more specific lens of democratic legitimacy. After presenting certain conceptual clarifications, the chapter identifies three basic principles of democratic legitimacy: the principle of ultimate popular control, the principle of democratic equality, and the principle of deliberative contestability, which can be instantiated in six more concrete requirements. The chapter continues by exploring the limitations of two influential views on the democratic legitimacy of international law. Finally, the chapter concludes by expressing some scepticism about the degree to which the current system of sources of international law is democratically legitimate.