bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Feeding performance of fleas on different host species: is phylogenetic distance between hosts important?
Authors: KHOKHLOVA IRINA S. , FIELDEN LAURA J. , DEGEN A. ALLAN , KRASNOV BORIS R.
Published: October 2011

We asked if and how feeding performance of fleas on an auxiliary host is affected by the phylogenetic distance between this host and the principal host of a flea. We investigated the feeding of 2 flea species,Parapulex chephrenisandXenopsylla ramesis, on a principal (Acomys cahirinusandMeriones crassus, respectively) and 8 auxiliary host species. We predicted that fleas would perform better (higher proportion of fleas would feed and take larger bloodmeals) on (a) a principal rather than an auxiliary host and (b) auxiliary hosts phylogenetically closer to a principal host. Although feeding performance of fleas differed among different hosts, we found that: (1) fleas did not always perform better on a principal host than on an auxiliary host; and (2) flea performance on an auxiliary host was not negatively correlated with phylogenetic distance of this host from the principal host. In some cases, fleas fed better on hosts that were phylogenetically distant from their principal host. We concluded that variation in flea feeding performance among host species results from interplay between (a) inherent species-specific host defence abilities, (b) inherent species-specific flea abilities to withstand host defences and (c) evolutionary tightness of association between a particular host species and a particular flea species.
Helminths of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in Lithuania
Authors: BRUŽINSKAITĖ-SCHMIDHALTER RASA , ŠARKŪNAS MINDAUGAS , MALAKAUSKAS ALVYDAS , MATHIS ALEXANDER , TORGERSON PAUL R. , DEPLAZES PETER
Published: October 2011

Red foxes and raccoon dogs are hosts for a wide range of parasites including important zoonotic helminths. The raccoon dog has recently invaded into Europe from the east. The contribution of this exotic species to the epidemiology of parasitic diseases, particularly parasitic zoonoses is unknown. The helminth fauna and the abundance of helminth infections were determined in 310 carcasses of hunted red foxes and 99 of raccoon dogs from Lithuania. Both species were highly infected with Alaria alata (94·8% and 96·5% respectively) and Trichinella spp. (46·6% and 29·3%). High and significantly different prevalences in foxes and raccoon dogs were found for Eucoleus aerophilus (97·1% and 30·2% respectively), Crenosoma vulpis (53·8% and 15·1%), Capillaria plica (93·3% and 11·3%), C. putorii (29·4% and 51·5%), Toxocara canis (40·5% and 17·6%) and Uncinaria stenocephala (76·9% and 98·8%). The prevalences of the rodent-transmitted cestodes Echinococcus multilocularis, Taenia polyacantha, T. crassiceps and Mesocestoides spp. were significantly higher in foxes than in raccoon dogs. The abundances of E. multilocularis, Mesocestoides, Taenia, C. plica and E. aerophilus were higher in foxes than those in raccoon dogs. A. alata, U. stenocephala, C. putorii and Echinostomatidae had higher abundances in raccoon dogs. The difference in prevalence and abundance of helminths in both animals may reflect differences in host ecology and susceptibility. The data are consistent with red foxes playing a more important role than raccoon dogs in the transmission of E. multilocularis in Lithuania.
The influence of gender on clinical and social characteristics of patients at psychosis onset: a report from the Psychosis Incident Cohort Outcome Study (PICOS)
Authors: Bertani M. , Lasalvia A. , Bonetto C. , Tosato S. , Cristofalo D. , Bissoli S. , De Santi K. , Mazzoncini R. , Lazzarotto L. , Santi M. , Sale A. , Scalabrin D. , Abate M. , Tansella M. , Ruggeri M.
Published: October 2011

Background

This paper examined the hypothesis that males with first-episode psychosis (FEP) experience lower pre-morbid adjustment, greater social disability and more self-perceived needs at illness onset than females (by controlling for duration of untreated psychosis, diagnosis, age and symptoms at onset). Results disconfirming this hypothesis were thought to suggest the potentially mediating role of social context in determining the impact of symptoms and disability on the everyday lives of male patients in the early phase of psychosis.

Method

A large epidemiologically representative cohort of FEP patients (n=517) was assessed within the Psychosis Incident Cohort Outcome Study (PICOS) framework – a multi-site research project examining incident cases of psychosis in Italy's Veneto region.

Results

Despite poorer pre-morbid functioning and higher social disability at illness onset, males reported fewer unmet needs in the functioning domain than females did. An analysis of help provided by informal caregivers showed that males received more help from their families than females did. This finding led us to disconfirm the second part of the hypothesis and suggest that the impact of poorer social performance and unmet needs on everyday life observed in male patients might be hampered by higher tolerance and more support within the family context.

Conclusions

These findings shed new light on rarely investigated sociocultural and contextual factors that may account for the observed discrepancy between social disability and needs for care in FEP patients. They also point to a need for further research on gender differences, with the ultimate aim of delivering gender-sensitive effective mental health care.
PATTERNS OF SHIMMER: LIZA LIM'S COMPOSITIONAL ETHNOGRAPHY
Authors: Rutherford-Johnson Tim
Published: October 2011

In recent years Liza Lim has emerged definitively as one of the finest composers of her generation. A series of major works, including Ecstatic Architecture, commissioned for the inauguration of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and her third opera, The Navigator have confirmed her possession of a voice that is versatile, evocative, deeply expressive and uncompromisingly modern.
Subtracting “ought” from “is”: Descriptivism versus normativism in the study of human thinking
Authors: Elqayam Shira , Evans Jonathan St. B. T.
Published: October 2011

We propose a critique ofnormativism, defined as the idea that human thinking reflects a normative system against which it should be measured and judged. We analyze the methodological problems associated with normativism, proposing that it invites the controversial “is-ought” inference, much contested in the philosophical literature. This problem is triggered when there are competing normative accounts (the arbitration problem), as empirical evidence can help arbitrate between descriptive theories, but not between normative systems. Drawing on linguistics as a model, we propose that a clear distinction between normative systems and competence theories is essential, arguing that equating them invites an “is-ought” inference: to wit, supporting normative “ought” theories with empirical “is” evidence. We analyze in detail two research programmes with normativist features – Oaksford and Chater's rational analysis and Stanovich and West's individual differences approach – demonstrating how, in each case, equating norm and competence leads to an is-ought inference. Normativism triggers a host of research biases in the psychology of reasoning and decision making: focusing on untrained participants and novel problems, analyzing psychological processes in terms of their normative correlates, and neglecting philosophically significant paradigms when they do not supply clear standards for normative judgement. For example, in a dual-process framework, normativism can lead to a fallacious “ought-is” inference, in which normative responses are taken as diagnostic of analytic reasoning. We propose that little can be gained from normativism that cannot be achieved by descriptivist computational-level analysis, illustrating our position with Hypothetical Thinking Theory and the theory of the suppositional conditional. We conclude that descriptivism is a viable option, and that theories of higher mental processing would be better off freed from normative considerations.
Normative theory in decision making and moral reasoning
Authors: Gold Natalie , Colman Andrew M. , Pulford Briony D.
Published: October 2011

Normative theories can be useful in developing descriptive theories, as when normative subjective expected utility theory is used to develop descriptive rational choice theory and behavioral game theory. “Ought” questions are also the essence of theories of moral reasoning, a domain of higher mental processing that could not survive without normative considerations.
Truth-conduciveness as the primary epistemic justification of normative systems of reasoning
Authors: Schurz Gerhard
Published: October 2011

Although I agree with Elqayam & Evans' (E&E's) criticisms of is-ought and ought-is fallacies, I criticize their rejection of normativism on two grounds: (1) Contrary to E&E's assumption, not every normative system of reasoning consists of formal rules. (2) E&E assume that norms of reasoning are grounded on intuition or authority, whereas in contemporary epistemology they have to be justified, primarily by their truth-conduciveness.
The musical enculturation and education of Wagogo children
Authors: Mapana Kedmon
Published: October 2011

This article examines the musical enculturation and early education of Wagogo children of the Dodoma region in central Tanzania. In support of the enculturation premise, long-standing practices in musical enculturation among the Wagogo are described, most of which are continuing today. The Wagogo hold to the belief that the behaviours of both mother and father affect the proper development of the young child prior to birth and this sense of joint child-raising responsibilities continues even as they enter into their school years. The intent of the article is to argue that the facilitation of musical experiences for young children and teachers through music and dance is a vital component of their holistic development, and to offer an understanding of how teachers and parents might incorporate daily singing, dancing and drumming experiences into the lives of children. By providing occasions for music in the lives of young children, and by nurturing their natural musical proclivities, the traditional music of the Wagogo of Tanzania remains a living tradition, a critical component of the identity of young Wagogo children, and an important means of human expression.
Music education in China: In search of social harmony and Chinese nationalism
Authors: Law Wing-Wah , Ho Wai-Chung
Published: October 2011

This article critically examines how interactions between social changes, social harmony, and historical memory shape school music education in China. As a historical review and documentary analysis, it traces the historical development of music education and examines the Chinese government's role in such interactions over time. The article argues that the Chinese government uses music and music education as an influential nation-building system to enrich the politics of memory. In particular, it adapts the nation's past for political ends, and passes on state-prescribed values to its citizens with a view to legitimising its power. The dynamics and dilemmas that challenge school education result from two divergent aims: (1) to combine the functional education of Confucianism and nationalism so as to encourage social harmony and maintain national myths; and (2) to encourage popular and other world music with traditional Chinese music by using multicultural teaching strategies in music lessons. The question remains how to balance ideas of social harmony, musical cultures and nationalism in school music education in the contexts of current Chinese education policies, teacher education and the globally oriented economics of China today.
Theoretical perspectives on the education of choral conductors: A suggested framework
Authors: Varvarigou Maria , Durrant Colin
Published: October 2011

This paper presents theoretical perspectives for choral conducting education. A wide range of related literature on choral practice and education in higher education contexts, as well as training in the workplace is reviewed. Whilst various attributes for effective choral conducting practice have been identified by research studies, there has been no systematic research on the process of choral conductor education and the contexts in which it occurs, particularly in the UK. The proposed framework consists of six interconnected parameters: (i) the tutor(s), (ii) the learner(s), (iii) the music repertoire and the singers, (iv) the sequence and amount of training, (v) the learning outcomes and (vi) the socio-cultural context(s), including teaching context(s) where practice takes place. The framework itself offers insights and related approaches for the development of choral conducting education.
A New Method for the Estimation of GPS Repeater Jamming Based on Coloured Noise Kalman Filter
Authors: Tang Bin , Dai Weihen , Xie Weihua , He Haibo
Published: October 2011

The estimation of GPS repeater jamming plays an important role in modern military applications. In this paper, based on the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method, a new approach for the estimation of GPS repeater jamming using Kalman filtering with coloured observation noise is proposed. The state equation and observation equation of the Kalman filter with the coloured observation noise are deduced and the generation process explained. The recursive formula for the Kalman filter used to iteratively filter for the MLE output is also derived. Experimental results show that the new design has a better performance than the MLE; hence it can be used for the precise estimation of repeater jamming signals under the condition that the carrier-to-noise density ratio is below 20 dB-Hz.
Monitoring and Assessment of GNSS Open Services
Authors: Jiao Wenhai , Ding Qun , Li Jianwen , Lu Xiaochun , Feng Laiping , Ma Jiaqing , Chen Gang
Published: October 2011

Interoperability of GNSS Open Services is a significant trend in the development of all the satellite navigation systems, and its performance will directly affect the users' security and reliability. Therefore, the monitoring and assessment of GNSS Open Services has become a focus of attention for all providers and users of GNSS. In this paper the elements and methods for the monitoring and assessment of GNSS Open Services are investigated first. Then the schemes designed for an international GNSS Monitoring and Assessment System (iGMAS) are proposed. The schemes are based on omni-directional antennas, multi-beam antennas and a high-gain paraboloid antenna to achieve Quadruple-overlap and Single-overlap coverage and sophisticated analysis respectively. Moreover, the scheme for the deployment of world-wide monitoring stations is also proposed. Finally, some related works that have been conducted to monitor and assess Beidou Open Services are introduced, which verifies the feasibility of the proposed system.
An Evaluation of the Beidou Time System (BDT)
Authors: Gao Wei-guang , Jiao Wen-hai , Xiao Yun , Wang Mao-lei , Yuan Hai-bo
Published: October 2011

The evaluation of Beidou system time is one of the important tasks in constructing and developing the Beidou satellite navigation system. The evaluation methods based on two-way satellite time and frequency transfer method (TWSTFT) and GPS common-view method are proposed in this paper. Tests and performance evaluation of the Beidou time system (BDT) were conducted. Results show that BDT is stable and reliable. The BDT frequency deviation, Allan deviations and clock offsets, relative to UTC (NTSC), are 10e-14, 10e-15 and less than 30 ns respectively.
“Sound Law and Undoubtedly Good Policy”: Roe v. Wade in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Mylchreest Ian
Published: October 2011

The Supreme Court changed abortion laws across the United States on 22 January 1973. Abortion had been illegal in many states, and in others a closely regulated medical procedure. In only four states did the law provide a broad right to terminate a pregnancy in the early months. Roe v. Wade declared that this right in the context of the doctor-patient relationship was protected by the Constitution's “right to privacy.” In practice, abortion became a matter of personal choice.
The Telephone Problem and the Road to Telephone Regulation in the United States, 1876–1917
Authors: Cohen Jeffrey E.
Published: October 2011

Between 1876 and 1917, government philosophy toward telephone regulation began moving away from laissez-faire and toward some kind of involvement in economic affairs. However, while some early studies of regulation suggest business hostility to that policy, AT&T actively sought regulation, jogging government and the public in that direction. But this study is not just a restatement of the interest-group-capture theory, as offered by such economists as Stigler or historians as Kolko. Regulation resulted from the convergence of interests of many affected players, including residential and business telephone subscribers, the independent telephone companies that competed with AT&T, and the state and federal governments, as well as AT&T. I employ a multiple interest theory to account for telephone regulation, but unlike other studies using such a framework, I suggest that government is an independent actor with impact on the final policy outcome, and not merely an arena where private interests battle for control over policy outcomes, as is so common among other multiple interest studies of regulation.
Urban Renewal, Public Housing and the Racial Shaping of Atlanta
Authors: Bayor Ronald H.
Published: October 2011

A number of American cities experienced urban renewal in the 1950s and 1960s. Historians and others who have chronicled the urban changes of those decades have cited economic redevelopment as the motivating factor in the rebuilding of the downtown and the relocation of the black population from that area. For example, Carl Abbott in his analysis of Sunbelt cities noted that “the rebuilding of downtown districts was intended to secure two related economic goals.” The first was to make the city more appealing as a center of investment and business activity as opposed to competing cities; the second was to enhance the downtown area in light of suburban development which might attract business away from the central city. Clarence Stone-in his study of Atlanta's renewal also indicates the primacy of economic factors as the motivation for rebuilding the city's downtown and uprooting the black population.
The Abortion Controversy as a Problem in Contemporary American History: Some Suggestions for Research
Authors: Cassidy Keith
Published: October 2011

Few issues in modern America—indeed throughout the Western world— have proved as divisive, bitter, and intractable as that of abortion. Hardly anyone is without an opinion on the subject, and these views are frequently held and advanced with passion. While never perceived by the majority as the single most important issue before the public, the abortion issue has not gone away but rather remains, like a nagging toothache, as a continued source of pain and anger. Nor is it likely to subside in the future. Not only do the parties to the current dispute show no signs of ceasing their efforts, there is reason to believe that the issues and principles involved in the dispute are likely to reappear in other forms.
Political Economy in the Gilded Age: The Republican Party's Industrial Policy
Authors: Calhoun Charles W.
Published: October 2011

The nature of party contention and public discourse in the late nineteenth century is one of the least understood and most elusive subjects in American history and historiography. In the period itself many critics condemned the intense partisanship of the two major parties as a sham battle, aimed more at filling offices than fulfilling ideals, and all too often tainted with corrupt motives and methods. In the classic formulation of Englishman James Bryce, “neither party has any principles…. [P]oints of political doctrine … have all but vanished …. All has been lost except office or the hope of it.”
Nixon's Southern Strategy Revisited
Authors: Kotlowski Dean J.
Published: October 2011

Recently, the story of President Richard M. Nixon's “southern strategy” and its relationship to school desegregation has become a ripe topic for historical revision. Ever wary of the shifty-eyed Nixon, contemporary critics argued that the president had retreated from civil rights to win the votes of conservative white southerners. Modifying this thesis, recent scholars have concluded that the president was neither a segregationist nor a conservative on the race question. These writers have shown that Nixon desegregated more schools than previous presidents, approved a strengthened Voting Rights Act, developed policies to aid minority businesses, and supported affirmative action.
From Immigration to Refugee Redefinition: A History of Refugee and Asylum Policy in the United States
Authors: Zucker Norman L. , Zucker Naomi Flink
Published: October 2011

Refugee policy in the United States is a recent offspring of American immigration policy. Like its parent, refugee admissions are firmly entangled in the thicket of national politics and are Janus-faced. One face presses for admission, the other urges restriction. While the gates of admission are always guarded, time and circumstance determine which face prevails.
The Asylum Dilemma—Crisis in the Modern World: A European Perspective
Authors: Rudge Philip
Published: October 2011

The dark side of European history, the waves of persecution, the pogroms, and the explosions of political and ethnic violence have produced movements of refugees throughout the period of recorded history. There is nothing new in the phenomenon of forced displacement, of individuals and groups being suddenly uprooted and tragically torn from ties of nationality, of home, of family. One of the marks of social progress in Europe has been precisely the range of responses that have been developed to handle such movements of people, responses that have resulted in a codification of laws and the evolution of international institutions which, particularly in the twentieth century, constitute a remarkable example of internationalism and human solidarity. Such social progress has never been smooth; indeed it is disfigured by historical moments of great cruelty and shame where states have denied asylum to persons in acute distress. Worse, as the experience of Nazi Germany demonstrates, European states of immense sophistication and cultural richness have been capable of unspeakable savagery, which has led to the creation of enormous human displacements within Europe and beyond. Nevertheless, the right of asylum itself has become established as a norm of civilized international behavior in Europe and many millions of persecuted and marginalized people have benefited from it. Many millions more have within their family history an experience of someone who was forced to move, victimized by repression of their race, religion, their nationality, their opinions; and elsewhere, those who perished in ghettos, concentration camps, and unmarked killing fields.
Getting the Interstate System Built: Road Engineers and the Implementation of Public Policy, 1955–1985
Authors: Rose Mark H. , Seely Bruce E.
Published: October 2011

Study of the origins of public policy has achieved an important place among historical scholars. For instance, historians have published many valuable studies explaining the origins of regulatory agencies in industries such as natural resources, energy, and transportation, including the origins of agencies responsible for enforcing safety standards. Scholars have treated road construction, the subject of this article, in a similar fashion, seeking to comprehend the principal factors informing the origins of state and federal road building programs. Not surprisingly, then, scholarly examinations of the Interstate Highway System, which exercised such a remarkable influence on the economy, as well as on the social and physical landscapes of the nation, have remained focused on explications of the origins of policy.Perhaps this particular preoccupation has been due to what historians Peter N. Stearns and Joel A. Tarr have identified as a tendency to equate policy origins with “a policy message.” But Stearns and Tarr contend that studies of “origins do not carry such an inherent message and subsequent stages of policy development must also be explored. “
Introduction
Authors: Walker William O.
Published: October 2011

In the last decade, drug usage has become a matter of great concern in American society. Questions abound about who uses drugs and why. Surveys that purport to answer questions such as these remain suspect because of fears that respondents either may be lying or, in fact, may not be the real habitual consumers of drugs. The presumed link between drug usage and violent crimes is an act of faith in a society that perceived itself to be under siege from drugs throughout the 1980s. No prominent public official, whether it was President Ronald Reagan or William J. Bennett, who served as President George Bush's first director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, could ease the sense of alarm and foreboding evoked by drugs. How could the traffic in drugs be stopped? How would America's streets be made safe again?
Fast Crabs and Cigarette Boats: A Speculative Essay
Authors: Meyer Kathryn
Published: October 2011

Imagine, if you will, that you live in the richest, most influential nation on earth. This is a country whose political system has been consciously adopted by neighboring heads of state seeking to duplicate the same stability and prosperity in their own societies. It is a country that has certainly experienced unprecedented growth and cultural achievement in its past two hundred years and thus contains some of the most magnificent and intellectually exciting urban centers in the world. You would be justifiably proud to live in such a place.
LOCALLY PRIMITIVE GRAPHS AND BIDIRECT PRODUCTS OF GRAPHS
Authors: LI CAI HENG , MA LI
Published: October 2011

We characterise regular bipartite locally primitive graphs of order 2pe, where p is prime. We show that either p=2 (this case is known by previous work), or the graph is a binormal Cayley graph or a normal cover of one of the basic locally primitive graphs; these are described in detail.
A new formulation for pore‐network modeling of two‐phase flow
Authors: Raoof A. , Hassanizadeh S. M.
Published: October 2011

Pore network models of two‐phase flow in porous media are widely used to investigate constitutive relationships between saturation and relative permeability as well as capillary pressure. However, results of many studies show a discrepancy between calculated relative permeability and corresponding measured values. Often, calculated values overestimate the measured values. An important feature of almost all pore network models is that the resistance to flow is assumed to come from pore throats only; i.e., the resistance of pore bodies to the flow is considered to be negligible compare to the resistance of pore throats. We contend that this simplification may considerably affect the results for relative permeability curves. In this study, we present a new formulation for pore network modeling of two‐phase flow, which allows for the calculation of wetting phase fluxes in the edges of (partially) drained pores. In a quantitative investigation, we have shown the significance of this effect. The pore space is represented by cubic pore bodies and parallelepiped pore throats in a Multi‐Directional Pore Network model. This model allows for a distribution of coordination numbers ranging between 1 and 26. This topological property, together with geometrical distributions of pore sizes, is used to mimic the microstructure of real porous media. In the presence of the nonwetting phase, the wetting fluid is considered to fill only spaces along edges of cubic pore bodies. We show that the resistance to the flow of the wetting phase within these filaments of fluids are comparable to the resistance to the wetting phase flow within pore throats. Resulting saturation‐relative permeability relationships show very good agreement with measured curves. Explicit representation of wetting phase filaments and calculation of different fluxes within pore bodies may also lead to improved predictions of transport properties such as dispersivities and mass transfer coefficients.
Scintillation caused by the ionosphere with non‐Gaussian statistics of irregularities
Authors: Wernik A. W. , Grzesiak M.
Published: October 2011

In situ measurements indicate that the probability distribution function (pdf) of plasma density fluctuations on scales of importance to scintillation is far from the Gaussian and resemble the Laplace (double exponential) distribution. Radio wave propagation in the ionosphere with irregularities subject to the Gaussian and Laplace pdf has been modeled using the multiple two‐dimensional phase screen method. The Chapman altitude profile of plasma density is assumed. Modeling shows considerable differences between the scintillation intensity with more intense, intermittent scintillation associated with the non‐Gaussian irregular ionosphere. We also have found that the probability distribution function of the medium fluctuations has no effect on the phase scintillation. We show that the mean delay time is much more irregular for the Laplace statistics and may be much larger than that for the Gaussian distribution. Similarly the pulse spread is larger in the non‐Gaussian case, often suddenly increasing by several tens of percent compared to the undisturbed propagation.
Prions on the move
Authors: Weissmann Charles , Li Jiali , Mahal Sukhvir P. , Browning Shawn
Published: October 2011

Prions consist mainly, if not entirely, of PrPSc, an aggregated conformer of the host protein PrPC. Prions come in different strains, all based on the same PrPC sequence, but differing in their conformations. The efficiency of prion transmission between species is usually low, but increases after serial transmission in the new host, suggesting a process involving mutation and selection. Even within the same species, the transfer of prions between cell types entails a selection of favoured ‘substrains’, and propagation of prions in the presence of an inhibitory drug can result in the appearance of drug‐resistant prion populations. We propose that prion populations are comprised of a variety of conformers, constituting ‘quasi‐species’, from which the one replicating most efficiently in a particular environment is selected.
More than a blog
Authors: Wolinsky Howard
Published: October 2011

Blogging is circumventing traditional communication channels and levelling the playing field of science communication. It helps scientists, journalists and interested laypeople to make their voices heard.
Prediction of novel inhibitors for human RNase1 involved in cardiovascular disease through in silico screening
Authors: Hema Kanipakam , Giribabu Sadnala , Swargam Sandeep , Umamaheswari Amineni
Published: October 2011

Human pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase1) is a small digestive and pyramidine specific enzyme secreted by the pancreas. RNase1 contributes in the regulation of extracellular RNA by hydrolyzing RNA phosphodiester bonds. High levels of RNase1 in cardiovascular disease patients project the enzyme as an attractive drug target. The known RNase1 inhibitors, citric acid and U1S were searched for structural analogs from Ligand.info database to compile 783 ligands. The ligands' 3D structures and their tautomeric states were generated using LigPrep. The 3424 prepared conformations were subjected to QikProp analysis and filtered based on Lipinski rule of five and zero reactive functional group. The 3376 conformations with good ADME (absorption, desorption, metabolism, excretion) profile were passed through multistage docking in virtual screening workflow of Schrodinger software 2011. Seventy five ligands with good binding affinity towards RNase1 were ranked based on XPGscore, through Glide extra precision (XP) docking. Twenty three ligands with better XPGscore compared to published inhibitors (citric acid and U1S) were proposed as potential RNase1 inhibitors. Analysis of docking complexes, their binding orientations, XPGscores and through stringent correlation with published data lead ‘1’ that showed least XPGscore (-12.284 Kcal/mol) was proposed as the best molecule to consider for rational drug designing for treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Dab2 is a key regulator of endocytosis and post-endocytic trafficking of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator
Authors: Fu Lianwu , Rab Andras , Tang Li Ping , Rowe Steven M. , Bebok Zsuzsa , Collawn James F.
Published: October 2011

CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) is expressed in the apical membrane of epithelial cells. Cell-surface CFTR levels are regulated by endocytosis and recycling. A number of adaptor proteins including AP-2 (μ2 subunit) and Dab2 (Disabled-2) have been proposed to modulate CFTR internalization. In the present study we have used siRNA (small interfering RNA)-mediated silencing of these adaptors to test their roles in the regulation of CFTR cell-surface trafficking and stability in human airway epithelial cells. The results indicate that μ2 and Dab2 performed partially overlapping, but divergent, functions. While μ2 depletion dramatically decreased CFTR endocytosis with little effect on the half-life of the CFTR protein, Dab2 depletion increased the CFTR half-life ~3-fold, in addition to inhibiting CFTR endocytosis. Furthermore, Dab2 depletion inhibited CFTR trafficking from the sorting endosome to the recycling compartment, as well as delivery of CFTR to the late endosome, thus providing a mechanistic explanation for increased CFTR expression and half-life. To test whether two E3 ligases were required for the endocytosis and/or down-regulation of surface CFTR, we siRNA-depleted CHIP [C-terminus of the Hsc (heat-shock cognate) 70-interacting protein] and c-Cbl (casitas B-lineage lymphoma). We demonstrate that CHIP and c-Cbl depletion have no effect on CFTR endocytosis, but c-Cbl depletion modestly enhanced the half-life of CFTR. The results of the present study define a significant role for Dab2 both in the endocytosis and post-endocytic fate of CFTR.
Charge exchange recombination spectroscopy for α particles colliding with hydrogen atoms
Authors: Liu X. J. , Liu L. , Wang J. G. , Qu Y. Z. , Xiao B. J.
Published: October 2011

The intensities of charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS) of α particles colliding with the hydrogen atoms in the neutral beam injection (NBI) are calculated by solving the rate equations including electron collision processes in the quasi-static state approximation. The effects of electron collision processes on the CXRS signals for He+(n=4→3) at λ=468.6nm in various plasma conditions are discussed, and it is found that these effects can increase the CXRS signals by 50% for electron density ne≥1015cm-3. However, their importance decreases with the increasing of NBI energy. For the short pulse of NBI, the influences of electron collision processes can be neglected for ne≤1014cm-3. Furthermore, the spectra of He+(n→n') are present for the plasma conditions of HT-7 tokamak.
Wave associated anomalous drag during magnetic field reconnection
Authors: Mozer F. S. , Wilber M. , Drake J. F.
Published: October 2011

The anomalous drag, D, due to large amplitude plasma waves is used for the first time, in place of η*j, to estimate dissipation at the sub-solar magnetopause and to determine the extent to which this drag accounts for the reconnection electric field. This anomalous drag is determined by measuring correlations of the fluctuations in the electric field and plasma density. Large amplitude electric fields occurred more than 60% of the time in the more than 100 sub-solar, low latitude magnetopause crossings of the THEMIS satellite. They occurred mainly near the magnetospheric separatrix in the form of electrostatic lower hybrid and whistler waves. The anomalous drag at the separatrix was generally <10% of the average reconnection electric field, and it was <1% of the field in the current sheet. Thus, anomalous drag due to waves is not a significant driver of reconnection or of the required dissipation at the sub-solar magnetopause.
Fully automated spatially resolved reflectance spectrometer for the determination of the absorption and scattering in turbid media
Authors: Foschum F. , Jäger M. , Kienle A.
Published: October 2011

We describe a fully automated setup which is based on measurements of the spatially resolved reflectance for the determination of the reduced scattering and absorption coefficients in semi-infinite turbid media. The sample is illuminated with a xenon light source in combination with a monochromator enabling the scan of the wavelength from 450 nm to 950 nm. Reflected light from the sample is detected with a CCD camera providing a high spatial resolution. The essential steps for signal processing including, e.g., the consideration of the optical transfer function and the correct treatment of the background subtraction, are presented. The solutions of the diffusion theory and of the radiative transfer theory are investigated regarding the exact detection and illumination geometry. Systematic errors caused by using the different theories for fitting the optical parameters are characterized. The system was validated using liquid phantoms which contain Intralipid 20% and ink, and the measurement range of the system is specified. Further, we carefully characterized the optical properties of Intralipid 20% in the wavelength range between 450 nm and 950 nm.
Thermodynamic efficiency and mechanochemical coupling of F
1
-ATPase
Authors: Toyabe Shoichi , Watanabe-Nakayama Takahiro , Okamoto Tetsuaki , Kudo Seishi , Muneyuki Eiro
Published: October 2011

F
1
-ATPase is a nanosized biological energy transducer working as part of F
o
F
1
-ATP synthase. Its rotary machinery transduces energy between chemical free energy and mechanical work and plays a central role in the cellular energy transduction by synthesizing most ATP in virtually all organisms. However, information about its energetics is limited compared to that of the reaction scheme. Actually, fundamental questions such as how efficiently F
1
-ATPase transduces free energy remain unanswered. Here, we demonstrated reversible rotations of isolated F
1
-ATPase in discrete 120° steps by precisely controlling both the external torque and the chemical potential of ATP hydrolysis as a model system of F
o
F
1
-ATP synthase. We found that the maximum work performed by F
1
-ATPase per 120° step is nearly equal to the thermodynamical maximum work that can be extracted from a single ATP hydrolysis under a broad range of conditions. Our results suggested a 100% free-energy transduction efficiency and a tight mechanochemical coupling of F
1
-ATPase.
Plasticity of astroglial networks in olfactory glomeruli
Authors: Roux Lisa , Benchenane Karim , Rothstein Jeffrey D. , Bonvento Gilles , Giaume Christian
Published: October 2011

Several recent findings have shown that neurons as well as astrocytes are organized into networks. Indeed, astrocytes are interconnected through connexin-formed gap junction channels allowing exchanges of ions and signaling molecules. The aim of this study is to characterize astrocyte network properties in mouse olfactory glomeruli where neuronal connectivity is highly ordered. Dye-coupling experiments performed in olfactory bulb acute slices (P16–P22) highlight a preferential communication between astrocytes within glomeruli and not between astrocytes in adjacent glomeruli. Such organization relies on the oriented morphology of glomerular astrocytes to the glomerulus center and the enriched expression of two astroglial connexins (Cx43 and Cx30) within the glomeruli. Glomerular astrocytes detect neuronal activity showing membrane potential fluctuations correlated with glomerular local field potentials. Accordingly, gap junctional coupling of glomerular networks is reduced when neuronal activity is silenced by TTX treatment or after early sensory deprivation. Such modulation is lost in Cx30 but not in Cx43 KO mice, indicating that Cx30-formed channels are the molecular targets of this activity-dependent modulation. Extracellular potassium is a key player in this neuroglial interaction, because (
i
) the inhibition of dye coupling observed in the presence of TTX or after sensory deprivation is restored by increasing [K
+
]
e
and (
ii
) treatment with a K
ir
channel blocker inhibits dye spread between glomerular astrocytes. Together, these results demonstrate that extracellular potassium generated by neuronal activity modulates Cx30-mediated gap junctional communication between glomerular astrocytes, indicating that strong neuroglial interactions take place at this first relay of olfactory information processing.
Survival and Tag Loss in Moapa White River Springfish Implanted with Passive Integrated Transponder Tags
Authors: Dixon Christopher J. , Mesa Matthew G.
Published: October 2011

We monitored survival and tag loss among Moapa White River springfish Crenichthys baileyi moapae that were surgically implanted with passive integrated transponder (PIT; 9 × 2 mm) tags. The fish used in the study ranged from 40 to 67 mm in total length and from 1.0 to 6.5 g in mass; the PIT tag: body weight ratios were 1.0–6.1%. Fish were held for 41 d in live cages within a small, warm desert stream. Survival did not differ between untagged control fish (94.5%) and tagged fish (95.6%). Survival did not appear to be influenced by fish size or PIT tag: body weight ratio, but the small number of fish that died precluded a detailed analysis. Tag retention was 100% among the 86 fish that survived over the 41 d. Our results suggest that surgically implanting 9‐mm PIT tags into Moapa White River springfish as small as 40 mm is an effective method for marking them because it has minimal impacts on survival and tag retention is high. More work is needed on the effects of PIT tagging on growth and other performance metrics of springfish and other small desert fishes.
Looking Into Aristotle's Eyes: Toward a Theory of Rhetorical Vision
Authors: Hawhee Debra
Published: October 2011

This article culls a theory of rhetorical vision from Aristotle's Rhetoric by examining the cluster of terms that bears on his theory of visual style. Rhetorical vision stands apart from but complements visual rhetoric in that it attends to the rhetorical and linguistic conjuring of visual images—what contemporary neuroscientists call visual imagery—and can even affect direct perception. The article concludes by examining rhetorical vision in Demosthenes' Epitaphios. At stake in this investigation is the visible and visual liveliness of rhetoric and its ability to alter sense perception.
Jung, science, and his legacy
Authors: Cambray Joe
Published: October 2011

C.G. Jung's choice of a science-based career in medicine is examined beginning with his dreams at age 19. His first Zofinga lecture gives perspective on his views on the science of the time and helps clarify aspects of his education. The influence of Ernst Haeckel, the German scientist and artist, are drawn out in the context of images from Jung'sRed book. After stopping work on theRed book, Jung again embraced aspects of science but these were now more directly put to use to support his own theoretical frame, which could be read as a visionary science or a science of the visionary. This has led to a legacy of ambivalence regarding science, but in this article some areas of mutual interest with contemporary neuroscience are noted.
Magnetic and dielectric properties of Ba12Fe28Ti15O84 layered ferrite ceramics
Authors: Curecheriu L P , Buscaglia M T , Ianculescu A C , Frunza R C , Ciuchi I V , Neagu A , Apachitei G , Bassano A , Canu G , Postolache P , Mitoseriu L , Buscaglia V
Published: October 2011

In this study we report for the first time the magnetic and dielectric properties of the quaternary layered ferrite Ba12Fe28Ti15O84. Dense ferrite ceramics were prepared by conventional sintering using powders obtained by solid-state reaction and by coprecipitation. Only the latter powder resulted in nearly single phase ceramics, whereas larger amounts of secondary phases were observed in the material obtained by the solid-state route. According to the HRTEM investigation, the ferrite lattice is originated by the intergrowth of perovskite-like and spinel-like slabs and can be considered as a natural magnetic superlattice. A ferrimagnetic order with saturation magnetization of ≈12.5 A m2 kg−1 and coercivity of ∼1590 A m−1 (∼20 Oe) is proposed at room temperature. The thermomagnetic data indicate a Curie temperature of ∼420 K for the quaternary ferrite. An additional magnetic transition was detected at ∼700 K and ascribed to a secondary magnetic phase, probably the solid solution of TiO2 in BaFe12O19. An intrinsic relative dielectric constant of the order of 23–50 at room temperature was measured at 109 Hz. At lower frequency the dielectric behaviour is dominated by extrinsic effects related to the heterogeneous electrical nature of the ceramics corresponding to semiconducting grains separated by more insulating grain boundary regions. The dielectric losses are rather high, often >1, indicating an overall semiconducting character of the material.
Microplasmas as vacuum ultraviolet source for Cl-atom density measurements by resonance absorption spectroscopy
Authors: Martin Virginie , Bauville Gérard , Sadeghi Nader , Puech Vincent
Published: October 2011

A micro-hollow cathode discharge was used to generate radiation on the chlorine atom resonance lines. Such radiation could be used to measure, by resonance absorption spectroscopy, the density of chlorine atoms in either ground state (3p5
2P3/2) or in the fine structure metastable state (3p5
2P1/2), which is located at 882.35 cm−1. Among the nine analysed lines in the 132–142 nm spectral region, only those at 137.953 and 139.653 nm, which are strong enough and are not affected by the self-absorption, can be used for the resonance absorption diagnostic of the ground state and the metastable state, respectively. The best operating conditions of the lamp source are 0.5% of Cl2 in argon at 150 mbar and 4 mA discharge current. The measured 800 ± 30 K gas temperature of the microplasma, indicates that under these specific conditions, these two lines are dominantly Doppler broadened. So their profile is Gaussian shaped with full widths at half maximum of (4.7 ± 0.1) × 10−4 nm.
Molecular beam epitaxial growth of graphene and ridge-structure networks of graphene
Authors: Maeda Fumihiko , Hibino Hiroki
Published: October 2011

By gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using cracked ethanol, we grew graphene at substrate temperatures between 600 and 915 °C on graphene formed on SiC(0 0 0 1) by thermal decomposition. To investigate the substrate temperature dependence of graphene growth we analysed the MBE-grown graphene by Raman spectroscopy and in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and observed it by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Analyses using the G-band peak and the peak intensity ratio between D- and G-band peaks in the Raman spectra revealed that growth at higher temperatures improved the crystallinity and increased the domain size. Although the growth rate decreased at higher temperatures, as revealed by XPS, these results indicated that growth at a higher temperature is effective in obtaining graphene of higher quality. Furthermore, the AFM and TEM observations revealed a network of fin-like ridge structures of graphene sticking out from the surface. The presence of these ‘graphene nanofins’ indicated that two-dimensional islands of graphene are surrounded by the nanofins, and the island size was estimated to be 67 nm using the average distance between the nanofins.