bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Weak localization and weak antilocalization in doped germanium epilayers
Authors: Newton P. J. , Mansell R. , Holmes S. N. , Myronov M. , Barnes C. H. W.
Published: February 2017

The magnetoresistance of 50 nm thick epilayers of doped germanium is measured at a range of temperatures down to 1.6 K. Both n- and p-type devices show quantum corrections to the conductivity in an applied magnetic field, with n-type devices displaying weak localization and p-type devices showing weak antilocalization. From fits to these data using the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka model, the phase coherence length of each device is extracted, as well as the spin diffusion length of the p-type device. We obtain phase coherence lengths as large as 325 nm in the highly doped n-type device, presenting possible applications in quantum technologies. The decay of the phase coherence length with temperature is found to obey the same power law of lϕ ∝ Tc, where c = −0.68 ± 0.03, for each device, in spite of the clear differences in the nature of the conduction. In the p-type device, the measured spin diffusion length does not change over the range of temperatures for which weak antilocalization can be observed. The presence of a spin-orbit interaction manifested as weak antilocalization in the p-type epilayer suggests that these structures could be developed for use in spintronic devices such as the spin-FET, where significant spin lifetimes would be important for efficient device operation.
Nanosecond electrical explosion of bare and dielectric coated tungsten wire in vacuum
Authors: Wang Kun
Published: February 2017

Experiments of the electrical explosion of tungsten wire with and without insulating coatings demonstrate that the insulating coatings exert a significant influence on the exploding characteristics. The shadowgraphy and interferometry diagnostics are applied to present the morphology of the exploding products. In the experiments, energy of ∼3.2 eV/atom is deposited into the bare tungsten wire at the instant of voltage breakdown, giving a velocity of 0.38 km/s for the high density core. The value and structure of the energy deposition for the tungsten wire explosions are substantially improved by employing the thin dielectric coatings. Energy of ∼15.2 eV/atom is deposited into the coated tungsten wire transforming the wire into gaseous state and the expanding velocity of the high density core is 5.64 km/s. The interference phase shift and atomic density are reconstructed from the interferogram for the exploding coated tungsten wire.
Observation of the double e-fishbone instability in HL-2A ECRH/ECCD plasmas
Authors: Jiang M. , Ding X. T. , Shi Z. B. , Chen W. , Yu L. M. , Dong J. Q. , Xu Y. , Liu Y. , Yuan B. S. , Zhong W. L. , Zhou Y. , Li Y. G. , Yang Z. C. , Shi P. W. , Dong Y. B. , Yang Q. W. , Duan X. R. ,   HL-2A Team
Published: February 2017

Two m/n = 1/1 kink modes excited by energetic electrons (called double e-fishbone) have been observed near the q = 1 flux surfaces in the HL-2A discharges. The negative magnetic central shear configuration was achieved with localized electron cyclotron resonance heating and electron cyclotron current drive during plasma current ramp-up. The features of the modes have been first shown by advanced 2D electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) system. From ECEI, two m/n = 1/1 modes propagating in the opposite directions poloidally have been clearly observed. These modes can be found only in low density discharge, and their frequencies are close to the precessional frequency of the trapped energetic electrons. More interestingly, the thermal energy transfer between the two modes was revealed by this new diagnostic, which is found to be related to the nonlinear interaction of the two modes and local electron thermal transport.
Pure valley and spin polarization current in ferromagnetic graphene junction
Authors: Wu Qing-Ping , Liu Zheng-Fang , Chen Ai-Xi , Xiao Xian-Bo , Miao Guo-Xing
Published: February 2017

We investigate the band structure and spin- and valley-dependent transport in ferromagnetic graphene double junctions using the transfer matrix method. The ferromagnetic double junctions include a lateral layout of normal/magnetic vector potential/normal/effective exchange field/normal graphene regions. We find that the strain combined with magnetic vector potentials breaks the valley degeneracy, and the strain combined with the effective exchange field breaks the spin degeneracy, so that there exists a spin- and valley-dependent gap in the ferromagnetic graphene double junctions, which allows only one spin species with special valley characteristics to be transported. Thus, this type of junction can achieve simultaneously pure spin- and pure valley-polarized currents and function as a perfect valley filter and a perfect spin filter. The exact nature of the valley filtering and spin filtering can be tuned by the strain, magnetic barrier, and effective exchange field strength.
Decoupling of superposed textures in an electrically biased piezoceramic with a 100 preferred orientation
Authors: Fancher Chris M. , Blendell John E. , Bowman Keith J.
Published: February 2017

A method leveraging Rietveld full-pattern texture analysis to decouple induced domain texture from a preferred grain orientation is presented. The proposed method is demonstrated by determining the induced domain texture in a polar polymorph of 100 oriented 0.91Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3-0.07BaTiO3-0.02K0.5Na0.5NbO3. Domain textures determined using the present method are compared with results obtained via single peak fitting. Texture determined using single peak fitting estimated more domain alignment than that determined using the Rietveld based method. These results suggest that the combination of grain texture and phase transitions can lead to single peak fitting under or over estimating domain texture. While demonstrated for a bulk piezoelectric, the proposed method can be applied to quantify domain textures in multi-component systems and thin films.
Spatially resolved air-water emissions tradeoffs improve regulatory impact analyses for electricity generation
Authors: Gingerich Daniel B. , Sun Xiaodi , Behrer A. Patrick , Azevedo Inês L. , Mauter Meagan S.
Published: February 2017

Significance

The human health, environmental, and climate change implications of regulations affecting the electric power generation sector are typically assessed at the national scale. Variability in power plant emissions factors, regional grid composition, and location-specific marginal damages may lead to significant regional differences in the net benefits of regulations, including the recently promulgated Effluent Limitation Guidelines. Regional variation is further exacerbated by differences in the marginal damages of air, water, and solids emissions. Minimizing the externalities of electricity generation and reducing the compliance costs of emissions control require future regulatory design to use spatially resolved estimates of marginal damages and address air, water, and solids emissions control processes simultaneously.
Gata4 potentiates second heart field proliferation and Hedgehog signaling for cardiac septation
Authors: Zhou Lun , Liu Jielin , Xiang Menglan , Olson Patrick , Guzzetta Alexander , Zhang Ke , Moskowitz Ivan P. , Xie Linglin
Published: February 2017

Significance

Dominant GATA4 mutations cause congenital heart defects in humans, but the mechanistic basis whereby Gata4 haploinsufficiency causes disease is unknown. We demonstrate that Gata4 is required in a subset of cardiac progenitor cells called the “second heart field” for cardiac septation. Furthermore, we identified two distinct pathways downstream of
Gata4
, phosphatase and tensin homolog (
Pten
)-modulated cell-cycle transition and Hedgehog signaling, which appear to act independently. Restoration of either
Pten
-mediated cell-cycle transition or Hedgehog signaling restored cardiac septation in
Gata4
-mutant mice, suggesting that defects in both pathways are required for disease causation. This work generates a working model for understanding the molecular basis of human congenital heart disease caused by dominant transcription factor mutations.
Timing and tempo of the Great Oxidation Event
Authors: Gumsley Ashley P. , Chamberlain Kevin R. , Bleeker Wouter , Söderlund Ulf , de Kock Michiel O. , Larsson Emilie R. , Bekker Andrey
Published: February 2017

Significance

We present U-Pb ages for the extensive Ongeluk large igneous province, a large-scale magmatic event that took place near the equator in the Paleoproterozoic Transvaal basin of southern Africa at ca. 2,426 Ma. This magmatism also dates the oldest Paleoproterozoic global glaciation and the onset of significant atmospheric oxygenation. This result forces a significant reinterpretation of the iconic Transvaal basin stratigraphy and implies that the oxygenation involved several oscillations in oxygen levels across 10
−5
present atmospheric levels before the irreversible oxygenation of the atmosphere. Data also indicate that the Paleoproterozoic glaciations and oxygenation were ushered in by assembly of a large continental mass, extensive magmatism, and continental migration to near-equatorial latitudes, mirroring a similar chain of events in the Neoproterozoic.
HY5, a positive regulator of light signaling, negatively controls the unfolded protein response inArabidopsis
Authors: Nawkar Ganesh M. , Kang Chang Ho , Maibam Punyakishore , Park Joung Hun , Jung Young Jun , Chae Ho Byoung , Chi Yong Hun , Jung In Jung , Kim Woe Yeon , Yun Dae-Jin , Lee Sang Yeol
Published: February 2017

Significance

In nature, plants are inevitably exposed to adverse conditions such as salinity, drought, and extreme temperatures. Recent reports suggest that environmental stresses critically affect the protein-folding capacity of endoplasmic reticula (ER), leading to ER stress. As the growth and development of plants significantly depend on light environment, the crosstalk between light signaling and ER stress response explained in current research can be a unique feature of plants. Our results suggest that light increases the ER stress sensitivity of plants and ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5, a positive regulator of light signaling, negatively regulates unfolded protein response gene expression in plant cells, which decreases the protein-folding capacity. The present study may form the basis for designing new strategies to increase stress tolerance of plants by tightly controlling light environment.
Redox chemistry changes in the Panthalassic Ocean linked to the end-Permian mass extinction and delayed Early Triassic biotic recovery
Authors: Zhang Guijie , Zhang Xiaolin , Hu Dongping , Li Dandan , Algeo Thomas J. , Farquhar James , Henderson Charles M. , Qin Liping , Shen Megan , Shen Danielle , Schoepfer Shane D. , Chen Kefan , Shen Yanan
Published: February 2017

Significance

To understand how most life on Earth went extinct 250 million years ago, we used multiple sulfur isotopes to investigate redox chemistry changes in the Panthalassic Ocean, comprising ∼85–90% of the contemporaneous global ocean. The S-isotopic anomalies from Canada and Japan provide evidence for the timing of the onset of euxinia and mixing of sulfidic and oxic waters. Our data suggest that shoaling of H
2
S-rich waters may have driven the mass extinction and delayed the recovery of the marine ecosystem. This study illustrates how environmental changes could have had a devastating effect on Earth’s early biosphere, and may have present-day relevance because global warming and eutrophication are causing development of sulfidic zones on modern continental shelves, threatening indigenous marine life.
Full atomistic reaction mechanism with kinetics for CO reduction on Cu(100) from ab initio molecular dynamics free-energy calculations at 298 K
Authors: Cheng Tao , Xiao Hai , Goddard William A.
Published: February 2017

Significance

Converting CO
2
to fuels is of great interest nowadays. Copper (Cu) is the only metal that produces hydrocarbon products, making it of interest for learning the reaction mechanisms underlying the selectivity and activity of Cu catalysts. In this report, we examine the reaction mechanism of CO reduction on Cu(100) at pH 7 including explicitly the aqueous solvent with ab initio molecular metadynamics simulations (AIMμD) free-energy calculations, which we find to explain all experimental observations. We expect that this understanding will suggest how to modify the Cu catalyst or replace it with a new material to enhance production of just a single such product while reducing the energy requirements (overpotential).
Molecular basis of fatty acid selectivity in the zDHHC family of S-acyltransferases revealed by click chemistry
Authors: Greaves Jennifer , Munro Kevin R. , Davidson Stuart C. , Riviere Matthieu , Wojno Justyna , Smith Terry K. , Tomkinson Nicholas C. O. , Chamberlain Luke H.
Published: February 2017

Significance

S-acylation, the attachment of different fatty acids onto cysteine residues, regulates the activity of a diverse array of cellular proteins. This reversible posttranslational modification is essential for normal physiology, and defects are linked to human disease. S-acylation is catalyzed by a large family of zDHHC S-acyltransferases that use a cellular pool of diverse fatty acyl-CoAs as substrates. Using chemically synthesized probes, we show that individual zDHHC enzymes have marked differences in fatty acid selectivity and identify the underlying molecular basis for this property. This study identifies how acyl chain heterogeneity of S-acylated proteins is generated and is significant because the chemical nature of the attached S-acyl chain can fundamentally impact protein behavior.
PPR-SMR protein SOT1 has RNA endonuclease activity
Authors: Zhou Wen , Lu Qingtao , Li Qingwei , Wang Lei , Ding Shunhua , Zhang Aihong , Wen Xiaogang , Zhang Lixin , Lu Congming
Published: February 2017

Significance

Our results demonstrate that SUPPRESSOR OF THYLAKOID FORMATION 1 (SOT1), an
Arabidopsis
pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein with a small MutS-related (SMR) domain, has endonuclease activity. The SMR moiety of SOT1 performs the endonucleolytic maturation of 23S and 4.5S rRNA through the PPR domain specifically recognizing a 13-nucleotide RNA sequence in the 5′ end of the chloroplast 23S–4.5S rRNA precursor. Our results also show that SOT1 can be engineered to recognize and cleave a predicted RNA substrate. Our findings suggest that SOT1 could be used as a tool for RNA manipulation in the future.
Global socioeconomic material stocks rise 23-fold over the 20th century and require half of annual resource use
Authors: Krausmann Fridolin , Wiedenhofer Dominik , Lauk Christian , Haas Willi , Tanikawa Hiroki , Fishman Tomer , Miatto Alessio , Schandl Heinz , Haberl Helmut
Published: February 2017

Significance

A large part of all primary materials extracted globally accumulates in stocks of manufactured capital, including in buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and equipment. These in-use stocks of materials provide important services for society and the economy and drive long-term demand for materials and energy. Configuration and quantity of stocks determine future waste flows and recycling potential and are key to closing material loops and reducing waste and emissions in a circular economy. A better understanding of in-use material stocks and their dynamics is essential for sustainable development. We present a comprehensive estimate of global in-use material stocks and of related material flows, including a full assessment of uncertainties for the 20th century as we analyze changes in stock-flow relations.
Phosphorylation of cardiac myosin binding protein C releases myosin heads from the surface of cardiac thick filaments
Authors: Kensler Robert W. , Craig Roger , Moss Richard L.
Published: February 2017

Significance

Cardiac myosin binding protein C (cMyBP-C) is an important regulator of myocardial contraction, but its mechanism of action is unclear. In this study, we examined the structure of thick filaments from the hearts of mice in which the three serine residues that are phosphorylated by protein kinase A in the m-domain of cMyBP-C were replaced by either alanine or aspartic acid to mimic either the nonphosphorylated or phosphorylated state of cMyBP-C. In contrast to earlier work on rat cardiac filaments, the results support a model in which nonphosphorylated cMyBP-C stabilizes the relaxed/superrelaxed ordered “off-state” conformation of the heads while phosphorylation weakens the binding of the heads to the thick filament surface, increasing the probability of interaction with actin.
Impact of pre-Columbian “geoglyph” builders on Amazonian forests
Authors: Watling Jennifer , Iriarte José , Mayle Francis E. , Schaan Denise , Pessenda Luiz C. R. , Loader Neil J. , Street-Perrott F. Alayne , Dickau Ruth E. , Damasceno Antonia , Ranzi Alceu
Published: February 2017

Significance

Amazonian rainforests once thought to be pristine wildernesses are increasingly known to have been inhabited by large populations before European contact. How and to what extent these societies impacted their landscape through deforestation and forest management is still controversial, particularly in the vast interfluvial uplands that have been little studied. In Brazil, the groundbreaking discovery of hundreds of geometric earthworks by modern deforestation would seem to imply that this region was also deforested to a large extent in the past, challenging the apparent vulnerability of Amazonian forests to human land use. We reconstructed environmental evidence from the geoglyph region and found that earthworks were built within man-made forests that had been previously managed for millennia. In contrast, long-term, regional-scale deforestation is strictly a modern phenomenon.
Estrogen receptor α wields treatment-specific enhancers between morphologically similar endometrial tumors
Authors: Droog Marjolein , Nevedomskaya Ekaterina , Dackus Gwen M. , Fles Renske , Kim Yongsoo , Hollema Harry , Mourits Marian J. , Nederlof Petra M. , van Boven Hester H. , Linn Sabine C. , van Leeuwen Flora E. , Wessels Lodewyk F. A. , Zwart Wilbert
Published: February 2017

Significance

This study shows that the hormonal environment in which a tumor originates may affect a hormone receptor’s enhancer usage. We further show that enhancer function is less tissue specific than previously thought. By implementing ChIP sequencing in a unique patient cohort, we compared estrogen receptor α (ERα) profiles in endometrial tumors that developed in different hormonal environments and integrated these comparisons with transcriptomic data. Our data show that tumors associated with therapeutic intervention have a distinct ERα DNA-binding signature with regulatory potentials that resemble ERα-binding patterns in breast cancer. These results highlight the value of cistromic analyses in clinical specimens, which enabled us to distinguish subtypes of tumors on the level of transcriptional regulation.
Dnmt3a
restrains mast cell inflammatory responses
Authors: Leoni Cristina , Montagner Sara , Rinaldi Andrea , Bertoni Francesco , Polletti Sara , Balestrieri Chiara , Monticelli Silvia
Published: February 2017

Significance

Methylation of genomic DNA is an epigenetic modification at the interface between genetic information and environmental stimuli underlying many phenotypic variations in the human population as well as the pathogenesis of complex diseases. Accordingly, mutations in the de novo DNA methyltransferase enzyme
DNMT3A
have been identified in a number of diseases, including mast cell-related disorders. However, the role of DNA methylation and DNMT3A in regulating mast cell physiology still needs to be elucidated. Here, we found that
Dnmt3a
plays a critical role in modulating mast cell responsiveness to acute and chronic stimulation, potentially implicating DNA methylation-mediated processes in all types of mast cell-related diseases.
Low HesperianPCO2constrained from in situ mineralogical analysis at Gale Crater, Mars
Authors: Bristow Thomas F. , Haberle Robert M. , Blake David F. , Des Marais David J. , Eigenbrode Jennifer L. , Fairén Alberto G. , Grotzinger John P. , Stack Kathryn M. , Mischna Michael A. , Rampe Elizabeth B. , Siebach Kirsten L. , Sutter Brad , Vaniman David T. , Vasavada Ashwin R.
Published: February 2017

Significance

Approximately 3.5-Ga sedimentary rocks surveyed by the Mars Science Laboratory rover in Gale Crater, Mars, contain secondary mineral phases indicating aqueous alteration and release of cations from mafic minerals during sediment deposition in lakes. However, carbonate phases are not detected, and our model calculations indicate atmospheric CO2levels at the time of sediment deposition 10s to 100s of times lower than those required by climate models to warm early Mars enough to maintain surficial water. Our results offer a ground-based reference point for the evolution of martian atmospheric CO2and imply that other mechanisms of warming Hesperian Mars, or processes that allowed for confined hydrological activity under cold conditions, must be sought.
Up-regulation of CD81 inhibits cytotrophoblast invasion and mediates maternal endothelial cell dysfunction in preeclampsia
Authors: Shen Li , Diao Zhenyu , Sun Hai-Xiang , Yan Gui-Jun , Wang Zhiqun , Li Ruo-Tian , Dai Yimin , Wang Jingmei , Li Jie , Ding Hailing , Zhao Guangfeng , Zheng Mingming , Xue Pingping , Liu Mo , Zhou Yan , Hu Yali
Published: February 2017

Significance

Preeclampsia (PE) is a severe trophoblast-related disorder that threatens the health of mother and fetus. Impaired placentation in the early stages of pregnancy and the subsequent systemic endothelial cell activation constitute the principle pathogenic mechanisms of PE. Currently, the molecules involved in the pathogenesis of PE that link the two stages of this disorder remain elusive. Our study demonstrates that CD81 is associated with key pathological changes that occur in both the placenta and maternal endothelial cells of patients with severe PE (sPE). Importantly, overexpression of CD81 induces a PE-like phenotype in pregnant rats. This study provides evidence of the involvement of CD81 in the pathogenesis of PE and supports the use of CD81 as a potential biomarker for PE.
Ghrelin affects stopover decisions and food intake in a long-distance migrant
Authors: Goymann Wolfgang , Lupi Sara , Kaiya Hiroyuki , Cardinale Massimiliano , Fusani Leonida
Published: February 2017

Significance

Twice a year, billions of birds migrate across continents. Along their route, most species spend considerable time at stopover sites to replenish their fuel stores. What physiological signals tell them when they are ready to continue their journey? Ghrelin is a recently discovered hormone involved in appetite regulation. We found that ghrelin concentrations correlated positively with fat stores of wild garden warblers. Further, birds injected with ghrelin decreased their food intake and increased their drive to continue migration. Hence, our study shows that hormones regulating food intake and energy stores control migratory behavior. This is a previously unknown role for a hormonal system shared by birds and mammals, whose disruption causes eating disorders and obesity.
Multifunctional, inexpensive, and reusable nanoparticle-printed biochip for cell manipulation and diagnosis
Authors: Esfandyarpour Rahim , DiDonato Matthew J. , Yang Yuxin , Durmus Naside Gozde , Harris James S. , Davis Ronald W.
Published: February 2017

Significance

Point-of-care diagnostics in the developing world and resource-limited areas require numerous special design considerations to provide effective early detection of disease. Of particular need for these contexts are diagnostic technologies featuring low costs, ease of use, and broad applicability. Here we present a nanoparticle-inkjet-printable microfluidics-based platform that fulfills these criteria and that we expect to significantly reduce the footprint, complexity, and cost of clinical diagnostics. This reusable $0.01 platform is miniaturized to handle small sample volumes and can perform numerous analyses. It can perform complex, minimally invasive analyses of single cells without specialized equipment and personnel. This inexpensive, accessible platform has broad applications in precision diagnostics and is a step toward the democratization of medical technologies.
Quon 3D language for quantum information
Authors: Liu Zhengwei , Wozniakowski Alex , Jaffe Arthur M.
Published: February 2017

Significance

We give a 3D picture-language for quantum information. This language is based on an inherently 3D pictorial representation of particle-like excitations (quons) and of transformations acting on them. Mathematical identities and quantum information protocols are expressed through deformations of these pictures. We explore our language, highlighting conceptual insights, 3D visualizations, and suggestive intuition that it motivates for understanding algebra and quantum information.
High-resolution imaging and quantification of plasma membrane cholesterol by NanoSIMS
Authors: He Cuiwen , Hu Xuchen , Jung Rachel S. , Weston Thomas A. , Sandoval Norma P. , Tontonoz Peter , Kilburn Matthew R. , Fong Loren G. , Young Stephen G. , Jiang Haibo
Published: February 2017

Significance

Biochemical studies have demonstrated that one pool of cholesterol in the plasma membrane is accessible to binding by bacterial cholesterol-binding proteins, whereas another pool is “sequestered” and inaccessible to binding by those proteins. Here, we used nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) imaging, along with cholesterol-binding proteins that had been labeled with a stable isotope, to visualize and quantify the distribution of “accessible cholesterol” on the plasma membrane of mammalian cells. Our studies revealed that accessible cholesterol, as judged by cholesterol-binding proteins, is not evenly distributed on the plasma membrane but instead is enriched on the surface of microvilli. The accessible cholesterol on microvilli could be relevant to the movement of cholesterol away from the plasma membrane.
Genome-wide transcription-coupled repair in
Escherichia coli
is mediated by the Mfd translocase
Authors: Adebali Ogun , Chiou Yi-Ying , Hu Jinchuan , Sancar Aziz , Selby Christopher P.
Published: February 2017

Significance

In transcription-coupled repair (TCR), nucleotide excision repair occurs most rapidly in the template strand of actively transcribed genes. TCR has been observed in a limited set of genes directly assayed in
Escherichia coli
cells. In vitro, Mfd translocase performs reactions necessary to mediate TCR: It removes RNA polymerase blocked by a template strand lesion and rapidly delivers repair enzymes to the lesion. This study applied excision repair sequencing methodology to map the location of repair sites in different
E. coli
strains. Results showed that Mfd-dependent TCR is widespread in the
E. coli
genome. Results with UvrD helicase demonstrated its role in basal repair, but no overall role in TCR.
Intestinal NCoR1, a regulator of epithelial cell maturation, controls neonatal hyperbilirubinemia
Authors: Chen Shujuan , Lu Wenqi , Yueh Mei-Fei , Rettenmeier Eva , Liu Miao , Paszek Miles , Auwerx Johan , Yu Ruth T. , Evans Ronald M. , Wang Kepeng , Karin Michael , Tukey Robert H.
Published: February 2017

Significance

In many parts of the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries, severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (SNH) is associated with substantial mortality and long-term morbidities. Although the immediate and rapid rise in total serum bilirubin (TSB) originating from lysis of red blood cells has been linked to genetic predisposition, preterm births, and blood type incompatibilities, the inability to efficiently metabolize bilirubin results from delayed expression of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1). In this study, the mechanism associated with delayed expression of the humanUGT1A1gene in neonatal mice that are humanized for theUGT1locus is described. Neonatal humanizedUGT1(hUGT1) mice develop SNH and control TSB levels by nuclear receptor corepressor 1 (NCoR1)-directed repression of intestinal epithelial cell maturation, an event linked to expression of theUGT1A1gene.
Fractal Analysis May Improve the Preoperative Identification of Atypical Meningiomas
Authors: Czyz Marcin , Radwan Hesham , Li Jian Y. , Filippi Christopher G. , Tykocki Tomasz , Schulder Michael
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUND: There is no objective and readily accessible method for the preoperative determination of atypical characteristics of a meningioma grade.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of using fractal analysis as an adjunctive tool to conventional radiological techniques in visualizing histopathological features of meningiomas.

METHODS: A group of 27 patients diagnosed with atypical (WHO grade II) meningioma and a second group of 27 patients with benign (WHO grade I) meningioma were enrolled in the study. Preoperative brain magnetic resonance (MR) studies (T1-wieghted, post-gadolinium) were processed and analyzed to determine the average fractal dimension (FDa) and maximum fractal dimension (FDm) of the contrast-enhancing region of the tumor using box-count method. FDa and FDm as well as particular radiological features were included in the logistic regression model as possible predictors of malignancy.

RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 34 women and 20 men, mean age of 62 ± 15 yr. Fractal analysis showed good interobserver reproducibility (Kappa >0.70). Both FDa and FDm were significantly higher in the atypical compared to the benign meningioma group (P < .0001). Multivariate logistic regression model reached statistical significance with P = .0001 and AUC = 0.87. The FDm, which was greater than 1.31 (odds ratio [OR], 12.30; P = .039), and nonskull base localization (OR, .052; P = .015) were confirmed to be statistically significant predictors of the atypical phenotype.

CONCLUSION: Fractal analysis of preoperative MR images appears to be a feasible adjunctive diagnostic tool in identifying meningiomas with potentially aggressive clinical behavior.
Latent Constructs in Public Opinion
Authors: Warshaw Christopher
Published: February 2017

Many of the most important constructs in public opinion research are abstract, latent quantities that cannot be directly observed from individual questions on surveys. Examples include ideology, political knowledge, racial prejudice, and consumer confidence. In each of these examples, individual survey questions are merely noisy indicators of the theoretical quantities that scholars are interested in measuring. This chapter describes a number of approaches for measuring latent constructs such as these at both the individual and group levels. It also discusses a number of substantive applications of latent constructs in public opinion research. Finally, it discusses methodological frontiers in the measurement of latent constructs.
Search Strategies for Intentionality in the Honeybee Brain
Authors: Menzel Randolf
Published: February 2017

Do insects, like other animals, expect future events, predict the value of potential actions, and decide between behavioral options without having access to the indicating stimuli? These cognitive capacities are captured by the term intentionality. This chapter addresses the question at two levels, behavior and neural correlates. Behavioral studies are performed with freely flying bees in the natural environment and with harnessed bees in the laboratory by applying the proboscis extension response paradigm. Data are presented and discussed on context-dependent learning, selective attention, rule learning, navigation, communication, and sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Although behavioral analyses document the rich repertoire and the cognitive dimensions of honeybee behavior, intentionality is nearly impossible to prove by behavioral analyses only and neural correlates are essential.
The Vertical Lobe of Cephalopods
Authors: Turchetti-Maia Ana , Shomrat Tal , Hochner Binyamin
Published: February 2017

We show that the cephalopod vertical lobe (VL) is a promising system for assessing the function and organization of the neuronal circuitry mediating complex learning and memory behavior. Studies in octopus and cuttlefish VL networks suggest an independent evolutionary convergence into a matrix organization of a divergence-convergence (“fan-out fan-in”) network with activity-dependent long-term plasticity mechanisms. These studies also show, however, that the properties of the neurons, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, and mechanisms of induction and maintenance of long-term potentiation are different from those evolved in vertebrates and other invertebrates, and even highly variable among these two cephalopod species. This suggests that complex networks may have evolved independently multiple times and that, even though memory and learning networks share similar organization and cellular processes, there are many molecular ways of constructing them.
Motor Control in Soft-Bodied Animals
Authors: Levy Guy , Nesher Nir , Zullo Letizia , Hochner Binyamin
Published: February 2017

Motor Control is essentially the computations required for producing coordinated sequences of commands from the controlling system (i.e., nervous system) to the actuation system (i.e., muscles) to generate efficient motion. The level of motor control complexity depends on the number of free parameters (degrees of freedom) that have to be coordinated. This number is much smaller in skeletal animals because they have a rather limited number of joints. In soft bodied animals, like the octopus, this number is virtually infinite. Here we show that the efficient motor control system of the octopus uses solutions that are very different from those of articulated animals, and it involves embodied co-evolution of the unique morphology together with the organization of the nervous and muscular systems to enable control strategies that are best suited for a highly active soft-bodied animal like the octopus.
North European Rock Art
Authors: Goldhahn Joakim
Published: February 2017

This chapter offers a long-term perspective on rock art in northern Europe. It first provides an overview of research on the rock art traditions of northern Europe before discussing the societies and cultures that created such traditions. It then considers examples of rock art made by hunter-gatherer societies in northern Europe, focusing on the first rock art boom related to Neolithization. It also examines the second rock art boom, which was associated with social and religious changes within farming communities that took place around 1600–1400 bc. The chapter concludes by analysing the breakdown of long-distance networks in the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age and its consequences for the making of rock art within the southern traditions, as well as the use of rock art sites during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, Roman Iron Age, and Migration Period.
Recording Rock Art
Authors: Brady Liam M. , Hampson Jamie , Domingo Sanz Inés
Published: February 2017

This chapter examines the how and why of rock art recording by focussing on the tools and recording strategies available to researchers as well as their strengths and weaknesses, with particular emphasis on the role of the digital revolution. The discussion overviews factors considered when recording rock art, along with some of the reasons that rock art recording projects are undertaken. The chapter then turns to other factors, challenges, and unforeseen events that can impact rock art recording projects, paying attention to site context and the motifs themselves. It also explores the use of photography, video recording, computer enhancement techniques, and digital modeling in documenting rock art sites; the most common forms of damage that recorders may inflict; where and how records of sites and motifs are stored; and who should be able to access these records and how. The chapter concludes with a future outlook for documenting rock art sites.
Love and the Law
Authors: Brake Elizabeth
Published: February 2017

Both the free love tradition and philosophers appalled by the “love revolution” in marriage saw an antagonism between love and legal obligation. Marriage abolitionists and queer theorists have more recently argued against state legitimation of love relationships. This chapter briefly outlines the history of the concept of romantic love and its unlawfulness. It describes how law in modern liberal states has treated love, both in marriage law and in legal regulation of sex. It then turns to normative questions: Are love and legal institutions incompatible? What laws should there be regarding love or sex? The chapter considers arguments that legal institutions designed to protect love relationships wrongly burden the choice to remain in relationships, that they threaten spontaneous emotional response, that they are inherently unstable, that they are oppressive, and that love is a political virtue. I conclude that we are still witnessing the love revolution unfold.
Introduction
Authors: Roberts Ian
Published: February 2017

This introductory chapter tries to set the chapters to follow in a general background, and to link them together. The first part begins by clarifying what is meant by Universal Grammar (UG), first distinguishing grammar from logic and then UG from a group of related concepts (biolinguistics, the language faculty, competence, I-language, generative grammar, language universals, and metaphysical universals). This leads to a clearer definition of UG as the general theory of I-languages, taken to be constituted by a subset of the set of possible generative grammars, and as such characterizes the genetically determined aspect of the human capacity for grammatical knowledge. The remaining sections introduce each of the five parts of the volume: the philosophical background to UG, linguistic theory, language acquisition, comparative syntax, and a number of wider issues ranging from creoles to animal language.
Parameter Theory and Parametric Comparison
Authors: Guardiano Cristina , Longobardi Giuseppe
Published: February 2017

The Parametric Comparison Method (PCM) is a comparative procedure designed to investigate phylogenetic relationships between languages. It is based on the assumption that (syntactic) parameter theories may provide a radically new and mathematically reliable system or studying the historical evolution and classification of languages into families, and that the synchronic and the historical study of formal grammar can be ultimately related within a unified approach, made available precisely by the rise of parametric linguistics. This chapter shows that parameter analyses can be successfully used to attain historical adequacy: the fact that parametric classifications largely match the established families demonstrates the possibility of reconstructing history through syntactic parameters, which appear to carry a chronologically deep, statistically robust, and prevailingly vertical historical signal. In addition, parameter systems as theories of grammatical variation and its implicational structure receive novel support precisely from their success with historical issues: the correctness of the phylogenetic hypotheses made by the PCM further confirms the universal theory of parameters, constraints, and implications subsumed into it.
Universal Grammar and Philosophy of Mind
Authors: Hinzen Wolfram
Published: February 2017

This article explores the relationship between universal grammar and the philosophy of mind. It first provides an overview of the philosophy of mind, focusing on its basic metaphysical orientation as well as its concern with mental states. It then considers some basic paradigms in the philosophy of mind and what generative grammar had to contribute to these paradigms, which include behaviourism, eliminative materialism, anomalous monism, instrumentalism, and functionalism. It also discusses what we might call the ‘philosophy of generative grammar,’ and especially foundational assumptions in generative grammar, and examines what the linguistic contribution to the philosophy of mind has been. The article concludes by reflecting on the future and outlining current visions for where and how linguistics might prove to have a transformative influence on philosophy.
Semantics in Universal Grammar
Authors: Tsoulas George
Published: February 2017

This chapter considers the part semantics plays in Universal Grammar. The core cases considered incude principles of semantic computation, the realisation of arguments and the place of truth and reference, especially with respect to anaphora. The chapter highlights the cenral part of Merge in the construction of structure and meaning and extends it to the construction of lexical items and the lexicon where attention is paid not only to the way lexical items are constructed (by Merge) but also the ways in which they are taken apart in derivations again by Merge (self-Merge).
Conditional Probability
Authors: Easwaran Kenny
Published: February 2017

Conditional probability has been put to many uses in philosophy, and several proposals have been made regarding its relation to unconditional probability, especially in cases involving infinitely many alternatives that may have probability 0. This chapter briefly summarizes some of the literature connecting conditional probabilities to probabilities of conditionals and to Humphreys' Paradox for chances, and then investigates in greater depth the issues around probability 0. Approaches due to Popper, Rényi, and Kolmogorov are considered. Some of the limitations and alternative formulations of each are discussed, in particular the issues arising around the property of “conglomerability” and the idea that conditional probabilities may depend on a conditioning algebra rather than just an event.
Imprecise and Indeterminate Probabilities
Authors: Cozman Fabio
Published: February 2017

This chapter offers a discussion of imprecision and indeterminacy in probability values; that is, there is a focus on situations where one does not attach a single real number to every possible event. There are several theories and mathematical models regarding such imprecise and indeterminate probabilities. Among these are, for instance, lower/upper or interval probabilities or expectations, Choquet capacities, belief functions and credal sets. The chapter reviews the history of some of these models and theories, and then summarizes their main technical assumptions. Some subtleties concerning conditioning and independence are also reviewed. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of modeling and of criteria for decision-making (minimality, maximality, E-admissibility).
Best System Approaches to Chance
Authors: Schwarz Wolfgang
Published: February 2017

Certain physical processes, such as the decay of radioactive elements, seem to involve an objective, non-epistemic type of probability, often called “chance”. Best system accounts, first proposed by David Lewis, offer a Humean interpretation of chance. On this account, chance is not a fundamental physical quantity, but a kind of statistical summary of actual outcomes. The interpretation explains the close connection between chance on the one hand and relative frequency, disorder, and rational credence on the other hand. It has also proved useful in understanding probabilistic theories outside fundamental physics. On the downside, the proposal arguably fails to vindicate some philosophical preconceptions about chance.
Probability in Logic
Authors: Leitgeb Hannes
Published: February 2017

This chapter is about probabilistic logics: that is, systems of logic in which logical consequence is defined in probabilistic terms. The chapter starts with some historical background, covering the longstanding association of the study of logic with probability. There follows a clarification of the terms to be used. Then these systems of probabilistic logic are classified and some key references given. Two chief classifications are presented. Then one class of probabilistic logics, those that derive from Ernest Adams’ work, is presented in more detail. In reviewing Adams’ work, six types of semantics are presented. These are examined via six case studies.
Probability and the Philosophy of Religion
Authors: Bartha Paul
Published: February 2017

There is a long history of fruitful connections between work in probability theory and the philosophy of religion. This chapter explores these connections through discussion of two classic arguments: the fine-tuning argument and Pascal’s Wager. The formulation and assessment of both arguments relies upon increasingly sophisticated applications of the probability calculus and other formal tools. Two themes emerge from a survey of recent work. First, diverse forms of ‘philosophical technology’ are invaluable in constructing precise models, clarifying objections and identifying new approaches to venerable arguments concerning the existence of God and the rationality of religious belief. Second, benefits flow in the reverse direction as well: the philosophy of religion is fertile ground for testing ideas in formal epistemology and decision theory.
Decision Theory
Authors: Buchak Lara
Published: February 2017

Philosophy’s current interest in decision theory represents aconvergence of two very different lines of thought, one concerned with the question of how one ought to act, and the other concerned with the question of what action consists in and what it reveals about the actor’s mental states. As a result, the theory has come to have two different uses in philosophy, which we might call the normative use and the interpretive use. It also has a related use that is largely within the domain of psychology, the descriptive use. This essay examines the mathematical core of decision theory and its interpretation; the historical development of decision theory and its uses; the relationship between the norm of decision theory and the notion of rationality; and the interdependence of the uses of decision theory.
Conflict of Laws and the Internet
Authors: Kohl Uta
Published: February 2017

This chapter documents the extreme stresses that cyberspace applies to state law by examining how private international law, or conflict of laws, has responded to the online global world. This highlights both the penetration of globalization into the ‘private’ sphere and the strongly ‘public’ or collective political nature of much of the ‘private’ ordering through national law. The chapter shows that the nation state is asserting itself against the very phenomenon—globalization (through cyberspace)—that threatens its existence, and does not shy away from accepting the fragmentation of this global cyberspace along traditional political boundaries as collateral damage to its own survival. Yet, the frequent appeal to international human rights normativity in recent conflicts jurisprudence suggests an awareness of the unsuitability and illegitimacy of nation state law for the global online world.
Written Media in Antiquity
Authors: Hedrick Charles W.
Published: February 2017

This chapter examines literature from the perspective of written media in the ancient Roman world: material, format, and circulation. More specifically, it proposes a taxonomy of writing based on a consideration of written media that does not correspond precisely to the modern distinction between literary and documentary texts. The discussion is predicated on two oppositions: the unique versus the reproduced and the enduring versus the disposable. In exploring the various forms taken by ancient writing, the article highlights the symbolic or textual value of a written text that is correlated with the text’s uniqueness and reproduction, transience or permanence. It describes four categories of texts: monumental text, literary text, instrumental text, and communicative text. Finally, it considers institutions that enshrine social classifications of writing, namely, libraries and archives: the former contain literature, the latter documents.