bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deriving inferential statistics from recurrence plots: A recurrence-based test of differences between sample distributions and its comparison to the two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test
Authors: Wallot Sebastian , Leonardi Giuseppe
Published: August 2018

Recurrence plots (RPs) have proved to be a very versatile tool to analyze temporal dynamics of time series data. However, it has also been conjectured that RPs can be used to model samples of random variables, that is, data that do not contain any temporal dependencies. In the current paper, we show that RPs can indeed be used to mimic nonparametric inferential statistics. Particularly, we use the case of the two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test as a proof-of-concept, showing how such a test can be done based on RPs. Simulations on differences in mean, variance, and shape of two distributions show that the results of the classical two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the recurrence-based test for differences in distributions of two independent samples scale well with each other. While the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test seems to be more sensitive in detecting differences in means, the recurrence based test seems to be more sensitive to detect heteroscedasticity and asymmetry. Potential improvements of our approach as well as extensions to tests with individual distributions are discussed.
An interferometric method for local phase modulation calibration of LC-SLM using self-generated phase grating
Authors: Zhao Zixin , Xiao Zhaoxian , Zhuang Yiying , Zhang Hangying , Zhao Hong
Published: August 2018

This paper proposes a new interferometric method to measure the phase modulation characteristics of a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM). In our proposed method, the beam was incident perpendicular to the SLM and the combined grayscale pattern loaded into the SLM consisted of three parts. The left part was a blazed diffraction grating, and the two right parts were grayscale with different constant values. The gray value in the downward section remained constant at zero, while it gradually increased from 0 to 255 in the upward section. By changing the gray value of the combined grayscale loaded on the LC-SLM, different sheared fringe patterns, generated by the interference between the constant phase-modulated beam and the +1 order diffracted beam of the blazed grating, could be obtained. The phase modulation value could then be calculated using only one sheared fringe pattern. As a result, our proposed method can reduce the effect of environmental vibration or air turbulence and improve measurement precision. The experimental results are presented to validate the method’s potential.
Suppression of Walker breakdown in gapped magnetic nanowires
Authors: Ma Xiao-Ping , Kim Seon-Dae , Park Seung-Young , Choi Yeon Suk , Piao Hong-Guang , Kim Dong-Hyun
Published: August 2018

We report a numerical study on the efficient and controllable suppression of the Walker breakdown along nanowires by positioning nanogaps with periodicity matching to that of transformational spin structure of the magnetic domain wall. While the Walker breakdown is suppressed, the transverse spin structure is found to be stably maintained without the formation of antivortex core throughout the propagation, shedding a light in faster spintronic devices based on the domain wall motion.
The electric double layer at metal-water interfaces revisited based on a charge polarization scheme
Authors: Sakong Sung , Groß Axel
Published: August 2018

The description of electrode-electrolyte interfaces is based on the concept of the formation of an electric double layer. This concept was derived from continuum theories extended by introducing point charge distributions. Based on ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we analyze the electric double layer in an approach beyond the point charge scheme by instead assessing charge polarizations at electrochemical metal-water interfaces from first principles. We show that the atomic structure of water layers at room temperature leads to an oscillatory behavior of the averaged electrostatic potential. We address the relation between the polarization distribution at the interface and the extent of the electric double layer and subsequently derive the electrode potential from the charge polarization.
Doubly triggered conductance across thin zinc oxysulfide films
Authors: Givon A. , Steirer K. X. , Segre E. , Cohen H.
Published: August 2018

Chemically resolved electrical measurements of zinc oxysulfide over-layers on gold show very poor conductance under either electrical or optical input signals, whereas simultaneous application of the two yields extremely high sample currents. The effect and its dependence on the wavelength and electrical parameters are explained by the in-situ derived band diagram, in which a buffer level of charge traps cannot contribute directly to conductance, while yet amplifying the photoconductance by orders of magnitudes under sub-bandgap illumination. This AND-type doubly triggered response proposes interesting applications and an answer to problems encountered in related optoelectronic devices.
A multi-resolution particle/fluctuating hydrodynamics model for hybrid simulations of liquids based on the two-phase flow analogy
Authors: Hu J. , Korotkin I. A. , Karabasov S. A.
Published: August 2018

A triple-scale model of a molecular liquid, where atomistic, coarse-grained, and hydrodynamic descriptions of the same substance are consistently combined, is developed. Following the two-phase analogy method, the continuum and discrete particle representations of the same substance are coupled together in the framework of conservation laws for mass and momentum that are treated as effective phases of a nominally two-phase flow. The effective phase distribution, which governs the model resolution locally, is a user-defined function. In comparison with the previous models of this kind in the literature which used the classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) for the particulate phase, the current approach uses the Adaptive Resolution Scheme (AdResS) and stochastic integration to smoothen the particle transition from non-bonded atom dynamics to hydrodynamics. Accuracy and robustness of the new AdResS-Fluctuating Hydrodynamics (FH) model for water at equilibrium conditions is compared with the previous implementation of the two-phase analogy model based on the MD-FH method. To demonstrate that the AdResS-FH method can accurately support hydrodynamic fluctuations of mass and momentum, a test problem of high-frequency acoustic wave propagation through a small hybrid computational domain region is considered.
Numerical study of a foam-shock trap based blast mitigation strategy
Authors: Prasanna Kumar S. S. , Ramamurthi K. , Patnaik B. S. V.
Published: August 2018

Blast mitigation using various types of foams is of interest to practitioners for the safe design of structures. Experimental and numerical studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of different foam materials when used as protective soft coatings. However, under certain blast loading conditions and foam dimensions, the load experienced by the target/protected structure was found to be much higher in the presence of foam than in its absence. In this study, a mechanism based on geometric means known as shock trap is used along with foam as a preventive measure against shock amplification. A shock trap is a special arrangement of rigid obstacles with an air gap, designed to offer a tortuous flow path. To analyze the proposed foam-shock trap combination, a popular Lagrangian based Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is employed. A novel solid wall boundary modeling technique called skew gradient wall boundary treatment is also built into the SPH solver. The material discontinuity is handled by a multimass correction strategy. The blast wave mitigation characteristics of the proposed approach are evaluated using two different foam materials, namely, wet aqueous foam and polystyrene foam. From detailed simulations, it was observed that undesirable shock enhancement effect of foams was found to be completely suppressed by combining it with the shock trap mechanism. The proposed foam shock trap combination significantly reduces the peak load and impulse experienced by the target structure.
Linear absorption spectrum of a quantum two-dimensional rotator calculated using a rotationally invariant system-bath Hamiltonian
Authors: Iwamoto Yuki , Tanimura Yoshitaka
Published: August 2018

We consider a two-dimensional rigid rotator system coupled to a two-dimensional heat bath. The Caldeira-Leggett (Brownian) model for the rotator and the spin-Boson model have been used to describe such systems, but they do not possess rotational symmetry, and they cannot describe the discretized rotational bands in absorption and emission spectra that have been found experimentally. Here, to address this problem, we introduce a rotationally invariant system-bath (RISB) model that is described by two sets of harmonic-oscillator baths independently coupled to the rigid rotator as sine and cosine functions of the rotator angle. Due to a difference in the energy discretization of the total Hamiltonian, the dynamics described by the RISB model differ significantly from those described by the rotational Caldeira-Legget model, while both models reduce to the Langevin equation for a rotator in the classical limit. To demonstrate this point, we compute the rotational absorption spectrum defined by the linear response function of a rotator dipole. For this purpose, we derive a quantum master equation for the RISB model in the high-temperature Markovian case. We find that the spectral profiles of the calculated signals exhibit a transition from quantized rotational bands to a single peak after spectrum collapse. This is a significant finding because previous approaches cannot describe such phenomena in a unified manner.
Low toxic Cu2GeS3/InP quantum dot sensitized infrared solar cells
Authors: Jamshidi Zavaraki A. , Huang J. , Ji Y. , Ågren H.
Published: August 2018

Type-II Cu2GeS3/InP core/shell quantum dots (QDs) are designed using density functional theory and synthesized by a hot injection method in order to enhance the power conversion efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells. The low toxicity and an absorption extending to the infrared region are key aspects of the importance of these QDs. The longer absorption achieved for type-II Cu2GeS3/InP QDs compared to single core Cu2GeS3 QDs is achieved by optimization of the band alignment. This leads to a more efficient carrier separation and a suppression of the electron-hole recombination. The results show that the efficiency and the electron injection rate constant increase by more than 5 and 2 times, respectively.
High performance 33.7 GHz surface acoustic wave nanotransducers based on AlScN/diamond/Si layered structures
Authors: Wang Lei , Chen Shuming , Zhang Jinying , Zhou Jian , Yang Chengtao , Chen Yiqin , Duan Huigao
Published: August 2018

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices are essential devices for communication and sensing, but usually have an operation frequency limit well below 20 GHz due to the constraints of material properties and fabrication capability. By using an AlScN/diamond layered structure with a high electromechanical coupling coefficient K2 and our proposed two-step exposure electron beam lithography (EBL) process for ultra-fine patterns, we have fabricated SAW devices with resonant frequency up to 33.7 GHz in the Ka-band, the highest one ever reported for SAW devices electrically excited by interdigital transducers (IDTs). Combined with finite element analysis, we identified that series resonances are fundamental and high order Rayleigh modes, and K2 are in the range of 1.21%–2.32%, 200% higher compared to those of traditional AlN/diamond-based SAW devices. The high order modes become stronger and dominant, particularly suitable for the development of ultrahigh frequency SAW devices and applications. In addition, the proposed EBL process showed its superb capability to make ultra-fine IDTs down to the nano-scale with excellent smooth edges and uniform patterns, suitable for ultrahigh frequency SAW development.
Alice-Bob systems, P^-T^-Ĉ symmetry invariant and symmetry breaking soliton solutions
Authors: Lou S. Y.
Published: August 2018

To describe two-place physical problems, many possible models named Alice-Bob (AB) systems are proposed. To find and to solve these systems, the parity (P^), time reversal (T^), charge conjugation (Ĉ), and their possible combinations such as P^T^, P^Ĉ, and P^T^Ĉ, etc., can be successively applied. Especially, some special types of P^-T^-Ĉ group invariant multi-soliton solutions for the KdV-KP-Toda type, mKdV-sG type, and nonlinear Schrödinger equations (NLS) type AB systems are explicitly constructed. The possible P^T^ symmetry breaking solutions of two special ABKdV systems are explicitly given. Applying the P^-T^-Ĉ symmetries to coupled Ablowitz-Kaup-Newell-Segur systems, some four-place nonlocal NLS systems are also derived.
Inferring dynamic topology for decoding spatiotemporal structures in complex heterogeneous networks
Authors: Wang Shuo , Herzog Erik D. , Kiss István Z. , Schwartz William J. , Bloch Guy , Sebek Michael , Granados-Fuentes Daniel , Wang Liang , Li Jr-Shin
Published: August 2018

Significance

Inferring connections forms a critical step toward understanding large and diverse complex networks. To date, reliable and efficient methods for the reconstruction of network topology from measurement data remain a challenge due to the high complexity and nonlinearity of the system dynamics. These obstacles also form a bottleneck for analyzing and controlling the dynamic structures (e.g., synchrony) and collective behavior in such complex networks. The novel contribution of this work is to develop a unified data-driven approach to reliably and efficiently reveal the dynamic topology of complex networks in different scales—from cells to societies. The developed technique provides guidelines for the refinement of experimental designs toward a comprehensive understanding of complex heterogeneous networks.
Serious games may improve physician heuristics in trauma triage
Authors: Mohan Deepika , Fischhoff Baruch , Angus Derek C. , Rosengart Matthew R. , Wallace David J. , Yealy Donald M. , Farris Coreen , Chang Chung-Chou H. , Kerti Samantha , Barnato Amber E.
Published: August 2018

Significance

Americans can expect to experience at least one meaningful diagnostic medical error in their lifetime. One plausible source of those errors is physicians’ reliance on heuristics that are generally useful but can fail in diagnostically challenging situations. Based on previous research and clinical experience, we identified heuristics that might cause diagnostic errors in trauma triage. We sought to improve physicians’ heuristic judgment by providing simulated experience with two “serious” video games. In a randomized controlled trial, both games had positive effects, whereas equivalent exposure to traditional medical education had none. By complementing physicians’ natural ways of thinking, such simulated experiences might transfer to actual triage and other high-pressure decisions.
Global analysis of mutations driving microevolution of a heterozygous diploid fungal pathogen
Authors: Ene Iuliana V. , Farrer Rhys A. , Hirakawa Matthew P. , Agwamba Kennedy , Cuomo Christina A. , Bennett Richard J.
Published: August 2018

Significance

Evolution acts on mutations that naturally arise within the genome and are shaped both by intrinsic genomic features and by the cellular environment. We catalog the mutations arising in a heterozygous diploid yeast during passaging in vitro and in the mammalian host. We establish genome-wide mutation rates and reveal that “microscale” changes (base substitutions and short-track recombination events) are the primary drivers of microevolution, although chromosomal-level changes also occur in specific host environments. Our results define mutation hotspots, including those adjoining recombination tracts, and indicate that many mutations are purged from the population due to purifying selection. Together, these data provide a high-resolution picture of how the heterozygous diploid genome of a fungal pathogen undergoes evolution over short time scales.
Maps of subjective feelings
Authors: Nummenmaa Lauri , Hari Riitta , Hietanen Jari K. , Glerean Enrico
Published: August 2018

Significance

Subjective feelings are a central feature of human life, yet their relative organization has remained elusive. We mapped the “human feeling space” for 100 core feelings ranging from cognitive and affective processes to somatic sensations; in the analysis, we combined basic dimension rating, similarity mapping, bodily sensation mapping, and neuroimaging meta-analysis. All feelings were emotionally loaded, and saliencies of bodily and mental experiences were correlated. Feelings formed five groups: positive emotions, negative emotions, cognitive processes, somatic states, and homeostatic states. Feeling space was best explained by emotionality, mental experience, and bodily sensation topographies. Subjectively felt similarity of feelings was associated with basic feeling dimensions and the bodily sensation maps. This shows that subjective feelings are categorical, emotional, and embodied.
Mechanics of elastomeric molecular composites
Authors: Millereau Pierre , Ducrot Etienne , Clough Jess M. , Wiseman Meredith E. , Brown Hugh R. , Sijbesma Rint P. , Creton Costantino
Published: August 2018

Significance

Soft materials have been made tough by introducing nanofiller particles, which significantly stiffen and toughen the material. Stiffening is understood, but the reason for the toughening is not. We have developed a model system of molecular composites where the filler is a continuous network embedded into a stretchy matrix. By combining design of networks, mechanical testing in the nonlinear regime, and incorporation of mechanophore molecules as cross-linkers, we demonstrate how the composites can stiffen at a desired level of extension; soften by breaking bonds in the stiff filler network; and, for certain compositions, resist crack propagation by transferring stress to the stretchy matrix network. Macroscopic and molecular insight provides a detailed picture of how failure occurs in complex soft materials.
Changes in membrane properties of rat deep cerebellar nuclear projection neurons during acquisition of eyeblink conditioning
Authors: Wang Desheng , Smith-Bell Carrie A. , Burhans Lauren B. , O’Dell Deidre E. , Bell Roger W. , Schreurs Bernard G.
Published: August 2018

Significance

Although large ensembles of neurons have been found to change as a function of learning and memory, localizing those changes to the individual neurons directly involved in a specific task has been challenging. Using whole-cell recording of deep cerebellar nuclear neurons (DCN) and a transsynaptic viral tracer, we found motor learning induced significant changes in membrane properties of rat DCN projection neurons including a reduced after-hyperpolarization amplitude and shortened latency for both evoked DCN action potentials and rebound spikes. These learning-specific changes in DCN excitability have not previously been reported in any species or task.
Ladderane phospholipids form a densely packed membrane with normal hydrazine and anomalously low proton/hydroxide permeability
Authors: Moss Frank R. , Shuken Steven R. , Mercer Jaron A. M. , Cohen Carolyn M. , Weiss Thomas M. , Boxer Steven G. , Burns Noah Z.
Published: August 2018

Significance

Ladderane lipids represent exotic natural products containing highly strained, concatenated cyclobutane rings, a motif that has not been found in any other natural products. These lipids are exclusively found in bacteria that carry out anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), suggesting a biological role in the anammox process. The relationship between molecular structure and this metabolism remains unexplored due to a lack of natural lipid material to study. We use an efficient chemical synthesis to create large quantities of pure ladderane lipids for biophysical analysis. This analysis reveals some unusual properties of membranes composed of ladderane lipids. Significantly, ladderane membranes have low proton permeability, which would slow the breakdown of the proton gradient used to synthesize ATP during the slow anammox metabolism.
Wear behaviour of boronized and duplex-treated AISI 4140 steel against DLC-coated boronized AISI 4140 disc
Authors: Litoria Aditya K. , Joshi Akshay A. , Joshi Manoj D. , Dixit Garima , Singh Digvijay , Hosmani Santosh S.
Published: August 2018

Wear behaviour of the AISI 4140 steel specimens with various surface conditions was tested against the DLC-coated boronized disc of AISI 4140 steel. Specific wear rate and coefficient of friction (COF) of the as-boronized (AB) pins at 100 and 150 N loads were substantially lower than the boronized–polished (B-P) pins. COF of AB pins was in the range of 0.07–0.09. However, the COF of B-P pins was about 0.13. In case of the DLC-coated pins, underlying boronized surface outperformed the hardened–tempered surface. Wear properties of the DLC-coated pins were improved with an increase in the load. DLC coating on both contacting surfaces gave the lowest specific wear rate of 0.21 × 10−8 mm3 N−1 m−1, which was about 30 times lower than the B-P pins, and COF was in the range of 0.08–0.09.
Climate crisis and the demand for more empiric research in social sciences: emerging topics and challenges in environmental psychology / Crisis climática y demanda de más investigación empírica en Ciencias Sociales: tópicos emergentes y retos en Psicología Ambiental
Authors: Meira-Cartea Pablo A. , González-Gaudiano Edgar , Gutiérrez-Pérez José
Published: August 2018

Climate change (CC) is one of the challenges facing humanity in the twenty-first century. The complex nature of the phenomenon requires further empiric research from the field of social sciences in general, and environmental psychology in particular. Clarifying how people and human communities interpret, evaluate and act in relation to climate change, environmental psychology can help to broaden the perspective on this field of study and make significant contributions related to emerging topics. Even more, it can help to elucidate the most appropriate tools that can allow people and communities to tackle and adapt to climate change by generating effective solutions. This article sets out certain pathways to give greater visibility to the research agenda about these topics, based on a review of the contributions made by the Intergovernmental Panel on CC and the explicit demand for empiric research in the sphere of social sciences.
Pink1/Parkin link inflammation, mitochondrial stress, and neurodegeneration
Authors: Newman Laura E. , Shadel Gerald S.
Published: August 2018

What causes inflammation in age-related neurodegenerative diseases remains a mystery. Sliter et al. (2018. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0448-9) show that, when damaged mitochondria cannot be removed by mitophagy, stress from exercise or mitochondrial DNA mutations activates the proinflammatory cGAS–STING pathway that may contribute to Parkinson’s disease.
High-dimensional single cell analysis identifies stem-like cytotoxic CD8+ T cells infiltrating human tumors
Authors: Brummelman Jolanda , Mazza Emilia M.C. , Alvisi Giorgia , Colombo Federico S. , Grilli Andrea , Mikulak Joanna , Mavilio Domenico , Alloisio Marco , Ferrari Francesco , Lopci Egesta , Novellis Pierluigi , Veronesi Giulia , Lugli Enrico
Published: August 2018

CD8+ T cells infiltrating tumors are largely dysfunctional, but whether a subset maintains superior functionality remains ill defined. By high-dimensional single cell analysis of millions of CD8+ T cells from 53 individuals with lung cancer, we defined those subsets that are enriched in tumors compared with cancer-free tissues and blood. Besides exhausted and activated cells, we identified CXCR5+ TIM-3– CD8+ T cells with a partial exhausted phenotype, while retaining gene networks responsible for stem-like plasticity and cytotoxicity, as revealed by single cell sequencing of the whole transcriptome. Ex vivo, CXCR5+ TIM-3– CD8+ T cells displayed enhanced self-renewal and multipotency compared with more differentiated subsets and were largely polyfunctional. Analysis of inhibitory and costimulatory receptors revealed PD-1, TIGIT, and CD27 as possible targets of immunotherapy. We thus demonstrate a hierarchy of differentiation in the context of T cell exhaustion in human cancer similar to that of chronically infected mice, which is further shown to disappear with disease progression.
Insights into CD47/SIRPα axis-targeting tumor immunotherapy
Authors: Zhang Xuyao , Fan Jiajun , Ju Dianwen
Published: August 2018

During the last decade, inhibitors targeting immune checkpoint programmed death ligand 1/PD-1 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 have been one of the most significant advances for cancer therapy in clinic. However, most of these therapies focused on stimulating the adaptive immune system-mediated elimination of tumor. Recent studies indicated that CD47/Signal-regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα), an innate anti-phagocytic axis between cancer cells and macrophages, could be a promising therapeutic target. Here, we review the current knowledge about developing CD47/SIRPα checkpoint inhibitors, avoiding potential side effect and designing optimal combination therapies, and highlight the key points for future clinical applications of CD47/SIRPα axis-targeted tumor immunotherapy.
An ecosystem approach for studying the impact of offshore wind farms: a French case study
Authors: Pezy Jean-Philippe , Raoux Aurore , Dauvin Jean-Claude
Published: August 2018

The French government is planning the construction of offshore wind farms (OWF) in the next decade (around 2900 MW). Following the European Environmental Impact Assessment Directive 85/337/EEC, several studies have been undertaken to identify the environmental conditions and ecosystem functioning at selected sites prior to OWF construction. However, these studies are generally focused on the conservation of some species and there is no holistic approach for analysing the effects arising from OWF construction and operation. The objective of this article is to promote a sampling strategy to collect data on the different ecosystem compartments of the future Dieppe-Le Tréport (DLT) wind farm site, adopting an ecosystem approach, which could be applied to other OWFs for the implementation of a trophic network analysis. For that purpose, an Ecopath model is used here to derive indices from Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) to investigate the ecosystem structure and functioning. The results show that the ecosystem is most likely detritus-based, associated with a biomass dominated by bivalves, which could act as a dead end for a classic trophic food web since their consumption by top predators is low in comparison to their biomass. The systemic approach developed for DLT OWF site should be applied for other French and European installations of Offshore Wind Farm.
Intradermal injection of Pythium insidiosum protein antigens for improved diagnosis and treatment of pythiosis in an experimental model
Authors: Weiblen Carla , Zanette Régis Adriel , Ribeiro Tatiana Corrêa , Pereira dos Santos Carlos Eduardo , Ianiski Lara Baccarin , Pereira Daniela Isabel Brayer , Santurio Janio Morais , Botton Sônia de Avila
Published: August 2018

The oomycetous pathogen Pythium insidiosum is the causative agent of pythiosis, a life-threatening disease that affects animals and humans. This infectious disease is difficult to treat, and early and accurate diagnosis is critical for effective treatment. In this sense, this study aimed to evaluate the intradermal (ID) injection of P. insidiosum protein antigens (PiPA) for the diagnosis and treatment of pythiosis using an experimental model. For diagnostic purposes, PiPA were injected by the ID route in the following groups of rabbits: (a) control; (b) previously immunized with PiPA injected by the subcutaneous (SC) route; and (c) infected with P. insidiosum zoospores. For treatment purposes, rabbits with pythiosis were also treated with PiPA by the ID or SC routes. Mean induration sizes were different at 24 h and 72 h readings when compared to the control group. Sensitivity of the protocol was 100% at 24 h and 80% at 72 h, with 100% specificity in both readings. PiPA treatment using ID or SC routes did not result in significant differences in lesion sizes and cure rates; however, serum levels of interferon-gamma were higher in SC route. This study demonstrates the applicability of PiPA ID for diagnosis and treatment of pythiosis in an experimental model.
Optimates/Populares
Authors: Rosillo-López Cristina
Published: August 2018

Populares and optimates are two political denominations, especially used in ancient Roman politics during the 1st century bce during the Late Roman Republic (although the sources apply them sometimes to the 2nd century bce). The basis of such differentiation is Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 bce), Pro Sestio 96, which defined populares and optimates as two distinct political categories. Popularis (adjective, singular of the plural populares in Latin) is an ambiguous term: it could connote “pleasing to the people” or “in the interest of the people”; the term to define the opposite of the senatorial majority, a combination of a certain political strategy and a certain type of political eloquence (eloquentia popularis) or, finally, a certain political tradition. Many politicians termed populares were tribunes of the plebs and some of them died or were murdered in violent confrontations with the Senate. The term optimates, or boni (a similar term, not exactly a synonym), rarely occur in the sources. People ascribed to this group in modern scholarship are those who believed in senatorial authority and/or those supporting the interests of the wealthy. However, identification can be also problematic. Some of the main sources are Cicero, Pro Sestio 96 (takes a negative view; main locus of the confrontation optimates-populares); Sallust, Bellum Catilinae 20; Bellum Iugurthinum 31 (Memmius’s speech) and 85 (Marius’s speech); Historiae 1.55 (Lepidus’s speech) and 3.48 (Macer’s speech). Sallust’s Epistulae ad Caesarem have been considered to be both fake and authentic (latest edition Antonio Duplá, Guillermo Fatás, and Francisco Pina Polo, Rem publicam restituere: una propuesta popularis para la crisis republicana: las Epistulae ad Caesarem de Salustio [Zaragoza, Spain: Departamento de ciencias de la antigüedad Universidad de Zaragoza, 1994] considers them authentic). Best introductions in English: Zvi Yavetz, Plebs and princeps (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988); Nicola Mackie, Popularis ideology and popular politics at Rome in the first century B. C. Rheinisches Museum für Philologie 135 (1992): 49–73; Margaret Robb, Beyond « populares » and « optimates »: political language in the late Republic (Stuttgart: Steiner, 2010); Antonio Duplá, “Consules populares,” in Consuls and res publica: holding high office in the Roman Republic, edited by Hans Beck, Antonio Duplá, Martin Jehne and Francisco Pina Polo (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011), pp. 279–298; Claudia Tiersch, “Political Communication in the Late Roman Republic: Semantic Battles between Optimates and Populares?” in Institutions and Ideology in Republican Rome. Speech, Audience and Decision, edited by H. van der Blom, C. Gray and C. Steel (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2018), pp. 35–68.
Party System Institutionalization in Democracies
Authors: Mainwaring Scott , Bizzarro Fernando , Watanabe Aaron , De Negri María Victoria
Published: August 2018

Party systems vary in many dimensions. Variation in the stability and predictability of the party system in democratic elections is captured by the concept of Party System Institutionalization (PSI). Where the party system is stable and predictable, it is institutionalized. Where it is in flux and major new contenders regularly appear, the party system lacks institutionalization. Fundamental differences among party systems revolve around the level of institutionalization. Institutionalized systems make governing easier, lower the probability of populists winning office, promote greater economic growth, and are associated with better public policy. Many scholars who work on Latin America, the post-Soviet region, Africa, and Asia have employed the concept “party system institutionalize” to analyze these regions. Because party systems do not develop in a linear way, in some cases this means the study of deinstitutionalization. When deinstitutionalization happens abruptly, it is called party system collapse or party collapse. The article focuses on PSI, erosion, and collapse in democratic regimes; a different literature analyzes party institutionalization under authoritarian regimes.
Iranian Cinema
Authors: Kazemi Farshid
Published: August 2018

Iranian cinema first came under international attention for its prerevolutionary art cinema known as the Iranian New Wave and more widely for its postrevolutionary cinematic movement called the New Iranian Cinema. However, Iran has had a longstanding history of cinema that began in 1900, with the introduction of film technology by the Qajar court photographer Ibrahim Khan Sani al-Saltaneh Akkasbashi. The development of cinema in Iran is inextricably linked to the development of modernity and the nation-state. The cinema in Iran was an important site where modernity (tajadud) and the nation (mellat) were respectively constructed, contested, and negotiated throughout the long 20th century and into the new millennium. The history of Iranian cinema is punctuated by the two revolutions in 20th-century Iran, namely the constitutional revolution of 1905–1911 and the later Islamic Revolution in 1979. Both of these events left an indelible mark on Iran and Iranian cinema, but none more so than the Islamic Revolution. In the second Pahlavi era and just before the 1979 revolution, along with the popular commercial cinema called filmfarsi (“Persian film”), Iranian cinema witnessed the development of art-house cinema or the Iranian New Wave (mowj-e now) as a reaction to this popular cinema, which was influenced by the aesthetics of Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave. But it is largely with the New Iranian Cinema of the postrevolutionary era that Iranian cinema received worldwide critical attention, wining regular awards at prestigious film festivals around the globe. After the 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, new guidelines were established by the state apparatus to ensure that films produced in Iran were made according to the logic of an Islamic “system of modesty” (hejab in its broadest sense). Paradoxically, these censorship guidelines forced Iranian filmmakers to develop a new filmic grammar, which in a constant negotiation with state censors, contributed to a new visual and aural film form that is distinctive to Iranian cinema. In this way, the history of cinema in Iran can be divided into four distinct periods, from the Qajar era to the first Pahlavi period (1900–1941), the second Pahlavi era (1942–1979), the postrevolutionary era with the Islamization of Iranian cinema (1980–1988), and the emergence of the New Iranian Cinema (1990s and early 2000s). In the early 21st century, there is a subtle but visible shift away from the formal and narrative strategies of the New Iranian Cinema. It is too early at this stage to categorize the formal logic and aesthetics of this new iteration of Iranian cinema, as we are in the midst of its development, but if the New Iranian Cinema was recognizable under the sign of its master practitioner, Abbas Kiarostami (d. 2016), the new trend in Iranian cinema is perhaps under the visible influence of the two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi.
Emergence of Modern Banks
Authors: Cheng Linsun
Published: August 2018

The emergence and rapid expansion of modern Chinese banks has attracted scholars’ attention since the early 1930s. From the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 until the later 1970s, however, the study of modern Chinese banks was relatively neglected, particularly in non-Chinese languages. After China reopened to the world, numerous collections of archived materials have been published, which provide rich primary sources for studying the emergence of modern Chinese banks and their role in pre-1949 China. Based on these rich resources, scholars have been able to explore the changes in China’s complex monetary system up to its unification in the middle 1930s, describe the history of almost every single principal bank that existed before 1949, and analyze the role that modern banks played in contemporary Chinese financial markets and overall economy as well as the relationship between modern banks and Chinese governments. Different theories and opinions were advanced to explain the causes leading to the rise and fall of modern banks in China, and the impact this had upon the Chinese economy before 1949. For a long time, a dominant and prevailing claim among scholars was that the expansion of modern Chinese banks relied solely on modern banks’ speculation on government bonds. It hurt, rather than aided, overall Chinese economic development. Other scholars advanced a more positive theory, arguing that the most important factor leading to the expansion and prosperity of modern Chinese banks was the entrepreneurship of a group of Chinese prominent bankers who introduced significant reforms in their business practices and management methods. Under this theory, the expansion of the modern banking system helped, directly or indirectly, modern Chinese economic development.
Brief Report: HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Engagement Among Adolescent Men Who Have Sex With Men: The Role of Parent–Adolescent Communication About Sex
Authors: Thoma Brian C. , Huebner David M.
Published: August 2018

Background:

Adolescent men who have sex with men (AMSM) are severely affected by the HIV epidemic in the United States. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has proven extremely effective in preventing new HIV infections among adult men who have sex with men, but no research has examined PrEP awareness among AMSM. Furthermore, initial research investigating PrEP adherence among AMSM has found low adherence to the medication regimen. Effective parent–adolescent communication about sex is associated with safer sexual health behaviors among AMSM, and parent–adolescent communication is one potential avenue to increase PrEP engagement among AMSM.

Setting:

Participants included 636 AMSM in the United States who completed a cross-sectional online survey in 2015.

Methods:

Self-reported data on PrEP awareness, attitudes about PrEP, and perceived behavioral control for PrEP usage as well as frequency and quality of parent–adolescent communication about HIV were collected from AMSM. Regression models predicting PrEP awareness, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control from communication constructs were estimated, adjusting for demographic covariates.

Results:

Sixteen percent of AMSM were aware of PrEP. AMSM who reported more frequent communication about HIV with their parents were more likely to report being aware of PrEP. Among AMSM aware of PrEP, higher quality parent–adolescent communication about HIV was associated with higher perceived behavioral control for PrEP usage.

Conclusions:

Despite high HIV incidence among AMSM in the United States, PrEP awareness is low in this population. Effective parent–adolescent communication about HIV and sexual health could increase AMSM engagement with PrEP and enhance PrEP adherence within future trials among AMSM.
Single-cell analysis reveals the KIT D816V mutation in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in systemic mastocytosis: Supplementary data
Authors: Grootens Jennine , Ungerstedt Johanna S , Ekoff Maria , Rönnberg Elin , Klimkowska Monika , Amini Rose-Marie , Arock Michel , Söderlund Stina , Mattsson Mattias , Nilsson Gunnar , Dahlin Joakim S
Published: August 2018

Background: Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a hematological disease characterized by organ infiltration by neoplastic mast cells. Almost all SM patients have a mutation in the gene encoding the tyrosine kinase receptor KIT causing a D816V substitution and autoactivation of the receptor. Mast cells and CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors can carry the mutation, however, in which progenitor cell subset the mutation arises is unknown. We aimed to investigate the distribution of the D816V mutation in single mast cells and single hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Methods: Fluorescence-activated single-cell index sorting and D816V mutation assessment were applied to analyze mast cells and more than 10,000 CD34+ bone marrow progenitors across 10 hematopoietic progenitor subsets. In vitro assays verified cell-forming potential. Findings: We found that in SM 60-99% of the mast cells harbored the D816V mutation. Despite increased frequencies of mast cells in SM patients compared with control subjects, the hematopoietic progenitor subset frequencies were comparable. Nevertheless, the mutation could be detected throughout the hematopoietic landscape of SM patients, from hematopoietic stem cells to more lineage-primed progenitors. In addition, we demonstrate that FcεRI+ bone marrow progenitors exhibit mast cell-forming potential, and we describe aberrant CD45RA expression on SM mast cells for the first time. Interpretation: The KIT D816V mutation arises in early hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and the mutation frequency is approaching 100% in mature mast cells, which express the aberrant marker CD45RA.
A new phylogenetic protocol: Dealing with model misspecification and confirmation bias in molecular phylogenetics
Authors: Jermiin Lars S , Catullo Renee A , Holland Barbara R
Published: August 2018

Molecular phylogenetics plays a key role in comparative genomics and has an increasingly-significant impacts on science, industry, government, public health, and society. In this opinion paper, we posit that the current phylogenetic protocol is missing two critical steps, and that their absence allows model misspecification and confirmation bias to unduly influence our phylogenetic estimates. Based on the potential offered by well-established but under-used procedures, such as assessment of phylogenetic assumptions and tests of goodness-of-fit, we introduce a new phylogenetic protocol that will reduce confirmation bias and increase the accuracy of phylogenetic estimates.

Dedication

To the memory of Rossiter H. Crozier (1943-2009), an evolutionary biologist, who, with his great generosity and wide-reaching inquisitiveness, inspired students and scientists in Australia, and abroad.
Rapid prototyping of a multilayer microphysiological system for primary human intestinal epithelial culture
Authors: Hosic Sanjin , Puzan Marissa L. , Lake Will , Zhou Fanny , Koppes Ryan A. , Breault David T. , Murthy Shashi K. , Koppes Abigail N.
Published: August 2018

Here we report benchtop fabrication of multilayer thermoplastic organs-on-chips via laser cut and assembly of double sided adhesives. Biocompatibility was evaluated with Caco-2 cells and primary human intestinal organoids. Chips with Luer fluidic interfaces were economical ($2 per chip) and were fabricated in just hours without use of specialized bonding techniques. Compared with control static Transwell™ cultures, Caco-2 and organoids cultured on chips formed confluent monolayers expressing tight junctions with low permeability. Caco-2 cells on chip differentiated ∼4 times faster compared to controls and produced mucus. To demonstrate the robustness of laser cut and assembly, we fabricated a dual membrane, tri-layer gut chip integrating 2D monolayers, 3D cell culture, and a basal flow chamber. As proof of concept, we co-cultured a human, differentiated monolayer and intact organoids in a chip with multi-layered contacting compartments. The epithelium exhibited 3D tissue structure and organoids formed in close proximity to the adjacent monolayer. The favorable features of thermoplastics, such as low gas and water vapor permeability, in addition to rapid, facile, and economical fabrication of multilayered devices, make laser cut and assembly an ideal fabrication technique for developing organs-on-chips and studying multicellular tissues.
Female-biased embryonic death from genomic instability-induced inflammation
Authors: McNairn Adrian J. , Chuang Chen-Hua , Bloom Jordana C. , Wallace Marsha D. , Schimenti John C.
Published: August 2018

Genomic instability (GIN) can trigger cellular responses including checkpoint activation, senescence, and inflammation. Though extensively studied in cell culture and cancer paradigms, little is known about the impact of GIN during embryonic development, a period of rapid cellular proliferation. We report that GIN-causing mutations in the MCM2-7 DNA replicative helicase render female mouse embryos to be dramatically more susceptible than males to embryonic lethality. This bias was not attributable to X-inactivation defects, differential replication licensing, or X vs Y chromosome size, but rather “maleness,” since XX embryos could be rescued by transgene-mediated sex reversal or testosterone (T) administration. The ability of exogenous or endogenous T to protect embryos was related to its anti-inflammatory properties. The NSAID ibuprofen rescued female embryos containing mutations not only in MCM genes but alsoFancm,which have elevated GIN from compromised replication fork repair. Additionally, deficiency for the anti-inflammatory IL10 receptor was synthetically lethal with the GIN-causingMcm4Chaos3helicase mutant. Our experiments indicate that embryonic and maternal GIN arising from DNA replication-associated DNA damage induces embryonic inflammation likely via the cGAS-STING response, preferentially killing female embryos while male embryos are protected by high levels of intrinsic T.
Haploinsufficiency of A20 impairs protein-protein interactome and leads into caspase-8-dependent enhancement of NLRP3 inflammasome activation
Authors: Rajamäki Kristiina , Keskitalo Salla , Seppänen Mikko , Kuismin Outi , Vähäsalo Paula , Trotta Luca , Väänänen Antti , Glumoff Virpi , Keskitalo Paula , Kaarteenaho Riitta , Jartti Airi , Hautala Nina , Jackson Päivi , Nordström Dan C , Saarela Janna , Hautala Timo , Eklund Kari K , Varjosalo Markku
Published: August 2018

Objectives

TNFAIP3encodes A20 that negatively regulates nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), the major transcription factor coordinating inflammatory gene expression.TNFAIP3polymorphisms have been linked with a spectrum of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and recently, loss-of-function mutations in A20 were found to cause a novel inflammatory disease ‘haploinsufficiency of A20’ (HA20). Here we describe a family with HA20 caused by a novelTNFAIP3loss-of-function mutation and elucidate the upstream molecular mechanisms linking HA20 to dysregulation of NF-κB and the related inflammasome pathway.

Methods

NF-κB activation was studied in a mutation-expressing cell line using luciferase reporter assay. Physical and close-proximity protein-protein interactions of wild-type andTNFAIP3p.(Lys91*) mutant A20 were analyzed using mass spectrometry. NF-κB –dependent transcription, cytokine secretion, and inflammasome activation were compared in immune cells of the HA20 patients and control subjects.

Results

The protein-protein interactome of p.(Lys91*) mutant A20 was severely impaired, including inter-actions with proteins regulating NF-κB activation, DNA repair responses, and the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. The p.(Lys91*) mutant A20 failed to suppress NF-κB signaling, which led to increased NF-κB –dependent proinflammatory cytokine transcription. Functional experiments in the HA20 patients’ immune cells uncovered a novel caspase-8-dependent mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome hyperresponsiveness that mediated the excessive secretion of interleukin-1β and -18.

Conclusions

The current findings significantly deepen our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying HA20 and other diseases associated with reduced A20 expression or function, paving the way for future therapeutic targeting of the pathway.