bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New Protocol to Optimize iPS Cells for Genome Analysis of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
Authors: Matsumoto Yoshihisa , Ikeya Makoto , Hino Kyosuke , Horigome Kazuhiko , Fukuta Makoto , Watanabe Makoto , Nagata Sanae , Yamamoto Takuya , Otsuka Takanobu , Toguchida Junya
Published: March 2015

Successful in vitro disease-recapitulation using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) requires two fundamental technical issues: appropriate control cells and robust differentiation protocols. To investigate fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), a rare genetic disease leading to extraskeletal bone formation through endochondral ossification, gene-corrected (rescued) iPSC clones (resFOP-iPSC) were generated from patient-derived iPSC (FOP-iPSC) as genetically matched controls, and the stepwise induction method of mesenchymal stromal cells (iMSCs) through neural crest cell (NCC) lineage was used to recapitulate the disease phenotype. FOP-iMSCs possessing enhanced chondrogenic ability were transcriptionally distinguishable from resFOP-iMSCs and activated the SMAD1/5/8 and SMAD2/3 pathways at steady state. Using this method, we identified MMP1 and PAI1 as genes responsible for accelerating the chondrogenesis of FOP-iMSCs. These data indicate that iMSCs through NCC lineage are useful for investigating the molecular mechanism of FOP and corresponding drug discovery. Stem Cells  2015;33:1730–1742
Learning—to and from—the Visual Critique Process
Authors: Motley Phillip
Published: March 2015

Understanding how to critique visual images can be beneficial for faculty teaching in art, design, or visual communication fields, but also for any faculty who use images to teach course content.
The impact of Arctic warming on the midlatitude jet‐stream: Can it? Has it? Will it?
Authors: Barnes Elizabeth A , Screen James A
Published: March 2015

The Arctic lower atmosphere has warmed more rapidly than that of the globe as a whole, and this has been accompanied by unprecedented sea ice melt. Such large environmental changes are already having profound impacts on the flora, fauna, and inhabitants of the Arctic region. An open question, however, is whether these Arctic changes have an effect on the jet‐stream and thereby influence weather patterns farther south. This broad question has recently received a lot of scientific and media attention, but conclusions appear contradictory rather than consensual. We argue that one point of confusion has arisen due to ambiguities in the exact question being posed. In this study, we frame our inquiries around three distinct questions: Can Arctic warming influence the midlatitude jet‐stream? Has Arctic warming significantly influenced the midlatitude jet‐stream? Will Arctic warming significantly influence the midlatitude jet‐stream? We argue that framing the discussion around the three questions: Can it?, Has it?, and Will it? provides insight into the common themes emerging in the literature as well as highlights the challenges ahead. WIREs Clim Change 2015, 6:277–286. doi: 10.1002/wcc.337

This article is categorized under:

Paleoclimates and Current Trends > Detection and Attribution

Climate Models and Modeling > Knowledge Generation with Models
RZZ and Mad1 dynamics in Drosophila mitosis
Authors: Défachelles Lénaïg , Raich Natacha , Terracol Régine , Baudin Xavier , Williams Byron , Goldberg Michael , Karess Roger E.
Published: March 2015

The presence or absence of Mad1 at kinetochores is a major determinant of spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) activity, the surveillance mechanism that delays anaphase onset if one or more kinetochores remain unattached to spindle fibers. Among the factors regulating the levels of Mad1 at kinetochores is the Rod, Zw10, and Zwilch (RZZ) complex, which is required for Mad1 recruitment through a mechanism that remains unknown. The relative dynamics and interactions of Mad1 and RZZ at kinetochores have not been extensively investigated, although Mad1 has been reported to be stably recruited to unattached kinetochores. In this study, we directly compare Mad1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) turnover dynamics on unattached Drosophila kinetochores with that of RZZ, tagged either with GFP-Rod or GFP-Zw10. We find that nearly 40 % of kinetochore-bound Mad1 has a significant dynamic component, turning over with a half-life of 12 s. RZZ in contrast is essentially stable on unattached kinetochores. In addition, we report that a fraction of RZZ and Mad1 can co-immunoprecipitate, indicating that the genetically determined recruitment hierarchy (in which Mad1 depends on RZZ) may reflect a physical association of the two complexes.
T. Macci Plauti Comoediae
Authors: Plautus Titus Maccius
Published: March 2015

The foundation for the modern study of Titus Maccius Plautus rests on this monumental four-volume edition, begun by the eminent German philologist Friedrich Ritschl and completed by his colleagues Gustav Loewe, Georg Goetz, and Fritz Schöll. Scrupulously edited from existing manuscripts, including the famed Ambrosian palimpsest, this edition offers valuable insights into the metrics, literary and historical contexts, and textual history of the Latin comedic playwright. Volume 2 (1881–1884) includes editions of Aulularia, Amphitryon, Mercator, Stichus, and Poenulus. Each play is provided with a thorough preface, analysing the work's structures and themes and explaining its reconstruction from manuscript. A central contribution to the study of Plautine drama, Ritschl's Comoediae is also a remarkable achievement of textual criticism, a model of nineteenth-century philology at its most ambitious.
The History of Magic
Authors: Ennemoser Joseph
Published: March 2015

Joseph Ennemoser (1787–1854) was an Tyrolean doctor and scientist, noted for his use of magnetism and hypnosis. He was a forerunner of Freud in his belief in the connection between the mind and physical health, and his interest in psychology led to investigations into the paranormal and magic. He became well known for his presentations about magic, delusions and apparently supernatural occurrences. He suggested that most of these phenomena appeared miraculous only because of a lack of understanding of the laws of nature. The History of Magic was published in Leipzig in 1844, and translated into English in 1854 by William Howitt, a leading Spiritualist writer. Volume 1 deals with the different categories of magic and mysticism, and how they were viewed in ancient times. He discusses visions, dreams and soothsaying, and miracles in the Bible, and the link between classical medicine and oracles.
Philosophie zoologique
Authors: Lamarck Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de
Published: March 2015

The great French zoologist Lamarck (1744–1829) was best known for his theory of evolution, called 'soft inheritance', whereby organisms pass down acquired characteristics to their offspring. Originally a soldier, Lamarck later studied medicine and biology, becoming particularly interested in botany. His distinguished career included admission to the French Academy of Sciences (1779), and appointments as Royal Botanist (1781) and as professor of zoology at the Musée Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle in 1793. Acknowledged as the premier authority on invertebrate zoology, he is credited with coining the term 'invertebrates'. In this two-volume work of 1809, he outlines his theory that under the pressure of different external circumstances, species can develop variations, and that new species and genera can eventually evolve as a result. Darwin paid tribute to Lamarck as the man who 'first did the eminent service of arousing attention to the probability of all change … being the result of law'.
Hertslet's China Treaties
Authors: Hertslet Edward , Parkes Edward
Published: March 2015

The first edition of this work, which outlines China's treaty engagements with various foreign powers, was published by Sir Edward Hertslet (1824–1902) in 1896. The two-volume third edition reissued here was published by his son Godfrey in 1908, and took account of new treaties in the intervening twelve years which were relevant to the Chinese sphere of influence. The work is remarkably inclusive, and cross-refers with similar treaties between China and different Western powers, as well as containing ancillary material such as a ground-plan of the foreign legation district in Beijing, and British government documents relevant to the various treaties. This edition is of particular interest for students of international law and diplomacy, as it covers the regulations governing relations between China and Britain in the year in which the last imperial Chinese ruler ascended the throne. Volume 1 contains the treaties.
Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan, in the Years 1857, '58, '59
Authors: Oliphant Laurence
Published: March 2015

In 1857 Laurence Oliphant (1829–88), lawyer, journalist, diplomat and sometime spy, later Liberal MP, satirical novelist, and, for a time, adherent of the religious mystic Thomas Harris, became private secretary to Lord Elgin (1811–63), accompanying him to China, and thence to Japan, on a mission to protect and extend British trading interests in the region. Oliphant's 1859 account of the trip was published in two volumes. Volume 2 deals with the negotiation of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Yedo, the legalisation of the Chinese opium trade and combat with Chinese insurgents at Nankin. The work is a mixture of travel narrative - Oliphant had previously written about his travels in Nepal and in the Crimea (also reissued in this series) - and political analysis. It provides both an informative account of the war from a privileged vantage point and a window upon Oliphant's own colourful career.
History of the Relations of the Government with the Hill Tribes of the North-East Frontier of Bengal
Authors: Mackenzie Alexander
Published: March 2015

Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1842–1902) joined the Indian Civil Service in 1862. His career began in Bengal, first as an assistant magistrate and then as a secretary to the local government. His report Memorandum on the North-East Frontier of Bengal (1869) was welcomed as a valuable guide to political relations in the area for government officials. This book, first published in 1884, is the updated and developed version of that report. It was extensively researched by Mackenzie, using government records, and was considered to be authoritative on the political relations between the Government and the hill tribes of Assam, Cachar and Chittagong. Mackenzie dedicates a chapter to each tribe and details their response to British colonisation and any negotiations that took place. Relevant notes and reports by officials who had come into contact with the tribes are also included as appendices. Mackenzie's thorough work remains an authoritative historical source today.
The Indian Borderland, 1880–1900
Authors: Holdich Thomas Hungerford
Published: March 2015

An English geographer of great distinction, Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich (1843–1929) is best remembered as Superintendent of Frontier Surveys in British India. He served on a number of boundary commissions including the one on Afghanistan that settled the country's border with British India in 1884–6. He was also invited by the governments of Argentina and Chile in 1892 to define their boundary along the Andes Mountains. Holdich wrote and lectured extensively on geographical issues in the later part of his life. In 1887 his work on the Afghan frontier received the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society (of which he was President from 1917 to 1919). This work of 1901 describes the geography and border disputes of the north-west frontier, including the Second Anglo-Afghan War, in which Holdich himself fought. The book also contains illustrations, and an appendix that provides a short history of Afghanistan.
A Dictionary of the Suahili Language
Authors: Krapf Johann Ludwig
Published: March 2015

Johan Ludwig Krapf (1810–81), a German-born member of the Church Missionary Society in East Africa, is regarded as the founder of Swahili studies in Europe. Having pursued an interest in Oriental culture from an early age, he first went to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) as a missionary. During his travels in Africa, he became the first European to see Mount Kenya; but he also considered the potential of Swahili as a lingua franca. Krapf published the first printed text in Swahili, and the first systematic Swahili grammar, as well as being the first to bring Swahili manuscripts to Europe. Another in a series of firsts is this lexicon, which was published posthumously in 1882. The Swahili dictionary, pioneering as it was in its day, is still of historical interest, especially because it contains notes on Swahili culture and customs, as well as an outline of the language's grammar.
A Greek Grammar
Authors: Thompson John
Published: March 2015

John Thompson (c.1866–1936) was Classics master and headmaster (1908–27) at the prestigious High School, Dublin. A competent linguist, he translated from German, produced a Latin primer, and wrote a Sanskrit course, though he opposed the teaching of Irish. He became a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (1912), President of the Classical Association (1918) and was appointed Officier d'Académie by the French government (1927). This work, first published in 1902, was intended for both the beginner and the more advanced student. It concentrates on Attic Greek, covering accidence in part one and syntax in part two, with appendices on accents and sound changes, Homeric accidence, and the weights, measures and calendar used by Attic Greeks. The work was popular with generations of teachers and pupils. It remains a useful resource for the modern student of Greek, and for readers interested in the history of Classics education.
The Collected Works of William Morris
Authors: Morris William , Morris May
Published: March 2015

A creative titan of the Victorian age, William Morris (1834–96) produced a prodigious variety of literary and artistic work in his lifetime. In addition to his achievements as a versatile designer at the forefront of the arts and crafts movement, Morris distinguished himself as a poet, translated Icelandic sagas and classical epics, wrote a series of influential prose romances, and gave lectures promoting his socialist principles. His collected works, originally published in 24 volumes between 1910 and 1915, were edited by his daughter Mary (May) Morris (1862–1938), whose introductions to each volume chart with insight and sympathy the development of her father's literary, aesthetic and political passions. Volume 15 contains the fantasy novel The Roots of the Mountains (1889).
The Collected Works of William Morris
Authors: Morris William , Morris May
Published: March 2015

A creative titan of the Victorian age, William Morris (1834–96) produced a prodigious variety of literary and artistic work in his lifetime. In addition to his achievements as a versatile designer at the forefront of the arts and crafts movement, Morris distinguished himself as a poet, translated Icelandic sagas and classical epics, wrote a series of influential prose romances, and gave lectures promoting his socialist principles. His collected works, originally published in 24 volumes between 1910 and 1915, were edited by his daughter Mary (May) Morris (1862–1938), whose introductions to each volume chart with insight and sympathy the development of her father's literary, aesthetic and political passions. Volume 24 contains the uncompleted early poem 'Scenes from the Fall of Troy' as well as many other unfinished or unpublished poems.
The Nautical Magazine for 1833
Authors: Various Authors
Published: March 2015

The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1833 volume contains frequent references to steam power, comparing steam marine engines and those used in the mines of Cornwall, and noting new steamship routes. Arctic exploration features prominently, with consideration of policy on expeditions, a drawing of an ice-reinforced ship, and a report on Sir John Ross's recently completed second voyage (described in detail in Ross' 1835 book, also available in the Cambridge Library Collection). Other topics covered include Australia, the Pacific, the Falkland Islands and St Kilda, navigation infrastructure projects and naval personnel, while a long-running serial presents the 'advice of a sailor to his son'.
Centrifugal instability in non-axisymmetric vortices
Authors: Nagarathinam David , Sameen A. , Mathur Manikandan
Published: March 2015

We study the centrifugal instability of non-axisymmetric vortices in the presence of an axial flow ($w$) and a background rotation (${\it\Omega}_{z}$) using the local stability approach. Analytically solving the local stability equations for an axisymmetric vortex with $w$ and ${\it\Omega}_{z}$, growth rates for wave vectors that are periodic upon evolution around a closed streamline are calculated. The resulting sufficient criterion for centrifugal instability in an axisymmetric vortex is then heuristically extended to non-axisymmetric vortices and written in terms of integral quantities and their derivatives with respect to the streamfunction on a streamline. The new criterion for non-axisymmetric vortices, which converges to the exact criterion of Bayly (Phys. Fluids, vol. 31, 1988, pp. 56–64) in the absence of background rotation and axial flow, is validated by comparisons with numerically calculated growth rates for two different anticyclonic vortices: the Stuart vortex (specified by the concentration parameter ${\it\rho},~0<{\it\rho}\leqslant 1$) and the Taylor–Green vortex (specified by the aspect ratio $E,~0<E\leqslant 1$). With no axial velocity and finite background rotation, the criterion predicts a lower and an upper threshold of $|{\it\Omega}_{z}|$ between which centrifugal instability is present. We further demonstrate that the criterion represents an improvement over the criterion of Sipp & Jacquin (Phys. Fluids, vol. 12, 2000, pp. 1740–1748). Finally, in the presence of both axial velocity and background rotation, the criterion is shown to be accurate for large enough ${\it\rho}$ and $E$.
A HENKIN-STYLE PROOF OF COMPLETENESS FOR FIRST-ORDER ALGEBRAIZABLE LOGICS
Authors: CINTULA PETR , NOGUERA CARLES
Published: March 2015

This paper considers Henkin’s proof of completeness of classical first-order logic and extends its scope to the realm of algebraizable logics in the sense of Blok and Pigozzi. Given a propositional logic L (for which we only need to assume that it has an algebraic semantics and a suitable disjunction) we axiomatize two natural first-order extensions L∀m and L∀ and prove that the former is complete with respect to all models over algebras from , while the latter is complete with respect to all models over relatively finitely subdirectly irreducible algebras. While the first completeness result is relatively straightforward, the second requires non-trivial modifications of Henkin’s proof by making use of the disjunction connective. As a byproduct, we also obtain a form of Skolemization provided that the algebraic semantics admits regular completions. The relatively modest assumptions on the propositional side allow for a wide generalization of previous approaches by Rasiowa, Sikorski, Hájek, Horn, and others and help to illuminate the “essentially first-order” steps in the classical Henkin’s proof.
A CLASSIFICATION OF 2-CHAINS HAVING 1-SHELL BOUNDARIES IN ROSY
THEORIES
Authors: KIM BYUNGHAN , KIM SUNYOUNG , LEE JUNGUK
Published: March 2015

We classify, in a nontrivial amenable collection of functors, all 2-chains up to
the relation of having the same 1-shell boundary. In particular, we prove that
in a rosy theory, every 1-shell of a Lascar strong type is the boundary of some
2-chain, hence making the 1st homology group trivial. We also show that, unlike
in simple theories, in rosy theories there is no upper bound on the minimal
lengths of 2-chains whose boundary is a 1-shell.
DEFINABLE HENSELIAN VALUATIONS
Authors: JAHNKE FRANZISKA , KOENIGSMANN JOCHEN
Published: March 2015

In this note we investigate the question when a henselian valued field carries a nontrivial ∅-definable henselian valuation (in the language of rings). This is clearly not possible when the field is either separably or real closed, and, by the work of Prestel and Ziegler, there are further examples of henselian valued fields which do not admit a ∅-definable nontrivial henselian valuation. We give conditions on the residue field which ensure the existence of a parameter-free definition. In particular, we show that a henselian valued field admits a nontrivial henselian ∅-definable valuation when the residue field is separably closed or sufficiently nonhenselian, or when the absolute Galois group of the (residue) field is nonuniversal.
COMPUTABILITY AND UNCOUNTABLE LINEAR ORDERS II: DEGREE SPECTRA
Authors: GREENBERG NOAM , KACH ASHER M. , LEMPP STEFFEN , TURETSKY DANIEL D.
Published: March 2015

We study the computable structure theory of linear orders of size $\aleph _1 $ within the framework of admissible computability theory. In particular, we study degree spectra and the successor relation.
Venereology at the Polyclinic: Postgraduate Medical Education Among General Practitioners in England, 1899–1914
Authors: Hanley Anne
Published: March 2015

In 1899 theBritish Medical Journalenthusiastically announced that a new postgraduate teaching college was to open in London. The aim of the Medical Graduates’ College and Polyclinic (MGC) was to provide continuing education to general practitioners. It drew upon emerging specialisms and in so doing built upon the generalist training received at an undergraduate level. Courses were intended to refresh knowledge and to introduce general practitioners to new knowledge claims and clinical practices. The establishment of postgraduate institutions such as the MGC marked an important stage in the development of medical education in England. Yet these institutions, and the emergence of postgraduate medical education more broadly, have been largely overlooked by historians. Moreover the history of venereological training among medical undergraduates and postgraduates alike has been overlooked. The study of such special subjects characterised postgraduate study. This article examines the dissemination of venereological knowledge among subscribers to MGC as an important case study for the development of institutionalised postgraduate medical education in England at the turn of the twentieth century.
Greek Manuscripts at the Wellcome Library in London: A Descriptive Catalogue
Authors: Bouras-Vallianatos Petros
Published: March 2015

This article presents a new, detailed catalogue of the Greek manuscripts at the Wellcome Library in London. It consists of an introduction to the history of the collection and its scholarly importance, followed by separate entries for each manuscript. Each entry identifies the text(s) found in the respective manuscript – including reference to existing printed edition(s) of such texts – and gives a physical description of the codex, details on its provenance and bibliographical references.
An Appraisal of the Functional Necessity of the Immunity Clause in the Political Governance of Nigeria
Authors: Okeke GN , Okeke CE
Published: March 2015

Immunity is an exemption conferred on a person in order to protect him from litigation or persecution. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended accords immunity to the president, vice-president, governors and deputy governors only. The import of this constitutional conferment is that no civil or criminal proceedings should be instituted against them while in office. This singular feature of the immunity clause emphasizes the functional necessity of the immunity which the constitution canvasses for these political office holders. A trial relating to any crime committed by any of them can commence after their tenure in office expires. This raises the issues that evidence against them might have been destroyed, prosecution witnesses may die before the trial commences and changes in the law can enable them to evade justice.
The Reluctant Transformation: State Industrialization, Religion, and Human Capital in Nineteenth-Century Egypt
Authors: Saleh Mohamed
Published: March 2015

In 1805–1882, Egypt embarked on one of the earliest state industrialization programs. Using a new data source, the Egyptian nineteenth-century population censuses, I examine the impact of the program on the long-standing inter-religious human capital differentials, which were in favor of Christians. I find that there were inter-religious differentials in reaping the benefits (or losses) of industrialization. The first state industrialization wave was “de-skilling” among Muslims but “up-skilling” among Christians, while the second wave was “up-skilling” for both groups. I interpret the results within Lawrence F. Katz and Robert A. Margo (2013) framework of technical change.
Plasma turbulence, suprathermal ion dynamics and code validation on the basic plasma physics device TORPEX
Authors: Furno I. , Avino F. , Bovet A. , Diallo A. , Fasoli A. , Gustafson K. , Iraji D. , Labit B. , Loizu J. , Müller S. H. , Plyushchev G. , Podestà M. , Poli F. M. , Ricci P. , Theiler C.
Published: March 2015

The TORPEX basic plasma physics device at the Center for Plasma Physics Research (CRPP) in Lausanne, Switzerland is described. In TORPEX, simple magnetized toroidal configurations, a paradigm for the tokamak scrape-off layer (SOL), as well as more complex magnetic geometries of direct relevance for fusion are produced. Plasmas of different gases are created and sustained by microwaves in the electron-cyclotron (EC) frequency range. Full diagnostic access allows for a complete characterization of plasma fluctuations and wave fields throughout the entire plasma volume, opening new avenues to validate numerical codes. We detail recent advances in the understanding of basic aspects of plasma turbulence, including its development from linearly unstable electrostatic modes, the formation of filamentary structures, or blobs, and its influence on the transport of energy, plasma bulk and suprathermal ions. We present a methodology for the validation of plasma turbulence codes, which focuses on quantitative assessment of the agreement between numerical simulations and TORPEX experimental data.
Biogeographic and faunistic division of the Eurasian Polar Ocean based on distributions of Hydrozoa (Cnidaria)
Authors: Antsulevich Alexander E.
Published: March 2015

The hydroid and hydromedusa fauna of Russian Arctic seas, totalling 161 species, has been revised taxonomically and biogeographically. Diversity is highest in the Barents Sea, where 133 species are known to occur. Species composition of Hydrozoa throughout Russian Eurasia is decidedly uniform, with marked similarity among all regional faunistic lists. An assemblage of Arctic ubiquitists, a majority of them boreal-Arctic species, comprise the main element of hydrozoans in all Arctic seas. This faunistic main element is responsible for the faunal uniformity observed from one sea to the next across thousands of kilometres along the northern Eurasian coast. Exceptions occur in marginal regions including western parts of the Barents Sea and south-eastern parts of the Chukchi Sea, where species distribution area contours (named as ‘synperates’) come close together. Based on a biogeographic analysis of faunistic data and species distributions of Hydrozoa, all temperate and cold waters of the Eurasian seas and the Central Polar Basin were referred to a single Arctatlantic biogeographic realm. Biogeographic subdivisions within this realm have rather low hierarchical rank, the result of low endemism, high faunal similarity across the northern seas, and predominance of a North Atlantic fauna in Russian northern seas as far as the easternmost Chukchi Sea.
Not Much Happened: 410 and All That
Authors: Van Nuffelen Peter
Published: March 2015

Even in these unclassical times, the sack of Rome by the Goths ina.d. 410 remains entrenched in Western collective memory as a ‘key date’ in history. For a scholarly audience, its sixteen-hundreth anniversary in 2010 was commemorated by no fewer than three conferences in Rome. The resulting volumes illustrate the ambivalent relationship historical scholarship entertains with commemoration. While the conferences draw their appeal from the construction, in late ancient and modern tradition, of the sack as an event of world historical importance, the three volumes collectively lead one to conclude that nothing much really happened between 24 and 27 August 410. The schizophrenic situation is summed up in the following two statements by Philipp von Rummel, the organizer of the conference held by the German Archaeological Institute. In an interview with the BBC, he is quoted as saying: ‘I don't know if people will still be talking about 9/11 in 2,000 years time, but the events of that August day still influence our contemporary view of history.’ In the introduction to his volume, co-edited with J. Lipps and C. Machado, he approvingly notes that scholars ‘have moved away from the traditional narrative of collapse with which the sack was associated’ (11), and his own contribution opens by stating that, without lapsing into ‘historical instrumentalization and projections’, one cannot say much more than that an army under the leadership of Alaric plundered the city of Rome for three days (17: ‘Diese drei Sätze geben präzise das wieder, was abseits historischer Instrumentalisierungen und Projektionen über das Ereignis gesagt werden kann’). Even if the two statements need not be contradictory, they convey two rather different views of the events: a hyperbolic one highlighting long-term repercussions and a rather terse one that remains strictly within the bounds of the factual. It is a phenomenon that can be observed elsewhere: critical scholarship seeks to undermine traditional historical narrative, while at the same time failing to escape entirely the story it rejects.
Report on BAAL ‘Language in Africa’ SIG meetings Reading in African languages: Developing literacies and reading methodologies
Authors: Wildsmith-Cromarty Rosemary
Published: March 2015

This report describes ongoing research on reading in African languages. It draws mainly on contributions from two British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) ‘Language in Africa’ (LiA) Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings: the LiA SIG strand at BAAL 2013 and the seminar on Reading Methodologies in African Languages held at The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in January 2014. This report will only cover contributions that focused on reading research and practice.
Water supply and urban population in Roman Cyrenaica
Authors: Lloyd J. A. , Lewis P. R.
Published: March 2015

A central archaeological and historical problem is that of population. It is reflected in the question often posed by the student or visitor of an ancient city: how big was X?; how many people lived here? The reply is unlikely to be more than an informed guess and, in most cases, a mere hazard, exposing a fundamental lacuna in historical knowledge. The problem of population size is not simply of casual interest; it affects almost every aspect of a balanced picture of life in ancient times.

Explicit classical allusions to population figures survive in only a very few cases (Alexandria, for example, had more than 300,000 free inhabitants in the first century B.C., according to Diodorus). In their absence it is extremely difficult to assess the number of inhabitants of a city at a given time, a situation further complicated by the fact that in Roman times a city comprised not just a built-up area, perhaps defined by walls, but also a neighbouring territory which it owned. The inhabitants of the territorium were liable to be counted with the city dwellers, thus producing a definition of urban population which differs radically from our modern concept.

Despite the inherent difficulties, demographic studies have periodically occupied the attention of a number of archaeologists and historians, and in recent years two major works have appeared. In The Economy of the Roman Empire Richard Duncan-Jones devotes an important chapter to the size of cities. After reviewing the various methods used to calculate the size of urban populations, he puts forward figures of his own, based principally on the interpretation of epigraphic evidence. As one of his examples has a specific Libyan connection, it is worth summarising here. The town concerned is Oea (modern Tripoli). Duncan-Jones applies an approach first outlined in 1886 by J. Beloch, in examining ancient records of large-scale gifts for public feasts or cash hand-outs (sportulae). These records provide important clues to the size of the urban population at the time of the benefaction. In the case of Oea, two pieces of evidence have been preserved. The first is given by Apuleius in the Apologia, a speech prepared for his defence (in a trial at Sabratha) against a charge of winning his Oean wife, Pudentilla, by magic.
AUTOMATED ESTIMATION OF VECTOR ERROR CORRECTION MODELS
Authors: Liao Zhipeng , Phillips Peter C. B.
Published: March 2015

Model selection and associated issues of post-model selection inference present well known challenges in empirical econometric research. These modeling issues are manifest in all applied work but they are particularly acute in multivariate time series settings such as cointegrated systems where multiple interconnected decisions can materially affect the form of the model and its interpretation. In cointegrated system modeling, empirical estimation typically proceeds in a stepwise manner that involves the determination of cointegrating rank and autoregressive lag order in a reduced rank vector autoregression followed by estimation and inference. This paper proposes an automated approach to cointegrated system modeling that uses adaptive shrinkage techniques to estimate vector error correction models with unknown cointegrating rank structure and unknown transient lag dynamic order. These methods enable simultaneous order estimation of the cointegrating rank and autoregressive order in conjunction with oracle-like efficient estimation of the cointegrating matrix and transient dynamics. As such they offer considerable advantages to the practitioner as an automated approach to the estimation of cointegrated systems. The paper develops the new methods, derives their limit theory, discusses implementation, reports simulations, and presents an empirical illustration with macroeconomic aggregates.
Identity in Written Discourse
Authors: Matsuda Paul Kei
Published: March 2015

This article provides an overview of theoretical and research issues in the study of writer identity in written discourse. First, a historical overview explores how identity has been conceived, studied, and taught, followed by a discussion of how writer identity has been conceptualized. Next, three major orientations toward writer identity show how the focus of analysis has shifted from the individual to the social conventions and how it has been moving toward an equilibrium, in which the negotiation of individual and social perspectives is recognized. The next two sections discuss two of the key developments—identity in academic writing and the assessment of writer identity. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the implications and future directions for teaching and researching identity in written discourse.
Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics
Authors: Darvin Ron , Norton Bonny
Published: March 2015

This article locates Norton's foundational work on identity and investment within the social turn of applied linguistics. It discusses its historical impetus and theoretical anchors, and it illustrates how these ideas have been taken up in recent scholarship. In response to the demands of the new world order, spurred by technology and characterized by mobility, it proposes a comprehensive model of investment, which occurs at the intersection of identity, ideology, and capital. The model recognizes that the spaces in which language acquisition and socialization take place have become increasingly deterritorialized and unbounded, and the systemic patterns of control more invisible. This calls for new questions, analyses, and theories of identity. The model addresses the needs of learners who navigate their way through online and offline contexts and perform identities that have become more fluid and complex. As such, it proposes a more comprehensive and critical examination of the relationship between identity, investment, and language learning. Drawing on two case studies of a female language learner in rural Uganda and a male language learner in urban Canada, the model illustrates how structure and agency, operating across time and space, can accord or refuse learners the power to speak.
Identity in Academic Discourse
Authors: Flowerdew John , Wang Simon Ho
Published: March 2015

This review article is concerned with the construction of identity in academic discourse. It examines recent journal articles and monographs in applied linguistics and considers various perspectives on the issue. After a brief introduction and review of the theoretical background relating to identity, followed by a characterization of academic discourse and how it relates to identity theory, the article explores the following topics: linguistic resources for audience engagement; voice and academic identity; disciplinary identity; identity in peripheral academic genres; academic identity development over time; academic identity and English as a lingua franca; power, ideology, and critical language awareness in academic identity construction; language reuse, intertextuality, and academic identity; pedagogically oriented studies and academic identity construction; and methodological diversity and innovation in the study of academic identity. The article concludes with suggestions for future work in the field of academic identity research.
Translanguaging and Identity in Educational Settings
Authors: Creese Angela , Blackledge Adrian
Published: March 2015

This article reviews recent scholarship in language, identity, and education. It critically reflects on developments in sociolinguistics as researchers have engaged with the dynamics and complexity of communication in superdiverse societies where people from an increased number of territories come into contact with one another, and where people have access to an increased range of online resources for communication. The authors focus in particular on recent scholarship on “translanguaging,” examining research that has viewed identities as socially constructed in interaction and considering the relationship between language and identities in contexts where communication is mobile and complex. This article offers a critical summary of the implications of these developments for education in the 21st century. In order to illustrate these theoretical points, the authors present an empirical example of the performance of language and identity in education from their recent research.
Reactive oxygen species and p21Waf1/Cip1 are both essential for p53-mediated senescence of head and neck cancer cells
Authors: Fitzgerald A L , Osman A A , Xie T-X , Patel A , Skinner H , Sandulache V , Myers J N
Published: March 2015

Treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, HNSCC, often requires multimodal therapy, including radiation therapy. The efficacy of radiotherapy in controlling locoregional recurrence, the most frequent cause of death from HNSCC, is critically important for patient survival. One potential biomarker to determine radioresistance is TP53 whose alterations are predictive of poor radiation response. DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a by-product of ionizing radiation that lead to the activation of p53, transcription of p21cip1/waf1 and, in the case of wild-type TP53 HNSCC cells, cause senescence. The expression of p21 and production of ROS have been associated with the induction of cellular senescence, but the intricate relationship between p21 and ROS and how they work together to induce senescence remains elusive. For the first time, we show that persistent exposure to low levels of the ROS, hydrogen peroxide, leads to the long-term expression of p21 in HNSCC cells with a partially functional TP53, resulting in senescence. We conclude that the level of ROS is crucial in initiating p53’s transcription of p21 leading to senescence. It is p21’s ability to sustain elevated levels of ROS, in turn, that allows for a long-term oxidative stress, and ensures an active p53–p21–ROS signaling loop. Our data offer a rationale to consider the use of either ROS inducing agents or therapies that increase p21 expression in combination with radiation as approaches in cancer therapy and emphasizes the importance of considering TP53 status when selecting a patient’s treatment options.
KLF17 empowers TGF-β/Smad signaling by targeting Smad3-dependent pathway to suppress tumor growth and metastasis during cancer progression
Authors: Ali A , Zhang P , Liangfang Y , Wenshe S , Wang H , Lin X , Dai Y , Feng X-h , Moses R , Wang D , Li X , Xiao J
Published: March 2015

Inhibition of tumor suppressive signaling is linked to cancer progression, metastasis and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β)/Smad signaling plays an important role in tumor suppression. Kruppel-like-factor 17 (KLF17) is a negative regulator of metastasis and EMT. However, underlying mechanisms leading to tumor suppressive and anti-metastatic function of KLF17 still remains unknown. Here, we show that KLF17 plays an integral role in potentiating TGF-β/Smad signaling via Smad3-dependent pathway to suppress tumor progression. Intriguingly, TGF-β/Smad3 signaling induces KLF17 expression, generating a positive feedback loop. TGF-β/Smad3–KLF17 loop is critical for anti-metastasis and tumor inhibition in cancer cells. Mechanistically, silencing KLF17 reduced Smad3–DNA complex formation on Smad binding element (SBE) and affects the expression of TGF-β/Smad target genes. Moreover, KLF17 alters Smad3 binding pattern on chromatin. KLF17 regulates TGF-β target genes that are Smad3-dependent. Smad3 and KLF17 physically interact with each other via KLF17 responsive elements/SBE region. Intriguingly, TGF-β stimulates the recruitment of KLF17 on chromatin to subsets of metastasis-associated genes. Functionally, depletion of KLF17 enhanced tumorigenic features in cancer cells. KLF17 is critical for full cytostatic function of TGF-β/Smad signaling. Clinically, KLF17 expression significantly decreases during advance HCC. KLF17 shows positive correlation with Smad3 levels in cancer samples. Our data shows that enhance KLF17 activity has important therapeutic implications for targeted-therapies aimed at TGF-β/Smad3 pathway. These findings define novel mechanism by which TGF-β/Smad–KLF17 pathway mutually affect each other during cancer metastasis, provide a new model of regulation of TGF-β/Smad signaling by KLF17 and defines new insights into anti-metastatic function of KLF17.
Readthrough acetylcholinesterase (AChE-R) and regulated necrosis: pharmacological targets for the regulation of ovarian functions?
Authors: Blohberger J , Kunz L , Einwang D , Berg U , Berg D , Ojeda S R , Dissen G A , Fröhlich T , Arnold G J , Soreq H , Lara H , Mayerhofer A
Published: March 2015

Proliferation, differentiation and death of ovarian cells ensure orderly functioning of the female gonad during the reproductive phase, which ultimately ends with menopause in women. These processes are regulated by several mechanisms, including local signaling via neurotransmitters. Previous studies showed that ovarian non-neuronal endocrine cells produce acetylcholine (ACh), which likely acts as a trophic factor within the ovarian follicle and the corpus luteum via muscarinic ACh receptors. How its actions are restricted was unknown. We identified enzymatically active acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in human ovarian follicular fluid as a product of human granulosa cells. AChE breaks down ACh and thereby attenuates its trophic functions. Blockage of AChE by huperzine A increased the trophic actions as seen in granulosa cells studies. Among ovarian AChE variants, the readthrough isoform AChE-R was identified, which has further, non-enzymatic roles. AChE-R was found in follicular fluid, granulosa and theca cells, as well as luteal cells, implying that such functions occur in vivo. A synthetic AChE-R peptide (ARP) was used to explore such actions and induced in primary, cultured human granulosa cells a caspase-independent form of cell death with a distinct balloon-like morphology and the release of lactate dehydrogenase. The RIPK1 inhibitor necrostatin-1 and the MLKL-blocker necrosulfonamide significantly reduced this form of cell death. Thus a novel non-enzymatic function of AChE-R is to stimulate RIPK1/MLKL-dependent regulated necrosis (necroptosis). The latter complements a cholinergic system in the ovary, which determines life and death of ovarian cells. Necroptosis likely occurs in the primate ovary, as granulosa and luteal cells were immunopositive for phospho-MLKL, and hence necroptosis may contribute to follicular atresia and luteolysis. The results suggest that interference with the enzymatic activities of AChE and/or interference with necroptosis may be novel approaches to influence ovarian functions.
Fgf9 inhibition of meiotic differentiation in spermatogonia is mediated by Erk-dependent activation of Nodal-Smad2/3 signaling and is antagonized by Kit Ligand
Authors: Tassinari V , Campolo F , Cesarini V , Todaro F , Dolci S , Rossi P
Published: March 2015

Both fibroblast growth factor 9 (Fgf9) and Kit Ligand (Kl) signal through tyrosine kinase receptors, yet they exert opposite effects on meiotic differentiation in postnatal spermatogonia, Fgf9 acting as a meiosis-inhibiting substance and Kl acting as a promoter of the differentiation process. To understand the molecular mechanisms that might underlie this difference, we tried to dissect the intracellular signaling elicited by these two growth factors. We found that both Fgf9 and Kl stimulate Erk1/2 activation in Kit+ (differentiating) spermatogonia, even though with different time courses, whereas Kl, but not Fgf9, elicits activation of the Pi3k-Akt pathway. Sustained Erk1/2 activity promoted by Fgf9 is required for induction of the autocrine Cripto-Nodal-Smad2/3 signaling loop in these cells. Nodal signaling, in turn, is essential to mediate Fgf9 suppression of the meiotic program, including inhibition of Stra8 and Scp3 expression and induction of the meiotic gatekeeper Nanos2. On the contrary, sustained activation of the Pi3k-Akt pathway is required for the induction of Stra8 expression elicited by Kl and retinoic acid. Moreover, we found that Kl treatment impairs Nodal mRNA expression and Fgf9-mediated Nanos2 induction, reinforcing the antagonistic effect of these two growth factors on the meiotic fate of male germ cells.