bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Communication: Full dimensional quantum rate coefficients and kinetic isotope effects from ring polymer molecular dynamics for a seven-atom reaction OH + CH4 → CH3 + H2O
Authors: Allen Joshua W. , Green William H. , Li Yongle , Guo Hua , Suleimanov Yury V.
Published: June 2013

The kinetic isotope effect (KIE) of the seven-atom reactions OH + CH4 → CH3 + H2O and OH + CD4 → CD3 + HDO over the temperature range 200–1000 K is investigated using ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) on a full-dimensional potential energy surface. A comparison of RPMD with previous theoretical results obtained using transition state theory shows that RPMD is a more reliable theoretical approach for systems with more than 6 atoms, which provides a predictable level of accuracy. We show that the success of RPMD is a direct result of its independence of the choice of transition state dividing surface, a feature that is not shared by any of the transition state theory-based methods. Our results demonstrate that RPMD is a prospective method for studies of KIEs for polyatomic reactions for which rigorous quantum mechanical calculations are currently impossible.
Atmospheric pressure He-air plasma jet: Breakdown process and propagation phenomenon
Authors: Begum Asma , Laroussi Mounir , Pervez Mohammad Rasel
Published: June 2013

In this paper He-discharge (plasma jet/bullet) in atmospheric pressure air and its progression phenomenon has been studied experimentally using ICCD camera, optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and calibrated dielectric probe measurements. The repetitive nanosecond pulse has applied to a plasma pencil to generate discharge in the helium gas channel. The discharge propagation speed was measured from the ICCD images. The axial electric field distribution in the plasma jet is inferred from the optical emission spectroscopic data and from the probe measurement. The correlation between the jet velocities, jet length with the pulse duration is established. It shows that the plasma jet is not isolated from the input voltage along its propagation path. The discharge propagation speed, the electron density and the local and average electric field distribution along the plasma jet axis predicted from the experimental results are in good agreement with the data predicted by numerical simulation of the streamer propagation presented in different literatures. The ionization phenomenon of the discharge predicts the key ionization parameters, such as speed, peak electric field in the front, and electron density. The maximum local electric field measured by OES is 95 kV/cm at 1.3 cm of the jet axis, and average EF measured by probe is 24 kV/cm at the same place of the jet. The average and local electron density estimated are in the order of 1011 cm-3 and it reaches to the maximum of 1012 cm-3.
The Application of a Sequence Alignment Method to the Creation of Typologies of Tourist Activity in Time and Space
Authors: Shoval Noam , McKercher Bob , Birenboim Amit , Ng Erica
Published: June 2013

In this article we introduce the method of sequence alignment and its uses for creating tourist typologies based on temporal and spatial movements through a destination. The sequence alignment method was first developed in the 1980s by biochemists who wished to analyse DNA sequences; it was adapted for use in the social sciences towards the end of the 1990s. Unlike traditional quantitative methods, sequence alignment is concerned with the order (or sequence) of events. Thus, it is well suited for tourism research, as tourism involves the mobility of tourists through time and space. In this study, a database composed of 305 space-time sequences of visitors to Hong Kong was analysed. Data were obtained using global positioning system devices which were distributed among participants. The sequences were aligned using ClustalG, a sequence alignment computer program. The analysis resulted in the identification of various classifications of tourists in Hong Kong based on their time-space patterns.
Germ cell survival and differentiation after xenotransplantation of testis tissue from three endangered species: Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), Cuvier's gazelle (Gazella cuvieri) and Mohor gazelle (G. dama mhorr)
Authors: Arregui Lucía , Dobrinski Ina , Roldan Eduardo R. S.
Published: June 2013

The use of assisted reproductive techniques for endangered species is a major goal for conservation. One of these techniques, testis tissue xenografting, allows for the development of spermatozoa from animals that die before reaching sexual maturity. To assess the potential use of this technique with endangered species, testis tissue from six Iberian lynxes (one fetus, two perinatal cubs, two 6-month-old and one 2-year-old lynx), two Cuvier’s gazelle fetuses and one 8-month-old Mohor gazelle were transplanted ectopically into nude mice. Tissue from the lynx fetus, perinatal cubs and 2-year-old donors degenerated, whereas spermatogonia were present in 15% of seminiferous tubules more than 70 weeks after grafting in transplanted testis tissue from 6-month-old donors. Seminal vesicle weights (indicative of testosterone production) increased over time in mice transplanted with tissue from 6-month-old lynxes. Progression of spermatogenesis was observed in xenografts from gazelles and was donor age dependent. Tissue from Cuvier’s gazelle fetuses contained spermatocytes 40 weeks after grafting. Finally, round spermatids were found 28 weeks after transplantation in grafts from the 8-month-old Mohor gazelle. This is the first time that xenotransplantation of testicular tissue has been performed with an endangered felid and the first successful xenotransplantation in an endangered species. Our results open important options for the preservation of biological diversity.
Cache sites preferred by small rodents facilitate cache survival in a subtropical primary forest, central China
Authors: Sun Shoujia , Zhang Hongmao
Published: June 2013

Context
Scatter-hoarding rodents tend to hoard plant seeds in preferred places that facilitate seed survival, resulting in high food rewards for hoarders and a high probability of seedling establishment for plants.

Aims
To test the hypothesis that caches placed in rodent-preferred microhabitats, nearest-neighbour distances between caches (cache density) or cache depths have an increased chance of survival.

Methods
Rodent-made caches and observer-established caches of Himalayan hazelnut (Corylus ferox) seeds were tracked in a subtropical primary forest in central China. The survival of caches within rodent-preferred microhabitats, nearest-neighbour distances and cache depths were identified.

Key results
Rodents preferred to hoard Himalayan hazelnut seeds in microhabitats under and at the edge of shrubs, with the nearest-neighbour distance of <4.0 m, and at 2.1–4.0-cm depth. The survival times of both rodent-made caches and observer-established caches were longer within rodent-preferred microhabitats than in other habitats and increased with an increasing nearest-neighbour distance and cache depth, up to what appeared to be an optimal nearest-neighbour distance and depth.

Conclusions
Conditions of rodent-preferred cache microhabitats, nearest-neighbour distances and cache depths can facilitate cache survival.

Implications
Rodents often move plant seeds away from parent trees and bury them in shallow soil, which benefits seed dispersal and establishment of plants. The present study demonstrates that rodent-preferred cache conditions may translate into higher seed survival and a higher tendency of seeds to germinate and establish. Thus, careful management and conservation of rodent-preferred hoarding habitats may benefit seed dispersal and survival.
Female mediation of competitive fertilization success in
Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Lüpold Stefan , Pitnick Scott , Berben Kirstin S. , Blengini Cecilia S. , Belote John M. , Manier Mollie K.
Published: June 2013

How females store and use sperm after remating can generate postcopulatory sexual selection on male ejaculate traits. Variation in ejaculate performance traits generally is thought to be intrinsic to males but is likely to interact with the environment in which sperm compete (e.g., the female reproductive tract). Our understanding of female contributions to competitive fertilization success is limited, however, in part because of the challenges involved in observing events within the reproductive tract of internally fertilizing species while discriminating among sperm from competing males. Here, we used females from crosses among isogenic lines of
Drosophila melanogaster
, each mated to two genetically standardized males (the first with green- and the second with red-tagged sperm heads) to demonstrate heritable variation in female remating interval, progeny production rate, sperm-storage organ morphology, and a number of sperm performance, storage, and handling traits. We then used multivariate analyses to examine relationships between this female-mediated variation and competitive paternity. In particular, the timing of female ejection of excess second-male and displaced first-male sperm was genetically variable and, by terminating the process of sperm displacement, significantly influenced the relative numbers of sperm from each male competing for fertilization, and consequently biased paternity. Our results demonstrate that females do not simply provide a static arena for sperm competition but rather play an active and pivotal role in postcopulatory processes. Resolving the adaptive significance of genetic variation in female-mediated mechanisms of sperm handling is critical for understanding sexual selection, sexual conflict, and the coevolution of male and female reproductive traits.
Optimization criteria and biological process enrichment in homologous multiprotein modules
Authors: Hodgkinson Luqman , Karp Richard M.
Published: June 2013

Biological process enrichment is a widely used metric for evaluating the quality of multiprotein modules. In this study, we examine possible optimization criteria for detecting homologous multiprotein modules and quantify their effects on biological process enrichment. We find that modularity, linear density, and module size are the most important criteria considered, complementary to each other, and that graph theoretical attributes account for 36% of the variance in biological process enrichment. Variations in protein interaction similarity within module pairs have only minor effects on biological process enrichment. As random modules increase in size, both biological process enrichment and modularity tend to improve, although modularity does not show this upward trend in modules with size at most 50 proteins. To adjust for these trends, we recommend a size correction based on random sampling of modules when using biological process enrichment or other attributes to evaluate module boundaries. Characteristics of homologous multiprotein modules optimized for each of the optimization criteria are examined.
Demazure modules and Weyl modules: The twisted current case
Authors: Fourier Ghislain , Kus Deniz
Published: June 2013

We study finite–dimensional respresentations of twisted current algebras and show that any graded twisted Weyl module is isomorphic to level one Demazure modules for the twisted affine Kac-Moody algebra. Using the tensor product property of Demazure modules, we obtain, by analyzing the fundamental Weyl modules, dimension and character formulas. Moreover, we prove that graded twisted Weyl modules can be obtained by taking the associated graded modules of Weyl modules for the loop algebra, which implies that its dimension and classical character are independent of the support and depend only on its classical highest weight. These results were previously known for untwisted current algebras and are new for all twisted types.
Electron cryotomography of ESCRT assemblies and dividing Sulfolobus cells suggests that spiraling filaments are involved in membrane scission
Authors: Dobro Megan J. , Samson Rachel Y. , Yu Zhiheng , McCullough John , Ding H. Jane , Chong Parkson Lee-Gau , Bell Stephen D. , Jensen Grant J.
Published: June 2013

The endosomal-sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) is evolutionarily conserved from Archaea to eukaryotes. The complex drives membrane scission events in a range of processes, including cytokinesis in Metazoa and some Archaea. CdvA is the protein in Archaea that recruits ESCRT-III to the membrane. Using electron cryotomography (ECT), we find that CdvA polymerizes into helical filaments wrapped around liposomes. ESCRT-III proteins are responsible for the cinching of membranes and have been shown to assemble into helical tubes in vitro, but here we show that they also can form nested tubes and nested cones, which reveal surprisingly numerous and versatile contacts. To observe the ESCRT–CdvA complex in a physiological context, we used ECT to image the archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and observed a distinct protein belt at the leading edge of constriction furrows in dividing cells. The known dimensions of ESCRT-III proteins constrain their possible orientations within each of these structures and point to the involvement of spiraling filaments in membrane scission.
Chemical-genetic disruption of clathrin function spares adaptor complex 3–dependent endosome vesicle biogenesis
Authors: Zlatic Stephanie A. , Grossniklaus Emily J. , Ryder Pearl V. , Salazar Gloria , Mattheyses Alexa L. , Peden Andrew A. , Faundez Victor
Published: June 2013

A role for clathrin in AP-3–dependent vesicle biogenesis has been inferred from biochemical interactions and colocalization between this adaptor and clathrin. The functionality of these molecular associations, however, is controversial. We comprehensively explore the role of clathrin in AP-3–dependent vesicle budding, using rapid chemical-genetic perturbation of clathrin function with a clathrin light chain–FKBP chimera oligomerizable by the drug AP20187. We find that AP-3 interacts and colocalizes with endogenous and recombinant FKBP chimeric clathrin polypeptides in PC12-cell endosomes. AP-3 displays, however, a divergent behavior from AP-1, AP-2, and clathrin chains. AP-3 cofractionates with clathrin-coated vesicle fractions isolated from PC12 cells even after clathrin function is acutely inhibited by AP20187. We predicted that AP20187 would inhibit AP-3 vesicle formation from endosomes after a brefeldin A block. AP-3 vesicle formation continued, however, after brefeldin A wash-out despite impairment of clathrin function by AP20187. These findings indicate that AP-3–clathrin association is dispensable for endosomal AP-3 vesicle budding and suggest that endosomal AP-3–clathrin interactions differ from those by which AP-1 and AP-2 adaptors productively engage clathrin in vesicle biogenesis.
Effects of hyperglycemia and aging on nuclear sirtuins and DNA damage of mouse hepatocytes
Authors: Ghiraldini Flávia Gerelli , Crispim Ana Carolina Vitolo , Mello Maria Luiza Silveira
Published: June 2013

Hyperglycemia, like aging, induces chromatin remodeling in mouse hepatocytes in comparison to normoglycemia and younger age, respectively. Changes in glucose metabolism also affect the action and expression of sirtuins, promoting changes in chromatin conformation and dynamics. Here we investigate the abundance and activity of the nuclear sirtuins Sirt1, Sirt6, and Sirt7 in mouse hepatocytes in association with specific histone acetylation, DNA damage, and the activation of nucleolar organizing regions (NORs) in hyperglycemic nonobese diabetic (NOD) and old normoglycemic BALB/c mouse strains. Higher levels of Sirt1 and PGC-1α and increased expression of gluconeogenesis pathway genes are found in the hyperglycemic NOD mice. Increased Sirt6 abundance is found in the hyperglycemic NOD mice, which might increase DNA damage repair. With aging, lower Sirt1 abundance and activity, increased acetylated histone modifications and Sirt7 levels, and NOR methylation are found. Thus, whereas in normal aging cell metabolism is reduced, in the diabetic mice a compensatory mechanism may elevate Sirt1 and Sirt6 levels, increasing gluconeogenesis and DNA repair from the oxidative damage caused by hyperglycemia. Therefore understanding the regulation of epigenetic factors in diabetes and aging is crucial for the development of new therapeutic approaches that could prevent diseases and improve quality of life.
Formation of membrane ridges and scallops by the F-BAR protein Nervous Wreck
Authors: Becalska Agata N. , Kelley Charlotte F. , Berciu Cristina , Stanishneva-Konovalova Tatiana B. , Fu Xiaofeng , Wang ShiYu , Sokolova Olga S. , Nicastro Daniela , Rodal Avital A.
Published: June 2013

Eukaryotic cells are defined by extensive intracellular compartmentalization, which requires dynamic membrane remodeling. FER/Cip4 homology-Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (F-BAR) domain family proteins form crescent-shaped dimers, which can bend membranes into buds and tubules of defined geometry and lipid composition. However, these proteins exhibit an unexplained wide diversity of membrane-deforming activities in vitro and functions in vivo. We find that the F-BAR domain of the neuronal protein Nervous Wreck (Nwk) has a novel higher-order structure and membrane-deforming activity that distinguishes it from previously described F-BAR proteins. The Nwk F-BAR domain assembles into zigzags, creating ridges and periodic scallops on membranes in vitro. This activity depends on structural determinants at the tips of the F-BAR dimer and on electrostatic interactions of the membrane with the F-BAR concave surface. In cells, Nwk-induced scallops can be extended by cytoskeletal forces to produce protrusions at the plasma membrane. Our results define a new F-BAR membrane-deforming activity and illustrate a molecular mechanism by which positively curved F-BAR domains can produce a variety of membrane curvatures. These findings expand the repertoire of F-BAR domain mediated membrane deformation and suggest that unique modes of higher-order assembly can define how these proteins sculpt the membrane.
Sin (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)
Authors: Wright David
Published: June 2013

This article focuses on sin in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. “Sin” may be defined as a behavior that is unacceptable to a deity or supernatural being and subject to punishment by him. This theological construct is largely built on an analogy to the way humans interact. Just as humans might be offended by behaviors of others, and just as they might castigate offenders and could be pacified by verbal apology and gift-giving, so supernatural beings are imagined to be offended and pacified. In the Hebrew Bible, as well as in other religious traditions, analogy with regard to sin operates in two different modes: the personal and the cultic. The personal mode reflects the basic interactive relationship between humans, where an offender engages an offended party directly. In this mode, the sinner appeals to the deity directly by prayer, sometimes accompanied by formal ritual activity, such as mourning behaviors or making an offering as a gift to the deity. The cultic mode, which is most prominent in the Priestly Holiness writings of the Pentateuch, builds on the personal approach but also contextualizes sin and its effects in the framework of a sanctuary or temple. An additional analogical conception operates here. The sanctuary is thought to be the dwelling of the deity, like the palace of a king or other ruling figure in society. Sin, even that committed outside the sanctuary boundaries, is imagined to create impurity that pollutes this dwelling. In order to keep the deity in good spirits and retain his presence, sacrificial purification rites are performed to clean the divine dwelling. Parts of these sacrifices (e.g., the fat) may also be given as gifts to appease the deity.
Toleration
Authors: Ceva Emanuela
Published: June 2013

The idea of toleration (or tolerance—the terms are mostly used interchangeably) plays a paramount role in liberal theorizing with regard to the normative characterization of the relations between the state and citizens and between majority and minority groups in society. Toleration occurs when an agent A refrains from interfering negatively with an agent B’s practice x or belief y despite A’s opposition to B’s x-ing or y-ing, although A thinks herself to be in the position of interfering. So, the notion of toleration necessarily incorporates the three following elements: (1) negative judgment—whether grounded in moral disapproval or “mere” dislike; (2) power to interfere—whether actual, perceived, or counterfactual; (3) reasons for noninterference—whether epistemological (fallibilism, skepticism), practical (balance of forces), or moral (value commitments). Is the forbearance of what one finds objectionable a strong enough normative ideal when it comes to establishing what we owe to each other in circumstances of moral disagreement? Does the request that we (possibly grudgingly) put up with someone’s objectionable lifestyle and convictions render toleration a condescending concession rather than the consequence of the recognition of everyone’s equal rights? In response, some have argued that we should interpret demands of toleration not as mere claims for noninterference but for the public recognition of the equal legitimacy of someone’s lifestyles and convictions (toleration as recognition). A recent line of debate concerns the kinds of relation that the ideal of toleration is apt to inform: is toleration primarily a political ideal qualifying the way in which liberal institutions should treat those who live under them or should toleration be invoked also to characterize horizontal relations between citizens? Whatever response is given to this question, limits to toleration must be established. As toleration is required of us vis-à-vis what we find objectionable, does it entail relativism? Liberals tend to think that reference to the harm principle should work as a limit for toleration: but what does count as a relevant (physical or symbolic) harm? Such questions acquire importance as the domain of toleration extends from the realm of religious conflicts, out of which it originated in the 16th and 17th centuries, to include a number of culture and ethics-related issues: should a liberal state permit pornography? What is the appropriate response to such cultural practices as female circumcision? Should neutral institutions prohibit the exhibition of religious symbols in public spaces? For insightful comments on a previous version of this article, I am grateful to Peter Balint, Andrea Fracasso, Anna Elisabetta Galeotti, and Federico Zuolo. I am indebted also to two anonymous reviewers and to Stefani Wexler for their helpful suggestions.
Moral Contractualism
Authors: Southwood Nicholas
Published: June 2013

Moral contractualism is the view that the rightness and wrongness of our conduct is somehow to be understood in terms of some kind of actual or counterfactual agreement. This must be distinguished from political contractualism, which adduces agreements in order to account for the justice or authority or legitimacy of political institutions or decisions. Versions of contractualism differ in terms of how they specify the agreements. The two main versions of contractualism are Hobbesian contractualism (sometimes called “contractarianism”), which is based on the idea of a self-interested bargain or contract between self-interested individuals for the sake of individual gain, and Kantian contractualism, which is based on the idea of a morally constrained agreement among individuals who regard themselves and one another as free and equal persons warranting moral respect. This article will say something about the historical sources of contractualism, but will focus primarily on recent discussions.
Autonomy
Authors: Taylor James Stacey
Published: June 2013

In recent years the concept of autonomy has risen to prominence both in action theory and moral philosophy. The term “autonomy” stems from two Greek roots, autos (“self”) and nomos (“rule”), and originally applied to self-ruling city-states. This term is now more usually applied to self-ruling persons, although precisely what it is for a person to be “self-ruling” is a matter for considerable debate. Yet, while the concept of autonomy has really risen to prominence only since the early 1970s, it has a respectable historical pedigree. The first major philosopher in whose work this concept was prominent was Immanuel Kant, who argued that a person was autonomous only when she acted from the essential nature of her will. Thus, since a person’s desires are not part of this, a person will be autonomous only when she is motivated by impersonal considerations—when she acts out of respect for the moral law. In contrast to Kant’s impersonal account of moral autonomy, most current writers focus on what is required for a person to be autonomous in the sense of directing her own life in accordance with her own desires and values. This approach has primarily focused on what criteria must be met for a person’s desires and values to be her “own” in the sense required for her to be autonomous with respect to them, rather than to be alienated from them or else merely possessing them agentially, as a small child might possess her desires. Various analyses have been offered here, including those that focus on the agent’s endorsement of her desires, those that focus on the historical process by which she came to have them, and those that focus on their internal coherence. More recently, writers have addressed the role that a person’s social environment might play in determining whether or not she is autonomous with respect to her desires. The debate over what is required for a person to be autonomous is accompanied by a debate over how autonomy is to be valued: whether intrinsically, instrumentally, or some hybrid combination of the two. It is, however, generally agreed that autonomy is valuable, and this is reflected in the prominence of this concept in current discussions of moral and political philosophy, ranging from bioethical discussion of the moral basis of informed consent to issues in political liberalism.
Philosophical Anarchism
Authors: Edmundson William A. , van der Vossen Bas
Published: June 2013

Philosophical anarchism is a branch of political philosophy that is highly skeptical and sometimes even eliminative of the state. At their most ambitious, anarchist theories endorse a comprehensive ideal of social and political (if there should be such a thing at all) life in which the state does not play an essential role. Less ambitious versions attempt primarily to deny the legitimacy of the state. The reasons animating anarchist theories are diverse. Some regard the state as essentially an unjustifiably coercive institution. Others regard the existence of the state incompatible with important values, such as community. Yet, others merely object to the pretensions of authority by existing states. Philosophical anarchism has provided both negative and positive theses. Among its negative theses are the claims that existing states are illegitimate, that the typical uses of coercion by existing states are morally unjustified, and that citizens do not have a moral duty to obey the law. Among its positive theses are the claims that social stability is possible without centralized powers of legislation and enforcement as well as the more fundamental claim that people would in principle be able to treat each other justly if no state existed. Philosophical anarchism, then, refers to a particular set of philosophical views about the nature of political society. It should be distinguished from the political movement of anarchism, which typically calls more directly for resistance, including violent resistance, to the state. In the first instance, philosophical anarchist theories are committed only to regarding all existing state institutions as unjust, and not yet to any practical responses to these.
Metametaphysics
Authors: Maurin Anna-Sofia , Skiles Alexander
Published: June 2013

Metametaphysics is the philosophical study of metaphysics. It attempts to answer questions such as: what is the proper subject matter of metaphysics? Which methods should be employed in addressing metaphysical disputes? Is metaphysical knowledge even possible? And what metaphysical claims do answers to the previous questions commit one to? One way to approach the topic is by distinguishing metaontology—which specifically focuses on these questions as they pertain to ontology, the metaphysical inquiry into what exists—from an assortment of topics that fall within the scope of metametaphysics yet that to some extent fall outside the scope of metaontology (although the distinction is itself an item of ongoing metametaphysical controversy).
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Authors: Look Brandon C.
Published: June 2013

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (b. 1646–d. 1716) was one of the greatest of the early modern “rationalist” philosophers. He is perhaps best known to students of philosophy as an advocate of the principle of sufficient reason, the preestablished harmony of mind and body, philosophical optimism, and the doctrine of monads. While many if not all of these ideas have fallen out of favor, it is nevertheless the case that Leibniz’s arguments are deep and important and worth taking very seriously. Leibniz was an eclectic philosopher; he sought to draw out views that he thought were close to the truth and combine them in new ways to arrive at the most plausible picture of the world. It is for this reason that, while he is sympathetic to parts of the “modern” philosophy of René Descartes (b. 1596–d. 1650), Thomas Hobbes (b. 1588–d. 1679), and Benedict (Baruch) de Spinoza (b. 1633–d. 1677), he offers criticisms of it at the same time through the language and ideas of ancient and medieval philosophy. He was not just a philosopher, however, but was also a mathematician, natural philosopher, engineer, historian, lawyer, and diplomat of the first rank. As this bibliography is intended principally for students of philosophy, his other work will largely be ignored, as well as scholarship on it.
Tropes
Authors: Maurin Anna-Sofia
Published: June 2013

Trope theory is the view that the world is (wholly or partly) constituted by so-called tropes, which are entities most often characterized as a kind of abstract particular or particular property. Very little is uncontroversial when it comes to tropes and the theory or theories in which tropes (not always so-called) figure. What attracts many to the theory is that it, in occupying a sort of middle position in between classical nominalism (according to which all there is, is particular) and classical realism (according to which there is a separate and fundamental category of properties), appears to avoid some of the troubles befalling either of those views. More precisely, by accepting the existence of entities that are, or that at least behave like, properties, the trope theorist avoids the charge, often made against classical nominalists, of positing entities that are somehow too unstructured to be able to fulfill all of our explanatory needs. And by not accepting the existence of universals, the trope theorist avoids having to accept the existence of a kind of entity many find mysterious, counterintuitive, and “unscientific.” Apart from this very thin core assumption—that there are tropes—different trope theories need not have very much in common. Most trope theorists (but not all) believe that there is nothing but tropes. Most of these one-category trope theorists (but, again, not all) hold that distinct concrete particulars (which are understood by most, but again not all, as bundles of tropes) are the same—for example, have the same color—when (some of) the tropes that characterize them are members of the same (exact) similarity class. And most (but not all) hold that resemblance between tropes is determined by the tropes’ individual, intrinsic nature, which is taken as a primitive.
Pyrrhonism
Authors: Machuca Diego E.
Published: June 2013

Pyrrhonism can safely be said to be the most prominent and influential form of skepticism in the history of Western philosophy. It was an important philosophical movement in the Hellenistic and Imperial ages, made a tremendous impact on modern philosophy, and some of its arguments continue to be a central topic of discussion in the contemporary philosophical scene. This can be taken to be a strong indication of the intriguing and challenging character of the Pyrrhonian outlook. After presenting the collections entirely or primarily devoted to ancient Pyrrhonism and its presence in, or connection with, both modern and contemporary philosophy, this article deals consecutively with Pyrrhonian skepticism in the three historical periods. The reason for not including a part on Pyrrhonism in medieval philosophy is simply that knowledge of this type of skepticism was so limited in the Middle Ages that it exerted almost no influence whatsoever on medieval thinkers. Given that Pyrrhonian skepticism is essentially an ancient philosophy, the great majority of the citations concern ancient Pyrrhonism. This article focuses primarily on scholarship in English but also included are works in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Let us finally note that when “Skepticism” and “Skeptical” are capitalized, they are taken as synonyms for “Pyrrhonism” and “Pyrrhonian.”
The Arab-Israel Conflict
Authors: Dowty Alan
Published: June 2013

The sheer volume of literature on the Arab-Israel conflict is enormous. Most of these writings are, however, contentious, if not polemical; scholarly research occupies only one wing of the edifice. But even this scholarly literature is vast, and it tends to be identified, for the most part, with one side or the other. This does not mean that research conducted by “involved” parties can be reflexively set aside. Such research can be valuable, sometimes precisely because of this involvement—but the reader needs to be aware of the scholar’s relationship to the subject of the research. The ideal of a truly disinterested, unaffiliated, “objective” adjudicator of Arab-Israel issues is not irrelevant, but it is an ideal that is met, if at all, only by a small proportion of the prominent scholars who have contributed the most-important works in the field. Without the “involved” scholars, there would be little for a bibliographer to report. A second issue is an imbalance arising from the greater number of scholarly works on the conflict coming from Israeli and Jewish academic researchers compared to the number written by Palestinian or Arab scholars (at least regarding books in English). In part this imbalance has lessened in recent years with more Palestinian academic works, and from the appearance of “post-Zionist” or “revisionist” Israeli or Jewish scholars who have published studies highly—even devastatingly—critical of the standard Israeli narrative. (“Revisionism” in this context should be distinguished from Revisionist Zionism, which is, in fact, at the other end of the spectrum.) Post-Zionists tend to fall into two schools: positivists, who simply use primary sources and declassified documents to debunk founding myths that have seldom been challenged; and “post-modernists” or “deconstructionists,” who see academic research as a manifestation of a power relationship and identify the Palestinians as the oppressed party. The conclusions of the second group, in particular, are often quite supportive of the conclusions of Palestinian and Arab scholars who work from the same premise. Apart from these differing approaches, scholarship on the conflict also corresponds in large part to the historical stages of its evolution: the Ottoman period, both before and after the beginning of Zionist settlement in 1882; the British Mandate between the two world wars; the interstate conflict phase from Israel’s creation in 1948 to the 1967 war; the reemergence of the Palestinians in the 1970s and 1980s; and the rise and fall of the Oslo peace process since the early 1990s.
The Sociology of War
Authors: Clever Molly
Published: June 2013

The sociology of war is a subfield of sociology that focuses on the macro-level patterns of war making, how societies engage in warfare, the meaning that war has in society, and the relationship between state structure and war making. A related subfield is military sociology, which focuses more explicitly on the organization and functioning of military forces and civil- military relations. These lines of scholarship are bound together by the basic premise that understanding war necessitates understanding those who fight it, and vice versa. The sociology of war overlaps with other fields that share an interest in government and politics, such as military history, political sociology, political science, and international relations. However, these fields tend to be concerned primarily with how wars begin and end, whereas the sociology of war tends to focus more explicitly on the cultural and social implications of war and how war and society act and react upon each other. With a few notable exceptions, the sociology of war remained mostly isolated within the field of comparative historical sociology until the 1980s, when two trends opened the door for an interdisciplinary sociology of war. The first was the dissipation of a war taboo, widespread in American academia and connected to the social resistance against the Vietnam War throughout the 1960s and 1970s. A renewed interest in the social implications of war also occurred as the end of the Cold War raised new questions about the role of the state in war making and the future of warfare. Renewed interdisciplinary interest in the origins of the modern nation-state led to a reexamination of the role that warfare played in the emergence and spread of the state system. In the decade after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2011 the sociology of war focused extensively on questions related to the role of nonstate combatant groups, the apparent increase in asymmetrical war in the post–Cold War era, and the meaning that such transformations in war making may carry for the societies that wage them. As the Global War on Terror nears the end of its second decade, scholars have increasingly turned their attention to understanding the interactions between state and society as the lines between peacetime and wartime become less distinguishable. Most recently, the sociology of war has exhibited a broadening in scope, with greater emphasis on examining how war is situated within larger patterns of social violence.
Behavioral Assessment
Authors: Oakes Wendy P. , Harris Pamela
Published: June 2013

Since the inception of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975, behavioral assessments in school contexts have evolved in theory and practice. Within multitiered prevention models, behavioral assessments are used for early detection of students for whom primary prevention (for all students) is insufficient. Universal screening practices are needed by schools to detect students at the earliest juncture when behaviors are most amenable to intervention. Universal screening provides school personnel with a proactive approach for determining which students need supports beyond primary prevention efforts. For students needing targeted interventions (for some students) progress monitoring tools offer data to make decisions about students’ progress and intervention appropriateness. Targeted interventions are often implemented in small groups targeting common acquisition or performance deficits (e.g., social skills and study skills). If those interventions are still insufficient, intensive interventions (for few students) are employed. These supports require the most intensive behavioral assessments, functional behavioral assessment (FBA), and are reserved for students with the greatest need. FBA determines antecedent conditions setting the stage for problem behaviors to occur and consequences maintaining the undesirable behavior. Data are used to identify the function of target behaviors so that a functionally equivalent replacement behavior can be identified and an intervention developed to increase the future probability this replacement behavior will occur. Behavioral assessments help school personnel answer critical questions such as: Which behaviors are most critical to success in the environment of interest? What is the operational definition of the behavior? What are the contributing antecedents, events, and maintaining consequences, and how will they be measured? What is the function of the behavior? Sources of data are, generally, in three categories: direct observation, interviews, and rating scales/checklists. A triangulation of these data allows for information from multiple informants across settings to design intervention strategies. Strengths of direct observation include perspectives from an outside observer, contextual factors, and peer comparisons. Interviews provide historical perspectives and contextualization, offering information on potential functions of the behavior, aiding in prioritizing problematic behaviors, providing information on students’ strengths and preferences, and aiding in school/home collaborations. Rating scales and checklists provide standardized data examining if the target behaviors are due to performance or acquisition deficits. This bibliography is organized to provide an overview of behavioral assessment and the tools used in school settings including universal screening practices, progress monitoring of behavioral performance, and tools used to conduct FBAs.
Hildegard of Bingen
Authors: Meconi Honey
Published: June 2013

Hildegard of Bingen (b. 1098–d. 1179), Benedictine nun and founder of a religious community, is highly unusual in being not merely a woman composer in the Middle Ages, but a named composer of a substantial body of plainchant (seventy-seven songs commonly known as the Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum [Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations] and a Latin sacred drama, Ordo Virtutum, survive) who normally wrote her own texts and whose music was transmitted in manuscripts likely compiled under her direct supervision. She is further noteworthy in that her compositional activity was merely one aspect of her self-proclaimed identity as a vessel through whom God spoke, better noted in her time for a trio of lengthy theological treatises recounting her visions; an extensive correspondence with both ecclesiastical and secular figures; and various other creations, including scientific writings, shorter theological works, and an invented language and alphabet. Her work is holistic, which means that understanding of her music requires knowledge of her nonmusical output as well. Interest in Hildegard’s prose writings has been sustained since her death, but little evidence survives for posthumous concern with music until the mid-19th century, with, until recently, the greatest activity coming from the nuns of her reconstituted abbey. Burgeoning activity in all areas of Hildegard research has led, since the 1980s, to a dramatic increase in performances and recordings of her compositions as well as more in-depth and critical musicological attention. Major ongoing issues include the challenges posed by the available editions; the question of whether her music was created for liturgical use, and if so in what way; the interconnections among the different notated versions of her music and its text-only sources, including questions of precedence and intent; understanding of the music’s modal structure; determination of the individuality of her style within the context of contemporary chant and reliance on earlier models; and the perennial problem of chant performance.
Spain since the Reconquista
Authors: Bowen Wayne H.
Published: June 2013

Spanish military history since the Reconquista has traditionally been understood as occurring within two broad chronological periods. During the first phase, starting with the dual reign of Ferdinand and Isabella (1479–1516), and continuing to the Thirty Years’ War, Spain was a superpower, dominant within Europe as well as in its own overseas empire. From the late 17th century to the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain was in relative decline, overshadowed by rising British and French economic and military power, and struggling to maintain a European and global role. After 1898, Spain was no longer even a minor power, confined as it was to a handful of colonies, and it was a nonfactor in both world wars. While, in general, this is an accurate description, this history was punctuated by significant attempts at military revival, including in the mid-19th century and during World War II (in connection with the Axis powers). While the historiography of Spanish military history in the English-speaking world has focused on the earlier centuries of Spanish strength, as well as on the Spanish Civil War, Spanish-language works have covered a broader scope, thus accounting for what appears to be a relative imbalance between the major fields of study. There has also been a relative deficit within the historiography of works on tactical, and especially operational, warfare. In the 20th century the discipline suffered from the impact of a civil war, self-imposed exile by many historians after that conflict, and ideological and professional restrictions under the Franco regime, all of which left military history almost the exclusive domain of the professional military. With the liberalization of universities from the 1970s onward, many new scholars focused more on broader political and sociological topics related to military affairs, rather than research on traditional military subjects. In many cases, it has been foreign historians who have introduced the most innovative research into Spanish historiography. Perhaps the best example is the thesis of the “military revolution,” the early modern transformation of military operations, articulated most clearly and successful in Parker 2004 (cited under Habsburg Spain), a work on the history of Spain’s military engagement in the Netherlands, in the context of its broader imperial project. Especially since the 2000s, a broader range of historians have engaged more actively in operational and strategic histories, as well as participating in vibrant historiographical debates, such as those on the Spanish Civil War and the role of the former dictator Francisco Franco during that conflict and beyond.