bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wake and wave resistance on viscous thin films
Authors: Ledesma-Alonso René , Benzaquen Michael , Salez Thomas , Raphaël Elie
Published: March 2016

The effect of an external pressure disturbance, being displaced with a constant speed along the free surface of a viscous thin film, is studied theoretically in the lubrication approximation in one- and two-dimensional geometries. In the comoving frame, the imposed pressure field creates a stationary deformation of the interface – a wake – that spatially vanishes in the far region. The shape of the wake and the way it vanishes depend on both the speed and size of the external source and the properties of the film. The wave resistance, namely the force that has to be externally furnished in order to maintain the wake, is analysed in detail. For finite-size pressure disturbances, it increases with the speed, up to a certain transition value, above which a monotonic decrease occurs. The role of the horizontal extent of the pressure field is studied as well, revealing that for a smaller disturbance the latter transition occurs at a higher speed. Eventually, for a Dirac pressure source, the wave resistance either saturates for a one-dimensional geometry, or diverges for a two-dimensional geometry.
Effects of sodium selenite on c-Jun N-terminal kinase signalling pathway induced by oxidative stress in human chondrocytes and c-Jun N-terminal kinase expression in patients with Kashin–Beck disease, an endemic osteoarthritis
Authors: Dai XiaoXia , Li YuanYuan , Zhang RongQiang , Kou Yan , Mo XiaoYan , Cao JunLing , Xiong YongMin
Published: March 2016

The c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) are members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family and are activated by environmental stress. Se plays an important role in the biological pathways by forming selenoprotein. Selenoproteins have been shown to exhibit a variety of biological functions including antioxidant functions and maintaining cellular redox balance, and compromise of such important proteins would lead to oxidative stress and apoptosis. We examined the expression levels of JNK in Kashin–Beck disease (KBD) patients, tested the potential protective effects of sodium selenite on tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP)-induced oxidative injury and apoptosis in human chondrocytes as well as its underlying mechanism in this study. We produced an oxidative damage model induced by tBHP in C28/I2 human chondrocytes to test the essential anti-apoptosis effects of Se in vitro. The results indicated that the expression level of phosphorylated JNK was significantly increased in KBD patients. Cell apoptosis was increased and molecule expressions of the JNK signalling pathway were activated in the tBHP-injured chondrocytes. Na2SeO3 protected against tBHP-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in cells by increasing cell viability, reducing reactive oxygen species generation, increasing Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and down-regulating the JNK pathway. These results demonstrate that apoptosis induced by tBHP in chondrocytes might be mediated via up-regulation of the JNK pathway; Na2SeO3 has an effect of anti-apoptosis by down-regulating the JNK signalling pathway.
The absorbing properties of one-dimensional plasma photonic crystals
Authors: Qi Limei
Published: March 2016

Using the transfer matrix method, absorbing properties of electromagnetic waves in one-dimensional plasma photonic crystals are proposed. Compared with the absorption of bulk plasma, more absorbing bands have been found in one-dimensional plasma photonic crystals, and the first absorbing band appears below the plasma frequency. These absorbing bands can be controlled by varying structure parameters, plasma parameters and the incident angle. Results show that the periodic number and collision frequency only control the absorbing magnitude. Plasma frequency, plasma thickness and incident angle affect both the absorbing magnitude and locations. Increasing the dielectric constant of the dielectric makes more absorbing bands appear. These features of one-dimensional plasma photonic crystals would have potential applications in tunable millimetre absorbers.
Sexual dimorphism in the shell of a nassariid gastropod. A 3D geometric morphometrics approach
Authors: Márquez Federico , Averbuj Andres
Published: March 2016

Among gastropods, dimorphism is reported in shell size, radular characteristic, and to a lesser extent in shell shape. The relationship of dimorphic characters of the shell with spawning is scarcely studied in literature. Buccinanops globulosus is an interesting model to study sexual dimorphism in shell shape, because the adults attach their egg capsules to the females’ own shells (callus zone). Our hypothesis is that the shell dimorphism is evidenced in the form (size and shape) of callus zones of the females' shells, compared with the males'. In order to test this hypothesis we use a 3D geometric morphometrics (GM) method with several advantages over 2D GM. The relationship between callus shape and size was allometric. During growth, the main callus shape changes are related to the mean size increment, which is more evident in larger females. These callus zones are characteristically slender in males and small females, and more inflated in large females. Our analyses revealed that female shells are different from male ones and those differences are significant on the callus zone where the egg capsules are attached by the female. This finding suggests a relationship of the shell form with spawning. Our findings are not only relevant in terms of the shell dimorphism of the particular spawning substrate area (callus zones) and its reproductive implications, but also provide insights into the evaluation of shell shape variation on areas without type I or II anatomical landmarks in 3D GM.
Prosociality and religion: History and experimentation
Authors: Beit-Hallahmi Benjamin
Published: March 2016

Norenzayan et al. are praised for choosing to deal with significant questions in the understanding of religion. They are then criticized for refusing to define religion and for relying on problematic theoretical concepts. The authors discuss Abrahamic religions as the best-known prosocial religions, but the evidence shows that the case does not fit their conceptual framework. Finally, an extension of the authors’ ideas about the meaning of priming effects is proposed.
Projecting WEIRD features on ancient religions
Authors: Boyer Pascal , Baumard Nicolas
Published: March 2016

The proposed narrative relies on an anachronistic projection of current religions onto prehistorical and historical cultures that were not concerned with prosocial morality or with public statement of belief. Prosocial morality appeared in wealthier post-Axial environments. Public demonstrations of belief are possible and advantageous when religious diversity starts interacting with coalitional recruitment dynamics in large-scale societies, a typical feature of modern, so-called WEIRD societies.
A developmental perspective on the cultural evolution of prosocial religious beliefs
Authors: Corriveau Kathleen H. , Chen Eva E.
Published: March 2016

Norenzayan et al. argue that prosocial religion develops through cultural evolution. Surprisingly, they give little attention to developmental accounts of prosocial religious beliefs. A consideration of the developmental literature supports some, but not all, of the authors’ conclusions.
Recognizing religion's dark side: Religious ritual increases antisociality and hinders self-control
Authors: Hobson Nicholas M. , Inzlicht Michael
Published: March 2016

The target article develops an account of religious prosociality that is driven by increases in self-control. We suggest this account is incomplete. Although religion might increase prosociality to the in-group, it decreases it to the much larger out-group. Rituals, for example, lead to out-group derogation. We also challenge the link between religion and improved self-control, offering evidence that religion hinders self-control.
Authoritarian and benevolent god representations and the two sides of prosociality
Authors: Johnson Kathryn A. , Cohen Adam B.
Published: March 2016

The Big Gods model focuses on belief in an authoritarian God as a psychological mechanism that inhibits antisocial behavior and facilitates the formation of tight, cohesive groups. Recent empirical evidence suggests, however, that belief in a benevolent God is more likely to inspire helping and inclusivity. Both kinds of beliefs are necessary to explain the development of large-scale societies.
Religion promotes a love for thy neighbour: But how big is the neighbourhood?
Authors: McKay Ryan , Whitehouse Harvey
Published: March 2016

The termprosocialhas often been taken to meanniceorneighbourly, but many acts that further in-group interests are hostile and aggressive towards out-groups. According to Norenzayan et al., religion's ability to foster social cohesionwithinreligious groups has been a key factor in the human transition to complex societies. But what are the prospects for nonparochial “religious prosociality”?
Moralizing gods revisited
Authors: Roes Frans L.
Published: March 2016

Six ideas explaining the existence of moralizing gods are mentioned, and I discuss the words prosocial and antisocial.
The functions of ritual in social groups
Authors: Watson-Jones Rachel E. , Legare Cristine H.
Published: March 2016

Ritual cognition builds upon social learning biases that may have become specialized for affiliation within social groups. The adaptive problems of group living required a means of identifying group members, ensuring commitment to the group, facilitating cooperation, and maintaining group cohesion. We discuss how ritual serves these social functions.
Clarity and causality needed in claims about Big Gods
Authors: Watts Joseph , Bulbulia Joseph , Gray Russell D. , Atkinson Quentin D.
Published: March 2016

We welcome Norenzayan et al.’s claim that the prosocial effects of beliefs in supernatural agents extend beyond Big Gods. To date, however, supporting evidence has focused on the Abrahamic Big God, making generalisations difficult. We discuss a recent study that highlights the need for clarity about the causal path by which supernatural beliefs affect the evolution of big societies.
Plan generosity in health insurance exchanges: what the Affordable Care Act can teach us about top-down versus bottom-up policy implementation
Authors: Yarbrough Courtney R.
Published: March 2016

The landmark United States healthcare reform law – the Affordable Care Act – provides an opportunity to study the dynamics of implementation for complex, politically contentious policies. Matland’s Ambiguity-Conflict Model suggests that bottom-up models will dominate in such cases. I exploit variation across states in the implementation of online health insurance marketplaces to test whether the federal- (top-down) or state-managed (bottom-up) implementation model produced better outcomes. Specifically, the study examines if state, federal or partnership exchanges were most effective at offering generous plans for consumers based on premiums, deductibles and copayments in 2014, the first year of operation. The results unambiguously indicate that state exchanges were most successful. The findings provide evidence for what Matland suspected – that bottom-up models, by providing more discretion to local implementers to adapt to contexts and build coalitions, are superior for high-conflict, high-ambiguity policies.
An Avionics Platform for Multi-instrument Survey Navigation
Authors: Jones David H. , Jordan Tom A. , Robinson Carl
Published: March 2016

The British Antarctic Survey regularly conducts airborne surveys with Twin Otter aircraft equipped with a variety of instruments. Each instrument captures its specific navigation requirements in a dedicated cockpit display that is unique and incompatible with that of other instruments. This creates unwanted logistical problems and training requirements, and necessitates extra air safety certification. In this paper we describe a new avionics display that is sufficiently flexible to capture the requirements of all of our instruments, as well as all of the preferences of our pilots. This Airborne Survey Navigation Device (ASCEND) dynamically routes aircraft within the constraints of the survey and features flexible and intuitive planning and navigation interfaces. ASCEND has been tested and compared to the instrument specific displays and is preferred, both for its ease of use and also for the effective accuracy of the pilot following a survey line.
Drug therapy in the prevention of failure of the Fontan circulation: a systematic review
Authors: Oldenburger Nathalie J. , Mank Arenda , Etnel Jonathan , Takkenberg Johanna J. M. , Helbing Willem A.
Published: March 2016

Background

The Fontan circulation is the optimal treatment for patients with univentricular hearts. These patients are at high risk of circulatory failure. There is no consensus on the optimal drug treatment for the prevention of failure of the Fontan circulation. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview of evidence for drug therapy used in the prevention of Fontan circulatory failure.

Methods

We searched the Embase database for articles that reported drug therapy in Fontan patients. Studies published between 1997 and 2014 were included if efficacy or safety of medication was assessed, drug therapy aimed to prevent or treat failure of the Fontan circulation, and if the full text was available. Case reports were excluded.

Results

A total of nine studies were included with a total of 267 Fontan patients; four studies evaluated the medication sildenafil, one iloprost, three bosentan, and one enalapril. Among all, two sildenafil studies reported improvement in exercise capacity, one in exercise haemodynamics, and one in ventricular performance. In the largest study of bosentan, an increase in exercise capacity was found. Enalapril did not result in improvements.

Conclusion

The studies analysed in this review suggest that bosentan, sildenafil, and iloprost may improve exercise capacity at the short term. Given the limitations of the studies, more, larger, placebo-controlled studies with longer follow-up periods are needed to better understand which drug therapies are effective in the prevention of failure of the Fontan circulation.
Analysis of Ferrous on Ten-Eleven Translocation Activity and Epigenetic Modifications of Early Mouse Embryos by Fluorescence Microscopy
Authors: Zhao Ming-Hui , Liang Shuang , Guo Jing , Choi Jeong-Woo , Kim Nam-Hyung , Lu Wen-Fa , Cui Xiang-Shun
Published: March 2016

Iron is an essential trace element that plays important roles in the cellular function of all organs and systems. However, the function of Fe(II) in mammalian embryo development is unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of Fe(II) during preimplantation embryo development. Depletion of Fe(II) using thiosemicarbazone-24 (TSC24), a specific Fe(II) chelator, rescued quenching of the Fe(II)-sensitive fluorophore phen green-SK. Afterin vitrofertilization, TSC24 significantly reduced the cleavage rate as well as blastocyst formation. The hatch rate of blastocysts was also reduced with 1 pM TSC24 treatment (20.25±1.86 versus 42.28±12.96%,p<0.05). Blastocysts were cultured in leukemia inhibitory factor-free mouse embryonic stem cell culture medium with or without TSC24, and those with depleted Fe(II) displayed delayed attachment and lost the ability to induce embryoid body formation. To further explore the mechanism of Fe(II) in embryo development, we assessed the expression of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and OCT4 in the pronuclear and blastocyst stages, respectively. We observed that Fe(II) reduced 5hmC and OCT4 expression, which could be explained by low ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzyme activity induced by TSC24 treatment. These findings demonstrate that Fe(II) is required for mammalian embryo development and that it facilitates the process via regulation of TET activity.
Solving stable matching problems using answer set programming
Authors: DE CLERCQ SOFIE , SCHOCKAERT STEVEN , DE COCK MARTINE , NOWE ANN
Published: March 2016

Since the introduction of the stable marriage problem (SMP) by Gale and Shapley (1962), several variants and extensions have been investigated. While this variety is useful to widen the application potential, each variant requires a new algorithm for finding the stable matchings. To address this issue, we propose an encoding of the SMP using answer set programming (ASP), which can straightforwardly be adapted and extended to suit the needs of specific applications. The use of ASP also means that we can take advantage of highly efficient off-the-shelf solvers. To illustrate the flexibility of our approach, we show how our ASP encoding naturally allows us to select optimal stable matchings, i.e. matchings that are optimal according to some user-specified criterion. To the best of our knowledge, our encoding offers the first exact implementation to find sex-equal, minimum regret, egalitarian or maximum cardinality stable matchings for SMP instances in which individuals may designate unacceptable partners and ties between preferences are allowed.
An event calculus production rule system for reasoning in dynamic and uncertain domains
Authors: PATKOS THEODORE , PLEXOUSAKIS DIMITRIS , CHIBANI ABDELGHANI , AMIRAT YACINE
Published: March 2016

Action languages have emerged as an important field of knowledge representation for reasoning about change and causality in dynamic domains. This paper presents Cerbere, a production system designed to perform online causal, temporal and epistemic reasoning based on the Event Calculus. The framework implements the declarative semantics of the underlying logic theories in a forward-chaining rule-based reasoning system, coupling the high expressiveness of its formalisms with the efficiency of rule-based systems. To illustrate its applicability, we present both the modeling of benchmark problems in the field, as well as its utilization in the challenging domain of smart spaces. A hybrid framework that combines logic-based with probabilistic reasoning has been developed, that aims to accommodate activity recognition and monitoring tasks in smart spaces.
JOSEPH IDEALS AND LISSE MINIMAL -ALGEBRAS
Authors: Arakawa Tomoyuki , Moreau Anne
Published: March 2016

We consider a lifting of Joseph ideals for the minimal nilpotent orbit closure to the setting of affine Kac–Moody algebras and find new examples of affine vertex algebras whose associated varieties are minimal nilpotent orbit closures. As an application we obtain a new family of lisse ($C_{2}$-cofinite)$W$-algebras that are not coming from admissible representations of affine Kac–Moody algebras.
Analysis of genetic diversity, population structure and linkage disequilibrium in Iranian wheat landraces using SSR markers
Authors: Zarei Abbasabad Elham , Mohammadi Seyed Abolghasem , Moghaddam Mohammad , Jalal Kamali Mohammad Reza
Published: March 2016

Population structure and linkage disequilibrium (LD) were investigated in a set of 395 bread wheat landraces including 154 spring, 193 winter, two facultative wheat and 46 unknown growth type collected from different geographical regions of Iran. A total of 53 microsatellite markers distributed in three genomes of wheat were assayed for polymorphism. The 312 polymorphic alleles were served to estimate population structure and analyse the genome-wide LD. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 18 with an average of 5.89 alleles/locus. Mean of polymorphic information content was 0.6 with a range of 0.15–0.86 and gene diversity varied from 0.16 to 0.88 with an average of 0.64. The population of landraces was highly structured and based on distance-and model-based cluster analyses the 395 landraces were assigned into eight subpopulations: SG1–SG8. Population structure estimates based on simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker data were quantified in a Q matrix and used in calculation of LD between pair of markers. A low overall LD level found in 12–13% (166) of the SSR marker pairs showed significant pairwise LD inr2≥ 0.01 andP≤ 0.001 and six pair showedr2≥ 0.05 withP≤ 0.001. LD clearly decays within the genetic distance of 40–60 cM withr2~ 0.05. The results of this study should provide valuable information for future association mapping using this wheat collection.
Compact object mergers: observations of supermassive binary black holes and stellar tidal disruption events
Authors: Komossa S. , Zensus J. A.
Published: March 2016

The capture and disruption of stars by supermassive black holes (SMBHs), and the formation and coalescence of binaries, are inevitable consequences of the presence of SMBHs at the cores of galaxies. Pairs of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and binary SMBHs are important stages in the evolution of galaxy mergers, and an intense search for these systems is currently ongoing. In the early and advanced stages of galaxy merging, observations of the triggering of accretion onto one or both BHs inform us about feedback processes and BH growth. Identification of the compact binary SMBHs at parsec and sub-parsec scales provides us with important constraints on the interaction processes that govern the shrinkage of the binary beyond the “final parsec”. Coalescing binary SMBHs are among the most powerful sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the universe. Stellar tidal disruption events (TDEs) appear as luminous, transient, accretion flares when part of the stellar material is accreted by the SMBH. About 30 events have been identified by multi-wavelength observations by now, and they will be detected in the thousands in future ground-based or space-based transient surveys. The study of TDEs provides us with a variety of new astrophysical tools and applications, related to fundamental physics or astrophysics. Here, we provide a review of the current status of observations of SMBH pairs and binaries, and TDEs, and discuss astrophysical implications.
Relativistic Fe Kα line and ensemble spins of black holes in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies
Authors: Yuan Weimin , Liu Zhu , Lu Youjun , Zhou Xin-Lin
Published: March 2016

While a broad line of the Fe Kα emission is commonly found in the X-ray spectra of typical Seyfert galaxies, the situation is unclear in the case of Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s)—an extreme subset which are generally thought to harbor less massive black holes with higher accretion rates. We report results of our study of the assemble property of the Fe K line in NLS1s by stacking the X-ray spectra of a large sample of 51 NLS1s observed with XMM-Newton. We find in the stacked X-ray spectra a prominent, broad emission feature over 4–7 keV, which is characteristic of the broad Fe Kα line. Our results suggest that a relativistic broad Fe line may in fact be common in NLS1s. The line profile is used to study the average spin of the black holes in the sample. We find, for the first time, that their black holes are constrained to be likely spinning at averagely low or moderate rates as a population. The implications of the results are discussed in the context of the black hole growth in NLS1 galaxies.
Large scale direct galaxy collision simulations with central supermassive binary black holes
Authors: Sobolenko Margaryta , Berczik Peter , Spurzem Rainer
Published: March 2016

We present a set of, large scale direct N-body simulations of the galaxy collision with the central Supermassive Black Hole Binary (SMBHB) system. Based on our simulations which include the accurate Post Newtonian (PN) relativistic dynamical corrections we can estimated the merging time for the real astrophysical object. Each galaxy initially was represented as a set of particles (up to N=500k) with Plummer distribution. The SMBHBs system is described using the two special high mass, i.e. “relativistic”, particles. The interaction between these two particles have an extra PN correction terms (up to 3.5PN). Merging time upper limit was obtained for the closely interacting galaxy system NGC 6240.
Star accretion onto supermassive black holes in axisymmetric galactic nuclei
Authors: Zhong Shiyan , Berczik Peter , Spurzem Rainer
Published: March 2016

Tidal Disruption (TD) of stars by supermassive central black holes from dense rotating star clusters is modeled by high-accuracy direct N-body simulation. We study the time evolution of the stellar tidal disruption rate and the origin of tidally disrupted stars. Compared with that in spherical systems, we found a higher TD rate in axisymmetric systems. The enhancement can be explained by an enlarged loss-cone in phase space which is raised from the fact that total angular momentum J is not conserved. As in the case of spherical systems, the distribution of the last apocenter distance of tidally accreted stars peaks at the classical critical radius. However, the angular distribution of the origin of the accreted stars reveals bimodal features. We show that the bimodal structure can be explained by the presence of two families of regular orbits, namely short axis tube and saucer orbits.
P-mode oscillation on slim discs
Authors: Xue Li , Lu Ju-Fu
Published: March 2016

We numerically investigate the thermally unstable accretion discs around spinning black holes with different spins. We adopted an additional evolutionary viscosity equation to replace the standard alpha-prescription based on the results of two MHD simulations. We find an interesting oscillation when accretion switches to slim disc mode. The oscillation arises from the sonic point of accretion flow and propagates outwards. We mimic the bolometric light-curve and find a series of harmonics on its power spectrum. The frequency ratio of those harmonics is a regular integer series. The lowest frequency of the harmonics is identical to the prediction of trapped p-mode in QPO theory.
Spectroscopic study of formation, evolution and interaction of M31 and M33 with star clusters
Authors: Fan Zhou , Yang Yanbin
Published: March 2016

The recent studies show that the formation and evolution process of the nearby galaxies are still unclear. By using the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) 3.6m telescope, the PanDAS shows complicated substructures (dwarf satellite galaxies, halo globular clusters, extended clusters, star streams, etc.) in the halo of M31 to ~150 kpc from the center of galaxy and M31-M33 interaction has been studied. In our work, we would like to investigate formation, evolution and interaction of M31 and M33, which are the nearest two spiral galaxies in Local Group. The star cluster systems of the two galaxies are good tracers to study the dynamics of the substructures and the interaction. Since 2010, the Xinglong 2.16m, Lijiang 2.4m and MMT 6.5m telescopes have been used for our spectroscopic observations. The radial velocities and Lick absorption-line indices can thus be measured with the spectroscopy and then ages, metallicities and masses of the star clusters can be fitted with the simple stellar population models. These parameters could be used as the input physical parameters for numerical simulations of M31-M33 interaction.
Evolution of binaries with compact objects in globular clusters
Authors: Ivanova Natalia
Published: March 2016

Dynamical interactions that take place between objects in dense stellar systems lead to frequent formation of exotic stellar objects, unusual binaries, and systems of higher multiplicity. They are most important for the formation of binaries with neutron stars and black holes, which are usually observationally revealed in mass-transferring binaries. Here we review the current understanding of compact object's retention, of the metallicity dependence on the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries with neutron stars, and how mass-transferring binaries with a black hole and a white dwarf can be formed. We discuss as well one old unsolved puzzle and two new puzzles posed by recent observations: what descendants do ultra-compact X-ray binaries produce, how are very compact triples formed, and how can black hole low-mass X-ray binaries acquire non-degenerate companions?
Planetary systems in star clusters
Authors: Cai Maxwell Xu , Spurzem Rainer , Kouwenhoven M. B. N.
Published: March 2016

In the solar neighborhood, where the typical relaxation timescale is larger than the cosmic age, at least 10% to 15% of Sun-like stars have planetary systems with Jupiter-mass planets. In contrast, dense star clusters, characterized by frequent close encounters, have been found to host very few planets. We carry out numerical simulations with different initial conditions to investigate the dynamical stability of planetary systems in star cluster environments.
Performance evaluation of the Hermite scheme on many-core accelerators
Authors: Nakasato Naohito
Published: March 2016

We are developing a software library to calculate gravitational interaction for the Hermite scheme on parallel computing systems supported by OpenCL API. Our library is partly compatible with a standard GRAPE-6A interface and is easily usable in existing N-body codes. Since our library is based on OpenCL standard API, our library is working on many parallel computing systems such as a multi-core CPU, a GPU, and a many-core architecture. We report the performance evaluation of our library on computing platforms from various vendors.
Black hole and nuclear cluster scaling relations: Mbh ∝ Mnc2.7±0.7
Authors: Graham Alister W.
Published: March 2016

There is a growing array of supermassive black hole and nuclear star cluster scaling relations with their host spheroid, including a bent (black hole mass)–(host spheroid mass) Mbh–Msph relation and a different (massive compact object mass)–(host spheroid velocity dispersion) Mmco–σ relations for black holes and nuclear star clusters. By combining the observed Mbh ∝ σ5.5 relation with the observed Mnc ∝ σ1.6–2.7 relation, we derive the expression Mbh ∝ Mnc2–3.4, which should hold until the nuclear star clusters are eventually destroyed in the larger core-Sérsic spheroids. This new mass scaling relation helps better quantify the rapid evolutionary growth of massive black holes in dense star clusters, and the relation is consistently recovered when coupling the observed Mnc ∝ Msph0.6–1.0 relation with the recently observed quadratic relation Mbh ∝ Msph2 for Sérsic spheroids.
The Milky Way's nuclear star cluster and massive black hole
Authors: Schödel Rainer
Published: March 2016

Because of its nearness to Earth, the centre of the Milky Way is the only galaxy nucleus in which we can study the characteristics, distribution, kinematics, and dynamics of the stars on milli-parsec scales. We have accurate and precise measurements of the Galactic centre's central black hole, Sagittarius A*, and can study its interaction with the surrounding nuclear star cluster in detail. This contribution aims at providing a concise overview of our current knowledge about the Milky Way's central black hole and nuclear star cluster, at highlighting the observational challenges and limitations, and at discussing some of the current key areas of investigation.
The gravitational wave signal from close galaxy pairs
Authors: Liu Jinzhong , Zhang Yu
Published: March 2016

The early phase of coalescence of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) from their host galaxies provides a guaranteed source of low-frequency gravitational wave (GW) radiation by pulsar timing observations. Nowadays, SMBHBs are ubiquitous in the nuclei of galaxies. A latest sample of close galaxy pairs has been released from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data. A binary population synthesis (BPS) approach has been applied to study the characteristics of clusters and galaxies. Here we report how BPS, using SDSS results, can be used to determine the GW radiation from SMBHBs. In this study we show numerical results under the assumption that SMBHBs formed through the merger of two galaxies and give the waveform evolution using post-Newtonian approximation methods. Based on the sensitivity of the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) and Square Kilometer Array (SKA) detectors, we show that the value of strain amplitude h can be changed from about 10−14 to 10−15 during the observation of 20 years, which can be considered as a precise evolution.
UWB MIMO antenna with common radiator
Authors: Srivastava Garima , Kanuijia B. K. , Paulus Rajeev
Published: March 2016

A compact printed 2 × 2 ultrawideband (UWB) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna with a single circular patch as a common radiator for both the antenna elements is presented in this paper. A single circular patch is excited by two tapered CPW feeds for dual polarization. To improve the isolation between two ports, a rectangular slot of dimension L1 × W1 is created in the radiator. The UWB MIMO antenna has impedance bandwidth of 3–12 GHz with a isolation better than 17 dB between the two ports. The envelope correlation coefficient and the capacity loss are evaluated to ensure the good diversity performance of UWB MIMO antenna. The antenna has a compact size of 45 × 45 mm2 and is fabricated on low cost FR4 substrate and measured using Agilent VNA. The simulated and measured results show that the proposed UWB antenna is good candidate for UWB MIMO applications.
Constitutional cases, foreign law and theoretical authority
Authors: DOYLE ORAN
Published: March 2016

The judicial use of foreign law in constitutional cases is often unsatisfactorily explained in terms of persuasive authority, judicial learning or judicial dialogue. In this article, I argue that the central case of the judicial use of foreign law involves judges treating foreign case law as theoretically, rather than practically, authoritative. The justification for this approach lies in how case law emerges from a process that is structured in such a way that its outcomes deserve respect. There is, in contrast, no justification for any attempt on the part of judges to treat constitutional cases as an opportunity for interjurisdictional judicial dialogue.
A matter of perspective: Global governance and the distinction between public and private authority (and not law)
Authors: GOLDMANN MATTHIAS
Published: March 2016

This article argues that a distinction between the public and the private is both desirable and feasible in times of global governance, at least as a regulative idea. The confusion surrounding this distinction originates in different understandings of the relationship between state and society in liberalism and republicanism. Discourse theory with its idea of the co-origin of democracy and human rights reconceptualises the relationship between state and society in a way that does justice to both liberal and republican approaches. Accordingly, the public/private distinction is crucial for the realisation of democracy and freedom. Classifying an act as public or private determines what kind of legitimacy it requires. The article then recalibrates discourse theory to face the challenges of global governance, shifting its focus from hard law to a broader notion of authority, and from the state to a pluralistic, cosmopolitan world order composed of multiple overlapping communities. A community is characterised by communicative action and a common identity. In such a setting, public authority is the authority exercised on behalf of a community in relation to its members. In relation to non-members, the same act may constitute an exercise of private authority. It is a different question whether such authority is legitimate. Some examples illustrate the approach.
The new sovereigntism and transnational law: Legal utopianism, democratic scepticism and statist realism
Authors: BENHABIB SEYLA
Published: March 2016

This article examines the contemporary debate about the spread of transnational law and its sovereigntist critiques. Sovereigntists argue that the rapid development of international and transnational treaties and the emergence of regional human rights courts such as the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) undermine sovereignty and thus pose a threat to democratic self-determination. I criticise the new sovereigntism and argue that transnational human rights strengthen rather than weaken democratic sovereignty, and name processes through which rights-norms are contextualised in polities ‘democratic iterations’. I develop the ‘authorship model of democratic legitimacy’ in order to show how constitutional rights and international human rights can be understood to be in harmony and dissonance with one another. The challenge is to think beyond the binarisms of the cosmopolitan versus the civic republican; democratic versus the international and transnational; democratic sovereignty versus human rights law. Distinguishing between state sovereignty and popular sovereignty enables us to do so. By constraining certain sovereign powers of the state, international human rights regimes and courts can enhance popular sovereignty in that they strengthen the rights of the marginalised and the excluded. The article also briefly touches upon the significance of the Alien Tort Statute in US courts from the standpoint of the development of international human rights norms and focuses onHirst v the United Kingdom, recently adjudicated by the ECtHR, to substantiate the distinction between state and popular sovereignty.
Searching for the Legitimacy of the European Court of Human Rights: The Neglected Role of ‘Democratic Society’
Authors: ZYSSET ALAIN
Published: March 2016

In this article, I argue against the claim that the practice of the European Court of Human Rights cannot be reconciled with the democratic-procedural standards by which state parties, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, decide about the content and scope of human rights norms. First, I suggest drawing the attention to the neglected balancing exercise of the review process, in which the Court has to determine whether a violation is nevertheless ‘necessary in a democratic society’. Second, I shed light on the role that ‘pluralism’ plays in the balancing (with particular emphasis on Articles 8–11). Third, I argue that Thomas Christiano’s egalitarian argument for democracy can best illuminate the Court’s reliance on pluralism.
Selectively enhanced photocurrent generation in twisted bilayer graphene with van Hove singularity
Authors: Yin Jianbo , Wang Huan , Peng Han , Tan Zhenjun , Liao Lei , Lin Li , Sun Xiao , Koh Ai Leen , Chen Yulin , Peng Hailin , Liu Zhongfan
Published: March 2016

Graphene with ultra-high carrier mobility and ultra-short photoresponse time has shown remarkable potential in ultrafast photodetection. However, the broad and weak optical absorption (∼2.3%) of monolayer graphene hinders its practical application in photodetectors with high responsivity and selectivity. Here we demonstrate that twisted bilayer graphene, a stack of two graphene monolayers with an interlayer twist angle, exhibits a strong light–matter interaction and selectively enhanced photocurrent generation. Such enhancement is attributed to the emergence of unique twist-angle-dependent van Hove singularities, which are directly revealed by spatially resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. When the energy interval between the van Hove singularities of the conduction and valance bands matches the energy of incident photons, the photocurrent generated can be significantly enhanced (up to ∼80 times with the integration of plasmonic structures in our devices). These results provide valuable insight for designing graphene photodetectors with enhanced sensitivity for variable wavelength.
High-performance thermoelectric nanocomposites from nanocrystal building blocks
Authors: Ibáñez Maria , Luo Zhishan , Genç Aziz , Piveteau Laura , Ortega Silvia , Cadavid Doris , Dobrozhan Oleksandr , Liu Yu , Nachtegaal Maarten , Zebarjadi Mona , Arbiol Jordi , Kovalenko Maksym V. , Cabot Andreu
Published: March 2016

The efficient conversion between thermal and electrical energy by means of durable, silent and scalable solid-state thermoelectric devices has been a long standing goal. While nanocrystalline materials have already led to substantially higher thermoelectric efficiencies, further improvements are expected to arise from precise chemical engineering of nanoscale building blocks and interfaces. Here we present a simple and versatile bottom–up strategy based on the assembly of colloidal nanocrystals to produce consolidated yet nanostructured thermoelectric materials. In the case study on the PbS–Ag system, Ag nanodomains not only contribute to block phonon propagation, but also provide electrons to the PbS host semiconductor and reduce the PbS intergrain energy barriers for charge transport. Thus, PbS–Ag nanocomposites exhibit reduced thermal conductivities and higher charge carrier concentrations and mobilities than PbS nanomaterial. Such improvements of the material transport properties provide thermoelectric figures of merit up to 1.7 at 850 K.
Osteoclast-derived exosomal miR-214-3p inhibits osteoblastic bone formation
Authors: Li Defang , Liu Jin , Guo Baosheng , Liang Chao , Dang Lei , Lu Cheng , He Xiaojuan , Cheung Hilda Yeuk-Siu , Xu Liang , Lu Changwei , He Bing , Liu Biao , Shaikh Atik Badshah , Li Fangfei , Wang Luyao , Yang Zhijun , Au Doris Wai-Ting , Peng Songlin , Zhang Zongkang , Zhang Bao-Ting , Pan Xiaohua , Qian Airong , Shang Peng , Xiao Lianbo , Jiang Baohong , Wong Chris Kong-Chu , Xu Jiake , Bian Zhaoxiang , Liang Zicai , Guo De-an , Zhu Hailong , Tan Weihong , Lu Aiping , Zhang Ge
Published: March 2016

Emerging evidence indicates that osteoclasts direct osteoblastic bone formation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have a crucial role in regulating osteoclast and osteoblast function. However, whether miRNAs mediate osteoclast-directed osteoblastic bone formation is mostly unknown. Here, we show that increased osteoclastic miR-214-3p associates with both elevated serum exosomal miR-214-3p and reduced bone formation in elderly women with fractures and in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. Osteoclast-specific miR-214-3p knock-in mice have elevated serum exosomal miR-214-3p and reduced bone formation that is rescued by osteoclast-targeted antagomir-214-3p treatment. We further demonstrate that osteoclast-derived exosomal miR-214-3p is transferred to osteoblasts to inhibit osteoblast activity in vitro and reduce bone formation in vivo. Moreover, osteoclast-targeted miR-214-3p inhibition promotes bone formation in ageing OVX mice. Collectively, our results suggest that osteoclast-derived exosomal miR-214-3p transfers to osteoblasts to inhibit bone formation. Inhibition of miR-214-3p in osteoclasts may be a strategy for treating skeletal disorders involving a reduction in bone formation.
Seeking a geochemical identifier for authigenic carbonate
Authors: Zhao Ming-Yu , Zheng Yong-Fei , Zhao Yan-Yan
Published: March 2016

Authigenic carbonate was recently invoked as a third major global carbon sink in addition to primary marine carbonate and organic carbon. Distinguishing the two carbonate sinks is fundamental to our understanding of Earth’s carbon cycle and its role in regulating the evolution of atmospheric oxygen. Here, using microscale geochemical measurements of carbonates in Early Triassic strata, we show that the growth of authigenic carbonate follows a different trajectory from primary marine carbonate in a cross-plot of uranium concentration and carbon isotope composition. Thus, a combination of the two geochemical variables is able to distinguish between the two carbonate sinks. The temporal distribution of authigenic carbonates in the Early Triassic strata suggests that the increase in the extent of carbonate authigenesis acted as a negative feedback to the elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration.
Slow-moving and far-travelled dense pyroclastic flows during the Peach Spring super-eruption
Authors: Roche O. , Buesch D. C. , Valentine G. A.
Published: March 2016

Explosive volcanic super-eruptions of several hundred cubic kilometres or more generate long run-out pyroclastic density currents the dynamics of which are poorly understood and controversial. Deposits of one such event in the southwestern USA, the 18.8 Ma Peach Spring Tuff, were formed by pyroclastic flows that travelled >170 km from the eruptive centre and entrained blocks up to ∼70–90 cm diameter from the substrates along the flow paths. Here we combine these data with new experimental results to show that the flow’s base had high-particle concentration and relatively modest speeds of ∼5–20 m s−1, fed by an eruption discharging magma at rates up to ∼107–108 m3 s−1 for a minimum of 2.5–10 h. We conclude that sustained high-eruption discharge and long-lived high-pore pressure in dense granular dispersion can be more important than large initial velocity and turbulent transport with dilute suspension in promoting long pyroclastic flow distance.
Large-area graphene-based nanofiltration membranes by shear alignment of discotic nematic liquid crystals of graphene oxide
Authors: Akbari Abozar , Sheath Phillip , Martin Samuel T. , Shinde Dhanraj B. , Shaibani Mahdokht , Banerjee Parama Chakraborty , Tkacz Rachel , Bhattacharyya Dibakar , Majumder Mainak
Published: March 2016

Graphene-based membranes demonstrating ultrafast water transport, precise molecular sieving of gas and solvated molecules shows great promise as novel separation platforms; however, scale-up of these membranes to large-areas remains an unresolved problem. Here we demonstrate that the discotic nematic phase of graphene oxide (GO) can be shear aligned to form highly ordered, continuous, thin films of multi-layered GO on a support membrane by an industrially adaptable method to produce large-area membranes (13 × 14 cm2) in <5 s. Pressure driven transport data demonstrate high retention (>90%) for charged and uncharged organic probe molecules with a hydrated radius above 5 Å as well as modest (30–40%) retention of monovalent and divalent salts. The highly ordered graphene sheets in the plane of the membrane make organized channels and enhance the permeability (71±5 l m−2 hr−1 bar−1 for 150±15 nm thick membranes).
Neither epithelial nor mesenchymal circulating tumor cells isolated from breast cancer patients are tumorigenic in NOD-scid Il2rgnull mice
Authors: Donnenberg Vera S , Huber Alexander , Basse Per , Rubin J Peter , Donnenberg Albert D
Published: March 2016

The quantitative evaluation of circulating EpCAM+ tumor cells (CTCs) in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients provides an independent predictor of risk of progression in patients with metastatic disease. The present study investigated the tumorigenic potential of CTCs from cryopreserved mobilized leukapheresis products obtained from three metastatic breast cancer patients in remission. Cells were immunomagnetically separated if they expressed either the epithelial cell surface marker EpCAM, or CD90, a mesenchymal stromal cell marker associated with tumorigenic stem-like cancer cells. Cells were injected into the mammary fat pads of NOD-scid Il2rgnullmice. The injection of very large numbers of CTCs (0.3–1.5×106CTCs per site, 20 sites per sample) in an optimized xenograft model did not result in the establishment of human-derived tumor xenografts. Four orders of magnitude fewer cells of the same CD90+ phenotype, but obtained from metastatic breast cancer pleural effusions, were highly tumorigenic in the same model system. These results favor the interpretation that circulating tumor cell load does not directly bear on metastatic potential, and that tumorigenic circulating breast cancer cells in patients with metastatic breast cancer are exceedingly rare. Furthermore, the CD44+/CD90+ phenotypic signature indicative of tumorigenicity in cells separated from metastatic or primary breast tumors does not have the same significance in circulating tumor cells.