bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermal degradation of sucralose: a combination of analytical methods to determine stability and chlorinated byproducts
Authors: de Oliveira Diogo N. , de Menezes Maico , Catharino Rodrigo R.
Published: April 2015

In the late years, much attention has been brought to the scientific community regarding the safety of sucralose and its industrial applications. Although it is the most used artificial sweetener in foods and pharmaceuticals, many questions still arise on its potential to form chlorinated byproducts in high temperatures, as demonstrated by several recent studies. In the present contribution, we use a combination of differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis coupled with infrared spectroscopy (DSC/TGA/IR), Hot-stage microscopy (HSM) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) on samples submitted to water bath at mild temperatures to evaluate a broad spectrum of hazardous compounds formed in the degradation of this product. TGA/IR has revealed that there is effective decomposition in form of CO2 along with the formation of hydrogen chloride and other minor compounds. HSM results have provided accurate information, where the melting of the crystals was observed, followed by decomposition. Chlorinated derivatives, including polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (PCAHs) were also confirmed by HRMS. These findings not only corroborate the suspected instability of sucralose to high temperatures, but also indicate that even exposed to mild conditions the formation of hazardous polychlorinated compounds is observed.
On the importance of cavity-length and heat dissipation in GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers
Authors: Liu W. J. , Hu X. L. , Ying L. Y. , Chen S. Q. , Zhang J. Y. , Akiyama H. , Cai Z. P. , Zhang B. P.
Published: April 2015

Cavity-length dependence of the property of optically pumped GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with two dielectric distributed Bragg reflectors was investigated. The cavity lengths were well controlled by employing etching with inductively coupled plasma and chemical mechanical polishing. It was found that the lasing characteristics including threshold, slope efficiency and spontaneous emission coupling factor were substantially improved with reducing the cavity length. In comparison with the device pumped by a 400 nm pulsed laser, the lasing spectrum was featured by a red shift and simultaneous broadening with increasing the pumping energy of a 355 nm pulsed laser. Moreover, the lasing threshold was much higher when pumped by a 355 nm pulsed laser. These were explained by taking into account of the significant heating effect under 355 nm pumping. Our results demonstrate that a short cavity length and good heat-dissipation are essential to GaN-based VCSELs.
Ryanodine receptors are targeted by anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL involving its BH4 domain and Lys87 from its BH3 domain
Authors: Vervliet Tim , Lemmens Irma , Vandermarliere Elien , Decrock Elke , Ivanova Hristina , Monaco Giovanni , Sorrentino Vincenzo , Kasri Nael Nadif , Missiaen Ludwig , Martens Lennart , De Smedt Humbert , Leybaert Luc , Parys Jan B. , Tavernier Jan , Bultynck Geert
Published: April 2015

Anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family members target several intracellular Ca2+-transport systems. Bcl-2, via its N-terminal Bcl-2 homology (BH) 4 domain, inhibits both inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) and ryanodine receptors (RyRs), while Bcl-XL, likely independently of its BH4 domain, sensitizes IP3Rs. It remains elusive whether Bcl-XL can also target and modulate RyRs. Here, Bcl-XL co-immunoprecipitated with RyR3 expressed in HEK293 cells. Mammalian protein-protein interaction trap (MAPPIT) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) showed that Bcl-XL bound to the central domain of RyR3 via its BH4 domain, although to a lesser extent compared to the BH4 domain of Bcl-2. Consistent with the ability of the BH4 domain of Bcl-XL to bind to RyRs, loading the BH4-Bcl-XL peptide into RyR3-overexpressing HEK293 cells or in rat hippocampal neurons suppressed RyR-mediated Ca2+ release. In silico superposition of the 3D-structures of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL indicated that Lys87 of the BH3 domain of Bcl-XL could be important for interacting with RyRs. In contrast to Bcl-XL, the Bcl-XLK87D mutant displayed lower binding affinity for RyR3 and a reduced inhibition of RyR-mediated Ca2+ release. These data suggest that Bcl-XL binds to RyR channels via its BH4 domain, but also its BH3 domain, more specific Lys87, contributes to the interaction.
Protective effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on aluminum-induced cerebral damage in Alzheimer's disease rat model
Authors: Lin Wei-Ting , Chen Ran-Chou , Lu Wen-Wei , Liu Shing-Hwa , Yang Feng-Yi
Published: April 2015

The protein expressions of neurotrophic factors can be enhanced by low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) stimulation in the brain. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the protective effect of LIPUS stimulation against aluminum-induced cerebral damage in Alzheimer's disease rat model. LIPUS was administered 7 days before each aluminum chloride (AlCl3) administration and concomitantly given with AlCl3 daily for a period of 6 weeks. Neurotrophic factors in hippocampus were measured by western blot analysis. Behavioral changes in the Morris water maze and elevated plus maze were examined in rats after administration of AlCl3. Various biochemical analyses were performed to evaluate the extent of brain damages. LIPUS is capable of prompting levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in rat brain. AlCl3 administration resulted in a significant increase in the aluminum concentration, acetylcholinesterase activity and beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition in AlCl3 treated rats. LIPUS stimulation significantly attenuated aluminum concentration, acetylcholinesterase activity, Aβ deposition and karyopyknosis in AlCl3 treated rats. Furthermore, LIPUS significantly improved memory retention in AlCl3-induced memory impairment. These experimental results indicate that LIPUS has neuroprotective effects against AlCl3-induced cerebral damages and cognitive dysfunction.
Characterizing the transplanar and in-plane water transport of textiles with gravimetric and image analysis technique: Spontaneous Uptake Water Transport Tester
Authors: Tang K. P. M. , Wu Y. S. , Chau K. H. , Kan C. W. , Fan J. T.
Published: April 2015

Water absorption and transport property of textiles is important since it affects wear comfort, efficiency of treatment and functionality of product. This paper introduces an accurate and reliable measurement tester, which is based on gravimetric and image analysis technique, for characterising the transplanar and in-plane wicking property of fabrics. The uniqueness of this instrument is that it is able to directly measure the water absorption amount in real-time, monitor the direction of water transport and estimate the amount of water left on skin when sweating. Throughout the experiment, water supply is continuous which simulates profuse sweating. Testing automation could even minimise variation caused by subjective manipulation, thus enhancing testing accuracy. This instrument is versatile in terms of the fabrics could be tested. A series of shirting fabrics made by different fabric structure and yarn were investigated and the results show that the proposed method has high sensitivity in differentiating fabrics with varying geometrical differences. Fabrics with known hydrophobicity were additionally tested to examine the sensitivity of the instrument. This instrument also demonstrates the flexibility to test on high performance moisture management fabrics and these fabrics were found to have excellent transplanar and in-plane wicking properties.
Non-covalent composites of antiaromatic isophlorin–fullerene
Authors: Reddy Baddigam Kiran , Gadekar Santosh C. , Anand Venkataramanarao G.
Published: April 2015

Cocrystallates of fullerene C60 and antiaromatic tetraoxa isophlorin exhibit π–π interaction to form non-covalent molecular complex.
A platinum prodrug conjugated with a photosensitizer with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics for drug activation monitoring and combinatorial photodynamic–chemotherapy against cisplatin resistant cancer cells
Authors: Yuan Youyong , Zhang Chong-Jing , Liu Bin
Published: April 2015

A platinum prodrug conjugated with an AIE photosensitizer was developed for drug activation monitoring and combinatorial photodynamic–chemotherapy.
A NCS mediated oxidative C–H bond functionalization: direct esterification between a C(sp3)–H bond and carboxylic acids
Authors: Zheng Yang , Mao Jincheng , Rong Guangwei , Xu Xinfang
Published: April 2015

A direct esterification of α-alkoxy alkanes with acids is reported under transition-metal-free conditions mediated by NCS with a broad substrate generality.
Controlled deposition of Au on (BiO)2CO3microspheres: the size and content of Au nanoparticles matter
Authors: Li Qiuyan , Hao Xiaodong , Guo Xiaolong , Dong Fan , Zhang Yuxin
Published: April 2015

Novel 3D Au/(BiO)2CO3heterostructures with size-controlled Au nanoparticles (2–10 nm) were first synthesized and applied in photocatalytic NO removal.
“On water” direct catalytic vinylogous Henry (nitroaldol) reactions of isatins for the efficient synthesis of isoxazole substituted 3-hydroxyindolin-2-ones
Authors: Zhang Yong , Wei Biao-Wen , Lin Hui , Zhang Ling , Liu Jin-Xiang , Luo Hai-Qing , Fan Xiao-Lin
Published: April 2015

An efficient “on water”-promoted direct catalytic vinylogous Henry reaction is described, giving products in excellent yields and diastereoselectivities.
The synthesis of new amphiphilic p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arenes containing peptide fragments and their interaction with DNA
Authors: Padnya Pavel L. , Andreyko Elena A. , Mostovaya Olga A. , Rizvanov Ildar Kh. , Stoikov Ivan I.
Published: April 2015

The synthesis of new amphiphilic p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arenes containing peptide fragments and their interaction with DNA is reported.
Simultaneous introduction of trifluoromethyl and λ6-pentafluorosulfanyl substituents using F5S–CC–CF3 as a dienophile
Authors: Duda Blazej , Lentz Dieter
Published: April 2015

SF5–CC–CF3 as a powerful dienophile in Diels–Alder reactions, provides the corresponding products in up to quantitative yields and allows the introduction of the pentafluorosulfanyl group and trifluoromethyl group at the 1,2 position.
Theoretical prediction of structural stability, electronic and elastic properties of ZrSi2 under pressure
Authors: Hao Ruru , Zhang Xinyu , Qin Jiaqian , Zhang Suhong , Ning Jinliang , Sun Na , Ma Mingzhen , Liu Riping
Published: April 2015

The elastic constants, DOS, charge density distribution and the fundamental thermodynamic data such as the specific heat, thermal expansion coefficient and Debye temperature under different temperatures and pressures are theoretically determined.
Binary Ce–Mn oxides confined in carbon nanotubes as efficient catalysts for ethylbenzene dehydrogenation in the presence of carbon dioxide
Authors: Li Changshun , Sun Yufeng , Zhang Aimin
Published: April 2015

The promoting effect of Mn species of binary Ce–Mn oxides confined in CNTs on the catalytic performance of ethylbenzene dehydrogenation in the presence of CO2 was investigated in detail.
Effect of dopant concentration on the spectroscopic properties in an In3+ doped (0, 1, 2 and 4 mol%) Yb:Tm:LiNbO3 crystal
Authors: Dai Li , Yan Zhehua , Jiao Shanshan , Xu Chao , Xu Yuheng
Published: April 2015

A series of Yb:Tm:LiNbO3 crystals with x mol% In3+ ions (x = 0, 1,2 and 4 mol%) were grown by a conventional Czochralski technique for the first time.
TiO2nanoparticles promote the production of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) fighting against oxidative stress in Pichia pastoris
Authors: Yu Qilin , Liu Zhe , Xu Haiming , Zhang Biao , Zhang Meng , Li Mingchun
Published: April 2015

Since titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanomaterials are widely implemented in various fields, their safety and toxicity receive detailed investigation.
A green approach for assembling graphene films on different carbon-based substrates and their electrocatalysis toward nitrite
Authors: Xue Zhonghua , Hou Huihui , Rao Honghong , Hu Chenxian , Zhou Xibin , Liu Xiuhui , Lu Xiaoquan
Published: April 2015

A green strategy for assembling graphene films on various carbon-based substrates and its significant electrocatalytic activity toward nitrite oxidation.
Assigning regioisomeric or diastereoisomeric relations of problematic trisubstituted double-bonds through heteronuclear 2D selective J-resolved NMR spectroscopy
Authors: Hoffmann Marie , Miaskiewicz Solène , Weibel Jean-Marc , Pale Patrick , Blanc Aurélien
Published: April 2015

Although one of the first 2D NMR methods, but so far neglected, selectiveJ-resolved NMR spectroscopy offers a unique opportunity to help organic chemists in structure elucidation, avoiding natural and non-natural product misassignments.
Production of biosurfactant by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate and its applicability to in situ microbial enhanced oil recovery under anoxic conditions
Authors: Zhao Feng , Zhang Jie , Shi Rongjiu , Han Siqin , Ma Fang , Zhang Ying
Published: April 2015

An isolated strain SG can produce biosurfactant under anoxic conditions and has great potential forin situmicrobial enhanced oil recovery.
Facile fabrication of a novel nanoporous Au/AgO composite for electrochemical double-layer capacitor
Authors: Xu Junling , Wang Chundong , Liu Jiabin , Xu Shang , Zhang Wenjun , Lu Yang
Published: April 2015

In this work, a novel nanoporous gold/silver oxide (NP Au/AgO) composite (NPAAC) was fabricated by a simple two-step partial dealloying–stripping process for supercapacitor applications.
Fast mold surface temperature evolution: relevance of asymmetric surface heating for morphology of iPP molded samples
Authors: Liparoti S. , Sorrentino A. , Guzman G. , Cakmak M. , Titomanlio G.
Published: April 2015

It is widely accepted that mold temperature has a strong effect on the amount of molecular orientation and morphology developed in a non-isothermal flowing melt.
Linear solvent structure-polymer solubility and solvation energy relationships to study conductive polymer/carbon nanotube composite solutions
Authors: Yousefinejad Saeed , Honarasa Fatemeh , Montaseri Hanieh
Published: April 2015

Prediction of the solvation and solvent selectivity of polymer composites in different solvents is an important subject in colloid and polymer chemistry.
Light-driven integration of the reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline and the transformation of glycerol into valuable chemicals in water
Authors: Zhou Baowen , Song Jinliang , Zhou Huacong , Wu Lingqiao , Wu Tianbin , Liu Zhimin , Han Buxing
Published: April 2015

This work reports the efficient integration of the conversion of nitrobenzene to aniline and the transformation of glycerol to valuable chemicals driven by UV-light over Pd/TiO2 in water.
Correction: Toughening mechanism behind intriguing stress–strain curves in tensile tests of highly enhanced compatibilization of biodegradable poly(lactic acid)/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) blends
Authors: Bian Yijie , Han Changyu , Han Lijing , Lin Haijuan , Zhang Huiliang , Bian Junjia , Dong Lisong
Published: April 2015

Correction for ‘Toughening mechanism behind intriguing stress–strain curves in tensile tests of highly enhanced compatibilization of biodegradable poly(lactic acid)/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) blends’ by Yijie Bian et al., RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 41722–41733.
Correction: Efficient removal of Cd(ii) and Cu(ii) from aqueous solution by magnesium chloride-modified Lentinula edodes
Authors: Xie Han , Zhao Qiqi , Zhou Zhiren , Wu Yumeng , Wang Haochuan , Xu Heng
Published: April 2015

Correction for ‘Efficient removal of Cd(ii) and Cu(ii) from aqueous solution by magnesium chloride-modified Lentinula edodes’ by Han Xie et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 33478–33488.
Correction: How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry?
Authors: Kristiina Herranen Jaana , Vesterinen Veli-Matti , Katariina Aksela Maija
Published: April 2015

Correction for ‘How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry?’ by Jaana Kristiina Herranen et al., Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c4rp00246f.
A simple and scalable approach to hollow silicon nanotube (h-SiNT) anode architectures of superior electrochemical stability and reversible capacity
Authors: Epur Rigved , Hanumantha Prashanth Jampani , Datta Moni K. , Hong Daeho , Gattu Bharat , Kumta Prashant N.
Published: April 2015

A simple, facile, and more importantly, recyclable sacrificial template based approach involving magnesium oxide (MgO) nanorods for producing scalable quantities of hollow silicon nanotubes (h-SiNTs) architectures is discussed in this report.
Three-dimensionally ordered macro-/mesoporous Ni as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction
Authors: Sun Tingting , Zhang Chengwei , Chen Jianfeng , Yan Yushan , Zakhidov Anvar A. , Baughman Ray H. , Xu Lianbin
Published: April 2015

A novel three-dimensionally ordered macro-/mesoporous Ni electrocatalyst is fabricated and shows excellent properties for the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline medium.
AgPd@Pd/TiO2 nanocatalyst synthesis by microwave heating in aqueous solution for efficient hydrogen production from formic acid
Authors: Hattori Masashi , Shimamoto Daisuke , Ago Hiroki , Tsuji Masaharu
Published: April 2015

AgPd@Pd nanocatalysts loaded on TiO2 were fabricated in aqueous solution using MW heating to suppress alloying for high catalytic activity.
Copper phosphide modified cadmium sulfide nanorods as a novel p–n heterojunction for highly efficient visible-light-driven hydrogen production in water
Authors: Sun Zijun , Yue Qiudi , Li Jingshi , Xu Jun , Zheng Huafei , Du Pingwu
Published: April 2015

The present study shows that p-type copper phosphide (Cu3P) can be an efficient promoter to improve photocatalytic H2 production from water when loaded on n-type cadmium sulphide nanorods.
Covalent decoration onto the outer walls of double walled carbon nanotubes with perylenediimides
Authors: Barrejón Myriam , Pla Sara , Berlanga Isadora , Gómez-Escalonilla María J. , Martín-Gomis Luis , Fierro José Luis G. , Zhang Minfang , Yudasaka Masako , Iijima Sumio , Gobeze Habtom B. , D’Souza Francis , Sastre-Santos Ángela , Langa Fernando
Published: April 2015

Three new covalently bonded DWCNT–PDIs have been synthesized and characterized, showing exclusively functionalization of the outer walls leaving the inner walls intact. Femtosecond transient absorption studies were performed to seek evidence of charge separation in these hybrids.
New Langevin and gradient thermostats for rigid body dynamics
Authors: Davidchack R. L. , Ouldridge T. E. , Tretyakov M. V.
Published: April 2015

We introduce two new thermostats, one of Langevin type and one of gradient (Brownian) type, for rigid body dynamics. We formulate rotation using the quaternion representation of angular coordinates; both thermostats preserve the unit length of quaternions. The Langevin thermostat also ensures that the conjugate angular momenta stay within the tangent space of the quaternion coordinates, as required by the Hamiltonian dynamics of rigid bodies. We have constructed three geometric numerical integrators for the Langevin thermostat and one for the gradient thermostat. The numerical integrators reflect key properties of the thermostats themselves. Namely, they all preserve the unit length of quaternions, automatically, without the need of a projection onto the unit sphere. The Langevin integrators also ensure that the angular momenta remain within the tangent space of the quaternion coordinates. The Langevin integrators are quasi-symplectic and of weak order two. The numerical method for the gradient thermostat is of weak order one. Its construction exploits ideas of Lie-group type integrators for differential equations on manifolds. We numerically compare the discretization errors of the Langevin integrators, as well as the efficiency of the gradient integrator compared to the Langevin ones when used in the simulation of rigid TIP4P water model with smoothly truncated electrostatic interactions. We observe that the gradient integrator is computationally less efficient than the Langevin integrators. We also compare the relative accuracy of the Langevin integrators in evaluating various static quantities and give recommendations as to the choice of an appropriate integrator.
Research Update: Point defects in CdTexSe1−x crystals grown from a Te-rich solution for applications in detecting radiation
Authors: Gul R. , Roy U. N. , Bolotnikov A. E. , Camarda G. S. , Cui Y. , Hossain A. , Lee W. , Yang G. , Cui Y. , Burger A. , James R. B.
Published: April 2015

We investigated cadmium telluride selenide (CdTeSe) crystals, newly grown by the Traveling Heater Method (THM), for the presence and abundance of point defects. Current Deep Level Transient spectroscopy (I-DLTS) was used to determine the energies of the traps, their capture cross sections, and densities. The bias across the detectors was varied from 1 to 30 V. Four types of point defects were identified, ranging from 10 meV to 0.35 eV. Two dominant traps at energies of 0.18 eV and 0.14 eV were studied in depth. Cd vacancies are found at lower concentrations than other point defects present in the material.
Coordinated operation of wind power and other resources considering power system requirements
Authors: Wang Ying , Zhang Kaifeng , Teng Xianliang , Ding Qia , Huang Xianchao
Published: April 2015

Wind power is inherently variable, and thus it brings significant challenges to the operation of electric power systems. Noting that there really exist many controllable and dispatchable resources in power systems, the coordination of wind power and these resources provides the possibility of overcoming the drawbacks of wind power. This paper discusses the determination of the coordination objectives of wind power and other resources. The key idea is that the coordination objectives should match with the operation requirements of real power systems. (1) For an integrated wind plant, the coordination objective is that the output of wind plant should meet the grid code requirement. In this regard, a coordinated control method of a wind-energy storage system to meet the ramp rate limit of grid code is proposed. (2) For an area with a high penetration of wind power, the coordination objective is that the output of regional hybrid system should contribute to the active power balance of the whole power system. In this regard, a coordinated dispatch method of wind-thermal-pumped hydro hybrid system (regional hybrid system) to make the combined output follow the trend of system load is established. Case studies are conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed methods.
Dynamic carbon allocation into source and sink tissues determine within-plant differences in carbon isotope ratios
Authors: Wegener Frederik , Beyschlag Wolfram , Werner Christiane
Published: April 2015

Organs of C3 plants differ in their C isotopic signature (δ13C). In general, leaves are 13C-depleted relative to other organs. To investigate the development of spatial δ13C patterns, we induced different C allocation strategies by reducing light and nutrient availability for 12 months in the Mediterranean shrub Halimium halimifolium L. We measured morphological and physiological traits and the spatial δ13C variation among seven tissue classes during the experiment. A reduction of light (Low-L treatment) increased aboveground C allocation, plant height and specific leaf area. Reduced nutrient availability (Low-N treatment) enhanced C allocation into fine roots and reduced the spatial δ13C variation. In contrast, control and Low-L plants with high C allocation in new leaves showed a high δ13C variation within the plant (up to 2.5‰). The spatial δ13C variation was significantly correlated with the proportion of second-generation leaves from whole-plant biomass (R2 = 0.46). According to our results, isotope fractionation in dark respiration can influence the C isotope composition of plant tissues but cannot explain the entire spatial pattern seen. Our study indicates a foliar depletion in 13C during leaf development combined with export of relatively 13C-enriched C by mature source leaves as an important reason for the observed spatial δ13C pattern.
A Rhetoric Of Nonviolence: The Dalai Lama’s 1989 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture
Authors: Robinett Jane
Published: April 2015

In 1989, the Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who accepted the prize on behalf of his much-beleaguered Tibetan people who continue to be engaged in a nonviolent struggle for their autonomy and freedom. This article examines the Dalai Lama’s Nobel Prize speech as it demonstrates his capability as a public intellectual (along the lines of Edward Said’s delineation of the role for exiles as public intellectuals) and broadens and renews the tradition of nonviolent rhetoric practiced by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Throughout the speech, the Dalai Lama employs a rhetoric of nonviolence forged in Buddhist principles, one that supports a rhetoric of peace that does not depend on the divisiveness of Western political rhetoric but on a recognition of common humanity and shared responsibility.
Analysis of the divide-and-conquer method for electronic structure calculations
Authors: Chen Jingrun , Lu Jianfeng
Published: April 2015

We study the accuracy of the divide-and-conquer method for electronic structure calculations. The analysis is conducted for a prototypical subdomain problem in the method. We prove that the pointwise difference between electron densities of the global system and the subsystem decays exponentially as a function of the distance away from the boundary of the subsystem, under the gap assumption of both the global system and the subsystem. We show that the gap assumption is crucial for the accuracy of the divide-and-conquer method by numerical examples. In particular, we show examples with the loss of accuracy when the gap assumption of the subsystem is invalid.
Economics and Biblical Studies
Authors: Oslington Paul
Published: April 2015

In recent years, cultural anthropology, sociology, and psychology have been added to the tool kit of the historical-critical biblical scholar. Economics, and especially contemporary mainstream economics, has not been much utilized by biblical scholars for several reasons. For one thing, contemporary mainstream economics is less familiar to biblical scholars than Marxian or institutional approaches. It is also more mathematically demanding. A number of objections have also been raised to using economic models in this context. One is that the tools of economics are not neutral. However, this is true of any theoretical tool, including the alternatives to contemporary mainstream economic theory. Another one is that religion is a special domain outside the reach of economics. Economists would see this as an illegitimate claim by religion scholars to monopoly rights, and that granting it brings all the usual failings of a monopolized industry. The most common objection, discussed at length in this article, is that contemporary economic models are anachronistic and are not applicable to ancient societies. Rather than excluding contemporary economic analysis, however, one should see how it can offer new perspectives on texts. Economic tools have certainly illuminated contemporary religious behavior and institutions (see, for instance, Iannaccone 1998, cited under General Surveys), so why not ancient religious behavior and institutions? The purpose of this article is to make contemporary mainstream economics more accessible to biblical scholars, including the theoretical tools of rational choice theory, game theory, information economics, and behavioral economics, along with the most sophisticated empirical techniques in the contemporary social sciences. This article excludes many important and interesting social scientific tools that economists have so far not engaged, such as work on cognitive dissonance theory (e.g., Leon Festinger, R. P. Carroll, Gerd Theissen), covenant rather than contract relations (Richard Horsley), kinship in Mediterranean culture (e.g., Bruce Malina, Kenneth Bailey), anthropological studies of taboos (e.g., Mary Douglas), sociological theories of revolution and large-scale social change (e.g., Weber, Durkheim, Norman Gottwald), and postcolonial theory (e.g., Mark Brett). This article draws on a presentation titled “Using Economics in Biblical Studies,” which was presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco, a seminar at the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University, and a seminar in the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University in Sydney. Thanks to Julien Ogereau, Jacqui Grey, Chris Forbes, Mark Brett, and Roland Boer for discussions and suggestions, with the usual caveat that this does not imply agreement with the views expressed here.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Authors: Delaney James
Published: April 2015

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (b. 1712–d. 1778) is one of the most influential figures of the 18th century and French Enlightenment period, As a philosopher (though he himself claimed he did not embrace that label for himself), his works broach topics in ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of education. He is probably most famous for his social and political philosophy. Rousseau’s work was not limited to philosophy however. His first love, he claimed, was not philosophy but music. He wrote a successful opera, and designed a new system of musical notation. He also wrote a successful novel, Julie or the New Héloïse. It is difficult to categorize Rousseau’s philosophical thought. He is often characterized as an Enlightenment thinker, and he does express some core Enlightenment ideals such as the rejection of certain established dogma. However, his work is also counter-Enlightenment in important ways. In his first successful work, the Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, he argues that morality and virtue can actually be corrupted by progress. Additionally, Rousseau understands the creation of civil society itself as the source of the worst of human vices. The theme of nature, and specifically human nature, as inherently good is one of the most important in his writings. Against the criticism that his works are inconsistent with one another, he claims that this is the central idea underlying the system of his thought. In one of his principal writings, the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, he explains how the primitive “savage man” gradually moves from the pure state of nature to the state of civilized society through a long and complex historical process. Current society, however, is united under a specious social contract put in place by those in power to keep their advantage. It is nearly impossible to achieve virtue in such a society. Two later important works, the Emile and the Social Contract, are Rousseau’s attempt to show how this difficulty can be overcome. The former focuses on the moral education of an individual in a corrupt society. The latter is Rousseau’s vision of an ideal political regime that can preserve equality and freedom for its citizens. This article focuses primarily on these and related philosophical themes, showing how others of Rousseau’s works have been shown to have influence on them.
Paul Grice
Authors: Benton Matthew A.
Published: April 2015

Herbert Paul Grice (b. 1913–d. 1988) was a British philosopher and linguist, and one of the pivotal figures in philosophy during the 20th century. He wrote in many areas of philosophy, including the metaphysics of personal identity, logical paradoxes, the analytic/synthetic distinction, the philosophy of perception, philosophical psychology, and ethics. He also wrote on historical figures such as Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, and Kant. But his most significant contributions came in philosophy of language and mind, on meaning, intention, presupposition, conversation, and the theory of communication. Grice argued for an intention-based theory of meaning, and he was the first to illustrate the distinction between what came to be called semantic and pragmatic meaning, that is, between what a speaker’s utterance (or its utterance “type”) means in the abstract, and what else a speaker can mean by uttering it in a particular context. Grice highlighted this by an appeal to his framework of the Cooperative Principle and its Conversational Maxims, which are plausibly assumed by conversational participants and provide mechanisms for the ways in which speakers can “conversationally implicate” something beyond the literal meaning of what they say, and for how hearers can recover those “implicatures.’” Grice’s enduring influence on these topics helped found the burgeoning discipline in philosophy of language and linguistics now known as “pragmatics” (compare the Oxford Bibliographies in Philosophy article on “Pragmatics”).
Sanskrit
Authors: Rath Saraju
Published: April 2015

The name Sanskrit for the language—especially known for its rich heritage of ancient Indian literary, scientific, philosophical, and religious texts—is derived from saṁskṛta, past passive participle from sam + kṛ that means “to prepare (well),” “to make perfect,” “to polish.” Sanskrit or saṁskṛam (viz.: bhāṣaṇam or vacaḥ) thus means “well-prepared,” “perfected,” “polished” (viz.: speech or language). Paradoxically, this language that is “well-prepared” or “polished” (evidently suggesting conscious “polishing” efforts on the part of the speaker) has also been regarded as the originally divine language, daivī vāg, that deteriorates into Prakrits when left to generations of incapable speakers. Sanskrit is one of the very few languages in the world having a name not derived from an ethnonym, either as exonym or as self-designation, or from a country name derived from an ethnonym. As a language name, the word saṁskṛta is not attested in earlier literature (Vedic, Buddhist, early grammarians). Classical references to saṁskṛta as a noun as well as referring to a language in contradistinction to Prakrit are found, for instance, in Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra (composed between 200 bce and 200 ce) and in Bhāmaha’s Kāvyālaṅkāra (attributed to the 7th century). At present, the name Sanskrit is by extension also used for earlier stages of the language, especially Vedic and the language to which the ancient grammarian Pāṇini (c. 350 bce?) refers as bhāṣā “speech.” Other categories of Sanskrit—not always mutually exclusive—have been recognized, such as Classical, Epic, Buddhist, Jaina, Hybrid, Tantric, and Epigraphical Sanskrit. In addition, scholars have reflected on ancient spoken forms of Sanskrit, and a modern (revivalist) form of spoken Sanskrit is marginally employed in India. Sanskrit is also occasionally spoken in traditional training colleges (pāṭhaśālās, gurukulas), both in ancient and in modern times. Whichever subdivisions are accepted and whatever perspective is adopted, as a language Sanskrit does not comfortably fit into generally accepted categories. In a bibliography on Hinduism, the importance of Sanskrit derives from the fact that a large majority of generally accepted sacred texts for Hinduism are in Sanskrit: either Vedic Sanskrit or classical Sanskrit, or other forms of Sanskrit. This does not exclude texts in other languages—Tamil, Marathi, Braj Bhasha, etc.—to be sacred within Hinduism. Nor does it exclude numerous texts in Sanskrit to be sacred in other ancient religions than Hinduism, such as Jainism and Buddhism. The Bible and other Christian texts have been translated into Sanskrit from the early 19th century onward. The author thanks J. E. M. Houben for suggestions for the bibliography and the discussions.
Modernism and Film
Authors: Fischer Lucy
Published: April 2015

This entry has particular parameters that should be understood at the outset. It covers only those critical works in cinema history, theory, and criticism that have self-consciously used the term “modernism” in their titles or abstracts. This limit was established because, from a certain perspective, almost all of film history can be viewed from the perspective of modernism, and almost all of its critics and theorists have drawn on modernist theory in examining it. Although sometimes the terms “avant-garde” and “experimental” are used as synonyms for “modernist” (see the Oxford Bibliographies article “Avant-Garde and Experimental Film”). Furthermore, the term “modernism” is sometimes used interchangeably with the term “modernist” and thereby conflated with it. For the purposes of this entry, only the former is relevant. Modernism here refers to a particular discursive style pioneered in the modern age (understood as late 19th to early 20th century)—not coincidentally the era in which the cinema appeared. On the other hand, modernity is a more sociological term that describes this particular historical period and its attendant cultural shifts (e.g., industrialization, electrification, urbanization, technological advance). Although all films are “modern” (in the sense that they were produced in the modern era), not all are modernist. To qualify for this designation, the films must display certain characteristics (among them, a commitment to the new and a rejection of the past, fragmentation, lack of plot, generic and stylistic innovation, anti-illusionism, anti-realism, formal complexity, etc.) that we associate with modernism in the other arts (for instance, literature [e.g., Virginia Woolf], painting [e.g., Pablo Picasso], theater [e.g., Bertolt Brecht], and dance [e.g., Martha Graham]). All the references discussed here self-consciously engage and announce their engagement with this discursive sense of modernism, examining works from its early heyday and continuing into the contemporary era, with films (and occasionally related photographic works) that still bear its traces. Questions of modernity may, of course, arise in conjunction with investigations of modernism. Given constraints of space, this entry cannot, however, include all writings on those we might deem modernist directors (e.g., monographs on Dziga Vertov, Jean Epstein, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Bresson, Sergei Eisenstein, Ingmar Bergman, Walter Ruttmann, and Federico Fellini). See also the Oxford Bibliographies articles “Avant-Garde and Experimental Film,” “Surrealism and Film,” and “American Independent Cinema.”
The Early Explorers
Authors: Mancall Peter C.
Published: April 2015

Early explorers played a crucial role in both ecological transformations in the early modern era (c. 1400–1800) and in scholars’ ability to understand environmental change over time. Christopher Columbus, the most famous explorer in the history of the world, figured prominently in the growing European desire to lay claim to the Western Hemisphere and established a model of explorers who traveled far in the pursuit of gold, God, and glory. But he also solidified the role that explorers played in identifying species and in the initial transportation of biota, which produced a series of far-ranging impacts. Following in the wake of the pioneering work of the environmental historian Alfred Crosby, who developed the concept of the “Columbian Exchange,” scholars have written about the environmental consequences of long-distance travel, primarily (though not exclusively) of Europeans in the period often called the Age of Discovery. As many of these studies have revealed, the development of trade networks that spanned the oceans spurred unprecedented ecological change, including localized species depletion and alterations in climates long before observers such as Rachel Carson and Aldo Leopold called attention to detrimental human impact on the environment.
Death at the US-Mexico Border
Authors: Rodríguez Néstor P.
Published: April 2015

Hundreds of Mexicans, Central Americans, and other migrants die annually at the US-Mexico border when they attempt to enter the United States without visas by trekking across desert terrain, or by swimming across the Rio Grande River dividing Texas and Mexico border. After the US Border Patrol, in order to halt illegal crossings, closed down in the 1990s the safest border crossing points used by unauthorized migrants, usually near urban centers, the undocumented migrant flow, often organized by coyotes (smugglers), was redirected to dangerous border areas where migrants die from heat exposure, thirst, drownings, assaults, automobile accidents, and so forth. Research in the late 1990s by sociologists at the Center for Immigration Research at the University of Houston (Eschbach, et al. 1999, cited under General Overviews) introduced the topic of “border deaths” in policy discussions of US immigration, as well as created the subfield of migrant deaths in undocumented migration research. Several studies (e.g., see Regional Analysis) have been conducted since the mid-1990s, addressing the occurrence of migrant deaths at the US-Mexico border, but the subfield is still in a nascent stage due to the difficulty in obtaining migrant mortality data collected with consistent research methods using standardized death classification criteria. Nonetheless, the US Border Patrol has reported annual counts at the US-Mexico border since 1998 (see US Border Patrol death statistics cited under Government Documents). US studies of migrant deaths at the border do not usually include data of migrant deaths on the Mexican side of the border, resulting in undercounts of migrant deaths at the US-Mexico border region. The numbers of these deaths on the Mexican border side may have increased significantly since 2005 after criminal groups in Mexico started kidnapping and murdering migrants crossing Mexico. A recent development in the topic of migrant deaths at the US-Mexico border has been attempts to identify the remains of migrant fatalities through forensic science in order to help relatives locate their missing migrant family members (e.g., see forensic articles in Forensic Science and Public Health Perspective). Humanitarian organizations and analysts have addressed the issue of how migrant deaths represent violation of the human rights of migrants by the implementation of a US border control policy that does not adequately consider the fatal risks created for the undocumented migration flow into the United States.
Orbital period changes of YY Coronae Borealis
Authors: Yu Yun-Xia , Xiang Fu-Yuan , Xiao Ting-Yu
Published: April 2015

By using all available times of light minimum, the orbital period changes of a W UMa eclipsing binary YY CrB have been investigated. Two possible orbital period variations are found: (1) a secular period decrease with a rate of dP/dt = −6.727 × 10−7 d yr−1, on which a sinusoidal oscillation with a period of P = 12.68 yr is superposed, or (2) an abrupt period change with a sudden period decrease of −0.7862 s around the year 2005. The secular period decrease is discussed in terms of (1) the mass transfer from the more massive companion to the less massive one with a mass transfer rate of dM2/dt = 2.8096 × 10−7 M⊙ yr−1, and (2) the mass loss via stellar wind from the system. The sinusoidal oscillatory can be interpreted as a result of the magnetic activity cycles of the system. In addition, the abrupt period decrease of the system might be due to the sudden mass transfer between the components.
Skeletal remodelling suggests the turtle's shell is not an evolutionary straitjacket
Authors: Cordero Gerardo Antonio , Quinteros Kevin
Published: April 2015

Recent efforts to decipher the enigma of the turtle's shell revealed that distantly related turtle species deploy diverse processes during shell development. Even so, extant species share in common a shoulder blade (scapula) that is encapsulated within the shell. Thus, evolutionary change in the correlated development of the shell and scapula probably underpins the evolution of highly derived shell morphologies. To address this expectation, we conducted one of the most phylogenetically comprehensive surveys of turtle development, focusing on scapula growth and differentiation in embryos, hatchlings and adults of 13 species. We report, to our knowledge, the first description of secondary differentiation owing to skeletal remodelling of the tetrapod scapula in turtles with the most structurally derived shell phenotypes. Remodelling and secondary differentiation late in embryogenesis of box turtles (
Emys
and
Terrapene
) yielded a novel skeletal segment (i.e. the suprascapula) of high functional value to their complex shell-closing system. Remarkably, our analyses suggest that, in soft-shelled turtles (Trionychidae) with extremely flattened shells, a similar transformation is linked to truncated scapula growth. Skeletal remodelling, as a form of developmental plasticity, might enable the seemingly constrained turtle body plan to diversify, suggesting the shell is not an evolutionary straitjacket.
Fluid flow and sperm guidance: a simulation study of hydrodynamic sperm rheotaxis
Authors: Ishimoto Kenta , Gaffney Eamonn A.
Published: April 2015

How does a sperm find its way? The study of guidance cues has fascinated sperm biologists and in particular the prospect of rheotaxis, that is a fluid flow orienting the direction of sperm swimming, has been the subject of extensive recent study, as readily motivated by the prospect that such guidance may be active in the mammalian female reproductive tract. For instance, it has been hypothesized that helical sperm flagellar beating is necessary for such guidance, whereas there is an extensive diversity of flagellar beating patterns, with planar sperm beating readily observed in human cells for example. In particular, such cells will not be guided by fluid flow according to hypothesized mechanisms for rheotaxis presented thus far. Here, using simulation methods, we investigate rheotaxis for a wide range of flagellar beat patterns. Providing the virtual sperm firstly does not possess a tightly circling trajectory in the absence of a background flow and secondly, remains within a region of low shear to prevent being washed away by the background flow, rheotaxis is generally observed with the sperm swimming into the flow together with a possible transverse velocity. Tight circling sperm motility, as observed in select hyperactivated sperm and CatSper mutants, is predicted to disrupt the rheotactic response, whereas confinement to low shear regions generally requires boundary accumulation, thus introducing subtleties in the relationship between rheotactic behaviours and the flagellar waveform and sperm characteristics. Nonetheless, such predictions suggest such rheotactic guidance may be more common and robust than previously thought, and we document simple criteria for the presence of rheotaxis that are consistent with our simulations and understanding, as well as reported observations to date.
High-throughput detection of ethanol-producing cyanobacteria in a microdroplet platform
Authors: Abalde-Cela Sara , Gould Anna , Liu Xin , Kazamia Elena , Smith Alison G. , Abell Chris
Published: April 2015

Ethanol production by microorganisms is an important renewable energy source. Most processes involve fermentation of sugars from plant feedstock, but there is increasing interest in direct ethanol production by photosynthetic organisms. To facilitate this, a high-throughput screening technique for the detection of ethanol is required. Here, a method for the quantitative detection of ethanol in a microdroplet-based platform is described that can be used for screening cyanobacterial strains to identify those with the highest ethanol productivity levels. The detection of ethanol by enzymatic assay was optimized both in bulk and in microdroplets. In parallel, the encapsulation of engineered ethanol-producing cyanobacteria in microdroplets and their growth dynamics in microdroplet reservoirs were demonstrated. The combination of modular microdroplet operations including droplet generation for cyanobacteria encapsulation, droplet re-injection and pico-injection, and laser-induced fluorescence, were used to create this new platform to screen genetically engineered strains of cyanobacteria with different levels of ethanol production.