bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Mediation Committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat: A Special Institution of German Constitutional Law
Authors: Koggel Claus
Published: June 2016

The Mediation Committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat – is it “one of the most felicitous innovations in our constitutional activities”, “the most positive institution in the entire Basic Law” or, as some critics assert “a substitute and superordinate parliament” or indeed the “mysterious darkroom of the legislative process”? This article seeks to provide answers to these questions. It is however clear that the Mediation Committee has become an important instrument for attaining political compromises in Germany's legislative procedure. The Committee's purpose is to find a balance between the differing opinions of the Bundestag and Bundesrat concerning the content of legislation, and, through political mediation and mutual concessions, to find solutions that are acceptable to both sides. Thanks to this approach, the Mediation Committee has helped save countless important pieces of legislation from failure since it was established over 65 years ago, thus making a vital contribution to ensure the legislative process works efficiently. The lecture will address the Mediation Committee's status and role within the German legislative process. It will explain the composition of this body as well as its most important procedural principles also against the backdrop of current case law from the Federal Constitutional Court. Finally, the lecture will consider how particular constellations of political power impact on the Mediation Committee's work.
Early Albian (Early Cretaceous) douvilleiceratid ammonites from Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada
Authors: Futakami Masao , Haggart James W.
Published: June 2016

The early Albian to mid-Albian cosmopolitan genusDouvilleicerasis represented in the Haida Gwaii archipelago of western British Columbia by five species,D.mammillatum(Schlotheim),D.offarcinatum(White),D.scabrosumCasey,D.spiniferum(Whiteaves), andD. aff.spiniferum(Whiteaves). Specimens of one of these taxa,D.spiniferum, are particularly abundant on Haida Gwaii and the species is discussed with respect to its morphological variability and ontogenetic development. The important morphological features for taxonomic criteria of the genusDouvilleicerasare the mode of tuberculation, the pattern of ribbing, and the proportions of the shell in the middle growth stage.
The earliest reef-building anthaspidellid spongeRankenella zhangxianensisn. sp. from the Zhangxia Formation (Cambrian Series 3), Shandong Province, China
Authors: Lee Jeong-Hyun , Woo Jusun , Lee Dong-Jin
Published: June 2016

This study reports the earliest known reef-building anthaspidellid sponge,Rankenella zhangxianensisn. sp., from the Cambrian Series 3 (late Stage 5–early Guzhangian) deposit of the Zhangxia Formation, Shandong Province, China.Rankenella zhangxianensismostly occurs withinEpiphyton-Rankenella-Cambroctoconusreefs, with minor occurrence from inter-reef grainstone. The species has anthaspidellid-type regular ladderlike spicule networks consisting of dendroclones and trabs, and is characterized by trabs parallel/subparallel to the gastral surface that diverge and meet the dermal surface, which is typical of the genus. Compared toR.morsandR.hamdii, reported from the late Cambrian Series 2–late Cambrian Series 3 of Australia and the late Cambrian Series 3–early Furongian of Iran, respectively,R.zhangxianensisis characterized by a relatively thicker wall, high angle (~90°) between dermal surfaces and intersecting trabs, and minor occurrence of differentiated canals. On the other hand,R.zhangxianensismainly shows obconical shape, which is far less diverse than the other two species showing conicocylindrical, digitate, explanate, or bowl shapes. These Cambrian Series 3 reefs from China are the ancestors of the Furongian anthaspidellid-microbial reefs and the Early Ordovician anthaspidellid-microbial reefs that flourished worldwide. They represent the resurgence of reef-building metazoans after the extinction of archaeocyaths at the end of Cambrian Series 2.
Systematics and paleobiogeographic significance of the Upper Ordovician pterygometopine trilobiteAchatellaDelo, 1935
Authors: Swisher Robert E. , Westrop Stephen R. , Amati Lisa
Published: June 2016

Study of type and new material of the pterygometopineAchatellaDelo, 1935 demonstrates the presence of four species in Upper Ordovician (Katian) strata of Laurentian North America,A.achates(Billings, 1860) from the northeastern United States and the St. Lawrence lowlands of Canada,A.carleyi(Meek, 1872) from the Cincinnati region, Ohio and Kentucky,A.katharina(Bradley, 1930), from Missouri and Oklahoma, andA.clivosaLespérance and Weissenberger, 1998 from the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec. Perhaps as many as five additional species are present in Sandbian–Katian strata of the Laurentian terranes of Scotland and Northern Ireland, although only three of these are known well enough to code for phylogenetic analysis. The oldest pterygometopines, including species ofAchatella, are known from Middle Ordovician strata of Baltica. Phylogenetic analysis supports a single migration event from Baltica from Laurentia, followed by a modest diversification in the latter region.
Cambrian microfossils from the Tethyan Himalaya
Authors: Gilbert Ian R. , Hughes Nigel C. , Myrow Paul M.
Published: June 2016

Cambrian biostratigraphy of the Indian subcontinent is best documented from the Parahio Formation of the Tethyan Himalaya. Recently established trilobite biostratigraphy shows that the formation encompasses the latest part of unnamed Stage 4 and much of unnamed Stage 5. A variety of small shelly fossils have been recovered via acid digestion of carbonate beds and include tetract and pentact hexactinellid sponge spicules, chancelloriid spicules belonging toChancelloriasp. and a new species,Archiasterella dhiraji, shells of an helcionelloid comparable toIgorella maidipingensis, a meraspid ptychopariid trilobite, the tubularCupithecasp., a poorly preserved hyolith, and an assortment of spinose microfossils of uncertain affinity. These newly recovered microfossils are consistent with the trilobite-based lower and middle Cambrian age determination and do not support a late Cambrian age for the top of the Parahio Formation advocated in some recent literature. The microfossils reported herein significantly expand the known diversity of such fossils from Cambrian strata in the Himalayan region, and allow for comparison of this fauna with others from Gondwanaland and elsewhere. Integration with trilobite data indicate that the stratigraphic ranges of many small shelly fossils described in this study are greater than previously recognized.
A new anthracothere (Artiodactyla) from the early Oligocene, Fayum, Egypt, and the mystery of African ‘Rhagatherium’ solved
Authors: Sileem Afifi H. , Sallam Hesham M. , Hewaidy Abdel Galil A. , Miller Ellen R. , Gunnell Gregg F.
Published: June 2016

Recent work on new anthracothere (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) specimens from the Jebel Qatrani Formation, early Oligocene, Fayum, Egypt, has revealed the presence of a new genus.Nabotheriumnew genus is described on the basis of a partial skull, several mandibular and maxillary specimens, and isolated teeth. The new genus exhibits a distinctive combination of features not seen in other Paleogene anthracotheres. The most noticeable characteristics of the new genus include the presence of large and well-developed upper and lower canines, caniniform third incisors, the presence of only a short diastema between the canine and first premolar, and broad, bunodont cheek teeth. This is in contrast to other contemporary anthracotheres, including other forms from the Fayum, which show a spatulate third incisor, a reduced canine, a much longer canine-premolar diastema, and more narrow, bunoselenodont cheek teeth. The presence of a relatively short rostrum with closely packed incisors, low-crowned and simple premolars, and low-crowned, bunodont molars indicates that members of the new genus would have been more efficient at crushing foods than slicing vegetation, and suggests a more varied herbivorous and frugivorous diet than was favored by other, more bunoselenodont Fayum anthracotheres.
Lower Silurian conodonts from the Shine Jinst region, southwestern Mongolia
Authors: Danielsen Erika M. , Over D. Jeffrey
Published: June 2016

Lower Silurian conodonts were recovered from carbonate beds in the upper Zalaa and lower Sharchuluut formations at Yamaan Us in the Shine Jinst region, Gobi-Altai Zone, of southwestern Mongolia. Conodonts are described from the Zalaa Formation for the first time; key taxa recovered includeDistomodus kentuckyensisBranson and Branson, 1947,Ozarkodina hassi(Pollock, Rexroad, and Nicoll, 1970), Pranognathus siluricus(Pollock, Rexroad, and Nicoll, 1970), andPseudolonchodina expansa(Armstrong, 1990). These species constrain the onset of the Silurian carbonate platform, upper Zalaa to lower Sharchuluut formations, to thePranognathus tenuisZone, middle Aeronian. The presence of a cosmopolitan conodont fauna places these strata from the Gobi-Altai Zone in a basin-shelf marine setting with connection and circulation to the open ocean during the Llandovery.
Finite Groups and Lie Rings with an Automorphism of Order 2n
Authors: Khukhro E. I. , Makarenko N. Yu. , Shumyatsky P.
Published: June 2016

Suppose that a finite groupGadmits an automorphismof order 2nsuch that the fixed-point subgroupof the involutionis nilpotent of classc. Letm=) be the number of fixed points of. It is proved thatGhas a characteristic soluble subgroup of derived length bounded in terms ofn,cwhose index is bounded in terms ofm,n,c. A similar result is also proved for Lie rings.
Influence of protected areas on fish assemblages and fisheries in a large tropical river
Authors: Keppeler Friedrich Wolfgang , Hallwass Gustavo , Silvano Renato Azevedo Matias
Published: June 2016

Protected areas are one of the main tools for biological conservation worldwide. Although they have contributed to an increase in fish abundance and alleviated the impacts of fishing on marine ecosystems, the impacts of fishing and of protected areas in freshwater ecosystems are less well known. We compared fishing productivity and fish assemblage descriptors of two distinct protected areas designated for sustainable use of natural resources and an unprotected area in the Tapajós River, in the Brazilian Amazon. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) fishers from protected areas have higher catch per unit effort than those from unprotected areas; and (2) fish assemblages in protected areas have higher biomass, abundance, presence of target species, species richness, fish size and mean trophic level than those in unprotected areas. A total of 2,013 fish landings were recorded and two surveys were undertaken to sample fishes. Eleven environmental parameters were quantified to distinguish between effects of environmental heterogeneity and protected areas. The catch per unit effort of fishers was higher within protected areas than in unprotected areas, suggesting that protected areas reduce the levels of fishing pressure and increase fishing productivity. However, the fish assemblage descriptors were correlated more with environmental variables than with protected areas, indicating a relatively weak effect of protected areas on fish communities in lakes. The results highlight the importance of considering the influence of environmental heterogeneity in fish conservation programmes, and the positive effect of protected areas on fishing productivity in freshwater environments.
Phonological constituents and their movement in Latin
Authors: Agbayani Brian , Golston Chris
Published: June 2016

We document a fronting process in Latin that is difficult to model as syntactic movement but fairly easy to model as phonological movement. Movement with similar properties has been observed elsewhere in Classical Greek, Russian, Irish and Japanese; we suggest that the Latin movement is of the same type and takes place in the phonological component of the grammar, following the mapping from syntactic to prosodic structure.
Japanese has syllables: a reply to Labrune
Authors: Kawahara Shigeto
Published: June 2016

Labrune (2012b) proposes a syllable-less theory of Japanese, suggesting that Japanese has no syllables, with only moras below the foot. She argues that there is no phonetic or psycholinguistic evidence for the existence of syllables in Japanese. This reply summarises and re-examines previous experimental findings that demonstrate that Japanese does show evidence for syllables both phonetically and psycholinguistically. After an extensive review of previous studies, this reply also takes up a number of phonological and theoretical issues that require an explicit response from the perspective of a syllable proponent. On the basis of these considerations, this paper concludes that Japanese does have syllables.
What's the Point of Self-consciousness? A Critique of Singer's Arguments against Killing (Human or Non-human) Self-conscious Animals
Authors: ZUOLO FEDERICO
Published: June 2016

Singer has argued against the permissibility of killing people (and certain animals) on the grounds of the distinction between conscious and self-conscious animals. Unlike conscious animals, which can be replaced without a loss of overall welfare, there can be no substitution for self-conscious animals. In this article, I show that Singer's argument is untenable, in the cases both of the preference-based account of utilitarianism and of objective hedonism, to which he has recently turned. In the first case, Singer cannot theoretically exclude that a self-conscious being's stronger preferences may only be satisfied by killing another self-conscious being. In the second case, he fails to demonstrate that the rules of ordinary morality, demanding that killing be strictly forbidden, could not frequently be overruled by the principles of esoteric morality. In both cases, his theory cannot solve the classical utilitarian problem of prohibiting the killing of people in secret.
Building and using multimodal comparable corpora for machine translation
Authors: AFLI HAITHEM , BARRAULT LOÏC , SCHWENK HOLGER
Published: June 2016

In recent decades, statistical approaches have significantly advanced the development of machine translation systems. However, the applicability of these methods directly depends on the availability of very large quantities of parallel data. Recent works have demonstrated that a comparable corpus can compensate for the shortage of parallel corpora. In this paper, we propose an alternative to comparable corpora containing text documents as resources for extracting parallel data: a multimodal comparable corpus with audio documents in source language and text document in target language, built fromEuronewsandTEDweb sites. The audio is transcribed by an automatic speech recognition system, and translated with a baseline statistical machine translation system. We then use information retrieval in a large text corpus in the target language in order to extract parallel sentences/phrases. We evaluate the quality of the extracted data on an English to French translation task and show significant improvements over a state-of-the-art baseline.
UNEXCUSED REASONABLE MISTAKES: CAN THE CASE FOR NOT EXCUSING MISTAKES OF LAW BE SUPPORTED BY THE CASE FOR NOT EXCUSING MISTAKES OF MORALITY?
Authors: Guerrero Alexander A.
Published: June 2016

In most common-law and civil-law jurisdictions, mistakes of law do not excuse. That is, the fact that one was ignorant of the content or requirements of some law does not excuse violations of that law. Many have argued that this doctrine is mistaken. In particular, many have argued that if an individual's ignorance or false belief is blameless, if she held the false belief reasonably, then she ought to be able to use that ignorance as an excuse for violating the law. It is much harder to find defenders of the doctrine, despite its prevalence. Pragmatic considerations are occasionally offered on its behalf, but these are generally not impressive. In this paper, I consider a more direct kind of justification for the doctrine, one that attempts to identify something more immediately normatively objectionable about being ignorant of the law. In particular, I consider an argument that suggests that legal ignorance is more like moral ignorance than like nonmoral ignorance and maintains that even nonculpable moral ignorance does not excuse.
A Brief History of Record Management at the National Archives
Authors: Rock Paul
Published: June 2016

Work on the official history of criminal justice prompted Paul Rock's interest in why it was that so many government papers, amounting to some 98% of the files produced, have been destroyed over the years. Successive crises in the accumulation of records, accompanied by only a limited increase in the shelving capacity of the Public Record Office - later The National Archives - led in the 1950s and beyond to a firm emphasis being placed on the destruction rather than the retention of papers. Officials and politicians were adamant that the unforeseeable demands which future historians might make on the archives had to be accorded less importance than the economic practicalities of what was called ‘weeding’.
The Best-Kept Secret(s) of Evidence Based Policing
Authors: Dawson Paul , Stanko Elizabeth A.
Published: June 2016

This paper draws on the work of the Evidence and Insight Team, a dedicated research function presently at the Mayor's Office for Policing And Crime, previously based within the Metropolitan Police Service for over a decade. The aim of the paper is to make readers aware of the obliquely hidden data goldmine that exists within UK policing. Such data captures the decisions police make routinely, the kinds of situations police encounter and with whom. This rich data seam goes beyond crime – and should be used more outside of policing. The authors, Paul Dawson and Elizabeth A. Stanko, argue that interested academics need a better roadmap of the data in order to stimulate basic knowledge and usage. Three case studies are presented that illustrate the scope and challenges of working with such data.
Analysing Police-Recorded Data
Authors: Brimicombe Allan
Published: June 2016

The quarterly bulletins on crime statistics in England and Wales are compiled from two sets of data: crime survey and police-recorded crime. Whilst the former is considered to give the most reliable trends, the latter has a greater level detail for a fuller spectrum of crimes types. This paper by Allan Brimicombe, explores the advantages and problems of analysing police-recorded data for the insights they contain. This is illustrated by examples from an analysis of domestic violence.
Sources of Public Response to the Death Penalty in Britain, 1930–65
Authors: Seal Lizzie
Published: June 2016

This article by Lizzie Seal is adapted from a presentation given at the Sources and Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice socio-legal research workshop that was held at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in November 2015. It explores the selection of qualitative sources for a project that aimed to uncover public responses to capital punishment in the mid twentieth-century. The article discusses which sources were selected and considers their strengths and weaknesses. It concludes that the particular sources chosen as data can, in themselves, help to shape researchers’ thinking about their findings.
Collecting Criminology: an Introduction to the Radzinowicz Library of Criminology
Authors: Stone Stuart
Published: June 2016

The Radzinowicz Library is the specialist criminology library of the Institute of Criminology, a research and teaching department of the University of Cambridge. As Stuart Stone explains, it is the premier academic criminology collection in the United Kingdom and indeed it is one of the major collections in this subject in the world. The library primarily serves the Institute and the University but also the wider community of criminal justice researchers, many of whom are regular visitors. In common with other libraries, financial pressures are a continuing concern, especially because of the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. Outreach and engagement with organisations outside academia add to the distinctive characteristics of the library.
Access to Records of Crime at the National Archives
Authors: Taylor Nigel
Published: June 2016

The National Archives has an important role in providing access to records of crime because of its role as the national archive for the records of the higher law courts and central government departments. Because of its status as the national archives for the United Kingdom, it has a pivotal role in shaping and influencing the developing freedom of information and data protection issues concerning records of crime. As Nigel Taylor describes in this short article, it has also created internal structures to cope with the increasing workload, complexity and need for transparency when dealing with these matters.
Feminist Methods and Sources in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Authors: Howe Adrian
Published: June 2016

This article by Adrian Howe is based on a presentation given at the ‘Sources and Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice Conference’ in November 2015, jointly sponsored by the Institute of Advanced Education and the Socio-Legal Studies Association. She begins by querying whether there are indeed distinct feminist methods in the social sciences. She outlines the impact of what she calls the ‘methodical revolution’ on the criminology discipline, Foucault's contribution and Foucauldian methodologies deployed in criminological and criminal justice research.
Tunes, Tubes and Clouds: Getting Your In-House Talent Out of the House and Online. Part 2: Distribution
Authors: Bates Daniel
Published: June 2016

In this second of a series of two articles, Daniel Bates considers some of the most popular online platforms which are available to host and promote audio and video content for purposes including knowledge-sharing, teaching, research dissemination, and profile-building.
Pious Delinquents: Anticlericalism and Crime in Postrevolutionary Mexico
Authors: Weis Robert
Published: June 2016

As Agent 15 of the Mexico City judicial police made his way home for lunch on a day early in December 1926, he saw a balloon floating in the breeze. He rushed to the rooftopobservatorioof his apartment building, where he spotted a girl around 14 years old, wearing a lilac-colored dress, standing on a nearby roof and holding a string. Certain that the balloon had been released from this location, he ran down the stairs, and, while crossing the street, looked up to see yet another balloon. Balloons had been drifting through the sky since early morning, so many and from so many directions that police struggled to find where they were coming from. When the balloons popped, flyers came tumbling down, urging Catholics to engage in peaceful protest against government anticlericalism by adorning their houses with yellow and white stripes in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe on her upcoming feast day, December 12. Accompanied by a beat policeman, Agent 15 approached two men in the building where he had seen the girl with the string, surmising that they had aided the launch. Although a search yielded nothing more incriminating than a stick with four strings, he arrested the men. He and other balloon-chasing police officers were obeying specific orders in hunting down the perpetrators that day, but in a broader sense they had become enforcers of laws introduced in the 1917 constitution that sharply restricted the scope of religious expression and observation in public.
The Charles Perkins Centre's Twins Research Node
Authors: Ferreira Lucas C. , Craig Jeffrey M. , Hopper John L. , Carrick Susan E.
Published: June 2016

Twins can help researchers disentangle the roles of genes from those of the environment on human traits, health, and diseases. To realize this potential, the Australian Twin Registry (ATR), University of Melbourne, and the Charles Perkins Centre (CPC), University of Sydney, established a collaboration to form the Twins Research Node, a highly interconnected research facility dedicated specifically to research involving twins. This collaboration aims to foster the adoption of twin designs as important tools for research in a range of health-related domains. The CPC hosted their Twins Research Node's launch seminar entitled ‘Double the power of your research with twin studies’, in which experienced twin researchers described how twin studies are supporting scientific discoveries and careers. The launch also featured twin pairs who have actively participated in research through the ATR. Researchers at the CPC were surveyed before the event to gauge their level of understanding and interest in utilizing twin research. This article describes the new Twins Research Node, discusses the survey's main results and reports on the launch seminar.
Die Bedeutung kognitiver Beeinträchtigungen bei depressiven Patienten
Authors: Beblo Thomas
Published: June 2016

Zusammenfassung. Beeinträchtigungen der Exekutivfunktionen, der Aufmerksamkeit und des Gedächtnisses sind einige der häufigsten und hartnäckigsten Symptome depressiver Störungen. Bisher konnte allerdings kein eindeutiges Profil dieser Defizite identifiziert werden, wahrscheinlich auch deshalb, weil die Defizite von verschiedenen klinischen und demografischen Faktoren, wie dem Depressionssubtypus, Grübeln, Komorbiditäten und Alter beeinflusst werden. Die kognitiven Beeinträchtigungen verbessern sich mit der Remission der Störung, häufig findet jedoch keine vollständige Rückbildung statt. Sie sind klinisch sehr relevant und gehen einher mit Suizidalität, reduzierten Therapieeffekten und negativen Auswirkungen auf Alltagsaktivitäten. Aus diesen Gründen ergibt sich für betroffene Patienten die Notwendigkeit einer neuropsychologischen Behandlung. Erste Ergebnisse lassen hoffen, dass die kognitiven Beeinträchtigungen mithilfe neuropsychologischer Therapie, Achtsamkeitstraining, psychopharmakologischer Therapie und weiteren neurobiologischen Behandlungen, wie z. B. der repetitiven transkraniellen Magnetstimulation, erfolgreich behandelt werden können.
A River Runs Through It, but Why?
Authors: Yan Wudan
Published: June 2016

Researchers investigate the factors that cause river terraces to form.
The innate immune protein calprotectin promotes Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus interaction
Authors: Wakeman Catherine A. , Moore Jessica L. , Noto Michael J. , Zhang Yaofang , Singleton Marc D. , Prentice Boone M. , Gilston Benjamin A. , Doster Ryan S. , Gaddy Jennifer A. , Chazin Walter J. , Caprioli Richard M. , Skaar Eric P.
Published: June 2016

Microorganisms form biofilms containing differentiated cell populations. To determine factors driving differentiation, we herein visualize protein and metal distributions within Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms using imaging mass spectrometry. These in vitro experiments reveal correlations between differential protein distribution and metal abundance. Notably, zinc- and manganese-depleted portions of the biofilm repress the production of anti-staphylococcal molecules. Exposure to calprotectin (a host protein known to sequester metal ions at infectious foci) recapitulates responses occurring within metal-deplete portions of the biofilm and promotes interaction between P. aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Consistent with these results, the presence of calprotectin promotes co-colonization of the murine lung, and polymicrobial communities are found to co-exist in calprotectin-enriched airspaces of a cystic fibrosis lung explant. These findings, which demonstrate that metal fluctuations are a driving force of microbial community structure, have clinical implications because of the frequent occurrence of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus co-infections.
Room temperature molecular up conversion in solution
Authors: Nonat Aline , Chan Chi Fai , Liu Tao , Platas-Iglesias Carlos , Liu Zhenyu , Wong Wing-Tak , Wong Wai-Kwok , Wong Ka-Leung , Charbonnière Loïc J.
Published: June 2016

Up conversion is an Anti-Stokes luminescent process by which photons of low energy are piled up to generate light at a higher energy. Here we show that the addition of fluoride anions to a D2O solution of a macrocyclic erbium complex leads to the formation of a supramolecular [(ErL)2F]+ assembly in which fluoride is sandwiched between two complexes, held together by the synergistic interactions of the Er-F-Er bridging bond, four intercomplex hydrogen bonds and two aromatic stacking interactions. Room temperature excitation into the Er absorption bands at 980 nm of a solution of the complex in D2O results in the observation of up converted emission at 525, 550 and 650 nm attributed to Er centred transitions via a two-step excitation. The up conversion signal is dramatically increased upon formation of the [(ErL)2F]+ dimer in the presence of 0.5 equivalents of fluoride anions.
Effects of acute spinalization on neurons of postural networks
Authors: Zelenin Pavel V. , Lyalka Vladimir F. , Hsu Li-Ju , Orlovsky Grigori N. , Deliagina Tatiana G.
Published: June 2016

Postural limb reflexes (PLRs) represent a substantial component of postural corrections. Spinalization results in loss of postural functions, including disappearance of PLRs. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effects of acute spinalization on two populations of spinal neurons (F and E) mediating PLRs, which we characterized previously. For this purpose, in decerebrate rabbits spinalized at T12, responses of interneurons from L5 to stimulation causing PLRs before spinalization, were recorded. The results were compared to control data obtained in our previous study. We found that spinalization affected the distribution of F- and E-neurons across the spinal grey matter, caused a significant decrease in their activity, as well as disturbances in processing of posture-related sensory inputs. A two-fold decrease in the proportion of F-neurons in the intermediate grey matter was observed. Location of populations of F- and E-neurons exhibiting significant decrease in their activity was determined. A dramatic decrease of the efficacy of sensory input from the ipsilateral limb to F-neurons and from the contralateral limb to E-neurons was found. These changes in operation of postural networks underlie the loss of postural control after spinalization and represent a starting point for the development of spasticity.
Inhibition of endosomal fusion activity of influenza virus by Rheum tanguticum (da-huang)
Authors: Lin Ta-Jen , Lin Chwan-Fwu , Chiu Cheng-Hsun , Lee Ming-Chung , Horng Jim-Tong
Published: June 2016

Rhubarb (Rheum tanguticum; da-huang in Chinese medicine) is a herbal medicine that has been used widely for managing fever and removing toxicity. In this study, we investigated how rhubarb inhibits influenza virus during the early stage of the infectious cycle using different functional assays. A non-toxic ethanolic extract of rhubarb (Rex) inhibited several H1N1 subtypes of influenza A viruses in Madin–Darby canine kidney cells, including strains that are clinically resistant to oseltamivir. Time course analysis of Rex addition showed that viral entry was one of the steps that was inhibited by Rex. We also confirmed that Rex effectively inhibited viral attachment and penetration into the host cells. The inhibition of red blood cell haemolysis and cell–cell fusion by Rex suggests that Rex may block haemagglutinin-mediated fusion (virus–endosome fusion) during the fusion/uncoating step. Rex has the capacity to inhibit influenza viruses by blocking viral endocytosis. Thus, rhubarb might provide an alternative therapeutic approach when resistant viruses become more prevalent.
Ozone treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis: a double blinded study
Authors: AL-Omiri Mahmoud K. , Alhijawi Mohannad , AlZarea Bader K. , Abul Hassan Ra’ed S. , Lynch Edward
Published: June 2016

This study aimed to evaluate the use of ozone to treat recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Consecutive sixty-nine participants with RAS were recruited into this non-randomized double blind, controlled cohort observational study (test group). A control group of 69 RAS patients who matched test group with age and gender was recruited. RAS lesions in test group were exposed to ozone in air for 60 seconds while controls received only air. Ulcer size and pain were recorded for each participant at baseline and daily for 15 days. Ulcer duration was determined by recording the time taken for ulcers to disappear. The main outcome measures were pain due to the ulcer, ulcer size and ulcer duration. 138 RAS participants (69 participants and 69 controls) were analyzed. Ulcer size was reduced starting from the second day in test group and from the fourth day in controls (p ≤ 0.004). Pain levels were reduced starting from the first day in the test group and from the third day in controls (p ≤ 0.001). Ulcer duration, ulcer size after day 2 and pain levels were more reduced in the test group. In conclusion, application of ozone on RAS lesions for 60 seconds reduced pain levels and enhanced ulcers’ healing by reducing ulcers’ size and duration.
Effects of introducing isotropic artificial defects on the superconducting properties of differently doped Ba-122 based single crystals
Authors: Mishev V. , Nakajima M. , Eisaki H. , Eisterer M.
Published: June 2016

The effects of isotropic artifical defects, introduced via fast neutron (E > 0.1 MeV) irradiation, on the physical properties of differently (Co, P and K) doped BaFe2As2 superconducting single crystals were studied. The Co- and P-doped single crystals showed a second peak in the magnetization curve (fishtail effect) in the pristine state. Significant variations in the radiation-induced changes in the critical current density Jc were observed in the different types of crystal, while the irreversibility fields did not change remarkably. The highest Jcs were obtained for the K-doped crystal, exceeding 3 × 1010 Am−2 (T = 5 K, B = 4 T) and remaining above 8.5 × 109 Am−2 at 30 K and 1 T. The pinning force was analyzed to compare the pinning mechanisms of the individual samples. While distinct differences were found before the irradiation, the same pinning behavior prevails afterwards. The pinning efficiency η = Jc/Jd was estimated from the depairing current density Jd. η was similar in all irradiated crystals and comparable to the value in neutron irradiated cuprates, suggesting that the huge critical current densities measured in the irradiated K-doped crystal are due to its large depairing current density, making this compound the most promising for applications.
Putative periodontopathic bacteria and herpesviruses in pregnant women: a case-control study
Authors: Lu Haixia , Zhu Ce , Li Fei , Xu Wei , Tao Danying , Feng Xiping
Published: June 2016

Little is known about herpesvirus and putative periodontopathic bacteria in maternal chronic periodontitis. The present case-control study aimed to explore the potential relationship between putative periodontopathic bacteria and herpesviruses in maternal chronic periodontitis.Saliva samples were collected from 36 pregnant women with chronic periodontitis (cases) and 36 pregnant women with healthy periodontal status (controls). Six putative periodontopathic bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis[Pg],Aggregatibacer actinomycetemcomitans[Aa],Fusobacterium nucleatum[Fn],Prevotella intermedia[Pi],Tannerella forsythia[Tf], andTreponema denticola[Td]) and three herpesviruses (Epstein-Barr virus [EBV], human cytomegalovirus [HCMV], and herpes simplex virus [HSV]) were detected. Socio-demographic data and oral health related behaviors, and salivary estradiol and progesterone levels were also collected. The results showed no significant differences in socio-demographic background, oral health related behaviors, and salivary estradiol and progesterone levels between the two groups (allP > 0.05). The detection rates of included periodontopathic microorganisms were not significantly different between the two groups (allP > 0.05), but the coinfection rate of EBV and Pg was significantly higher in the case group than in the control group (P = 0.028). EBV and Pg coinfection may promote the development of chronic periodontitis among pregnant women.
Time-resolved absolute measurements by electro-optic effect of giant electromagnetic pulses due to laser-plasma interaction in nanosecond regime
Authors: Consoli F. , De Angelis R. , Duvillaret L. , Andreoli P. L. , Cipriani M. , Cristofari G. , Di Giorgio G. , Ingenito F. , Verona C.
Published: June 2016

We describe the first electro-optical absolute measurements of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) generated by laser-plasma interaction in nanosecond regime. Laser intensities are inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) relevant and wavelength is 1054 nm. These are the first direct EMP amplitude measurements with the detector rather close and in direct view of the plasma. A maximum field of 261 kV/m was measured, two orders of magnitude higher than previous measurements by conductive probes on nanosecond regime lasers with much higher energy. The analysis of measurements and of particle-in-cell simulations indicates that signals match the emission of charged particles detected in the same experiment and suggests that anisotropic particle emission from target, X-ray photoionization and charge implantation on surfaces directly exposed to plasma, could be important EMP contributions. Significant information achieved on EMP features and sources is crucial for future plants of laser-plasma acceleration and inertial-confinement-fusion and for the use as effective plasma diagnostics. It also opens to remarkable applications of laser-plasma interaction as intense source of RF-microwaves for studies on materials and devices, EMP-radiation-hardening and electromagnetic compatibility. The demonstrated extreme effectivity of electric-fields detection in laser-plasma context by electro-optic effect, leads to great potential for characterization of laser-plasma interaction and generated Terahertz radiation.
Structure of neprilysin in complex with the active metabolite of sacubitril
Authors: Schiering Nikolaus , D’Arcy Allan , Villard Frederic , Ramage Paul , Logel Claude , Cumin Frederic , Ksander Gary M. , Wiesmann Christian , Karki Rajeshri G. , Mogi Muneto
Published: June 2016

Sacubitril is an ethyl ester prodrug of LBQ657, the active neprilysin (NEP) inhibitor and a component of LCZ696 (sacubitril/valsartan). We report herein the three-dimensional structure of LBQ657 in complex with human NEP at 2 Å resolution. The crystal structure unravels the binding mode of the compound occupying the S1, S1’ and S2’ sub-pockets of the active site, consistent with a competitive inhibition mode. An induced fit conformational change upon binding of the P1’-biphenyl moiety of the inhibitor suggests an explanation for its selectivity against structurally homologous zinc metallopeptidases.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 prevents lipopolysaccharide-induced rat acute lung injury via suppressing the ERK1/2 and NF-κB signaling pathways
Authors: Li Yingchuan , Zeng Zhen , Cao Yongmei , Liu Yujing , Ping Feng , Liang Mengfan , Xue Ying , Xi Caihua , Zhou Ming , Jiang Wei
Published: June 2016

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by severe sepsis remains a major challenge in intensive care medicine. ACE2 has been shown to protect against lung injury. However, the mechanisms of its protective effects on ARDS are largely unknown. Here, we report that ACE2 prevents LPS-induced ARDS by inhibiting MAPKs and NF-κB signaling pathway. Lentiviral packaged Ace2 cDNA or Ace2 shRNA was intratracheally administrated into the lungs of male SD rats. Two weeks after gene transfer, animals received LPS (7.5 mg/Kg) injection alone or in combination with Mas receptor antagonist A779 (10 μg/Kg) or ACE2 inhibitor MLN-4760 (1 mg/Kg) pretreatment. LPS-induced lung injury and inflammatory response were significantly prevented by ACE2 overexpression and deteriorated by Ace2 shRNA. A779 or MLN-4760 pretreatment abolished the protective effects of ACE2. Moreover, overexpression of ACE2 significantly reduced the Ang II/Ang-(1-7) ratio in BALF and up-regulated Mas mRNA expression in lung, which was reversed by A779. Importantly, the blockade of ACE2 on LPS-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38 and p50/p65 was also abolished by A779. Whereas, only the ERK1/2 inhibitor significantly attenuated lung injury in ACE2 overexpressing rats pretreated with A779. Our observation suggests that AEC2 attenuates LPS-induced ARDS via the Ang-(1-7)/Mas pathway by inhibiting ERK/NF-κB activation.
Fast fringe-field switching of a liquid crystal cell by two-dimensional confinement with virtual walls
Authors: Choi Tae-Hoon , Oh Seung-Won , Park Young-Jin , Choi Yeongyu , Yoon Tae-Hoon
Published: June 2016

We report a simple method for reducing the response time of a fringe-field switching liquid crystal cell by using two-dimensional confinement of the liquid crystals. Through both numerical calculations and experiments, we show that the switching speed can be increased by several fold in a fringe-field switching cell by simply using a rubbing angle of zero, which causes virtual walls to be built when an electric field is applied between the interdigitated electrodes and the common electrode, without requiring additional fabrication steps or complicated drive schemes. Furthermore, the devices fabricated with this method exhibit a reduced color shift and excellent dynamic stability, even with a high applied voltage and under external pressure.
Dimethylmercury Formation Mediated by Inorganic and Organic Reduced Sulfur Surfaces
Authors: Jonsson Sofi , Mazrui Nashaat M. , Mason Robert P.
Published: June 2016

Underlying formation pathways of dimethylmercury ((CH3)2Hg) in the ocean are unknown. Early work proposed reactions of inorganic Hg (HgII) with methyl cobalamin or of dissolved monomethylmercury (CH3Hg) with hydrogen sulfide as possible bacterial mediated or abiotic pathways. A significant fraction (up to 90%) of CH3Hg in natural waters is however adsorbed to reduced sulfur groups on mineral or organic surfaces. We show that binding of CH3Hg to such reactive sites facilitates the formation of (CH3)2Hg by degradation of the adsorbed CH3Hg. We demonstrate that the reaction can be mediated by different sulfide minerals, as well as by dithiols suggesting that e.g. reduced sulfur groups on mineral particles or on protein surfaces could mediate the reaction. The observed fraction of CH3Hg methylated on sulfide mineral surfaces exceeded previously observed methylation rates of CH3Hg to (CH3)2Hg in seawaters and we suggest the pathway demonstrated here could account for much of the (CH3)2Hg found in the ocean.
Ultra-sensitive in-situ detection of near-infrared persistent luminescent tracer nanoagents in crude oil-water mixtures
Authors: Chuang Yen-Jun , Liu Feng , Wang Wei , Kanj Mazen Y. , Poitzsch Martin E. , Pan Zhengwei
Published: June 2016

Current fluorescent nanoparticles-based tracer sensing techniques for oilfield applications suffer from insufficient sensitivity, with the tracer detection limit typically at the several hundred ppm level in untreated oil/water mixtures, which is mainly caused by the interference of the background fluorescence from the organic residues in crude oil under constant external excitation. Here we report the use of a persistent luminescence phenomenon, which enables an external excitation-free and thus background fluorescence-free measurement condition, for ultrahigh-sensitivity crude oil sensing. By using LiGa5O8:Cr3+ near-infrared persistent luminescent nanoparticles as a tracer nanoagent, we achieved a tracer detection limit at the single-digit ppb level (down to 1 ppb concentration of nanoparticles) in high oil fraction (up to 65 wt.%) oil/water mixtures via a convenient, CCD camera-based imaging technique without any pretreatment or phase separation of the fluid samples. This detection limit is about four to five orders of magnitude lower than that obtained using conventional spectral methods. This study introduces a new type of tracer nanoagents and a new detection method for water tracer sensing in oil reservoir characterization and management.
Exploring host-pathogen interactions through genome wide protein microarray analysis
Authors: Scietti Luigi , Sampieri Katia , Pinzuti Irene , Bartolini Erika , Benucci Barbara , Liguori Alessia , Haag Andreas F. , Lo Surdo Paola , Pansegrau Werner , Nardi-Dei Vincenzo , Santini Laura , Arora Seguinde , Leber Xavier , Rindi Simonetta , Savino Silvana , Costantino Paolo , Maione Domenico , Merola Marcello , Speziale Pietro , Bottomley Matthew J. , Bagnoli Fabio , Masignani Vega , Pizza Mariagrazia , Scharenberg Meike , Schlaeppi Jean-Marc , Nissum Mikkel , Liberatori Sabrina
Published: June 2016

During bacterial pathogenesis extensive contacts between the human and the bacterial extracellular proteomes take place. The identification of novel host-pathogen interactions by standard methods using a case-by-case approach is laborious and time consuming. To overcome this limitation, we took advantage of large libraries of human and bacterial recombinant proteins. We applied a large-scale protein microarray-based screening on two important human pathogens using two different approaches: (I) 75 human extracellular proteins were tested on 159 spotted Staphylococcus aureus recombinant proteins and (II) Neisseria meningitidis adhesin (NadA), an important vaccine component against serogroup B meningococcus, was screened against ≈2300 spotted human recombinant proteins. The approach presented here allowed the identification of the interaction between the S. aureus immune evasion protein FLIPr (formyl-peptide receptor like-1 inhibitory protein) and the human complement component C1q, key players of the offense-defense fighting; and of the interaction between meningococcal NadA and human LOX-1 (low-density oxidized lipoprotein receptor), an endothelial receptor. The novel interactions between bacterial and human extracellular proteins here presented might provide a better understanding of the molecular events underlying S. aureus and N. meningitidis pathogenesis.
Transformation of Breast Reconstruction via Additive Biomanufacturing
Authors: Chhaya Mohit P. , Balmayor Elizabeth R. , Hutmacher Dietmar W. , Schantz Jan-Thorsten
Published: June 2016

Adipose tissue engineering offers a promising alternative to current breast reconstruction options. However, the conventional approach of using a scaffold in combination with adipose-derived precursor cells poses several problems in terms of scalability and hence clinical feasibility. Following the body-as-a-bioreactor approach, this study proposes a unique concept of delayed fat injection into an additive biomanufactured and custom-made scaffold. Three study groups were evaluated: Empty scaffold, Scaffold containing 4 cm3 lipoaspirate and Empty scaffold +2-week prevascularisation period. In group 3, of prevascularisation, 4 cm3 of lipoaspirate was injected into scaffolds after 2 weeks. Using a well-characterised additive biomanufacturing technology platform, patient-specific scaffolds made of medical-grade-polycaprolactone were designed and fabricated. Scaffolds were implanted in subglandular pockets in immunocompetent minipigs (n = 4) for 24-weeks. Angiogenesis and adipose tissue regeneration were observed in all constructs. Histological evaluation showed that the prevascularisation + lipoaspirate group had the highest relative area of adipose tissue (47.32% ± 4.12) which was significantly higher than both lipoaspirate-only (39.67% ± 2.04) and empty control group (8.31% ± 8.94) and similar to native breast tissue (44.97% ± 14.12). This large preclinical animal study provides proof-of-principle that the clinically applicable prevascularisation and delayed fat-injection techniques can be used for regeneration of large volumes of adipose tissue.