bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of odorant-binding protein genes inGaleruca daurica(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and analysis of their expression profiles
Authors: Li L. , Zhou Y.-T. , Tan Y. , Zhou X.-R. , Pang B.-P.
Published: April 2017

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) play a fundamental role in insect olfaction. In recent years,Galeruca daurica(Joannis) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) has become one of the most important insect pests in the Inner Mongolian grasslands of China. This pest only feeds on the species ofAlliumplants, implying the central role of olfaction in its search for specific host plants. However, the olfaction-related proteins have not been investigated in this beetle. In this study, we identified 29 putative OBP genes, namely GdauOBP1–29, from the transcriptome database ofG. dauricaassembled in our laboratory by using RNA-Seq. All 29 genes had the full-length open reading frames except GdauOBP29, encoding proteins in length from 119 to 202 amino acids with their predicted molecular weights from 12 to 22 kDa with isoelectric points from 3.88 to 8.84. Predicted signal peptides consisting of 15–22 amino acid residues were found in all except GdauOBP6, GdauOBP13 and GdauOBP29. The amino acid sequence identity between the 29 OBPs ranged 8.33–71.83%. GdauOBP1–12 belongs to the Classic OBPs, while the others belong with the Minus-C OBPs. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that GdauOBPs are the closest to CbowOBPs fromColaphellus bowringi. RT-PCR and qRT-PCR analyses showed that all GdauOBPs were expressed in adult antennae, 11 of which with significant differences in their expression levels between males and females. Most GdauOBPs were also expressed in adult heads (without antennae), thoraxes, abdomens, legs and wings. Moreover, the expression levels of the GdauOBPs varied during the different development stages ofG. dauricawith most GdauOBPs expressed highly in the adult antennae but scarcely in eggs and pupae. These results provide insights for further research on the molecular mechanisms of chemical communications inG. daurica.
Specific impact of stimulant, alcohol and cannabis use disorders on first-episode psychosis: 2-year functional and symptomatic outcomes
Authors: Ouellet-Plamondon C. , Abdel-Baki A. , Salvat É. , Potvin S.
Published: April 2017

Background

Many studies have concluded that cannabis use disorder (CUD) negatively influences outcomes in first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, few have taken into account the impact of concurrent misuse of other substances.

Methods

This 2-year, prospective, longitudinal study of FEP patients, aged between 18 and 30 years, admitted to early intervention programs in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, examined the specific influence of different substance use disorders (SUD) (alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines) on service utilization, symptomatic and functional outcomes in FEP.

Results

Drugs and alcohol were associated with lower functioning, but drugs had a greater negative impact on most measures at 2-year follow-up. Half of CUD patients and more than 65% of cocaine or amphetamine abusers presented polysubstance use disorder (poly-SUD). The only group that deteriorated from years 1 to 2 (symptoms and functioning) were patients with persistent CUD alone. Outcome was worse in CUD than in the no-SUD group at 2 years. Cocaine, amphetamines and poly-SUD were associated with worse symptomatic and functional outcomes from the 1st year of treatment, persisting over time with higher service utilization (hospitalization).

Conclusion

The negative impact attributed to CUD in previous studies could be partly attributed to methodological flaws, like including polysubstance abusers among cannabis misusers. However, our investigation confirmed the negative effect of CUD on outcome. Attention should be paid to persistent cannabis misusers, since their condition seems to worsen over time, and to cocaine and amphetamine misusers, in view of their poorer outcome early during follow-up and high service utilization.
Minds and Meaning in Fictional Narratives: An Evolutionary Perspective
Authors: Carroll Joseph
Published: April 2017

This article presents a theoretical framework for an evolutionary understanding of minds and meaning in fictional narratives. The article aims to demonstrate that meaning in fiction can be incorporated in an explanatory network that includes the whole scope of human behavior. In both reality and fiction, meaning consists of experiences in individual minds: sensations, emotions, perceptions, and thoughts. Writing and reading fiction involve 3 sets of minds, those of authors, readers, and characters. Meaning in the minds of authors and readers emerges in relation to the experiences of fictional characters. Characters engage in motivated actions. To understand minds and meaning in fiction, researchers need analytic categories for human motives. A comprehensive model of human motives can be constructed by integrating ideas from evolutionary biology, anthropology, and psychology. Motives combine in different ways to produce different cultures and different individual identities, which influence experience in individual minds. The mental experiences produced in authors and readers by fictional narratives have adaptive psychological functions. By encompassing the minds of authors, characters, and readers within a comprehensive model of human motives, this article situates the psychology of fiction within the larger research program of the evolutionary social sciences.
Demonstration of Shot-noise-limited Swept Source OCT Without Balanced Detection
Authors: Fathipour Vala , Schmoll Tilman , Bonakdar Alireza , Wheaton Skylar , Mohseni Hooman
Published: April 2017

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been utilized in a rapidly growing number of clinical and scientific applications. In particular, swept source OCT (SS-OCT) has attracted many attentions due to its excellent performance. So far however, the limitations of existing photon detectors have prevented achieving shot-noise-limited sensitivity without using balanced-detection scheme in SS-OCT, even when superconducting single-photon detectors were used. Unfortunately, balanced-detection increases OCT system size and cost, as it requires many additional components to boost the laser power and maintain near ideal balanced performance across the whole optical bandwidth. Here we show for the first time that a photon detector is capable of achieving shot noise limited performance without using the balanced-detection technique in SS-OCT. We built a system using a so-called electron-injection photodetector, with a cutoff-wavelength of 1700 nm. Our system achieves a shot-noise-limited sensitivity of about −105 dB at a reference laser power of ~350 nW, which is more than 30 times lower laser power compared with the best-reported results. The high sensitivity of the electron-injection detector allows utilization of micron-scale tunable laser sources (e.g. VCSEL) and eliminates the need for fiber amplifiers and highly precise couplers, which are an essential part of the conventional SS-OCT systems.
Metal-ion induced ferromagnetic polarization in a mixed-spin system
Authors: Yang Li , Li Jing , Pu Tian-Cheng , Kong Ming , Song You
Published: April 2017

Three mixed-spin complexes with geometrical frustration, [CuII3MII] (M = Zn, Ni and Co), have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Magnetic studies indicate that a strong enough coupling interaction between CuII and MII ions can ferromagnetically polarize the spins in the Cu3 subunit.
A sandwich-shaped M3L2 zinc(ii) complex containing 1,3,5-tris(dimethyl(pyridin-3-yl)silyl)benzene: selective photoluminescence recognition of diiodomethane
Authors: Lee Sangseok , Lee Haeri , Jung Ok-Sang
Published: April 2017

The selective small molecular recognition of a discrete sandwich-shaped M3L2 zinc(ii) complex showing strong blue photoluminescence has been investigated.
A self-assembled fluorescent organic nanoprobe and its application for sulfite detection in food samples and living systems
Authors: Gao Tang , Cao Xiaozheng , Ge Peng , Dong Jie , Yang Shuqi , Xu Huan , Wu Yong , Gao Feng , Zeng Wenbin
Published: April 2017

An AIEE-based nanoprobe has been rationally developed for detection of sulfite in food samples and living systems with excellent selectivity and an extremely low detection limit.
Development of 19F-NMR chemical shift detection of DNA B–Z equilibrium using 19F-NMR
Authors: Nakamura S. , Yang H. , Hirata C. , Kersaudy F. , Fujimoto K.
Published: April 2017

The DNA conformational changes such as B-formed, Z-formed, and single stranded DNA, were detected in one of 19F-NMR measurements using a fluorine-labeled nucleobase.
Direct 1H NMR evidence of spin-rotation coupling as a source of para → ortho-H2 conversion in diamagnetic solvents
Authors: Terenzi Camilla , Bouguet-Bonnet Sabine , Canet Daniel
Published: April 2017

At ambient temperature, conversion from 100% enriched para-hydrogen (p-H2; singlet state) to ortho-hydrogen (o-H2; triplet state) leads necessarily to the thermodynamic equilibrium proportions: 75% of o-H2 and 25% of p-H2. When p-H2 is dissolved in a diamagnetic organic solvent, conversion is very slow and can be considered as arising from nuclear spin relaxation phenomena. A first relaxation mechanism, specific to the singlet state and involving a combination of auto-correlation and cross correlation spectral densities, can be retained: randomly fluctuating magnetic fields due to inter-molecular dipolar interactions. We demonstrate here that (i) this dipolar mechanism is not sufficient for accounting for the para→ortho conversion rate, (ii) spin-rotation interaction, an intra-molecular mechanism, behaves similarly to random-field interaction and, thus, may be involved in the singlet relaxation rate. Also, as the para→ortho conversion is monitored by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of dissolved o-H2 (p-H2 is NMR-silent), one has to account for H2 exchange between the liquid phase and the gas phase within the NMR tube, as well as for dissolution effects. Experimental evidence of the above statements is brought here in the case of two organic solvents: acetone-d6 and carbon disulfide. The observed temperature dependence of the para→ortho conversion rate shows that spin-rotation can be the dominant contribution to the p-H2 relaxation rate in the absence of tangible dipolar interactions. Our findings shed new light on the “mysterious” mechanism of the para→ortho conversion which has been searched for several decades.
Absorption of electromagnetic waves by a moving non-uniform plasma
Authors: Guo LinJing , Guo LiXin
Published: April 2017

The absorption coefficient of electromagnetic waves by a moving non-uniform plasma slab is investigated theoretically. Two cases of movement are considered: (1) the plasma slab moves parallel to the interface and (2) the plasma slab moves perpendicular to the interface. In both the cases, the influences of six typical plasma parameters on the absorption coefficient are discussed in detail by analyzing the relativistic model. It has been obtained that the absorption coefficient is strongly affected by the velocity of the moving plasma. Various interesting features concerning the variation of the absorption coefficient are obtained, which are very important for applications in space exploration.
Precision physiology and rescue of brain ion channel disorders
Authors: Noebels Jeffrey
Published: April 2017

Ion channel genes, originally implicated in inherited excitability disorders of muscle and heart, have captured a major role in the molecular diagnosis of central nervous system disease. Their arrival is heralded by neurologists confounded by a broad phenotypic spectrum of early-onset epilepsy, autism, and cognitive impairment with few effective treatments. As detection of rare structural variants in channel subunit proteins becomes routine, it is apparent that primary sequence alone cannot reliably predict clinical severity or pinpoint a therapeutic solution. Future gains in the clinical utility of variants as biomarkers integral to clinical decision making and drug discovery depend on our ability to unravel complex developmental relationships bridging single ion channel structure and human physiology.
Generating sets of finite groups
Authors: Cameron Peter , Lucchini Andrea , Roney-Dougal Colva
Published: April 2017

We investigate the extent to which the exchange relation holds in finite groups

G
G

. We define a new equivalence relation

≡

m

\equiv _{\mathrm {m}}

, where two elements are equivalent if each can be substituted for the other in any generating set for

G
G

. We then refine this to a new sequence

≡

m

(
r
)

\equiv _{\mathrm {m}}^{(r)}

of equivalence relations by saying that

x

≡

m

(
r
)

y

x \equiv _{\mathrm {m}}^{(r)}y

if each can be substituted for the other in any

r
r

-element generating set. The relations

≡

m

(
r
)

\equiv _{\mathrm {m}}^{(r)}

become finer as

r
r

increases, and we define a new group invariant

ψ
(
G
)

\psi (G)

to be the value of

r
r

at which they stabilise to

≡

m

\equiv _{\mathrm {m}}

.

Remarkably, we are able to prove that if

G
G

is soluble, then

ψ
(
G
)
∈
{
d
(
G
)
,

\psi (G) \in \{d(G),

d
(
G
)
+
1
}

d(G) +1\}

, where

d
(
G
)

d(G)

is the minimum number of generators of

G
G

, and to classify the finite soluble groups

G
G

for which

ψ
(
G
)
=
d
(
G
)

\psi (G) = d(G)

. For insoluble

G
G

, we show that

d
(
G
)
≤
ψ
(
G
)
≤
d
(
G
)
+
5

d(G) \leq \psi (G) \leq d(G) + 5

. However, we know of no examples of groups

G
G

for which

ψ
(
G
)
>
d
(
G
)
+
1

\psi (G) > d(G) + 1

.

As an application, we look at the generating graph

Γ
(
G
)

\Gamma (G)

of

G
G

, whose vertices are the elements of

G
G

, the edges being the

2
2

-element generating sets. Our relation

≡

m

(
2
)

\equiv _{\mathrm {m}}^{(2)}

enables us to calculate

A
u
t

(
Γ
(
G
)
)

\mathrm {Aut}(\Gamma (G))

for all soluble groups

G
G

of nonzero spread and to give detailed structural information about

A
u
t

(
Γ
(
G
)
)

\mathrm {Aut}(\Gamma (G))

in the insoluble case.
4. Crucibles of war
Authors: Hsu Madeline Y.
Published: April 2017

Hostilities lingered in the immediate aftermath of the war, but the onset of the Cold War dramatically improved the standing of Japanese Americans. “Crucibles of war” explains how the worldwide struggle against communism compelled the United States to cultivate friendships with Asian nations and peoples, including emergent postcolonial states such as India, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Burma. The walls of Asian exclusion crumbled with the piecemeal abolishing of laws restricting immigration, citizenship, employment, residence, and miscegenation, underwritten by a reworking of racial ideologies and immigration controls that remade Asians into model immigrants and citizens, even as it positioned them as innately suited for educational attainment and economic success.
5. Imperialism, immigration, and capitalism
Authors: Hsu Madeline Y.
Published: April 2017

“Imperialism, immigration, and capitalism” considers the Southeast Asians who entered the United States between 1975 and 1994, mostly as refugees resulting from theVietnam War. It goes on to review the “model minorities”—the Asians whose outstanding educational and economic performance exceeds that of native-born whites. Greater integration, however, has not protected Asian Americans from continued racialization as foreigners, and struggles for greater equality and acceptance continued long after legal discriminations had been lifted. The threat of Asian immigrants has largely dissipated because immigration laws and bureaucracy maintain their numbers at acceptable levels, and those who immigrate mostly convey sufficient economic or political advantages for Americans to feel their admission and settlement are justifiable.
6. Rights and responsibilities: human rights to human security
Authors: Hanhimäki Jussi M.
Published: April 2017

The protection of individual human rights is perhaps at the top of the UN's agenda. The task is not straightforward as the major violators of human rights tend to be states, and states make up the UN. ‘Rights and responsibilities: human rights to human security’ asks: is it more important to protect the integrity of a state or the individual? What about people rendered stateless by violent conflict, or ecological disaster, or people's rights to move within and between states? The answer is difficult because the state tends to reign supreme over the individual, but the UN is the only universally recognized body that can exert pressure on nations to modify their human rights behaviour.
6. Causes and responses
Authors: Mudde Cas , Kaltwasser Cristóbal Rovira
Published: April 2017

To explain the success (and failure) of populist actors one has to take into account both the feelings of voters and the behavior of elites. In addition, it is crucial to consider the ways in which the socioeconomic and sociopolitical context can both hinder and facilitate the demand for and supply of populism. “Causes and responses” considers another important issue: how to respond to the rise of populism? It maps different democratic responses that target the demand side and the supply side of populist politics and concludes with some suggestions on how best to both strengthen populism’s positive effects and weaken its negative effects on (liberal) democracy.
Collecting Facts
Authors: Barnes Jonathan
Published: April 2017

‘Collecting Facts’ examines Aristotle’s research methods. While much of his work was based on his own study and observations, he also relied on the expertise of others. Written sources were often available, though of limited use in his zoological researches. Many of Aristotle’s discussions begin with a brief history of the question at issue, setting out in summary form the opinions advanced by his predecessors. Aristotle had a strong sense of intellectual history and of his own place in it. He stressed the value of ‘reputable opinions’ — something believed by all or most men — and had a clear idea of the importance of tradition in the growth of knowledge.
Empiricism
Authors: Barnes Jonathan
Published: April 2017

‘Empiricism’ stresses that, for Aristotle, knowledge or science ultimately derives from perception. That is the source of the concepts in terms of which we seek to understand reality. Knowledge is not the same as perception, but is bred by generalization out of perception. This raises questions. Is sense perception reliable? How can we tell? How can we distinguish illusion from genuine perception? Are we justified in moving from particular observations to general truths? How can we know if our observations are sufficiently numerous or representative? Aristotle is dismissive of the sceptics in the Metaphysics: he thinks their views are not seriously held and need not be taken seriously.
Psychology
Authors: Barnes Jonathan
Published: April 2017

One important distinction within the natural world is that some natural substances are alive and others inanimate. The former are distinguished from the latter by their possession of a soul or animator. ‘Psychology’ explains that Aristotle’s souls are not pieces of living things or bits of spiritual stuff inside physical bodies; rather, they are sets of powers or capacities. Souls are fulfilments of bodies and cannot exist independently. Aristotle’s treatment of thought is both obscure in itself and hard to reconcile with the rest of his psychology. However, that should not detract from his work on psychology, which is persistently scientific in its approach.
Practical Philosophy
Authors: Barnes Jonathan
Published: April 2017

Though Aristotle focused mainly on the theoretical sciences, the Politics and the Nicomachean Ethics belong to the practical branch of philosophy. These are practical in that they aim not merely to purvey truth but also to affect action. Their themes are êthika (matters connected with character), arête (excellence), and eudaimonia (success). ‘Practical Philosophy’ points out that no one can be said to flourish as a human being unless exercising distinctively human faculties. Aristotle is not asking what makes us happy, and he is not concerned with how we should lead our lives, in a moral sense. He wants to instruct us in how to make a success of our lives.
Engineers of the invisible: making molecules
Authors: Ball Philip
Published: April 2017

‘Engineers of the invisible: making molecules’ explores how molecules can be explained, represented, and manufactured. Chemistry studies the properties of elements, and molecules are the smallest units of ‘meaning’ in this field. One analogy likens them to ‘words’ made from atomic ‘letters’. Molecules are impossible to ‘see’ in the spectrum of visible light, but many methods exist to visualize them. Some methods are experimental, like X-ray crystallography; others are theoretical, using quantum theory to predict structures. Scientists can synthesize molecules in a laboratory. This is now a relatively advanced science, but the complexity of nature's creation still dwarfs humanity's achievements.
2. Conjure and African American religion
Authors: Glaude Eddie S.
Published: April 2017

‘Conjure and African American Religion’ draws our attention to the continuity and discontinuity with African religious practices as well as a particular instance of a religious imagination, which differentiates itself from those who enslaved and discriminated against others. It shows how the debates in the field of religious studies about the difference between magic and religion fall apart when an oppressed people take up secret religious knowledge to make sense of their lives. Conjure is a religious practice that connects with a distant past, shadows Christian practice, and animates everyday life in ways that offer some semblance of control over circumstances that seem, at first glance, uncontrollable.
Epilogue: Confucianism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
Authors: Gardner Daniel K.
Published: April 2017

The ‘Epilogue’ considers the harsh condemnation of Confucianism in the early decades of the twentieth century by leaders of the nationalist May Fourth movement. The Chinese Communist Party was founded in Shanghai in 1921 and, despite two decades of struggle with the Nationalist Party under Chiang Kai-shek who believed in the basis of Confucian ideology, the People's Republic of China was established by Mao Zedong in 1949. Confucianism was deemed the enemy of the proletariat and the Communist state. The 1976 Cultural Revolution set China on a course of economic and political reform, and since 2000 the government have endorsed Confucianism. But what does the future hold for Confucianism in China?
Then and now
Authors: Allen Robert C.
Published: April 2017

‘Industrial Revolution’ refers to the far reaching transformation of British society that occurred between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries. The Industrial Revolution saw great progress, but it also brought poverty. ‘Then and now’ considers the two sides of the Industrial Revolution and how it was the culmination of two centuries of economic evolution. This was due to a set of revolutions that reinforced each other: in technology, agriculture, commerce, transportation, and finance combined with population and urban growth, resulting in a long run increase in GDP. But why did the Industrial Revolution happen in Britain: the rise of capitalism or England’s political and legal systems?
Reform and democracy
Authors: Allen Robert C.
Published: April 2017

The Industrial Revolution created social tensions and posed practical problems that shaped the politics of the period, affecting much of social and cultural life. Most commentators analysed society in terms of the three-class model anchored in the economics of Adam Smith. The three-class model provides insight into the politics of the Industrial Revolution. ‘Reform and democracy’ looks at key events that resulted in the evolution of a pre-industrial England, where economic life was conducted in a legal framework handed down from the medieval and Elizabethan periods, to the country at the end of the Industrial Revolution. These include the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, and the Reform Bill of 1832.
1. Past sounds
Authors: Goldsmith Mike
Published: April 2017

‘Past sounds’ provides a history of sound from the origin of sound waves 300,000 years after the Big Bang to the modern day of ultrasound and electroacoustic technology. Primordial sound was of a very low frequency, but powerful and omnipresent, and the environment in which the first living things evolved was an acoustically rich one, profoundly affecting the forms, habits, and destinies of those creatures. Hearing evolution is described along with the human development of music and musical instruments. The Greeks built amphitheatres that dealt with the practicalities of sound and Pythagoras studied harmony on a monochord. The World Wars of the twentieth century accelerated electronics development and inspired underwater acoustic research and sonar systems.
2. The politics of social work
Authors: Holland Sally , Scourfield Jonathan
Published: April 2017

Social work is inherently political because its parameters are set by the government of the day and many social workers are employed by the state and have important legal powers through that employment. ‘The politics of social work’ focuses on some of the main fault-lines of debate about social work’s purpose and methods, including assumptions, principles, and values. The four big debates considered are individual problems vs social conditions; understanding the past vs practical help with present functioning; intervention vs non-intervention; and the medical model vs the social model. It also looks at the relationship between social work and government.
4. Social work with groups
Authors: Holland Sally , Scourfield Jonathan
Published: April 2017

‘Social work with groups’ discusses two types of social work with groups. First, group work when unrelated people are brought together to receive some form of social work help or intervention in a group. This is a method of intervention aimed at promoting individual behavioural, cognitive, or attitudinal change, or to improve self-esteem and knowledge through meeting with others facing similar social circumstances in support groups. The ethical issues of group work are considered. Second, group care when care is provided to groups of people in residential of day care. This may be undertaken for reasons of economy or efficiency.
6. Does it work and how do we know?
Authors: Holland Sally , Scourfield Jonathan
Published: April 2017

‘Does it work and how do we know?’ addresses some key questions: should social work be thought of as science or art? What kind of knowledge do social workers need? What should their professional training cover? Should the outcomes of social work help be tested using experimental methods and if so, how much weight should we put on that testing, compared with other kinds of evidence? And what do we know about effective helping? Do some approaches work better than others? Social work may have a relatively small evidence base for its effectiveness and it may not always work. It is, however, undoubtedly a humane response to the problems of modern living.
4. Forms, identities, and interpretations
Authors: Reynolds Matthew
Published: April 2017

‘Forms, identities, and interpretation’ first looks at icons and how shapes and images are used in sign systems to create simple, international languages. It then considers the organizational elements of language in comics, graphic novels, and poetry. The acts of reading and interpreting and judging and rewording that make up translation all play a part in defining the identity that the translation will represent. Inevitably, the translator will draw out some aspects more than others. The translation’s context and purpose have a decisive influence on these processes. Finally, it looks at how translation and interpretation are closely intertwined. Translations incorporate interpretations and also provoke them.
3. Gases and atoms
Authors: Brock William H.
Published: April 2017

Until the mid-18th century, chemists had no understanding of the role of air in chemical changes. The Chemical Revolution was not merely conceptual, but also instrumental in that it involved the practical ability to manipulate, weigh, and measure gases using accurate balances, glass apparatus, and eudiometers. The chemist who transformed our views of elements, composition, and reorganized the way that chemists communicated was the French civil servant Antoine Lavoisier (1743–94). ‘Gases and atoms’ outlines Lavoisier’s work on chemistry nomenclature along with the key chemical discoveries by Joseph Black, Henry Cavendish, and Joseph Priestley. John Dalton’s atomic theory and the problem of ascertaining the molecular structure of water are also discussed.
6. Synthesis
Authors: Brock William H.
Published: April 2017

‘Synthesis’ considers how the shape and scale of chemistry has been transformed since the start of the 20th century. A series of world wars; a shift from coal to oil as the feedstock for the chemical industry; the introduction of physical instrumentation, quantum mechanics, and electronic theories; the organization of academia and industry to create Big Science as opposed to the more individualized research of previous centuries; a shift from European dominance of the subject to the US and then Russia, Japan, and China; and more women joining the profession have all been important. Underlying these changes was the theme of synthesis of natural chemicals and the creation of artificial materials.
3. In court and on trial
Authors: Roberts Julian V.
Published: April 2017

‘In court and on trial’ outlines the procedures once a trial date has been set. There is considerable variation in terms of the nature of the decision-maker—judge or jury—as well as the ways that the adjudicator is appointed. In almost all countries, prosecutors and judges are appointed, but in many US states they are elected. The jury decides questions of fact, whereas the judge decides matters of law. There are now specialist courts, such as drug treatment courts and juvenile courts, which focus on one particular form of offending and adopt a ‘problem-solving’ approach. What happens when criminal justice fails? Wrongful convictions and wrongful acquittals are also discussed.
Shaping the savannas
Authors: Furley Peter A.
Published: April 2017

Savanna landscapes are in a state of continuous change. Some of the determining factors shaping the view at any given locality are relatively short-lived. Fires, storms, seasonal variations, and some wildlife disturbances or human activities last for days, weeks, or a few months. Other factors influence the landscape over much longer stretches of time, such as the development of the underlying soil profile and more gradual processes of climatic change. ‘Shaping the savannas’ considers the drivers of this continuous change: climate; the role of vegetation; the impact of fire and burning–regrowth cycles; the influence of soils; animals and microbes; and humans, the principal determinants of the savanna landscape.
6. Sleep
Authors: Foster Russell G. , Kreitzman Leon
Published: April 2017

Almost all life shows a 24-hour pattern of activity and rest, as we live on a planet that revolves once every 24 hours, causing profound changes in light, temperature, and food availability. Species are adapted to a particular temporal niche just as they are to a physical niche. Activity at the wrong time often means death. We spend approximately 36 per cent of our lives asleep, which suggests this aspect of our 24-hour behaviour provides us with something of huge value. ‘Sleep: The most obvious 24-hour rhythm’ considers two questions: Why has almost all life evolved a 24-hour circadian pattern of activity and rest? And what are the important processes that occur in the body during sleep?
7. Circadian rhythms and metabolism
Authors: Foster Russell G. , Kreitzman Leon
Published: April 2017

Life is a continual battle to stay in a non-equilibrium energy state. Living things must obtain energy from the environment and effectively use it to drive metabolic reactions. ‘Circadian rhythms and metabolism’ shows that the circadian timing of energy metabolism, of which blood glucose levels are a major part, is a multi-layered system involving control by the suprachiasmatic nucleus, as well as by peripheral clocks in organs such as the liver, pancreas, muscle, and white adipose tissue. Several hormones also play an important role. The complex interactions between the suprachiasmatic nucleus, hypothalamus, hormones, and other signalling molecules involved in the circadian regulation of metabolism is mirrored at the subcellular level.
9. Evolution and another look at the clock
Authors: Foster Russell G. , Kreitzman Leon
Published: April 2017

‘Evolution and another look at the clock’ concludes that the circadian system controls every key aspect of biochemistry, physiology, and behaviour. All plants, fungi, protista, algae, invertebrates, vertebrates, cyanobacteria, and at least one archaeon display circadian rhythms. These rhythms have many molecular components conserved between diverse species and are thought to be generated by molecular transcription–translation feedback loops in which a group of core clock genes regulate each other to ensure that their mRNA levels oscillate with a period of approximately 24 hours. Although the empirical evidence has been difficult to demonstrate, there is a consensus that the internal clock has been of vital importance in the evolutionary history of living things.
5. Complete-concept theory, theory of truth, and theory of knowledge
Authors: Antognazza Maria Rosa
Published: April 2017

Leibniz maintained that the principle of identity/non-contradiction implies that every true predication must have some foundation in the nature of that thing. Otherwise A would not be A. If everything is connected to everything and all denominations are intrinsic, what does this mean for an individual in a possible world? ‘Complete-concept theory, theory of truth, and theory of knowledge’ considers Leibniz’s thoughts on individual substances, complete concepts, and truths. Leibniz’s complete-concept theory and his theory of truth as inclusion of the predicate in the subject also lead to his theory of knowledge. His views on innatism and ‘minute perceptions’ are also discussed.
5. Anthropocene
Authors: Lenton Tim
Published: April 2017

Could the Earth system be on the brink of another revolutionary change, thanks to human activities? We humans are very recent products of evolution, yet already we are transforming the planet at a global scale. The recognition that humans are now a key component of the Earth system was encapsulated in the Bretherton diagram. More recently, the term ‘Anthropocene’ has been coined to describe a new geological epoch in which human activities are transforming the Earth system at a global scale. ‘Anthropocene’ introduces how human evolution was shaped by changes in the Earth system and how we have gone on to transform the Earth system—tracing the key events on a timeline.
Climate change impacts
Authors: Maslin Mark
Published: April 2017

What is dangerous climate change? What is our coping range? ‘Climate change impacts’ assesses the potential effects of climate change on the natural environment as well as on human societies and our economies. Climate change impacts will increase significantly as global temperature rises. Climate change will affect the return period and severity of floods, droughts, heat waves, and storms. Coastal cities and towns will be especially vulnerable as sea-level rise will worsen the effects of floods and storm surges. Water and food security and public health will become the most important problems facing all countries. Climate change also threatens global biodiversity and the well being of billions of people.
5. Atmospheric measurements
Authors: Palmer Paul I.
Published: April 2017

Measurements of the atmosphere improve the performance weather forecasts, underpin our understanding of Earth’s changing environment, and help inform climate models that are used to look at future climate scenarios. Measuring the atmosphere is non-trivial and expensive so why do we bother? ‘Atmospheric measurements’ considers the necessity of both atmospheric modelling and data collection. By combining information from both, more realistic results will be produced. It then describes some of the numerous processes involved in taking measurements—from fixed, ground-based observations to weather balloons, research aircraft, and satellite technology that allows the collection of data hundreds of kilometres above the Earth’s surface.
4. Hanging together
Authors: Cooper Andrew F.
Published: April 2017

Through their communiqués and other outputs, the BRICS countries have worked hard to present themselves as a cohesive group. This effort, however, belies sharp differences in the political, economic, and policy approaches of the member states. ‘Hanging together’ explains how the BRICS has proved sustainable despite the group being riddled with rivalries over borders, resources, and status; divided on the issue of reforming the United Nations Security Council; and not always acting as a concerted bloc within other informal institutional settings, even in the context of the G20, where there is not always adherence to traditional North–South alliances. It also considers why South Africa was brought into the BRICS.
5. Building the New Development Bank
Authors: Cooper Andrew F.
Published: April 2017

The New Development Bank (NDB)—alternatively called the BRICS Development Bank—represents the most significant institutional innovation to emerge from the BRICS summit process. ‘Building the New Development Bank’ outlines how BRICS was able to successfully establish the NDB in 2014, as well as establish the Contingent Reserve Agreement (CRA), amounting to $100 billion, as a buttress against any future financial crisis, despite the broad differences in strategic interests and economic capabilities among the BRICS members and the considerable scepticism about the viability of the project. What will be the impact of the NDB on global governance? Will the BRICS countries be able to operate the NDB effectively?
7. The staying power of the BRICS
Authors: Cooper Andrew F.
Published: April 2017

The BRICS group can be interpreted in several ways: as a cluster of big emerging economies with dramatic growth; as a diplomatic club of reform-minded members seeking a new and fairer deal in the world’s institutional architecture; or as a group with the disruptive potential to cause a rupture in the global system. ‘The staying power of the BRICS’ highlights the need for a broad overview given the absence of a single dominant identity. The continued existence of the BRICS suggests that both its symbolic and operational role in the diffusion of authority in the 21st-century global system should not be underestimated.
3. Sedimentary rocks
Authors: Zalasiewicz Jan
Published: April 2017

The Earth has the greatest abundance and variety of sedimentary strata in our star system, dating back some 3.8 billion years. ‘Sedimentary rocks’ describes the processes that create different types of sedimentary rocks, which form a key guideline in reconstructing Earth’s history. Particles are created by both physical and chemical weathering. These particles are then moved by different modes of transport and sorted by size, which affect the resulting sedimentary rock. Sedimentary layers can remain as soft muds or loose sands for millions of years, but most buried sedimentary layers harden and turn into rock, under the combined effects of increasing heat and pressure, and of changes in chemical environment.
4. Rocks transformed
Authors: Zalasiewicz Jan
Published: April 2017

‘Rocks transformed’ outlines the processes of metamorphism and describes the different types of metamorphism: regional, contact, and impact. Regional metamorphism is the most common form and occurs in mountain belt zones where the crust is much thicker. High pressures and temperatures result in recrystallization in the rocks. As temperatures and pressures increase, the new crystals that form are bigger. The original chemical composition of the rocks affects the resulting metamorphic rocks. Muds become slates and mica-schists, while limestones become marbles. Contact metamorphism takes place at the boundaries of magma bodies and impact metamorphism is seen when meteorites crash into the Earth’s surface.
8. Human-made rocks
Authors: Zalasiewicz Jan
Published: April 2017

As minerals have evolved, so have the rocks that they make up. ‘Human-made rocks’ explains that we are entering a remarkable new phase of history that is of planetary—and perhaps wider—importance. Humans have begun to modify the chemistry and mineralogy of the Earth’s surface, and this has included the manufacture of many new types of mineral, mineral compounds, and mineraloids such as extracting metals from ores and creating plastics and glass. Humans have created new rock types including bricks, ceramics, cement, and concrete. These, along with our subterranean activities and the potential ‘technofossils’ of all that makes up our towns and cities, will change the Earth’s rocks forever.
2. Physical and biological aspects of ageing
Authors: Pachana Nancy A.
Published: April 2017

‘Physical and biological aspects of ageing’ considers influences on longevity and the physical disorders commonly experienced at the end of life. It describes primary and secondary ageing and different biological theories of ageing—error and programme theories. Error theories (e.g. wear and tear theory, free radical theory, and somatic DNA damage theory) postulate that ageing and death are the result of environmental damage to the body over time. Programme theories (e.g. endocrine theory, immunological theory, and genetic theory (programmed longevity)) postulate that lifelong growth and development is genetically programmed to follow a pre-determined timeline. The ageing brain and body, and disease trajectories later in life are also considered.
Introduction
Authors: Brassley Paul , Soffe Richard
Published: April 2017

The agribusiness corporation producing corn and soya beans using enormous machines in North America, the woman with her hoe and her plot of cassava in Mozambique, the Chinese collective farm worker in the rice fields, and the German family with their part-time dairy farm and their day jobs in Munich are all engaged in agriculture. The Introduction explains that this VSI sets out to identify the common features of their activities and the universally applicable principles that determine what they do, to explain why the differences between them exist, and to explore some of the controversies that arise from their activities. It recognizes the diversity of developed and developing agriculture around the world.
2. Farm animals
Authors: Brassley Paul , Soffe Richard
Published: April 2017

It is perfectly possible to live on a vegan diet with no animal products, so why do we bother to keep animals at all? Is it simply that animals produce a convenient collection of nutrients that are not always easily available to vegans? In part at least, it must be a question of tradition. ‘Farm animals’ considers what farmers need to know in order to make their animals grow quickly, and put on the right combination of muscle and fat that butchers prefer, or produce lots of milk or eggs or wool. They require knowledge of: feeding, breeding, housing, health and disease control, and the type of production system to be used.
6. Farming futures
Authors: Brassley Paul , Soffe Richard
Published: April 2017

National governments as well as international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization all have an interest in agriculture. So too do numerous non-governmental organizations, pressure groups, and charities. ‘Farming futures’ first considers some of the arguments around agricultural policy. It then goes on to look at some of the most important questions that agricultural policymakers currently have to think about: what will be the impact of climate change? What is the impact of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and are they safe to use? Will we be able to meet the demand for food by the world’s growing population?
3. How did we get here?
Authors: Fulcher James
Published: April 2017

Capitalism has transformed considerably since it started. We are now in a very distinct stage of its development. ‘How did we get here?’ examines the development of industrial capitalism and divides it into three stages: anarchic capitalism, managed capitalism, and remarketized capitalism. The deficiencies and conflicts of anarchic capitalism led to the development of a managed capitalism, which showed that it is possible to protect people from the worst consequences of free market forces with state intervention and regulation. Managed capitalism generated its own problems, however, and a second transformation to remarketized capitalism has provided greater choice and more freedom for the individual, but also a less secure life, intensified work pressures, and greater inequality.
Introduction
Authors: Bryce Trevor
Published: April 2017

The origins of Babylon date back almost two thousand years before the foundation of Rome. Among the longest continuously inhabited urban settlements in human history, it became the centre of one of the most culturally and intellectually vibrant civilizations of the ancient world, exercising a profound influence on its Near Eastern contemporaries, and contributing to the religious, scientific, and literary traditions of the Classical world. This VSI does not just deal with Babylon, but with the whole of southern Mesopotamia, extending southwards from modern Baghdad, in the region where the Tigris and the Euphrates closely approach each other, through the marshlands in the deep south to the Persian Gulf.
Old Babylonian cities
Authors: Bryce Trevor
Published: April 2017

What did the city of Babylon look like? There are very few material remains of the royal city from this period, but more can be discovered about Old Babylonian cities from other urban sites in the kingdom, notably Ur and Uruk in its southern part. ‘Old Babylonian cities’ explains that each city had a major temple, or temple precinct, dedicated to its patron or tutelary deity, but the most striking monument in a number of Babylonian cities was a ziggurat: a sacred, stepped building, of between three and seven levels, ascending pyramid-like towards the heavens. The ziggurat of Babylon became notorious in biblical tradition as the ‘tower of Babel’.
5. Emigration, immigration, and citizenship
Authors: Bull Anna Cento
Published: April 2017

‘Emigration, immigration, and citizenship’ describes how modern Italy has been characterized by mass emigration. In 1861-1990 over twenty-eight million Italians left their country, mainly for economic reasons. In the 1970s, Italy became a country of immigration. In 1991-2015, the number of residents of non-Italian origin rose fivefold to just over five million. By then, immigration was considered a serious problem rather than having beneficial effects. Emigration and immigration have impacted on Italy’s approach to citizenship. Citizenship laws finally changed in 2015, but despite becoming an increasingly multi-ethnic country, Italy has found it difficult to acknowledge, represent, and give legal substance to this new reality.
6. Italy’s ‘soft’ power
Authors: Bull Anna Cento
Published: April 2017

‘Italy’s “soft” power’ explores the various dimensions that make up Italy’s soft power, including art and architecture, cinema, literature, music, gastronomy, fashion, sport, diplomacy, and peacekeeping. It traces the rise of this power back to the intense creativity and innovativeness of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. This was the period when Italian art and design successfully sustained and blended with business entrepreneurship and consumerism. But by the 1980s, continuity appeared to trump innovation. With the advent of globalization Italy has struggled to regain its prestige at an international level and has had to undergo a process of renewal in almost every branch of productive activity.