bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synergetic Effects of Mechanical Properties on Graphene Nanoplatelet and Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Hybrids Reinforced Epoxy/Carbon Fiber Composites
Authors: Wang Pin-Ning , Hsieh Tsung-Han , Chiang Chin-Lung , Shen Ming-Yuan
Published: May 2015

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are novel nanofillers possessing attractive characteristics, including robust compatibility with most polymers, high absolute strength, and cost effectiveness. In this study, an outstanding synergetic effect on the grapheme nanoplatelets (GNPs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hybrids were used to reinforce epoxy composite and epoxy/carbon fiber composite laminates to enhance their mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of CNTs/GNPs hybrids on a fixed weight fraction (1 wt%) with mixing different ratio reinforced epoxy nanocomposite, such as ultimate tensile strength and flexure properties, were investigated. The mechanical properties of epoxy/carbon fiber composite laminates containing different proportions of CNTs/GNPs hybrids (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 wt%) were increased over that of neat laminates. Consequently, significant improvement in the mechanical properties was attained for these epoxy resin composites and carbon fiber‐reinforced epoxy composite laminates.
Removal of False Blood Vessels Using Shape Based Features and Image Inpainting
Authors: Waheed Amna , Waheed Zahra , Akram M. Usman , Shaukat Arslan
Published: May 2015

Automated quantification of blood vessels in human retina is the fundamental step in designing any computer-aided diagnosis system for ophthalmic disorders. Detection and analysis of variations in blood vessels can be used to diagnose several ocular diseases like diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic Retinopathy is a progressive vascular disorder caused due to variations in blood vessels of retina. These variations bring different abnormalities like lesions, exudates, and hemorrhages in human retina which make the vessel detection problematic. Therefore, automated retinal analysis is required to cater the effect of lesions while segmenting blood vessels. The proposed framework presents two improved approaches to carry out vessel segmentation in the presence of lesions. The paper mainly aims to extract true vessels by reducing the effect of abnormal structures significantly. First method is a supervised approach which extracts true vessels by performing region based analysis of retinal image, while second method intends to remove lesions before extracting blood vessels by using an inpainting technique. Both methods are evaluated on STARE and DRIVE and on our own database AFIO. Experimental results demonstrate the excellence of the proposed system.
Outcome of Elderly Patients with Meningioma after Image-Guided Stereotactic Radiotherapy: A Study of 100 Cases
Authors: Kaul David , Budach Volker , Graaf Lukas , Gollrad Johannes , Badakhshi Harun
Published: May 2015

Introduction. Incidence of meningioma increases with age. Surgery has been the mainstay treatment. Elderly patients, however, are at risk of severe morbidity. Therefore, we conducted this study to analyze long-term outcomes of linac-based fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) for older adults (aged ≥65 years) with meningioma and determine prognostic factors.Materials and Methods. Between October 1998 and March 2009, 100 patients (≥65, median age, 71 years) were treated with FSRT for meningioma. Two patients were lost to follow-up. Eight patients each had grade I and grade II meningiomas, and five patients had grade III meningiomas. The histology was unknown in 77 cases (grade 0).Results. The median follow-up was 37 months, and 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 93.7%, 91.1%, and 82%. Patients with grade 0/I meningioma showed 3- and 5-year PFS rates of 98.4% and 95.6%. Patients with grade II or III meningiomas showed 3-year PFS rates of 36%. 93.8% of patients showed local tumor control. Multivariate analysis did not indicate any significant prognostic factors.Conclusion. FSRT may play an important role as a noninvasive and safe method in the clinical management of older patients with meningioma.
Determination of Nicotine in Tobacco by Chemometric Optimization and Cation-Selective Exhaustive Injection in Combination with Sweeping-Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography
Authors: Lin Yi-Hui , Feng Chia-Hsien , Wang Shih-Wei , Ko Po-Yun , Lee Ming-Hsun , Chen Yen-Ling
Published: May 2015

Nicotine is a potent chemical that excites the central nervous system and refreshes people. It is also physically addictive and causes dependence. To reduce the harm of tobacco products for smokers, a law was introduced that requires tobacco product containers to be marked with the amount of nicotine as well as tar. In this paper, an online stacking capillary electrophoresis (CE) method with cation-selective exhaustive injection sweeping-micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CSEI-sweeping-MEKC) is proposed for the optimized analysis of nicotine in tobacco. A higher conductivity buffer (160 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3)) zone was injected into the capillary, allowing for the analytes to be electrokinetically injected at a voltage of 15 kV for 15 min. Using 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 25% methanol in the sweeping buffer, nicotine was detected with high sensitivity. Thus, optimized conditions adapted from a chemometric approach provided a 6000-fold increase in the nicotine detection sensitivity using the CSEI-sweeping-MEKC method in comparison to normal CZE. The limits of detection were 0.5 nM for nicotine. The stacking method in combination with direct injection which matrix components would not interfere with assay performance was successfully applied to the detection of nicotine in tobacco samples.
Primary T-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma of the Vagina
Authors: Herraiz J. L. , Llueca A. , Maazouzi Y. , Piquer D. , Palmeiro A. , Calpe E.
Published: May 2015

The primary vaginal T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a rare form of lymphoma. Most of the previously published cases were about B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. We present the case of a vaginal mass in an 82-year-old patient presenting vaginal bleeding. The results of the immunohistological studies of the mass revealed the presence of a cytotoxic T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which is the least common subtype.
Epstein-Barr Virus Specific Antibody Response in Multiple Sclerosis Patients during 21 Months of Natalizumab Treatment
Authors: Castellazzi Massimiliano , Delbue Serena , Elia Francesca , Gastaldi Matteo , Franciotta Diego , Rizzo Roberta , Bellini Tiziana , Bergamaschi Roberto , Granieri Enrico , Fainardi Enrico
Published: May 2015

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Natalizumab, a humanized anti-α4 integrin monoclonal antibody, is a highly effective treatment approved for MS. An association between MS and an exposure to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) sustained by the levels of antiviral capsid antigen (VCA) and anti-Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) IgG has been described. Our goal was to verify the utility of EBV-specific IgG as a marker in Natalizumab treated MS. Twenty patients (17 female and 3 male) in treatment with Natalizumab were enrolled. Serum levels of anti-VCA and anti-EBNA-1 IgG were determined and expressed as arbitrary units (AU) before treatment and every three months for 21 months of therapy. Anti-VCA IgG levels were increased at the 15th month (235410 ± 196712 AU) comparing with the 3rd (98146 ± 47145 AU) and the 6th (109866 ± 52270 AU) months of therapyp<0.05. No significant differences were found for serum anti-EBNA-1 IgG levels. Our data indicate that a transient, self-limited, EBV reactivation can occur in MS during Natalizumab therapy but our results do not support the use of serum EBV-specific antibody levels as biomarkers for monitoring therapeutic response to Natalizumab in the course of MS.
Extreme Learning Machine Assisted Adaptive Control of a Quadrotor Helicopter
Authors: Zhang Yu , Fang Zheng , Li Hongbo
Published: May 2015

Control of quadrotor helicopters is difficult because the problem is naturally nonlinear. The problem becomes more challenging for common model based controllers when unpredictable uncertainties and disturbances in physical control system are taken into account. This paper proposes a novel intelligent controller design based on a fast online learning method called extreme learning machine (ELM). Our neural controller does not require precise system modeling or prior knowledge of disturbances and well approximates the dynamics of the quadrotor at a fast speed. The proposed method also incorporates a sliding mode controller for further elimination of external disturbances. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed controller can reliably stabilize a quadrotor helicopter in both agitated attitude and position control tasks.
FGFR1 Expression Levels Predict BGJ398 Sensitivity of FGFR1-Dependent Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancers
Authors: Göke Friederike , Franzen Alina , Hinz Trista K. , Marek Lindsay A. , Yoon Petros , Sharma Rakesh , Bode Maike , von Maessenhausen Anne , Lankat-Buttgereit Brigitte , Göke Antonia , Golletz Carsten , Kirsten Robert , Boehm Diana , Vogel Wenzel , Kleczko Emily K. , Eagles Justin R. , Hirsch Fred R. , Van Bremen Tobias , Bootz Friedrich , Schroeck Andreas , Kim Jihye , Tan Aik-Choon , Jimeno Antonio , Heasley Lynn E. , Perner Sven
Published: May 2015

Purpose: FGFR1 copy-number gain (CNG) occurs in head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC) and is used for patient selection in FGFR-specific inhibitor clinical trials. This study explores FGFR1 mRNA and protein levels in HNSCC cell lines, primary tumors, and patient-derived xenografts (PDX) as predictors of sensitivity to the FGFR inhibitor, NVP-BGJ398.

Experimental Design: FGFR1 status, expression levels, and BGJ398 sensitive growth were measured in 12 HNSCC cell lines. Primary HNSCCs (n = 353) were assessed for FGFR1 CNG and mRNA levels, and HNSCC TCGA data were interrogated as an independent sample set. HNSCC PDXs (n = 39) were submitted to FGFR1 copy-number detection and mRNA assays to identify putative FGFR1-dependent tumors.

Results: Cell line sensitivity to BGJ398 is associated with FGFR1 mRNA and protein levels, not FGFR1 CNG. Thirty-one percent of primary HNSCC tumors expressed FGFR1 mRNA, 18% exhibited FGFR1 CNG, 35% of amplified tumors were also positive for FGFR1 mRNA. This relationship was confirmed with the TCGA dataset. Using high FGFR1 mRNA for selection, 2 HNSCC PDXs were identified, one of which also exhibited FGFR1 CNG. The nonamplified tumor with high mRNA levels exhibited in vivo sensitivity to BGJ398.

Conclusions: FGFR1 expression associates with BGJ398 sensitivity in HNSCC cell lines and predicts tyrosine kinase inhibitor sensitivity in PDXs. Our results support FGFR1 mRNA or protein expression, rather than FGFR1 CNG as a predictive biomarker for the response to FGFR inhibitors in a subset of patients suffering from HNSCC. Clin Cancer Res; 21(19); 4356–64. ©2015 AACR.
Sunitinib Treatment Exacerbates Intratumoral Heterogeneity in Metastatic Renal Cancer
Authors: Stewart Grant D. , O'Mahony Fiach C. , Laird Alexander , Eory Lel , Lubbock Alexander L.R. , Mackay Alan , Nanda Jyoti , O'Donnell Marie , Mullen Peter , McNeill S. Alan , Riddick Antony C.P. , Berney Daniel , Bex Axel , Aitchison Michael , Overton Ian M. , Harrison David J. , Powles Thomas
Published: May 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of VEGF-targeted therapy (sunitinib) on molecular intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) in metastatic clear cell renal cancer (mccRCC).

Experimental Design: Multiple tumor samples (n = 187 samples) were taken from the primary renal tumors of patients with mccRCC who were sunitinib treated (n = 23, SuMR clinical trial) or untreated (n = 23, SCOTRRCC study). ITH of pathologic grade, DNA (aCGH), mRNA (Illumina Beadarray) and candidate proteins (reverse phase protein array) were evaluated using unsupervised and supervised analyses (driver mutations, hypoxia, and stromal-related genes). ITH was analyzed using intratumoral protein variance distributions and distribution of individual patient aCGH and gene-expression clustering.

Results: Tumor grade heterogeneity was greater in treated compared with untreated tumors (P = 0.002). In unsupervised analysis, sunitinib therapy was not associated with increased ITH in DNA or mRNA. However, there was an increase in ITH for the driver mutation gene signature (DNA and mRNA) as well as increasing variability of protein expression with treatment (P < 0.05). Despite this variability, significant chromosomal and transcript changes to key targets of sunitinib, such as VHL, PBRM1, and CAIX, occurred in the treated samples.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that sunitinib treatment has significant effects on the expression and ITH of key tumor and treatment specific genes/proteins in mccRCC. The results, based on primary tumor analysis, do not support the hypothesis that resistant clones are selected and predominate following targeted therapy. Clin Cancer Res; 21(18); 4212–23. ©2015 AACR.
miR-181a Targets RGS16 to Promote Chondrosarcoma Growth, Angiogenesis, and Metastasis
Authors: Sun Xiaojuan , Charbonneau Cherie , Wei Lei , Chen Qian , Terek Richard M.
Published: May 2015

Chondrosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in adults, has no effective systemic treatment, and patients with this disease have poor survival. Altered expression of microRNA (miR) is involved in tumorigenesis; however, its role in chondrosarcoma is undetermined. miR-181a is overexpressed in high-grade chondrosarcoma, is upregulated by hypoxia, and increases VEGF expression. Here, the purpose was to determine the mechanism of miR-181a regulation of VEGF, determine whether miR-181a overexpression promotes tumor progression, and to evaluate an antagomir-based approach for chondrosarcoma treatment. Therapeutic inhibition of miR-181a decreased expression of VEGF and MMP1 in vitro, and angiogenesis, MMP1 activity, tumor growth, and lung metastasis, all by more than 50%, in a xenograft mouse model. A target of miR-181a is a regulator of G-protein signaling 16 (RGS16), a negative regulator of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) signaling. CXCR4 signaling is increased in chondrosarcoma, its expression is also increased by hypoxia, and is associated with angiogenesis and metastasis; however, receptor blockade is only partially effective. RGS16 expression is restored after miR-181a inhibition and partially accounts for the antiangiogenic and antimetastatic effects of miR-181a inhibition. These data establish miR-181a as an oncomiR that promotes chondrosarcoma progression through a new mechanism involving enhancement of CXCR4 signaling by inhibition of RGS16.

Implications: Targeting miR-181a can inhibit tumor angiogenesis, growth, and metastasis, thus suggesting the possibility of antagomir-based therapy in chondrosarcoma. Mol Cancer Res; 13(9); 1347–57. ©2015 AACR.
Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption and Cardiac Structure and Function in the Elderly
Authors: Gonçalves Alexandra , Jhund Pardeep S. , Claggett Brian , Shah Amil M. , Konety Suma , Butler Kenneth , Kitzman Dalane W. , Rosamond Wayne , Fuchs Flavio D. , Solomon Scott D.
Published: May 2015

Background—

Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with cardiomyopathy, but the influence of moderate alcohol use on cardiac structure and function is largely unknown.

Methods and Results—

We studied 4466 participants from visit 5 of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study (76±5 years and 60% women) who underwent transthoracic echocardiography, excluding former drinkers and those with significant valvular disease. Participants were classified into 4 categories based on self-reported alcohol intake: nondrinkers, drinkers of ≤7, ≥7 to 14, and ≥14 drinks per week. We related alcohol intake to measures of cardiac structure and function, stratified by sex, and fully adjusted for covariates. In both genders, increasing alcohol intake was associated with larger left ventricular diastolic and systolic diameters and larger left atrial diameter (
P
<0.05). In men, increasing alcohol intake was associated with greater left ventricular mass (8.2±3.8 g per consumption category;
P
=0.029) and higher E/E′ ratio (0.82±0.33 per consumption category;
P
=0.014). In women, increasing alcohol intake was associated with lower left ventricular ejection fraction (−1.9±0.6% per consumption category;
P
=0.002) and a tendency for worse left ventricular global longitudinal strain (0.45±0.25% per consumption category;
P
=0.07).

Conclusions—

In an elderly community-based population, increasing alcohol intake is associated with subtle alterations in cardiac structure and function, with women appearing more susceptible than men to the cardiotoxic effects of alcohol.
Long-Term Reduction of High Blood Pressure by Angiotensin II DNA Vaccine in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Koriyama Hiroshi , Nakagami Hironori , Nakagami Futoshi , Osako Mariana Kiomy , Kyutoku Mariko , Shimamura Munehisa , Kurinami Hitomi , Katsuya Tomohiro , Rakugi Hiromi , Morishita Ryuichi
Published: May 2015

Recent research on vaccination has extended its scope from infectious diseases to chronic diseases, including Alzheimer disease, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The aim of this study was to design DNA vaccines for high blood pressure and eventually develop human vaccine therapy to treat hypertension. Plasmid vector encoding hepatitis B core-angiotensin II (Ang II) fusion protein was injected into spontaneously hypertensive rats using needleless injection system. Anti-Ang II antibody was successfully produced in hepatitis B core-Ang II group, and antibody response against Ang II was sustained for at least 6 months. Systolic blood pressure was consistently lower in hepatitis B core-Ang II group after immunization, whereas blood pressure reduction was continued for at least 6 months. Perivascular fibrosis in heart tissue was also significantly decreased in hepatitis B core-Ang II group. Survival rate was significantly improved in hepatitis B core-Ang II group. This study demonstrated that Ang II DNA vaccine to spontaneously hypertensive rats significantly lowered high blood pressure for at least 6 months. In addition, Ang II DNA vaccines induced an adequate humoral immune response while avoiding the activation of self-reactive T cells, assessed by ELISPOT assay. Future development of DNA vaccine to treat hypertension may provide a new therapeutic option to treat hypertension.
Common Grace as a Hermeneutical Approach to Globalization?
Authors: van Oorschot Frederike
Published: May 2015

The reformed theologian Max L. Stackhouse develops a differentiated analysis and interpretation of globalization as part of his public theology. He consistently refers to Kuyper's concept of common grace and transfers Kuyper's teaching into a hermeneutical approach to sociological analysis. First, the paper sketches Stackhouse's understanding of globalization as a theological process, then analyses the influences of Kuyper's theology of grace and finally shows the theological roots of Stackhouse's doctrine of grace and methodological problems associated with it. It closes with remarks on the opportunities and limits of Stackhouse's approach to the theological interpretation of globalization.
Aperioptus pictorius Richardson 1848 is a senior synonym of Acanthopsoides molobrion Siebert 1991, and Aperioptus is a senior synonym of Acanthopsoides Fowler 1934 (Cypriniformes: Cobitidae)
Authors: PAGE LAWRENCE M. , TANGJITJAROEN WEERAPONGSE
Published: May 2015

Aperioptus pictorius was described by Richardson in 1848 with limited textual information but with an illustration sufficient to confirm the species as one currently recognized as Acanthopsoides molobrion making Aperioptus a senior synonym of Acanthopsoides Fowler 1934 and A. pictorius a senior synonym of Acanthopsoides molobrion Siebert 1991. Species to be recognized in Aperioptus in addition to A. molobrion are A. gracilis (Fowler 1934), A. gracilentus (Smith 1945), A. delphax (Siebert 1991), A. hapalias (Siebert 1991), and A. robertsi (Siebert 1991). Aperioptus also is a senior synonym of Neacanthopsis Smith 1945, type species Neacanthopsis gracilentus.
Genetic identification and structure of Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Southeast Asia using a mitochondrial DNA marker
Authors: LEE PAOLIN , SULAIMAN ZOHRAH
Published: May 2015

A phylogenetic tree and median-joining network based on cytochrome b sequence data revealed clades consistent with morphological differences and geographical distribution of Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Southeast Asia. AMOVA analysis for variation was significant among populations (P<0.05) and was in agreement with morphological differences. Pairwise differences were significant between Java and Brunei/Borneo, Brunei/Borneo and west Malaysia, and Java and west Malaysia samples (P < 0.05). Closest relationships were found between samples from Brunei/Borneo and Java, and between west Malaysia and Laos-Sumatra. Nine haplotypes were unique to geographical regions. The Java species had high haplotype (1.000 ± 0.126) but low nucleotide (0.017) diversities, suggesting a population bottleneck followed by expansion. However, SSD and Hri (P=0.5) did not support demographic expansion. Instead, purifying selection where mutations occur and accumulate at silent sites is a more acceptable explanation.
Revision of the hillstream lizard loaches, genus Balitoropsis (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae)
Authors: RANDALL ZACHARY S. , RIGGS PATRICK A.
Published: May 2015

The genus Balitoropsis Smith 1945 consists of two species, B. zollingeri (Bleeker 1853) and B. ophiolepis (Bleeker 1853). Homaloptera maxinae Fowler 1937, Balitoropsis bartschi Smith 1945, and Homaloptera nigra Alfred 1969 are junior synonyms of B. zollingeri. Balitoropsis zollingeri has been reported from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, and B. ophiolepis is known from Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
Catalogue of the type specimens in the fish collection of the National Zoological Museum, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Authors: YE ENQI , XING YINGCHUN , ZHANG CHUNGUANG , ZHAO YAHUI
Published: May 2015

A checklist of type specimens housed in the National Zoological Museum, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, is presented for research and scientific communication. Included are 80 holotypes, 1 lectotype, 1 neotype, 402 paratypes and 17 syntypes of 99 species belonging to 28 families and 12 orders. With 60 species, Cypriniformes has the largest representation. All of the specimens were collected in China and neighboring countries in the past 90 years.
Two new species of shovel-jaw carp Onychostoma (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from southern Vietnam
Authors: HOANG HUY DUC , PHAM HUNG MANH , TRAN NGAN TRONG
Published: May 2015

Two new species of large shovel-jaw carps in the genus Onychostoma are described from the upper Krong No and middle Dong Nai drainages of the Langbiang Plateau in southern Vietnam. These new species are known from streams in montane mixed pine and evergreen forests between 140 and 1112 m. Their populations are isolated in the headwaters of the upper Sre Pok River of the Mekong basin and in the middle of the Dong Nai basin. Both species are differentiated from their congeners by a combination of the following characters: transverse mouth opening width greater than head width, 14−17 predorsal scales, caudal-peduncle length 3.9−4.2 times in SL, no barbels in adults and juveniles, a strong serrated last simple ray of the dorsal fin, and small eye diameter (20.3−21.5% HL). Onychostoma krongnoensis sp. nov. is differentiated from Onychostoma dongnaiensis sp. nov. by body depth (4.0 vs. 3.2 times in SL), predorsal scale number (14−17 vs. 14−15), dorsal-fin length (4.5 vs. 4.2 times in SL), caudal-peduncle length (3.9 vs. 4.2 times in SL), colour in life (dark vs. bright), and by mitochondrial DNA (0.2% sequence divergence). Molecular evidence indicates that both species are members of Onychostoma and are distinct from all congeners sampled (uncorrected sequence divergences at the 16S rRNA gene of >2.0% for all Onychostoma for which homologous 16S rRNA sequences are available).
Psilorhynchus kaladanensis, a new species (Teleostei: Psilorhynchidae) from Mizoram, northeastern India
Authors: LALRAMLIANA LALRAMLIANA , LALNUNTLUANGA LALNUNTLUANGA , LALRONUNGA SAMUEL
Published: May 2015

Psilorhynchus kaladanensis, a new psilorhynchid, is described from the Kaladan basin of Mizoram, India. The new species is diagnosed by having the following combination of characters: caudal fin with small but distinct dark brown triangular spot at mid-base, slightly elongated dark mark near base of lower lobe, indistinct V-shaped vertical bar across center, dark brown oblique bar across fin anterior to center; absence of scales on mid-ventral region between pectoral fins; anteriormost branchiostegal ray greatly reduced in length; 32–33 total vertebrae; 30–32 lateral-line scales; caudal fin with 10+9 principal rays.
A review of the genus Discomyza (Diptera: Ephydridae) from Afrotropical, Australasian/Oceanian and Oriental Regions
Authors: ZATWARNICKI TADEUSZ , CIELNIAK MAGDALENA
Published: May 2015

Tropical Old World species of the genus Discomyza are redescribed, including male terminalia, photographs of heads and wings. One new species Discomyza fagomoga sp. nov. is described from D. R. Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. Two new synonyms are proposed: Discomyza obscuricornis Canzoneri and Rampini, 1996 = D. dolichocerus Cresson, 1944 and D. intermedia Canzoneri and Meneghini, 1969 = D. eritrea Cresson, 1939. A key to all species is provided. Relationships among species of Discomyza are suggested.
A study of the type series of Nautilus pompilius Linnaeus, 1758 (Mollusca, Cephalopoda, Nautilida)
Authors: NIKOLAEVA SVETLANA V.
Published: May 2015

Few animals are treasured by zoologists more than Nautilus, and Nautilus pompilius Linnaeus, 1758, the type species of the genus, in particular. However, the type series of this species has not been studied in great detail. According to the rules of zoological nomenclature the type series consists of all the specimens included by the author in the new nominal taxon at the time of description (whether directly or by bibliographic reference), and any evidence, published or unpublished, may be taken into account to determine what specimens are included. The type series of Nautilus pompilius includes specimens in the Linnean Society of London, the University Museum in Uppsala, and specimens figured by pre-Linnaean authors indicated by reference by Linnaeus (1758). One specimen in London and four specimens in Uppsala, which are still extant, are likely to have been known to Linnaeus at the time when he prepared the 10th Edition of Systema Naturae (Linnaeus 1758), although none of these specimens was specifically mentioned by him. Even though it is widely believed that Linnaeus (1767) designated as lectotype a specimen figured by Rumphius (1705) in his D’Amboinsche Rariteitkamer, referred to in the Systema Naturae, this presumed lectotypification is not valid because Linnaeus did not explicitly indicate that any particular specimen was considered to be the type of the species. Later lectotype designations of Rumphius’ illustrations are invalid because they show three different specimens. It seems that the best approach, given the quality of the material and the lack of clarity as to its type status, would be to apply to the ICZN asking to set aside all previous type fixations and designate a neotype, preferably a DNA sequenced specimen of known provenance.
Neotropical Physoderinae revisited, with description of a new, sexually dimorphic species of Leptophysoderes Weirauch (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)
Authors: DAVRANOGLOU L. R. , HWANG W. S. , WEIRAUCH C.
Published: May 2015

The small reduviid subfamily Physoderinae has the greatest species diversity in the Oriental region and Madagascar. Only the two monotypic genera Cryptophysoderes Wygodzinsky and Maldonado and Leptophysoderes Weirauch are currently known from the Neotropical region. We here describe and document a new, sexually dimorphic species of Physoderinae, Leptophysoderes sarapiqui sp. nov. from Costa Rica. The generic diagnosis of Leptophysoderes is modified to accommodate the new species. Females and immatures of Leptophysoderes are documented for the first time.
New species and revisions of Pediciidae (Diptera) from the Middle Jurassic of northeastern China and Russia
Authors: GAO JIAQI , SHIH CHUNGKUN , KOPEĆ KATARZYNA , KRZEMIŃSKI WIESŁAW , REN DONG
Published: May 2015

Two new species of Praearchitipula Kalugina, 1985, P. apprima sp. nov. and P. mirabilis sp. nov., are described and illustrated from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. In addition, we propose to transfer Architipula abnormis Hao & Ren, 2009 (which is from the same locality of Daohugou) from Architipula of Limoniidae to Praearchitipula of Pediciidae: Praearchitipula abnormis (Hao & Ren, 2009) comb. nov. In addition, we propose to transfer Praearchitipula spasskia Kalugina, 1985 to the genus Mesotipula (Limoniidae, Architipulinae). We also suggest treating Praearchitipula lata Kalugina, 1985 as a junior synonym of Praearchitipula notabilis Kalugina, 1985. An emended generic diagnosis of Praearchitipula is provided.
A revised checklist of Nepticulidae fossils (Lepidoptera) indicates an Early Cretaceous origin
Authors: DOORENWEERD CAMIEL , NIEUKERKEN ERIK J. VAN , SOHN JAE-CHEON , LABANDEIRA CONRAD C.
Published: May 2015

With phylogenetic knowledge of Lepidoptera rapidly increasing, catalysed by increasingly powerful molecular techniques, the demand for fossil calibration points to estimate an evolutionary timeframe for the order is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. The family Nepticulidae is a species rich, basal branch within the phylogeny of the Lepidoptera, characterized by larval leaf-mining habits, and thereby represents a potentially important lineage whose evolutionary history can be established more thoroughly with the potential use of fossil calibration points. Using our experience with extant global Nepticulidae, we discuss a list of characters that may be used to assign fossil leaf mines to Nepticulidae, and suggest useful methods for classifying relevant fossil material. We present a checklist of 79 records of Nepticulidae representing adult and leaf-mine fossils mentioned in literature, often with multiple exemplars constituting a single record. We provide our interpretation of these fossils. Two species now are included in the collective generic name Stigmellites: Stigmellites resupinata (Krassilov, 2008) comb. nov. (from Ophiheliconoma) and Stigmellites almeidae (Martins-Neto, 1989) comb. nov. (from Nepticula). Eleven records are for the first time attributed to Nepticulidae. After discarding several dubious records, including one possibly placing the family at a latest Jurassic position, we conclude that the oldest fossils likely attributable to Nepticulidae are several exemplars representing a variety of species from the Dakota Formation (USA). The relevant strata containing these earliest fossils are now dated at 102 Ma (million years ago) in age, corresponding to the latest Albian Stage of the Early Cretaceous. Integration of all records in the checklist shows that a continuous presence of nepticulid-like leaf mines preserved as compression–impression fossils and by amber entombment of adults have a fossil record extending to the latest Early Cretaceous.
Spiralothelphusa gibberosa, a new freshwater crab (Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae) from Thrissur district, Kerala, India
Authors: PATI S.K. , DEVI A.R. SUDHA
Published: May 2015

A new species of freshwater crab, Spiralothelphusa gibberosa n. sp. is described from rice fields near Kizhoor in Thrissur district of Kerala in southern India. The new species is easily differentiated from its congeners by its first male pleopod (G1), which has a long, less strongly twisted terminal segment and distal portion of subterminal segment in addition to a setose hump on the outer margin of the non-twisted portion. Key to the species of the genus Spiralothelphusa Bott, 1968, is provided. We recognized S. wuellerstorfi (Heller, 1862), as a new record to Maharashtra based on specimens wrongly identified as S. hydrodroma (Herbst, 1794), by Pati & Sharma (2014).
Seasonal Changes in Tropical SST and the Surface Energy Budget under Global Warming Projected by CMIP5 Models
Authors: Huang Ping
Published: May 2015

The seasonal changes in tropical SST under global warming are investigated based on the representative concentration pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) and historical runs in 31 models from phase 5 of CMIP (CMIP5). The tropical SST changes show three pronounced seasonal patterns: the peak locking to the equator throughout the year and the weaker equatorial changes and stronger hemispheric asymmetric changes (HACs) in boreal autumn. The magnitude of the seasonal patterns is comparable to the tropical-mean warming and the annual-mean patterns, implying great impacts on global climate changes. The peak locking to the equator is a result of the equatorial locking of the minimum damping of climatological latent heat flux and the ocean heat transport changes. Excluding the role of ocean heat transport suggested in previous studies, the weaker equatorial warming in boreal autumn is contributed by stronger evaporation damping as a result of stronger climatological evaporation and increased surface wind speed. The seasonal variations of the HAC are driven by the variations of the damping effect of climatological evaporation. In boreal summer, the damping effect of climatological evaporation, which is greater in the Southern Hemisphere, promotes the development of the HAC. Consequently, the HAC peaks in boreal autumn when the damping effect of climatological evaporation transforms to a reverse meridional pattern, which is greater in the Northern Hemisphere. The wind–evaporation–SST feedback, as the key process of the annual-mean HAC, amplifies the seasonal variations of the HAC in tropical SST.
Nonstationary Internal Tides Observed Using Dual-Satellite Altimetry
Authors: Zaron E. D.
Published: May 2015

Dual-satellite crossover data from the Jason-2 and Cryosat-2 altimeter missions are used in a novel approach to quantify stationary and nonstationary tides from time-lagged mean square sea surface height (SSH) differences, computed for lags from 1 to 1440 h (60 days). The approach is made feasible by removing independent estimates of the stationary tide and mesoscale SSH variance, which greatly reduces the sampling error of the SSH statistics. For the semidiurnal tidal band, the stationary tidal variance is approximately 0.73 cm2, and the nonstationary variance is about 0.33 cm2, or 30% of the total. The temporal correlation of the nonstationary tide is examined by complex demodulation and found to be oscillatory with first 0 crossing at 400 h (17 days). Because a significant fraction of the time-variable mesoscale signal is resolved at time scales of roughly 150 h by the present constellation of satellite altimeters, the results suggest that it may be feasible to predict the nonstationary tide from modulations of the resolved mesoscale, thus enhancing the efficacy of tidal corrections for planned wide-swath altimeters such as the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission.
Changes in cortical N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors and post-synaptic density protein 95 in schizophrenia, mood disorders and suicide
Authors: Dean Brian , Gibbons Andrew S , Boer Simone , Uezato Akihito , Meador-Woodruff James , Scarr Elizabeth , McCullumsmith Robert E
Published: May 2015

Objectives:

In humans, depending on dose, blocking the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) with ketamine can cause psychomimetic or antidepressant effects. The overall outcome for drugs such as ketamine depends on dose and the number of its available binding sites in the central nervous system, and to understand something of the latter variable we measure NMDAR in the frontal pole, dorsolateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate and parietal cortices from people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorders and age/sex matched controls.

Method:

We measured levels of NMDARs (using [3H]MK-801 binding) and NMDAR sub-unit mRNAs (GRINs: using in situ hybridisation) as well as post-synaptic density protein 95 (anterior cingulate cortex only; not major depressive disorders: an NMDAR post-synaptic associated protein) in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and controls.

Results:

Compared to controls, levels of NMDAR were lower in the outer laminae of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (–17%, p = 0.01) in people with schizophrenia. In bipolar disorder, levels of NMDAR binding (laminae IV–VI; –19%, p < 0.01) and GRIN2C mRNA (laminae I–VI; –27%, p < 0.05) were lower in the anterior cingulate cortex and NMDAR binding was lower in the outer lamina IV of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (–19%, p < 0.01). In major depressive disorders, levels of GRIN2D mRNA were higher in frontal pole (+22%, p < 0.05). In suicide completers, levels of GRIN2B mRNA were higher in parietal cortex (+20%, p < 0.01) but lower (–35%, p = 0.02) in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while post-synaptic density protein 95 was higher (+26%, p < 0.05) in anterior cingulate cortex.

Conclusion:

These data suggest that differences in cortical NMDAR expression and post-synaptic density protein 95 are present in psychiatric disorders and suicide completion and may contribute to different responses to ketamine.
Particle filter design for mobile robot localization based on received signal strength indicator
Authors: Hsu Cheng-Chung , Yeh Syh-Shiuh , Hsu Pau-Lo
Published: May 2015

This paper presents a particle filter design to improve the accuracy of received signal strength indicator (RSSI)-based localization algorithms for localizing mobile robots that move in an environment with an 802.15.4 ZigBee wireless sensor network. In this study, the RSSI of transmission signals is adopted to estimate the location of a mobile robot by applying the trilateration algorithm. However, the interference and reflection effects of transmission signals and the orientation effects of the antenna can significantly affect the RSSI signals and result in serious localization errors. This study analyses the characteristics of RSSI signals and the orientation effects of the antenna and then develops a particle filter design with the fusion of the current states of the mobile robot to improve localization accuracy. A static localization experiment shows that the developed localization algorithm can significantly improve the localization accuracy, and a maximum rate of improvement of up to 85% is achieved in the test environment. A dynamic localization experiment demonstrates that the developed algorithm is suitable for localizing a mobile robot.
Beyond Sexist Beliefs
Authors: Sczesny Sabine , Moser Franziska , Wood Wendy
Published: May 2015

When people use generic masculine language instead of more gender-inclusive forms, they communicate gender stereotypes and sometimes exclusion of women from certain social roles. Past research related gender-inclusive language use to sexist beliefs and attitudes. Given that this aspect of language use may be transparent to users, it is unclear whether people explicitly act on these beliefs when using gender-exclusive language forms or whether these are more implicit, habitual patterns. In two studies with German-speaking participants, we showed that spontaneous use of gender-inclusive personal nouns is guided by explicitly favorable intentions as well as habitual processes involving past use of such language. Further indicating the joint influence of deliberate and habitual processes, Study 2 revealed that language-use intentions are embedded in explicit sexist ideologies. As anticipated in our decision-making model, the effects of sexist beliefs on language emerged through deliberate mechanisms involving attitudes and intentions.
Learning preferences for manipulation tasks from online coactive feedback
Authors: Jain Ashesh , Sharma Shikhar , Joachims Thorsten , Saxena Ashutosh
Published: May 2015

We consider the problem of learning preferences over trajectories for mobile manipulators such as personal robots and assembly line robots. The preferences we learn are more intricate than simple geometric constraints on trajectories; they are rather governed by the surrounding context of various objects and human interactions in the environment. We propose a coactive online learning framework for teaching preferences in contextually rich environments. The key novelty of our approach lies in the type of feedback expected from the user: the human user does not need to demonstrate optimal trajectories as training data, but merely needs to iteratively provide trajectories that slightly improve over the trajectory currently proposed by the system. We argue that this coactive preference feedback can be more easily elicited than demonstrations of optimal trajectories. Nevertheless, theoretical regret bounds of our algorithm match the asymptotic rates of optimal trajectory algorithms. We implement our algorithm on two high-degree-of-freedom robots, PR2 and Baxter, and present three intuitive mechanisms for providing such incremental feedback. In our experimental evaluation we consider two context rich settings, household chores and grocery store checkout, and show that users are able to train the robot with just a few feedbacks (taking only a few minutes).
Translatable? On Mixed Methods and Methodology
Authors: Barkin J. Samuel
Published: May 2015

I argue two things here, in response to Andrew Bennett’s ‘Found in Translation: Combining Discourse Analysis with Computer Assisted Content Analysis’. The first is that to speak of a single method within any given research project is misleading. All research projects are necessarily multi-method, so our conversation should be about how to mix, not whether to do so. The second is that, while methods are necessarily mixed within research projects, mixing methodologies is a much more fraught exercise, inasmuch as methodology implies an epistemology, a philosophy of science, in a way that method does not.
Stretching Situated Knowledge: From Standpoint Epistemology to Cosmology and Back Again
Authors: Kurki Milja
Published: May 2015

This article is driven by the belief that there is great potential benefit in carefully considering the implications of ‘situated knowledge’ in IR scholarship. This can be helpful not just for scholars thinking through meta-theoretical puzzles in International Relations (IR), but also for shaping concrete knowledge practices in international political practice today. Yet, there seems to be something of an unresolved puzzle at the heart of the situated knowledge paradigm: a puzzle relating to what the situatedness of knowledge entails and how we should ‘deal with it’. This piece suggests that philosophical and social theoretical, and by extension also IR theoretical, engagements with situated knowledge can benefit from being considered anew: from the point of view of theoretical physicists and cosmologists. While not always reflexive concerning ‘social’ situatedness, the physicists and cosmologists considered here have reflected on aspects of situatedness that have been under-emphasised in standpoint philosophy. Crucially, physics and cosmology framings of situated knowledge can help to show why dealing with situated knowledge should mean more than attentiveness to various knowers and their positionality, and more than reflexive ‘dialogue’ between knowers; it also seems to require ‘stretching beyond’ the horizons of ‘situated knowers’. It is suggested that science is, and perhaps even ‘scientifically aspirant’ IR then should be, about imaginative conceptual ‘stretching’ rather than merely ‘situating’. This stretching should go hand in hand with opportunistic but critical methodological probing, seeking to push us ‘beyond’ how we understand the world from our situated perspectives. The provocations developed here have three main audiences in IR: scholars engaged in meta-theoretical debates in IR, those studying international politics through the situated knowledge approach, and also critical theorists seeking to understand conditions of critique.
Quo vadis IR: Method, Methodology and Innovation
Authors: Lacatus Cora , Schade Daniel , Yao Yuan (Joanne)
Published: May 2015

This introduction to the special conference issue for the 2014 Millennium Conference on Method, Methodology and Innovation aims to provide a background to the conference theme, as well as the articles included in this issue. It hence serves to outline the reasoning for holding a conference on method and methodology in International Relations (IR), situates the present debate within a broader context, elaborates on why Millennium is a journal that is well suited to host such a debate, and offers an overview of the different contributions made in this issue.
Narratives of risk and poor rural women’s (dis)-engagements with microcredit-based development in Eastern India
Authors: Sen Debarati , Majumder Sarasij
Published: May 2015

Microcredit has come under severe academic criticism in recent years, but the diversity of local practices and discourses that respond to and critique microcredit is still under-examined. By exploring emergent entrepreneurial practices and strategic loan avoidance in Darjeeling, India, expressed locally in narratives of “risk,” this article emphasizes the counter-hegemonic aspects of local engagements with microcredit. We contend that women are neither passive victims of nor willing participants in microcredit. They selectively appropriate the global discourse of microcredit to formulate a skeptical subject position that criticizes the practice. Simultaneously, they contest microcredit’s complicity with local patriarchies that exploit their labor and entrepreneurial activity. While critical of the indebtedness microcredit causes them, women value the entrepreneurial possibilities it opens up. We acknowledge the importance of the predominant Foucauldian–Marxist critiques of microcredit that posit it as another instance of “accumulation through dispossession,” but move beyond this view to focus on women’s creative engagement with microcredit.
Soaring to dizzying heights: Christ the Saviour Cathedral as a historical arena for the persecution of Pussy Riot
Authors: Gan Gregory
Published: May 2015

On 21 February 2012, a female Russian punk collective ‘Pussy Riot’ performed a ‘Punk Prayer Against Putin’ on the soleas of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The ensuing controversy over the performance, as well as criminal charges brought against three members of the group, made explicit the contentious nature of the place of Pussy Riot’s ‘punk prayer’. The author examines place in its dual identity as an event and as an actor, one affected, the other affecting. As an actor, a place becomes capable of enacting change, and as an event, it takes on the qualities of its occupants. While the rebuilt Christ the Saviour Cathedral was once a women’s convent, a monument to Russian victory over Napoleon, a never-completed Palace of Soviets and a giant outdoor swimming pool, the author examines how this place oscillates between resonance and irrelevance, disenchantment and re-enchantment, deterritorialization and reterritorialization.