bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Flexible Polyurethane Foams: A Comparative Measurement of Toxic Vapors and Other Toxic Emissions in Controlled Combustion Environments of Foams With and Without Fire Retardants
Authors: Blais Matthew , Carpenter Karen
Published: August 2013

A series of experiments were performed to measure the toxic vapor emissions of fires involving flexible polyurethane foams (FPUF) with and without flame retardants (FR). FPUF were covered with FR and non-FR fabrics to simulate cushion conditions. Testing was performed to both maximize detection of gases in small scale testing and measurement of exposure concentrations in realistic fire conditions in a room sized enclosures. A standard smoke box with load cell, open flame ignition source and Fourier transform infra-red spectrometer (FTIR) fit with a 2 m gas cell was used to monitor gas emission real time during testing with filter samples analyzed for acid gases and chloro-dioxins and furans. An NFPA 286 room was used to measure realistic smoke emissions from three seat furniture mock-ups with non-combustible frames. Oxygen consumption calorimetry, smoke opacity and smoke toxicity were measured during these tests. FTIR and grab sampling were performed during the room fires. Grab sampling using evacuated metal canisters were used to collect combustion gasses at various stages of the fire followed by analysis using EPA method TO-15 indoor air pollutants. In addition chloro-dioxins and furans were measured using a particulate filter collection system. The results of the study indicated that both FR and non-FR FPUF gave very similar results for smoke toxicity and both were less than what would be produced by an equivalent mass of wood. Use of fire barrier materials increased the toxicity of smoke produced from non-FR FPUF due to the creation of oxygen limited conditions. Use of fire barrier materials with FR FPUF would not sustain ignition and ended up producing less toxic smoke for up to 19 kW ignition source.
Strand‐specific RNA sequencing uncovers chloroplast ribonuclease functions
Authors: Castandet Benoît , Hotto Amber M. , Fei Zhangjun , Stern David B.
Published: August 2013

Organellar gene expression incorporates ribonucleases as indispensable participants. Here, we explored the capacity of strand‐specific RNA sequencing (RNA‐Seq) as a tool to analyze chloroplast ribonuclease functions using the 3′→5′ exoribonuclease polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) as a proof of concept. The role of PNPase in transcript 3′ end maturation was easily monitored, and additional targeted mRNAs were discovered. Moreover, a role in tRNA precursor degradation was predicted and validated. These results, together with previously published data, suggest that RNA‐Seq represents a unique opportunity to decipher the roles of organellar ribonucleases and deepen our understanding of chloroplast gene expression.
Financiación de la innovación en las mipyme Iberoamericanas
Authors: García Pérez de Lema Domingo , Barona- Zuluaga Bernardo , Madrid- Guijarro Antonia
Published: August 2013

La innovación permite a las empresas lograr ventajas competitivas sostenibles en el tiempo y representa un elemento determinante del crecimiento económico. En este sentido, la financiación ha sido mencionada frecuentemente como una barrera importante para llevar a cabo actividades de innovación. Este trabajo analiza la relación entre las fuentes de financiación y la innovación en las Mipyme Iberoamericanas. El análisis se basa en los resultados de una encuesta adelantada en una muestra de 1.970 empresas a partir de lo cual se encontró una relación positiva significativa entre la utilización de la financiación ajena y la actividad innovadora. Lo anterior llama la atención, dada la importancia de mecanismos que faciliten a las empresas Mipyme acceder a la obtención de recursos financieros de deuda con el fin de lograr niveles altos de innovación.
Liderazgo, poder y movilización organizacional
Authors: Contreras Torres Francoise Venezia , Castro Ríos Guido Angello
Published: August 2013

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar los procesos de liderazgo y poder, como fenómenos que se suscitan al interior de las organizaciones a partir de las interacciones que se dan entre las personas (agentes) que las conforman. Se comprende a la organización como un sistema dinámico en permanente proceso de cambio que se moviliza, en virtud de la relación dinámica, que se da entre líderes y colaboradores. Dado que se trata de un estudio teórico, el análisis se hace a través de una revisión bibliográfica. Como conclusión se puede afirmar que el liderazgo y el poder movilizan a la organización y pueden llevarla a desequilibrios productivos, los cuales favorecen el desarrollo de las organizaciones y su perdurabilidad.
El discurso contemporáneo del management. El caso del Coaching Ontológico
Authors: Gonnet Juan Pablo
Published: August 2013

En este artículo se aborda una de las tendencias actuales en el campo del management, el coaching ontológico. Lo novedoso de esta propuesta radica en que define un fundamento estrictamente filosófico para la administración y gestión de ámbitos organizacionales. A partir de un análisis del discurso de algunos textos de difusión de uno de sus fundadores, se pretende reconocer los sentidos y las condiciones sociales que orientan a esta nueva propuesta de gestión empresarial. Un resultado preliminar de este análisis muestra que la abstracción de los fundamentos administrativos es necesaria en tanto que permite reproducir las condiciones de posibilidad del control organizacional en un contexto de crisis de legitimidad de la técnica administrativa.
Caso de estudio. El Problema de la Consultoría está en la t
Authors: Alonso Julio César , Gallo Beatriz Eugenia
Published: August 2013

El objetivo de este caso es reforzar la capacidad del lector de aproximarse de forma sistémica a un problema que requiere el uso de herramientas econométricas, en especial la regresión múltiple. Para ello, el problema se contextualiza en una empresa consultora que debe estimar una función de demanda y debe determinar qué pruebas de hipótesis deben hacerse para los coeficientes del modelo de regresión lineal estimado. Esta discusión toca un tema que parece darse por sentado, pero que refleja la necesidad de reflexionar acerca de las razones por las cuales se hace uso de una prueba t individual de 2 colas o de 1 cola y la relación con la teoría económica.
‘Show me the money’: improving the economic evaluation of mental health services
Authors: Twomey C. , Byrne M. , McHugh P.
Published: August 2013

Background

Compared with the United Kingdom, mental health services in Ireland are under-funded and under-developed. This may be partly due to the neglect of economic analyses concerning mental health services in Ireland, as few policy makers would invest in the sector without evidence that such investment represents ‘value-for-money’ economically.

Aim

The aim of this paper is to highlight how mental health services can conduct economic service evaluations that ultimately will drive the policy-making agenda and future governmental investment.

Methods

A guide to the economic evaluation of mental health services, based on a narrative review of relevant policy documents and papers, in an Irish context.

Results

Three types of economic analyses that can be undertaken within mental health services are outlined: (a) cost-benefit analysis, (b) cost-utility analysis and (c) cost-minimisation analysis. In addition, a newly formulated questionnaire (i.e. the ‘EcoPsy 12’) is presented.

Conclusions

Economic evaluations of mental health services can provide re-assurances to policy-makers that (much-needed) investment in such services is economically viable.
Towards modular analysis of tropical-cyclone structure: the boundary layer
Authors: Fendell Francis , Mokhasi Paritosh
Published: August 2013

In the early 1970s, George Carrier and coworkers undertook a modular approach to modelling the internal thermofluid-dynamics of tropical cyclones of tropical-depression-or-greater intensity. A novel, relatively simplistic, approximate analysis of the vortex, idealized as axisymmetric, was carried out in the asymptotic limit of large Reynolds number, so that inviscid and diffusive subdomains of the structure were distinguished. Little subsequent work has followed this line of investigation. The indifference has proven problematic because accurate prediction of tropical-cycling intensity remains a challenge for operational forecasting, despite decades of effort at direct integration of comprehensive boundary/initial-value formulations. A contributing factor is that, to achieve solution in real time, such computational treatment of the entire vortex invariably resorts to coarse gridding, and key features remain inadequately resolved. Accordingly, here the modular approach is revisited, with the assistance of: recent observational insights; greatly enhanced computer-processing power; and convenient computational software, which facilitates implementation of a semi-analytic, semi-numerical methodology. Focus is largely, but not exclusively, on the dynamics and energetics occurring in the nominally kilometre-thick, ocean-surface-contiguous boundary layer, especially on influx to the boundary layer and efflux therefrom. The modular approach not only permits the boundary layer, which develops its own highly significant substructure under the high-speed portion of the inviscid vortex, to be well-resolved, but also allows the layer to be investigated in the context of the other tropical-cyclone-structure subdivisions.
On the quest for a hyperbolic effective-field model of disperse flows
Authors: Lhuillier Daniel , Chang Chih-Hao , Theofanous Theo G.
Published: August 2013

The cornerstone of multiphase flow applications in engineering practice is a scientific construct that translates the basic laws of fluid mechanics into a set of governing equations for effective interpenetrating continua, the effective-field (or two-fluid) model. Over more than half a century of development this model has taken many forms but all of them fail in a way that was known from the very beginning: mathematical ill-posedness. The aim of this paper is to refocus awareness of this problem from a unified fundamental perspective that clarifies the manner in which such failures took place and to suggest the means for a final closure.
Autobiographies of Violence: The SA in its Own Words
Authors: Campbell Bruce
Published: August 2013

What was the moral horizon of ordinary SA men? What did they think, what did they believe, and what were their ideals? These are hard questions to answer even when they concern people still alive and events still going on. To pose them some eighty years after the fact is to admit that no answer can be definitive. Yet a fresh look at some well-known contemporary sources can at least allow some tentative, suggestive answers. They demonstrate, above all, an emphasis on frenetic activism, combined with a sense of personal suffering and sacrifice. They stress key National Socialist values, such as antisemitism, criticism of the bourgeoisie, and a commitment to an idealized national community, orVolksgemeinschaft. And yet, they also reflect, to a certain extent, pre-Nazi middle-class values. Beyond this, they show men trying desperately to rewrite themselves as ideal SA men and Nazis.
The Crisis of the Psyche and the Future of Germany: The Encounter with Freud in the Weimar Republic
Authors: Kauders Anthony D.
Published: August 2013

Some two decades ago, Peter Fritzsche wrote the first of two influential essays that questioned the then common conviction that Weimar Germany was all about doom and gloom. “What is distinctive about twentieth-century German culture,” he argued, “is not simply ‘crisis’—economic, political, cultural—but the widespread consciousness of crisis and the allied conviction that these emergency conditions could be managed to Germany's advantage.” Recently, Fritzsche's view has been taken up and expanded by a younger generation of German scholars, who have detailed how “crisis” meant different things to different people, often denoting the possibility of favorable change. This insistence on “crisis” as the beginning of something (positively) new is in many ways the most far-reaching application of the anti-teleological turn in Weimar historiography.
The dynamic nature of depression: a new micro-level perspective of mental disorder that meets current challenges
Authors: Wichers M.
Published: August 2013

The examination of moment-to-moment, ‘micro-level’ patterns of experience and behaviour using experience sampling methodology has contributed to our understanding of the ‘macro-level’ development of full-blown symptoms and disorders. This paper argues that the micro-level perspective can be used to identify the smallest building blocks underlying the onset and course of mental ill-health. Psychopathology may be the result of the continuous dynamic interplay between micro-level moment-to-moment experiences and behavioural patterns over time. Reinforcing loops between momentary states may alter the course of mental health towards either a more or less healthy state. An example with observed data, from a population of individuals with depressive symptoms, supports the validity of a dynamic network model of psychopathology and shows that together and over time, this continuous interplay between momentary states may result in the cluster of symptoms we call major depressive disorder. This approach may help conceptualize the nature of mental disorders, and generate individualized insights useful for diagnosis and treatment in psychiatry.
EXCHANGEABLE OCCUPANCY MODELS AND DISCRETE PROCESSES WITH THE GENERALIZED UNIFORM ORDER STATISTICS PROPERTY
Authors: Collet Francesca , Leisen Fabrizio , Spizzichino Fabio , Suter Florentina
Published: August 2013

This work focuses on Exchangeable Occupancy Models (EOMs) and their relations with the Uniform Order Statistics Property (UOSP) for point processes in discrete time. As our main purpose, we show how definitions and results presented in Shaked, Spizzichino, and Suter [8] can be unified and generalized in the frame of occupancy models. We first show some general facts about EOMs. Then we introduce a class of EOMs, called ℳ(a)-models, and a concept of generalized Uniform Order Statistics Property in discrete time. For processes with this property, we prove a general characterization result in terms of ℳ(a)-models. Our interest is also focused on properties of closure w.r.t. some natural transformations of EOMs.
Systemic administration of Follistatin288 increases muscle mass and reduces fat accumulation in mice
Authors: Gangopadhyay Samudra S.
Published: August 2013

The present study describes the physiological response associated with daily subcutaneous injection of mice with recombinant follistatin288. This systemic administration of follistatin288 increases the follistatin levels in serum, indicating that the protein enters the circulation. The data suggest that a dose-dependent increase in body lean mass also occurs, together with an increase in muscle mass, possibly as a result of an increase in the size of the muscle fibers. After thirteen weeks of treatment, metabolic changes were observed; additionally, the switching of muscle fiber types was also apparent through myosin heavy chain remodeling, implying that changes are occurring at the molecular level. Furthermore, an increase in the muscle mass was associated with a significant decrease in the body fat mass. Overall, this study raises the possibility for the use of follistatin288 as an agent to treat muscle wasting diseases and/or to restrict fat accumulation by systemic administration of the protein.
Sensor Technology in Neuroscience
Authors: Thompson Michael , Cheran Larisa-Emilia , Sadeghi Saman
Published: August 2013

Biosensor technology has rapidly expanded into a wide variety of applications in the last few years. Such fields include clinical diagnostics, environmental chemistry, drug discovery and pathogen detection, to name but a few. The structure of these sensors is based on the intimate combination of a biological entity with a transducer capable of generating an electrical signal to provide information on the biological system being studied. Until now there has been a limited treatment of the study of whole cells (as a biological component) due to the difficulty in connecting transducers to cell populations. This book focuses on several aspects of neural behaviour both in vitro and in vivo, and for the first time, the detection of populations of neurons (rather than single cells) will be presented. The fundamental behaviour and characterization of neurons on various substrates, using a variety of electronic devices such as transistors and microelectrode arrays will be discussed. Future perspectives discussed in the book include artificial intelligence using biological neural networks and nanoneuromedicine. The authors have considerable experience in biosensor technology, and have pioneered the study of neural populations using biosensors in collaboration with neurophysiologists and neuroendrocrinologists. This book will be invaluable to university neuroscience and analytical chemistry departments and students, academics and physicians will benefit from its accessible style and format.
Replication stress-induced alternative mRNA splicing alters properties of the histone RNA-binding protein HBP/SLBP: a key factor in the control of histone gene expression
Authors: Rattray Alexander M. J. , Nicholson Pamela , Müller Berndt
Published: August 2013

Animal replication-dependent histone genes produce histone proteins for the packaging of newly replicated genomic DNA. The expression of these histone genes occurs during S phase and is linked to DNA replication via S-phase checkpoints. The histone RNA-binding protein HBP/SLBP (hairpin-binding protein/stem-loop binding protein), an essential regulator of histone gene expression, binds to the conserved hairpin structure located in the 3′UTR (untranslated region) of histone mRNA and participates in histone pre-mRNA processing, translation and histone mRNA degradation. Here, we report the accumulation of alternatively spliced HBP/SLBP transcripts lacking exons 2 and/or 3 in HeLa cells exposed to replication stress. We also detected a shorter HBP/SLBP protein isoform under these conditions that can be accounted for by alternative splicing of HBP/SLBP mRNA. HBP/SLBP mRNA alternative splicing returned to low levels again upon removal of replication stress and was abrogated by caffeine, suggesting the involvement of checkpoint kinases. Analysis of HBP/SLBP cellular localization using GFP (green fluorescent protein) fusion proteins revealed that HBP/SLBP protein and isoforms lacking the domains encoded by exon 2 and exons 2 and 3 were found in the nucleus and cytoplasm, whereas HBP/SLBP lacking the domain encoded by exon 3 was predominantly localised to the nucleus. This isoform lacks the conserved region important for protein–protein interaction with the CTIF [CBP80/20 (cap-binding protein 80/20)]-dependent initiation translation factor and the eIF4E (eukaryotic initiation factor 4E)-dependent translation factor SLIP1/MIF4GD (SLBP-interacting protein 1/MIF4G domain). Consistent with this, we have previously demonstrated that this region is required for the function of HBP/SLBP in cap-dependent translation. In conclusion, alternative splicing allows the synthesis of HBP/SLBP isoforms with different properties that may be important for regulating HBP/SLBP functions during replication stress.
Compressive feature and kernel sparse coding‐based radar target recognition
Authors: Yang Shuyuan , Ma Yonggang , Wang Min , Xie Dongmei , Wu Yun , Jiao Licheng
Published: August 2013

In this study, the authors exploit the sparse nature of radar targets, and propose a universal, target‐oriented ‘compressive feature’ and kernel sparse coding‐based radar target recognition approach via the recent developed compressive sensing theory. Inspired by the visual attention mechanism, pulse contourlet transform is proposed to derive the target‐oriented compressive features, and a kernel sparse coding classifier is advanced inspired by the fact that kernel trick can make the features more clustered in higher dimensional space, so resulting in accurate and robust recognition of targets. Some experiments are taken on recognising three types of ground vehicles in the moving and stationary target acquisition and recognition public release database, to compare the performance of the proposed scheme with its counterparts, and the results prove its efficiency.
Ensemble of differential evolution algorithms for electromagnetic target recognition problem
Authors: Secmen Mustafa , Tasgetiren Mehmet Fatih
Published: August 2013

In this study, an ensemble of differential evolution (DE) algorithms is presented to classify electromagnetic targets in resonance scattering region. The algorithm aims to synthesize a special incident signal for each target, which is defined as the main discrimination feature in the given target recognition method. In the proposed algorithm, the amplitudes of basis functions and the duration of this incident signal are optimised to give minimum late‐time scattered signal's energy, which is the main fitness function of the algorithm. The proposed DE algorithm is applied to a target set consisting of lossless dielectric spheres and correct recognition rates for both noiseless and noisy signals are obtained. The results for both developed DE algorithm and other DE variants of traditional DE, adaptive differential evolution with optional external archive (JADE), jDE are also given to compare the algorithms and show the effectiveness of the proposed one.
Dynamic waveform selection for manoeuvering target tracking in clutter
Authors: Wang Jiantao , Qin Yuliang , Wang Hongqiang , Li Xiang
Published: August 2013

In recent years, cognitive radar (CR) with waveform diversity has exhibited significant performance improvements over the traditional fixed waveform radar and become an area of vigorous research and development. This study presents a dynamic waveform selection algorithm to strive for tracking error minimisation for CR manoeuvering target tracking in clutter. Based on the concepts of resolution cell and measurement extraction cell, the statistical characteristics of radar measurements are discussed without dependence upon the Cramér‐Rao lower bound of the measurement errors and the high signal‐to‐noise ratio assumption. A particle filter combined with probabilistic data association is used as a tracker. To quantify the utility of available waveforms, the predicted tracking mean‐square error, because of its dependence on actual future measurements, is approximated efficiently via Gaussian fitting of the prior density of the target state and statistical linearisation of the measurement equation. Monte Carlo simulation results show that the proposed dynamic waveform selection algorithm can improve tracking performance considerably, especially in terms of track loss probability.
Can summer-active perennial species improve pasture nutritive value and sward stability?
Authors: Clark S. G. , Ward G. N. , Kearney G. A. , Lawson A. R. , McCaskill M. R. , O'Brien B. J. , Raeside M. C. , Behrendt R.
Published: August 2013

Although generally well adapted and productive, the summer-dormant perennial pastures of southern Australia do not provide a year-round, high nutritive value feed base, they fail to respond to summer rainfall, and they are inefficient in using stored soil water, which can contribute to dryland salinity. An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that deep-rooted, summer-active perennial pasture species, matched to soil type, can be grown successfully in southern Australia to increase pasture and animal productivity and to provide high quality feed in summer–autumn. Specifically, the experiment compared a traditional perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) pasture system with two systems based on summer-active species: the triple system with lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) and tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb) Darbysh), and the novel system with chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) and kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov). The experiment incorporated three livestock systems (two sheep and one cattle) and took into account the three main soil types occurring on the DPI Hamilton research farm. After 4 years the perennial ryegrass, lucerne, and tall fescue components were all persisting well and providing feed with high nutritive value (all with frequency scores >70% in the last year of the experiment). The chicory and kikuyu pastures declined over the life of the experiment and were contributing little at the end (frequency scores <15% in the final year). Lucerne, tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass cv. Banquet were able to respond to summer rainfall events to provide valuable, high-quality feed at a time when the quality of perennial ryegrass pasture is normally at its lowest; April 2007 crude protein per cent dry matter values were Avalon perennial ryegrass 16.6, Fitzroy perennial ryegrass 15.6, kikuyu 24.2, lucerne 25.8, and tall fescue 20.3 following a 98 mm rainfall event in late January 2007. This study has shown that the triple and ryegrass systems were persistent and of high nutritive value, with the sown perennial species contributing the majority of the sward dry matter during the growing season.
Differential transformation capacity of neuro-glial progenitors during development
Authors: Muñoz Diana Marcela , Singh Sanjay , Tung Takyee , Agnihotri Sameer , Nagy Andras , Guha Abhijit , Zadeh Gelareh , Hawkins Cynthia
Published: August 2013

Gliomas represent the most common type of brain tumor, but show considerable variability in histologic appearance and clinical outcome. The phenotypic differences between types and grades of gliomas have not been explained solely on the grounds of differing oncogenic stimuli. Several studies have demonstrated that some phenotypic differences may be attributed to regional differences in the neural stem cells from which tumors arise. We hypothesized that temporal differences may also play a role, with tumor phenotypic variability reflecting intrinsic differences in neural stem cells at distinct developmental stages. To determine how the tumorigenic potential of lineally related stem cells changes over time, we used a conditional transgenic system that integrates Cre-Lox–mediated and Tet-regulated expression to drive K-ras
G12D
expression in neuro-glial progenitor populations at different developmental time points. Using this model, we demonstrate that K-ras
G12D
–induced transformation is dependent on the developmental stage at which it is introduced. Diffuse malignant brain tumors develop during early embryogenesis but not when K-ras
G12D
expression is induced during late embryogenesis or early postnatal life. We show that differential expression of cell-cycle regulators during development may be responsible for this differing susceptibility to malignant transformation and that loss of p53 can overcome the transformation resistance seen at later developmental stages. These results highlight the interplay between genetic alterations and the molecular changes that accompany specific developmental stages; early progenitors may lack the regulatory mechanisms present at later, more lineage-restrictive, developmental time points, making them more susceptible to transformation.
Cytosolic flagellin-induced lysosomal pathway regulates inflammasome-dependent and -independent macrophage responses
Authors: Lage Silvia L. , Buzzo Carina L. , Amaral Eduardo P. , Matteucci Kely C. , Massis Liliana M. , Icimoto Marcelo Y. , Carmona Adriana Karaoglanovic , D’Império Lima Maria R. , Rodrigues Mauricio M. , Ferreira Luis C. S. , Amarante-Mendes Gustavo P. , Bortoluci Karina R.
Published: August 2013

Significance

This study describes a unique form of cell death induced by a cytosolic flagellin that does not require NLRC4 (nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor family, caspase activation recruitment domain domain-containing 4), ASC (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain), or caspase-1/11 but is regulated by lysosomal cathepsins B and D. Inflammasome-independent cell death is characterized by loss of membrane integrity and IL-1α secretion and participates in the clearance of
Salmonella
Typhimurium by macrophages. Lysosomal pathway activated by flagellin also regulates inflammasome-dependent responses such as IL-1β and IL-1α secretion and pyroptosis. Together, our data identify a pathway induced by cytosolic flagellin that cooperates with inflammasomes to the clearance of infections.
Long-lasting transition toward sustainable elimination of desert malaria under irrigation development
Authors: Baeza Andres , Bouma Menno J. , Dhiman Ramesh C. , Baskerville Edward B. , Ceccato Pietro , Yadav Rajpal Singh , Pascual Mercedes
Published: August 2013

Significance

It is recognized that the risk of malaria in dry areas is increased in the proximity of irrigation infrastructure. Although historical evidence shows that eventually malaria risks subside on the road to greater prosperity and food security, how this comes about remains poorly understood. We studied changes in land use and malaria risk in a large irrigation project in a semidesert region in northwest India. The transition phase we describe, characterized by elevated malaria despite raised control efforts, has already lasted for over a decade. The protracted nature of this transition highlights the need for a long-term commitment by health authorities and international agencies supporting irrigation schemes, to monitor health impacts and sustain control measures.
The Ontological Relation "One-Many" according to the Neoplatonist Damascius
Authors: Terezis Christos
Published: August 2013

Abstract
In his commentary on the Platonic dialogue Philebus, the Neoplatonic philosopher Damascius investigates the ontological question of the relation between the One as the highest principle and the many sensible beings produced through it. Three points are emphasized: 1. Damascius attempts to situate movement in the metaphysical realm and avoid a static metaphysical model by propounding a connection between sensible beings and their productive archetype through what he conceives as metaphysical amplification. 2. His explication of the relation between the physical and the metaphysical indicates that he is not concerned with just a general description, but instead intends to specify the forms of their mutual communication. To a certain degree, physical beings are presented as developments of metaphysical states in terms of the relation of "appearance" to "being," in the sense that the appearance teleologically portrays that which is ontologically complete. 3. Because Damascius sets logic in analytic relation to ontology and defines the conditions of this coordination, it gains no independent status, even as its propriety becomes explicit, for he shows its principal determination by ontology. Hence, Damascius remains within the framework of a consistent ontological realism.
«Mein Geist ist das Universum»
Authors: Ommerborn Wolfgang
Published: August 2013

Abstract
Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193) is one of the most prominent philosophers of the Song dynasty. He belonged to the School of Mind (Xin-Xue), one of the two main schools of Neo-Confucianism - the other being the School of Principle (Li Xue), of which Zhu Xi (1130-1200) is the outstanding figure. This essay investigates the onto-logical and epistemological teachings of Lu Jiuyuan and compares them with the thought of other Neo-Confucian thinkers such as Zhu Xi. The most important term in Zhu Xi's philosophy is li (universal principle). Lu Jiuyuan equated li with the mind of man. He developed his philosophy on the basis of li- present in and apprehended by the mind - as the moral criterion of human conduct. For him, the purpose of study is to recognize li and return to the originally pure condition of the mind. Every man, he said, is responsible for the condition of his mind and must strive to attain knowledge of the truth. Lu refused to consider as important the acquisition of factual knowledge by external investigation, emphasizing instead that li is to be known intuitively. The realization of li is the result of inner, subjective self-examination.
The Epistemology of Humanism
Authors: Mojsisch Burkhard
Published: August 2013

Abstract
This essay explores the interconnections among the humanistic epistemological theories of Ficino, Pomponazzi and Cusanus apparent in the context of their reception of ancient Greek and medieval philosophy, especially Plato's Theaetetus and Aristotle's De anima. It shows that preceding the opposition between the (Neo-)Platonic scheme of knowledge favored by Ficino and the Aristotelian account of the intellect championed by Pomponazzi, Cusanus attempted to articulate the nature of the mind (mens) as such which all modes of knowledge presuppose. Central to this project is his work De coniecturis with its theory of the unity of the divine, reason, the understanding and the body, by means of which Cusanus undertook to show how all modes of knowledge are immanent in the mind even as knowledge itself is a process. Concluding critical remarks expound upon the principal significance for knowledge of the thought of nothing, which fundamentally defines the relation to self and other and therewith the horizon of the possible truth of knowledge.
DRAW+SneakPeek: Analysis workflow and quality metric management for DNA-seq experiments
Authors: Lin Chiao-Feng , Valladares Otto , Childress D. Micah , Klevak Egor , Geller Evan T. , Hwang Yih-Chii , Tsai Ellen A. , Schellenberg Gerard D. , Wang Li-San
Published: August 2013

Summary: We report our new DRAW+SneakPeek software for DNA-seq analysis. DNA resequencing analysis workflow (DRAW) automates the workflow of processing raw sequence reads including quality control, read alignment and variant calling on high-performance computing facilities such as Amazon elastic compute cloud. SneakPeek provides an effective interface for reviewing dozens of quality metrics reported by DRAW, so users can assess the quality of data and diagnose problems in their sequencing procedures. Both DRAW and SneakPeek are freely available under the MIT license, and are available as Amazon machine images to be used directly on Amazon cloud with minimal installation.

Availability: DRAW+SneakPeek is released under the MIT license and is available for academic and nonprofit use for free. The information about source code, Amazon machine images and instructions on how to install and run DRAW+SneakPeek locally and on Amazon elastic compute cloud is available at the National Institute on Aging Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease Data Storage Site (http://www.niagads.org/) and Wang lab Web site (http://wanglab.pcbi.upenn.edu/).

Contact:  gerardsc@mail.med.upenn.edu or lswang@mail.med.upenn.edu
Trophodynamic similarities of three sympatric clupeoid species throughout their life histories in the Kii Channel as revealed by stable isotope approach
Authors: Yasue Naotaka , Doiuchi Ryu , Takasuka Akinori
Published: August 2013

Yasue, N., Doiuchi R., and Takasuka, A. 2013. Trophodynamic similarities of three sympatric clupeoid species throughout their life histories in the Kii Channel as revealed by stable isotope approach. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71: . Trophic similarity/difference among multispecies pelagic fish is a focal point in understanding the processes of climate impacts on their population dynamics. We tested trophic overlap of Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus, Japanese sardine Sardinops melanostictus, and Pacific round herring Etrumeus teres in the Kii Channel, Japan, by comparing the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios among these clupeoid species from the larval to adult stages throughout the year. Space and time were both significant factors of variations of the isotopic composition values for the three species, and fish size was also significant for sardine and round herring. The isotopic composition values of the three species were homogeneous when compared with those of plankton and some other non-clupeoid species. Moreover, the isotopic composition values of the three clupeoid species collected simultaneously showed closer similarities than those in different areas and dates in all life stages. Thus, spatial and temporal differences in food availability were more apparent compared with interspecific differences in prey items specific to each species. Our analysis indicated strong trophic overlaps throughout the life histories among the three clupeoid species. Hence, they are concluded to be ecologically congeneric (directly competing) species in terms of trophic positions in the pelagic ecosystem.
The ATF/CREB Transcription Factor Atf1 Is Essential for Full Virulence, Deoxynivalenol Production, and Stress Tolerance in the Cereal Pathogen Fusarium graminearum
Authors: Van Nguyen Thuat , Kröger Cathrin , Bönnighausen Jakob , Schäfer Wilhelm , Bormann Jörg
Published: August 2013

Fusarium graminearum is a necrotrophic plant pathogen of cereals that produces mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) in grains. The stress-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase FgOS-2 is a central regulator in F. graminearum and controls, among others, virulence and DON and ZEA production. Here, we characterized the ATF/CREB-activating transcription factor FgAtf1, a regulator that functions downstream of FgOS-2. We created deletion and overexpression mutants of Fgatf1, the latter being also in an FgOS-2 deletion mutant. FgAtf1 localizes to the nucleus and appears to interact with FgOS-2 under osmotic stress conditions. Deletion mutants in Fgatf1 (ΔFgatf1) are more sensitive to osmotic stress and less sensitive to oxidative stress compared with the wild type. Furthermore, sexual reproduction is delayed. ΔFgatf1 strains produced higher amounts of DON under in vitro induction conditions than that of the wild type. However, during wheat infection, DON production by ΔFgatf1 is strongly reduced. The ΔFgatf1 strains displayed strongly reduced virulence to wheat and maize. Interestingly, constitutive expression of Fgatf1 in the wild type led to hypervirulence on wheat, maize, and Brachypodium distachyon. Moreover, constitutive expression of Fgatf1 in the ΔFgOS-2 mutant background almost complements ΔFgOS-2-phenotypes. These data suggest that FgAtf1 may be the most important transcription factor regulated by FgOS-2.
Arabidopsis YELLOW STRIPE-LIKE7 (YSL7) and YSL8 Transporters Mediate Uptake of Pseudomonas Virulence Factor Syringolin A into Plant Cells
Authors: Hofstetter Silvia Schelbert , Dudnik Alexey , Widmer Heidi , Dudler Robert
Published: August 2013

Syringolin A (SylA), a virulence factor secreted by certain strains of the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, is an irreversible proteasome inhibitor imported by plant cells by an unknown transport process. Here, we report that functional expression in yeast of all 17 members of the Arabidopsis oligopeptide transporter family revealed that OLIGOPEPTIDE TRANSPORTER1 (OPT1), OPT2, YELLOW STRIPE-LIKE3 (YSL3), YSL7, and YSL8 rendered yeast cells sensitive to growth inhibition by SylA to different degrees, strongly indicating that these proteins mediated SylA uptake into yeast cells. The greatest SylA sensitivity was conferred by YSL7 and YSL8 expression. An Arabidopsis ysl7 mutant exhibited strongly reduced SylA sensitivity in a root growth inhibition assay and in leaves of ysl7 and ysl8 mutants, SylA-mediated quenching of salicylic-acid-triggered PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENE1 transcript accumulation was greatly reduced compared with the wild type. These results suggest that YSL7 and YSL8 are major SylA uptake transporters in Arabidopsis. Expression of a YSL homolog of bean, the host of the SylA-producing P. syringae pv. syringae B728a, in yeast also conferred strong SylA sensitivity. Thus, YSL transporters, which are thought to be involved in metal homeostasis, have been hijacked by bacterial pathogens for SylA uptake into host cells.
First Report of Monilinia fructicola Causing Brown Rot on Stored Japanese Plum Fruit in Chile
Authors: Latorre B. A. , Díaz G. A. , Valencia A. L. , Naranjo P. , Ferrada E. E. , Torres R. , Zoffoli J. P.
Published: August 2013

In autumn 2013, fruit of Japanese plum (Prunus salicina) cvs. Angelino and Black Kat developed an unusual brown and soft rot after 2 months in cold storage (0°C) on nearly 1% of the fruit. Fruit showed small, circular, light brown spots that eventually destroyed the entire fruit. Small sporodochia appeared on the fruit surface. Fruit was harvested from orchards located near San Francisco de Mostazal (33°59′ S, 70°41′ W), Chile. Small pieces of diseased tissue were selected from margins of lesions of surface disinfected (96% ethanol) fruit (n = 7) and placed on acidified potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates for 5 days at 20°C. Light brown colonies with even margins and concentric rings of spores were obtained. The conidia of five isolates were one-celled, hyaline, lemon-shaped, (min. 10.7) 14.9 ± 1.5 (max. 18.6) × (min. 8.1) 9.4 ± 0.8 (max. 10.8) μm (n = 30), and borne in branched monilioid chains. This fungus was identified as Monilinia fructicola (G. Winter) Honey (1). Identification was confirmed by amplifying and sequencing the ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region using ITS1 and ITS4 primers (3). BLAST analysis of Chilean plum isolates (GenBank Accession Nos. KF148610 and KF148611) were 99 to 100% identical to isolates of M. fructicola originating from the United States (DQ314727 and HQ846966, respectively) and 100% identical to the first Chilean isolate (JN001480) found in nectarines originating from California at the supermarkets in Santiago in June 2009. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by reproducing brown rot symptoms on mature wounded Japanese plums cv. Angelino (n = 8) inoculated with 10 μl of a conidial suspension (105 conidia/ml) or with a mycelium plug (5-mm diameter). After 2 days in humid chambers (>80% relative humidity) at 25°C, all inoculated fruit developed brown rot symptoms with necrotic lesion means of 15.8 and 21.5 mm in diameter in fruit inoculated with conidia and mycelium, respectively. Non-inoculated control fruit remained healthy. Re-isolations were performed on PDA and the presence of M. fructicola was morphologically confirmed in 100% of the symptomatic fruits. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the presence of M. fructicola causing brown rot in stored Japanese plums in Chile after its first interception in 2009 in Chile, suggesting that this pathogen has been established in the field. Currently, M. fructicola is a quarantine organism under official control, restricted to Prunus orchards between Santiago and Nancagua in central Chile (2).

References: (1) EPPO. EPPO Bull. 39:337, 2009. (2) Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero, SAG, Ministerio de Agricultura, Gobierno de Chile. www.sag.cl , accessed 15 November 2013. (3) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. M. A. Innis et al., eds. Academic Press, NY, 1990.
Diplostigmaty in plants: a novel mechanism that provides reproductive assurance
Authors: Kissling Jonathan , Barrett Spencer C. H.
Published: August 2013

Differentiation of female sexual organs in flowering plants is rare and contrasts with the wide range of male reproductive strategies. An unusual example involves diplostigmaty, the possession of spatially and temporally distinct stigmas inSebaea(Gentianaceae). Here, the single pistil within a flower has an apical stigma, as occurs in most flowering plants, but also a secondary stigma that occurs midway down the style, which is physically discrete and receptive several days after the apical stigma. We examined the function of diplostigmaty inSebaea aurea, an insect-pollinated species of the Western Cape of South Africa. Floral manipulations and measurements of fertility and mating patterns provided evidence that basal stigmas function to enable autonomous delayed self-pollination, without limiting opportunities for outcrossing and thus avoiding the costs of seed discounting. We suggest that delayed selfing serves as a mechanism of reproductive assurance in populations with low plant density. The possession of dimorphic stigma function provides a novel example of a flexible mixed-mating strategy in plants that is responsive to changing demographic conditions.
Shape- and size-dependent electronic capacitance in nanostructured materials
Authors: Singh Maibam Birla , Kant Rama
Published: August 2013

The shape and size are the two important geometrical factors that affect the electronic screening in nano-materials. Here, we develop an analytical theory for electronic capacitance based on Thomas–Fermi screening in conjunction with ‘multiple scattering method’ for arbitrary-shaped nanostructures including electronic spillover correction. We relate the electronic capacitance of the material to the curvature correction expressed in terms of ratio of electronic screening length to principal radii of curvature. Electronic capacitance of various nanostructures is obtained showing geometrical shape- and size-dependent electronic screening in nanostructures that manifest important consequences in charge storage enhancement or reduction.
Decoupling of morphological disparity and taxic diversity during the adaptive radiation of anomodont therapsids
Authors: Ruta Marcello , Angielczyk Kenneth D. , Fröbisch Jörg , Benton Michael J.
Published: August 2013

Adaptive radiations are central to macroevolutionary theory. Whether triggered by acquisition of new traits or ecological opportunities arising from mass extinctions, it is debated whether adaptive radiations are marked by initial expansion of taxic diversity or of morphological disparity (the range of anatomical form). If a group rediversifies following a mass extinction, it is said to have passed through a macroevolutionary bottleneck, and the loss of taxic or phylogenetic diversity may limit the amount of morphological novelty that it can subsequently generate. Anomodont therapsids, a diverse clade of Permian and Triassic herbivorous tetrapods, passed through a bottleneck during the end-Permian mass extinction. Their taxic diversity increased during the Permian, declined significantly at the Permo–Triassic boundary and rebounded during the Middle Triassic before the clade's final extinction at the end of the Triassic. By sharp contrast, disparity declined steadily during most of anomodont history. Our results highlight three main aspects of adaptive radiations: (i) diversity and disparity are generally decoupled; (ii) models of radiations following mass extinctions may differ from those triggered by other causes (e.g. trait acquisition); and (iii) the bottleneck caused by a mass extinction means that a clade can emerge lacking its original potential for generating morphological variety.
Bone-eating worms from the Antarctic: the contrasting fate of whale and wood remains on the Southern Ocean seafloor
Authors: Glover Adrian G. , Wiklund Helena , Taboada Sergio , Avila Conxita , Cristobo Javier , Smith Craig R. , Kemp Kirsty M. , Jamieson Alan J. , Dahlgren Thomas G.
Published: August 2013

We report the results from the first experimental study of the fate of whale and wood remains on the Antarctic seafloor. Using a baited free-vehicle lander design, we show that whale-falls in the Antarctic are heavily infested by at least two new species of bone-eating worm,Osedax antarcticussp. nov. andOsedax deceptionensissp. nov. In stark contrast, wood remains are remarkably well preserved with the absence of typical wood-eating fauna such as the xylophagainid bivalves. The combined whale-fall and wood-fall experiment provides support to the hypothesis that the Antarctic circumpolar current is a barrier to the larvae of deep-water species that are broadly distributed in other ocean basins. Since humans first started exploring the Antarctic, wood has been deposited on the seafloor in the form of shipwrecks and waste; our data suggest that this anthropogenic wood may be exceptionally well preserved. Alongside the new species descriptions, we conducted a comprehensive phylogenetic analyses ofOsedax, suggesting the clade is most closely related to the frenulate tubeworms, not the vestimentiferans as previous reported.