bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Problem in Fire Insurance—To apportion a given Loss on Property insured by Specific Policies
Authors: Miller Thomas
Published: August 2016

A Specific Policy is one which insures stated sums on particular risks, and guarantees the assured against any loss thereon within the limits of the amounts insured. It differs from anAverage or Floating Policy in several respects—the latter, amongst other privileges, having only to bear a share of any loss compared with the whole loss, similar to the proportion which the amount it insures bears to the whole value of the property insured at the time of the fire.
On the possible Methods of Dividing the Net Profits of a Mutual Life Assurance Company amongst the Members
Authors: Wilbraham Henry
Published: August 2016

The object of this paper is to give a brief exposition of the different possible methods or classes of methods of equitably dividing the net profits of a Mutual Life Assurance Office among the members. By an equitable division must be understood one which is fair not only between persons of different ages entering the Office at the same time, but also between persons entering the Office at different epochs of its existence,–one from which the members of different ages will, relatively to one another, receive the same benefit from the profits during the earlier and growing years of the Office, and during years when the amount of its business is declining, as during its stationary period. I assume the premiums actually paid to be composed of the net premium calculated from a correct life table, and of a charge of 25 per cent. on the net premium added to guard against unfavourable contingencies, and that this additional charge is really the source of all the profit divisible among the members; or at least, that whatever profits arise from any other source may be fairly apportioned in the same proportions as appear equitable on the supposition that the charge is the sole source of profits. The addition to the premiums for defraying the expenses of the Office, for the sake of simplicity, I leave out of account. In consideration of the payments of the successive net premiums, the assured is guaranteed a sum at death such that the present prospective value of that sum is equal to the present value of the successive net premiums. Similarly, in consideration of the successive charges on the premiums, he should have the prospect of receiving a sum or sums either at death or at any times before that; not guaranteed, it is true, to any fixed amount, but variable with the circumstances of the Society, such that the present value of such sums or bonuses shall be equal to the present value of the successive charges. That this equation between the present values ought to subsist is as clear in the case of the charges and bonuses as in that of the net premiums and sums assured. If the system of division of profits be such that this equation always subsist, it must be fair as respects each member; and any Office adopting a system in which it does not subsist is committing as great an injustice towards its members as one which calculates the premiums on false life tables.
On some points connected with the Education of an Actuary
Authors: Porter H. W.
Published: August 2016

In the paper I shall have the honour of reading to you this evening, upon some points connected with the education of an actuary, I shall endeavour to describe some of the more important duties and responsibilities of that office—to offer some observations to the student, as to his preparation for the profession of an actuary—and to suggest to the Council of the Institute some reasons for enlarging the sphere of the examinations that they may think proper to prescribe.

I shall not detain you with any account of the ordinary duties of an actuary, which are of course well understood in this room, but shall at once proceed to the consideration of the foundation of all actuarial knowledge—mathematics.
On the Rates of Mortality prevailing amongst the Male and Female Lives assured in the Eagle Insurance Company during the 44 years ending 31 December 1851
Authors: Jellicoe Charles
Published: August 2016

In discussing the subject of assurance valuations and the most approved methods of making them, I have often had occasion to draw attention to the great importance of ascertaining with the utmost possible accuracy the rates of mortality and interest which have been found to prevail in any case under consideration, so as to determine what rates of premium are really required to provide, independently of other exigencies, for the sums assured, and how far the particular rates charged are sufficient or more than sufficient for that purpose. I have insisted the more strenuously on the necessity of this proceeding, from the conviction that in almost every Association some peculiarity in the prevailing mortality will be found to exist, distinguishing it from that of its neighbour, and arising from the different character of such influences as the condition of life of the persons whose lives are assured, the mode of selection, the greater or less predominance of the male sex and of assurances made by persons on their own lives over such as are effected on the lives of others, the constitution of the Company, and so on.
On the mortality arising from military operations
Authors: Hodge William Barwick
Published: August 2016

The present paper may be considered a sequel to that upon the “Mortality arising from Naval Operations,” which I had the honour to lay before the Society in their last session.

Although military affairs are in general looked upon in England with less interest than those of the navy, they derive at this time increased importance from the fact that nearly all the great operations of the present war have been upon land; and have, moreover, from a combination of unfortunate circumstances, been subjected to much criticism and discussion.
On the progress of fire insurance in Great Britain, as compared with other countries (Continued from p. 272)
Authors: Brown Samuel
Published: August 2016

In the year 1847, a report by the Special Commission appointed by the Belgian Government to inquire into assurance by the State, led to a project of law, in the first article of which it was proposed that a general system of insurance against fire, hail, and mortality amongst cattle, should be undertaken by the State. The Commission, however, had omitted to state the cost at which the system recommended could be carried out, and it was referred to the Central Commission of Statistics to inquire further into the subject. The report of M. Frére Orban, the Minister of Finance, contains a large amount of very valuable information on each of the subjects referred to; and with regard to fire insurance, he enters upon the general inquiry how far it would be profitable to the State to undertake this branch of business.
On the Rate of Mortality and Marriage amongst Europeans in India
Authors: Brown Samuel
Published: August 2016

The great changes which have lately taken place in India—the progress of railways, the extension of commerce, and the impetus which is likely to be given to the emigration of Europeans to those vast fields of enterprise—cannot but add peculiar interest to any inquiries tending to throw light on the causes which affect the health or life of Europeans in that country. The difficulties of arriving at any sound conclusions on these subjects have always been great. In dominions so widely spread, comprising all climates, from the most delightful temperatures of perpetual spring to the fever-haunted jungles and deadly swamp, every cause that affects the health of man may be found at work.
Report on the Fifth International Statistical Congress, held at Berlin, Sept. 6th to 12th, 1863
Authors: Brown Samuel
Published: August 2016

Five meetings of the International Statistical Congress have now been held, and it cannot be denied, that, with the vast increase in commerce, and in the social relations of different countries, they continue to grow in interest and importance. The first Congress, which may be truly said to owe its origin to the exertions of, and was presided over by, that eminent writer and thinker, M. Quetelet, was held in Brussels, in 1853; the second in Paris, in 1855 ; the third in Vienna, in 1857; the fourth in London, in 1860.
On the Construction of Survivorship Assurance Tables
Authors: Gray Peter
Published: August 2016

In a Postscript to the introductory matter of theAssurance and Annuity Tables, compiled and published by Messrs. Smith, Orchard, and myself in April, 1851 (and which Postscript was written by me), it is stated that I had “devised a new table, which, while answering all, and more than all, the purposes of Tables V. and VI. [which show the single and annual premiums for a survivorship assurance of £1 for every combination of two ages], by means of asinglevalue for each pair of ages, and thus occupying; little more space than one of them, would also be very much less laborious in its construction than the former of those tables. The new tables would, in fact, consist of series of columns supplementary to Mr. Jones'sCommutation Tables for Two Lives, and possessing all the properties,mutatis mutandis, with respect to the formation of temporary and deferred, as well as present, whole life benefits and payments, that give to tables of the form of those mentioned their great value.” The form of the table to which reference is here made suggested itself to me while occupied in superintending the printing of the work which contained the foregoing announcement. Having, however, had just then, as I thought, quite enough to do with survivorship assurances for a time, I contented myself with making the announcement cited, and communicating my ideas in a general way to my coadjutors, Messrs. Smith and Orchard.
On the value of contingent reversionary interests
Authors: Tucker Robert
Published: August 2016

Sir,—In one of the first papers read before the Institute of Actuaries, Mr Jellicoe pointed out “the method of procedure which should be observed in determining the value of life contingencies, where the risk was of an isolated character, as distinguished from cases in which the usual considerations of average presented themselves.” The paper was not, I believe, printed for the use of the members, bnt a short account of it is given in thePost Magazineof the 10th March, 1849. This was followed by one from Mr. Hardy, “On the values of annuities which are to pay certain given rates of interest on the purchase money during the whole term of their continuance, and to replace their original values, on their expiration, at certain other given rates”—where for the first time also is given, in an intelligible form, an expression for the value of an annuity certain under such conditions; in accordance with this a set of tables was constructed, and appended to the paper read before the Institute 25th November, 1850.
On the Calculation of Life Contingencies. (Part II)
Authors: De Morgan A.
Published: August 2016

The present paper is a continuation of that in the Companion for 1840, on the application of Barrett's method of calculating Me contingencies. No tables were then published for contingencies involving two lives; but since that time Mr. Jones's tables have appeared, in his work on the subject in the Library of Useful Knowledge. It may therefore be worth while to collect and describe the formulæ relative to two lives which are most likely to be useful in practice; with some other matters, which may partly interest the actuary and partly the commencing; student.
On the Value of Annuities payable Half-yearly, Quarterly, &c.
Authors: Sprague T. B.
Published: August 2016

This subject has been so fully treated by many writers, that it may be thought little or nothing new can be said in reference to it. It may, however, be useful to bring together and to compare the results obtained by the standard writers on the theory of life contingencies, to examine how far those results agree with each other, and when they differ, to ascertain the causes of the difference.
On the Value of Annuities payable Half-yearly, Quarterly, &c. (Part III)
Authors: Sprague Thomas Bond
Published: August 2016

In order to complete the consideration of this question as far as it relates to a single life, I will now give some numerical examples showing the magnitude of the corrections, or the additions to the value of annuities when payable half-yearly, as found from the formulæ of Mr. Baily and Mr. Woolhouse. Those formulæ will also be exhibited under some new aspects.
On the Theory of Annuities Certain
Authors: Makeham William Matthew
Published: August 2016

The interest with which I have perused Mr. Gray's very able paper in the last number of the Journal, has led me to give some consideration to the general theory of varying Annuities; and as the results of the investigation appear to me somewhat striking, I am induced to think that a brief paper on the subject may not be unacceptable to that section of the scientific world to which this Journal more particularly addresses itself.
On the Rate of Mortality amongst the Natives compared with that of Europeans in India
Authors: Brown Samuel
Published: August 2016

The various Pension Funds which have been established in the Presidencies of India in the Military, Medical, and Civil Services of the late Honourable East India Company have afforded the means of bringing together a great variety of interesting facts relating to the rates of mortality and marriage amongst Europeans in India. They were originally founded as mutual charitable schemes, giving assistance or pensions to the widows or children of such Members of the services as had not left sufficient pecuniary means for the support of their families or for putting them forward in life. The Company saw fit to encourage these laudable designs by allowing high rates of interest on their invested Funds, and making favourable arrangements in the exchanges for payments to be made in England.
On the Risk attaching to the grant of Life Assurances
Authors: Bremiker C.
Published: August 2016

While life insurance premiums, irrespective of the additions for the cost of management, are so calculated, that assuming a given mortality table and a given rate of interest, the receipts of the Insurance Office improved at compound interest will exactly suffice to pay the claims that occur according to the table of mortality; yet the Office suffers a loss in those cases where death occurs soon, and on the contrary makes a profit in the case of the persons who live long. In the grant of life annuities, the contrary is the case. It can be calculated exactly how long an insured person must live in order that the Office may make neither profit nor loss on his insurance; and in the same way it can be calculated what gain or loss the Office experiences when the life assured dies after a given number of years, n. If all these gains and losses are added together, the losses being considered as negative gains, the sum must be = 0. This, however, is far from being the case in practice. The datums of the mortality table, altho' they may be deduced from observations extending over a long series of years, are to be considered as mean values, which are strictly applicable only when there is a very great number of deaths; and we ought to expect that with a small number of insurances, and still more in single instances, considerable deviations from the mean will take place.
On the Valuation of Claims upon current Policies in the Liquidation of a Life Office, with reference to the Decisions in Bell's and Lancaster's Cases
Authors: Bunyon C. J.
Published: August 2016

The question which it is proposed to consider in the present paper is the correct mode of valuation of current policies, or true measure of proof to which claimants thereon are entitled in the liquidation of a Life Office. The subject is of especial interest at the present time, because its solution is even now waiting settlement by the Court of Chancery; and the interest is heightened by the fact, that conflicting judgments have been delivered by two eminent equity Judges, namely, by Lord Justice James, in Bell's case, when sitting as Vice-Chancellor in the Court of Chancery, and by Lord Cairns, in Lancaster's case, when sitting as Arbitrator in the Albert Arbitration. It does not appear that among actuaries there is a complete agreement. Nevertheless, the case ought not to present any great difficulty, and whether among actuaries or in a Court of Equity must be decided by argument alone. It is therefore proposed to consider the question, in the first instance, upon principle; and secondly, with reference to the doctrines laid down in the cases to which we have referred.
On “Extra Premium”
Authors: Macfadyen James R.
Published: August 2016

A paper on Extra Premium may treat of the subject in one or other of two ways. It may be, on the one hand, an attempt to deduce tables of mortality for the various classes of under-average risks occurring in a Life Office's transactions. Or, on the other hand, this part of the subject may be ignored and the paper be simply an enquiry into the effects resulting from the various methods employed in charging extra—an analysis of the actuarial points raised in consequence of a Society admitting not merely minimum risk lives, but others not eligible on similar terms. In short, the subject of Extra Premium may be considered either in respect to the amount to be imposed or in regard to the manner and effect of its imposition. The first question must be determined mainly by actual mortality observations—the second does not require in the same degree for its examination the light of experience. It is this latter question which I have taken up in the following paper; but as both branches of the subject are intimately connected, it may be well to make a few general remarks on the former also.
On the application of the Binomial Law to Statistical Enquiries, illustrated by the Law of the growth of Man at different ages
Authors: Brown Samuel
Published: August 2016

In recent years, the writer who has done the most good service in bringing scientific methods to bear on the collection and comparison of statistics, is M. Quetelet, the Director of the Royal Observatory in Bruxelles, President of the Central Commission of Statistics, and the Perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Sciences. Nearly all the learned Academies of Europe claim the credit of enrolling him as a member. He was amongst the small number of illustrious men, including Professor Babbage, Whewell, Malthus, Drinkwater, Jones, Col. Sykes, &c., who at the third meeting of the British Association for the advancement of Science, at Cambridge in 1833, succeeded in establishing the special Section F on Economic Science and Statistics, and which afterwards led to the formation of the Statistical Society of London and various provincial Societies. He was also the originator of the International Statistical Congresses, which have been so useful in improving the methods of collection and publication of facts in all branches of statistical enquiry by every Government in Europe.
On Errors in Tables of Logarithms of Numbers
Authors: Glaisher J. W. L.
Published: August 2016

The following results compiled from my paper “On the Progress to Accuracy of Logarithmic Tables,” read before the Royal Astronomical Society, on 13th December 1872, will probably be found interesting to the readers of the Journal of the Institute of Actuaries, more especially in connection with the recent correspondence in reference to Mr. Sang's logarithmic tables.
On the Law of American Life as deduced from the Experience of the Mutual Benefit Life Ins. Co., of New Jersey, analyzed and adjusted by Gompertz's Law'
Authors: Nichols Walter S.
Published: August 2016

The recently published Experience of the Mutual Benefit Life Ins. Co., as given in Table (6) and columns (2) and (3) of the accompanying Percentage Table, is, in several important particulars, the most valuable contribution yet made to our American vital statistics. It is the most extensive that has thus far been furnished by any single company. The total number of deaths that had taken place in the Mutual Life when Mr. Homans constructed the American Experience Table, amounted to only about 2,900, while the Mutual Benefit records over 3,900, or about one-third more than the number on which that table was constructed.
The Condition and Progress of German Life Insurance Companies in the Year 1873
Authors: Emminghaus A. , Bumsted D. A.
Published: August 2016

The progress of life insurance in Germany in the year 1873 was far greater than could have been anticipated from the course of events during the year. For at a time of violent reaction, such as Germany and Austria experienced in the past year, succeeding a period during which mercantile speculations had been engaged in with such frantic eagerness by all classes of the community, we should not have expected to find men either willing or able to give that calm and self-denying consideration to the future, upon which life insurance depends. With the necessaries of life at exorbitant prices, it was natural to suppose that there would be a considerable diminution in the number of those who, after meeting the claims of the day, would be able to provide for the future. While the general state of society thus led to the conclusion that there would be a diminution in the number of insurances, there was also reason to fear that the mortality would be greatly increased through the recent outbreak of cholera, which extended over a large district, and held its ground very firmly for some time. In both respects, the returns for 1873 were more favourable than we expected; and this furnishes another proof of the fact that, in those parts of central Europe from which our returns are derived, life insurance has not yet become so general, that all the occurrences of domestic and social life, or even events involving important changes, have any distinct influence upon its development. It cannot be denied that in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, life insurance is not nearly so well understood as in Great Britain and the United States.
A Scheme for the Collection of Data for Periodical Observation of Mortality among Lives Selected for Assurance: illustrated by Examples from Observations of Mortality in Austria
Authors: Curtis F. A.
Published: August 2016

One of the most important duties of the manager of a life assurance company is certainly to watch the rate of mortality amongst the lives assured, by a systematic investigation at brief intervals, so that he may obtain from time to time an insight into the value of the business by which he is building up the greatness of his company.
On the Additional Premium required for Residence in Foreign Climates
Authors: Meikle James
Published: August 2016

The climate of any place is the result of the various phenomena regulating the natural order of the universe, as these are modified by circumstances affecting the particular locality. Climate has been concisely defined by Humboldt to signify all those states and changes of the atmosphere which sensibly affect our organs,—temperature, humidity, weight, agitation, electric tension, purity, and transparency. If we would correctly consider the climate of any place, it is accordingly necessary to give some consideration to every one of these phenomena. Temperature alone, if that be held to signify the mean annual temperature, gives a very imperfect idea of climate. It no doubt forms a most important element, but it must be considered with reference to its range, and that not only the minimum and maximum temperatures of the year, or the average daily temperature of the various months of the year, but it is also essentially necessary to know the daily range of the thermometer throughout the year, and during a series of years. The suddenness of the variations of the temperature is a most important element in judging of climate, and it is also important to understand the causes of the daily extremes of heat and cold, and the accompanying force and direction of wind during these extremes. Very intense heat and very severe cold may be borne without uneasiness, or even without much discomfort, provided these are unaccompanied by wind.
Life Assurance in France
Authors: Curtis F. A.
Published: August 2016

There is a prevalent but erroneous idea entertained on this side of the Straits of Dover, that the business of the French life assurance companies is mainly composed of annuities and endowments, with but very little of life assurance properly so called. The truth lies much the other way. Indeed, the amount of business transacted in the assurance of human life, by the few French companies that exist—that is to say, for sums payable in the event of death—reaches a yearly aggregate of several millions of pounds sterling. The most successful French company, which at the same time is the oldest, issued, in the year 1874, whole life assurance policies for very nearly £2,000,000 sterling in that class of assurance alone, and in France alone—an amount that exceeds anything yet achieved by any English company whatever, taking, altogether, its business from Great Britain, the Colonies, and India.
On the Measure of Expenses in Life Insurance Companies
Authors: Macfadyen J. R. , Sprague T. B.
Published: August 2016

Referring to Mr. Sprague's reply to the Discussion on his paper (J. I. A.xix, 324), I would wish to point out that the admission by me, that a company, for its own internal purposes, may discriminate between expenditure on old and on new business, is not an admission of the principle which Mr. Sprague contends for. It required no argument to show that when an office wished to know what its new business was costing, it would be requisite for it to disentangle the expenditure on new business from general outlay. It is no conversion to Mr. Sprague's views to admit this. The point between us is not that, but the more complex one of thecommonmeasure to apply to outlay on all business, both old and new.
Railway Debenture Stocks considered as a Security for the Investment of the Funds of a Life Assurance Society
Authors: Coles John
Published: August 2016

Two valuable contributions to what may perhaps be called the “Finance of Life Assurance” appear in the Assurance Magazine; both by eminent Members of this Institute. The first in 1858 by our present President “On the Investments of the Funds of Assurance Companies;” the second in 1862 by Mr. A. H. Bailey, “On the Principles on which the Funds of Life Assurance Societies should be invested.”
On an Improved Theory of Annuities and Assurances
Authors: Woolhouse W. S. B.
Published: August 2016

The existing theory and practice of Annuities and Assurances, and the tables ordinarily constructed for the purpose of expediting the various computations relating to the same, are radically founded on annual payments, or upon a series of mathematical values which appertain to certain annual periods that are specifically defined. Indeed, the methods employed are not strictly applicable unless the prescribed condition of annual periodicity is realized or assumed; and this, in fact, is the reason why assurances, as well as annuities, are necessarily supposed to be payable on the exact completion of one of the recurring periods, viz., at the end of the year of age in which the death takes place.
On some problems in the theory of probabilities
Authors: Lazarus Wilhelm , Sprague Thomas B. , Williams J. Hill
Published: August 2016

The Author commences by stating that he has in the course of his investigations found the theory of probabilities in a far from perfect state. In many cases, when he has wished to make use of the theory of probabilities, he has searched in vain for demonstrated formulae capable of immediate application, and he has generally been obliged to begin by working out the formulae independently for himself.
A table for determining the amounts &c., of continuous annuities certain
Authors: Makeham William Matthew
Published: August 2016

The annexed Table contains the values of the function for all values of x differing by ·01, from 0 to 10·4.

To find the value of the function for any intermediate value of x, enter the table with the value of x nearest to the given value, whether greater or less, and take out the quantities Δ and Δ′ opposite the interval to which the given value belongs.
On the Principles to be observed in Life Office Valuations made with a view to Distribution of Profits: being a paper read to the Actuarial Society of Edinburgh
Authors: McCandlish John M.
Published: August 2016

Some apology is needed, perhaps, for proposing to rediscuss a subject which has been handled so often, and by so many distinguished actuaries. But I am probably addressing gentlemen who have not had occasion to become familiar with all that has been written or said on the subject, and others to whom it may usefully be presented from a fresh point of view; and there are some important practical questions too on which the profession seem scarcely yet agreed, which will admit of further consideration. I shall not attempt to notice the various papers which from time to time have been contributed by actuaries towards the solution of the questions I am to consider. For many of the views I am to express I am necessarily indebted to those who have preceded me; and the aim of this paper is less to introduce what is new, than to enforce, and illustrate if possible, sound and correct opinions. I am anxious to set the subject in a light which will make it intelligible to others than actuaries, and to discuss principles rather than formulas.
On the Mortality among Innkeepers, Publicans, and other Persons engaged in the Sale of Intoxicating Liquors, — being the Experience of the Scottish Amicable Life Assurance Society during Fifty Years, 1826–1876
Authors: Stott John
Published: August 2016

The influence of Occupation upon health and longevity, is, I think, a subject deserving of even more attention than has hitherto been given to it by the Actuarial and Medical Professions. As the benefits conferred by Life Assurance are now almost universally recognized, they are being taken advantage of by classes of the community which, until the last few years, did not seem fully to appreciate them. It is therefore of no little consequence to have, as far as possible, a clear understanding of the relative risks attaching to different occupations and to the various branches of industry.
Bright monomeric near-infrared fluorescent proteins as tags and biosensors for multiscale imaging
Authors: Shcherbakova Daria M. , Baloban Mikhail , Emelyanov Alexander V. , Brenowitz Michael , Guo Peng , Verkhusha Vladislav V.
Published: August 2016

Monomeric near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent proteins (FPs) are in high demand as protein tags and components of biosensors for deep-tissue imaging and multicolour microscopy. We report three bright and spectrally distinct monomeric NIR FPs, termed miRFPs, engineered from bacterial phytochrome, which can be used as easily as GFP-like FPs. miRFPs are 2–5-fold brighter in mammalian cells than other monomeric NIR FPs and perform well in protein fusions, allowing multicolour structured illumination microscopy. miRFPs enable development of several types of NIR biosensors, such as for protein–protein interactions, RNA detection, signalling cascades and cell fate. We demonstrate this by engineering the monomeric fluorescence complementation reporters, the IκBα reporter for NF-κB pathway and the cell cycle biosensor for detection of proliferation status of cells in culture and in animals. miRFPs allow non-invasive visualization and detection of biological processes at different scales, from super-resolution microscopy to in vivo imaging, using the same probes.
Circular non-coding RNA ANRIL modulates ribosomal RNA maturation and atherosclerosis in humans
Authors: Holdt Lesca M. , Stahringer Anika , Sass Kristina , Pichler Garwin , Kulak Nils A. , Wilfert Wolfgang , Kohlmaier Alexander , Herbst Andreas , Northoff Bernd H. , Nicolaou Alexandros , Gäbel Gabor , Beutner Frank , Scholz Markus , Thiery Joachim , Musunuru Kiran , Krohn Knut , Mann Matthias , Teupser Daniel
Published: August 2016

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are broadly expressed in eukaryotic cells, but their molecular mechanism in human disease remains obscure. Here we show that circular antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (circANRIL), which is transcribed at a locus of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease on chromosome 9p21, confers atheroprotection by controlling ribosomal RNA (rRNA) maturation and modulating pathways of atherogenesis. CircANRIL binds to pescadillo homologue 1 (PES1), an essential 60S-preribosomal assembly factor, thereby impairing exonuclease-mediated pre-rRNA processing and ribosome biogenesis in vascular smooth muscle cells and macrophages. As a consequence, circANRIL induces nucleolar stress and p53 activation, resulting in the induction of apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation, which are key cell functions in atherosclerosis. Collectively, these findings identify circANRIL as a prototype of a circRNA regulating ribosome biogenesis and conferring atheroprotection, thereby showing that circularization of long non-coding RNAs may alter RNA function and protect from human disease.
Ultrafast formation of interlayer hot excitons in atomically thin MoS2/WS2 heterostructures
Authors: Chen Hailong , Wen Xiewen , Zhang Jing , Wu Tianmin , Gong Yongji , Zhang Xiang , Yuan Jiangtan , Yi Chongyue , Lou Jun , Ajayan Pulickel M. , Zhuang Wei , Zhang Guangyu , Zheng Junrong
Published: August 2016

Van der Waals heterostructures composed of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides layers have recently emerged as a new family of materials, with great potential for atomically thin opto-electronic and photovoltaic applications. It is puzzling, however, that the photocurrent is yielded so efficiently in these structures, despite the apparent momentum mismatch between the intralayer/interlayer excitons during the charge transfer, as well as the tightly bound nature of the excitons in 2D geometry. Using the energy-state-resolved ultrafast visible/infrared microspectroscopy, we herein obtain unambiguous experimental evidence of the charge transfer intermediate state with excess energy, during the transition from an intralayer exciton to an interlayer exciton at the interface of a WS2/MoS2 heterostructure, and free carriers moving across the interface much faster than recombining into the intralayer excitons. The observations therefore explain how the remarkable charge transfer rate and photocurrent generation are achieved even with the aforementioned momentum mismatch and excitonic localization in 2D heterostructures and devices.
Correction: Corrigendum: A new live-cell reporter strategy to simultaneously monitor mitochondrial biogenesis and morphology
Authors: Hodneland Nilsson Linn Iren , Nitschke Pettersen Ina Katrine , Nikolaisen Julie , Micklem David , Avsnes Dale Hege , Vatne Røsland Gro , Lorens James , Tronstad Karl Johan
Published: August 2016

Scientific Reports 5: Article number: 17217; published online: 24 November 2015; updated: 19 August 2016. This Article contains errors in Figure 4. In Figure 4B, the y-axis ‘V m,cell (µm3)’ is incorrectly labelled as ‘V m,cell (m3)’. In Figure 4C, the y-axis ‘S m,cell (µm2)’ is incorrectly labelled as ‘S m,cell (m2)’.
Correction: Corrigendum: Nanomechanical probing of the layer/substrate interface of an exfoliated InSe sheet on sapphire
Authors: Beardsley Ryan , Akimov Andrey V. , Greener Jake D. G. , Mudd Garry W. , Sandeep Sathyan , Kudrynskyi Zakhar R. , Kovalyuk Zakhar D. , Patanè Amalia , Kent Anthony J.
Published: August 2016

Scientific Reports 6: Article number: 26970; published online: 03 June 2016; updated: 19 August 2016. The Acknowledgements section in this Article is incomplete. “This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the EU FP7 Graphene Flagship Project 604391, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Department of Science and Technology, India and the UK India Education and Research Initiative”.
Desert Amplification in a Warming Climate
Authors: Zhou Liming
Published: August 2016

Here I analyze the observed and projected surface temperature anomalies over land between 50°S-50°N for the period 1950–2099 by large-scale ecoregion and find strongest warming consistently and persistently seen over driest ecoregions such as the Sahara desert and the Arabian Peninsula during various 30-year periods, pointing to desert amplification in a warming climate. This amplification enhances linearly with the global mean greenhouse gases(GHGs) radiative forcing and is attributable primarily to a stronger GHGs-enhanced downward longwave radiation forcing reaching the surface over drier ecoregions as a consequence of a warmer and thus moister atmosphere in response to increasing GHGs. These results indicate that desert amplification may represent a fundamental pattern of global warming associated with water vapor feedbacks over land in low- and mid- latitudes where surface warming rates depend inversely on ecosystem dryness. It is likely that desert amplification might involve two types of water vapor feedbacks that maximize respectively in the tropical upper troposphere and near the surface over deserts, with both being very dry and thus extremely sensitive to changes of water vapor.
Effects of plant stanol or sterol-enriched diets on lipid profiles in patients treated with statins: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Han Shufen , Jiao Jun , Xu Jiaying , Zimmermann Diane , Actis-Goretta Lucas , Guan Lei , Zhao Youyou , Qin Liqiang
Published: August 2016

Efficacy and safety data from trials with suitable endpoints have shown that non-statin medication in combination with a statin is a potential strategy to further reduce cardiovascular events. We aimed to evaluate the overall effect of stanol- or sterol-enriched diets on serum lipid profiles in patients treated with statins by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We used the PubMed, Cochrane library and ClinicalTrials.gov databases to search for literature published up to December 2015. Trials were included in the analysis if they were RCTs evaluating the effect of plant stanols or sterols in patients under statin therapy that reported corresponding data on serum lipid profiles. We included 15 RCTs involving a total of 500 participants. Stanol- or sterol-enriched diets in combination with statins, compared with statins alone, produced significant reductions in total cholesterol of 0.30 mmol/L (95% CI −0.36 to −0.25) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol of 0.30 mmol/L (95% CI −0.35 to −0.25), but not in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides. These results persisted in the subgroup analysis. Our meta-analysis provides further evidence that stanol- or sterol-enriched diets additionally lower total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels in patients treated with statins beyond that achieved by statins alone.
A regulatory loop between miR-132 and miR-125b involved in gonadotrope cells desensitization to GnRH
Authors: Lannes Jérôme , L’hôte David , Fernandez-Vega Ambra , Garrel Ghislaine , Laverrière Jean-Noël , Joëlle Cohen-Tannoudji  , Quérat Bruno
Published: August 2016

The GnRH neurohormone is the main activator of the pituitary gonadotropins, LH and FSH. Here we investigated the contribution of microRNAs in mediating GnRH activation. We first established that miR-125b targets several actors of Gαq/11 signalling pathway, without altering Gαs pathway. We then showed that a Gαs-mediated, PKA-dependent phosphorylation of NSun2 methyltransferase leads to miR-125b methylation and thereby induces its down-regulation. We demonstrated that NSun2 mRNA is a target of miR-132 and that NSun2 may be inactivated by the PP1α phosphatase. Time-course analysis of GnRH treatment revealed an initial NSun2-dependent down-regulation of miR-125b with consecutive up-regulation of LH and FSH expression. Increase of miR-132 and of the catalytic subunit of PP1α then contributed to NSun2 inactivation and to the return of miR-125b to its steady-state level. The Gαq/11-dependent pathway was thus again silenced, provoking the down-regulation of LH, FSH and miR-132. Overall, this study reveals that a regulatory loop that tends to maintain or restore high and low levels of miR-125b and miR-132, respectively, is responsible for gonadotrope cells desensitization to sustained GnRH. A dysregulation of this loop might be responsible for the inverted dynamics of these two miRNAs reported in several neuronal and non-neuronal pathologies.
Comprehensive Assessment of the Association between FCGRs polymorphisms and the risk of systemic lupus erythematosus: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhu Xiao-Wei , Wang Yong , Wei Yi-Hua , Zhao Pian-Pian , Wang Xiao-Bo , Rong Jing-Jing , Zhong Wen-Ying , Zhang Xing-Wei , Wang Li , Zheng Hou-Feng
Published: August 2016

We performed a meta analysis to assess the relationship of FCGRs polymorphisms with the risk of SLE. Thirty-five articles (including up to 5741 cases and 6530 controls) were recruited for meta-analysis. The strongest association was observed between FCGR2B rs1050501 and SLE under the recessive genotypic model of C allele in the overall population (CC vs CT/TT, OR = 1.754, 95%CI: 1.422–2.165, P = 1.61 × 10−7) and in Asian population (CC vs CT/TT, OR = 1.784, 95%CI; 1.408–2.261, P = 1.67 × 10−6). We also found that FCGR3A rs396991 were significant association with the susceptibility to SLE in overall population in recessive model of T allele (TT vs TG/GG, OR = 1.263, 95%CI: 1.123–1.421, P = 9.62 × 10−5). The results also showed that significant association between FCGR2A rs1801274 and SLE under the allelic model in the overall population (OR = 0.879 per A allele, 95%CI: 0.819–0.943, P = 3.31 × 10−4). The meta-analysis indicated that FCGR3B copy number polymorphism NA1·NA2 was modestly associated with SLE in overall population (OR = 0.851 per NA1, 95%CI: 0.772–0.938, P = 1.2 × 10−3). We concluded that FCGR2B rs1050501 C allele and FCGR3A rs396991 T allele might contribute to susceptibility and development of SLE, and were under recessive association model. While, FCGR2A rs1801274 A allele and FCGR3B NA1 were associated with SLE and reduced the risk of SLE.
Passive Transfer of A Germline-like Neutralizing Human Monoclonal Antibody Protects Transgenic Mice Against Lethal Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection
Authors: Agrawal Anurodh Shankar , Ying Tianlei , Tao Xinrong , Garron Tania , Algaissi Abdullah , Wang Yanping , Wang Lili , Peng Bi-Hung , Jiang Shibo , Dimitrov Dimiter S. , Tseng Chien-Te K.
Published: August 2016

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has repeatedly caused outbreaks in the Arabian Peninsula. To date, no approved medical countermeasures (MCM) are available to combat MERS-CoV infections. Several neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), including m336, a germline-like human mAb, have been chosen as promising MCM for MERS-CoV. However, their clinical development has been hindered by the lack of a robust animal model that recapitulate the morbidity and mortality of human infections. We assessed the prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of m336 by using well-characterized transgenic mice shown to be highly sensitive to MERS-CoV infection and disease. We found that mice treated with m336 prior to or post lethal MERS-CoV challenging were fully protected, compared to control mice which sufferered from profound weight loss and uniform death within days after infection. Taken together, these results support further development of m336 and other human monoclonal antibodies as potential therapeutics for MERS-CoV infection.
Paternal chronic colitis causes epigenetic inheritance of susceptibility to colitis
Authors: Tschurtschenthaler Markus , Kachroo Priyadarshini , Heinsen Femke-Anouska , Adolph Timon Erik , Rühlemann Malte Christoph , Klughammer Johanna , Offner Felix Albert , Ammerpohl Ole , Krueger Felix , Smallwood Sébastien , Szymczak Silke , Kaser Arthur , Franke Andre
Published: August 2016

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) arises by unknown environmental triggers in genetically susceptible individuals. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression may integrate internal and external influences and may thereby modulate disease susceptibility. Epigenetic modification may also affect the germ-line and in certain contexts can be inherited to offspring. This study investigates epigenetic alterations consequent to experimental murine colitis induced by dextran sodium sulphate (DSS), and their paternal transmission to offspring. Genome-wide methylome- and transcriptome-profiling of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and sperm cells of males of the F0 generation, which received either DSS and consequently developed colitis (F0DSS), or non-supplemented tap water (F0Ctrl) and hence remained healthy, and of their F1 offspring was performed using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) and RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq), respectively. Offspring of F0DSS males exhibited aberrant methylation and expression patterns of multiple genes, including Igf1r and Nr4a2, which are involved in energy metabolism. Importantly, DSS colitis in F0DSS mice was associated with decreased body weight at baseline of their F1 offspring, and these F1 mice exhibited increased susceptibility to DSS-induced colitis compared to offspring from F0Ctrl males. This study hence demonstrates epigenetic transmissibility of metabolic and inflammatory traits resulting from experimental colitis.
Function of high-mobility group A proteins in the DNA damage signaling for the induction of apoptosis
Authors: Fujikane Ryosuke , Komori Kayoko , Sekiguchi Mutsuo , Hidaka Masumi
Published: August 2016

O6-Methylguanine produced in DNA can pair with thymine during DNA replication, thus leading to a G-to-A transition mutation. To prevent such outcomes, cells harboring O6-methylguanine-containing mispair undergo apoptosis that requires the function of mismatch repair (MMR) protein complex. To identify the genes involved in the induction of apoptosis, we performed gene-trap mutagenesis and isolated a clone of mouse cells exhibiting an increased resistance to the killing effect of an alkylating agent, N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). The mutant carries an insertion in the Hmga2 gene, which belongs to a gene family encoding the high-mobility group A non-histone chromatin proteins. To elucidate the function of HMGA proteins in the apoptosis pathway, we introduced siRNAs for HMGA1 and/or HMGA2 into human HeLa MR cells defective in O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase. HMGA1- and HMGA2-single knockdown cells showed an increased resistance to MNU, and HMGA1/HMGA2-double knockdown cells exhibited further increased tolerance compared to the control. The phosphorylation of ATR and CHK1, the appearance of a sub-G1 population, and caspase-9 activation were suppressed in the knockdown cells, although the formation of mismatch recognition complex was unaffected. These results suggest that HMGA family proteins function at the step following the damage recognition in the process of apoptosis triggered by O6-methylguanine.