bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trends in seasonal warm anomalies across the contiguous United States: Contributions from natural climate variability
Authors: Yu Lejiang , Zhong Shiyuan , Heilman Warren E. , Bian Xindi
Published: February 2018

Many studies have shown the importance of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in contributing to observed upward trends in the occurrences of temperature extremes over the U.S. However, few studies have investigated the contributions of internal variability in the climate system to these observed trends. Here we use daily maximum temperature time series from the North American Land Data Assimilation System Phase 2 (NLDAS-2) dataset to identify trends in seasonal warm anomalies over the contiguous U.S. in the three most recent decades and explore their relationships to low-frequency modes of internal climate variability. The results reveal substantial upward trends in the frequency of warm anomalies in all seasons and in all regions of the U.S., except for portions of the Intermountain West in winter where significant downward trends occur. The strengths and regional coverage of the trends, however, differ considerably by season. These trends can be explained, in part, by the large-scale anomalous atmospheric circulations associated with low-frequency sea-surface temperature oscillations characterized by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). The association between the upward trends in the seasonal warm anomalies and PDO and AMO is further confirmed by the century-long (1871–2012) Twentieth Century Reanalysis dataset.
Evaluation of novel platinum(ii) based AIE compound-encapsulated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for cancer theranostic application
Authors: Pasha Sheik Saleem , Fageria Leena , Climent Clàudia , Rath Nigam P. , Alemany Pere , Chowdhury Rajdeep , Roy Aniruddha , Laskar Inamur Rahaman
Published: February 2018

In order to develop a single compound based cancer theranostics, we have designed and synthesized a novel platinum(ii)-based ‘aggregation induced emission’ (AIE) molecule which showed strong intracellular luminescence and also simultaneously exhibited potent cytotoxic activity.
Carbodiphosphorane-based nickel pincer complexes and their (de)protonated analogues: dimerisation, ligand tautomers and proton affinities
Authors: Maser Leon , Herritsch Jan , Langer Robert
Published: February 2018

For a series of carbodiphosphorane-based Ni-pincer complexes, theoretical and experimental data is investigated and points towards carbodiphosphorane-based donor groups as potential proton relays in catalytic applications.
The neuroprotective and antioxidant profiles of selenium-containing polysaccharides from the fruit of Rosa laevigata
Authors: Liu Xuegui , Gao Yixing , Li Danqi , Liu Changfeng , Jin Mei , Bian Jun , Lv Mengchao , Sun Yuqiu , Zhang Lixin , Gao Pinyi
Published: February 2018

A rapid and effective approach for the extraction and separation of polysaccharides from the title fruit was developed using microwave-assisted aqueous two-phase extraction with a PEG/ammonium sulfate system.
4-Phenylpyrimidine monolayer protection of a copper surface from salt corrosion
Authors: Wei N. , Jiang Y. , Liu Z. , Ying Y. , Guo X. , Wu Y. , Wen Y. , Yang H.
Published: February 2018

The efficiency of a 4-phenylpyrimidine monolayer optimally self-assembled on a copper surface against corrosion by a 3 wt% NaCl solution could reach 83.2%.
Binder-free 2D titanium carbide (MXene)/carbon nanotube composites for high-performance lithium-ion capacitors
Authors: Yu Peng , Cao Gejin , Yi Sha , Zhang Xiong , Li Chen , Sun Xianzhong , Wang Kai , Ma Yanwei
Published: February 2018

A full-cell lithium-ion capacitor is assembled using a Ti3C2Tx/CNT film as the anode and activated carbon as the cathode.
In situ synthesis and electronic transport of the carbon-coated Ag@C/MWCNT nanocomposite
Authors: Wang Dongxing , Li Da , Muhammad Javid , Zhou Yuanliang , Wang Ziming , Lu Sansan , Dong Xinglong , Zhang Zhidong
Published: February 2018

An electric transition from ln ρ(T) ∼ T−1/4 to ln ρ(T) ∼ T−1/2 hopping conduction happened at 5.4 K in situ synthesis of Ag@C/MWCNTs nanocomposite.
A new approach to improve the electrochemical performance of ZnMn2O4 through a charge compensation mechanism using the substitution of Al3+ for Zn2+
Authors: Zhu Xianyu , Quan Jingbin , Huang Jichun , Ma Zheng , Chen Yixin , Zhu Decheng , Ji Chongxing , Li Decheng
Published: February 2018

This work reports the nonequivalent substitution of ZnMn2O4. This is a new approach to improve the electrochemical performance of ZnMn2O4 through a charge compensation mechanism using the substitution of Al3+ for Zn2+.
Difference in the deactivation of Au catalysts during ethanol transformation when supported on ZnO and on TiO2
Authors: Morales M. V. , Asedegbega-Nieto E. , Castillejos-López E. , Bachiller-Baeza B. , Guerrero-Ruiz A.
Published: February 2018

Au NPs of different sizes were supported on two metal oxides: ZnO and TiO2. Differences in ethanol transformation for Au of similar particle size reveal that TiO2 support induces condensation products while ZnO only gives place to dehydrogenation.
Amplification of PIP3 signalling by macropinocytic cups
Authors: Kay Robert R. , Williams Thomas D. , Paschke Peggy
Published: February 2018

In a role distinct from and perhaps more ancient than that in signal transduction, PIP3 and Ras help to spatially organize the actin cytoskeleton into macropinocytic cups. These large endocytic structures are extended by actin polymerization from the cell surface and have at their core an intense patch of active Ras and PIP3, around which actin polymerizes, creating cup-shaped projections. We hypothesize that active Ras and PIP3 self-amplify within macropinocytic cups, in a way that depends on the structural integrity of the cup. Signalling that triggers macropinocytosis may therefore be amplified downstream in a way that depends on macropinocytosis. This argument provides a context for recent findings that signalling to Akt (an effector of PIP3) is sensitive to cytoskeletal and macropinocytic inhibitors.
The Impact of Age, Background Noise, Semantic Ambiguity, and Hearing Loss on Recognition Memory for Spoken Sentences
Authors: Koeritzer Margaret A. , Rogers Chad S. , Van Engen Kristin J. , Peelle Jonathan E.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The goal of this study was to determine how background noise, linguistic properties of spoken sentences, and listener abilities (hearing sensitivity and verbal working memory) affect cognitive demand during auditory sentence comprehension.

Method

We tested 30 young adults and 30 older adults. Participants heard lists of sentences in quiet and in 8-talker babble at signal-to-noise ratios of +15 dB and +5 dB, which increased acoustic challenge but left the speech largely intelligible. Half of the sentences contained semantically ambiguous words to additionally manipulate cognitive challenge. Following each list, participants performed a visual recognition memory task in which they viewed written sentences and indicated whether they remembered hearing the sentence previously.

Results

Recognition memory (indexed by
d′
) was poorer for acoustically challenging sentences, poorer for sentences containing ambiguous words, and differentially poorer for noisy high-ambiguity sentences. Similar patterns were observed for
Z
-transformed response time data. There were no main effects of age, but age interacted with both acoustic clarity and semantic ambiguity such that older adults' recognition memory was poorer for acoustically degraded high-ambiguity sentences than the young adults'. Within the older adult group, exploratory correlation analyses suggested that poorer hearing ability was associated with poorer recognition memory for sentences in noise, and better verbal working memory was associated with better recognition memory for sentences in noise.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate listeners' reliance on domain-general cognitive processes when listening to acoustically challenging speech, even when speech is highly intelligible. Acoustic challenge and semantic ambiguity both reduce the accuracy of listeners' recognition memory for spoken sentences.

Supplemental Materials

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5848059
GreenOFDM: a new selected mapping method for OFDM PAPR reduction
Authors: Mestdagh D.J.G. , Gulfo Monsalve J.L. , Brossier J.‐M.
Published: February 2018

A new selected mapping orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation (SLM‐OFDM) that generates symbol candidates using U inverse fast Fourier transform is presented. The complementary cumulative distribution function of peak‐to‐average power ratio (PAPR) of the so‐called GreenOFDM is derived and computer simulations show that the proposed method outperforms any other SLM‐OFDM proposed method so far. Also, GreenOFDM is compared with localised single carrier frequency division multiple access as it is a well‐known PAPR reduction technique standardised for long‐term evolution advanced.
Automatic object extraction from images using deep neural networks and the level‐set method
Authors: Wu Kan , Yu Yizhou
Published: February 2018

The authors propose an automatic method for extracting objects with fine quality from photographs. The authors’ method starts with finding bounding boxes that enclose potential objects, which is achievable by state‐of‐the‐art object proposal methods. To further segment objects within obtained bounding boxes, the authors propose a new multi‐pass level‐set method based on saliency detection and foreground pixel classification. The level‐set function is initially constructed with respect to the automatically detected salient parts within the bounding box, which eliminates potential user interaction and predicts an initial set of pixels on the object. The input features for foreground pixel classifiers are constructed as a combination of classical texture features from the Gabor filter banks and convolutional features from a pre‐trained deep neural network. Through multi‐pass evolution of the level‐set function and re‐training of the foreground pixel classifier, the authors’ method is able to overcome possible inaccuracies in the initial level‐set function and converge to the real object boundary.
Die prähospitale Versorgung der schwangeren Traumapatientin
Authors: Weißleder Anne , Fitzgerald Justine , Hossfeld Björn , Lampl Lorenz , Helm Matthias , Treffer Dominik
Published: February 2018

Die notfallmedizinische Versorgung von schwangeren Traumapatientinnen ist ein seltenes Einsatzszenario. Das Rettungsteam muss sich mit 2 Patienten auseinandersetzen – der Mutter und dem ungeborenen Kind. Erschwerend tritt hinzu, dass für den Notfallmediziner die Versorgung schwangerer Patientinnen häufig keine Routinetätigkeit darstellt. In dieser Situation ist ein strukturiertes Vorgehen in der Patientenversorgung, unter Beachtung der graviditätsspezifischen Besonderheiten, essenziell.
Subspecialized Radiological Reporting Expedites Turnaround Time of Radiology Reports and Increases Productivity
Authors: Stern Christoph , Boehm Thomas , Seifert Burkhardt , Kawel-Boehm Nadine
Published: February 2018

Introduction To assess the impact of changing from general to subspecialized reporting on turnaround time of radiology reports (TAT), the fraction of radiology reports available within 24 hours (R< 24 h) and productivity.

Materials and Methods Reporting workflow in our radiology department was changed from general reporting (radiologists report imaging studies of all areas [neuroradiological, abdominal, musculoskeletal imaging et cetera]) to subspecialized reporting (radiologists solely report imaging studies of their subspecialty field [e. g. musculoskeletal]). TAT, R< 24 h and productivity were calculated for a 12-month period of general reporting (January-December 2012) and compared to a 12-month period of subspecialized reporting (April 2014-March 2015) using Mann Whitney U-test, Pearson chi-square test and odds ratios, respectively.

Results Report TAT decreased from a median of 17:04 hours (h) during general reporting to 3:38 h during subspecialized reporting, resulting in a 4.7-fold improvement (p < 0.001). R< 24 h improved significantly from 65 % to 87 % (p < 0.001). The odds of a radiology report being available < 24 h was 3.6- fold higher during subspecialized compared to general reporting. Productivity increased from a median of 301 to 376 (reports/full-time radiologist/month) (p = 0.001).

Conclusion Changing the workflow from general to subspecialized reporting significantly improved the turnaround time of radiology reports, the fraction of radiology reports available within 24 hours and productivity.

Key Points: 

Citation Format
A Trunk Stabilization Exercise Warm-up May Reduce Ankle Injuries in Junior Soccer Players
Authors: Imai Atsushi , Imai Takeshi , Iizuka Satoshi , Kaneoka Koji
Published: February 2018

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a trunk stabilization exercise warm-up program in reducing the incidence of lower extremity injuries among male junior soccer players. Two junior soccer teams participated in this study. The intervention (INT) team performed three trunk stabilization exercises before practice sessions and games, while a control (CON) team performed their usual warm-up without trunk exercises. Both teams engaged in regular soccer training and games, and were followed for the incidence of injury. As a result, overall injury incidence rates (IRs) were 2.65 injuries/1,000 h and 4.94 injuries/1,000 h in the INT and CON teams, respectively (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.32-0.89, p=0.013). The IR of acute injuries was significantly lower in the INT team (1.91 injuries/1,000 h) than in the CON team (4.06 injuries/1,000 h) (IRR=0.47, 95%CI=0.26-0.84, p=0.009). Regarding injury sites, the IRs of ankle injuries in the INT team (0.32 injuries/1,000 h) were significantly lower than that in the CON team (2.28 injuries/1,000 h) (IRR=0.14, 95%CI=0.04-0.47, p<0.001). These results suggest that a warm-up program comprising trunk stabilization exercises alone can prevent acute injuries, especially ankle injuries.
Die Schlüsselrolle der Multiomics in Prädiktion, Prävention und personalisierter Behandlung vom Glaukom
Authors: Golubnitschaja Olga
Published: February 2018

Weltweit sind derzeit um die 70 Mio. Glaukompatienten registriert. Nach der proliferativen diabetischen Retinopathie ist das Glaukom die zweitführende Ursache menschlicher Blindheit. Diese Gesamtsituation benötigt die Entwicklung neuer, viel effizienterer Konzepte. Innovative Strategien der prädiktiven, präventiven und personalisierten Medizin (PPPM) sollen einen wesentlichen Beitrag dazu leisten, die Glaukomvorsorge und eine personalisierte Behandlung der Betroffenen effektiv zu verbessern. Zu den komplexen PPPM-Maßnahmen gehören: Einführung individualisierter Patientenprofile, „Phänotypisierung“, molekulare Charakterisierung der Krankheitsvorstufen, innovative Screeningprogramme, Patientenstratifizierung, Früh- und Prädiktivdiagnose, gezielte Prävention und Ausarbeitung personalisierter Behandlungsmodalitäten. Die Hauptakteure sind die Glaukomforscher, Augenärzte, Hausärzte, Risikogruppen, spezialisierte medizinische Einheiten, betroffene Patienten und deren Familienmitglieder, Krankenkassen, politische Entscheidungsträger, diagnostische und pharmazeutische Industrie. Von einer effektiven Implementierung der PPPM-Maßnahmen werden sowohl die bereits aufgelisteten Gruppen als auch die Gesamtpopulation profitieren, da die ökonomisch gesehen wesentlich verbesserte Bilanz eine große Rolle im Gesundheitssektor spielen würde.
First-principles studies of electronic, transport and bulk properties of pyrite FeS2
Authors: Banjara Dipendra , Malozovsky Yuriy , Franklin LaShounda , Bagayoko Diola
Published: February 2018

We present results from first principle, local density approximation (LDA) calculations of electronic, transport, and bulk properties of iron pyrite (FeS2). Our non-relativistic computations employed the Ceperley and Alder LDA potential and the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) formalism. The implementation of the LCAO formalism followed the Bagayoko, Zhao, and Williams (BZW) method, as enhanced by Ekuma and Franklin (BZW-EF). We discuss the electronic energy bands, total and partial densities of states, electron effective masses, and the bulk modulus. Our calculated indirect band gap of 0.959 eV (0.96), using an experimental lattice constant of 5.4166 Å, at room temperature, is in agreement with the measured indirect values, for bulk samples, ranging from 0.84 eV to 1.03 ± 0.05 eV. Our calculated bulk modulus of 147 GPa is practically in agreement with the experimental value of 145 GPa. The calculated, partial densities of states reproduced the splitting of the Fe d bands to constitute the dominant upper most valence and lower most conduction bands, separated by the generally accepted, indirect, experimental band gap of 0.95 eV.
A relationship between the effect of uni-univalent electrolytes on the structure of water and on its volatility
Authors: Marcus Yizhak
Published: February 2018

The effect of ions on the structure of water in dilute solutions, whether they are structure-makers or structure-breakers, is manifested also in the volatility of the water. For more than 40 uni-univalent electrolytes, there is a linearly increasing relationship between 2φ(m = 0.4) − φ(m = 0.2), where φ is the osmotic coefficient and m is the molality, and the difference between the viscosity B-coefficients of the cation and anion. Exceptions to this relationship are electrolytes with highly structure-making anions and with hydrophobic cations.
Addendum to foundations of multidimensional wave field signal theory: Gaussian source function
Authors: Baddour Natalie
Published: February 2018

Many important physical phenomena are described by wave or diffusion-wave type equations. Recent work has shown that a transform domain signal description from linear system theory can give meaningful insight to multi-dimensional wave fields. In N. Baddour [AIP Adv. 1, 022120 (2011)], certain results were derived that are mathematically useful for the inversion of multi-dimensional Fourier transforms, but more importantly provide useful insight into how source functions are related to the resulting wave field. In this short addendum to that work, it is shown that these results can be applied with a Gaussian source function, which is often useful for modelling various physical phenomena.
Instrumentation and signal processing for the detection of heavy water using off axis–integrated cavity output spectroscopy technique
Authors: Gupta A. , Singh P. J. , Gaikwad D. Y. , Udupa D. V. , Topkar A. , Sahoo N. K.
Published: February 2018

An experimental setup is developed for the trace level detection of heavy water (HDO) using the off axis-integrated cavity output spectroscopy technique. The absorption spectrum of water samples is recorded in the spectral range of 7190.7 cm−1–7191.5 cm−1 with the diode laser as the light source. From the recorded water vapor absorption spectrum, the heavy water concentration is determined from the HDO and water line. The effect of cavity gain nonlinearity with per pass absorption is studied. The signal processing and data fitting procedure is devised to obtain linear calibration curves by including nonlinear cavity gain effects into the calculation. Initial calibration of mirror reflectivity is performed by measurements on the natural water sample. The signal processing and data fitting method has been validated by the measurement of the HDO concentration in water samples over a wide range from 20 ppm to 2280 ppm showing a linear calibration curve. The average measurement time is about 30 s. The experimental technique presented in this paper could be applied for the development of a portable instrument for the fast measurement of water isotopic composition in heavy water plants and for the detection of heavy water leak in pressurized heavy water reactors.
The effects of interfacial recombination and injection barrier on the electrical characteristics of perovskite solar cells
Authors: Shi Lin Xing , Wang Zi Shuai , Huang Zengguang , Sha Wei E. I. , Wang Haoran , Zhou Zhen
Published: February 2018

Charge carrier recombination in the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has a deep influence on the electrical performance, such as open circuit voltage, short circuit current, fill factor and ultimately power conversion efficiency. The impacts of injection barrier, recombination channels, doping properties of carrier transport layers and light intensity on the performance of PSCs are theoretically investigated by drift-diffusion model in this work. The results indicate that due to the injection barrier at the interfaces of perovskite and carrier transport layer, the accumulated carriers modify the electric field distribution throughout the PSCs. Thus, a zero electric field is generated at a specific applied voltage, with greatly increases the interfacial recombination, resulting in a local kink of current density-voltage (J-V) curve. This work provides an effective strategy to improve the efficiency of PSCs by pertinently reducing both the injection barrier and interfacial recombination.
Broadband infrared reflective surfaces using doped and stacked polar dielectric layers
Authors: Janipour Mohsen , Sendur Kursat
Published: February 2018

Polar dielectrics, such as SiC, are excellent candidates for operation in extreme environments due to their excellent mechanical and thermal properties. In addition, they can achieve good IR reflection in the Reststrahlen band. However, these materials have relatively narrow spectral bandwidth for reflection, especially considering that the broadband illumination sources in extreme environments. In this study, we investigated the broadband reflection properties of polar dielectrics by engineering the Reststrahlen band through doping and stacked layers. Our results indicate that by doping polar dielectrics, spectral reflection bandwidth can be significantly broadened. In addition, we demonstrate that by stacking different polar dielectric layers, the reflection spectrum of different materials can be overlapped, and thereby, significantly broader spectrum is obtained.
Modeling the characteristic etch morphologies along specific crystallographic orientations by anisotropic chemical etching
Authors: Li Kun-Dar , Miao Jin-Ru
Published: February 2018

To improve the advanced manufacturing technology for functional materials, a sophisticated control of chemical etching process is highly demanded, especially in the fields of environment and energy related applications. In this study, a phase-field-based model is utilized to investigate the etch morphologies influenced by the crystallographic characters during anisotropic chemical etching. Three types of etching modes are inspected theoretically, including the isotropic, <100> and <111> preferred oriented etchings. Owing to the specific etching behavior along the crystallographic directions, different characteristic surface structures are presented in the simulations, such as the pimple-like, pyramidal hillock and ridge-like morphologies. In addition, the processing parameters affecting the surface morphological formation and evolution are also examined systematically. According to the numerical results, the growth mechanism of surface morphology in a chemical etching is revealed distinctly. While the etching dynamics plays a dominant role on the surface formation, the characteristic surface morphologies corresponding to the preferred etching direction become more apparent. As the atomic diffusion turned into a determinative factor, a smoothened surface would appear, even under the anisotropic etching conditions. These simulation results provide fundamental information to enhance the development and application of anisotropic chemical etching techniques.
Preparation and mechanical properties of modified nanocellulose/PLA composites from cassava residue
Authors: Huang Lijie , Zhang Xiaoxiao , Xu Mingzi , Chen Jie , Shi Yinghan , Huang Chongxing , Wang Shuangfei , An Shuxiang , Li Chunying
Published: February 2018

Nanocellulose was prepared by a mechanochemical method using cassava residue as a raw material and phosphoric acid as the auxiliary agent. The prepared nanocellulose was hydrophobically modified with stearic acid to improve its dispersibility. This modified nanocellulose was added to polylactic acid (PLA) film-forming liquids at concentrations of 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0%, and the effect of modified nanocellulose on the mechanical properties of polylactic acid (PLA) films were investigated. When at least 0.5% modified nanocellulose is added, more active groups of modified nanocellulose are adsorbed onto the PLA molecular chain. Although the tensile strength of the film is only improved by 13.59%, the flexibility of the film decreases, and the elastic modulus decreases by 28.91%. When 1% modified nanocellulose is added, the modified nanocellulose and PLA are tangled together through molecular chains and they co-crystallize to form a stable network structure. The tensile strength of the nanocomposite films is enhanced by 40.03%, the elastic modulus is enhanced by 55.65%, and the flexibility of the film decreases.
Molecular design of stable diarylnitroxides
Authors: Magdesieva Tatiana V. , Levitskiy Oleg A.
Published: February 2018

The review is devoted to diarylnitroxides, which constitute an important type of organic radicals. These compounds are much less investigated than their alkyl counterparts. Meanwhile, they are of great interest, since they provide extensive opportunities for targeted structural modification and control of electronic properties of a molecule for a particular practical application. The existing trends of molecular design of stable diarylnitroxides and general approaches to their synthesis are discussed. Structural details and spin density distribution in diarylnitroxides are considered. Factors determining the stability of both the diarylnitroxide radicals and their oxidized and reduced forms and the redox properties of this class of organic radicals are addressed.

The bibliography includes 128 references.
Two nondescriptivist views of normative and evaluative statements
Authors: Chrisman Matthew
Published: February 2018

The dominant route to nondescriptivist views of normative and evaluative language is through the expressivist idea that normative terms have distinctive expressive roles in conveying our attitudes. This paper explores an alternative route based on two ideas. First, a core normative term ‘ought’ is a modal operator; and second, modal operators play a distinctive nonrepresentational role in generating meanings for the statements in which they figure. I argue that this provides for an attractive alternative to expressivist forms of nondescriptivism about normative language. In the final section of the paper, I explore ways it might be extended to evaluative language.
Identification of proteins that bind to the neuroprotective agent neoechinulin A
Authors: Kamisuki Shinji , Himeno Natsumi , Tsurukawa Yukine , Kusayanagi Tomoe , Takeno Masahiro , Kamakura Takashi , Kuramochi Kouji , Sugawara Fumio
Published: February 2018

Neoechinulin A is an indole alkaloid with several biological activities. We previously reported that this compound protects neuronal PC12 cells from cytotoxicity induced by the peroxynitrite generator 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), but the target proteins and precise mechanism of action of neoechinulin A were unclear. Here, we employed a phage display screen to identify proteins that bind directly with neoechinulin A. Our findings identified two proteins, chromogranin B and glutaredoxin 3, as candidate target binding partners for the alkaloid. QCM analyses revealed that neoechinulin A displays high affinity for both chromogranin B and glutaredoxin 3. RNA interference-mediated depletion of chromogranin B decreased the sensitivity of PC12 cells against SIN-1. Our results suggested chromogranin B is a plausible target of neoechinulin A.
Recursion or rejection? Securitization theory faces Islamist violence and foreign religions
Authors: Sheikh Mona Kanwal
Published: February 2018

This article contributes to the larger debate on how to increase the cultural sensitivity in IR analyses, and particularly how the securitization theory can face some of the criticism relating to its embedded-ness in the West. The article shows that the expanding empirical application of securitization theory by scholars around the world, as well as the theoretical expansion (the opening of the religion sector) raise two important, but different questions, which are about potential a) limitations in the applicability of the theory on non-western cases, and b) west-centric biases in the design of the theory. This article sheds light on both types of criticisms by asking whether securitization theory is applicable to study the case of religious violence as I have done in earlier studies of the Pakistani Taliban, and by evaluating the assumptions and consequences of keeping with a west-centric concept of religion. The article makes three points: First, it shows that the theory's meeting with the Islamist case challenge the theory's conceptualization of securitization as a defensive narrative only. Second, it points at the limitations in the way religion has been conceptualized by the theory's proponents. Third, it argues that dealing with differences in the interpretations of political realities is an important element of the call to increased cultural sensitivity, and in this endeavour the securitization framework would gain from elements of worldview analysis.
Optimal control for Malaria disease through vaccination
Authors: Munzir Said , Nasir Muhammad , Ramli Marwan
Published: February 2018

Malaria is a disease caused by an amoeba (single-celled animal) type of plasmodium where anopheles mosquito serves as the carrier. This study examines the optimal control problem of malaria disease spread based on Aron and May (1982) SIR type models and seeks the optimal solution by minimizing the prevention of the spreading of malaria by vaccine. The aim is to investigate optimal control strategies on preventing the spread of malaria by vaccination. The problem in this research is solved using analytical approach. The analytical method uses the Pontryagin Minimum Principle with the symbolic help of MATLAB software to obtain optimal control result and to analyse the spread of malaria with vaccination control.
Developing New Instruments
Authors: Tran Thanh V. , Nguyen Tam , Chan Keith
Published: February 2018

Developing new cross-cultural research instruments is an enormous task, and it requires careful consideration from the researchers to ensure that the instruments measure what they are designed to measure and that they can also capture cultural differences and similarities among the comparative groups. It is always challenging to develop an “etic” instrument that captures the shared meanings among the comparative cultural groups and an “emic” instrument that can measure the unique aspects of each cultural group. Constructing cross-cultural research instruments must be a collaborative endeavor of the research team and the stakeholders. Inputs from cultural experts, prospective research respondents or clients, and service providers should be an integral part of every step or phase in cross-cultural measurement development and construction. This chapter focuses on the foundation of measurement and the process of cross-cultural instrument development.
Concluding Comments
Authors: Tran Thanh V. , Nguyen Tam , Chan Keith
Published: February 2018

The term culture should be understood from microlevels and macrolevels. Microlevel is the study of different subgroups within a society or a community such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, language, and even political orientation. At the macrolevel, cross-cultural analyses can be viewed as the comparison of different nations and continents. Incorrect screening instruments or bias diagnostic procedures lead to false implementation of treatments, and false treatments can harm clients socially, psychologically, and financially. Cross-cultural measurement development requires the researchers to be aware of cultural nuances of the target culture. Researchers should consider gender differences within the target culture at every step of the instrument development. When an instrument is developed for two or more cultural groups, representatives of these groups must be invited to participate in the research process from the formulation of the research questions, conceptualization, and operationalization of research variables to questionnaire construction and interpretation of the results.
The Brain Works by Logic
Authors: Anderson James A.
Published: February 2018

Brains and computers were twins separated at birth. In 1943, it was known that action potentials were all or none, approximating TRUE or FALSE. In that year, Walter Pitts and Warren McCulloch wrote a paper suggesting that neurons were computing logic functions and that networks of such neurons could compute any finite logic function. This was a bold and exciting large-scale theory of brain function. Around the same time, the first digital computer, the ENIAC, was being built. The McCulloch-Pitts work was well known to the scientists building ENIAC. The connection between them appeared explicitly in a report by John von Neumann on the successor to the ENIAC, the EDVAC. It soon became clear that biological brain computation was not based on logic functions. However, this idea was believed by many scientists for decades. A brilliant wrong theory can sometimes cause trouble.
Programming
Authors: Anderson James A.
Published: February 2018

The author makes several suggestions for how to control the direction taken by an active cognitive process. He proposes a neural/cognitive programming mechanism: traveling waves on cortex. Evidence for traveling waves exists, and interactions of such waves have useful properties. One example is due to Pitts and McCulloch: Why are squares of different sizes seen as examples of squares? If excitation propagates from the corners of a square, waves meet at the diagonals. Squares of different sizes then have a common diagonal representation. Later models include “grassfire models” and “medial axis” models. Experiments suggests that response exists at a “medial axis” halfway between bounding contours, and in this approach “Identity” and “Symmetry” become the same computation. Traveling waves in audition can be used to give the pattern-dependent frequency independent responses seen in some kinds of speech perception.
Brain Theory
Authors: Anderson James A.
Published: February 2018

“What is a number that a man may know it?” (Warren McCulloch). A wave model can determine “numerosity” (number of identical items) for small numbers of items. Identity and numerosity can be explained through similar mechanisms. Can there be a biology of number? Imaging studies find a topographic map of number magnitude in the human brain. Higher mathematics is based in part on refined perception. Classic mathematical philosophy—Platonism and formalism—may be usefully extended with perceptual components both learned and unlearned. Perceptual involvement suggests why mathematics is surprisingly good at dealing with the physical world. We find perceptual involvement even in simple integer multiplication. We can use “active” perceptual-based nets to program elementary abstract mathematical operations. A “brain-like” program is described for the “greater-than” program done by a digital computer in Chapter 4
BMP4 facilitates beige fat biogenesis via regulating adipose tissue macrophages
Authors: Qian Shu-Wen , Wu Meng-Yuan , Wang Yi-Na , Zhao Ya-Xin , Zou Ying , Pan Jia-Bao , Tang Yan , Liu Yang , Guo Liang , Tang Qi-Qun
Published: February 2018

Thermogenic beige fat improves metabolism and prevents obesity. Emerging evidence shows that the activation of M2 macrophages stimulates beige adipogenesis, whereas the activation of M1 macrophages, which play a major role in inflammation, impedes beige adipogenesis. Thus, the identification of factors that regulate adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) will help clarify the mechanism involved in beiging. Here, we found that one of the secreted proteins in adipose tissue, namely, BMP4, alters the ATM profile in subcutaneous adipose tissue by activating M2 and inhibiting M1 macrophages. Mechanistically, the BMP4-stimulated p38/MAPK/STAT6/PI3K–AKT signalling pathway is involved. Meanwhile, BMP4 improved the potency of M2 macrophages to induce beige fat biogenesis. Considering that the overexpression of BMP4 in adipose tissue promotes the beiging of subcutaneous adipose tissue and improves insulin sensitivity, these findings provide evidence that BMP4 acts as an activator of beige fat by targeting immuno-metabolic pathways.
Welfare, Work, and Poverty
Authors: Gao Qin
Published: February 2018

This book provides the first systematic evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of China’s primary social assistance program, Minimum Livelihood Guarantee, or Dibao. Dibao serves the dual functions of providing a basic safety net for the poor and maintaining political and social stability. Despite currently being the world’s largest welfare program in terms of population coverage, evidence on Dibao’s performance has been lacking. This book offers important new empirical evidence and draws policy lessons that are timely and useful for both China and beyond. Specifically, the book addresses the following questions: How effective has Dibao been in targeting the poor and alleviating poverty? Have Dibao recipients been dependent on welfare or able to move from welfare to work? How has Dibao affected their consumption patterns and subjective well-being? Do they use the Dibao subsidy to meet survival needs (such as food, clothing, and shelter) or invest in human capital (such as health and education)? Are they distressed by the stigma associated with receiving Dibao, or do they become more optimistic about the future and enjoy greater life satisfaction because of Dibao support? And finally, what policy lessons can we learn from the existing evidence to strengthen and improve Dibao in the future? Answers to these questions not only help us gain an in-depth understanding of Dibao’s performance but also add the Chinese case to the growing international literature on comparative welfare studies.
“Feminism Means More Than a Changed World. . . . It Means the Creation of a New Consciousness in Women”
Authors: Nelson Laura K.
Published: February 2018

Challenging the notion that public actions and political lobbying are the women’s movement’s main tactics, this chapter traces the history of an extra-institutional form of feminism—narrative-based consciousness-raising—from its inception in the 1910s through its contemporary online expression today. Rather than a product of second-wave feminism, narrative-based consciousness-raising has always been central to the women’s movement, as the chapter shows. Narrative-based consciousness-raising as a strategy assumes that, in order to change fundamental societal institutions such as marriage, the nuclear family, and the state, men and women must first change their consciousness about themselves and society. This strategy utilizes personal life stories, or life narratives, to reveal the collective roots of personal problems in order to effect this personal change. The persistence of this strategy through three waves of feminist activism demonstrates the value of raising collective awareness for fighting gendered oppression. The author argues that this continuity is a result of institutionalized knowledge and a response to similar historical circumstances, rather than direct connections between waves.
After Suffrage Comes Equal Rights?
Authors: Boisseau Tracey Jean , Thomas Tracy A.
Published: February 2018

A politicized culture and century-long debate over women’s nature and role may turn out to be the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)’s principal contribution to American feminism. Despite perceptions that an equal rights amendment was the next logical step following the Nineteenth Amendment, arguments broke out among feminist activists over whether an equal rights amendment would menace important legal victories, such as protective legislation for women’s employment. Yet even after other federal legislation quieted labor advocates’ concerns, virulent disagreement over an equal rights amendment among politicized women continued for years. Only in the late 1960s did politically active women come to embrace the ERA as a strategic goal. Even then the question of women’s differences from men—whether physical, psychological, or social—did not evaporate. Instead, new battle lines between progressive and newly organized conservative women were drawn in ways that doomed the amendment’s ratification chances.
Women in White Supremacist Movements in the Century after Women’s Suffrage
Authors: Blee Kathleen
Published: February 2018

White women have long been associated with organized white supremacism in the United States, but their connection to these politics changed around the time that the Nineteenth Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote. Until the 1920s, white women were primarily used by racist men as symbols of white vulnerability in the face of legal gains by African American men. They rarely participated actively in white supremacist politics. From the 1920s on, however, enfranchised white women have played an increasing role in racist movements of all types. Most Ku Klux Klans and white power skinhead and neo-Nazi groups recruit women as full members, although few allow women in formal leadership positions.
Epilogue
Authors: Banaszak Lee Ann , McCammon Holly J.
Published: February 2018

The epilogue discusses the volume’s central themes in light of events around the 2016 presidential election. This chapter considers growth in gender equality over the last one hundred years as well as continuing aspects of gender inequality. It examines the degree to which women’s influence has changed over time, particularly their increased presence in politics as well as ongoing efforts to marginalize their roles. The final chapter examines this influence in electoral politics as well as social movement activism, also exploring the ways in which politics continues to be a deeply gendered sphere of action. This epilogue returns to the rich diversity of women’s engagement in political action, reminding readers of the significant insights that can emerge from an intersectional approach to understanding women’s political action. The book concludes with thoughts, which must be speculative at best, of what may lie ahead for the next hundred years of women’s enfranchisement.
The Impact of Social Neuroscience on Moral Philosophy
Authors: Churchland Patricia Smith
Published: February 2018

Part I begins with Patricia Churchland exploring the impact of social neuroscience on moral philosophy. She argues that the basic platform for morality is attachment and bonding, and the caring behavior motivated by such attachment—and that oxytocin, a neurohormone, is at the hub of attachment behavior in social mammals and probably birds. Not acting alone, oxytocin works with other hormones and neurotransmitters and circuitry adaptations. Among its many roles, oxytocin decreases the stress response, making possible the trusting and cooperative interactions typical of life in social mammals. Churchland also argues that learning local social practices depends on the reward system because in social animals approval brings pleasure and disapproval brings pain. Subcortical structures, she argues, are the key to acquiring social values, and quite a lot is known about how the reward system works. Acquiring social skills also involves generalizing from samples, so that learned exemplars can be applied to new circumstances.
All You Need Is Love(s)
Authors: Sie Maureen
Published: February 2018

In this chapter, Maureen Sie argues that our nature as loving beings can explain our nature as moral beings. Because love and morality seem to be similar phenomena in many ways, she distinguishes several kinds of loves and explains how they relate to different moral dimensions of our existence, taking as her starting point C. S. Lewis’s work on the subject and renaming his fourth kind of love “kindness.” She argues that recent findings in affective neuroscience suggest that this fourth kind is a natural kind of love. She discusses the dynamics of Lewis’s account, showing that each of the loves that he distinguishes requires the fourth love (kindness) to keep them from taking a nasty turn. She concludes by explaining why this kind of love actually fits the naturalist picture well if the recent finding that oxytocin is involved in our trusting interactions with strangers is correct.
Free Will Skepticism, Freedom, and Criminal Behavior
Authors: Focquaert Farah , Glenn Andrea L. , Raine Adrian
Published: February 2018

In Chapter 13, the authors address the issue of free will skepticism and criminal behavior, asking how we should, as a society, deal with criminal behavior in the current era of neuroexistentialism and if our belief in free will is essential to adequately addressing it, or if neurocriminology offer a new way of addressing crime without resorting to backward-looking notions of moral responsibility and guilt. They argue for a neurocriminological approach to “moral answerability” and forward-looking claims of responsibility that focus on the moral betterment or moral enhancement of individuals prone to criminal behavior and on reparative measures toward victims, placed within a broader public health perspective of human behavior. Within this framework, neurocriminology approaches to criminal behavior may provide specific guidance within a broader moral enhancement framework. Rather than undermining current criminal justice practices, the free will skeptics’ approach can draw on neurocriminological findings to reduce immoral behavior.
The Masses are the Ruling Classes
Authors: Epstein William
Published: February 2018

The Masses Are the Ruling Classes handles a neglected theme: social policy in the United States is determined by mass consent. Contemporary explanations of decision making in the United States typically attribute power over policy making to a variety of hidden forces and illegitimate elites, holding the masses innocent of their own problems. Yet the enormous openness of the society and nearly universal suffrage sustain democratic consent as more plausible than the alternatives (conspiracy, propaganda, usurpation, autonomous government, and imperfect pluralism). Despite the multitude of problems that the nation faces, its citizens are not oppressed. The core problem that blocks the maturation of American society is not democratic participation, but its content; popular preferences are romantic rather than pragmatic. None of these programs achieve their ends of poverty reduction or behavioral change. Rather, they persist as testimonials to America’s romantic preferences. Thus, if the American people are largely responsible for social policy, then they are also responsible for the problems that beset the nation, notably enormous economic and social inequality. If the masses rule policy choice, then the persistence of material and social deprivation that lies easily within the economic capacities of the nation to address suggests that the nation abides its inequalities and suffering. The commitment of American society to policy romanticism and its rejection of pragmatism blocks its social development.
Precursors to Policy Romanticism
Authors: Epstein William M.
Published: February 2018

Chapter 1 identifies the Romantic precursors to policy romanticism. The standard concept of romanticism is explored as inner experience, imagination and inspiration, individualism and the will, the romantic quest, and the romantic mood. These characteristics constitute the essence of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s philosophy. He is the quintessential American romantic.