bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Accuracy of Continuous Noninvasive versus Invasive Method of Hemoglobin Estimation in Patients Undergoing Pituitary Surgery
Authors: Kapoor Indu , Mahajan Charu , Mamuliya Ruhi , Prabhakar Hemanshu
Published: September 2018

Aim Determination of hemoglobin (Hb) concentration by standard methods is time consuming, invasive, and intermittent. Noninvasive (NI) methods of Hb estimation are less time consuming, and reduce the risk of infection, number of required working personnel, and long-term costs. In this study, we aimed to find the accuracy of Hb values at various time points using noninvasive (NI) Hb monitoring and standard invasive techniques such as laboratory (LabHb) and arterial blood gas (ABG).

Methods All American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical grade I and II adult patients between 18 and 65 years of either gender undergoing pituitary surgery under general anesthesia were included over a period of 1 year. Samples were collected for Hb estimation from the arterial line (aHb) using ABG analyzer machine and LabHb using automated Hb analyzer. Simultaneously, Hb reading from the NI Hb monitor was recorded using Masimo Spot Hemoglobin Check Device. Bland–Altman plot was used to find out agreement between Hb values drawn from three different techniques. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results A total of 30 patients participated in the study. The male to female ratio was 13:17. Statistical analysis showed poor correlation between the invasive and NI methods of Hb estimation.

Conclusion NI method of Hb estimation may be successfully used in clinical practice, replacing estimation from ABG analysis or laboratory tests. However, NI method cannot replace the invasive methods of Hb estimation.
Linear and nonlinear optical probe of the ferroelectric-like phase transition in a polar metal, LiOsO3
Authors: Padmanabhan Haricharan , Park Yoonsang , Puggioni Danilo , Yuan Yakun , Cao Yanwei , Gasparov Lev , Shi Youguo , Chakhalian Jak , Rondinelli James M. , Gopalan Venkatraman
Published: September 2018

LiOsO3 is one of the first materials identified in the recent literature as a “polar metal,” a class of materials that are simultaneously noncentrosymmetric and metallic. In this work, the linear and nonlinear optical susceptibility of LiOsO3 is studied by means of ellipsometry and optical second harmonic generation (SHG). Strong optical birefringence is observed using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The nonlinear optical susceptibility extracted from SHG polarimetry reveals that the tensor components are of the same magnitude as in the isostructural insulator LiNbO3, except the component along the polar axis d33 is suppressed by an order of magnitude. Temperature-dependent SHG measurements in combination with Raman spectroscopy indicate a continuous order-disorder type polar phase transition at 140 K. Linear and nonlinear optical microscopy measurements reveal 109°/71° ferroelastic domain walls, like in other trigonal ferroelectrics. No 180° polar domain walls are observed to emerge across the phase transition.
Optimization of the electrical and optical properties of vanadium doped InZnO thin films
Authors: Kwon Sera , Kim Deuk Young , Jun Byung-Hyuk , Chung Kwun-Bum
Published: September 2018

The transparent conducting properties of vanadium-doped indium zinc oxide (VIZO) have been investigated as a function of V doping concentration. The VIZO film demonstrated an average transmittance of above 86% in the visible range, and the sheet resistance showed 10.81 Ω/square with a V doping concentration of 0.18%. In order to verify the applicability as a transparent conductor, the figure of merit was obtained to be 2.07 × 10−2 Ω−1. The changes of electrical characteristics could be correlated with the changes of the electronic structure, such as the oxidation state and the band edge defect states below the conduction band. By applying the optimal condition, the VIZO film achieved a high workfunction of 5.16 eV.
Electrical field enhanced interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in MgO/Fe/Pt system
Authors: Zhang W. , Zhong H. , Zang R. , Zhang Y. , Yu S. , Han G. , Liu G. L. , Yan S. S. , Kang S. , Mei L. M.
Published: September 2018

We report electric field control of the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in MgO/Fe/Pt multilayers. The interfacial DMI is obtained and quantified by Brillouin light scattering measurements based on the frequency nonreciprocity of spin waves in a ferromagnet. The magnitude of the induced DMI is found to linearly increase as a function of electric field intensity. The efficiency of electric field control of the interfacial DMI characterized as a ratio of the DMI energy change to the electric field, which is found to be equal to 67 fJ/(Vm) with a positive electric field. We further demonstrate that the origin of the enhanced DMI results from the MgO/Fe interface. The Rashba spin-orbit coupling and electric field induced anisotropy at the MgO/Fe interface might be responsible for the enhanced interfacial DMI. Our findings open up a way for exploring the spintronic devices with a tunable DMI.
A local resonance mechanism for thermal rectification in pristine/branched graphene nanoribbon junctions
Authors: Chen Xue-Kun , Liu Jun , Xie Zhong-Xiang , Zhang Yong , Deng Yuan-Xiang , Chen Ke-Qiu
Published: September 2018

Using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate thermal rectification (TR) in pristine/branched graphene nanoribbon (GNR) junctions. The results indicate that the TR ratio of such junctions can reach 470% under small temperature bias, which has distinct superiority over asymmetric GNR and many other junctions. Moreover, the TR ratio decreases rapidly as the applied temperature bias increases. It seems to be against common sense that the TR ratio generally increases with temperature bias. Phonon spectra analyses reveal that the observed phenomena stem from the local resonance of longitudinal phonons in branched GNR region under negative temperature bias. Furthermore, the influence of ambient temperature, system length, branch number, and defect density is studied to obtain the optimum conditions for TR. This work extends local resonance mechanism to GNR for thermal signal manipulation.
Synchronized mechanical oscillations at the cell–matrix interface in the formation of tensile tissue
Authors: Holmes David F. , Yeung Ching-Yan Chloé , Garva Richa , Zindy Egor , Taylor Susan H. , Lu Yinhui , Watson Simon , Kalson Nicholas S. , Kadler Karl E.
Published: September 2018

Significance

Cells in developing tissues tune the mechanical properties of their extracellular matrix in the face of changes in external loading to maintain a tension “set point,” but the mechanism has not been studied. We show here that the set point is an equilibrium between cell-independent stress relaxation in the matrix and nonmuscle myosin II-dependent contraction of the cell. The matrix-dependent and cell-dependent phases exhibit an oscillating tension component. Detensioning, and also retensioning, induces synchronization of mechanical oscillations between neighboring cells. We propose that mechanical oscillation at the cell–matrix interface is a key mechanism in the ability of embryonic fibroblasts to sense their mechanical environment, especially the viscoelastic state of the relaxed tendon.
Energy-dependent quenching adjusts the excitation diffusion length to regulate photosynthetic light harvesting
Authors: Bennett Doran I. G. , Fleming Graham R. , Amarnath Kapil
Published: September 2018

Significance

Plants’ photosynthetic mechanism adjusts to fluctuations in light intensity. Intermittent bright sunlight can damage light-harvesting proteins; to preempt this, plants dissipate excess absorbed excitation energy as heat. Energy-dependent quenching (qE) of excitations occurs on the seconds to minutes timescale through conformational changes in antenna proteins. Using a multiscale model of photosystem II, we show that changes in light harvesting due to qE can be explained using a single parameter, the excitation diffusion length, which decreases as qE activates. These findings have implications for the interpretation of pulse amplitude-modulated fluorescence, a common noninvasive measurement of photosynthetic activity in leaves.
CuO nanowhiskers: Preparation, structure features, properties, and applications
Authors: Dorogov M. , Kalmykov A. , Sorokin L. , Kozlov A. , Myasoedov A. , Kirilenko D. , Chirkunova N. , Priezzheva A. , Romanov A. , Aifantis E. C.
Published: September 2018

This paper presents the results of a detailed study of the structure of nanowhiskers (NWs) of copper oxide formed in the process of thermal oxidation. It is shown that NWs have a bi- or poly-crystalline structure with a growth direction [110]. It is noted that the formation of NWs is facilitated by the cooperation of internal stresses with the defective structure of the underlying coating, and they grow owing to surface diffusion of copper cations from the depth of the coating to the top of the whisker. It is established that NWs have a good sorption and photocatalytic ability that will allow their use in the chemical industry, including the areas of catalysis and photocatalysis.
Effect of austenite stability on toughness, ductility, and work-hardening of medium-Mn steel
Authors: Qi Xiangyu , Du Linxiu , Hu Jun , Misra R. Devesh Kumar
Published: September 2018

We elucidate here the stability of reversed austenite (RA) and its effect on mechanical properties in 0.05C–5.0Mn steel. With increased annealing temperature from 903 to 943 K, the volume fraction of RA was increased from ∼19 to ∼42%, while its stability decreased linearly because of reduced C and Mn enrichment. The tensile strength increased from 845 to 970 MPa, impact toughness at 233 K decreased from 135 to 98 J. The large volume fraction of RA with poor stability can significantly improve the work-hardening ability, but little contribution to impact toughness. The discontinuous transformation-induced plasticity effect is resulted from RA with different degree of stability because of difference in grain size and morphology.

This paper is part of a Thematic Issue on Medium Manganese Steels.
Problems and innovative solutions considering “open type” bridge deck structures in old steel riveted railway bridges
Authors: Nikolova Martina , Georgiev Lazar
Published: September 2018

There are 331 steel bridges with total length 11201,70m in exploitation in the railway infrastructure of the Republic of Bulgaria. Significant part of those bridges is with “open type” deck including longitudinal and cross beams. The stress state of a standard bridge deck of an old steel riveted truss bridge along Sofia - Varna railway line at km 17 + 536 (representing wide class of bridges in exploitation) is analysed in this paper in accordance with the prescriptions of the Eurocode design standard. Results, obtained from different FEM (with Frame and Shell elements) indicate that the load bearing capacity of longitudinal and cross beams is significantly insufficient, which is due to increased loads and some specificity of the construction details. On the other hand there is an overage of load bearing capacity for the elements of the main truss and the effect of an innovative concept for replacement of the existing “open type” deck with new reinforced concrete plate is investigated and analyzed.
Comparison of FEM Analysis And Experimental Investigation for A 168m Long Steel Double Twin Truss Launching Gantry Subjected To Different Load And Support Conditions
Authors: Partov Doncho , Georgiev Lazar
Published: September 2018

This paper describes the construction and behavior of a large steel double twin truss launching gantry with total length 168m, designed by Dr. Eng. Borislav Bankov (1912÷1992), used for erection of prestressed concrete bridge girders with span up to 60m (weight up to 220ton) along the Hemus highway, Republic of Bulgaria. It consists of two twin frame steel girders and rails on the top and on the bottom flanges for moving the special girder carrying devices. Experimental investigations are performed by the Road Agency and vertical deflections of the mentioned twin truss under different loads and support conditions are measured. 3D FEM of the existing steel twin truss launching gantry considering and neglecting the the increased axial stiffness of the lower chord at truss joint zones are developed by the authors to investigate its behavior under different load and support conditions. Results from these FEM are analyzed, compared with the test results and discussed.
Squiggle: a user-friendly two-dimensional DNA sequence visualization tool
Authors: Lee Benjamin D
Published: September 2018

Squiggle is a software tool that automatically generates interactive web-based two-dimensional graphical representations of raw DNA sequences. Built with ease of use in mind, Squiggle implements several prior sequence visualization algorithms and introduces novel visualization methods designed to maximize human usability.

Availability and implementation

Squiggle is written in Python 3 and freely available under the permissive MIT license. The open-source code can be downloaded from github.com/Lab41/squiggle as well as the Python Package Index. The installation instructions and user guide are available at squiggle.readthedocs.org.
PySFD: comprehensive molecular insights from significant feature differences detected among many simulated ensembles
Authors: Stolzenberg Sebastian
Published: September 2018

Motivation

Many modeling analyses of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are based on a definition of states that can be (groups of) clusters of simulation frames in a feature space composed of molecular coordinates. With increasing dimension of this feature space (due to the increasing size or complexity of a simulated molecule), it becomes very difficult to cluster the underlying MD data and estimate a statistically robust model. To mitigate this “curse of dimensionality”, one can reduce the feature space, e.g., with principal component or time-lagged independent component analysis transformations, focusing the analysis on the most important modes of transitions. In practice, however, all these reduction strategies may neglect important molecular details that are susceptible to experimental verification.

Results

To recover such molecular details, I have developed PySFD (Significant Feature Differences analyzer for Python), a multi-processing software package that efficiently selects significantly different features of any user-defined feature type among potentially many different simulated state ensembles, such as meta-stable states of a Markov State Model (MSM). Applying PySFD on MSMs of an aggregate of 300 microseconds MD simulations recently performed on the major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) protein, I demonstrate how this toolkit can extract and visualize valuable mechanistic information from big MD simulation data, e.g., in form of networks of dynamic interaction changes connecting functionally relevant sites of a protein complex.

Availability and implementation

PySFD is freely available under the L-GPL license at https://github.com/markovmodel/PySFD.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
On the viability of unsupervised T-cell receptor sequence clustering for epitope preference
Authors: Meysman Pieter , De Neuter Nicolas , Gielis Sofie , Bui Thi Danh , Ogunjimi Benson , Laukens Kris
Published: September 2018

Motivation

The T-cell receptor (TCR) is responsible for recognizing epitopes presented on cell surfaces. Linking TCR sequences to their ability to target specific epitopes is currently an unsolved problem, yet one of great interest. Indeed, it is currently unknown how dissimilar TCR sequences can be before they no longer bind the same epitope. This question is confounded by the fact that there are many ways to define the similarity between two TCR sequences. Here we investigate both issues in the context of TCR sequence unsupervised clustering.

Results

We provide an overview of the performance of various distance metrics on two large independent datasets with 412 and 2835 TCR sequences respectively. Our results confirm the presence of structural distinct TCR groups that target identical epitopes. In addition, we put forward several recommendations to perform unsupervised T-cell receptor sequence clustering.

Availability and implementation

Source code implemented in Python 3 available at https://github.com/pmeysman/TCRclusteringPaper.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
iTerm-PseKNC: a sequence-based tool for predicting bacterial transcriptional terminators
Authors: Feng Chao-Qin , Zhang Zhao-Yue , Zhu Xiao-Juan , Lin Yan , Chen Wei , Tang Hua , Lin Hao
Published: September 2018

Motivation

Transcription termination is an important regulatory step of gene expression. If there is no terminator in gene, transcription could not stop, which will result in abnormal gene expression. Detecting such terminators can determine the operon structure in bacterial organisms and improve genome annotation. Thus, accurate identification of transcriptional terminators is essential and extremely important in the research of transcription regulations.

Results

In this study, we developed a new predictor called ‘iTerm-PseKNC’ based on support vector machine to identify transcription terminators. The binomial distribution approach was used to pick out the optimal feature subset derived from pseudo k-tuple nucleotide composition (PseKNC). The 5-fold cross-validation test results showed that our proposed method achieved an accuracy of 95%. To further evaluate the generalization ability of ‘iTerm-PseKNC’, the model was examined on independent datasets which are experimentally confirmed Rho-independent terminators in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis genomes. As a result, all the terminators in E. coli and 87.5% of the terminators in B. subtilis were correctly identified, suggesting that the proposed model could become a powerful tool for bacterial terminator recognition.

Availability and implementation

For the convenience of most of wet-experimental researchers, the web-server for ‘iTerm-PseKNC’ was established at http://lin-group.cn/server/iTerm-PseKNC/, by which users can easily obtain their desired result without the need to go through the detailed mathematical equations involved.
Error Correction by Structural Simplicity: Correcting Samplable Additive Errors
Authors: Yasunaga Kenji
Published: September 2018

This paper explores the possibilities and limitations of error correction by the structural simplicity of error mechanisms. Specifically, we consider channel models, called samplable additive channels, in which (i) errors are efficiently sampled without the knowledge of the coding scheme or the transmitted codeword; (ii) the entropy of the error distribution is bounded; and (iii) the number of errors introduced by the channel is unbounded. For the channels, several negative and positive results are provided. Assuming the existence of one-way functions, there are samplable additive errors of entropy nε for ε∈(0,1) that are pseudorandom, and thus not correctable by efficient coding schemes. It is shown that there is an oracle algorithm that induces a samplable distribution over {0,1}n of entropy m=ω(logn) that is not pseudorandom, but is uncorrectable by efficient schemes of rate less than 1−m/n−o(1). The results indicate that restricting error mechanisms to be efficiently samplable and not pseudorandom is insufficient for error correction. As positive results, some conditions are provided under which efficient error correction is possible.
Stressors and Resources Related to Medication Management: Associations With Spousal Caregivers’ Role Overload
Authors: Polenick Courtney A , Stanz Sarah D , Leggett Amanda N , Maust Donovan T , Hodgson Nancy A , Kales Helen C
Published: September 2018

Background and Objectives

Managing medications can be stressful for spousal caregivers, but little is known about particular aspects of medication management that are most consequential for caregiving outcomes. We examined care stressors and resources related to medication management, their associations with role overload among spousal caregivers, and whether these links vary by care recipients’ number of chronic health conditions and dementia status.

Research Design and Methods

This cross-sectional study included 377 spousal caregivers of adults aged 65 and older from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study and National Study of Caregiving. Linear regressions were estimated to evaluate how medication-related stressors (ordering medication, keeping track of medications, giving injections) and resources (medication reminder systems, shared medication management within the spousal dyad) are associated with caregivers’ role overload. Care recipients’ number of chronic health conditions and dementia status were considered as moderators. Models controlled for caregivers’ sociodemographic characteristics, chronic health conditions, and other care tasks.

Results

Caregivers who administered injections reported more role overload, whereas those who worked with care recipients to jointly manage medications reported less role overload. Keeping track of medications was linked to caregivers’ greater role overload when care recipients had 5 or more chronic health conditions. Finally, care recipients’ use of medication reminder systems was linked to less role overload for caregivers of a partner with dementia.

Discussion and Implications

Devising strategies to assist spousal caregivers in the more onerous components of medication management and promote resources that mitigate medication-related stress may improve caregiver well-being.
Parent Training for Disruptive Behavior
Authors: Bearss Karen , Johnson Cynthia R. , Handen Benjamin L. , Butter Eric , Lecavalier Luc , Smith Tristram , Scahill Lawrence
Published: September 2018

The RUBI Autism Network has developed and tested a structured parent training manual for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and disruptive behaviors. The manual is based on principles of applied behavior analysis and is designed for therapists to use with parents of children with ASD and co-occurring challenging behaviors, such as tantrums, noncompliance, difficulties with transitions, and aggression. A trained therapist utilizes the manual and parent workbook to guide the parent in applying techniques and tools to help manage the child’s challenging behaviors. The treatment includes 11 Core sessions, 7 Supplemental sessions, a home visit, and follow-up telephone booster sessions. Each of the sessions contains a therapist script, activity sheets, a parent handout, and treatment fidelity checklists. Additionally, accompanying each core session are video vignettes that the therapist uses to demonstrate concepts taught in the session. The videos include 30- to 60-second vignettes demonstrating common parenting mistakes as well as implementation (to varying degrees of success) of the strategies being taught. The treatment is designed to be delivered individually to parents in weekly outpatient visits. Parents are given homework assignments between sessions that focus on applying techniques to specific behaviors.
Brainstem syndromes
Authors: Bates David
Published: September 2018

Case History—A 78 yr old woman presenting with brainstem signs following a seizure.

Brainstem syndromes typically cause ipsilateral cranial nerve lesions and contralateral long tract signs. They are commonly due to brainstem ischaemia, but can also be caused by neoplasia, demyelination, infective and hamartomatous lesions. Imaging, ideally with MRI rather than CT, is obligatory and only then—and possibly following other investigations to identify systemic abnormality or cerebrospinal fluid changes—can appropriate therapy be introduced....
Intracranial abscesses
Authors: Lawrence T P , Kerr R S C
Published: September 2018

An intracranial abscess is a life-threatening condition. Although the incidence is low in countries where antimicrobial treatment for infections is widespread, it remains the frequent cause of space-occupying masses in developing countries, and therefore an important cause of death and disability. Early diagnosis and intervention are vital in reducing potential subsequent sequelae....
Visual pathways
Authors: Kennard Christopher , Ajina Sara
Published: September 2018

Visual disturbances may be caused by diseases of the optic disc, optic nerve, optic chiasm, optic tract, lateral geniculate nucleus, optic radiations, and occipital lobe of the brain, as well as other brain areas involved in complex visual processing.

Diagnosis of disturbances of the visual pathways requires both knowledge of their anatomy and physiology, and the ability to carry out a thorough neuro-ophthalmological examination which should enable (1) documentation of the character and extent of the visual disturbance, and (2) topographic localization of the lesion, so that the relevant investigative techniques, such as radiological imaging, can be appropriately requested....
Bevacizumab at first recurrence after standard radio-chemotherapy is associated with improved overall survival in glioblastoma patients with large tumor burden
Authors: Nguyen Huy Tram , Nguyen Nhung , Liu Liang Yen , Dovek Laura , Lenchner Daniel , Harris Robert , Ozer Byram , Ravelo Arliene , Sommer Nicolas , Sim Myung Shin , Elashoff Robert , Green Richard , Nghiemphu Phioanh Leia , Cloughesy Timothy Francis , Ellingson Benjamin , Lai Albert
Published: September 2018

Background

Since its approval for use in recurrent glioblastoma (GBM), the survival benefit of bevacizumab (Bev) remains to be demonstrated. To address this issue, we retrospectively examined survival from first recurrence in patients treated with Bev, lomustine (CCNU), or Bev/CCNU.

Methods

We identified 168 primary GBM patients diagnosed at UCLA and Kaiser Permanente LA who received upfront radio-chemotherapy, followed by Bev and/or CCNU at first recurrence. Three patient groups, contemporaneously diagnosed from 2009 through 2015, were identified: (1) patients treated with Bev alone (n = 49), (2) CCNU alone (CCNU 09-15) (n = 36), and (3) Bev/CCNU (n = 53). Another CCNU control group (n = 30) diagnosed from 2001 through 2004 (CCNU 01-04) was also derived. We measured tumor size at first recurrence treatment initiation, using bidimensional (2D) and volumetric (3D) techniques, and analyzed overall survival (OS) from first recurrence.

Results

Among the entire cohort, larger tumor size at first recurrence was associated with poorer survival. The CCNU 01-04 group had similar tumor size as the Bev arms and low Bev crossover (7%). Treatment with Bev was associated with improved survival in patients with large tumor 2D measurements: Median OS for Bev and Bev/CCNU groups were 6.71 mo (n = 27) and 6.97 mo (n = 36) vs 4.03 mo (n = 10) in CCNU 01-04. Analysis by 3D measurement yielded similar results. Interestingly, the CCNU 09-15 group showed the highest survival, likely due to smaller tumor size and crossover to Bev (69%).

Conclusion

Survival advantage from Bev treatment was observed only among patients with large tumor burden as determined by either 2D or 3D measurement.
Nero in the Thebaid
Authors: Rebeggiani Stefano
Published: September 2018

This chapter considers two interconnected phenomena. The first concerns Domitian’s relationship with the elite, its gradual deterioration, and the consequences for both the historiography on this emperor and readings of Statius’ Thebaid. The second pertains to two different aspects of the influence of Neronian culture on Flavian Rome: (a) the reception of panegyric modes and constructions of kingship from the time of Nero, and (b) Domitian’s ambiguous relationship with Nero’s fashioning of his own imperial persona. In addition, this chapter considers the effects of Domitian’s condemnation by the following imperial dynasty over approaches to Statius’ text and its handling of political allusion. This chapter analyzes a key scene from book 3 of the Thebaid (Maeon’s suicide) and provides a new reading of the political implications of Statius’ reception of Seneca’s Oedipus.
Riding among the stars
Authors: Rebeggiani Stefano
Published: September 2018

This chapter focuses on solar imagery in the Thebaid and its political and ideological implications. It begins by surveying uses of solar symbols in Rome prior to Domitian and in Domitian’s time. It shows that solar symbolism was extensively employed by Domitian and his entourage. In his exploitation of solar symbols, Domitian appropriated one of the most distinctive features of Nero’s self-representation. The chapter discusses Statius’ ability to navigate the ambiguities of Domitian’s relationship with Nero through a skillful use of solar imagery. In particular, this chapter provides a new reading of the chariot race in book 6 of the Thebaid. It also analyzes Amphiaraus’ death and succession in books 7 and 8, and Adrastus’ hymn to Apollo in book 1 of the Thebaid.
The unexpected savior
Authors: Rebeggiani Stefano
Published: September 2018

In this chapter the author deals with the political implications of Statius’ account of Coroebus in Thebaid 1. He shows that certain traditional features of Roman narratives of political crisis (such as the idea of divine hostility and the notion of sacrificial substitution) are represented in the Coroebus episode to forge a connection with historical experiences of civil war. The author also shows that Statius builds on the ideological implications of Callimachus’ narrative of Coroebus to link the royal house of Argos to Imperial Rome, and that he turns to Virgil’s interaction with Argive mythology to transfer Callimachus’ story to a Roman civil war context. Thanks to this strategy, Statius can use the Coroebus episode as the mythical equivalent of a narrative, that of the providential outsider who comes and rescues Rome at times of crisis, which was particularly dear to both his patrons and the Flavian emperors.
The Gauls on the Capitol
Authors: Rebeggiani Stefano
Published: September 2018

In this chapter, the author considers the story of the Gallic sack in 390 BCE as a typical example of a Roman narrative of crisis and survival. This story was repeatedly evoked by spectators of the civil conflict of 69 CE and was exploited by the Flavian entourage to frame Vitellius’ descent into Italy. In particular, Domitian seems to have relied on this episode to mythologize his own participation in the battle of the Capitoline against Vitellius in 69 CE. The author shows that many elements attached to this narrative (especially the topic of self-sacrifice) surface in Statius’ narrative of the siege of Thebes in book 10 and that Statius interacts with Domitian’s attempts at styling himself as the savior of Rome.
Conclusions
Authors: Rebeggiani Stefano
Published: September 2018

This chapter recapitulates the volume’s main achievements and sketches ways for expanding its methodology to other texts and to parts of Statius’ poem not covered in this book. It suggests that Valerius Flaccus’ epic is influenced by the same anti-Neronian ideology discussed in Chapter 1 and, like the Thebaid, reflects on the topic of imperial succession. The chapter surveys the political relevance of the Lemnos episode. It also argues that Statius’ reflection on the epic hero’s oscillation between the two poles of god and beast (discussed in Chapter 3 with reference to Capaneus and Tydeus especially) concerns other figures in the poem as well (Hippomedon, and by contrast Amphiaraus and Parthenopaeus). Finally, the chapter contains a summary of political views articulated by Statius in the Thebaid and suggests that the political ideas embedded in the poem were particularly close to the position of groups of survivors of Nero.
Awful Magnificence: Infamy, Mortality, and Armchair Spectacles
Authors: Lippert Amy K. DeFalco
Published: September 2018

The emergence of the infamous celebrity—the famous criminal—coincided with the development of modern criminology, print culture, rapid urbanization, and visual technologies that provided authorities with novel means of surveillance and control. The popular notion that one could read personality characteristics into a portrait of a lover or a friend carried powerful implications for how the public approached mug shots and other images of criminals. In this context, Americans were relearning how to see—and San Franciscans were at the forefront of this change. They devised a new system of visual spectacle and surveillance that would influence a wide cross section of visual cultures, from the external marks of class to criminality to celebrity—and those categories were intertwined from the beginning.
Introduction
Authors: Chhibber Pradeep K. , Verma Rahul
Published: September 2018

Indian party politics is typically characterized as centered around leaders, based on social cleavages, and not ideological. This book challenges those views and asserts that, as in many other parts of the world, a deep ideological divide frames the Indian party system. It claims that the paradigm of state formation based largely on class politics is not entirely applicable to many multiethnic countries in the twentieth century. In more diverse countries, the most important debates center on the extent to which the state should dominate society, regulate social norms, and redistribute private property and on whether and how the state should accommodate the needs of various marginalized groups and protect minority rights from assertive majoritarian tendencies. These two issues—the state’s role in transforming social traditions, and its role as accommodator of various social groups—constitute the dimensions of ideological space as it exists in Indian party politics today.
Intellectual Lineages of the Politics of Statism and Recognition
Authors: Chhibber Pradeep K. , Verma Rahul
Published: September 2018

Conservative political thinking has a long intellectual lineage in India. We explore the intellectual roots of this tradition by examining older texts as well as more contemporary writing on the role of the state. In one strand of conservative political thinking, the state is subservient to social norms, and it can only have a limited, if any, role in social and economic transformation. We contrast these conservative ideas with the views of more liberal thinkers who seek to use the power of the Indian state to transform society and the economy. A reading of the debates in the Constituent Assembly of India shows that there was significant division on the role of the state in social transformation and on whether special provisions should be made for religious minorities and disadvantaged groups. The ideological dimensions of conflict that we have identified were of deep concern to the framers of India’s constitution and they resonate in contemporary India.
The Myth of Vote Buying in India
Authors: Chhibber Pradeep K. , Verma Rahul
Published: September 2018

A common view is that in Indian elections parties, politicians, and voters are engaged in a quid-pro-quo in which citizens vote for a politician who offers them individual benefits. We find no evidence that voters exchange votes for benefits. In fact, ideology is a better predictor of the vote than the receipt of private or club goods. The use of cash is indeed widespread in India during election time but money is needed to build the campaign, to mobilize votes and for candidates, and to establish candidates’ credibility as leaders of import. We show this using the survey data from national election studies, a case study, and the results of a small experiment in Tamil Nadu.
Statism, Recognition, and Party System Change in India
Authors: Chhibber Pradeep K. , Verma Rahul
Published: September 2018

Data drawn from the National Election Studies going back to 1967 and two surveys of political elites conducted in 1971 and the 1993 show that the ideological divide is quite stable. Activists, members, and supporters of the main political parties hold clearly distinct views on the two ideological dimensions that define the party system in India. The changes in the Indian party system since independence have occurred with movement of political parties within the ideological space defined by statism and recognition. This led to the end of the Congress led one party dominant system, its replacement by the rise of regional parties in many states and finally to a BJP led fourth party system.
Ideological Challenges and the Decline of the Congress Party
Authors: Chhibber Pradeep K. , Verma Rahul
Published: September 2018

The Congress party that governed India for most of the period since independence suffered its worst electoral loss in 2014. This chapter revisits the history of the Congress and questions whether identity assertion and the ostensible organizational atrophying of the Congress suffice to explain its decline. We attribute the electoral weakness of the Congress party to the shrinking ideological space for the party in many parts of India. The Congress in the past few decades has moved away from the ideological center. The clearest evidence for this comes from the states where the Congress is an electoral force and others where it has no significant impact on the outcome of the election. In states where two centrist parties have emerged the Congress has virtually no presence. The only states where the Congress retains significant support is in states where the BJP is its main opponent.
Conclusion
Authors: Chhibber Pradeep K. , Verma Rahul
Published: September 2018

In the final chapter, we summarize the book’s argument and discuss its contribution to the study of party politics and party system change in India. The ideological framework we develop is not static, however. Changes in economy and society will challenge the ideological premises upon which the existing parties have been competing for votes. While the main focus of the book is India, we consider the implications of this research for party system change and the study of leadership to other multiethnic societies as well. We claim that ideologies are historically and contextually rooted and notions of ideological conflict must be rooted in indigenous social and intellectual traditions.
What Was the Holocaust?
Authors: Mastroianni George R.
Published: September 2018

Chapter 1 provides a brief historical summary of the Holocaust, beginning with relevant events in Germany in the years leading up to the initiation of mass killing that accompanied the invasion of Russia in June 1941. While Auschwitz dominates the popular conception of what the Holocaust was, much of the killing was accomplished not with Zyklon B but with bullets and engine exhaust gas, and much of it occurred during the relatively short interval between early 1942 and mid-1943. The Holocaust was a complicated enterprise distributed over time and space that was “more” than it is in the popular mind in almost every way: more than Jews, more than Auschwitz, more than the Gestapo and Schutzstaffel (SS), more than Nazis, more even than Germans.
The Holocaust
Authors: Mastroianni George R.
Published: September 2018

Chapter 2 traces the history of psychological thinking about Hitler, the Nazi accession to power, and, eventually, the Holocaust. Explanations of these phenomena took several forms. Some focused on putative psychopathology, either of Nazi leaders or Germans as a whole; some focused on particular German cultural and social adaptations that were thought to produce particularly obedient and authoritarian individuals; still others emphasized the interaction of some or all of these factors with long-term, large-scale historical and cultural processes. Gordon Allport saw prejudice and racism as central to understanding the Holocaust. After Stanley Milgram’s studies appeared in the early 1960s, genocidal behavior was largely seen by psychologists as an obedient response to situational pressures. Recent decades have brought greater diversity in social psychological explanations of perpetrator behavior in the Holocaust and in genocide more generally.
Personality
Authors: Mastroianni George R.
Published: September 2018

Chapter 5 considers the role of personality in the Holocaust. The idea that psychopathology or insanity characterized the individual leaders of the Third Reich or the German population was simply not supported by the evidence. Perhaps these leaders, or even the German population as a whole, were not characterized by a psychological disorder but were nevertheless different from other people in some important way. The authoritarian personality, a construct derived from Freudian thought, was suggested as a possible explanation. German child-rearing practices were implicated in the production of this personality, which was thought to be related to perpetrator behavior. Defining and measuring the authoritarian personality has posed some challenges, and researchers have not convincingly tied authoritarian traits to perpetrator behavior. The concept of “national character,” a kind of societal-level personality, has similarly been difficult to define and connect to perpetrator behavior. Personality approaches have also been applied to the study of rescuers.
Cognition and Memory
Authors: Mastroianni George R.
Published: September 2018

Chapter 7 treats human thinking and remembering as adaptive processes employing shortcuts that sometimes favor efficiency over accuracy. Humans (and animals) achieve adaptive success partly by categorizing and classifying the myriad stimuli to which they are exposed and developing patterns of differential response to the various categories. While this tendency to categorical thinking can promote adaptive success under some circumstances, it can also lead to pernicious consequences such as stereotyping, prejudice, and racism. Such thinking was promoted and encouraged by the Nazis. Memory is also characterized by shortcuts: we really reconstruct our past experiences more than we recall them. Humans are susceptible to many different kinds of memory errors and failures. Because so much of what we know about the Holocaust is derived from memories, understanding how memory works is vital to making sense of this crucial source of information.
The Psychology of the Holocaust in Perspective
Authors: Mastroianni George R.
Published: September 2018

Chapter 12 attempts to address the questions many of us ask about the behavior of perpetrators and others during the Holocaust in light of the material presented in the preceding eleven chapters. Is the potential for genocidal behavior universal? Could anyone become a mass murderer under the right circumstances? Is the potential for genocide greater in more modern societies? Of Mind and Murder is not intended to offer definitive answers to any of these questions but to hopefully summarize and contextualize much previous work on the psychology of the Holocaust in ways that might stimulate fruitful discussions of these and other important questions.
Linking Identity Politics and Foreign Policy
Authors: Hintz Lisel
Published: September 2018

This chapter provides clear definitions of the concepts the book uses and the theory of inside-out identity contestation it develops. The chapter defines competing identity proposals as suggested understandings of the national self that prescribe and proscribe specific behaviors and red lines as particularly intolerable points of contention among supporters of various proposals. It then argues that identity hegemony is the goal of these supporters, and contestation is the process by which the contours of identity debates change over time in supporters’ efforts to achieve hegemony. The chapter briefly reviews relevant literature to carve out space for the book’s theoretical argument: when supporters of a proposal are blocked at the domestic level, they take their fight “outside” through the use of international institutional conditionality, transnational activist networks, and/or diasporic politics. The chapter also discusses the methodology of intertextual analysis and process tracing employed in the study.
A Framework for Understanding Radicalization
Authors: Van Den Bos Kees
Published: September 2018

Chapter 1 introduces and defines the concept of radicalization and associated issues such as extremism and terrorism. In doing so, this chapter introduces a framework that is used in this book to understand the process of radicalization, including extremist beliefs and terrorist behaviors. The chapter notes that an important reason why people radicalize lies in people’s perceptions of unfairness. Especially when one focuses on earlier phases of radicalization, perceptions of unfairness (and associated experiences such as injustice, the opinion that some issues are immoral, and the general feeling that things are “not right”) are key to understanding radicalization, extremism, and terrorism. Figure 1.2 summarizes the process of growing radicalization on which the book focuses. Figure 1.3 depicts the process of prevented or attenuated radicalization on which the book focuses. The chapter ends with an overview of the chapters presented in the book.
Hot-Cognitive Defense of Worldviews
Authors: Van Den Bos Kees
Published: September 2018

Chapter 8 discusses people’s tendencies to defend their views on how the world should look and what exact role affective processes and feelings play in these defensive responses. The chapter delineates that worldview-defense reactions tend to be “hot-cognitive” reactions, consisting of a combination of how situations are interpreted, assessed, and appraised and the feelings associated with these interpretations, assessments, and appraisals. The chapter examines three levels of analysis at which feelings play a role in radicalization: (1) individual defensive responses involve processes of self-esteem perseverance; (2) group responses include the buffering role of culture; and (3) ideological and religious concerns often serve important psychological functions that are of special relevance to radicalizing individuals and radical groups and subcultures.
Violent Rejection of Law and Democratic Principles
Authors: Van Den Bos Kees
Published: September 2018

Chapter 9 discusses when radical thoughts and associated feelings shift to radical and extremist behaviors. The chapter aims to delineate the ontogenesis of radical behavior by arguing that the active rejection of democratic principles and the rule of law is an important phase in various radicalization processes. This usually takes place via processes of delegitimization. Thus, when people put their own right before the right of others in open societies, this may well serve as a red flag for those interested in trying to prevent the onset of violent and illegal extremism. When people are willing to break the law to obtain their goals, possibly by violent means, this is an important signal that something is seriously going wrong. Evil as a motive and the justification of violence are important antecedents of political violence, religious violence, and terrorism. These insights can be used for the prevention of extreme radicalization.
Conclusions and Limitations
Authors: Van Den Bos Kees
Published: September 2018

Chapter 10 discusses conceptual implications that scientists and others may learn from this book. The chapter also discusses important limitations of what is presented here. This discussion is presented in such a way that future researchers can derive testable hypotheses from it that can be examined in future research studies. The chapter also discusses the limitations of the approach, perspectives, and standpoints ventilated here, including the important issues that may be missed in this book. The chapter discusses how to define the various concepts pertaining to radicalization, the relevance and strength of the general models presented here, the prediction of concrete instances of radicalization, and the importance of social media and Internet communication about fairness issues.