bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Knowing Yourself and Being Worth Knowing
Authors: MACKENZIE JORDAN
Published: November 2018

Philosophers have often understood self-knowledge's value in instrumentalist terms. Self-knowledge may be valuable as a means to moral self-improvement and self-satisfaction, while its absence can lead to viciousness and frustration. These explanations, while compelling, do not fully explain the value that many of us place in self-knowledge. Rather, we have a tendency to treat self-knowledge as its own end. In this article, I vindicate this tendency by identifying a moral reason that we have to value and seek self-knowledge that is independent of the reason that we have to value the beneficial ends that it helps us achieve. I argue that we are in an inescapable relationship with ourselves that requires both self-love and self-respect. Self-love gives us a noninstrumental reason to know ourselves, while self-respect demands that we take this reason seriously. To pursue a project of self-discovery carefully and for its own sake, then, is part of what it is to stand in a loving and respectful relationship with ourselves.
Asymmetric Personal Identity
Authors: SIDER THEODORE
Published: November 2018

Personal identity is not always symmetric: even if I will not be a later person, the later person may have been me. What makes this possible is that the relations that are criterial of personal identity—such as memory and anticipation—are asymmetric and ‘count in favor of personal identity from one side only’. Asymmetric personal identity can be accommodated by temporal counterpart theory but not by Lewisian overlapping aggregates of person stages. The question of uncertainty in cases of personal fission (and in Everettian quantum mechanics) is also discussed.
INDEX NUMBERS AND REVEALED PREFERENCE RANKINGS
Authors: Hjertstrand Per , Swofford James L. , Whitney Gerald A.
Published: November 2018

For previously identified weakly separable blockings of goods and assets, we construct aggregates using four superlative index numbers, the Fisher, Sato-Vartia, Törnqvist, and Walsh, two non-superlative indexes, the Laspeyres and Paasche, and the atheoretical simple summation. We conduct several tests to examine how well each of these aggregates “fit” the data. These tests are how close the aggregates come to solving the revealed preference conditions for weak separability, how often each aggregate gets the direction of change correct, and how well the aggregates mimic the preference ranking from revealed preference tests. We find that, as the number of goods and assets being aggregated increases, the problems with simple summation manifest.
Flux emergence rate of active regions as a probe for turbulent dynamo action
Authors: Kutsenko Aleksandr S. , Abramenko Valentina I.
Published: November 2018

We analyze the flux emergence rate of solar active regions (ARs). Numerical simulations by other authors suggest that the flux emergence rate depends on the AR’s twist. To prove this statement observationally, we make a comparison of the flux emergence rate and twist of 215 emerging ARs. Our results confirm that the correlation exists: the higher the twist the higher the flux emergence rate of an AR. We suppose that the difference in the twist can be caused by chaotic influence of the convective plasma motions on the lifting magnetic flux tube.
Study of solar flares associated with Geoeffective CMEs
Authors: Choithani Veena , Jain Rajmal , Pallamraju Duggirala
Published: November 2018

We study 30 solar flare events associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that produced geomagnetic storms as measured in Dst index. Our study reveals that the magnitude of Dst index is significantly associated with maximum solar wind speed, peak of Bz component of the IMF and the product of peak Bz and solar wind speed (minimum and maximum). From our investigations, it can be inferred that CMEs travel with higher speed in the beginning and their speed reduces as they reach L1 location.
Migration of polar prominences in 13-24 cycles of activity
Authors: Tlatova Kseniya A. , Tlatov Andrey , Vasil’eva Valeriya
Published: November 2018

We are performed the digitization of the prominences from the full disk observations of the Sun in the CaIIK line Kodaikanal Observatory for the period 1904-1954. These data were supplemented by digitization of prominences data on Wolfer atlases for the period 1887-1900 and observations of Kislovodsk Observatory in the period 1957-2017. Particular attention was paid to study of the polar crown prominences drift time. The time interval of the prominence drift is ambiguous from the sunspot cycle amplitude.
Scaling Analysis of the Flare Index Data from Kandilli Observatory
Authors: Roy Soumya , Prasad Amrita , Chowdhury Susovan , Panja Subhash Chandra , Patra Sankar Narayan
Published: November 2018

The daily time series Flare Index (FI) data of Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere and Total Disk for Solar Cycle 21- 23 and 24 up to Dec. 2014 has been pre-processed using a 2nd order exponential smoothing algorithm to remove orthogonal noise. The smoothed data in each case is processed for scaling analysis using Rescaled-Range Analysis as well as Finite Variance Scaling Method in order to search for the Hurst exponent. As the value of H obtained from our analysis lies in between 0 and 1, so it can be said that the signal may behave like Fractional Brownian Motion. Also, it is observed that H is less than 0.5 which indicates the data is anti-persistent in nature and it has a strong negative correlation within the signal. The value of H also indicates the oscillating features of the signal which might have some fundamental periodicities in the Suns atmosphere.
Characteristic of Solar Wind Parameters and Geomagnetic Indices during Solar Flares
Authors: Mishra Roshan K. , Adhikari Binod , Pandit Drabindra , Chapagain Narayan P.
Published: November 2018

Active sun is characterized by compelling short-lived flash of solar eruption like solar flare, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), high-speed solar winds and solar energetic particles along with colossal release of energy and mass. This paper proposes a new method to evaluate solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices based on wavelet analysis during the solar flares. The crucial role of IMF-Bz (interplanetary magnetic field) is examined for the two solar flares events. The key result obtained from our study is substantial dependence of solar flare intensity on IMF-Bz together with solar wind velocity. We also observed the duration of solar flares and their effect on ionospheric and ground based parameters.
Long-term variations in meridional motion of sunspot groups: comparison of DPD and SOON data
Authors: Javaraiah J.
Published: November 2018

We have analyzed the Debrecen Photoheliographic Data (DPD) and the Solar Optical Observing Network (SOON) sunspot group data during the period 1977 – 2015 and find that during the maximum of solar cycle 23 there is a large difference in the mean meridional motion of sunspot groups determined from DPD and SOON data.
Explaining the variation of the meridional circulation with the solar cycle
Authors: Hazra Gopal , Choudhuri Arnab Rai
Published: November 2018

The meridional circulation of the Sun is observationally found to vary with the solar cycle, becoming slower during the solar maxima. We explain this by constructing a theoretical model in which the equation of the meridional circulation (the φ component of the vorticity equation) is coupled with the equations of the flux transport dynamo model. We find that the Lorentz force of the dynamo-generated magnetic fields can slow down the meridional circulation during the solar maxima in broad conformity with the observations.
Reconstruction of solar activity according to the data of centenary observations
Authors: Tlatova Kseniya A. , Vasil’eva Valeriya , Tlatov Andrey
Published: November 2018

Digitization of solar activity data over a period of more than 100 years has been performed. The database presents the characteristics of sunspots, sunspot umbras, filaments, plages in CaIIK line and prominences. The series of vector boundaries and photometric properties of the selected objects are created.

The characteristics of individual types of solar activity were determined. An interactive atlas of solar activity has been created, on which daily maps of solar activity, characteristics of individual elements and summary indices of solar activity are presented. The indices of solar activity were reconstructed and the analysis was carried out.
The morphological comparison and analysis of coronal green line
Authors: Zhang Xuefei , Liu Yu , Zhao Mingyu
Published: November 2018

The coronal is the origins of large-scale solar activity and disastrous space weather, it contains extremely rich information and various physical processes. The coronal loop is a kind of bright structure with hot plasma which is bounded by magnetic field in the coronal, it is a good reflection of the magnetic structure that we can hardly observe directly. It is also the energy channel between the photosphere and coronal, and the study of coronal loop is helpful for us to understand the magnetic line foot movement.
Solar Activities and Its Impact on Space Weather
Authors: Pandit Drabindra , Chapagain Narayan P. , Adhikari Binod , Mishra Roshan K.
Published: November 2018

The Sun is an active star and its magnetic field fluctuates from a fraction of a second to a long period of time. The solar wind, CME, solar prominence, solar flares, solar particle and solar filament are the direct result of solar magnetic activity effects on the interplanetary space, Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. The intensity of irruption of these phenomena from the Sun’s surface depends upon its phases. The extreme events affect technology both in space and on the ground.The data obtained from series of observations can help to predict solar activities and safekeeping to the space technology. In this study the cross correlations between IMF Bz, solar wind velocity(Vsw) and interplanetary electric field(Ey) with AE and SYM-H are studied. The results reveal that strong geomagnetic disturbances have high impact on the components of space weather than weak disturbances have.
A study on universality, non-extensivity and Lévy statistics of solar wind turbulence
Authors: Santhosh Kumar G. , Gopinath Sumesh , Prince P. R.
Published: November 2018

A number of complex systems arising in diverse disciplines may have certain quantitative features that are surprisingly similar which are classified under the paradigm of “universality”. The non-extensive Tsallis stastical mechanics and Lévy flight patterns provide a novel basis for analyzing non-equilibrium complex systems that may exhibit long-range correlations. The present work studies the scope of employing non-extensive Gutenberg-Richter (G-R) type law for the magnitude distribution of energy of solar wind, in order to investigate the existence of a universal behavior as well as to compute the relations of degree of non-extensivity and Lévy statistics in solar wind turbulence with heliographic distance during different solar cycles.
Inferring Stellar Activity Variations near Habitable Extrasolar Planets using Dynamical Effects
Authors: Kumar Varnana M. , Sathyan Thara N. , Nisha N. G. , Aranya S. , Girish T. E.
Published: November 2018

In this paper we have studied space weather conditions near 53 potentially habitable exoplanets reported in literature using available information on the chromoshperic activity of their host stars and nature of dynamical interactions possible in the respective star-planetary systems.
Correlation of the New Sunspot Number and Geomagnetic aa Index in the Years 1900-2013
Authors: Eduardo Marielle R. , Sugon Quirino M. , Pelicano Bhazel Anne R.
Published: November 2018

The recalibration of the sunspot number series has established a new standard version for sunspot time series that requires updating of prior results based on the calibration. These recent sunspot number corrections mean a change in the results of the previous correlational studies of ISSN with geomagnetic indices, such as the aa-index. In this paper, we investigate the correlation between the old and new sunspot numbers ISSN and SN and their relationship with the aa index through time series, using the methods of Echer et. al (2004), Verma & Trippathi (2016), Stamper et. al (1996), and Feynman (1982).
Distribution of hemispheric solar activity during various phases of solar cycles
Authors: Jayalekshmi G. L. , Prince P. R.
Published: November 2018

Hemispheric asymmetry is one of the significant parameters related to the action of solar dynamo. Comparison of hemispheric activities during various phases are found out for solar cycles 12 to 23. Asymmetry of solar activity shows extremum values during the cycles 14 and 19. Lowest and highest levels of north-south asymmetry are mainly observed during minimum and maximum phases respectively of solar cycles. A change of phase is found to be existing between the asymmetries at solar maxima and the whole cycle, after solar cycle 15 and 18. Also, for cycles 17-19, the behaviour of the asymmetry is observed to be peculiar and different from that of the other cycles. Periodic behaviour of north-south asymmetry mainly occurs in 8.8 years and noticed very high during the cycles 18-22.
Partnership for mental health development in Sub-Saharan Africa (PaM-D): a collaborative initiative for research and capacity building
Authors: Gureje O. , Seedat S. , Kola L. , Appiah-Poku J. , Othieno C. , Harris B. , Makanjuola V. , Price L. N. , Ayinde O. O. , Esan O.
Published: November 2018

Aims

In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) in general and sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries in particular, there is both a large treatment gap for mental disorders and a relative paucity of empirical evidence about how to fill this gap. This is more so for severe mental disorders, such as psychosis, which impose an additional vulnerability for human rights abuse on its sufferers. A major factor for the lack of evidence is the few numbers of active mental health (MH) researchers on the continent and the distance between the little evidence generated and the policy-making process.

Methods

The Partnership for Mental Health Development in Africa (PaM-D) aimed to bring together diverse MH stakeholders in SSA, working collaboratively with colleagues from the global north, to create an infrastructure to develop MH research capacity in SSA, advance global MH science by conducting innovative public health-relevant MH research in the region and work to link research to policy development. Participating SSA countries were Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa. The research component of PaM-D focused on the development and assessment of a collaborative shared care (CSC) program between traditional and faith healers (T&FHs) and biomedical providers for the treatment of psychotic disorders, as a way of improving the outcome of persons suffering from these conditions. The capacity building component aimed to develop research capacity and appreciation of the value of research in a broad range of stakeholders through bespoke workshops and fellowships targeting specific skill-sets as well as mentoring for early career researchers.

Results

In the research component of PaM-D, a series of formative studies were implemented to inform the development of an intervention package consisting of the essential features of a CSC for psychosis implemented by primary care providers and T&FHs. A cluster randomised controlled trial was next designed to test the effectiveness of this package on the outcome of psychosis. In the capacity-building component, 35 early and mid-career researchers participated in the training workshops and several established mentor-mentee relationships with senior PaM-D members. At the end of the funding period, 60 papers have been published and 21 successful grant applications made.

Conclusion

The success of PaM-D in energising young researchers and implementing a cutting-edge research program attests to the importance of partnership among researchers in the global south working with those from the north in developing MH research and service in LMIC.
When Things Don't Fit: Looking at the London Mithraeum
Authors: Bowden Hugh
Published: November 2018

The redisplayed London Mithraeum beneath the Bloomberg building in the City of London, and the material recovered from excavation of the site, now on display in the Museum of London, provide a valuable resource for exploring aspects of religion in Roman London. And they are well worth the visit, not least because they are free to the public. Inevitably the information provided with the artifacts and the site itself emphasise what we know about them. But there are puzzling features of this material, and there is a lot that we do not know. I want to discuss some of these puzzles, not with the aim of providing answers, but to remind us that there is still plenty to be discovered about ancient religion, and also that our perspective on the ancient world is always affected by accidents of survival.
Interactive Mithras: Giving Primary School Children an Introduction to Mithras
Authors: Lawrence Caroline
Published: November 2018

The year before I had become obsessed with the grave of a 14-year-old Roman girl found in Lant Street, South London. Her bones and grave goods tell us that although she was blue-eyed with North European ancestry, she grew up in the Southern Mediterranean, (maybe even North Africa). When she was about nine or ten she made the long trip to London. She died five years later, aged about 14, and was buried with several interesting objects, including an exotic folding knife with an ivory handle in the shape of a leopard.
Introducing Prose Composition to Year 9 Students: Strategies for Developing Confidence in English to Latin Translation
Authors: Batchelor Denise
Published: November 2018

This research will investigate whether the teaching of prose composition to a group of students with no or very limited experience helps improve their linguistic knowledge and performance. The investigation covers two different strategies: a step method and an annotation method, The new WJEC Eduqas GCSE Latin paper was first examined in 2018 and contains an optional prose composition section. This comprises three sentences to be translated from English into Latin.
Bilingualism in the Classroom: Using Latin as an Aid to the Learning of Modern Italian
Authors: Wall Emma
Published: November 2018

This research explores the utility of Latin as an aid to the acquisition of modern Italian. Latin is the root of the Romance languages, and consequently many words in Italian derive directly from Latin or are cognate with Latin words. Lexical connections between the languages could therefore prove useful for students learning Italian. The motivations for researching this particular area stem from the current trend of valuing subject areas in terms of their ‘utility’ to learners. Through this research I hope to show that Latin should be valued not only intrinsically, but also that it has extrinsic value as an aid to learning modern languages.
Teaching Socrates to First-year Philosophy Students in Iran, Based on Plato's Euthyphro
Authors: Forghani Maryam , Koutlaki Sofia A
Published: November 2018

Is it possible to teach philosophy to first-year philosophy students in a way similar to the one Socrates used to teach his interlocutors in the early dialogues? Socrates conducted challenging discussions in the agora of Athens; he began with examining everyday routine concepts, subjected his interlocutors to scrutiny—ἒλεγχος— showed the contradictions in their thinking, and often finally arrived at both his and their ignorance. The starting point of this paper is whether is it possible to teach Socratic philosophy following the Socratic Method. Here, we defend this possibility based on our practical experience of teaching Plato's Euthyphro to first-year students. In particular, the first author taught three groups of first-year philosophy students, for three semesters—Autumn 2016, Spring and Autumn 2017—in the Department of Philosophy at ATU (Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran).
Teaching and Learning Latin in the Key Stage 3 Classroom: Using the Cambridge Latin Course Explorer Tool
Authors: Hunt Francis
Published: November 2018

The Classics department at my school has 32 Apple iPads. This allows for extensive individualised use of ICT in Classics lessons. Having access to tablets opens up many possibilities, not least the fact that students can stay in their usual classroom and pick up their tablet periodically to aid their learning. This facility lends itself perfectly to the Cambridge Latin Course (CLC) electronic resources. There are many online activities, games and exercises on the CLC website which were developed to support learning through supplementary activities based on the original print materials. However, it is only when students have frequent and individual access to these resources that they can reap the benefits. My school, equipped with iPads, has provided the perfect opportunity to conduct a case study on the experiences of students using a CLC online resource in Latin lessons. As a PGCE student who has recently completed an undergraduate degree in Classics, I have had a lot of experience using electronic tools to aid the translation of Latin texts, namely the programme ‘Diogenes’, and the website http://www.perseus.tufts.edu. For this reason I was particularly interested in the use of ICT as a tool to aid the reading of Latin and enhance language acquisition.
Marking Latin Unseen Translations
Authors: Tuckfield John
Published: November 2018

The unseen translation - translation of a passage of Latin that the student has not seen before, under constraints of time and with limited access to resources - is a persistent element of Latin courses, especially at school level. It is present in A Level courses in England (for example, OCR 2017), in the Scottish Highers (SQA, 2017), in the New Zealand curriculum (NZQA, 2017), and in Australia (VCAA, 2004; Board of Studies, 2009), to name but a few examples. In Victoria, courses have undergone various changes in the last 30 years, but the unseen has remained a constant: there seems to be a consensus among teachers and examiners that the ability to translate a passage of Latin on the spot is a rigorous and enduring test of at least one aspect of a student's skills in Latin.
Communicative Approaches to Learning Latin: Voice and Tone in Learning Latin Terminations
Authors: Miller Grace
Published: November 2018

I conducted a series of 20-minute activities during my research sequence where students solely read the Latin aloud to each other in pairs, emphasising verb terminations and noun/adjective agreement, and finished with the students using this technique during their normal written translation practice, with one student reading the Latin aloud and the other translating.
‘Not so Much Learning to Speak Latin, but Speaking to Learn it’. Action Research on the Use of Conversational, Spoken Latin in the UK Secondary School Classroom.
Authors: Sinclair James
Published: November 2018

I undertook research into the use of conversational, spoken Latin in the UK classroom, due to my intention to answer three specific research questions. Firstly, I wanted to find out how easy it is for the contemporary Classics teacher to implement communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin. Secondly, I wished to discover what techniques the Classics teacher can adopt to implement communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin, within the framework of active, oral communication in Latin. Thirdly, I wanted to consider how positive is the attitude of students engaging with communicative approaches to the teaching of Latin. I was introduced to this area of research on my PGCE course of study at Cambridge University. Furthermore, I was especially inspired by the scholarship of Coffee (2012), King (2011), Lloyd (2016), Patrick (2015), Rasmussen (2015) and Tunberg (2011) who have written so positively about the unique ability of communicative approaches to unlock the joy of experiencing and employing the Latin language for individuals of all ages.
Centrality of Event and Mental Health Outcomes in Child and Adolescent Natural Disaster Survivors
Authors: Mordeno Imelu G. , Galela Debi S. , Nalipay Ma. Jenina N. , Cue Miriam P.
Published: November 2018

The experience of trauma could be considered a central event in one’s life, such that it could be a core component of one’s identity and life story. Indeed, trauma memories are well-remembered, vivid, intense, and easily accessible (Berntsen & Rubin, 2006). The present study investigated the mediating role of sensory-based trauma memory quality in the relationship between centrality of event and mental health outcomes among child and adolescent survivors of a natural disaster (N= 225) in its immediate aftermath. Results of mediation analyses revealed that centrality of trauma event is related to symptoms of acute stress disorder and depression through sensory-based trauma memory quality (indirect effect 95% C.I. [.06, .11] and [.04, .10], respectively). These findings support the contention that centrality of event is associated to heightened accessibility and vividness of sensory-based trauma memory quality, which in turn is related to an increase in trauma-related symptoms in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, where the reminders of trauma are particularly salient in the survivors’ environment and daily activities.
Contribution of the Five Factors of Personality and Peers on Adolescent Alcohol Use: A Cross-National Study
Authors: Gallego Sígrid , Mezquita Laura , Moya-Higueras Jorge , Ortet Generós , Ibáñez Manuel I.
Published: November 2018

Personality characteristics such as extraversion, low agreeableness and low conscientiousness are relevant for alcohol use during adolescence. In addition, having friends who use alcohol is one of the strongest predictors of adolescent alcohol consumption and its negative outcomes. The selection model posits that friends display similar alcohol consumption when their friendships are formed on the basis of common characteristics as, among others, personality. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the mediation role of peers in the association between the five-factor model of personality and adolescent alcohol use in two cultures. One hundred and twenty Scottish and 221 Spanish respondents, all aged 12-15 years, answered the Alcohol Intake Scale (AIS). Adolescents were asked about the alcohol used at the weekend and also about the alcohol consumed by their friends. Scottish adolescents’ personality was measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO–PI–3). The Junior Spanish version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (JS NEO) was used to assess personality in the Spanish sample. Low agreeableness and low conscientiousness correlated with own alcohol quantity in both countries. We performed an independent structural equation modeling for each country. Extraversion (β = .205, p < .05) and low agreeableness (β = –.196, p < .01) for Scottish adolescents, and low conscientiousness (β = –.175, p < .05) for Spanish youths, predicted alcohol use through peer alcohol consumption at weekends. These findings support the relevance of personality traits and peer affiliation in relation to alcohol consumption in adolescence.
Psychometric Properties of the French Version of the Young Schema Questionnaire - Short Form 3 (YSQ–S3)
Authors: Bouvard Martine , Denis Anne , Roulin Jean Luc
Published: November 2018

The purpose was to assess the psychometric properties of the French version of the Young Schema Questionnaire - Short Form 3 (YSQ–S3). The main non-clinical sample (N = 605, M = 20.63, 78% women) was divided into two subsamples: One was used for exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and the other was used for confirmatory analyses. Next, internal consistency, convergent validity and criterion-related validity were studied. The EFA to each of the five domains was similar to the theoretical structure postulated by Young. The confirmatory analysis of each of the five domains appeared to favor our solution over a single-factor solution and Young’s solution. The confirmatory factor analyses of high-order structures did not give fully satisfactory results but appeared to favor our solution (RMSEA =.11, CFI =.76, TLI =.71, SRMR =.07, AIC = 58,566.44). In our best model, the reliability (> .70) was satisfactory for fourteen schemas. The relationships between the schemas and the neuroticism, extraversion and psychoticism scores went in the expected directions. Detrimental parental rearing behaviors were linked to high scores for the various schemas. Lastly, 4 schemas differentiated between the clinical and non-clinical groups. In conclusion, the overall psychometric qualities of the French version of the YSQ–S3 allow its use in clinical populations.
Jean O’Brien Dickey (1945–2018)
Authors: Zlotnicki Victor , Owen Susan
Published: November 2018

This pioneer in space geodesy started as a particle physicist and went on to unravel relationships between Earth’s rotation and climate processes.
MacroH2A1 chromatin specification requires its docking domain and acetylation of H2B lysine 20
Authors: Ruiz Penelope D. , Gamble Matthew J.
Published: November 2018

The histone variant macroH2A1 localizes to two functionally distinct chromatin subtypes marked by either H3K27me3 or H2B acetylations, where it is thought to directly regulate transcription. The recent finding, that macroH2A1 regulates mitochondrial respiration by globally dampening PARP activity, requires the field to re-evaluate which functions of macroH2A1 are due to global effects on cellular metabolism and which are direct effects determined by macroH2A1 chromatin localization. Here, we demonstrate macroH2A1 incorporation into H2B-acetylated chromatin requires a feature in its histone-fold domain, distinguishing this process from incorporation into H3K27me3-containing chromatin in which multiple features of macroH2A1 are sufficient for targeting. In addition, we identify H2BK20 acetylation as a critical modification required to target macroH2A1 to H2B-acetylated chromatin. Our findings have allowed us to definitively establish that macroH2A1’s regulation of an important transcriptional program, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), requires its accurate genomic localization.
Solar cell designs by maximizing energy production based on machine learning clustering of spectral variations
Authors: Ripalda J. M. , Buencuerpo J. , García I.
Published: November 2018

Due to spectral sensitivity effects, using a single standard spectrum leads to a large uncertainty when estimating the yearly averaged photovoltaic efficiency or energy yield. Here we demonstrate how machine learning techniques can reduce the yearly spectral sets by three orders of magnitude to sets of a few characteristic spectra, and use the resulting proxy spectra to find the optimal solar cell designs maximizing the yearly energy production. When using standard conditions, our calculated efficiency limits show good agreement with current photovoltaic efficiency records, but solar cells designed for record efficiency under the current standard spectra are not optimal for maximizing the yearly energy yield. Our results show that more than 1 MWh m−2 year−1 can realistically be obtained from advanced multijunction systems making use of the direct, diffuse, and back-side albedo components of the irradiance.
Exocyst dynamics during vesicle tethering and fusion
Authors: Ahmed Syed Mukhtar , Nishida-Fukuda Hisayo , Li Yuchong , McDonald W. Hayes , Gradinaru Claudiu C. , Macara Ian G.
Published: November 2018

The exocyst is a conserved octameric complex that tethers exocytic vesicles to the plasma membrane prior to fusion. Exocyst assembly and delivery mechanisms remain unclear, especially in mammalian cells. Here we tagged multiple endogenous exocyst subunits with sfGFP or Halo using Cas9 gene-editing, to create single and double knock-in lines of mammary epithelial cells, and interrogated exocyst dynamics by high-speed imaging and correlation spectroscopy. We discovered that mammalian exocyst is comprised of tetrameric subcomplexes that can associate independently with vesicles and plasma membrane and are in dynamic equilibrium with octamer and monomers. Membrane arrival times are similar for subunits and vesicles, but with a small delay (~80msec) between subcomplexes. Departure of SEC3 occurs prior to fusion, whereas other subunits depart just after fusion. About 9 exocyst complexes are associated per vesicle. These data reveal the mammalian exocyst as a remarkably dynamic two-part complex and provide important insights into assembly/disassembly mechanisms.
MTCH2-mediated mitochondrial fusion drives exit from naïve pluripotency in embryonic stem cells
Authors: Bahat Amir , Goldman Andres , Zaltsman Yehudit , Khan Dilshad H. , Halperin Coral , Amzallag Emmanuel , Krupalnik Vladislav , Mullokandov Michael , Silberman Alon , Erez Ayelet , Schimmer Aaron D. , Hanna Jacob H. , Gross Atan
Published: November 2018

The role of mitochondria dynamics and its molecular regulators remains largely unknown during naïve-to-primed pluripotent cell interconversion. Here we report that mitochondrial MTCH2 is a regulator of mitochondrial fusion, essential for the naïve-to-primed interconversion of murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs). During this interconversion, wild-type ESCs elongate their mitochondria and slightly alter their glutamine utilization. In contrast, MTCH2−/− ESCs fail to elongate their mitochondria and to alter their metabolism, maintaining high levels of histone acetylation and expression of naïve pluripotency markers. Importantly, enforced mitochondria elongation by the pro-fusion protein Mitofusin (MFN) 2 or by a dominant negative form of the pro-fission protein dynamin-related protein (DRP) 1 is sufficient to drive the exit from naïve pluripotency of both MTCH2−/− and wild-type ESCs. Taken together, our data indicate that mitochondria elongation, governed by MTCH2, plays a critical role and constitutes an early driving force in the naïve-to-primed pluripotency interconversion of murine ESCs.
Replication of Resting State-Task Network Correspondence and Novel Findings on Brain Network Activation During Task fMRI in the Human Connectome Project Study
Authors: Nickerson Lisa D.
Published: November 2018

There have been many recent reports highlighting a crisis in replication and reliability of research in psychology, neuroscience, and neuroimaging. After a series of reports uncovered various methodological problems with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research, considerable attention has been given to principles and practices to improve reproducibility of neuroimaging findings, including promotion of openness, transparency, and data sharing. However, much less attention has been given to use of open access neuroimaging datasets to conduct replication studies. A major barrier to reproducing neuroimaging studies is their high cost, in money and labor, and utilizing such datasets is an obvious solution for breaking down this barrier. The Human Connectome Project (HCP) is an open access dataset consisting of extensive neurological, behavioral, and genetics assessments and neuroimaging data from over 1,100 individuals. In the present study, findings supporting the replication of a highly cited neuroimaging study that showed correspondence between resting state and task brain networks, and novel findings on activation of brain networks during task performance that arose with this exercise are presented as a demonstration of use of the HCP for replication studies.
Silicon germanium photo-blocking layers for a-IGZO based industrial display
Authors: Kang Su Hyoung , Kang Sangmin , Park Seong Chae , Park Jong Bo , Jung Youngjin , Hong Byung Hee
Published: November 2018

Amorphous indium- gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) has been intensively studied for the application to active matrix flat-panel display because of its superior electrical and optical properties. However, the characteristics of a-IGZO were found to be very sensitive to external circumstance such as light illumination, which dramatically degrades the device performance and stability practically required for display applications. Here, we suggest the use for silicon-germanium (Si-Ge) films grown plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) as photo-blocking layers in the a-IGZO thin film transistors (TFTs). The charge mobility and threshold voltage (Vth) of the TFTs depend on the thickness of the Si-Ge films and dielectric buffer layers (SiNX), which were carefully optimized to be ~200 nm and ~300 nm, respectively. As a result, even after 1,000 s illumination time, the Vth and electron mobility of the TFTs remain unchanged, which was enabled by the photo-blocking effect of the Si-Ge layers for a-IGZO films. Considering the simple fabrication process by PECVD with outstanding scalability, we expect that this method can be widely applied to TFT devices that are sensitive to light illumination.
Temperature Dependence of Hourly, Daily, and Event-based Precipitation Extremes Over China
Authors: Gao Xichao , Zhu Qian , Yang Zhiyong , Liu Jiahong , Wang Hao , Shao Weiwei , Huang Guoru
Published: November 2018

Theoretically, precipitation extremes will increase at a rate of 6–7% with temperature increasing, namely the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship. However, many gauge observations suggest a peak structure of the relationship between precipitation extremes and atmospheric temperature, deviating from the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship. In this study, a comprehensive investigation about the temperature dependence of precipitation extremes (hourly, daily, and event-based) across China is implemented. The results confirm the widespread existence of the peak structure for daily and hourly precipitation extremes and show that (1) there is a generally positive spatial correlation between the precipitation extremes at the peak and temperature at the peak, and this scaling rate is close to the C-C rate; (2) the scaling of event-based extremes for precipitation amount with temperature follows a similar pattern to the daily precipitation extremes while the event-based precipitation intensity does not show a peak structure; (3) the decrease of rain duration is the main cause for the peak structure of the rain amount scaling.
Genus trace reveals the topological complexity and domain structure of biomolecules
Authors: Zając Sebastian , Geary Cody , Andersen Ebbe Sloth , Dabrowski-Tumanski Pawel , Sulkowska Joanna I. , Sułkowski Piotr
Published: November 2018

The structure of bonds in biomolecules, such as base pairs in RNA chains or native interactions in proteins, can be presented in the form of a chord diagram. A given biomolecule is then characterized by the genus of an auxiliary two-dimensional surface associated to such a diagram. In this work we introduce the notion of the genus trace, which describes dependence of genus on the choice of a subchain of a given backbone chain. We find that the genus trace encodes interesting physical and biological information about a given biomolecule and its three dimensional structural complexity; in particular it gives a way to quantify how much more complicated a biomolecule is than its nested secondary structure alone would indicate. We illustrate this statement in many examples, involving both RNA and protein chains. First, we conduct a survey of all published RNA structures with better than 3 Å resolution in the PDB database, and find that the genus of natural structural RNAs has roughly linear dependence on their length. Then, we show that the genus trace captures properties of various types of base pairs in RNA, and enables the identification of the domain structure of a ribosome. Furthermore, we find that not only does the genus trace detect a domain structure, but it also predicts a cooperative folding pattern in multi-domain proteins. The genus trace turns out to be a useful and versatile tool, with many potential applications.
MSIpred: a python package for tumor microsatellite instability classification from tumor mutation annotation data using a support vector machine
Authors: Wang Chen , Liang Chun
Published: November 2018

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is characterized by high degree of polymorphism in microsatellite lengths due to deficiency in mismatch repair (MMR) system. MSI is associated with several tumor types and its status can be considered as an important indicator for patient prognosis. Conventional clinical diagnosis of MSI examines PCR products of a panel of microsatellite markers using electrophoresis (MSI-PCR), which is laborious, costly, and time consuming. We developed MSIpred, a python package for automatic MSI classification using a machine learning technology – support vector machine (SVM). MSIpred computes 22 features characterizing tumor somatic mutational load from mutation data in mutation annotation format (MAF) generated from paired tumor-normal exome sequencing data, subsequently using these features to predict tumor MSI status with a SVM classifier trained by MAF data of 1074 tumors belonging to four types. Evaluation of MSIpred on an independent testing set, MAF data of another 358 tumors, achieved overall accuracy of ≥98% and area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.967. Further analysis on discrepant cases revealed that discrepancies were partially due to misclassification of MSI-PCR. Additional testing of MSIpred on non-TCGA data also validated its good classification performance. These results indicated that MSIpred is a robust pan-tumor MSI classification tool and can serve as a complementary diagnostic to MSI-PCR in MSI diagnosis.
Development and Characterization of a Spontaneously Metastatic Patient-Derived Xenograft Model of Human Prostate Cancer
Authors: Lange Tobias , Oh-Hohenhorst Su Jung , Joosse Simon A. , Pantel Klaus , Hahn Oliver , Gosau Tobias , Dyshlovoy Sergey A. , Wellbrock Jasmin , Feldhaus Susanne , Maar Hanna , Gehrcke Renate , Kluth Martina , Simon Ronald , Schlomm Thorsten , Huland Hartwig , Schumacher Udo
Published: November 2018

Here we describe the establishment and characterization of an AR+, PSMA+, ERG+, PTEN−/−, CHD1+/− patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model termed ‘C5’, which has been developed from a 60 years old patient suffering from castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The patient underwent radical prostatectomy, showed early tumor marker PSA recurrence and, one year after surgery, abiraterone resistance. Subcutaneous C5 tumors can be serially transplanted between mice and grow within ~90 days to 1.5–2 cm³ tumors in SCID Balb/c mice (take rate 100%), NOD-scid IL2Rgnull (NSG) mice (100%) and C57BL/6 pfp−/−/rag2−/− mice (66%). In contrast, no tumor growth is observed in female mice. C5 tumors can be cryopreserved and show the same growth characteristics in vivo afterwards. C5 tumor cells do not grow stably in vitro, neither under two- nor three-dimensional cell culture conditions. Upon serial transplantation, some C5 tumors spontaneously disseminated to distant sites with an observable trend towards higher metastatic cell loads in scid compared to NSG mice. Lung metastases could be verified by histology by means of anti-PSMA immunohistochemistry, exclusively demonstrating single disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) and micro-metastases. Upon surgical resection of the primary tumors, such pulmonary foci rarely grew out to multi-cellular metastatic colonies despite doubled overall survival span. In the brain and bone marrow, the metastatic cell load present at surgery even disappeared during the post-surgical period. We provide shallow whole genome sequencing and whole exome sequencing data of C5 tumors demonstrating the copy number aberration/ mutation status of this PCa model and proving genomic stability over several passages. Moreover, we analyzed genomic and transcriptomic alterations during metastatic progression achieved by serial transplantation. This study describes a novel PCa PDX model that enables future research on several aspects of metastatic PCa, particularly for the AR+ , ERG+ , PTEN−/− PCa subtype.
Usefulness of Intravenous Gadolinium Inner Ear MR Imaging in Diagnosis of Ménière’s Disease
Authors: Cho Young Sang , Ahn Jung Min , Choi Ji Eun , Park Hyun Woo , Kim Yi-Kyung , Kim Hyung-Jin , Chung Won-Ho
Published: November 2018

This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of the intravenous gadolinium enhanced inner ear magnetic resonance imaging (IV-Gd inner ear MRI) in diagnosing Ménière’s disease(MD) and find a correlation between the degree of endolymphatic hydrops(EH) and the audiovestibular tests. Total 29 patients diagnosed with unilateral definite MD were enrolled. All patients underwent IV-Gd inner ear MRI and auditory and vestibular function tests such as pure tone audiometry (PTA), electrocochleography (ECoG), cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) and caloric test. The hydrops ratio in the cochlea and vestibule were significantly higher in the affected side than the unaffected side (p < 0.001). Average pure-tone thresholds for 0.5, 1 k, 2 k, and 4 k Hz correlated significantly with cochlear and vestibular hydrops (p < 0.01) in the affected side. When comparing the SP/AP ratio of ECoG with hydrops ratio in the vestibule, the affected and unaffected ears showed a significant difference (p < 0.05). Similarly, the results of the caloric test also showed a significant correlation (p < 0.05) with relative vestibular hydrops. However, the cVEMP response was not related to the hydrops ratio in the cochlea or vestibule. This study presents pertinent data with appropriate correlations with auditory vestibular functional testing which demonstrates the usefulness of IV-Gd inner ear MRI as a diagnostic method for visualizing the endolymphatic hydrops in MD.
Investigating the neuroprotective effect of AAV-mediated β-synuclein overexpression in a transgenic model of synucleinopathy
Authors: Sargent Dorian , Bétemps Dominique , Drouyer Matthieu , Verchere Jérémy , Gaillard Damien , Arsac Jean-Noël , Lakhdar Latifa , Salvetti Anna , Baron Thierry
Published: November 2018

Parkinson’s disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by inclusions mainly composed of α-synuclein (α-syn) aggregates. The objective of this study was to investigate if β-synuclein (β-syn) overexpression could have beneficial effects by inhibiting the aggregation of α-syn. The M83 transgenic mouse is a model of synucleinopathy, which develops severe motor symptoms associated with aggregation of α-syn. M83 neonate or adult mice were injected with adeno-associated virus vectors carrying the human β-syn gene (AAVβ-syn) or green fluorescent protein gene (AAVGFP) using different injection sites. The M83 disease was - or not - accelerated using extracts of M83 brains injected with brain extract from mouse (M83) or human (MSA) origins. AAV vectors expression was confirmed using Western blot and ELISA technics. AAV mediated β-syn overexpression did not delay the disease onset or reduce the α-syn phosphorylated at serine 129 levels detected by ELISA, regardless of the AAV injection route and the inoculation of brain extracts. Instead, a proteinase-K resistant β-syn staining was detected by immunohistochemistry, specifically in sick M83 mice overexpressing β-syn after inoculation of AAVβ-syn. This study indicated for the first time that viral vector-mediated β-syn overexpression could form aggregates in a model of synucleinopathy.