bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Similarity‐based multipath suppression algorithm for through‐wall imaging radar
Authors: Guo Shisheng , Cui Guolong , Wang Mingyang , Kong Lingjiang , Yang Xiaobo
Published: February 2017

This study deals with the multipaths suppression problem in a shielded environment with a through‐wall imaging radar. The authors propose a similarity‐based algorithm to eliminate the multipath ghosts for the scenario where some targets overlap with other targets’ multipath ghosts. Specifically, the authors first extract the connected domains of the radar image after binarisation, and then put them into a vector in ascending order based on the distances between their average coordinates and the array centre. Second, they divide the vector into two sub‐vectors and calculate the distances between each sub‐vector and all sensor locations along different paths. Third, they construct the similarity matrix using these two sub‐vectors and further derive the matrix elements larger than the similarity threshold. Finally, decision rules are designed to eliminate the multipath ghosts without losing true targets. At the analyse stage, the authors assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach through simulation results showing its ability of well removing multipath ghosts.
Giant Cell Tumor of the Capitate Treated with Excision and Midcarpal Fusion
Authors: Oufkir Ayat , Lazerges Cyril , Coulet Bertrand , Chammas Michel
Published: February 2017

Background Giant cell tumor (GCT) of bone is rare in the carpus, and only 11 cases have been reported in the capitate bone. The problem with this location is the high recurrence rate due to easy extension to the adjacent joint spaces and bones. We describe a case of GCT on the capitate bone and the treatment in comparison with the previously reported cases.

Case Description The case report concerns a 48-year-old woman with a GCT of the capitate diagnosed on curettage. The treatment consisted of large resection with the lunatum and third metacarpal arthrodesis, with a successful union at 2 years follow-up, no recurrence, and an improved function of the wrist.

Literature Review When treated by curettage (alone or with adjuvant procedures), the GCT of the capitate recurred in four out of five cases. All tumors treated with large resection did not recur.

Clinical Relevance Recommended treatment of GCT of the capitate is resection with carpometacarpal arthrodesis.
Reversibility of Severe Cerebral Magnetic Resonance Imaging Changes Associated with Ethylene Glycol Toxicity
Authors: Calhoun Aaron , McDonald Mark , Owen Erin
Published: February 2017

Ethylene glycol (EG), commonly found in antifreeze and deicing solutions, continues to be a cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population. EG metabolism produces toxins that cause metabolic acidosis and calcium oxalate deposition throughout the body. Deposition in the central nervous system is associated with significant neurologic sequelae, including altered mental status, seizures, and cerebral edema. We present a case of intentional EG poisoning in a 17-year-old male with resulting cerebral edema and coma. Neuroimaging studies were initially normal but eventually demonstrated diffuse abnormalities on both cranial computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The patient ultimately made a complete recovery with resolution of the MRI abnormalities noted at the peak of illness. While neuroimaging is often incorporated into the management of EG poisoning, this is the first case report to show the evolution of EG-related MRI changes before, during, and after the resolution of EG-induced intracranial hypertension.
Ultra-compact visible chiral spectrometer with meta-lenses
Authors: Zhu Alexander Y. , Chen Wei-Ting , Khorasaninejad Mohammadreza , Oh Jaewon , Zaidi Aun , Mishra Ishan , Devlin Robert C. , Capasso Federico
Published: February 2017

Conventional compact spectrometers have a fixed spectral resolution and cannot resolve the polarization properties of light without additional optical elements, while their larger counterparts are bulky and costly. Here, we demonstrate multiple off-axis meta-lenses in the visible integrated on a single planar substrate. They possess both focusing and strongly dispersive properties and are designed to provide different spectral resolutions as well as working wavelength ranges on the same chip. We realize a compact spectrometer using only these meta-lenses and a CMOS camera and achieve detector-limited spectral resolutions as small as 0.3 nm and a total working wavelength range exceeding 170 nm for a beam propagation length of only a few cm. In addition, this spectrometer has the capability to resolve different helicities of light in a single measurement. This chip-camera setup represents the most compact configuration so far achieved for a spectrometer with similar performance and functionality, and its compatibility with large-scale fabrication processes makes it broadly applicable.
Nonlinear optical properties of As20S80 system chalcogenide glass using Z-scan and its strip waveguide under bandgap light using the self-phase modulation
Authors: Zou L. E. , He P. P. , Chen B. X. , Iso M.
Published: February 2017

Optical nonlinearities in the undoped As20S80, low doped P2As20S78 and Sn1As20S79 chacogenide glasses are investigated by using Z-scan method. These experiments show that at 1064 nm the figure of merit (FOM) for As20S80 is ∼1.02, while for Sn1As20S79 increases to ∼1.42, and for P2As20S78 decreases to ∼0.83. These resulted data indicate the addition of Sn in As20S80 system chalcogenide glass can enhance FOM due to creating narrow energy gaps. In addition, the self-phase modulation (SPM) width experiment for Sn1As20S79 strip waveguide displays that the full width half maximum (FWHM) of spectral width increases approximately 0.8 nm under the induction of bandgap light, meaning that the bandgap light can induce to enhance its optical nonlinearity with the nonlinear refractive index of n2≅5.27×10−14 cm2/W.
Integrity of the human centromere DNA repeats is protected by CENP-A, CENP-C, and CENP-T
Authors: Giunta Simona , Funabiki Hironori
Published: February 2017

Significance

The centromere is a highly specialized genomic locus playing a critical role in chromosome segregation during cell division and is made of characteristic repetitive DNA sequences. Due to their repetitive nature, it has been difficult to study the organization of human centromeres. Here, we present a way to monitor stability of the human centromeres using chromosome-orientation fluorescent in situ hybridization and superresolution microscopy. We show that the centromere-specific histone variant CENP-A and the centromere-associated proteins CENP-C and CENP-T contribute to maintenance of centromere integrity and present evidence of centromere disregulation in cancer and during cellular senescence, which is related to aging. Our study reveals the existence of a centromere-specific mechanism to organize the repetitive structure and prevent human centromeres from suffering illegitimate rearrangements.
Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulation suppresses pathogenic astrocyte activation and chronic progressive CNS inflammation
Authors: Rothhammer Veit , Kenison Jessica E. , Tjon Emily , Takenaka Maisa C. , de Lima Kalil Alves , Borucki Davis M. , Chao Chun-Cheih , Wilz Annabel , Blain Manon , Healy Luke , Antel Jack , Quintana Francisco J.
Published: February 2017

Significance

Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) inflicts severe and irreversible disability on the affected individuals. Astrocytes are thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of SPMS. Here, we demonstrate that Sphingosine-1-receptor (S1PR) modulation suppresses pathogenic astrocyte activation and disease progression in an animal model of SPMS. Using functional in vitro assays, we defined direct effects of S1PR modulation on murine and human astrocytes, as well as astrocyte-mediated effects on microglia and proinflammatory monocytes. Finally, in unbiased transcriptome-wide studies on human astrocytes, we identified candidate targets for the modulation of astrocyte function in SPMS. Collectively, this study sheds light on the pathogenesis of SPMS and evaluates the therapeutic value of S1PR modulation in an animal model of SPMS.
Interaction between top-down and bottom-up control in marine food webs
Authors: Lynam Christopher Philip , Llope Marcos , Möllmann Christian , Helaouët Pierre , Bayliss-Brown Georgia Anne , Stenseth Nils C.
Published: February 2017

Significance

Whether environmental conditions, harvesting, or predation pressure primarily regulate an ecosystem is still a question of much debate in marine ecology. Using a wealth of historical records, we describe how climate and fishing interact in a complex marine ecosystem. Through an integrative evidence-based approach, we demonstrate that indirect effects are key to understanding the system. Planktivorous forage fish provide an important role in the system, linking bottom-up and top-down processes such that fishing can indirectly impact the plankton and environmental effects can cascade up to impact demersal fish and predatory seabirds. Cascading trophic interactions can be mediated by opposing bottom-up and top-down forces; this combination has the potential to avert regime wide shifts in community structure and functioning.
Effects of education on the production of plural morphology among bilingual speakers of Yucatec Maya and Spanish
Authors: Butler Lindsay K. , Couoh Pool Rosa María
Published: February 2017

Yucatec Maya differs from many better-known languages in that it has optional plural marking. In a psycholinguistic study of the production of optional plural marking with college-enrolled speakers of Yucatec Maya,Butler, Jaeger, and Bohnemeyer (2014)found that conceptual number information influences the production of optional plural marking. Since the participants in theButler et al. (2014)study are not necessarily representative of speakers of Yucatec Maya, we examine the effects of conceptual number information, via the manipulation of set size, while factoring in the effects of age, education and language use variables on the production of optional plural morphology among bilingual speakers of Yucatec Maya and Spanish speaking in Yucatec Maya. In addition to finding effects of conceptual information, we found that education, but not age, significantly influences the production of plural morphology in Yucatec Maya. Participants with higher levels of education were more sensitive to conceptual number information.
Regime-change agenda: the Egyptian experience from 2011 to 2015
Authors: Hove Mediel , Ndawana Enock
Published: February 2017

This article discusses the role of the United States of America in the failure of the democratic revolution in Egypt during the Arab Spring. While appreciating the role of internal actors and the domestic dynamics, it demonstrates that regime change in Egypt was largely a consequence and a reflection of the US’s interests in Egypt and the region in general. It argues that the seemingly successful removal of the Hosni Mubarak regime by popular uprisings and the rise of Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood signalled the success of democracy. However, Morsi’s controversial overthrow and imprisonment, notwithstanding his weaknesses, led to the backfiring of the regime-change strategy. The subsequent rise to power of a former military man, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and his administration has, thus far, demonstrated a contradiction to all the promises of the Egyptian revolution. It concludes that the drivers of regime change should re-examine the merits of their strategy in an effort to establish lasting peace in the country.
The Heisenberg group acts on a strictly convex domain
Authors: Cooper Daryl
Published: February 2017

This paper gives the first example of a unipotent group that is not virtually abelian and preserves a strictly convex domain.
Percutaneous Instrumentation Without Arthrodesis for Thoracolumbar Flexion-Distraction Injuries: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Chu Jason K. , Rindler Rima S. , Pradilla Gustavo , Rodts Gerald E. , Ahmad Faiz U.
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUND: Flexion-distraction injuries (FDI) represent 5% to 15% of traumatic thoracolumbar fractures. Treatment depends on the extent of ligamentous involvement: osseous/Magerl type B2 injuries can be managed conservatively, while ligamentous/Magerl type B1 injuries undergo stabilization with arthrodesis. Minimally invasive surgery without arthrodesis can achieve similar outcomes to open procedures. This has been studied for burst fractures; however, its role in FDI is unclear.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review of the literature that examined minimally invasive surgery instrumentation without arthrodesis for traumatic FDI of the thoracolumbar spine.

METHODS: Four electronic databases were searched, and articles were screened using PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines for patients with traumatic FDI of the thoracolumbar spine treated with percutaneous techniques without arthrodesis and had postoperative follow-up.

RESULTS: Seven studies with 44 patients met inclusion criteria. There were 19 patients with osseous FDI and 25 with ligamentous FDI. When reported, patients (n = 39) were neurologically intact preoperatively and at follow-up. Osseous FDI patients underwent instrumentation at 2 levels, while ligamentous injuries at approximately 4 levels. Complication rate was 2.3%. All patients had at least 6 mo of follow-up and demonstrated healing on follow-up imaging.

CONCLUSION: Percutaneous instrumentation without arthrodesis represents a low-risk intermediate between conservative management and open instrumented fusion. This “internal bracing” can be used in osseous and ligamentous FDIs. Neurologically intact patients who do not require decompression and those that may not tolerate or fail conservative management may be candidates. The current level of evidence cannot provide official recommendations and future studies are required to investigate long-term safety and efficacy.
Motion Vision in Arthropods
Authors: Mauss Alex S. , Borst Alexander
Published: February 2017

Visual perception seems effortless to us, yet it is the product of elaborate signal processing in intricate brain circuits. Apart from vertebrates, arthropods represent another major animal group with sophisticated visual systems in which the underlying mechanisms can be studied. Arthropods feature identified neurons and other experimental advantages, facilitating an understanding of circuit function at the level of individual neurons and their synaptic interactions. Here, focusing on insect and crustacean species, we summarize and connect our current knowledge in four related areas of research: (1) elementary motion detection in early visual processing; (2) the detection of higher level visual features such as optic flow fields, small target motion and object distance; (3) the integration of such signals with other sensory modalities; and (4) state-dependent visual motion processing.
Control of Locomotion in Hexapods
Authors: Ritzmann Roy E. , Zill Sasha N.
Published: February 2017

This article discusses legged locomotion in insects. It describes the basic patterns of coordinated movement both within each leg and among the various legs. The nervous system controls these actions through groups of joint pattern generators coupled through interneurons and interjoint reflexes in a range of insect species. These local control systems within the thoracic ganglia rely on leg proprioceptors that monitor joint movement and cuticular strain interacting with central pattern generation interneurons. The local control systems can change quantitatively and qualitatively as needed to generate turns or more forceful movements. In dealing with substantial obstacles or changes in navigational movements, more profound changes are required. These rely on sensory information processed in the brain that projects to the multimodal sensorimotor neuropils collectively referred to as the central complex. The central complex affects descending commands that alter local control circuits to accomplish appropriate redirected movements.
Morphology of Invertebrate Neurons and Synapses
Authors: Meinertzhagen Ian A.
Published: February 2017

Despite their often small numbers, the neurons in invertebrate nervous systems can nevertheless constitute many classes, and the nervous systems of little studied or entirely new species still offer significant opportunities for discovery. Circuit analyses and connectomic data are of particular significance, as are the relationships of these to behavior, and the organization of simple larval brains. Functional analyses of synaptic circuits still require knowledge of the neurotransmitter and neurotransmitter receptor for each identified neuron. Synapse complexity ranges widely; undifferentiated pathways in basal species may have unpolarized synapses with presynaptic sites opposite each other, and specialized pathways may have polyadic synapses.
The Science of Rock Art Research
Authors: Gibbon Guy
Published: February 2017

This chapter discusses the science of rock art research within the context of what science is and its process. It begins by considering the definition of science and the similarities shared by the multitude of natural and social sciences. It then examines how science works, with particular emphasis on the typical steps in the scientific method. It also looks at the common difficulties cited by social scientists trying to replicate the methodology of the physical sciences. Finally, it presents a basic seven-step version of the process of science that emphasizes the right (social, psychological) side of the spectrum of science and its application to rock art research. It suggests that the science of rock art research is a global community endeavour that may include researchers, students, educators, technicians, amateur enthusiasts, and organizations such as the Australian Rock Art Association and the American Rock Art Research Association.
Radiocarbon Dating in Rock Art Research
Authors: Petchey Fiona
Published: February 2017

Radiocarbon dating has had a significant impact on rock art research, but an initial enthusiasm for this dating method by archaeologists has been replaced by a degree of scepticism. Radiocarbon dates undertaken directly on rock art or on associated mineral crusts have often reinforced such scepticism, in part because organic carbon-based materials are present in small quantities and their composition is of such variable composition that the technique is stretched to its limits. For the researcher planning to obtain radiocarbon dates, it is essential to have an understanding of the dating options available, limitations of the technique, the potential impact of their own bias, and the value of a dating programme that is fully integrated within a larger project. This chapter outlines the various materials and methods used to radiocarbon date rock art. It includes some recent examples and highlights some advances as well as shortfalls in the dating of rock art.
Visiting Gonjorong’s Cave
Authors: Blundell Valda , Woolagoodja Donny , Oobagooma Janet , Umbagai Leah
Published: February 2017

This chapter focuses on Gonjorong’s Cave, a rock shelter in the Kimberley region of northwest Australia. Gonjorong’s Cave contains paintings of anthropomorphic figures known as Wandjina, a distinctive feature of the Wandjina-Woongudd homeland. The Wandjina-Woongudd Community is a distinct society of Australian Aboriginal people that includes the Woddordda. This chapter first provides a background on Gonjorong’s Cave and the role of Wandjina paintings in creating the distinctive Wandjina-Woongudd cultural landscape. It then examines the meanings of Wandjina in the Woddordda’s present-day lives, with particular emphasis on why they consider it important to regularly visit sites such as Gonjorong’s Cave. It shows that rock art sites such as Gonjorong’s Cave provide evidence of the Woddordda’s deep history as the Traditional Owners of their homeland.
The Use of Harris Matrices in Rock Art Research
Authors: Harris Edward , Gunn Robert G.
Published: February 2017

The Harris Matrix was developed in the 1970s to correctly interpret the sequence of data derived from archaeological excavations. When layers of pigment are applied over surfaces to make rock art, they also form sequences through time. Understanding motif superimpositions is a key to understanding sequential changes in rock art repertoires. The use of the Harris Matrix in rock art research was first proposed by Chippindale and Taçon in the 1990s and was used to derive a firm sequence for western Arnhem Land rock art in northern Australia. Their work was amplified in subsequent larger projects in South Africa that clearly demonstrated the potential of the Harris Matrix in rock art studies. Despite these successes, the Harris Matrix has been little employed elsewhere; this chapter is a timely re-evaluation of the method and its underlying principles.
Love
Authors: Hendrick Clyde , Hendrick Susan S.
Published: February 2017

The scientific study of love is important for positive psychology. This chapter focuses on research on romantic love. One view is that romantic love, and especially “love marriage,” developed only in the past few centuries, yet some argue that passionate love is a human universal. Beginning with research on liking and loving and passionate and companionate love, the chapter moves on to attachment theory, prototypes of love, self-expansion theory, triangular theory, and love styles. Selective coverage is provided for communication of love, love styles, cross-cultural aspects of love, love and sexuality, and love and respect. Considerable attention is devoted to the newest research on love, including physiological studies of love, love’s role in both physical and mental health, and the new research area of compassionate love. We conclude with aspirations for more research on love in various cultures and in understudied groups such as the GLBT community and older lovers.
Language Change
Authors: Fuß Eric
Published: February 2017

The present chapter outlines a research program for historical linguistics based on the idea that the object of the formal study of language change should be defined as grammar change, that is, a set of discrete differences between the target grammar and the grammar acquired by the learner (Hale 2007). This approach is shown to offer new answers to some classical problems of historical linguistics (Weinreich et al. 1968), concerning, specifically, the actuation of changes and the observation that the transition from one historical state to another proceeds gradually. It is argued that learners are highly sensitive to small fluctuations in the linguistic input they receive, making change inevitable, while the impression of gradualness is linked to independent factors (diffusion in a speech community, and grammar competition). Special attention is paid to grammaticalization phenomena, which offer insights into the nature of functional categories, the building blocks of clause structure.
The Syntax of Sign Language and Universal Grammar
Authors: Cecchetto Carlo
Published: February 2017

This chapter shows that the formal properties that have been identified as defining traits of human languages in the generative tradition hold in sign languages as well. Specifically: (i) clauses in sign languages have a hierarchical and recursive organization, (ii) general constraints on syntactic movement (i.e., the fact that the landing site must c-command the base position) are valid for language across modalities, and (iii) universal interpretative constraints that govern anaphora in spoken languages (i.e., Principle C of Binding Theory) are valid in the sign languages studied up to now. This notwithstanding, sign languages require refinements of analytical categories initially developed for spoken languages. For example a macro-typological difference between sign and spoken languages needs to be captured by revising the theory of wh-movement. Universal constraints holding across languages in the acoustic and in the visuospatial modalities do exist, although a fully satisfactory formulation needs to take into account findings emerging from the booming field of sign language linguistics.
The Concept of Explanatory Adequacy
Authors: Rizzi Luigi
Published: February 2017

This chapter illustrates the technical notion of ‘explanatory adequacy’ in the context of the other forms of empirical adequacy envisaged in the history of generative grammar: an analysis of a linguistic phenomenon is said to meet ‘explanatory adequacy’ when it comes with a reasonable account of how the phenomenon is acquired by the language learner. It discusses the relevance of arguments from the poverty of the stimulus, which bear on the complexity of the task that every language learner successfully accomplishes, and therefore define critical cases for evaluating the explanatory adequacy of a linguistic analysis. After illustrating the impact that parametric models had on the possibility of achieving explanatory adequacy on a large scale, the chapter addresses the role that explanatory adequacy plays in the context of the Minimalist Program, and the interplay that the concept has with the further explanation ‘beyond explanatory adequacy’ that minimalist analysis seeks.
Formal and Functional Explanation
Authors: Newmeyer Frederick J.
Published: February 2017

This article examines the rhetorical conflict between the so-called ‘formal linguistics’ and ‘functional linguistics,’ arguing that there is no inconsistency in advocating (and practicing) both modes of explanation. A ‘formal’ explanation in linguistics derives properties of language structure from a set of principles formulated in a vocabulary of nonsemantic structural primitives, whereas a ‘functional’ explanation derives properties of language structure from human attributes that are not specific to language. This article begins by discussing the properties of formal explanation and functional explanation, along with their respective strengths and weaknesses. It then proposes criteria by which an explanation might be considered ‘formal’ or ‘functional.’ It argues that both explanations have their place in a full account of the properties of linguistic structure and have their role to play in linguistic theory.
Paul the Theologian
Authors: Jervis L. Ann
Published: February 2017

Paul does not describe himself as a theologian, at least not in the sense we use the word—a person who is an expert in rationally analysing or expounding religious faith. At the beginning of the Christian movement Paul is presented as a missionary, a preacher, and a miracle worker. Interest in Paul’s theology does not arise until his words became the focus of a contest over how to understand fundamental aspects of the new Christian religion. Only in the course of Christian history does Paul become known as the founder of Christian thought. There are several who have claimed (or who have had claimed for them) that they have correctly understood his theology—Augustine, Luther, Barth, for instance. That the conversation about the character and content of Paul’s theology continues to this day is evidence that no one has presented the apostle’s theology convincingly enough to create long-standing consensus.
Probability and Nonclassical Logic
Authors: Williams J. Robert G.
Published: February 2017

This chapter presents axioms for comparative conditional probability relations. The axioms presented here are more general than usual. Each comparative relation is a weak partial order on pairs of sentences but need not be a complete order relation. The axioms for these comparative relations are probabilistically sound for the broad class of conditional probability functions known as Popper functions. Furthermore, these axioms are probabilistically complete. Arguably, the notion of comparative conditional probability provides a foundation for Bayesian confirmation theory. Bayesian confirmation functions are overly precise probabilistic representations of the more fundamental logic of comparative support. The most important features of evidential support are captured by comparative relationships among argument strengths, realized by the comparative support relations and their logic.
Bayesianism vs. Frequentism in Statistical Inference
Authors: Sprenger Jan
Published: February 2017

Bayesianism and frequentism are the two grand schools of statistical inference, divided by fundamentally different philosophical assumptions and mathematical methods. Bayesian inference models the subjective credibility of a hypothesis given a body of evidence, whereas frequentists focus on the reliability of inferential procedures. This chapter gives an overview of the principles, varieties and criticisms of Bayesianism and frequentism, compares both schools, taking in an examination of Deborah Mayo’s account of frequentism, an innovative proposal in which she presented as crucial the concept of degrees of severity; and applies them to salient topics in scientific inference, such as p-values, confidence intervals and optional stopping. author OK
Probability in Biology
Authors: Millstein Roberta
Published: February 2017

I examine the concept of “fitness” in the philosophy of evolutionary biology to show how discussions of probability in biology can go wrong, and right. Many of the critiques of the propensity interpretation of fitness have focused on the mathematical aspects of fitness; re-focusing on several aspects of the propensity interpretation of probability more generally can help to address these concerns. I conclude with some general lessons for thinking about probability in biology. The propensity interpretation of fitness, properly understood, solves the explanatory circularity problem and the mismatch problem, andalso withstands many other problems. Fitness is the propensity for organisms to survive and reproduce in particular environments and in particular populations. Fitness values can be described in terms of distributions of propensities and can be modeled for any number of generations using computer simulations. Fitness is a causal concept. Relative fitness is what matters for natural selection.
Probability in Ethics
Authors: McCarthy David
Published: February 2017

It is natural to think that the most basic questions in ethical theory do not have much to do with probability. Given answers to these questions, we can try to extend them to cases involving probability, though this job might best be handled by more technical disciplines. This chapter is an argument for the opposite view. The major ethical problems to do with probability involve very little mathematics; many topics which seem to have nothing to do with probability are arguably all about probability; and thinking about various problems to do with probability can help solve analogous problems which do not involve probability, sometimes even revealing that popular positions about such problems are incoherent. Among the topics discussed are: interpretations of probability; expected utility theory; utilitarianism; egalitarianism; fairness; the priority view; population size; incommensurability; continuity; nonexpected utility theory; evaluative measurement; decision theory; act consequentialism; rule consequentialism; contractualism; and deontology.
Probability and Its Application in Britain during the 17th and 18th Centuries
Authors: Bellhouse David
Published: February 2017

In the 18th and 19th centuries, probability was a part of moral and natural sciences, rather than of mathematics. Still, since Laplace’s 1812 Théorie analytique des probabilités, specific analytic methods of probability aroused the interest of mathematicians, and probability began to develop a purely mathematical quality. In the 20th century the mathematical essence reached full autonomy and constituted “modern” probability. Significant in this development was the gradual introduction of a measure theoretic framework. In this way, the main subfields of modern probability, as axiomatics, weak and strong limit theorems, sequences of non-independent random variables, and stochastic processes, could be integrated into a well-connected complex until World War II.
Automatic Justice?
Authors: Marks Amber , Bowling Ben , Keenan Colman
Published: February 2017

This chapter examines how forensic science and technology are reshaping crime investigation, prosecution, and the administration of criminal justice. It highlights the profound effect of new scientific techniques, data collection devices, and mathematical analysis on the traditional criminal justice system. These blur procedural boundaries that have hitherto been central, while automating and procedurally compressing the entire criminal justice process. Technological innovation has also resulted in mass surveillance and eroded ‘double jeopardy’ protections due to scientific advances that enable the revisiting of conclusions reached long ago. These innovations point towards a system of ‘automatic justice’ that minimizes human agency and undercut traditional due process safeguards that have hitherto been central to the criminal justice model. To rebalance the relationship between state and citizen in a system of automatic criminal justice, we may need to accept the limitations of the existing criminal procedure framework and deploy privacy and data protection law.
A Stepwise Transition to Agriculture in the American Midcontinent
Authors: Milner George R. , Buikstra Jane E. , Novotny Anna C.
Published: February 2017

In the American midcontinent, the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural economies was long, spanning several millennia, but it took place in a stepwise fashion. Plant remains and human bones provide complementary evidence of a shift to a greater dependence on maize just over a millennium ago. The immediate causes of subsistence change do not appear to have been the same each step of the way, although local population density and intergroup conflict figured prominently in the process. Shifts in lifeways were accompanied by changes in disease experience, although variation in late prehistoric community well-being is not explicable in terms of commonly used archaeological or sociopolitical categories.
Judaeo-Aramaic (Talmud)
Authors: Boyarin Daniel
Published: February 2017

This chapter argues, perhaps paradoxically, that a literary text produced outside of the Roman empire should be understood as one of the literatures of the Roman empire. The Babylonia Talmud is a wild collection, one might say, of the law and lore of the Babylonian Jews from about the third until the sixth or seventh centuries, a congeries of law, lore, and laughter too. Material brought from the Roman world, Palestine, has been altered, expanded, reworked, and combined with ‘native’ materials, including heavily marked Iranian culture, in the formation of the text we have as the Babylonian Talmud. The Palestinian material in the Talmud should not be understood as sources for the Bavli but as part and parcel of a living diasporic cultural, textual formation. The Talmud is as much a product of the Roman empire as of the Sasanian one.
Introduction
Authors: Kowal Rebekah J. , Siegmund Gerald , Martin Randy
Published: February 2017

Dance and politics move and move one another in complex and myriad ways. What aspects or efficacy of a dance can be considered political, and what possibilities and understandings of politics are disclosed through dance are not fixed in advance. At the same time, dance is not one; it is dispersed geographically, distributed aesthetically, and it is diverse genealogically, such that gathering movement practices under the banner of dance bears a politics of its own. Opening up its critical terms in two directions, the Introduction illuminates how dance achieves its politics and how notions of the political are themselves expanded when viewed from the perspective of dance. The editors also pay tribute to the research of their colleague, mentor, friend, and co-editor Randy Martin, whose scholarship has inspired and informed the collective inquiry of dance and politics.
Arabic Intonation
Authors: El Zarka Dina
Published: February 2017

This overview of intonation in Arabic compares the intonational systems of selected Arabic dialects from Morocco in the West to Kuwait in the East. The formal comparison will mainly be carried out within the framework of autosegmental-metrical (AM) theory, taking the phonetic micro-prosody of the identified pitch accents as a tertium comparationis. Furthermore, the intonation systems will be compared with respect to prosodic phrasing. The second part of the overview is devoted to the functions of intonation in Arabic. In this section, the comparison will be based on a wider range of descriptions, including work carried out within other theoretical frameworks. The section will identify the role of metrical and tonal structures and the way they interact with syntax, information structure, and sentence mode in different varieties of Arabic. The concluding section will provide a preliminary typological picture of Arabic prosody with respect to the macro-rhythmic properties of Arabic.
The Just War Framework
Authors: Frowe Helen
Published: February 2017

Much work in the ethics of war is structured around the distinction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello. This distinction has two key roles. It distinguishes two evaluative objects—the war ‘as a whole’, and the conduct of combatants during the war—and identifies different moral principles as relevant to each. I argue that we should be sceptical of this framework. I suggest that a single set of principles determines the justness of actions that cause nonconsensual harm. If so, there are no distinctive ad bellum or in bello principles. I also reject the view that whilst the justness of, for example, ad bellum proportionality rests on all the goods and harms produced by the war, the justness of combatants’ conduct in war is determined by a comparatively limited set of goods and harms in a way that supports the ad bellum–in bello distinction.
Volatile Organic Compounds of Whole‐Grain Soft Winter Wheat
Authors: Ji Taehyun , Kang Moonseok , Baik Byung‐Kee
Published: February 2017

The aroma from volatile organic compounds (VOC) is an indicator of grain soundness and also an important quality attribute of grain foods. To identify the inherent VOC of wheat grain unaffected by fungal infestation and other extrinsic factors, grains of nine soft wheat varieties were collected at various days postanthesis (DPA) and analyzed for VOC. Ten VOC were detected in all nine varieties at all DPA. 3‐Methyl‐1‐butanol, 2‐methyl‐1‐butanol, 1‐pentanol, hexanal, and 1‐hexanol were the predominant VOC in concentration. The VOC concentration generally decreased as grain matured from 25 to 40 DPA. Hexanal and 1‐hexanol were the most abundant VOC in five and four varieties at 1.30–2.99 and 1.21–5.46 μg/kg of wheat grain, respectively, at 40 DPA. The VOC profiles of wheat grains infected with fungal diseases and stored for several months were uniquely different from that of sound grain.
Pea seed-borne mosaic virusPathosystem Drivers under Mediterranean-Type Climatic Conditions: Deductions from 23 Epidemic Scenarios
Authors: Congdon B. S. , Coutts B. A. , Renton M. , Jones R. A. C.
Published: February 2017

Drivers of Pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV) epidemics in rainfed field pea crops were examined under autumn to spring growing conditions in a Mediterranean-type environment. To collect aphid occurrence and PSbMV epidemic data under a diverse range of conditions, 23 field pea data collection blocks were set up over a 6-year period (2010 to 2015) at five locations in the southwest Australian grain-growing region. PSbMV infection levels in seed sown (0.1 to 13%), time of sowing (22 May to 22 June), and cultivar (Kaspa or PBA Twilight) varied with location and year. Throughout each growing season, rainfall data were collected, leaf and seed samples were tested to monitor PSbMV incidence in the crop and transmission from harvested seed, and sticky traps were used to monitor flying aphid numbers. Winged migrant Acyrthosiphon kondoi, Lipaphis erysimi, Myzus persicae, and Rhopalosiphum padi were identified in green tile traps in 2014 and 2015. However, no aphid colonization of field pea plants ever occurred in the blocks. The deductions made from collection block data illustrated how the magnitude of PSbMV spread prior to flowering is determined by two primary epidemic drivers: (i) PSbMV infection incidence in the seed sown, which defines the magnitude of virus inoculum source for within-crop spread by aphids, and (ii) presowing rainfall that promotes background vegetation growth which, in turn, drives early-season aphid populations and the time of first arrival of their winged migrants to field pea crops. Likely secondary epidemic drivers included wind-mediated PSbMV plant-to-plant contact transmission and time of sowing. PSbMV incidence at flowering time strongly influenced transmission rate from harvested seed to seedlings. The data collected are well suited for development and validation of a forecasting model that informs a Decision Support System for PSbMV control in field pea crops.
The relationship between free-stream coherent structures and near-wall streaks at high Reynolds numbers
Authors: Deguchi K. , Hall P.
Published: February 2017

The present work is based on our recent discovery of a new class of exact coherent structures generated near the edge of quite general boundary layer flows. The structures are referred to as free-stream coherent structures and were found using a large Reynolds number asymptotic approach to describe equilibrium solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations. In this paper, first we present results for a new family of free-stream coherent structures existing at relatively large wavenumbers. The new results are consistent with our earlier theoretical result that such structures can generate larger amplitude wall streaks if and only if the local spanwise wavenumber is sufficiently small. In a Blasius boundary layer, the local wavenumber increases in the streamwise direction so the wall streaks can typically exist only over a finite interval. However, here it is shown that they can interact with wall curvature to produce exponentially growing Görtler vortices through the receptivity process by a novel nonparallel mechanism. The theoretical predictions found are confirmed by a hybrid numerical approach. In contrast with previous receptivity investigations, it is shown that the amplitude of the induced vortex is larger than the structures in the free-stream which generate it.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Toward the development of high-fidelity models of wall turbulence at large Reynolds number’.
Scaling and interaction of self-similar modes in models of high Reynolds number wall turbulence
Authors: Sharma A. S. , Moarref R. , McKeon B. J.
Published: February 2017

Previous work has established the usefulness of the resolvent operator that maps the terms nonlinear in the turbulent fluctuations to the fluctuations themselves. Further work has described the self-similarity of the resolvent arising from that of the mean velocity profile. The orthogonal modes provided by the resolvent analysis describe the wall-normal coherence of the motions and inherit that self-similarity. In this contribution, we present the implications of this similarity for the nonlinear interaction between modes with different scales and wall-normal locations. By considering the nonlinear interactions between modes, it is shown that much of the turbulence scaling behaviour in the logarithmic region can be determined from a single arbitrarily chosen reference plane. Thus, the geometric scaling of the modes is impressed upon the nonlinear interaction between modes. Implications of these observations on the self-sustaining mechanisms of wall turbulence, modelling and simulation are outlined.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Toward the development of high-fidelity models of wall turbulence at large Reynolds number’.
Working memory and decision making in a fronto-parietal circuit model
Authors: Murray John D. , Jaramillo Jorge , Wang Xiao-Jing
Published: February 2017

Working memory (WM) and decision making (DM) are fundamental cognitive functions involving a distributed interacting network of brain areas, with the posterior parietal and prefrontal cortices (PPC and PFC) at the core. However, the shared and distinct roles of these areas and the nature of their coordination in cognitive function remain poorly understood. Biophysically-based computational models of cortical circuits have provided insights into the mechanisms supporting these functions, yet they have primarily focused on the local microcircuit level, raising questions about the principles for distributed cognitive computation in multi-regional networks. To examine these issues, we developed a distributed circuit model of two reciprocally interacting modules representing PPC and PFC circuits. The circuit architecture includes hierarchical differences in local recurrent structure and implements reciprocal long-range projections. This parsimonious model captures a range of behavioral and neuronal features of fronto-parietal circuits across multiple WM and DM paradigms. In the context of WM, both areas exhibit persistent activity, but in response to intervening distractors, PPC transiently encodes distractors, while PFC filters distractors and supports WM robustness. With regards to DM, the PPC module generates graded representations of accumulated evidence supporting target selection, while the PFC module generates more categorical responses related to action or choice. These findings suggest computational principles for distributed, hierarchical processing in cortex during cognitive function, and provide a framework for extension to multi-regional models.
Very Early Responses to Colour Stimuli Detected in Prestriate Visual Cortex by Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
Authors: Shigihara Yoshihito , Hoshi Hideyuki , Zeki Semir
Published: February 2017

Previous studies with the visual motion and form systems show that visual stimuli belonging to these categories trigger much earlier latency responses from the visual cortex than previously supposed and that the source of the earliest signals can be located in either the prestriate cortex or in both the striate (V1)andprestriate cortex. This is consistent with the known anatomical connections since, in addition to the classical retino-geniculo-striate cortex input, there are direct anatomical inputs from both the lateral geniculate nucleus and the pulvinar that reach the prestriate visual cortex without passing through V1. In pursuing our studies, we thought it especially interesting to study another cardinal visual attribute, namely colour, to learn whether colour stimuli also provoke very early responses, at less than 50 ms, from visual cortex. To address the question, we asked participants to view stimuli that changed in colour and used magneto-encephalography to detect very early responses (< 50 ms) in the occipital visual cortex. Our results show that coloured stimuli also provoke an early cortical response (M30), with an average peak time at 30.8 ms, thus bringing the colour system into line with the visual motion and form systems. We conclude that colour signals reach visual cortex, including prestriate visual cortex, earlier than previously supposed.

Key points summary

We measured visual evoked responses to colour stimuli using magnetoencephalography.

An early response was identified, at around 30 ms after stimulation.

The sources of the response were estimated to be in prestriate cortex.

Colour signals thus appear to evoke very early cortical responses, just like form and motion signals.

Abbreviations list

MEG

magnetoencephalography;

LGN

lateral geniculate nucleus;

EEG

electroencephalography;

ISI

inter-stimulus interval;

VEF

visual evoked magnetic field;

SNR

signal to noise ratio;

fT

femto Tesla;

ANOVA

analysis of variance;

MSP

multiple sparse priors;

MRI

magnetic resonance imaging;

RMS

root-mean-square;

SOI

sensor of interest.