bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of pellet length changes at 4, 5 and 6 weeks of age and two pellet diameters on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler finishers
Authors: Abdollahi M. R. , Ravindran V.
Published: October 2013

A 2 × 4 factorial arrangement of treatments was used to evaluate the effects of two pellet diameters and four pellet length–week combinations on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers (days 22 to 42). A broiler finisher diet based on wheat and soybean meal was formulated. Pelleted diets were manufactured in four different sizes: (i) 3 mm diameter (D3) and 7 mm length (L7), (ii) D3, 9 mm length (L9), (iii) 4.76 mm diameter (D4.76), L7, (iv) D4.76, L9. The four pellet sizes were then used to develop eight feeding treatments: (i) D3 and L7 pellets during weeks 4, 5, and 6 (L777); (ii) D3 and L7 during weeks 4 and 5, and L9 during week 6 (L779); (iii) D3 and L7 during week 4, and L9 during weeks 5 and 6 (L799); (iv) D3 and L9 during weeks 4, 5, and 6 (L999); (v) D4.76 and L7 during weeks 4, 5 and 6 (L777); (vi) D4.76 and L7 during weeks 4 and 5, and L9 during week 6 (L779); (vii) D4.76 and L7 during week 4, and L9 during weeks 5 and 6 (L799); (viii) D4.76 and L9 during weeks 4, 5, and 6 (L999). Increasing the pellet length from 7 to 9 mm increased pellet hardness at both pellet diameters and improved the pellet durability index in D3 pellets but had no effect in D4.76 pellets. Over the whole trial period (days 22–42), birds fed D3 pellets were heavier and had lower feed per gain and higher carcass yield than those fed D4.76 pellets. Feeding length–week combination L999 resulted in lower carcass yield than L777, L779, and L799. Overall, it is concluded that whilst broiler finishers express a preference for a smaller pellet diameter, there is no negative effect of pellet length (up to 9 mm) on performance parameters even when offered as early as day 21.
Effect of health insurance on the utilisation of allied health services by people with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Skinner Elizabeth H. , Foster Michele , Mitchell Geoffrey , Haynes Michele , O'Flaherty Martin , Haines Terry P.
Published: October 2013

Allied health services benefit the management of many chronic diseases. The effects of health insurance on the utilisation of allied health services has not yet been established despite health insurance frequently being identified as a factor promoting utilisation of medical and hospital services among people with chronic disease. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to establish the effects of health insurance on the utilisation of allied health services by people with chronic disease. Medline (Ovid Medline 1948 to Present with Daily Update), EMBASE (1980 to 1 April 2011), CINAHL, PsychINFO and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to 12 April 2011 inclusive. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were published in English, randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental trials, quantitative observational studies and included people with one or more chronic diseases using allied health services and health insurance. A full-text review was performed independently by two reviewers. Meta-analyses were conducted. One hundred and fifty-eight citations were retrieved and seven articles were included in the meta-analyses. The pooled odds ratio (95% CI) of having insurance (versus no insurance) on the utilisation of allied health services among people with chronic disease was 1.33 (1.16−1.52; P < 0.001). There was a significant effect of insurance on the utilisation of non-physiotherapy services, pooled odds ratio (95% CI) 4.80 (1.46−15.79; P = 0.01) but having insurance compared with insurance of a lesser coverage was not significantly associated with an increase in physiotherapy utilisation, pooled odds ratio (95% CI) 1.53 (0.81−2.91; P = 0.19). The presence of co-morbidity or functional limitation and higher levels of education increased utilisation whereas gender, race, marital status and income had a limited and variable effect, according to the study population. The review was limited by the considerable heterogeneity in the research questions being asked, sample sizes, study methodology (including allied health service), insurance type and dependent variables analysed. The presence of health insurance was generally associated with increased utilisation of allied health services; however, this varied depending on the population, provider type and insurance product.
Spatial and temporal codes mediate the tactile perception of natural textures
Authors: Weber Alison I. , Saal Hannes P. , Lieber Justin D. , Cheng Ju-Wen , Manfredi Louise R. , Dammann John F. , Bensmaia Sliman J.
Published: October 2013

Significance

Our exquisite tactile sensitivity to surface texture allows us to distinguish silk from satin or even good silk from cheap silk. We show that the tactile perception of natural textures relies on two neural mechanisms. Coarse textural features, for example, the individual elements of Braille, are represented in spatial patterns of activation across one population of mechanoreceptive afferents that densely innervate the fingertip skin. In contrast, our ability to discern fine textural features is mediated by the transduction and processing of vibrations produced in the skin during scanning. Indeed, two other populations of vibration-sensitive afferents produce temporally patterned responses to these vibrations, and spiking patterns in these afferent populations convey texture information and shape the way textures are perceived.
Identification of discrete functional subregions of the human periaqueductal gray
Authors: Satpute Ajay B. , Wager Tor D. , Cohen-Adad Julien , Bianciardi Marta , Choi Ji-Kyung , Buhle Jason T. , Wald Lawrence L. , Barrett Lisa Feldman
Published: October 2013

Significance

The periaqueductal gray is a brainstem region that is critical for autonomic regulation and for defensive responses (e.g., “fight,” “flight,” “freeze”). It has been studied extensively in rodents and cats, but less is known about the human periaqueductal gray. The small size and shape of the periaqueductal gray makes it challenging to study using standard noninvasive MRI techniques. We used a high-field strength magnet to examine this region at high resolution while participants viewed emotionally aversive or neutral images. Emotion-related functional activity was concentrated in particular subregions and in ways that are consistent with neurobiological observations in nonhuman animals. This study establishes a technique to uncover the functional architecture of the periaqueductal gray in humans.
Nucleolin mediates nucleosome disruption critical for DNA double-strand break repair
Authors: Goldstein Michael , Derheimer Frederick A. , Tait-Mulder Jacqueline , Kastan Michael B.
Published: October 2013

Significance

Recognition and repair of DNA lesions are critical for maintaining genomic stability and reducing the generation of mutations that lead to cancer development. A mechanism of chromatin alteration is described here that is essential for repair of DNA double-strand breaks. The histone chaperone, nucleolin, is recruited to sites of DNA breaks via binding to RAD50 of the MRE11-NBS1-RAD50 complex, where it removes histone proteins H2A and H2B from the nucleosome at the break site. This nucleosome disruption allows DNA repair proteins to access the DNA lesion and facilitate repair of the DNA break. Clinical implications of these findings include the identification of new targets, such as nucleolin, that could be modulated to enhance sensitivity of tumor cells to radiation therapy.
Discovery of a selective Na
V
1.7 inhibitor from centipede venom with analgesic efficacy exceeding morphine in rodent pain models
Authors: Yang Shilong , Xiao Yao , Kang Di , Liu Jie , Li Yuan , Undheim Eivind A. B. , Klint Julie K. , Rong Mingqiang , Lai Ren , King Glenn F.
Published: October 2013

Significance

The economic burden of chronic pain in the United States is currently ∼$600 billion per annum, which exceeds the combined annual cost of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Few drugs are available for treating chronic pain, and many have limited efficacy and dose-limiting side-effects. Humans with inheritable loss-of-function mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel Na
V
1.7 are indifferent to all types of pain, and therefore drugs that block this channel should be useful analgesics for treating many pain conditions. Herein we describe Ssm6a, a peptide from centipede venom that potently and selectively blocks the human Na
V
1.7 channel. Ssm6a proved to be more analgesic than morphine in rodent pain models and did not cause any side-effects.
Selecting antagonistic antibodies that control differentiation through inducible expression in embryonic stem cells
Authors: Melidoni Anna N. , Dyson Michael R. , Wormald Sam , McCafferty John
Published: October 2013

Significance

The ability to control and direct differentiation of stem cells for research or therapeutic applications relies on the availability of ligands that control specific signaling pathways. Natural ligands exhibit promiscuous interactions and have limited availability because of their poor expression/stability profiles. In contrast, antibodies exhibit exquisite specificity and have optimal expression properties. Antibodies that block or activate receptor signaling have great potential for controlling differentiation, but their identification is laborious. Herein we describe an innovative system for identifying functional antibodies by introducing antibody gene populations into ES cells. Antibody-expressing ES clones with altered differentiation outcomes can be readily identified using lineage-specific gene-expression markers. The antibody gene can then be recovered for antibody production and use.
Hippo signaling disruption and Akt stimulation of ovarian follicles for infertility treatment
Authors: Kawamura Kazuhiro , Cheng Yuan , Suzuki Nao , Deguchi Masashi , Sato Yorino , Takae Seido , Ho Chi-hong , Kawamura Nanami , Tamura Midori , Hashimoto Shu , Sugishita Yodo , Morimoto Yoshiharu , Hosoi Yoshihiko , Yoshioka Nobuhito , Ishizuka Bunpei , Hsueh Aaron J.
Published: October 2013

Significance

Human ovaries hold follicles containing oocytes. When follicles mature, they release eggs for fertilization. Patients with primary ovarian insufficiency develop menopausal symptoms at less than 40 y of age. They have few remaining follicles and their only chance for bearing a baby is through egg donation. Kawamura et al. demonstrated that Hippo and Akt signaling pathways regulate follicle growth. Using an in vitro activation approach, they first removed ovaries from infertile patients, followed by fragmentation to disrupt Hippo signaling and drug treatment to stimulate Akt signaling. After grafting ovarian tissues back to patients, they found rapid follicle growth in some patients and successfully retrieved mature eggs. After in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, a live birth is now reported.
Peptide transporter DtpA has two alternate conformations, one of which is promoted by inhibitor binding
Authors: Bippes Christian A. , Ge Lin , Meury Marcel , Harder Daniel , Ucurum Zöhre , Daniel Hannelore , Fotiadis Dimitrios , Müller Daniel J.
Published: October 2013

Significance

Proton-dependent oligopeptide transporters are attractive candidates for drug research. To understand their functional modulation by drugs, we applied single-molecule force spectroscopy and characterized how peptide transport facilitated by the dipeptide and tripeptide permease A (DtpA) from
Escherichia coli
is inhibited. In the unbound state DtpA embedded in the physiologically relevant membrane adopts two alternate conformations, which differ mainly in whether the transmembrane α-helix TMH2 is stabilized. TMH2 contains residues that are important for ligand binding and substrate affinity. Inhibitor (Lys[Z-NO
2
]-Val) binding to DtpA significantly strengthens the interactions stabilizing TMH2 and guides DtpA to populate the inhibited conformation.
Physics-based method to validate and repair flaws in protein structures
Authors: Martin Osvaldo A. , Arnautova Yelena A. , Icazatti Alejandro A. , Scheraga Harold A. , Vila Jorge A.
Published: October 2013

Significance

Protocols for NMR determination of high-resolution protein structures in solution require, among other things, an accurate method with which to assess the quality of protein structures. It is important that such a validation method provide information as to where structural flaws are and how they can be repaired. So far, no generally accepted validation method with these characteristics appears to exist for evaluation of protein structures in solution. As an approach to find a solution to this long-standing problem, we developed a method to detect flaws in protein structures at the residue level and also to provide a way to repair these flaws.
Prognostic significance of 2-hydroxyglutarate levels in acute myeloid leukemia in China
Authors: Wang Jiang-Han , Chen Wen-Lian , Li Jun-Min , Wu Song-Fang , Chen Tian-Lu , Zhu Yong-Mei , Zhang Wei-Na , Li Yang , Qiu Yun-Ping , Zhao Ai-Hua , Mi Jian-Qing , Jin Jie , Wang Yun-Gui , Ma Qiu-Ling , Huang He , Wu De-Pei , Wang Qin-Rong , Li Yan , Yan Xiao-Jing , Yan Jin-Song , Li Jian-Yong , Wang Shuai , Huang Xiao-Jun , Wang Bing-Shun , Jia Wei , Shen Yang , Chen Zhu , Chen Sai-Juan
Published: October 2013

Significance

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) consists of a group of hematopoietic malignancies with considerable diversities in clinical and biological features. Recently, not only genetic abnormalities but also “oncometabolites,” such as 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG), have been found to play a role in driving AML pathogenesis and serve as potential disease markers. In this study on a large cohort of AML, we found that the serum 2-HG level was increased in 62 of 367 (17%) cases with distinct hematologic and biological features. Survival analysis performed in 234 patients without prognostic cytogenetic markers showed that increased 2-HG level was a poor predictor, demonstrating the potential of serum 2-HG as an independent marker for outcome evaluation of AML.
Activation of MRTF-A–dependent gene expression with a small molecule promotes myofibroblast differentiation and wound healing
Authors: Velasquez Lissette S. , Sutherland Lillian B. , Liu Zhenan , Grinnell Frederick , Kamm Kristine E. , Schneider Jay W. , Olson Eric N. , Small Eric M.
Published: October 2013

Significance

Myofibroblasts are contractile smooth muscle-like cells that control tissue repair and remodeling. Inappropriate myofibroblast differentiation can cause organ fibrosis or inefficient wound healing. In this article, we demonstrate that myocardin-related transcription factor (MRTF)-A is necessary for myofibroblast differentiation. We also identify an isoxazole ring-containing small molecule that stimulates MRTF-A–dependent gene expression, myofibroblast differentiation, and wound healing. These findings suggest that targeting MRTFs pharmacologically may prove useful in treating fibrotic diseases.
Taf7l
cooperates with
Trf2
to regulate spermiogenesis
Authors: Zhou Haiying , Grubisic Ivan , Zheng Ke , He Ying , Wang P. Jeremy , Kaplan Tommy , Tjian Robert
Published: October 2013

Significance

TATA-binding protein (TBP)-associated factor 7l (
Taf7l
),
Taf4b
, and TBP-related factor 2 (
Trf2
) were found to be three important atypical testis-specific core promoter recognition factors. However, whether there was any functional cross-talk between them and at which stages of spermatogenesis remained uncharacterized. Here we report that
Taf7l

−
/Y

becomes sterile rather than merely subfertile after backcrossing. Importantly, we found that
Taf7l
cooperates with
Trf2
, but not
Taf4b
, at late stages to direct the transcription of key spermatogenic genes. Our findings thus provide unique insights into the function of cell-type–specific
Tafs
and how two core promoter recognition factors mediate transcriptional control of spermiogenesis. The testis-specific role of
Taf7l
identifies this regulator as a potential target for male contraceptive intervention.
Reversible growth factor dependency and autonomy during murine myelomonocytic leukemia induced by oncogenes
Authors: Metcalf Donald , Glaser Stefan P. , Xu Zhen , Di Rago Ladina , Mifsud Sandra
Published: October 2013

Significance

This study is of particular interest because it analyzes the action of two fusion oncogenes common in human acute myeloid leukemia. The study documents the immediate action of these oncogenes in murine fetal liver cells in abnormally extending the proliferative capacity of the transfected cells. More intriguing is the growth factor dependency of most of the leukemic cells developing and the ability of presumptively end-stage irreversible autonomous leukemic cells to generate factor-dependent progeny.
Building Simulations from the Ground Up: Modeling and Theory in Systems Biology
Authors: MacLeod Miles , Nersessian Nancy J.
Published: October 2013

In this article, we provide a case study examining how integrative systems biologists build simulation models in the absence of a theoretical base. Lacking theoretical starting points, integrative systems biology researchers rely cognitively on the model-building process to disentangle and understand complex biochemical systems. They build simulations from the ground up in a nest-like fashion, by pulling together information and techniques from a variety of possible sources and experimenting with different structures in order to discover a stable, robust result. Finally, we analyze the alternative role and meaning theory has in systems biology expressed as canonical template theories like Biochemical Systems Theory.
The Effect of Exchange Rates on Statistical Decisions
Authors: Schervish Mark J. , Seidenfeld Teddy , Kadane Joseph B.
Published: October 2013

Statistical decision theory, whether based on Bayesian principles or other concepts such as minimax or admissibility, relies on minimizing expected loss or maximizing expected utility. Loss and utility functions are generally treated as unit-less numerical measures of value for consequences. Here, we address the issue of the units in which loss and utility are settled and the implications that those units have on the rankings of potential decisions. When multiple currencies are available for paying the loss, one must take explicit account of which currency is used as well as the exchange rates between the various available currencies.
What satisfactions do self‐publishing authors gain from the process?
Authors: BAVERSTOCK Alison , STEINITZ Jackie
Published: September 2013

This paper, a follow‐up to our previous Learned Publishing paper (http://dx.doi.org/10.1087/20130310), extends the reporting of new research into the motivations, demographics, processes, and outcomes of self‐publishing authors. The research findings challenge traditionally held notions about the lack of satisfaction in either the process or final product in self‐publishing. By contrast, the authors researched emerged as very satisfied with the process of self‐publishing, likely to do it again and recommend it to others – and these trends were observed across all the demographic categories and types of content. The generally high rate of republishing among the cohort can be taken as further evidence of associated satisfaction. The research offers conclusions that are relevant to all stakeholders in publishing and provides a foundation for more specific research within particular publishing sectors and roles.
The Passing Away of the White Mughals and the Rise of a New Public Sphere
Authors: Pernau Margrit
Published: October 2013

This chapter discusses the change in relations between the colonial power and the Indian elite in the years around 1830. The author challenges the view that the White Mughals can be unequivocally attributed with a policy of peaceful cultural exchange and that only the transformation since 1830 spelled the end of entanglement between British and Indian culture and the policy of alliances. The first section traces the changing modes of communication between the colonial rulers and the indigenous elite by looking at Edward Colebrooke’s dishonourable discharge. The second section examines the murder of William Fraser and gives insight into the way the indigenous elite perceived an influential White Mughal. The third and fourth sections detail the history of the Delhi College the emergence of a new kind of public sphere around the Delhi College.
Noble Women, Courtesans, and Women’s Moral Reform
Authors: Pernau Margrit
Published: October 2013

Gender history so far had laid a focus on the reform movements from the second half of the nineteenth century onwards. This chapter attempts to push the boundary backward to the developments of the first half of the century. The first section claims that at least the women of the nobility had a much stronger position before colonial rule. It was the intervention of the colonial power which curtailed their possibility to inherit pensions and revenue and strengthened the position of the head of the family, thereby reducing them to a dependent status. The second section examines courtesans, who occupied a space on the threshold between the public and private spheres. The third section shows how reformist Islam addressed women through the medium of fatwas and tracts, looking at the text Tuhfa uz Zujain, the ‘Gift for the Spouses’, by Nawab Qutb ud Din.
Education: The Colonial System and Cultural Nationalism
Authors: Pernau Margrit
Published: October 2013

For Delhi’s emerging middle classes, career opportunities within and outside the colonial system involved maintaining a precarious balance between collaboration and cultural nationalism. This chapter explores these entanglements and dislocations with the help of three examples. The first section deals with the unsuccessful struggle for maintaining the Delhi College in Delhi, which ended in the moving of higher education to Lahore. The second section is devoted to school education, particularly the Anglo-Arabic School. The third section shows how the Madrasa Tibbia, the school and subsequently college for Unani medicine, which was founded by the representatives of the Sharif Khani family, became a symbol with which the Delhi ashraf could identify as the symbol for their cultural identity.
Experimental semiotics applied to visual, sound, and musical structures
Authors: Kendall Roger A. , Lipscomb Scott D.
Published: October 2013

The relationship of music to film and multimedia has only recently received the attention of experimental psychologists and cognitive musicologists. This paper outlines theory, semiotical analysis, and experimental results using relations among variables of temporally organized visuals and music. First, a comparison and contrast is developed among the ideas in semiotics and experimental research, including both historical and recent developments. Then follows a musicological exploration. The resulting multidimensional structures of associative meanings, iconic meanings, and embodied meanings are applied to the analysis and interpretation of several classic film examples. Finally, experimental verification is provided. A series of experiments testing the perceptual fit of musical and visual patterns layered together in animations provided a determination of perceived goodness of fit between all pattern combinations, results of which confirmed aspects of the theory. However, exceptions were found when the complexity of the stratified stimuli possibly resulted in cognitive overload.
Music videos and visual influences on music perception and appreciation: Should you want your MTV?
Authors: Boltz Marilyn G.
Published: October 2013

During the past several decades, a substantial amount of research has investigated the role of musical soundtracks in cinematic art and ways in which music influences the cognitive processing of visual information. However, less attention has been directed toward the reverse relationship and the potential impact of visual information on musical appreciation and perception. The present chapter addresses this issue in two general contexts. The first primarily stems from the field of music education and involves research assessing whether the evaluation of musical performances varies with an audiovisual versus audio alone format. A second line of research has evolved with the introduction of MTV to popular culture and considers ways in which videos influence listeners’ perception of a musical selection. Although these two bodies of literature address very different influences of film upon music, both have implications for cross-modal theories of sensory integration and ways in which the visual and auditory modalities interact with one another.
Public Health Work in the Soviet Occupation Zone
Authors: Reinisch Jessica
Published: October 2013

This chapter identifies crucial differences in the Soviet zone's conduct of health work which distinguishes it from the other zones. The fact that German doctors and health workers were drawn from politically reliable groups of German émigrés had lasting consequences.
Foams
Authors: Cantat Isabelle , Cohen-Addad Sylvie , Elias Florence , Graner François , Höhler Reinhard , Pitois Olivier , Rouyer Florence , Saint-Jalmes Arnaud
Published: October 2013

Aqueous foams are studied both as materials with many applications, and as model systems for fields ranging from metallurgy to mathematics to biology. They are complex fluids with unique and unusual properties, exemplified as much by their multiscale structure as by the dynamical processes through which they evolve and even their dual liquid-like and solid-like behaviour. In this book, readers can easily find clear, up-to-date answers to their questions regarding the physical and physico-chemical properties of aqueous foams, explained using current knowledge of their structure, their stability, and their rheology. Newcomers to the field will find descriptions of numerous applications of foams in daily life and in industrial processes, the definition of basic concepts, hundreds of figures, and simple experiments to perform at home. Those who want to proceed further will find updated references, exercises with solutions, appendices with experimental and numerical techniques, and boxed text with the further mathematical detail.
The Rise of Democratic Discourse in the Reform Era: Britain in the 1830s and 1840s
Authors: Innes Joanna , Philp Mark , Saunders Robert
Published: October 2013

‘Democracy’ and ‘democrat’ retained negative associations in early nineteenth-century Britain. Though attitudes softened, significant change came only with the Reform Bill debates of 1831-2. Again, abusive uses dominated: it was the Tories who labelled Reform proposals democratic. But this spurred debate about pros and cons of democracy, in which a vision of what it might mean in modern British circumstances was fleshed out. The Whigs never strongly endorsed democracy, but in the later 1830s it was avowed as a goal by parliamentary radicals, and consistently endorsed by Chartists, for whom it served as a unifying concept, strongly connoting manhood suffrage, but also equality and progress. Now much more than just a fighting word: it invoked a broad terrain of human experience, past and present, within which democrats could position themselves. Chartists’ self-identification as democrats nonetheless gave mainstream politicians new reasons to reject democracy.
The Limits of Democracy: Ireland 1778–1848
Authors: Connolly Sean
Published: October 2013

Though ideas of democracy had considerable currency in Ireland, to understand of the longer-term development of this political culture their specificity needs stressing. United Irish leaders aimed chiefly to harness ordinary people for national liberation. O’Connell's mobilisations equally represented a tactical choice – about how best to promote the cause of Ireland, now understood in strongly Catholic terms. O’Connell's political vision involved some form of mixed constitution; Young Irelanders were still vaguer about the form of polity they hoped to create. The ability of a variety of leaders to mobilise a largely poor rural society is notable; this was a society whose poorer members were often assertive about their own interests, therefore representing both danger and potential to their social superiors. Such as it was, the Irish democratic tradition faltered after 1848: a local politics of clientelism and coercion reasserted itself. Subsequent mobilisations continued to emphasise nationalism over individual rights.
How to explain the Lorentz transformations
Authors: Lange Marc
Published: October 2013

There are rival views regarding why the Lorentz transformations hold. To understand what would make one or another of these views correct, we must understand what it would be for the principle of relativity or a fact about spacetime geometry to ‘transcend’ the various force laws. Having cashed out this notion by appealing to subjunctive conditionals and their relation to natural laws, we will see what it would take for the principle of relativity or a fact about spacetime geometry to be explanatorily prior to the Lorentz transformations. It will be argued that even if the Lorentz transformations are explained by the force laws, the transformations could additionally be explained by the principle of relativity and facts about spacetime geometry. Crucially, this latter explanation would then explain something about the transformations’ status as laws that cannot be explained dynamically.
How to carve across the joints in nature without abandoning Kripke–Putnam semantics
Authors: Beebee Helen
Published: October 2013

‘Natural kind essentialism’—here defined as the view that (i) the existence of natural kinds is a mind- and theory-independent matter, (ii) their essences are intrinsic, and (iii) they have a hierarchical structure—is commonly thought to be justified by appeal to Kripke–Putnam semantics, according to which propositions like ‘water is H20’ are necessary a posteriori. This chapter argues that the Kripke–Putnam semantics is in fact compatible with the denial of each of the three tenets of natural kind essentialism. The basic argument is that, assuming the range of natural kinds goes beyond those kinds for which we have vernacular names, deference to scientific theories is required in fixing the reference of natural kind terms. That those theories describe mind- and theory-independent reality, and that they do not admit a non-hierarchical structure for the categories they deploy, are theses that are independent of anything derivable from Kripke–Putnam semantics itself.
The Creation
Authors: Insole Christopher J.
Published: October 2013

This chapter provides an account of how Kant understands divine freedom in relation to the creation of the world. The divine will as ‘holy’ is shaped by perfect goodness, and is unable in many significant ways to do other than it does. God’s ‘inability to do otherwise’ is not construed by Kant as a lack or impotence on the part of God. Rather, this ‘inability’ is an expression of God’s perfection. While Kant’s conception of human freedom shifts considerably, his conception of divine freedom remains largely stable across the development of his thought. Kant has a positive conception of freedom, expressed paradigmatically in divine freedom, where what matters for freedom is that the will is oriented to the good. The chapter engages in particular with Chignell and Kain, and with Kant’s distinction between real and logical possibility.
The Problem
Authors: Insole Christopher J.
Published: October 2013

This chapter traces Kant’s shift from an incompatibilist to a compatibilist conception of human freedom: in the 1750s Kant considers that human freedom does not require the agent to be able to do otherwise, nor does Kant require the agent to be ultimately responsible for his or her actions. Over the course of the 1760s and 1770s, Kant changes his mind on both points, requiring for significant human freedom both that we can do otherwise than we do, and that we are ultimately responsible for our actions. The freedom that satisfies both conditions is what Kant calls ‘transcendental freedom’. Kant’s shifting position is located with reference to Leibniz, Crusius, and Rousseau. The chapter draws upon Kant’s reflections on Rousseau in the early 1760s, his Only Possible Argument, related Reflexionen from the mid-1760s, and ‘Lectures on Metaphysics’ from the 1770s. The chapter engages in particular with Pereboom, Ameriks, and Kain.
The Cauchy problem in general relativity
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

This chapter contains a description of the Cauchy problem in the general theory of relativity. The intended audience consists of physicists with basic knowledge of general relativity. Beyond the formulation, there is a discussion of ways of measuring the distance between initial data sets. Finally the notions of linear and nonlinear stability are compared.
Basic analysis estimates
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

An important part of the book is to prove that it is possible to solve the initial value problem associated with the Einstein–Vlasov equations. In order to be able to do so, we need several analysis estimates. The relevant estimates are recorded in Chapter 11.
Main weighted estimate
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

When proving local existence of solutions to nonlinear wave equations, estimates of Moser type play an important role. With respect to local coordinates, the Einstein–Vlasov system is a system of integro-partial differential equations. In order to prove local existence of solutions to this system, it is of interest to derive estimates for such equations which are analogous to the Moser estimates. This is the subject of Chapter 16.
Uniqueness
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

In order to be allowed to claim that there is an initial value formulation of the Einstein–Vlasov equations, we need to prove that solutions to the initial value problem are unique. This is the subject of Chapter 18. We first provide a rough uniqueness result, but later we also provide geometric statements.
Local existence
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

In Chapter 19, we prove local existence of solutions to the initial value problem. The equations we consider are the ones that appear when expressing the Einstein–Vlasov equations with respect to local coordinates (after fixing the gauge). We also derive a continuation criterion.
Existence of a maximal globally hyperbolic development
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

In Chapter 23, we prove the existence of a maximal globally hyperbolic development, given initial data. Maximal globally hyperbolic developments are unique, by definition, and inextendible in the class of globally hyperbolic developments. They are therefore the natural (globally unique) developments associated with initial data.
A potential with a positive non-degenerate local minimum
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

In Chapter 27, we focus on the case that the scalar field converges to a positive non-degenerate minimum of the potential. In the spatially homogeneous setting, it is then possible to derive detailed asymptotics. We first discuss the behaviour of the scalar field and the metric. We then turn to the asymptotics for the distribution function.
Approximating perfect fluids with matter of Vlasov type
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

The standard models of the universe are spatially homogeneous, isotropic and have matter content consisting of perfect fluids. However, it is possible to approximate dust and radiation fluids (that are normally used) by matter of Vlasov type. We demonstrate that this is the case in Chapter 28.
Proof of the stability results
Authors: Ringström Hans
Published: October 2013

In Chapter 33, we prove the stability results. Moreover, we demonstrate future causal geodesic completeness. In particular, we prove future global nonlinear stability of a large class of spatially locally homogeneous solutions to the Einstein–Vlasov equations.
On Authority, Citation, and Silence
Authors: Bobek Michal
Published: October 2013

Why, if it is read and studied by the court, is the comparative inspiration not openly quoted? Why is it not expressly attributed by the court? The chapter offers some, mostly pragmatic, explanations of the reasons for such silence, especially within the context of Continental legal traditions. First, the chapter outlines the modernist vision of authority which is expected in judicial decisions. Secondly, it discusses the role of citation in a decision of a court. Thirdly, it outlines some advantages of judicial silence and absence of an express attribution of sources of inspiration used.
Scalar Implicatures at the Interface between Pragmatics and Syntax
Authors: Chierchia Gennaro
Published: October 2013

Chapter 2 characterizes Free Choice Disjunction (FCD), i.e. the behavior of disjunction (and plain indefinites) under modals. This is a well known phenomenon whereby a sentence of the form possible (p or q) winds up unexpectedly being interpreted as possible and possible q. It is argued that such a phenomenon bears the hallmark of Scalar Implicatures (SIs). Gricean theories of SIs and some of their limitations are reviewed. A novel approach is presented, based on the idea that SIs come about via a covert counterpart of only (‘exhaustification’) that operates on grammatically determined alternatives, and is subject to a principle of ‘Maximize Sternght/Informativity’. Then a version of the theory of FCD by D. Fox is articulated, that derives the FC effect through recursive exhaustification of subdomain alternatives. This approach to FCD provides independent motivation for the thesis that polarity phenomena are related to the activation of subdomain alternatives by indefinites, put forth in Chapter 1. It is proposed that covert only (O) targets alternative bearers in its domain, much like wh-words are targeted by interrogative complementizers, an idea that is implemented via a feature checking mechanism. O assign ‘+’ to alternative bearers in its domain, thereby making their alternatives active. In absence of O, alternative bearers get a default value ‘-‘, and their alternatives remain inactive. This sets the stage for an integrated theory of polarity sensitivity and free choice.
Existential Free Choice
Authors: Chierchia Gennaro
Published: October 2013

Chapter 5 studies indefinites that are restricted to Free Choice environments, sometimes also described as ‘epistemic indefinites’. This includes German irgendein, Italian uno qualunque and Romanian vreun. It is argued that the FC effects that these items give rise to are identical to those that come about with ordinary disjunction and ordinary indefinites in similar contexts. The switch between pure NPIs that disallow FC uses and Polarity Items that allow them is located in the (non) availability of ‘pre exhaustified’ (i.e. recursively exhaustified) domain alternatives: NPIs disallow them (and are thereby restricted to DE contexts), FC indefinites allow them (and thereby are admitted in modal contexts where the FC effect comes about). This arguably constitutes a genuinely uniform theory of Negative Polarity and Free Choice Items. Several further dimensions of variation in epistemic indefinites are identified and a small number of formal parameters that generates such variation are identified. For example, domain size is responsible for total vs. partial variation, obligatory strengthening for ‘antilicensing’ in strongly negative environments. A novel generalization pertaining to the relation between Epistemic Indefinites and numerals is identified and discussed.
Universal Free Choice
Authors: Chierchia Gennaro
Published: October 2013

This chapter discusses FC items that readily acquire universal force like English any and Italian (bare) qualunque. Building on an extensive literature, the behavior of these items is reviewed in some key contexts (subtrigging, partitives, generics, imperatives). The main proposal is that the universal force of any and related items derives from (i) a wide scope constraints that forces them to have wide scope over a clausemate modal, whenever possible and (ii) a weakening of the effect of their scalar implicature in modal contexts (‘Modal Containment’). The scope contraint in (i) is suggested to be an incarnation of ‘Maximize Strength’. The distribution and properties of FC any are argued to be derivable from these parameters on the background of the general theory developed thus far. Differences between any and qualunque are derived via ‘Obligatory Strengthening’, that all items of the qualunque series have been shown to be subject to. This proposal is compared to a series of available alternatives.
Prisoners in the Promised Land: Neoconservatism as Culture and Strategy
Authors: McDonough Peter
Published: October 2013

This chapter opens the analysis of Catholic neoconservatism with a focus on public intellectuals who have shaped elite and mass opinion on family policy. The late James Q. Wilson published voluminously on the role of marital stability as a mechanism for bettering the life chances of children and overcoming poverty. His student, John DiIulio, complemented Wilson's work by emphasizing the Catholic doctrine of “subsidiarity”—a reliance on lower level associations rather than government intervention from higher up to resolve social problems. DiIulio, founding director of the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives inaugurated under George W. Bush, stressed the non-ideological impartiality of tackling poverty by building on church-related ministries. He left the Bush administration because of the politicization of his office at the hands of political operatives and zealous evangelicals.
SNAP and the Strategy of Confrontation
Authors: McDonough Peter
Published: October 2013

This case study of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests evaluates the strengths and drawbacks of an adversarial approach to change in Catholicism. SNAP's basic goal is to change the behavior, not the institution or the doctrine, of the church. It relies on media coverage and litigation (law suits) to achieve this end, which includes retribution for victims of abuse as well as curbing sexual predation by priests and church employees. The strategy has succeeded in a few states, notably California, but statute of limitations provisions have impeded indictments elsewhere. The strategy has led the bishops to set up review boards to monitor potential abuses in most dioceses. SNAP's insistence on surveillance has become accepted wisdom among many in and outside the church. Its aggressiveness, however, has turned off Catholics who fear that monetary settlements threaten to bankrupt already hard-pressed parishes.
Two Steps Forward…
Authors: McDonough Peter
Published: October 2013

This and the following chapter track the experiments of reformers (mostly members of the Leadership Roundtable) as they improvise solutions to the financial, managerial, and human resource problems facing the church. The Roundtable's push to spread administrative best practices has inched forward, impeded more by lack of interest than outright opposition. The Roundtable has put considerable effort into gathering cross-denominational support for Catholic elementary and secondary schools. The program confronts political suspicions that public support in the form of vouchers or tax credits, which many Roundtable analysts are convinced are necessary to effect significant transformation, would violate constitutional principles about the separation of church and state. This obstacle has motivated some to concentrate on reinforcing the religious identity of the schools, in effect banking on the support of private philanthropists rather than public funding to keep them afloat.
Fuzzy optimization for detecting enzyme targets of human uric acid metabolism
Authors: Hsu Kai-Cheng , Wang Feng-Sheng
Published: September 2013

Motivation: Mathematical modeling and optimization have been used for detecting enzyme targets in human metabolic disorders. Such optimal drug design methods are generally differentiated as two stages, identification and decision-making, to find optimal targets. We developed a unified method named fuzzy equal metabolic adjustment to formulate an optimal enzyme target design problem for drug discovery. The optimization framework combines the identification of enzyme targets and a decision-making strategy simultaneously. The objectives of this algorithm include evaluations of the therapeutic effect of target enzymes, the adverse effects of drugs and the minimum effective dose (MED).

Results: An existing generalized mass action system model of human uric acid (UA) metabolism was used to formulate the fuzzy optimization method for detecting two types of enzymopathies: hyperuricemia caused by phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase (PRPPS) overactivity and Lesch–Nyhan syndrome. The fuzzy objectives were set so that the concentrations of the metabolites were as close as possible to the healthy levels. The target design included a diet control of ribose-5-phospahate (R5P). The diet control of R5P served as an extra remedy to reduce phosphate uptake entering the purine metabolic pathway, so that we could obtain a more satisfactory treatment than obtained for those without a diet control. Moreover, enhancing UA excretion resulted in an effective treatment of hyperuricemia caused by PRPPS overactivity. This result correlates with using probenecid and benbromazone, which are uricosuric agents present in current clinical medications. By contrast, the Lesch–Nyhan syndrome required at least three enzyme targets to cure hyperuricemia.

Contact:  chmfsw@ccu.edu.tw

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A cost-effectiveness analysis of water security and water quality: impacts of climate and land-use change on the River Thames system
Authors: Whitehead P. G. , Crossman J. , Balana B. B. , Futter M. N. , Comber S. , Jin L. , Skuras D. , Wade A. J. , Bowes M. J. , Read D. S.
Published: October 2013

The catchment of the River Thames, the principal river system in southern England, provides the main water supply for London but is highly vulnerable to changes in climate, land use and population. The river is eutrophic with significant algal blooms with phosphorus assumed to be the primary chemical indicator of ecosystem health. In the Thames Basin, phosphorus is available from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and from diffuse sources such as agriculture. In order to predict vulnerability to future change, the integrated catchments model for phosphorus (INCA-P) has been applied to the river basin and used to assess the cost-effectiveness of a range of mitigation and adaptation strategies. It is shown that scenarios of future climate and land-use change will exacerbate the water quality problems, but a range of mitigation measures can improve the situation. A cost-effectiveness study has been undertaken to compare the economic benefits of each mitigation measure and to assess the phosphorus reductions achieved. The most effective strategy is to reduce fertilizer use by 20% together with the treatment of effluent to a high standard. Such measures will reduce the instream phosphorus concentrations to close to the EU Water Framework Directive target for the Thames.