bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Senate after Sulla
Authors: Hawthorn J. R.
Published: July 2013

We have most of us been surprised when, after reading the history of the late Republic, we first discovered that in the year 50 a motion was proposed in the Senate that Pompey and Caesar should both lay down their commands, that it was passed by 370 votes to 22, and that it was disregarded in the interests of the optimate leaders. Who were these 370 men, and why do we not hear more of them? We have read, of course, that the Senate consisted of this or that number at this or that time; and then we read all about the Claudii and Metelli, with scarcely a word about the massed ranks behind them. Yet there they are, and the picture is incomplete without them. It is likely that we shall never complete it satisfactorily—there are so many of them we do not know, and the few we do know are quite likely to be exceptional in some way—but we can at least make a start by considering the numbers involved and the likely divergence as well as the unity of their interests.
Trademarks on Greek Vases
Authors: Johnston A. W.
Published: July 2013

Throughout the ages the undersides of earthenware vases have been the home for all manner of cryptic abbreviations and signs. The importance nowadays placed on such marks varies considerably according to the date and origin of the material, though generally it is greater when the signs refer in some manner to the potter, decorator, or producing factory, especially when considerations of the mark may affect the value of the piece.
Euphronios Epoiesen: Portrait of the Artist as a Presbyopic Potter
Authors: Maxmin Jody
Published: July 2013

The mysterious crise de profession which saw the painter Euphronios switch to potting in the heyday of his career is a worthwhile topic for discussion and one on which scholars have manifestly avoided committing themselves. That the pioneer red-figure artist should up and change professions quite unannounced and apparently without reason is a curious fact indeed and one which perhaps the optician alone can explain.
Was Petronius a Moralist?
Authors: Walsh P. G.
Published: July 2013

Saul bellow'sbookMr. Sammler's Planetdocuments contemporary life in New York as seen through the eyes of the hero Arthur Sammler, an ambitiously complex creation. A Polish Jew from Cracow, he had lived for several years in London on nodding terms with H. G. Wells, and had thus become attuned to the scientific humanism which optimistically visualized the world as the oyster ofhomo sapiens. Then by a dreadful irony he returned to Poland, where he was put in a concentration camp from which he escaped only after his wife's death and the cold-blooded murder of a German guard. Now living with Jewish relatives in New York, Sammler reads little except the treatises of Meister Eckhart in which that fourteenth-century Dominican urges the renunciation of worldly possessions to discover God. Simultaneously Sammler is casting his one sound eye dispassionately and without condemnation over New York life. He lectures on Wells at Columbia, only to have the microphone wrenched from his hand by a revolting student. He witnesses the anarchy of New York society—the pickpocketing, the violence, the hasty evasive action of those avoiding involvement. He sees the avarice of relatives, the nephew ransacking the attics while the uncle lies dying in hospital. He observes the obsessive role accorded to sex—the wife-swapping, the promiscuous hunger of emancipated female relatives. And with this bleak vision of the abrogation of reason and the growth of moral anarchy, he meditates on the possibility of a fresh start for man on the moon.
Principal component analysis for the early detection of mastitis and lameness in dairy cows
Authors: Miekley Bettina , Traulsen Imke , Krieter Joachim
Published: July 2013

This investigation analysed the applicability of principal component analysis (PCA), a latent variable method, for the early detection of mastitis and lameness. Data used were recorded on the Karkendamm dairy research farm between August 2008 and December 2010. For mastitis and lameness detection, data of 338 and 315 cows in their first 200 d in milk were analysed, respectively. Mastitis as well as lameness were specified according to veterinary treatments. Diseases were defined as disease blocks. The different definitions used (two for mastitis, three for lameness) varied solely in the sequence length of the blocks. Only the days before the treatment were included in the blocks. Milk electrical conductivity, milk yield and feeding patterns (feed intake, number of feeding visits and time at the trough) were used for recognition of mastitis. Pedometer activity and feeding patterns were utilised for lameness detection. To develop and verify the PCA model, the mastitis and the lameness datasets were divided into training and test datasets. PCA extracted uncorrelated principle components (PC) by linear transformations of the raw data so that the first few PCs captured most of the variations in the original dataset. For process monitoring and disease detection, these resulting PCs were applied to the Hotelling'sT2chart and to the residual control chart. The results show that block sensitivity of mastitis detection ranged from 77·4 to 83·3%, whilst specificity was around 76·7%. The error rates were around 98·9%. For lameness detection, the block sensitivity ranged from 73·8 to 87·8% while the obtained specificities were between 54·8 and 61·9%. The error rates varied from 87·8 to 89·2%. In conclusion, PCA seems to be not yet transferable into practical usage. Results could probably be improved if different traits and more informative sensor data are included in the analysis.
The generation of internal waves by vibrating elliptic cylinders.
Part 3. Angular oscillations and comparison of theory with recent experimental observations
Authors: HURLEY D. G. , HOOD M. J.
Published: July 2013

In this paper the methods of Parts 1 and 2 are extended to the case when the elliptic
cylinder is executing angular oscillations about its centreline. At large distances from
the cylinder the solution for a beam of waves tends to a similarity solution that
decays more rapidly with distance than does the similarity solution for rectilinear
oscillations described in Thomas & Stevenson (1972). Figure 4 shows in a remarkable
way how the predicted wave profiles change with distance from the inviscid solution
to the similarity one.

In the latter part of the paper the predictions of Parts 1 and 2 and other theories
are compared with recent experimental observations. The results of the experiments
are in good agreement with the predictions of Parts 1 and 2.
Bending and stretching of thin viscous sheets
Authors: RIBE N. M.
Published: July 2013

Thin viscous sheets occur frequently in situations ranging from polymer processing to
global plate tectonics. Asympotic expansions in the sheet's dimensionless ‘slenderness’
ε [Lt ] 1 are used to derive two coupled equations that describe the deformation of
a two-dimensional inertialess sheet with constant viscosity μ and variable thickness
and curvature in response to arbitrary loading. Three model problems illustrate the
partitioning of thin-sheet deformation between stretching and bending modes: (i) A
sheet with fixed (hinged or clamped) ends, initially flat and of length L0 and thickness
H0 ≡ εL0, inflated by a constant excess pressure
ΔP applied to one side (‘film blowing’). The sheet deforms initially by bending on a time scale
με4/ΔP ≡ τb,
and thereafter by stretching except in bending boundary layers of width
δ ∼ L0(t/τb−1/3 at the
clamped ends. (ii) An initially horizontal ‘viscous beam’ with length
L0 and thickness H0 ≡ εL0, clamped at one end,
deforms by bending on a time scale τb =
μH20/gδρL30
until it hangs nearly vertically. Thereafter it deforms by bending in a thin boundary
layer at the clamped end, and elsewhere by stretching on a slow time scale
ε−2τb. (iii)
A sheet extruded horizontally at speed U0 from a slit of width H0 in a gravitational
field deforms primarily by bending on a time scale
(μH20/U30gδρ)1/4.
The sheet's ‘hinge point’ moves in the direction opposite to the extrusion velocity, which may explain
the observed retrograde motion of subducting oceanic lithosphere (‘trench rollback’).
Modelling turbulent collision of bidisperse inertial particles
Authors: ZHOU YONG , WEXLER ANTHONY S. , WANG LIAN-PING
Published: July 2013

We study finite-inertia effects on the collision rate of bidisperse heavy particles in
a turbulent gas, using direct numerical simulations and kinematic descriptions. As
shown previously for a monodisperse system (Sundaram & Collins 1997; Wang,
Wexler & Zhou 2000), a statistical mechanical description of the average collision
kernel consists of two parts, namely a description of the relative velocity between two
colliding particles (the turbulent transport effect) and of the non-uniform particle distribution
due to dynamic interaction of particles with coherent vortex structures (the
accumulation effect). We first show that this description remains valid and accurate
for a bidisperse system involving two groups of particles of inertial response time
τp1 and τp2, respectively. Numerical
results for the turbulent transport effect and the accumulation effect have been obtained as a function of
τp1 and τp2. Interestingly, the
accumulation effect in a bidisperse system is bounded above by that of a monodisperse
system. An explanation for this observation is given, in terms of the correlation
between concentration fields of the two size groups. Simulations show that particles
from two size groups were found in different regions of a vortex, thus reducing the
net accumulation effect in a bidisperse system. The turbulent transport effect, on
the other hand, is bounded below by the level in a monodisperse system, due to a
differential inertia effect. The above observations imply that the size polydispersity
enhances the turbulent transport effect but weakens the accumulation effect, relative
to a monodisperse system.

A simple eddy–particle interaction (EPI) model was developed and shown to give
a reasonable prediction of the collision kernel, except for a small parametric region
where both τp1 and τp2 are on the
order of the ow Kolmogorov time τk and thus
the accumulation effect must be included. A more accurate model incorporating both
the turbulent transport effect and the accumulation effect has also been developed.
The model would provide an upper bound on the collision rates for a non-dilute
bidisperse system, since turbulence modulation and particle-particle interactions are
not considered in this model.

Finally, some consideration is given to the effect of nonlinear drag on the collision
kernel. The results show that the drag nonlinearity can increase the collision kernel
slightly (less than 10%) at large particle inertia.
Rip current instabilities
Authors: HALLER MERRICK C. , DALRYMPLE R. A.
Published: July 2013

A laboratory experiment involving rip currents generated on a barred beach with
periodic rip channels indicates that rip currents contain energetic low-frequency oscillations
in the presence of steady wave forcing. An analytic model for the time-averaged
flow in a rip current is presented and its linear stability characteristics are investigated
to evaluate whether the rip current oscillations can be explained by a jet instability
mechanism. The instability model considers spatially growing disturbances in an
offshore directed, shallow water jet. The effects of variable cross-shore bathymetry,
non-parallel flow, turbulent mixing, and bottom friction are included in the model.
Model results show that rip currents are highly unstable and the linear stability model
can predict the scales of the observed unsteady motions.
On numerical stability analysis of double-diffusive convection in confined enclosures
Authors: MAMOU M. , VASSEUR P. , HASNAOUI M.
Published: July 2013

The onset of thermosolutal convection and finite-amplitude flows, due to vertical
gradients of heat and solute, in a horizontal rectangular enclosure are investigated
analytically and numerically. Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions for temperature
and solute concentration are applied to the two horizontal walls of the
enclosure, while the two vertical ones are assumed impermeable and insulated. The
cases of stress-free and non-slip horizontal boundaries are considered. The governing
equations are solved numerically using a finite element method. To study the linear
stability of the quiescent state and of the fully developed flows, a reliable numerical
technique is implemented on the basis of Galerkin and finite element methods. The
thresholds for finite-amplitude, oscillatory and monotonic convection instabilities are
determined explicitly in terms of the governing parameters. In the diffusive mode
(solute is stabilizing) it is demonstrated that overstability and subcritical convection
may set in at a Rayleigh number well below the threshold of monotonic instability,
when the thermal to solutal diffusivity ratio is greater than unity. In an infinite layer
with rigid boundaries, the wavelength at the onset of overstability was found to be a
function of the governing parameters. Analytical solutions, for finite-amplitude convection,
are derived on the basis of a weak nonlinear perturbation theory for general
cases and on the basis of the parallel flow approximation for a shallow enclosure
subject to Neumann boundary conditions. The stability of the parallel flow solution
is studied and the threshold for Hopf bifurcation is determined. For a relatively large
aspect ratio enclosure, the numerical solution indicates horizontally travelling waves
developing near the threshold of the oscillatory convection. Multiple confined steady
and unsteady states are found to coexist. Finally, note that all the numerical solutions
presented in this paper were found to be stable.
Some steady axisymmetric vortex flows past a sphere
Authors: ELCRAT ALAN , FORNBERG BENGT , MILLER KENNETH
Published: July 2013

Steady, inviscid, axisymmetric vortex flows past a sphere are obtained numerically
as solutions of a partial differential equation for the stream function. The solutions
found include vortex rings, bounded vortices attached to the sphere and infinite
vortex tubes. Four families of attached vortices are described: vortex wakes behind
the sphere, spherically annular vortices surrounding the spherical obstacle (which can
be given analytically), bands of vorticity around the sphere and symmetric pairs of
vortices fore and aft of the sphere. Each attached vortex leads to a one-parameter
family of vortex rings, analogous to the connection between Hill's spherical vortex
and the vortex rings of Norbury.
Flow in pipes with non-uniform curvature and torsion
Authors: GAMMACK DAVID , HYDON PETER E.
Published: July 2013

This paper describes steady and unsteady flows in pipes with small, slowly varying
curvature and torsion. Four new pipe shapes are studied, using Germano's extension
of the Dean equations. Analytic and numerical solutions are obtained for flows driven
by a steady pressure gradient. Oscillatory flows in pipes with non-uniform curvature
are obtained by numerical methods. The effects of the non-uniformities in curvature
and torsion are discussed, with particular reference to wall shear stress.
British India versus the British Empire: The Indian Army and an impasse in imperial defence, circa 1919–39
Authors: LEAKE ELISABETH MARIKO
Published: July 2013

From the end of the Great War to the onset of the Second World War, Great Britain and British India clashed over the Indian Army's role in imperial defence. Britain increasingly sought an imperial fighting force that it could deploy across the globe, but the government of India, limited by the growing independence movements, financial constraints, and—particularly—renewed tribal unrest on its North-West Frontier, refused to meet these demands. Attempts to reconcile Britain's and India's conflicting strategies made little headway until the late 1930s when compromise ultimately emerged with the establishment of the Expert Committee on the Defence of India 1938–39. While the Committee refuted India's traditional focus on the subcontinent's own security, importantly it recognized the necessity of British financial support for the Indian Army and the maintenance of a large local fighting force to prevent North-West Frontier unrest from disrupting imperial military planning at a time of global war.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis: risk governance and the emergence of pre-emptive surveillance
Authors: GLENN JOHN
Published: July 2013

This article examines the financial reforms that have been undertaken through two perspectives on risk: that of Beck's world risk society and an alternative Foucauldian approach. The former argues that, catastrophes such as the recent financial crisis will induce a political shift towards a cosmopolitan form of statehood. Yet, the lack of radical reform since the financial crisis would suggest otherwise. The article therefore argues that what we are witnessing is best understood in terms of reflexive governance in which the various rationalities of risk are reassessed and strengthened in order to avoid a similar occurrence in the future. Moreover, in response to the uncertainty that surrounds such rare events, more intense forms of surveillance have been adopted with the objective of pre-empting any future crisis. Yet, for various reasons, the reforms remain rather limited and the new rationality of pre-emption is unlikely to prevent further crises from occurring in the future.
Undergraduate students' ownership of musical learning: obstacles and options in one-to-one teaching
Authors: Johansson Karin
Published: July 2013

This paper describes a longitudinal, collaborative case study, made in the framework of the project Students' Ownership of Learning(SOL)during one academic year with one vocal teacher and two female students. The aim of the study was to relate the interaction between the teacher's and the students' intentions and expectations to the institutional level as well as to the rules and ‘real-life’ practice of the musical profession that the students are trained for. In the study, one-to-one tuition in higher music education was theorised as a culturally and historically grounded activity system consisting of relationships between musicians, instruments, music-making traditions and audiences. The concept of contradiction was used as a tool when analysing individually experienced obstacles for musical learning. The results describe how learning obstacles such as conflicting views on the purpose of the activity may be articulated, confronted and transformed into options through collaborative work. By linking the individual and collective levels of knowledge and by using professional practice as a developmental transfer, all aspects of the ‘conservatoire tradition’ may be seen as holding potential for development and expansion.
Teaching stage fright? – Implications for music educators
Authors: Patston Tim
Published: July 2013

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a widely acknowledged condition in the field of music performance. However, MPA is rarely discussed in the field of music education. Classroom, studio and conservatoire teachers observe their students experiencing MPA related to performances, examinations or auditions, but few have the prerequisite skills to manage the condition. It is therefore essential for music educators to gain an understanding of MPA in order to assist their students. This paper discusses the nature of MPA and its prevalence in the various populations which have been reported in the literature, including children and adolescents, undergraduates, amateur and professional musicians, and music educators. The paper argues that music educators have a critical role in the developmental trajectory of the condition and provides music educators with advice on how teaching practice can ameliorate developing or extant MPA in their students.
Phonological reduction in maternal speech in northern Australian English: change over time
Authors: BUCHAN HEATHER , JONES CAROLINE
Published: July 2013

Segmental variation in maternal speech to children changes over time. This study investigated variation in non-citation speech processes in a longitudinal, 26-hour corpus of maternal northern Australian English. Recordings were naturalistic parent–child interactions when children (N=4) were 1;6, 2;0, and 2;6. The mothers' speech was phonetically transcribed and analyzed. Based on previous sociophonetic research showing proportional changes in speech variants in maternal speech as children get older, it was predicted that deletion of word-initial /h/ and word-final /v/, processes common in non-citation speech, would increase over time. Instead results showed a non-linear change in deletion within a stable set of lexical items. Deletion proportionately increased between 1;6 and 2;0 and decreased between 2;0 and 2;6. Further analysis indicated increased deletion was not accounted for by changes in speech rate, which only marginally increased over time. Findings suggest mothers fine-tune differentially over time as children's receptive and productive language knowledge develops.
A formal power series attached to a class function on a group and its application to the characterisation of characters
Authors: JOHNSON KENNETH W. , POIMENIDOU EIRINI
Published: July 2013

In Frobenius' initial papers on group characters he introduced k-characters in order to give an algorithm to calculate the irreducible factors of the group determinant. We show how his work leads naturally to the construction of a formal power series for any class function on a group, which terminates if and only if the class function is a character. This is then used to obtain a criterion for a class function to be a character.
Cost of carnivore coexistence on communal and resettled land in Namibia
Authors: RUST N. A. , MARKER L. L.
Published: July 2013

Human-wildlife conflict is detrimental to the conservation of threatened carnivores and the livelihoods of rural communities. This paper compares perceived levels of human-carnivore conflict experienced on five Namibian communal conservancies and four resettled farming areas. Factors explored include how reported depredation was affected by livestock husbandry practices, the perceived annual cost of depredation and the reported problem predator species. Of the 147 respondents interviewed, perceived depredation was greater than in previous studies; high perceived depredation was associated with greater rates of predator removal, increased ranking of predators as problems and increased predator sighting frequency. Small stock species were the most commonly depredated livestock. The most frequently perceived predators were: jackals on goats and sheep, wild cats on chickens, leopards on horses and spotted hyenas on cattle. The financial cost of this predation was US$508898, mostly attributable to cattle depredation, and agricultural training schemes recommending good livestock management may help reduce this cost. A move from small to large stock farming could be promoted in areas with an abundance of small- to medium-sized carnivores and a lack of large carnivores. Further incentives, such as meat provision and income from consumptive and non-consumptive tourism could ensure benefits outweigh costs of wildlife coexistence.
Measles outbreak spreading from the community to an anthroposophic school, Berlin, 2011
Authors: LASSEN S. GILLESBERG , SCHUSTER M. , STEMMLER M. , STEINMÜLLER A. , MATYSIAK-KLOSE D. , MANKERTZ A. , SANTIBANEZ S. , WICHMANN O. , FALKENHORST G.
Published: July 2013

Between April and July 2011 there was an outbreak of measles virus, genotype D4, in Berlin, Germany. We identified 73 case-patients from the community and among students of an anthroposophic school, who participated in a 4-day school trip, as well as their family and friends. Overall, 27% were aged ⩾20 years, 57% were female and 15% were hospitalized. Of 39 community case-patients, 38% were aged ⩾20 years, 67% were female and 63% required hospitalization. Unvaccinated students returning from the school trip were excluded from school, limiting transmission. Within the group of 55 school-trip participants, including 20 measles case-patients, a measles vaccine effectiveness of 97·1% (95% confidence interval 83·4–100) for two doses was estimated using exact Poisson regression. Our findings support school exclusions and the recommendation of one-dose catch-up vaccination for everyone born after 1970 with incomplete or unknown vaccination status, in addition to the two-dose routine childhood immunization recommendation.
Playing Dice with Morality: Weighted Lotteries and the Number Problem
Authors: DOUCET MATHIEU
Published: July 2013

In this article I criticize the non-consequentialist Weighted Lottery (WL) solution to the choice between saving a smaller or a larger group of people. WL aims to avoid what non-consequentialists see as consequentialism's unfair aggregation by giving equal consideration to each individual's claim to be rescued. In so doing, I argue, WL runs into another common objection to consequentialism: it is excessively demanding. WL links the right action with the outcome of a fairly weighted lottery, which means that an agent can only act rightly if s/he has actually run the lottery. In many actual cases, this involves epistemic demands that can be almost impossible to meet. I argue that plausible moral principles cannot make such extreme epistemic demands.
A Fresh Start for the Objective-List Theory of Well-Being
Authors: FLETCHER GUY
Published: July 2013

So-called ‘objective-list’ theories of well-being (prudential value, welfare) are under-represented in discussions of well-being. I do four things in this article to redress this. First, I develop a new taxonomy of theories of well-being, one that divides theories in a more subtle and illuminating way. Second, I use this taxonomy to undermine some misconceptions that have made people reluctant to hold objective-list theories. Third, I provide a new objective-list theory and show that it captures a powerful motivation for the main competitor theory of well-being (the desire-fulfilment theory). Fourth, I try to defuse the worry that objective-list theories are problematically arbitrary and show how the theory can and should be developed.
Non-Deterministic Graph Property Testing
Authors: LOVÁSZ LÁSZLÓ , VESZTERGOMBI KATALIN
Published: July 2013

A property of finite graphs is called non-deterministically testable if it has a ‘certificate’ such that once the certificate is specified, its correctness can be verified by random local testing. In this paper we study certificates that consist of one or more unary and/or binary relations on the nodes, in the case of dense graphs. Using the theory of graph limits, we prove that non-deterministically testable properties are also deterministically testable.
PTSD Modifies Performance on a Task of Affective Executive Control among Deployed OEF/OIF Veterans with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Amick Melissa M. , Clark Alexandra , Fortier Catherine B. , Esterman Michael , Rasmusson Ann M. , Kenna Alexandra , Milberg William P. , McGlinchey Regina
Published: July 2013

Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show a cognitive bias for threatening information, reflecting dysregulated executive control for affective stimuli. This study examined whether comorbid mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) with PTSD exacerbates this bias. A computer-administered Affective Go/No-Go task measured reaction times (RTs) and errors of omission and commission to words with a non–combat-related positive or negative valence in 72 deployed United States service members from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Incidents of military-related mTBI were measured with the Boston Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury-Lifetime. PTSD symptoms were measured with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. Participants were divided into those with (mTBI+,n= 34) and without a history of military-related mTBI (mTBI−,n= 38). Valence of the target stimuli differentially impacted errors of commission and decision bias (criterion) in the mTBI+ and mTBI− groups. Specifically, within the mTBI+ group, increasing severity of PTSD symptoms was associated with an increasingly liberal response pattern (defined as more commission errors to negative distractors and greater hit rate for positive stimuli) in the positive compared to the negative blocks. This association was not observed in the mTBI− group. This study underscores the importance of considering the impact of a military-related mTBI and PTSD severity upon affective executive control. (JINS, 2013,19, 1–10)
5-HT1A-receptor agonist modified amygdala activity and amygdala-associated social behavior in a valproate-induced rat autism model
Authors: Wang Chao-Chuan , Lin Hui-Ching , Chan Yun-Han , Gean Po-Wu , Yang Yen Kung , Chen Po See
Published: July 2013

Accumulating evidence suggests that dysfunction of the amygdala is related to abnormal fear processing, anxiety, and social behaviors noted in autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). In addition, studies have shown that disrupted brain serotonin homeostasis is linked to ASD. With a valproate (VPA)-induced rat ASD model, we investigated the possible role of amygdala serotonin homeostasis in autistic phenotypes and further explored the underlying mechanism. We first discovered that the distribution of tryptophan hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the caudal raphe system was modulated on postnatal day (PD) 28 of the VPA-exposed offspring. Then, we found a significantly higher serotonin transporter availability in the amygdala of the VPA-exposed offspring on PD 56 by using single photon emission computed tomography and computed tomography co-registration following injection of 123I-labeled 2-((2-(dimethylamino)methyl)phenyl)thio)-5-iodophenylamine(123I[ADAM]). Furthermore, treatment with 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), a 5-HT1A receptor agonist, increased social interaction and improved fear memory extinction in the VPA-exposed offspring. 8-OH-DPAT treatment also reversed the characteristics of miniature excitatory post-synaptic currents as well as paired pulse facilitation observed in lateral amygdala slices. These results provided further evidence to support the role of the amygdala in characteristic behavioral changes in the rat ASD model. The serotonergic projections that modulate the amygdala function might play a certain role in the development and treatment of behavioral symptoms exhibited in individuals with ASD.
Slingshot dynamics for self-replicating probes and the effect on exploration timescales
Authors: Nicholson Arwen , Forgan Duncan
Published: July 2013

Interstellar probes can carry out slingshot manoeuvres around the stars they visit, gaining a boost in velocity by extracting energy from the star's motion around the Galactic Centre. These manoeuvres carry little to no extra energy cost, and in previous work it has been shown that a single Voyager-like probe exploring the Galaxy does so 100 times faster when carrying out these slingshots than when navigating purely by powered flight (Forgan et al. 2012). We expand on these results by repeating the experiment with self-replicating probes. The probes explore a box of stars representative of the local Solar neighbourhood, to investigate how self-replication affects exploration timescales when compared with a single non-replicating probe. We explore three different scenarios of probe behaviour: (i) standard powered flight to the nearest unvisited star (no slingshot techniques used), (ii) flight to the nearest unvisited star using slingshot techniques and (iii) flight to the next unvisited star that will give the maximum velocity boost under a slingshot trajectory. In all three scenarios, we find that as expected, using self-replicating probes greatly reduces the exploration time, by up to three orders of magnitude for scenarios (i) and (iii) and two orders of magnitude for (ii). The second case (i.e. nearest-star slingshots) remains the most time effective way to explore a population of stars. As the decision-making algorithms for the fleet are simple, unanticipated ‘race conditions’ among probes are set up, causing the exploration time of the final stars to become much longer than necessary. From the scaling of the probes' performance with star number, we conclude that a fleet of self-replicating probes can indeed explore the Galaxy in a sufficiently short time to warrant the existence of the Fermi Paradox.
BOLZANO’S CONCEPT OF GROUNDING (ABFOLGE) AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF NORMAL PROOFS
Authors: RUMBERG ANTJE
Published: July 2013

In this paper, I provide a thorough discussion and reconstruction of Bernard Bolzano’s theory of grounding and a detailed investigation into the parallels between his concept of grounding and current notions of normal proofs. Grounding (Abfolge) is an objective ground-consequence relation among true propositions that is explanatory in nature. The grounding relation plays a crucial role in Bolzano’s proof-theory, and it is essential for his views on the ideal buildup of scientific theories. Occasionally, similarities have been pointed out between Bolzano’s ideas on grounding and cut-free proofs in Gentzen’s sequent calculus. My thesis is, however, that they bear an even stronger resemblance to the normal natural deduction proofs employed in proof-theoretic semantics in the tradition of Dummett and Prawitz.
Benzodiazepines and risk of dementia: true association or reverse causation?
Authors: Barbui C. , Gastaldon C. , Cipriani A.
Published: July 2013

According to a recently published population study conducted in France, exposure to benzodiazepines may be associated with an approximately 50% increase in the risk of dementia in the elderly. However, the clinical interpretation of this finding raised some concerns. A causal link between benzodiazepine use and diagnosis of dementia may be real, but it is nevertheless possible that the increased risk might be due to other confounding factors. In this article, the main strengths and weaknesses of this study are briefly analysed, including the possibility of reverse causation. Implications for research and current practice are discussed.
Interventionseffekte bei Lese-Rechtschreibstörung: Evaluation von zwei Förderkonzepten unter besonderer Betrachtung methodischer Aspekte
Authors: Groth Katarina , Hasko Sandra , Bruder Jennifer , Kunze Sarah , Schulte-Körne Gerd
Published: July 2013

Die Lese-Rechtschreibstörung (LRS) ist eine der häufigsten umschriebenen Entwicklungsstörungen schulischer Fertigkeiten und bleibt meist bis ins Erwachsenenalter bestehen. Schulische Schwierigkeiten und psychische Störungen sind oft Begleitsymptome der LRS. Aus diesem Grund ist nachhaltige Förderung von größter Bedeutung. Die Fördereffekte bisheriger Interventionsstudien sind jedoch recht gering, und vielen Studien mangelt es an ausreichender methodischer Fundierung. Ziel dieser Studie ist daher die Überprüfung zweier Interventionsprogramme in einem Prä-Post Experimental-Warte-Kontrollgruppendesign. Vier Gruppen von Drittklässlern nahmen an der Studie teil. Zwei Gruppen von Kindern mit LRS (n = 40) wurden über sechs Monate zweimal wöchentlich mit einem Lese- oder Rechtschreibprogramm gefördert und mit einer Wartegruppe (n = 17), die erst nach sechs Monaten gefördert wurde, sowie einer nicht betroffenen Kontrollgruppe (n = 26) verglichen. Die quantitative und qualitative Analyse der Lese- und Rechtschreibleistungen vor und nach der Förderung zeigte, dass sich alle Kinder mit LRS signifikant verbesserten. Betrachtungen auf individueller Ebene zeigten jedoch auch, dass eine deutlich spezifischere Zuweisung zu einzelnen Förderprogrammen notwendig ist. Eine Überlegenheit einer einzelnen Gruppe fand sich nicht. Da sich auch die Wartegruppe der unbehandelten Kinder mit LRS verbesserten, können keine eindeutigen Schlüsse über die Effektivität der Förderung gezogen werden. Die Gründe hierfür sind unklar, müssen aber unbedingt verstanden werden. Hierzu fehlen jedoch weltweit Studien. Es ist dennoch zwingend notwendig, die spezifischen von den unspezifischen Fördereffekten zu unterscheiden. Eine Studie mit einer Placebogruppe mit gleicher Förderdauer und Zuwendung und einer unbehandelten Kontrollgruppe sowie eine nicht randomisierte und individuelle Zuweisung zu spezifischen Förderprogrammen könnte hierfür ein sinnvoller Lösungsansatz sein.
Das Mathematikangstinterview (MAI): Erste psychometrische Gütekriterien
Authors: Kohn Juliane , Richtmann Verena , Rauscher Larissa , Kucian Karin , Käser Tanja , Grond Ursina , Esser Günther , von Aster Michael
Published: July 2013

Aktuelle Studienergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass sich Kinder bereits im frühen Grundschulalter hinsichtlich ihrer Mathematikangst unterscheiden und dass diese mit deren Mathematikleistung korreliert ( Vukovic et al., 2013 ; Wu et al., 2012 ). Um eine valide Erfassung der Mathematikangst auch im deutschen Sprachraum zu ermöglichen, zielt diese Studie auf die Entwicklung und psychometrische Überprüfung eines kindgerechten und ökonomischen Verfahrens zur Erfassung der Mathematikangst im frühen Grundschulalter ab. Das Mathematikangstinterview (MAI) erfasst die Angstintensität sowie deren Auswirkung auf verschiedenen Angstebenen. Dazu werden rechenspezifische Situationen sprachlich und bildlich präsentiert und die Kinder u. a. gebeten, ihre Angst mittels Angstthermometer einzuschätzen. Die vorliegende Überprüfung der Gütekriterien erfolgte an einer Stichprobe von 136 Kindern im Alter von sieben bis zehn Jahren. Neben arithmetischen Operationen und Textaufgaben wurde die Selbsteinschätzung hinsichtlich der allgemeinen Ängstlichkeit, der Schul- und Leistungsangst sowie der Selbstbewertung und Einstellung zu Mathematik erfragt. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass das Interview eine hohe Reliabilität, ermittelt über die interne Konsistenz, aufweist. Zudem spiegeln die Ergebnisse zur Validität bisherige Untersuchungsergebnisse zur Mathematikangst wider und belegen eine zufriedenstellende Kriteriumsvalidität des MAI. Die moderaten Zusammenhänge zwischen Mathematikangst und Rechenleistung sind weder durch die kognitive Leistung noch durch die erfassten Ängste zu erklären. Durch das MAI fanden sich querschnittlich frühe Unterschiede in der Ausprägung der Mathematikangst sowie moderate Zusammenhänge mit der Rechenleistung. Weiterführend sind Längsschnittstudien zur Entwicklung der Mathematikangst sowie deren Wechselwirkung mit der Rechenleistung nötig, um einen Präventions- und Interventionsbedarf abzuleiten.
Irrelevant Speech Disrupts Item-Context Binding
Authors: Bell Raoul , Röer Jan P. , Buchner Axel
Published: July 2013

The present study examines the effects of irrelevant speech on immediate memory. Previous research led to the suggestion that auditory distractors particularly impair memory for serial order. These findings were explained by assuming that irrelevant speech disrupts the formation and maintenance of links between adjacent items in a to-be-remembered sequence, resulting in a loss of order information. Here we propose a more general explanation of these findings by claiming that the capacity to form and maintain item-context bindings is generally impaired by the presence of auditory distractors. The results of Experiment 1 show that memory for the association between an item and its background color is drastically impaired by irrelevant speech, just as memory for the association between an item and its serial position. In Experiment 2 it was examined whether the disrupting effects of irrelevant sound are limited to memory for item-context associations or whether item memory is also affected by the auditory distractors. The results revealed that irrelevant speech disrupts both item memory and item-context binding. The results suggest that the effects of irrelevant sound on immediate memory are more general than previously assumed, which has important theoretical and applied implications.
Inhibition of Return in the Visual Field
Authors: Bao Yan , Lei Quan , Fang Yuan , Tong Yu , Schill Kerstin , Pöppel Ernst , Strasburger Hans
Published: July 2013

Inhibition of return (IOR) as an indicator of attentional control is characterized by an eccentricity effect, that is, the more peripheral visual field shows a stronger IOR magnitude relative to the perifoveal visual field. However, it could be argued that this eccentricity effect may not be an attention effect, but due to cortical magnification. To test this possibility, we examined this eccentricity effect in two conditions: the same-size condition in which identical stimuli were used at different eccentricities, and the size-scaling condition in which stimuli were scaled according to the cortical magnification factor (M-scaling), thus stimuli being larger at the more peripheral locations. The results showed that the magnitude of IOR was significantly stronger in the peripheral relative to the perifoveal visual field, and this eccentricity effect was independent of the manipulation of stimulus size (same-size or size-scaling). These results suggest a robust eccentricity effect of IOR which cannot be eliminated by M-scaling. Underlying neural mechanisms of the eccentricity effect of IOR are discussed with respect to both cortical and subcortical structures mediating attentional control in the perifoveal and peripheral visual field.
Different Response Patterns Between Auditory Spectral and Spatial Temporal Order Judgment (TOJ)
Authors: Fostick Leah , Babkoff Harvey
Published: July 2013

Temporal order judgment (TOJ) thresholds have been widely reported as valid estimates of the temporal disparity necessary for correctly identifying the order of two stimuli. Data for two auditory TOJ paradigms are often reported in the literature: (1) spatially-based TOJ in which the order of presentation of the same stimulus to the right and left ear differs; and (2) spectrally-based TOJ in which the order of two stimuli differing in frequency is presented to one ear or to both ears simultaneously. Since the thresholds reported using the two paradigms differ, the aim of the current study was to compare their response patterns. The results from three different experiments showed that: (1) while almost none of the participants were able to perform the spatial TOJ task when ISI = 5 ms, with the spectral task, 50% reached an accuracy level of 75% when ISI = 5 ms; (2) temporal separation was only a partial predictor for performance in the spectral task, while it fully predicted performance in the spatial task; and (3) training improved performance markedly in the spectral TOJ task, but had no effect on spatial TOJ. These results suggest that the two paradigms may reflect different perceptual mechanisms.
Best Practices in Population Modeling Should Always Be Evolving
Authors: Karlsson MO , Mentré F
Published: July 2013

CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology (2013) 2, e52; doi:10.1038/psp.2013.37; published online 3 July 2013
Vection in Depth during Treadmill Walking
Authors: Ash April , Palmisano Stephen , Apthorp Deborah , Allison Robert S
Published: July 2013

Vection has typically been induced in stationary observers (ie conditions providing visual- only information about self-motion). Two recent studies have examined vection during active treadmill walking—one reported that treadmill walking in the same direction as the visually simulated self-motion impaired vection (Onimaru et al, 2010 Journal of Vision10(7):860), the other reported that it enhanced vection (Seno et al, 2011 Perception40 747–750; Seno et al, 2011 Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics73 1467–1476). Our study expands on these earlier investigations of vection during observer active movement. In experiment 1 we presented radially expanding optic flow and compared the vection produced in stationary observers with that produced during walking forward on a treadmill at a ‘matched’ speed. Experiment 2 compared the vection induced by forward treadmill walking while viewing expanding or contracting optic flow with that induced by viewing playbacks of these same displays while stationary. In both experiments subjects' tracked head movements were either incorporated into the self-motion displays (as simulated viewpoint jitter) or simply ignored. We found that treadmill walking always reduced vection (compared with stationary viewing conditions) and that simulated viewpoint jitter always increased vection (compared with constant velocity displays). These findings suggest that while consistent visual-vestibular information about self-acceleration increases vection, biomechanical self-motion information reduces this experience (irrespective of whether it is consistent or not with the visual input).
Iron and citrate export by a major facilitator superfamily pump regulates metabolism and stress resistance inSalmonellaTyphimurium
Authors: Frawley Elaine R. , Crouch Marie-Laure V. , Bingham-Ramos Lacey K. , Robbins Hannah F. , Wang Wenliang , Wright Gerard D. , Fang Ferric C.
Published: July 2013

The efficacy of antibiotics and host defenses has been linked to the metabolic and redox states of bacteria. In this study we report that a stress-induced export pump belonging to the major facilitator superfamily effluxes citrate and iron from the enteric pathogenSalmonellaTyphimurium to arrest growth and ameliorate the effects of antibiotics, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide. The transporter, formerly known as MdtD, is now designated IceT (iron citrate efflux transporter). Iron efflux via an iron-chelating tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate provides a direct link between aerobic metabolism and bacterial stress responses, representing a unique mechanism of resistance to host defenses and antimicrobial agents of diverse classes.
Intrinsically photosensitive ganglion cells contribute to plasticity in retinal wave circuits
Authors: Kirkby Lowry A. , Feller Marla B.
Published: July 2013

Correlated spontaneous activity in the developing nervous system is robust to perturbations in the circuits that generate it, suggesting that mechanisms exist to ensure its maintenance. We examine this phenomenon in the developing retina, where blockade of cholinergic circuits that mediate retinal waves during the first postnatal week leads to the generation of “recovered” waves through a distinct, gap junction–mediated circuit. Unlike cholinergic waves, these recovered waves were modulated by dopaminergic and glutamatergic signaling, and required the presence of the gap junction protein connexin 36. Moreover, in contrast to cholinergic waves, recovered waves were stimulated by ambient light via activation of melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells. The involvement of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in this reconfiguration of wave-generating circuits offers an avenue of retinal circuit plasticity during development that was previously unknown.