bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Peptide purification using the chemoselective reaction between N‐(methoxy)glycine and isothiocyanato‐functionalized resin
Authors: Hara Toshiaki , Tainosyo Akira , Kawakami Toru , Aimoto Saburo , Murata Michio
Published: June 2016

An efficient peptide purification strategy is established, comprising the selective reaction of an N‐terminal N‐(methoxy)glycine residue of the peptide and isothiocyanato‐functionalized resins, and subsequent Edman degradation. These reactions take place in acidic media; in particular, the Edman degradation proceeds smoothly in media containing more than 50% trifluoroacetic acid (v/v). These acidic conditions offer increased solubility, making them advantageous for the purification of hydrophobic and aggregation‐prone peptides. The effectiveness of this method, together with scope and limitations, is demonstrated using model peptides and the practical purification of the loop region of the human dopamine D2 receptor long isoform (residues 240–272). Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Full‐scale lateral impact testing of prestressed concrete girder
Authors: Jing Yuan , Ma Zhongguo John , Clarke David B.
Published: June 2016

Lateral impact damage from over‐height vehicle collisions with bridge superstructures is of increasing concern in the United States. However this issue is not fully addressed in current bridge specifications. Previous researchers have conducted a number of small‐scale tests to study the impact process. Also, the finite element method has largely been used to analyze the complicated collision mechanism. This paper provides an opportunity for full‐scale lateral impact testing of a prestressed concrete girder, which leads to a realistic level of damage and mechanism analysis. A full‐scale lateral impact testing facility was designed and built on a construction site in Knoxville, Tennessee. The over‐height vehicle impact was simulated by impacting the bottom of an AASHTO Type I prestressed concrete girder with an impact cart. This paper describes the details of the impact testing facility as well as the response of the prestressed concrete girder during lateral impact. The collected test data were calibrated by using finite element software ABAQUS.
Population models at stochastic times
Authors: Orsingher Enzo , Ricciuti Costantino , Toaldo Bruno
Published: June 2016

In this paper we consider time-changed models of population evolutionXf(t) =X(Hf(t)), whereXis a counting process andHfis a subordinator with Laplace exponentf. In the case whereXis a pure birth process, we study the form of the distribution, the intertimes between successive jumps, and the condition of explosion (also in the case of killed subordinators). We also investigate the case whereXrepresents a death process (linear or sublinear) and study the extinction probabilities as a function of the initial population sizen0. Finally, the subordinated linear birth–death process is considered. Special attention is devoted to the case where birth and death rates coincide; the sojourn times are also analysed.
Shape theorems for Poisson hail on a bivariate ground
Authors: Baccelli François , Chang-Lara Héctor A. , Foss Sergey
Published: June 2016

We consider an extension of the Poisson hail model where the service speed is either 0 or ∞ at each point of the Euclidean space. We use and develop tools pertaining to sub-additive ergodic theory in order to establish shape theorems for the growth of the ice-heap under light tail assumptions on the hailstone characteristics. The asymptotic shape depends on the statistics of the hailstones, the intensity of the underlying Poisson point process, and on the geometrical properties of the zero speed set.
RIVEC (Rejection, Intimacy, Values, Emotions, and Culture) Prejudice Scale: An Adaptation to the Chilean Context of the Blatant and Subtle Prejudice Scale
Authors: Martini Hector Arancibia , Blanco Amalio , Ruiz Miguel Á. , Castro Manuel Cárdenas
Published: June 2016

Based on Pettigrew and Meertens’ Blatant and Subtle Prejudice Scale (1995), a new scale for assessing the expression of prejudice is proposed in this article. The original scale has been changed in three ways: (a) items were rewritten to avoid double assertions, (b) three new items were considered to adequately measure the ‘denial of positive emotions’ component, and (c) biased wording of the ‘cultural differences’ domain items measuring perceived cultural differences rather than prejudices was removed. We used a representative sample of 500 participants living in Antofagasta, in Chile. Confirmatory factor and a hierarchical regression analyses support the proposed new scale. This instrument provides two measures: one general measure related to the intensity of prejudice expression and a second measure indicating the presence or absence of prejudice for each component type (Rejection, Intimacy, Values, Emotions, and Culture). The scale was confirmed for both genders; 45.2% of the participants scored a medium-high to extremely high expression of prejudice towards Bolivians immigrants.
THE SMOOTH STRUCTURE OF THE SPACE OF PIECEWISE-SMOOTH LOOPS
Authors: STACEY ANDREW
Published: June 2016

We consider the problem of defining the structure of a smooth manifold on the various spaces of piecewise-smooth loops in a smooth finite-dimensional manifold. We succeed for a particular type of piecewise-smooth loops. We also examine the action of the diffeomorphism group of the circle. It is not a useful action on the manifold that we define. We consider how one might fix this problem and conclude that it can only be done by completing to the space of loops of bounded variation.
EQUIVARIANT COMPRESSION OF CERTAIN DIRECT LIMIT GROUPS AND AMALGAMATED FREE PRODUCTS
Authors: CAVE CHRIS , DREESEN DENNIS
Published: June 2016

We give a means of estimating the equivariant compression of a group G in terms of properties of open subgroups Gi ⊂ G whose direct limit is G. Quantifying a result by Gal, we also study the behaviour of the equivariant compression under amalgamated free products G1∗HG2 where H is of finite index in both G1 and G2.
BEREZIN–TOEPLITZ QUANTIZATION, HYPERKÄHLER MANIFOLDS, AND MULTISYMPLECTIC MANIFOLDS
Authors: BARRON TATYANA , SERAJELAHI BARAN
Published: June 2016

We suggest a way to quantize, using Berezin–Toeplitz quantization, a compact hyperkähler manifold (equipped with a natural 3-plectic form), or a compact integral Kähler manifold of complex dimensionnregarded as a (2n−1)-plectic manifold. We show that quantization has reasonable semiclassical properties.
A TOPOLOGICAL VARIATION OF THE RECONSTRUCTION CONJECTURE
Authors: PITZ MAX F. , SUABEDISSEN ROLF
Published: June 2016

This paper investigates topological reconstruction, related to the reconstruction conjecture in graph theory. We ask whether the homeomorphism types of subspaces of a space X which are obtained by deleting singletons determine X uniquely up to homeomorphism. If the question can be answered affirmatively, such a space is called reconstructible. We prove that in various cases topological properties can be reconstructed. As main result we find that familiar spaces such as the reals ℝ, the rationals ℚ and the irrationals ℙ are reconstructible, as well as spaces occurring as Stone–Čech compactifications. Moreover, some non-reconstructible spaces are discovered, amongst them the Cantor set C.
A TOWER OF RIEMANN SURFACES WHICH CANNOT BE DEFINED OVER THEIR FIELD OF MODULI
Authors: ARTEBANI MICHELA , CARVACHO MARIELA , HIDALGO RUBEN A. , QUISPE SAÚL
Published: June 2016

Explicit examples of both hyperelliptic and non-hyperelliptic curves which cannot be defined over their field of moduli are known in the literature. In this paper, we construct a tower of explicit examples of such kind of curves. In that tower there are both hyperelliptic curves and non-hyperelliptic curves.
HOMOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF CROSSED PRODUCTS
Authors: LI LIPING
Published: June 2016

In this paper, we consider several homological dimensions of crossed products AασG, where A is a left Noetherian ring and G is a finite group. We revisit the induction and restriction functors in derived categories, generalizing a few classical results for separable extensions. The global dimension and finitistic dimension of AσαG are classified: global dimension of AσαG is either infinity or equal to that of A, and finitistic dimension of AσαG coincides with that of A. A criterion for skew group rings to have finite global dimensions is deduced. Under the hypothesis that A is a semiprimary algebra containing a complete set of primitive orthogonal idempotents closed under the action of a Sylow p-subgroup S ≤ G, we show that A and AασG share the same homological dimensions under extra assumptions, extending the main results in (Li, Representations of modular skew group algebras, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc.367(9) (2015), 6293–6314, Li, Finitistic dimensions and picewise hereditary property of skew group algebras, to Glasgow Math. J.57(3) (2015), 509–517).
DUAL SPACE AND HYPERDIMENSION OF COMPACT HYPERGROUPS
Authors: ALAGHMANDAN MAHMOOD , AMINI MASSOUD
Published: June 2016

We characterize dual spaces and compute hyperdimensions of irreducible representations for two classes of compact hypergroups namely conjugacy classes of compact groups and compact hypergroups constructed by joining compact and finite hypergroups. Also, studying the representation theory of finite hypergroups, we highlight some interesting differences and similarities between the representation theories of finite hypergroups and finite groups. Finally, we compute the Heisenberg inequality for compact hypergroups.
THE ŁOJASIEWICZ EXPONENT FOR WEIGHTED HOMOGENEOUS POLYNOMIAL WITH ISOLATED SINGULARITY
Authors: ABDERRAHMANE OULD M.
Published: June 2016

The purpose of this paper is to give an explicit formula of the Łojasiewicz exponent of an isolated weighted homogeneous singularity in terms of its weights.
DISTRIBUTIVE LATTICES OF TILTING MODULES AND SUPPORT τ-TILTING MODULES OVER PATH ALGEBRAS
Authors: YANG YICHAO
Published: June 2016

In this paper, we study the poset of basic tilting kQ-modules when Q is a Dynkin quiver, and the poset of basic support τ-tilting kQ-modules when Q is a connected acyclic quiver respectively. It is shown that the first poset is a distributive lattice if and only if Q is of types $\mathbb{A}_{1}$, $\mathbb{A}_{2}$ or $\mathbb{A}_{3}$ with a non-linear orientation and the second poset is a distributive lattice if and only if Q is of type $\mathbb{A}_{1}$.
When Did Augustine of Canterbury Die?
Authors: SHAW RICHARD
Published: June 2016

While Bede did not know the year of Augustine's death, he possessed papal letters which provide sufficient information to deduce it with some confidence. The early epistles from popes which Bede quoted or referred to in the ‘Historia ecclesiastica’ associated journeys by delegations sent by the early Church in Kent to Rome with the request for, and collection of, the pallium for the new bishop of Canterbury. In this light the likely purpose for the otherwise unexplained visit of Mellitus to Rome in 610 becomes clear: he had come to ask Pope Boniface IV for the pallium for Laurence, following the death of Augustine on 26 May 609.
Who Moves Markets in a Sudden Marketwide Crisis? Evidence from 9/11
Authors: Burch Timothy R. , Emery Douglas R. , Fuerst Michael E.
Published: June 2016

We compare reactions in the prices and trading patterns of common stocks and closed-end funds (CEFs), securities with substantially different investor clienteles, to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. When the market reopened 6 days later, retail investors sold and there were sharp price declines, even in assets with net institutional buying. In the subsequent 2 weeks, price reversals were substantially security specific and thus not simply due to improved systematic sentiment. Consistent with microstructure theory, comparisons between CEFs and common stocks show the speed of these reversals depended significantly on the relative quality and availability of information about fundamental values.
Real Economic Shocks and Sovereign Credit Risk
Authors: Augustin Patrick , Tédongap Roméo
Published: June 2016

We provide new empirical evidence that U.S. expected growth and consumption volatility are closely related to the strong comovement in sovereign spreads. We rationalize these findings in an equilibrium model with recursive utility for credit default swap (CDS) spreads. The framework links a reduced-form default process with country-specific sensitivity to expected growth and macroeconomic uncertainty. Exploiting the high-frequency information in the CDS term structure across 38 countries, we estimate the model and find parameters consistent with preference for early resolution of uncertainty. Our results confirm the existence of time-varying risk premia in sovereign spreads as compensation for exposure to common U.S. macroeconomic risk.
Benchmarking and Currency Risk
Authors: Massa Massimo , Wang Yanbo , Zhang Hong
Published: June 2016

We show that the currency risk embedded in the benchmarks of international mutual funds negatively affects fund performance. More specifically, a high benchmark-implied currency risk induces funds to invest in markets with less volatile currencies, leading to a higher degree of currency concentration in portfolio holdings. This currency concentration, however, departs from the optimal equity allocation strategy across countries and reduces fund performance. We document that funds resorting to high currency concentrations underperform funds with low currency concentrations by as much as 1%–2% per year.
Rehydration methods to recover cysticercoids of the rat tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta from dry flour beetle carcasses
Authors: Chin H.M.-H. , Luong L.T. , Shostak A.W.
Published: June 2016

Terrestrial arthropods host a variety of helminth parasites, yet quantifying the intensity of infection in these hosts post-mortem is challenging because carcasses may desiccate quickly. We recovered cysticercoids of Hymenolepis diminuta from desiccated flour beetle (Tribolium confusum) carcasses by modifying a published insect rehydration procedure. Without rehydration, carcasses dissected more than 1 day post-mortem had noticeable degradation of cysticercoids. Mild rehydration (soaking in water only for 2 days, or 0.5–10% KOH for 1 h followed by 1 day in water, or 0.5% KOH for 1 day) left carcasses tough and time-consuming to dissect, but all parasites could be recovered and were similar in body size to fresh cysticercoids. Moderate rehydration (5–10% KOH for 1 day) allowed all parasites to be recovered and facilitated dissection by partially dissolving internal organs of the beetle while causing little degradation of the cysticercoids. Harsh rehydration (5–10% KOH for 1 day followed by 5 days in water) not only dissolved internal beetle tissues but also severely damaged cysticercoids, such that parasite counts were unreliable. The degree of initial carcass desiccation had little effect on results following rehydration. However, regardless of treatment used, intact cercomers were rarely retained on rehydrated cysticercoids. Rehydration was less successful on early developmental stages of the parasite, which were recovered reliably only as they neared the cysticercoid stage. This method has utility for studies of parasite-induced mortality by permitting accurate and reliable parasite counts from dead, desiccated hosts.
National prospective cohort study of peritonsillar abscess management
and outcomes: the Multicentre Audit of Quinsies study
Authors:   ENT Trainee Research Collaborative – West Midlands
Published: June 2016

Objectives:

To investigate variations in the management and outcomes of peritonsillar
abscesses, and to develop a trainee collaborative network in the UK.

Methods:

Data were collected prospectively on suspected peritonsillar abscess cases
presenting over a 2-month period at 42 participating secondary care centres,
covering a population of 16 million. The primary outcome was an adverse
event at 30 days, defined as re-presentation or re-drainage.

Results:

Eighteen per cent of the 325 cases experienced an adverse event. Follow-up
data were valid for 90 per cent of cases. Regression analyses showed a
significant reduction in adverse events in the 12 per cent of patients who
were discharged within 12 hours, and there was no significant increase in
adverse events for the 70 per cent receiving corticosteroids.

Conclusion:

Out-patient management of peritonsillar abscess is not commonly practised in
the UK. Corticosteroid usage is common and appears safe. This study
demonstrates that trainees working in collaboration can effectively deliver
prospective multicentre cohort studies in the UK.
Anamorphoscopes another look at circle inverting mirrors
Authors: Sharp John , Nickel B. G. , Hunt J. L.
Published: June 2016

In 1979 Philip W. Kuchel published a paper [1] in the Mathematical Gazette on using curved mirrors as a means of demonstrating the transformation known as inversion in a circle. He called the mirrors ‘anamorphoscopes’ since he came to the idea as a special case of the conical mirror anamorphosis which was a popular optical toy from the seventeenth century onwards [2]. In this paper we revisit his ideas with current technology and provide some extensions to Kuchel's derivation.
Diophantine Steiner triples
Authors: Hvala Bojan
Published: June 2016

Computer programs for dynamic geometry provide a very effective tool for motivating students. It is my experience that a certain effort in preparing an adequate applet and spending some time on a careful presentation can result in a great change of the atmosphere in the classroom. On the other hand, these programs also open new perspectives in geometry exploration and can provoke new interesting research questions related to the already known topics. The possibility of experimenting and the chance of visual examination of the results add new dimensions to research and can also be appealing to non-mathematical audiences.
The geometry of a stable game
Authors: Griffiths Martin
Published: June 2016

I was prompted to write this article after two of my students came to me (independently) with what was essentially the same query. This concerned the graphical solutions of a particular scenario occurring in Game Theory. In order to state and then fully to understand their question we need to make a little foray into this area of mathematics, which appears as one of the topics in the Decision 2 module of the OCR A level (see [1], for example).
Family planning
Authors: Paseau A. C.
Published: June 2016

Without doing the morally unspeakable or the medically infeasible, can a preference for daughters rather than sons increase their relative number? If, to be more precise, the only variable over which you have control is your number of children, can you increase the ratio.

Expected value (no. of daughters) : Expected value (no. of sons) ? Naïvely, you might think so. If for example you adopt the policy ‘stop procreating as soon as a girl is born’ won't you bear more girls compared to boys than you would otherwise? No, in fact.
Law of cosines generalised for any polygon and any polyhedron
Authors: Collins Lee , Osler Thomas J.
Published: June 2016

The law of cosines for any triangle with sides of length a, b and c is c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos γ, where γ is the angle opposite side c. We show that this law generalises nicely to any polygon as well as any polyhedron.

The generalisation to a quadrilateral with sides a, b, c and d is

and for a five sided polygon
Finding Carmichael numbers
Authors: Jameson G. J. O.
Published: June 2016

Recall that Fermat's ‘little theorem’ says that if p is prime and a is not a multiple of p, then ap − 1 ≡ 1 mod p.

This theorem gives a possible way to detect primes, or more exactly, non-primes: if for some positive a ≤ n − 1, an − 1 is not congruent to 1 mod n, then, by the theorem, n is not prime. A lot of composite numbers can indeed be detected by this test, but there are some that evade it. In other words, there are numbers n that are composite but still satisfy an − 1 ≡ 1 mod n for all a coprime to n. Such numbers might be called ‘false primes’, but in fact they are called Carmichael numbers in honour of R. D. Carmichael, who demonstrated their existence in 1912 [1] – so the year 2012 marks their centenary. (Composite numbers that satisfy the stated condition for one particular a are called a-pseudoprimes. They are the subject of a companion article [2].)
Finding pseudoprimes
Authors: Jameson G. J. O.
Published: June 2016

Recall that Fermat's ‘little theorem’ says that if p is prime and a is not a multiple of p, then ap − 1 ≡ 1 mod p.

This theorem gives a possible way to detect primes, or more exactly, non-primes: if for a certain a coprime to n, a− 1 is not congruent to 1 mod n, then, by the theorem, n is not prime. A lot of composite numbers can indeed be detected by this test, but there are some that evade it. Let us give ourselves some notation and terminology to discuss them.
Lobb's generalisation of Catalan's parenthesisation problem revisited
Authors: Koshy Thomas
Published: June 2016

In 1838, the Belgian mathematician Eugene C. Catalan (1814-1894) discovered that the number Cn of well-fonned sequences, with n pairs of left and right parentheses, is given by where n > 0 [1, 2]. For example, there are exactly five well-formed sequences with three pairs of left and right parentheses: ()()(), ()(()), (())(), (()()), ((())). The case n = 0 yields the null sequence, often denoted by λ. Notice that ()) and ((()()), for example, are not correctly parenthesised.
The probabilistic nature of Wallis's formula
Authors: Khan Rasul A.
Published: June 2016

The beautiful representation of π by Wallis's product formula has attracted many authors who have given a variety of proofs (see [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]). The purpose of this note is to revisit some elementary derivations with a focus on probabilistic/statistical flavours of this formula. The famous Wallis's product formula for is given by

There are a number proofs available for this formula scattered in the literature. Here we will concentrate on the probabilistic nature of this formula.
On a sequence of algebraic formulae of Ramanujan
Authors: Pla Juan
Published: June 2016

Among the many astonishing formulae stated by Ramanujan we find in his Notebooks the following sequence (see [1], p 96, Entry 43):

which hold for any triple of complex numbers (a, b, c) such that a + b + c = 0.

Ramanujan concluded this list by ‘And so on’, which suggests that he had some kind of method or algorithm allowing him to extend this list to any even power of the quadratic form p(a, b, c) = ab + bc + ca, when a + b + c = 0. To explain this, Bruce Brendt details a theorem by S. Bhargava [2], which can be used to produce identities of the kind above, and infers that Ramanujan is likely to have used the same proof to establish his identities (see [1], pp. 97-100)
The missing fractions in Brouncker's sequence of continued fractions for π
Authors: Osler Thomas J.
Published: June 2016

The forgotten continued fractions

Lord Brouncker's continued fraction for π is

(In this paper we will use the more convenient notation This fraction first appeared in the Arithmetica Infinitorum [1] by John Wallis. In this book, along with topics that lead to Newton's calculus, Wallis derives his famous product

Wallis tells us that he showed this product to Lord Brouncker, and in turn Brouncker converted it not only into (1), but into an infinite sequence of continued fractions.
New points from old
Authors: Dolan Stan
Published: June 2016

Given two rational points on the graph of a cubic polynomial with rational coefficients, it is well known that one can construct another rational point by finding the third intersection point of the curve with the chord through the two points. For example, consider the two points A (2, 15) and B(0, 3) on y = 2x3 − x2 + 3.

The chord through A and B has equation y = 6x + 3 and this intersects the curve again at the point P, where

This cubic equation has three roots corresponding to A, B and the new point P,

P is the point
Association between actigraphy-derived physical activity and cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Chen L.-J. , Steptoe A. , Chung M.-S. , Ku P.-W.
Published: June 2016

Background

An association between low levels of physical activity and impaired cognitive performance in schizophrenia has been proposed, but most studies have relied on self-report measures of activity. This study examined the association between actigraphy-derived physical activity and cognitive performance adjusting for multiple covariates in patients with schizophrenia.

Method

Patients with schizophrenia (n = 199) were recruited from chronic psychiatric wards, and 60 age-, sex- and body mass index-matched comparison participants were recruited from the staff of two hospitals and universities. Physical activity was assessed objectively for 7 days using an ActiGraph. Cognitive performance was assessed with the Cognitrone test from the Vienna Test System and the Grooved Pegboard Test. Demographic variables, metabolic parameters, positive and negative symptoms, duration of illness and hospitalization, and medication use were included as covariates. Pearson correlations and multivariable linear regressions were conducted to examine the associations between physical activity levels and cognitive performance.

Results

Patients with schizophrenia were less physically active and had poorer performance on attention/concentration and speed of processing than the comparison group. Patients with schizophrenia who spent more time in light physical activity showed better performance on attention/concentration (β = 0.198, p = 0.020) and speed of processing (β= −0.169, p = 0.048) tasks than those who were less active. Cognitive performance was also associated with moderate-vigorous physical activity, but the effect was no longer significant once light physical activity had been taken into account.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence for a positive association between objectively measured light physical activity and cognitive performance in people with schizophrenia, after adjustment for multiple confounders.
Anna Clyne The Seamstress, Barbican Hall, London; Anna Clyne This Lunar Beauty, Wigmore Hall, London
Authors: Stein Robert
Published: June 2016

‘Old mythologies’ have been important for some time to Anna Clyne, and they come into play again in two of her most recent works: the violin concerto The Seamstress and her brief Auden setting, This Lunar Beauty, for soprano and ensemble. The young British composer (b. 1980) has for many years been a resident of New York; she studied with Julia Wolfe in Manhattan and since 2010 has been the composer in association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
MaerzMusik Festival, Berlin
Authors: Engström Andreas
Published: June 2016

A ‘Festival für Zeitfragen’, a ‘festival for questions about time’, has been the motto for MaerzMusik since Berno Odo Polzer became its artistic director one year ago. In a way, the topic is rather self-evident, which might lead to a thematic flat-out – music in general is about, amongst other things, time – but the ambitions are high. Since the 2015 edition, there has been a seminar series running parallel to the concerts, which has the aim of deepening our understanding and thoughts about time, from cultural, artistic, political and scientific points of view. And sometimes it did. Sometimes it even managed to provide perspectives on what was happening, musically, at MaerzMusik.
Archipel Festival, Geneva ‘Multifaceted Games’
Authors: Dourde Orane
Published: June 2016

From 10 to 20 March 2016, Geneva was transformed into a giant musical playground of sorts: the title of this year's Archipel Festival was ‘Aires de jeux’. Over its 24 editions, the festival has been a showcase for musical creation and has promoted not contemporary music in a broad sense, but rather the music of our time. In a recent interview, the current festival director, Marc Texier, noted that a common misunderstanding is to ‘consider contemporary music as beginning in the post-war period, 70 years ago. That's quite extraordinary! The music of 1945 doesn't have much in common with what is created today. For today's composers, works from 1945 belong to their grandparents or great-grandparent's generations’.
Kaija Saariaho Only the Sound Remains, Dutch National Opera, Muziektheater, Amsterdam
Authors: Vriezen Samuel
Published: June 2016

Only the Sound Remains consists of two stories of supernatural encounters. A monk, praying for the soul of a deceased general, meets the latter's ghost, attracted by the sounds of the lute used in the monk's ritual. A fisherman finds the feather mantle belonging to a Tennin, an angelic spirit, who pleads with him to return the item, which he only does after she performs a celestial dance; thus, the chorus tells us, ‘was the dance of pleasure, Suruga dancing, brought to the sacred east’. Both encounters are evanescent: the ghost of the general is visited by memories of terrible battles and disappears back into the spirit world; the Tennin's dance is an announcement of spring, as the Tennin herself disperses into the mists that obscure mount Fuji. In both stories, the spiritual is a manifestation of something virtual, relating artistic forms to worlds not of, yet touching on, the everyday. The sounds of the lute, which used to belong to the general, are a conduit to deep memory; the dance taught by the Tennin connects humans to the inhuman workings of nature.
FINANCIAL NEWS, BANKS, AND BUSINESS CYCLES
Authors: Gunn Christopher M. , Johri Alok
Published: June 2016

In a model where banks face a capital sufficiency requirement, we demonstrate that news about a fall in the expected return on a portfolio of international long bonds held by a bank leads to an immediate and persistent fall in economic activity. Even if the news never materializes, economic activity falls below steady state for several periods, followed by a recovery. The portfolio adjustment induced by the capital sufficiency requirements leads to a rise in loan rates and tighter credit conditions, which trigger the fall in activity. We contribute to the news-shock literature by showing that imperfect signals about future financial returns can create business cycles without relying on the usual suspects—shocks to technology, preferences, or fiscal policy—and to the emerging economy business cycle literature in that disturbances in world financial markets can cause domestic business cycles without shocks to the world interest rate or to country spreads.
Engineering integrated photonics for heralded quantum gates
Authors: Meany Thomas , Biggerstaff Devon N. , Broome Matthew A. , Fedrizzi Alessandro , Delanty Michael , Steel M. J. , Gilchrist Alexei , Marshall Graham D. , White Andrew G. , Withford Michael J.
Published: June 2016

Scaling up linear-optics quantum computing will require multi-photon gates which are compact, phase-stable, exhibit excellent quantum interference and have success heralded by the detection of ancillary photons. We investigate the design, fabrication and characterisation of the optimal known gate scheme which meets these requirements: the Knill controlled-Z gate, implemented in integrated laser-written waveguide arrays. We show device performance to be less sensitive to phase variations in the circuit than to small deviations in the coupler reflectivity, which are expected given the tolerance values of the fabrication method. The mode fidelity is also shown to be less sensitive to reflectivity and phase errors than the process fidelity. Our best device achieves a fidelity of 0.931 ± 0.001 with the ideal 4 × 4 unitary circuit and a process fidelity of 0.680 ± 0.005 with the ideal computational-basis process.
Single Cell Proteolytic Assays to Investigate Cancer Clonal Heterogeneity and Cell Dynamics Using an Efficient Cell Loading Scheme
Authors: Chen Yu-Chih , Cheng Yu-Heng , Ingram Patrick , Yoon Euisik
Published: June 2016

Proteolytic degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is critical in cancer invasion, and recent work suggests that heterogeneous cancer populations cooperate in this process. Despite the importance of cell heterogeneity, conventional proteolytic assays measure average activity, requiring thousands of cells and providing limited information about heterogeneity and dynamics. Here, we developed a microfluidic platform that provides high-efficiency cell loading and simple valveless isolation, so the proteolytic activity of a small sample (10–100 cells) can be easily characterized. Combined with a single cell derived (clonal) sphere formation platform, we have successfully demonstrated the importance of microenvironmental cues for proteolytic activity and also investigated the difference between clones. Furthermore, the platform allows monitoring single cells at multiple time points, unveiling different cancer cell line dynamics in proteolytic activity. The presented tool facilitates single cell proteolytic analysis using small samples, and our findings illuminate the heterogeneous and dynamic nature of proteolytic activity.
Decadal variability in the occurrence of wintertime haze in central eastern China tied to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation
Authors: Zhao Sen , Li Jianping , Sun Cheng
Published: June 2016

Haze is a serious issue in China with increasing concerns and understanding the factors driving decadal-scale variations in haze occurrence is relevant for government policymaking. Using a comprehensive observational haze dataset, we demonstrate notable decadal fluctuations in the number of haze days (HD) during winter in central eastern China, showing a decline since the mid-1980s. The leading mode of the wintertime HD features an increasing trend for 1959–2012 in eastern China, highly correlated with China’s gross domestic product (GDP) that represents increasing trend of pollutant emissions and to a lesser extent meteorological factors. The second mode shows decadal variations in central eastern China associated with Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Observations and numerical simulations suggest that Mongolia High and corresponding descending motion tend to be enhanced (weakened) in central eastern China during the positive (negative) phase of PDO. With PDO shifting towards a negative phase, the weakened Mongolia High and ascending anomalies make the air unstable and conduce to the spread of pollutants, leading to the decline in the wintertime HD over central eastern China since the mid-1980s. Based on above physical mechanisms, a linear model based on PDO and GDP metrics provided a good fit to the observed HD.
Mechanisms of PDGF siRNA-mediated inhibition of bone cancer pain in the spinal cord
Authors: Xu Yang , Liu Jia , He Mu , Liu Ran , Belegu Visar , Dai Ping , Liu Wei , Wang Wei , Xia Qing-Jie , Shang Fei-Fei , Luo Chao-Zhi , Zhou Xue , Liu Su , McDonald JohnW. , Liu Jin , Zuo Yun-Xia , Liu Fei , Wang Ting-Hua
Published: June 2016

Patients with tumors that metastasize to bone frequently suffer from debilitating pain, and effective therapies for treating bone cancer are lacking. This study employed a novel strategy in which herpes simplex virus (HSV) carrying a small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) was used to alleviate bone cancer pain. HSV carrying PDGF siRNA was established and intrathecally injected into the cavum subarachnoidale of animals suffering from bone cancer pain and animals in the negative group. Sensory function was assessed by measuring thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia. The mechanism by which PDGF regulates pain was also investigated by comparing the differential expression of pPDGFRα/β and phosphorylated ERK and AKT. Thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia developed in the rats with bone cancer pain, and these effects were accompanied by bone destruction in the tibia. Intrathecal injection of PDGF siRNA and morphine reversed thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia in rats with bone cancer pain. In addition, we observed attenuated astrocyte hypertrophy, down-regulated pPDGFRα/β levels, reduced levels of the neurochemical SP, a reduction in CGRP fibers and changes in pERK/ERK and pAKT/AKT ratios. These results demonstrate that PDGF siRNA can effectively treat pain induced by bone cancer by blocking the AKT-ERK signaling pathway.
Ecological factors drive natural selection pressure of avian aryl hydrocarbon receptor 1 genotypes
Authors: Hwang Ji-Hee , Park Jin-Young , Park Hae-Jeong , Bak Su-Min , Hirano Masashi , Iwata Hisato , Park Young-Suk , Kim Eun-Young
Published: June 2016

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) mediates dioxin toxicities. Several studies have suggested that two amino acid residues corresponding to the 324th and 380th positions in the ligand binding domain (LBD) of the chicken AHR1 (Ile_Ser as high sensitivity, Ile_Ala as moderate sensitivity, and Val_Ala as low sensitivity), could be an important factor determining dioxin sensitivity in avian species. Here, we analyzed the association between ecological factors and AHR1 LBD genotypes of 113 avian species. Cluster analyses showed that 2 major clusters and sub-clusters of the cluster 3 were associated with specific AHR1 genotypes depending on the food, habitat, and migration of the animal. The majority of the species with Ile_Ala type were the Passeriformes, which are omnivorous or herbivorous feeders in the terrestrial environment. The species with Val_Ala type was primarily composed of raptors and waterbirds, which have been exposed to naturally occurring dioxins. An in vitro reporter gene assay revealed that the sensitivity to a natural dioxin, 1,3,7-tribromodibenzo-p-dioxin was in the order of Ile_Ser > Ile_Ala > Val_Ala. These results suggest that ecological factors related to the exposure of natural dioxins contribute to natural selection of the avian AHR1 genotype, which consequently leads to different sensitivity to man-made dioxins.
Inference of causality in epidemics on temporal contact networks
Authors: Braunstein Alfredo , Ingrosso Alessandro
Published: June 2016

Investigating into the past history of an epidemic outbreak is a paramount problem in epidemiology. Based on observations about the state of individuals, on the knowledge of the network of contacts and on a mathematical model for the epidemic process, the problem consists in describing some features of the posterior distribution of unobserved past events, such as the source, potential transmissions, and undetected positive cases. Several methods have been proposed for the study of these inference problems on discrete-time, synchronous epidemic models on networks, including naive Bayes, centrality measures, accelerated Monte-Carlo approaches and Belief Propagation. However, most traced real networks consist of short-time contacts on continuous time. A possibility that has been adopted is to discretize time line into identical intervals, a method that becomes more and more precise as the length of the intervals vanishes. Unfortunately, the computational time of the inference methods increase with the number of intervals, turning a sufficiently precise inference procedure often impractical. We show here an extension of the Belief Propagation method that is able to deal with a model of continuous-time events, without resorting to time discretization. We also investigate the effect of time discretization on the quality of the inference.
Spectral properties of bacteriophytochrome AM1_5894 in the chlorophyll d-containing cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina
Authors: Loughlin Patrick C. , Duxbury Zane , Mugerwa Tendo T. Mukasa , Smith Penelope M. C. , Willows Robert D. , Chen Min
Published: June 2016

Acaryochloris marina, a unicellular oxygenic photosynthetic cyanobacterium, has uniquely adapted to far-red light-enriched environments using red-shifted chlorophyll d. To understand red-light use in Acaryochloris, the genome of this cyanobacterium was searched for red/far-red light photoreceptors from the phytochrome family, resulting in identification of a putative bacteriophytochrome AM1_5894. AM1_5894 contains three standard domains of photosensory components as well as a putative C-terminal signal transduction component consisting of a histidine kinase and receiver domain. The photosensory domains of AM1_5894 autocatalytically assemble with biliverdin in a covalent fashion. This assembled AM1_5894 shows the typical photoreversible conversion of bacterial phytochromes with a ground-state red-light absorbing (Pr) form with λBV max[Pr] 705 nm, and a red-light inducible far-red light absorbing (Pfr) form with λBV max[Pfr] 758 nm. Surprisingly, AM1_5894 also autocatalytically assembles with phycocyanobilin, involving photoreversible conversion of λPCB max[Pr] 682 nm and λPCB max[Pfr] 734 nm, respectively. Our results suggest phycocyanobilin is also covalently bound to AM1_5894, while mutation of a cysteine residue (Cys11Ser) abolishes this covalent binding. The physiological function of AM1_5894 in cyanobacteria containing red-shifted chlorophylls is discussed.
A Novel Universal Detection Agent for Time-Gated Luminescence Bioimaging
Authors: Sayyadi Nima , Care Andrew , Connally Russell E. , Try Andrew C. , Bergquist Peter L. , Sunna Anwar
Published: June 2016

Luminescent lanthanide chelates have been used to label antibodies in time-gated luminescence (TGL) bioimaging. However, it is a challenging task to label directly an antibody with lanthanide-binding ligands and achieve control of the target ligand/protein ratios whilst ensuring that affinity and avidity of the antibody remain uncompromised. We report the development of a new indirect detection reagent to label antibodies with detectable luminescence that circumvents this problem by labelling available lysine residues in the linker portion of the recombinant fusion protein Linker-Protein G (LPG). Succinimide-activated lanthanide chelating ligands were attached to lysine residues in LPG and Protein G (without Linker) and the resulting Luminescence-Activating (LA-) conjugates were compared for total incorporation and conjugation efficiency. A higher and more efficient incorporation of ligands at three different molar ratios was observed for LPG and this effect was attributed to the presence of eight readily available lysine residues in the linker region of LPG. These Luminescence-Activating (LA-) complexes were subsequently shown to impart luminescence (upon formation of europium(III) complexes) to cell-specific antibodies within seconds and without the need for any complicated bioconjugation procedures. The potential of this technology was demonstrated by direct labelling of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts in TGL bioimaging.
Heterogeneously Assembled Metamaterials and Metadevices via 3D Modular Transfer Printing
Authors: Lee Seungwoo , Kang Byungsoo , Keum Hohyun , Ahmed Numair , Rogers John A. , Ferreira Placid M. , Kim Seok , Min Bumki
Published: June 2016

Metamaterials have made the exotic control of the flow of electromagnetic waves possible, which is difficult to achieve with natural materials. In recent years, the emergence of functional metadevices has shown immense potential for the practical realization of highly efficient photonic devices. However, complex and heterogeneous architectures that enable diverse functionalities of metamaterials and metadevices have been challenging to realize because of the limited manufacturing capabilities of conventional fabrication methods. Here, we show that three-dimensional (3D) modular transfer printing can be used to construct diverse metamaterials in complex 3D architectures on universal substrates, which is attractive for achieving on-demand photonic properties. Few repetitive processing steps and rapid constructions are additional advantages of 3D modular transfer printing. Thus, this method provides a fascinating route to generate flexible and stretchable 2D/3D metamaterials and metadevices with heterogeneous material components, complex device architectures, and diverse functionalities.
On the Computational Power of Spiking Neural P Systems with Self-Organization
Authors: Wang Xun , Song Tao , Gong Faming , Zheng Pan
Published: June 2016

Neural-like computing models are versatile computing mechanisms in the field of artificial intelligence. Spiking neural P systems (SN P systems for short) are one of the recently developed spiking neural network models inspired by the way neurons communicate. The communications among neurons are essentially achieved by spikes, i. e. short electrical pulses. In terms of motivation, SN P systems fall into the third generation of neural network models. In this study, a novel variant of SN P systems, namely SN P systems with self-organization, is introduced and the computational power of the system is investigated and evaluated. It is proved that SN P systems with self-organization are capable of computing and accept the family of sets of Turing computable natural numbers. Moreover, with 87 neurons the system can compute any Turing computable recursive function, thus achieves Turing universality. These results demonstrate promising initiatives to solve an open problem arisen by Gh Păun.
Contagious risk taking: social information and context influence wild jackdaws’ responses to novelty and risk
Authors: Greggor Alison L. , McIvor Guillam E. , Clayton Nicola S. , Thornton Alex
Published: June 2016

Although wild animals increasingly encounter human-produced food and objects, it is unknown how they learn to discriminate beneficial from dangerous novelty. Since social learning allows animals to capitalize on the risk-taking of others and avoid endangering themselves, social learning should be used around novel and unpredictable stimuli. However, it is unclear whether animals use social cues equally around all types of novelty and at all times of year. We assessed whether wild, individually marked jackdaws—a highly neophobic, yet adaptable species—are equally influenced by social cues to consume novel, palatable foods and to approach a startling object. We conducted these tests across two seasons and found that in both seasons observers were more likely to consume novel foods after seeing a demonstrator do so. In contrast, observers only followed the demonstrator in foraging next to the object during breeding season. Throughout the year more birds were wary of consuming novel foods than wary of approaching the object, potentially leading to jackdaws’ greater reliance on social information about food. Jackdaws’ dynamic social cue usage demonstrates the importance of context in predicting how social information is used around novelty and potentially indicates the conditions that facilitate animals’ adjustment to anthropogenic disturbance.
Perceived visual time depends on motor preparation and direction of hand movements
Authors: Tomassini Alice , Morrone Maria Concetta
Published: June 2016

Perceived time undergoes distortions when we prepare and perform movements, showing compression and/or expansion for visual, tactile and auditory stimuli. However, the actual motor system contribution to these time distortions is far from clear. In this study we investigated visual time perception during preparation of isometric contractions and real movements of the hand in two different directions (right/left). Comparable modulations of visual event-timing are found in the isometric and in the movement condition, excluding explanations based on movement-induced sensory masking or attenuation. Most importantly and surprisingly, visual time depends on the movement direction, being expanded for hand movements pointing away from the body and compressed in the other direction. Furthermore, the effect of movement direction is not constant, but rather undergoes non-monotonic modulations in the brief moments preceding movement initiation. Our findings indicate that time distortions are strongly linked to the motor system and they may be unavoidable consequences of the mechanisms subserving sensory-motor integration.
A rapidly photo-activatable light-up fluorescent nucleoside and its application in DNA base variation sensing
Authors: He Zhiyong , Chen Yuqi , Wang Yafen , Wang Jiaqi , Mo Jing , Fu Boshi , Wang Zijing , Du Yuhao , Zhou Xiang
Published: June 2016

A new DNA building block (dTetU) bearing a tetrazole and allyloxy group at N-phenyl ring linked through an aminopropynyl linker to the 5-position of 2′-deoxyuridine was synthesized.