bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mucosal modulation of contractility in bladder strips from normal and overactive rat models and the effect of botulinum toxin A on overactive bladder strips
Authors: Campbell Patrick C. , McDonnell Bronagh , Monaghan Kevin P. , Baysting Lauren , Little Oonagh , McCloskey Karen D.
Published: August 2016

AIMS

To investigate the local, regulatory role of the mucosa on bladder strip contractility from normal and overactive bladders and to examine the effect of botulinum toxin A (BoNT‐A).

METHODS

Bladder strips from spontaneously hyperactive rat (SHR) or normal rats (Sprague Dawley, SD) were dissected for myography as intact or mucosa‐free preparations. Spontaneous, neurogenic and agonist‐evoked contractions were investigated. SHR strips were incubated in BoNT‐A (3 h) to assess effects on contractility.

RESULTS

Spontaneous contraction amplitude, force‐integral or frequency were not significantly different in SHR mucosa‐free strips compared with intacts. In contrast, spontaneous contraction amplitude and force‐integral were smaller in SD mucosa‐free strips than in intacts; frequency was not affected by the mucosa. Frequency of spontaneous contractions in SHR strips was significantly greater than in SD strips.

Neurogenic contractions in mucosa‐free SHR and SD strips at higher frequencies were smaller than in intact strips. The mucosa did not affect carbachol‐evoked contractions in intact versus mucosa‐free strips from SHR or SD bladders.

BoNT‐A reduced spontaneous contractions in SHR intact strips; this trend was also observed in mucosa‐free strips but was not significant. Neurogenic and carbachol‐evoked contractions were reduced by BoNT‐A in mucosa‐free but not intact strips. Depolarisation‐induced contractions were smaller in BoNT‐A‐treated mucosa‐free strips.

CONCLUSIONS

The mucosal layer positively modulates spontaneous contractions in strips from normal SD but not overactive SHR bladder strips. The novel finding of BoNT‐A reduction of contractions in SHR mucosa‐free strips indicates actions on the detrusor, independent of its classical action on neuronal SNARE complexes.
A pilot study of cardiac electrophysiology catheters to map and pace bladder electrical activity
Authors: Kelley Robert S. , Vardy Michael D. , Simons Grant R. , Chen Henry , Ascher‐Walsh Charles , Brodman Michael
Published: August 2016

AIMS

This is a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of using diagnostic cardiac electrophysiology catheters for recording intrinsic urinary bladder electrical activity and for electrical pacing capture of bladder tissue.

METHODS

During cystoscopy, a curved quadripolar catheter was introduced and contact was made with the right and left halves of the dome and trigone in adult female patients undergoing cystoscopy. Electrical activity was recorded, using a commercially available cardiac electrophysiologic recording system, before and during pacing at 0.5–3.0 Hz.

RESULTS

Apparent spontaneous electrical depolarizations were detected in both the trigone and the dome. The amplitude of these depolarizations was in the microVolt range. During pacing, local electrical capture was noted in the trigone, but not in the dome.

CONCLUSIONS

Spontaneous low‐amplitude electrical activity was detected in the bladder through the use of commercially available cardiac electrophysiology equipment. While these low‐level signals could represent noise, the voltage, and morphology resemble detrusor muscle action potentials previously seen in animal studies. Pacing induced local electrical capture in the trigone but not the dome.
Associated ultrasonographic findings in fetuses with microcephaly because of suspected Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy
Authors: Carvalho Francisco Herlânio Costa , Cordeiro Kárita Melo , Peixoto Alberto Borges , Tonni Gabriele , Moron Antonio Fernandes , Feitosa Francisco Edson Lucena , Feitosa Helvécio Neves , Araujo Júnior Edward
Published: August 2016

Objective

To describe fetal ultrasonographic findings and outcomes in a series of cases of fetal microcephaly associated with Zika virus infection.

Methods

Retrospective case series of microcephaly with definite (laboratory evidence) or highly probable (specific neuroimaging findings and negative laboratory results) maternal Zika virus infection. Microcephaly was graded as mild if the head circumference was between 2 and 3 standard deviation (SD) below the mean, and severe if 3 or more SD below the mean. Associated central nervous system (CNS) and extracranial malformations are described.

Results

Nineteen singleton pregnancies fulfilling the inclusion criteria were identified. Severe microcephaly and mild microcephaly were identified in 14 and 5 fetuses, respectively. Additional CNS malformations were present in 17 cases and 7 had extracranial congenital anomalies. Symptoms were reported in 13/19 cases at a gestational age between 5 and 16 weeks. Mean (±SD) gestational age at ultrasound diagnosis was 32.3 ± 5.1 weeks. Amniocentesis was performed in five cases at a median gestational age of 31 weeks (range 28–38) and was positive for Zika virus RT‐PCR in two cases. There were three neonatal deaths and one stillbirth.

Conclusion

In the presence of fetal microcephaly associated with Zika virus infection, CNS malformations are frequently detected. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Near surface latent track morphology of SHI irradiated TiO2
Authors: O'Connell Jacques , Skuratov Vladimir , van Vuuren Arno Janse , Saifulin Maxim , Akilbekov Abdirash
Published: August 2016

The material response to SHI irradiation of simple oxides such as TiO2 is markedly different in the near surface volume than in the bulk. In this subsurface region, several tens of nanometers in thickness, the material exhibits a much higher sensitivity to damage creation. The enhanced sensitivity of the material in this region is related to the proximity of a free surface and not strongly dependent on electronic stopping power. At least for these materials, the assumption of cylindrical latent tracks is dubious and great care should be taken when inferring track radii from indirect techniques. Direct observation by TEM can also easily lead to grossly over estimated track radii when most standard specimen preparation techniques are employed. We suggest reduced internal pressure in the crystal in the vicinity of a free surface as the enabling factor for this enhanced sensitivity. Lower pressure leads to increased probability of a phase change due to elevated temperatures in the track core and volume expansion leads to the formation of hillock on the surface of the crystal.
Choosing estimands in clinical trials with missing data
Authors: Mallinckrodt Craig , Molenberghs Geert , Rathmann Suchitrita
Published: August 2016

Recent research has fostered new guidance on preventing and treating missing data. Consensus exists that clear objectives should be defined along with the causal estimands; trial design and conduct should maximize adherence to the protocol specified interventions; and a sensible primary analysis should be used along with plausible sensitivity analyses. Two general categories of estimands are effects of the drug as actually taken (de facto, effectiveness) and effects of the drug if taken as directed (de jure, efficacy). Motivated by examples, we argue that no single estimand is likely to meet the needs of all stakeholders and that each estimand has strengths and limitations. Therefore, stakeholder input should be part of an iterative study development process that includes choosing estimands that are consistent with trial objectives. To this end, an example is used to illustrate the benefit from assessing multiple estimands in the same study. A second example illustrates that maximizing adherence reduces sensitivity to missing data assumptions for de jure estimands but may reduce generalizability of results for de facto estimands if efforts to maximize adherence in the trial are not feasible in clinical practice. A third example illustrates that whether or not data after initiation of rescue medication should be included in the primary analysis depends on the estimand to be tested and the clinical setting. We further discuss the sample size and total exposure to placebo implications of including post‐rescue data in the primary analysis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Model averaging inconcentration–QT analyses
Authors: Sébastien Bernard , Hoffman David , Rigaux Clémence , Pellissier Franck , Msihid Jérôme
Published: August 2016

This article describes how a frequentist model averaging approach can be used for concentration–QT analyses in the context of thorough QTc studies. Based on simulations, we have concluded that starting from three candidate model families (linear, exponential, and Emax) the model averaging approach leads to treatment effect estimates that are quite robust with respect to the control of the type I error in nearly all simulated scenarios; in particular, with the model averaging approach, the type I error appears less sensitive to model misspecification than the widely used linear model. We noticed also few differences in terms of performance between the model averaging approach and the more classical model selection approach, but we believe that, despite both can be recommended in practice, the model averaging approach can be more appealing because of some deficiencies of model selection approach pointed out in the literature. We think that a model averaging or model selection approach should be systematically considered for conducting concentration–QT analyses. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gray wolf harvest in Idaho
Authors: Ausband David E.
Published: August 2016

Regulated harvest is a relatively new phenomenon for gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the contiguous United States. Most studies of wolf harvest have been conducted in northern latitudes where wolf populations are large and human densities are low. Insights from wolf harvest in northern North America may not accurately describe wolf harvest in the lower 48 states. I assessed the efficacy of the recently (2009, 2011–2014) reinstated wolf harvest in Idaho, USA, to test whether it was selective for certain characteristics of individual wolves. I predicted that males and females would be harvested at similar rates, pups would be more common in trap than rifle harvest, most harvest would be from trapping, and harvest effort would not decline over time. Additionally, I predicted that black wolves would be selected as trophies and more frequent in rifle than trap harvest. Male wolves were more vulnerable to rifle harvest than females, pups were not more vulnerable to trapping, trapping did not comprise most of the harvest, and effort did not appear to change over time. Lastly, black wolves were not effectively targeted as trophies. I recommend continued monitoring of wolf harvest to further test harvest‐related predictions that provide insights specific to wolves and ecological systems of the conterminous United States. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.
Yttrium‐90 Radioembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Prior to Liver Transplantation
Authors: Ettorre Giuseppe Maria , Levi Sandri Giovanni Battista , Laurenzi Andrea , Colasanti Marco , Meniconi Roberto Luca , Lionetti Raffaella , Santoro Roberto , Lepiane Pasquale , Sciuto Rosa , Pizzi Giuseppe , Cianni Roberto , Golfieri Rita , D’Offizi Gianpiero , Pellicelli Adriano M. , Antonini Mario , Vennarecci Giovanni
Published: August 2016

Background

Liver transplantation (LT) is a well‐established procedure for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the Milan criteria. Yttrium‐90 microspheres radioembolization (Y90‐RE) has shown to be an effective and safe treatment of primary liver tumors. We retrospectively evaluate the efficacy of the Y90‐RE in patients with HCC prior to LT.

Methods

From January 2002 to December 2015, 365 patients were transplanted at the San Camillo Hospital Center. One hundred forty‐three patients were transplanted for HCC, and in 22 cases the patients were treated with Y90‐RE before LT.

Results

Three patients were treated with Y90‐RE within the Milan criteria, and 19 patients were out of criteria before Y90‐RE. Four patients had an increasing MELD score between Y90‐RE and LT. On the other hand, alpha‐fetoprotein decreases after Y90‐RE treatment in all cases. No patient death was observed in Y90‐RE procedure or at LT. In 78.9 % of cases, a successful downstaging was observed, and in 100 % of cases bridging was achieved. From Y90‐RE treatment overall survival was 43.9 months. From LT, overall mean survival was 30.2 months with a free survival of 29.6 months. The overall survival after LT analysis between the patients treated with Y90‐RE and patients without was not significant (p = 0.113). Free survival analysis was not significant (p = 0.897) between the two populations.

Conclusions

We successfully performed LT in patients after Y90‐RE treatment both as bridging and downstaging for HCC and obtained a similar overall and free survival of LT for HCC within Milan criteria. Y90‐RE becomes a real option to provide curative therapy for patients who traditionally are not considered eligible for surgery.
Governing local supplier opportunism in China: Moderating role of institutional forces
Authors: Wang Mengyang , Zhang Qiyuan , Wang Yonggui , Sheng Shibin
Published: August 2016

China provides a vast and prominent manufacturing base, so curtailing its local supplier opportunism represents a primary concern for local and foreign buyers. Drawing on institutional theory, this study examines how regulatory uncertainty and relationship structure moderate the role of contracts and trust in restricting local supplier opportunism in China. An analysis of 293 buyer–supplier dyads in China reveals that contracts are more effective in deterring supplier opportunism when regulatory uncertainty is high. In addition, contracts help curtail opportunism more in domestic, compared with international, buyer–supplier relationships, whereas trust is more effective in restricting supplier opportunism in international relationships than in domestic ones.
HOUSEHOLD STRUCTURE, LEFT-BEHIND ELDERLY, AND RURAL MIGRATION IN CHINA
Authors: FENGBO CHEN , LUCAS HENRY , BLOOM GERRY , SHIJUN DING
Published: August 2016

The influence of household demographic composition on rural migration in China has received limited attention. With data from a household survey in China's Sichuan and Hubei Provinces, this paper uses Probit models to explore the influence of household structure on migration decisions. It suggests that the three-generation household encourages out-migration, with the elderly playing an important role in supporting the migration of younger members by caring for their children. In contrast with earlier findings, the serious illness of an elderly member did not encourage the return of young migrants or discourage migration decisions unless the household included young children.
Law and Order in Ancient Athens
Authors: Lanni Adriaan
Published: August 2016

The classical Athenian 'state' had almost no formal coercive apparatus to ensure order or compliance with law: there was no professional police force or public prosecutor, and nearly every step in the legal process depended on private initiative. And yet Athens was a remarkably peaceful and well-ordered society by both ancient and contemporary standards. Why? Law and Order in Ancient Athens draws on contemporary legal scholarship to explore how order was maintained in Athens. Lanni argues that law and formal legal institutions played a greater role in maintaining order than is generally acknowledged. The legal system did encourage compliance with law, but not through the familiar deterrence mechanism of imposing sanctions for violating statutes. Lanni shows how formal institutions facilitated the operation of informal social control in a society that was too large and diverse to be characterized as a 'face-to-face community' or 'close-knit group'.
The Geology of Australia
Authors: Henderson Robert , Johnson David
Published: August 2016

This book documents the rich and spectacular heritage of the Australian continent over the last 4400 million years. Now in its third edition, The Geology of Australia provides a comprehensive overview of Australia's geology, landscapes and Earth resources. Beginning with the Precambrian rocks that hold clues to the origins of life and the development of an oxygenated atmosphere, it goes on to cover the warm seas, volcanism and episodes of mountain building that formed the eastern third of the Australian continent. This illuminating history details the breakup of the supercontinents Rodinia and Gondwana, the times of previous glaciations, the development of climates and landscapes in modern Australia, and the creation of the continental shelves and coastlines. This third edition features two new chapters on geological time and Paleozoic orogenic rock systems and mountain building, and new and updated illustrations and full-colour images.
What Teeth Reveal about Human Evolution
Authors: Guatelli-Steinberg Debbie
Published: August 2016

Over millions of years in the fossil record, hominin teeth preserve a high-fidelity record of their own growth, development, wear, chemistry and pathology. They yield insights into human evolution that are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve through other sources of fossil or archaeological data. Integrating dental findings with current debates and issues in palaeoanthropology, this book shows how fossil hominin teeth shed light on the origins and evolution of our dietary diversity, extended childhoods, long lifespans, and other fundamental features of human biology. It assesses methods to interpret different lines of dental evidence, providing a critical, practical approach that will appeal to students and researchers in biological anthropology and related fields such as dental science, oral biology, evolutionary biology, and palaeontology.
The Creation of Eve and Renaissance Naturalism
Authors: Greenstein Jack M.
Published: August 2016

Depicting the Creation of Woman presented a special problem for Renaissance artists. The medieval iconography of Eve rising half-formed from Adam's side was hardly compatible with their commitment to the naturalistic representation of the human figure. At the same time, the story of God constructing the first woman from a rib did not offer the kind of dignified, affective pictorial narrative that artists, patrons, and the public prized. Jack M. Greenstein takes this artistic problem as the point of departure for an iconographic study of this central theme of Christian culture. His book shows how the meaning changed along with the form when Lorenzo Ghiberti, Andrea Pisano, and other Italian sculptors of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries revised the traditional composition to accommodate a naturalistically depicted Eve. At stake, Greenstein argues, is the role of the artist and the power of image-making in reshaping Renaissance culture and religious thought.
Personification and the Feminine in Roman Philosophy
Authors: Dressler Alex
Published: August 2016

While the central ideal of Roman philosophy exemplified by Lucretius, Cicero and Seneca appears to be the masculine values of self-sufficiency and domination, this book argues, through close attention to metaphor and figures, that the Romans also recognized, as constitutive parts of human experience, what for them were feminine concepts such as embodiment, vulnerability and dependency. Expressed especially in the personification of grammatically feminine nouns such as Nature and Philosophy 'herself', the Roman's recognition of this private 'feminine' part of himself presents a contrast with his acknowledged, public self and challenges the common philosophical narrative of the emergence of subjectivity and individuality with modernity. To meet this challenge, Alex Dressler offers both theoretical exposition and case studies, developing robust typologies of personification and personhood that will be useable for a variety of subjects beyond classics, including rhetoric, comparative literature, gender studies, political theory and the history of ideas.
Mycenaean Greece and the Aegean World
Authors: Kramer-Hajos Margaretha
Published: August 2016

In this book, Kramer-Hajos examines the Euboean Gulf region in Central Greece to explain its flourishing during the post-palatial period. Providing a social and political history of the region in the Late Bronze Age, she focuses on the interactions between this 'provincial' coastal area and the core areas where the Mycenaean palaces were located. Drawing on network and agency theory, two current and highly effective methodologies in prehistoric Mediterranean archaeology, Kramer-Hajos argues that the Euboean Gulf region thrived when it was part of a decentralized coastal and maritime network, and declined when it was incorporated in a highly centralized mainland-looking network. Her research and analysis contributes new insights to our understanding of the mechanics and complexity of the Bronze Age Aegean collapse.
Regulating Government Ethics
Authors: Wu Chonghao
Published: August 2016

This book examines government ethics rules and their enforcement in China (as well as in three other jurisdictions for comparative insights). Empirical research methods (involving primarily semi-structured interviews) were employed to explore the dynamics of actual enforcement policies and practices in China. This book formed an analytical framework through reviewing existing theories on government ethics regulation and general regulation literature and analyzing government ethics rules in the US, the UK, and Hong Kong. Using this framework, it seeks to explore the patterns and features of government ethics rules and their enforcement in China. It shows that the inadequacy of government ethics rules per se and the deterrence-oriented criminal enforcement style of government ethics regulation are important but ignored elements of the problem of rampant corruption in China. Such analysis has generated important and practical policy implications for China's government ethics rules and their enforcement.
The Politics of Shari'a Law
Authors: Buehler Michael
Published: August 2016

The Islamization of politics in Indonesia after 1998 presents an underexplored puzzle: why has there been a rise in the number of shari'a laws despite the electoral decline of Islamist parties? Michael Buehler presents an analysis of the conditions under which Islamist activists situated outside formal party politics may capture and exert influence in Muslim-majority countries facing democratization. His analysis shows that introducing competitive elections creates new pressures for entrenched elites to mobilize and structure the electorate, thereby opening up new opportunities for Islamist activists to influence politics. Buehler's analysis of changing state-religion relations in formerly authoritarian Islamic countries illuminates broader theoretical debates on Islamization in the context of democratization. This timely text is essential reading for students, scholars, and government analysts.
Courts without Borders
Authors: Putnam Tonya L.
Published: August 2016

Courts without Borders is the first book to examine the politics of judicial extraterritoriality, with a focus on the world's chief practitioner: the United States. For much of the post-World War II era, the United States has been a frequent yet selective regulator of activities outside its territory, and US federal courts are often on the front line in deciding the extraterritorial reach of US law. At stake in these jurisdiction battles is the ability to bring the regulatory power of the United States to bear on transnational disputes in ways that other states frequently dislike both in principle and in practice. This volume proposes a general theory of domestic court behavior to explain variation in extraterritorial enforcement of US law, emphasizing how the strategic behavior of private actors is important to mobilizing courts and in directing their activities.
The Institutions Curse
Authors: Menaldo Victor
Published: August 2016

The ʽresource curseʼ is the view that countries with extensive natural resources tend to suffer from a host of undesirable outcomes, including the weakening of state capacity, authoritarianism, fewer public goods, war, and economic stagnation. This book debunks this view, arguing that there is an ʽinstitutions curseʼ rather than a resource curse. Legacies endemic to the developing world have impelled many countries to develop natural resources as a default sector in lieu of cultivating modern and diversified economies, and bad institutions have also condemned nations to suffer from ills unduly attributed to minerals and oil. Victor Menaldo also argues that natural resources can actually play an integral role in stimulating state capacity, capitalism, industrialization, and democracy, even if resources are themselves often a symptom of underdevelopment. Despite being cursed by their institutions, weak states are blessed by their resources: greater oil means more development, both historically and across countries today.
Dictators and their Secret Police
Authors: Greitens Sheena Chestnut
Published: August 2016

How do dictators stay in power? When, and how, do they use repression to do so? Dictators and their Secret Police explores the role of the coercive apparatus under authoritarian rule in Asia - how these secret organizations originated, how they operated, and how their violence affected ordinary citizens. Greitens argues that autocrats face a coercive dilemma: whether to create internal security forces designed to manage popular mobilization, or defend against potential coup. Violence against civilians, she suggests, is a byproduct of their attempt to resolve this dilemma. Drawing on a wealth of new historical evidence, this book challenges conventional wisdom on dictatorship: what autocrats are threatened by, how they respond, and how this affects the lives and security of the millions under their rule. It offers an unprecedented view into the use of surveillance, coercion, and violence, and sheds new light on the institutional and social foundations of authoritarian power.
The Power of Deterrence
Authors: Lupovici Amir
Published: August 2016

Why do states persist in using force to enhance their deterrent posture, even though it is not clear that it is effective? This book develops an innovative framework to answer this question, viewing deterrence as an idea. This allows the author to explain how countries institutionalize deterrence strategy, and how this internalization affects policy. He argues that the US and Israel have both internalized deterrence ideas and become attached to these practices. For them, deterrence is not just a means to advance 'physical' security, but it constitutes their very selves as deterring actors. As a result, being unable to deter becomes a threat to their identity, evoking strong emotional responses. In recognizing these dynamics, the book provides a fresh perspective on the US war in Iraq (2003) and the Israeli war in Lebanon (2006), both of which can be seen as attempts to repair each country's shaken sense of self.
Shifting Legal Visions
Authors: González-Ocantos Ezequiel A.
Published: August 2016

What explains the success of criminal prosecutions against former Latin American officials accused of human rights violations? Why did some judiciaries evolve from unresponsive bureaucracies into protectors of victim rights? Using a theory of judicial action inspired by sociological institutionalism, this book argues that this was the result of deep transformations in the legal preferences of judges and prosecutors. Judicial actors discarded long-standing positivist legal criteria, historically protective of conservative interests, and embraced doctrines grounded in international human rights law, which made possible innovative readings of constitutions and criminal codes. Litigants were responsible for this shift in legal visions by activating informal mechanisms of ideational change and providing the skills necessary to deal with complex and unusual cases. Through an in-depth exploration of the interactions between judges, prosecutors and human rights lawyers in three countries, the book asks how changing ideas about the law and standards of adjudication condition the exercise of judicial power.
Traditional and Analytical Philosophy
Authors: Tugendhat Ernst
Published: August 2016

Ernst Tugendhat's major work, Vorlesungen zur Einführung in die sprachanalytische Philosophie (1976), was translated into English in 1982. Although trained in Heideggerian phenomenological and hermeneutical thinking, Tugendhat increasingly came to believe that the most appropriate approach to philosophy was an analytical one. This influential work grew from that conviction and brought new perspectives to some of the central and abiding questions of metaphysics and the philosophy of language. Presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery, and including a specially commissioned preface written by Hans-Johann Glock, illuminating its enduring importance and relevance to philosophical enquiry, this impressive work has been revived for a new generation of readers.
Funds of Identity
Authors: Esteban-Guitart Moisès
Published: August 2016

Drawing on research conducted mostly in Catalonia (Spain), Moisès Esteban-Guitart outlines a distinct vision of education enhanced by students' identities, which leads to a discussion of the sociocultural factors that shape the processes of learning. He brings these ideas to life by examining traits of a mobile-centric society, the present-day ecology of learning, and his three metaphors of learning (connecting knowledge, connecting minds, and connecting communities). He then suggests a number of basic principles regarding learning for the twenty-first century based on prior literature in the learning sciences. He presents the terms 'funds of identity' and 'meaningful learning experiences', and reviews the funds of knowledge approach and the Vygotskian basis for understanding identity. In the second part of the book, he illustrates a number of strategies for detecting students' funds of identity and their meaningful learning experiences, and describes some practical experiences based on the theoretical framework he adopted.
Rawls, Political Liberalism and Reasonable Faith
Authors: Weithman Paul
Published: August 2016

For over twenty years, Paul Weithman has explored the thought of John Rawls to ask how liberalism can secure the principled allegiance of those people whom Rawls called 'citizens of faith'. This volume brings together ten of his major essays (including one new unpublished essay), which reflect on the task and political character of political philosophy, the ways in which liberalism does and does not privatize religion, the role of liberal legitimacy in Rawls's theory, and the requirements of public reason. The essays reveal Rawls as a thinker deeply engaged with political and existential questions that trouble citizens of faith, and explore how - in firm opposition to political realism - he tries to show that the possibility of liberal democracy and the natural goodness of humanity are objects of reasonable faith. The volume will be of interest to political philosophers, political theorists, moral theologians, and religious ethicists.
Knowledge and the Gettier Problem
Authors: Hetherington Stephen
Published: August 2016

Edmund Gettier's 1963 verdict about what knowledge is not has become an item of philosophical orthodoxy, accepted by philosophers as a genuine epistemological result. It assures us that - contrary to what Plato and later philosophers have thought - knowledge is not merely a true belief well supported by epistemic justification. But that orthodoxy has generated the Gettier problem - epistemology's continuing struggle to understand how to accommodate Gettier's apparent result within an improved conception of knowledge. In this book, Stephen Hetherington argues that none of epistemology's standard attempts to solve that problem have succeeded: he shows how subtle yet fundamental mistakes - regarding explication, methodology, properties, modality, and fallibility - have permeated those responses to Gettier's challenge. His fresh and original book outlines a new way of solving the problem, and an improved grasp of Gettier's challenge and its significance is the result. In a sense, Plato can now embrace Gettier.
Power and Privilege in Roman Society
Authors: Duncan-Jones Richard
Published: August 2016

How far were appointments in the Roman Empire based on merit? Did experience matter? What difference did social rank make? This innovative study of the Principate examines the career outcomes of senators and knights by social category. Contrasting patterns emerge from a new database of senatorial careers. Although the highest appointments could reflect experience, a clear preference for the more aristocratic senators is also seen. Bias is visible even in the major army commands and in the most senior civilian posts nominally filled by ballot. In equestrian appointments, successes by the less experienced again suggest the power of social advantage. Senatorial recruitment gradually opened up to include many provincials but Italians still kept their hold on the higher social groupings. The book also considers the senatorial career more widely, while a final section examines slave careers and the phenomenon of voluntary slavery.
Environmental and Nuclear Networks in the Global South
Authors: Alcañiz Isabella
Published: August 2016

For decades, expert bureaucrats have been moving regularly across borders, from their home institutions to international organizations, and forging collaborative networks with peers. Analyzing over twenty years of environmental and nuclear technology projects data for 150 countries, this book provides a comprehensive study of international cooperation among elite bureaucrats in developing states. An empirical study that will interest researchers, undergraduate, and graduate students of political and social sciences, this is the first book to explain the causes of transnational cooperation in the Global South and find a link between domestic level of skills and international cooperation. The author methodically illustrates how state experts with high skills can reap the benefits of international technical cooperation. In contrast, bureaucrats with low skills cannot forge stable collaborative ties with foreign peers and gain little from participating in these transgovernmental networks.
Ecocriticism in the Modernist Imagination
Authors: Sultzbach Kelly Elizabeth
Published: August 2016

Although modernism has traditionally been considered an art of cities, Ecocriticism in the Modernist Imagination claims a significant role for modernist texts in shaping environmental consciousness. Analyzing both canonical and lesser-known works of three key figures - E. M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, and W. H. Auden - Sultzbach suggests how the signal techniques of modernism encourage readers to become more responsive to the animate world and non-human minds. Understanding the way these writers represent nature's agency becomes central to interpreting the power dynamics of empire and gender, as well as experiments with language and creativity. The book acknowledges the longer pastoral tradition in literature, but also introduces readers to the newly expanding field of ecocriticism, including philosophies of embodiment and matter, queer ecocriticism, and animal studies. What emerges is a picture of green modernism that reifies our burgeoning awareness of what it means to be human within a larger living community.
Twenty Lectures on Algorithmic Game Theory
Authors: Roughgarden Tim
Published: August 2016

Computer science and economics have engaged in a lively interaction over the past fifteen years, resulting in the new field of algorithmic game theory. Many problems that are central to modern computer science, ranging from resource allocation in large networks to online advertising, involve interactions between multiple self-interested parties. Economics and game theory offer a host of useful models and definitions to reason about such problems. The flow of ideas also travels in the other direction, and concepts from computer science are increasingly important in economics. This book grew out of the author's Stanford University course on algorithmic game theory, and aims to give students and other newcomers a quick and accessible introduction to many of the most important concepts in the field. The book also includes case studies on online advertising, wireless spectrum auctions, kidney exchange, and network management.
“The Art or Mystery of Physick” – Asante Medicinal Plants and the Western Ordering of Botanical Knowledge
Authors: McCaskie Tom C.
Published: August 2016

This paper deals with aspects of the still relatively neglected history of African medicinal plants. The core of the paper is a discussion in tabular form of the plants collected in the West African forest kingdom of Asante in 1817 by Henry Tedlie, a member of the well known English mission led by Thomas Bowdich. More generally, the paper considers episodes in the accumulation of Akan, Asante, and African plant specimens by Europeans, and the eventual classification of these in a western authorized botanical taxonomy that is now in worldwide use. The gathering of potentially medicinal plants is a little studied facet of European global expansion, from exploration to colonialism and beyond, and of the sovereign scientific orthodoxy that became established alongside it. The paper frames and discusses relevant details of this process over thelongue durée, from pre-Linnaean taxonomies to current controversies over bioprospecting.
Laboratory astrophysics with laser-driven strong magnetic fields in China
Authors: Wang Fei-Lu , Pei Xiao-Xing , Han Bo , Wei Hui-Gang , Yuan Da-Wei , Liang Gui-Yun , Zhao Gang , Zhong Jia-Yong , Zhang Zhe , Zhu Bao-Jun , Li Yan-Fei , Li Fang , Li Yu-Tong , Zeng Si-Liang , Zou Shi-Yang , Zhang Jie
Published: August 2016

In this paper, the recent studies of laboratory astrophysics with strong magnetic fields in China have been reviewed. On the Shenguang-II laser facility of the National Laboratory on High-Power Lasers and Physics, a laser-driven strong magnetic field up to 200 T has been achieved. The experiment was performed to model the interaction of solar wind with dayside magnetosphere. Also the low beta plasma magnetic reconnection (MR) has been studied. Theoretically, the model has been developed to deal with the atomic structures and processes in strong magnetic field. Also the study of shock wave generation in the magnetized counter-streaming plasmas is introduced.
Very large scale motions in the atmospheric surface layer: a field investigation
Authors: Wang Guohua , Zheng Xiaojing
Published: August 2016

A field observation array for the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) was built on a dry flat bed of Qingtu Lake in Minqin (China) as the Qingtu Lake Observation Array (QLOA) site, which is similar to the Surface Layer Turbulence and Environmental Science Test (SLTEST) site in the Utah (USA) Western desert. The present observation array can synchronously perform multi-point measurements of wind velocity and temperature at different vertical and streamwise positions. In other words, three-dimensional turbulent ASL flows can be measured at the QLOA station and Reynolds numbers as high as $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}\sim O(10^{6})$ can be achieved with steady wind conditions. By careful selection and pretreatment for measured data of more than 1200 h, the QLOA data have been validated to be reliable for high Reynolds number turbulent boundary layer research. Results from correlation and spectral analysis confirm that very large scale motions (VLSMs) exist in the ASL at a Reynolds number up to $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}\approx 4\times 10^{6}$. Through premultiplied spectral analysis, it is revealed that the spectral energy in the high-wavenumber region decreases with height, similar to turbulent boundary layers at low or moderate Reynolds numbers, while it increases with height in the low-wavenumber region resulting in a log–linear increase of VLSMs energy with height, which is different from turbulent boundary layers at low or moderate Reynolds numbers. The present analyses support the view that the evolution of the VLSMs cannot be fully attributed to a ‘bottom-up’ mechanism alone, and probably other mechanisms, including a ‘top-down’ mechanism, also play a role.
Apparent yield stress in rigid fibre suspensions: the role of attractive colloidal interactions
Authors: Bounoua S. , Lemaire E. , Férec J. , Ausias G. , Zubarev A. , Kuzhir P.
Published: August 2016

This work is focused on the modelling of the shear and normal stresses in fibre suspensions that are subjected to a simple shear flow in the presence of short-range lubrication forces, van der Waals and electrostatic forces, as well as solid friction forces between fibres. All of these forces are weighed by the contact probability. The theory is developed for attractive fibres with van der Waals interaction dominating over electrostatic repulsion. The model predicts a simple Bingham law for both the shear stress and the first normal stress difference, with the apparent shear and normal yield stresses proportional to the second and the third power of the particle volume fraction respectively. The model is applied to the experimental data of Rakatekar et al. (Adv. Mater., vol. 21, 2009, pp. 874–878) and Natale et al. (AIChE J., vol. 60, 2014, pp. 1476–1487) on suspensions of carbon nanotubes dispersed in a Newtonian epoxy resin. It reproduces well the quadratic dependence of the apparent yield stress on the particle volume fraction $(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}_{Y}\propto \unicode[STIX]{x1D719}^{2})$ for average particle aspect ratios of $r=160$ and 1200, while it underpredicts the power-law exponent for $r=80$ (always predicting $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}^{2}$ behaviour instead of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}^{3.2}$).
A Study of Creep Behavior of TSV-Cu Based on Nanoindentaion Creep Test
Authors: Wu W. , Qin F. , An T. , Chen P.
Published: August 2016

Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) is considered to be the most potential solution for 3D electronic packaging, and the mechanical properties of TSV-Cu are critical for TSV reliability improving. In this paper, to make deeply understand the creep behavior of TSV-Cu, nanoindentation creep tests were conducted to obtain its creep parameters. At first, the TSV specimens were fabricated by means of a typical TSV manufacturing process. Then a combination programmable procedure of the constant indentation strain rate method and the constant load method was employed to study the creep behavior of TSV-Cu. To understand the influence of the previous loading schemes, including the different values of the indentation strain and the maximum depths, the nanoindentation creep tests under different loading conditions were conducted. The values of creep strain rate sensitivity m were derived from the corresponding displacement-holding time curves, and the mean value of m finally determined was 0.0149. The value of m is considered no obvious correlation with the different indentation strain rates and the maximum depths by this method. Furthermore, the mechanism for the room temperature creep was also discussed, and the grain boundaries might play an significant role in this creep behavior.
Some Remarks on ‘Probability’
Authors: Freeman H.
Published: August 2016

Since games of chance have always exercised a fascination for people of all countries and at all times it is not to be wondered at that the theory of probability was first evolved from the dice-table. Possibly the earliest problem was to find the different probabilities of the various throws which can be made with three dice: this occurs in a document published in the fifteenth century, and the problem was taken up again by Cardan about a hundred years later. The first serious investigation into the laws of chance was, however, due to Pascal, who may be considered as the founder of the science. Pascal's attention was first drawn to the subject by a gambler who put to him problems relating to the game of ‘hasard.’ One particular problem seemed to Pascal of the utmost importance and led to a series of discussions between Pascal and Fermat, another equally eminent mathematician. The problem was the ‘Problem of Points’ and may be stated thus: Two players want each a given number of points to win a game; if they separate without finishing the game, how should the stakes be divided? Many variations of this were considered, even those where the players were not of equal skill, and although the problems would not be difficult of solution in light of modern knowledge, there was considerable divergence of opinion as to the correct methods to be applied.
Non-Forfeiture Regulations
Authors: Pearson A. M.
Published: August 2016

When a premium on a life assurance policy falls due, a certain time, known as the Days of Grace, is always allowed in which it may be paid without loss or fine. This period is usually 30 days, but a calendar month may be allowed and in one case 15 days only are given. During the days of grace the policy is fully in force and should a claim arise, it would be paid in the ordinary way, the premium that has fallen due merely being deducted.

If the premium is not paid within the days of grace, it is said to be overdue and if the policy has acquired a surrender value the non-forfeiture regulation then comes into operation. The regulations usually apply only to ordinary life business; for special policies special schemes are sometimes in force and in some cases, such as Sinking Fund Assurances, where the office is running no mortality risk, no regulation is called for. These remarks, throughout, will deal only with the ordinary non-forfeiture regulations as applied to Whole Life and Endowment Assurance Policies.
Bonus Reserve Valuations
Authors: Jones R. McNair
Published: August 2016

A bonus reserve valuation may be briefly described as an attempt to approximate to reality in estimating the proper reserves to be held in respect of a life office's participating policies. The usual methods employed by life offices at the present time depart widely from reality in nearly every respect. The rate of interest used is considerably below what is being realised on the invested funds at the moment and what may be reasonably expected to be realised in the future. The mortality table used represents the experience on an average of some forty or more years ago (and occasionally seventy) and in the case of business in this country nearly always considerably over-estimates the mortality experienced. The loading reserved for future expenses frequently bears no definite relation either to the probable rate of such expenses or to the office premium valued, as for example in the case when premiums have been constructed from one table of mortality and the policies are valued by a net premium valuation under another.
Superannuation Funds of Local Authorities.
Authors: Porteous D. A.
Published: August 2016

The superannuation of the employees of local authorities has not, so far as I am aware, been discussed by this Society. The recent publication of a report by a Departmental Committee which was appointed to enquire into the working of the Local Government and other officers Superannuation Act 1922, has drawn attention to the subject, and, in addition to this, it will be remembered that the first quinquennial valuation of the earlier funds established under the Act of 1922 will shortly have to be made. Apart altogether, therefore, from the Committee's recommendations, actuarial activities in this direction are likely to be fairly extensive in the near future.