bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermal Characterization of Polymeric Coatings for Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms
Authors: Fuliaş Adriana , Vlase Gabriela , Todea Anamaria , Vlase Titus , Ledeţi Ionuţ
Published: June 2015

Six pharmaceutical coatings, currently used in commercial pharmaceutical formulation were evaluated for thermal stability using TG/DTG/HF hyphenated techniques. The polymeric coatings were also evaluated by the means of UATR‐FTIR spectroscopy. TG/DTG/HF measurements were performed under non‐isothermal conditions from 40 up to 400 °C linearly at a heating rate of 10 °C · min−1. The thermal stability of all studied samples that are currently used as coatings on the Romanian pharmaceutical industry was correlated with their chemical composition.
Printed nonuniform antenna array for WI‐FI sectorized communications
Authors: Varum Tiago , Matos João N. , Pinho Pedro , Abreu Ricardo
Published: June 2015

Wireless networks have joined to the sports venues, offering to the public a set of facilities, such as the access to email, news, and also to use the social networking, uploading their photos. New challenges have emerged to provide Wi‐Fi in this densely populated stadiums, such as increasing capacity and coverage. In this article, an access point antenna array to cover a sector of a stadium is presented. Its structure, designed in a low cost material allows to reduce the total manufacturing costs, an important factor due to the large number of antennas required in these venues. The material characteristic, the broad bandwidth of operation (300 MHz), along with to the low side lobe levels, important to reduce interference between sectors, makes this antenna well‐positioned for wireless communications in these particular locals. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:2037–2041, 2015
Miniaturization of patch antenna using metasurface
Authors: Zhu Hailiang L. , Cheung S. W. , Yuk T. I.
Published: June 2015

In this letter, it is proposed to use metasurface (MS) to miniaturize patch antenna. The MS studied is composed of two layers, layers 1 and 2. Layer 1 has simple rectangular microstrip lines as unit cells and layer 2 has the complimentary pattern of layer 1. The MS is placed on top of and in direct contact with a small patch antenna, forming a miniaturized‐patch antenna operating at 4 GHz. For comparison, another patch antenna without using MS is designed to operate at the same frequency. Both antennas are studied using computer simulation and measurement. Results show, with the use of the MS, the patch antenna can have the size reduced by 67%, yet achieving a similar performance. The simulated and measured results in reflection coefficients, efficiencies, realized peak gains, and radiation patterns of the antennas are presented. The cable effects caused by the feeding cable used in measurement are studied. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:2050–2056, 2015
A new design and analysis of a hexagonal PBG microstrip antenna
Authors: Pereira Jonathan P. P. , da Silva José P. , de Andrade Humberto D.
Published: June 2015

This work aims to analyze the factors that influence the radiation properties of dualband microstrip antenna using periodic structures based on Photonic Band Gap with hexagonal symmetry. An increase in bandwidth and a reduction of return loss for the second operating band of the antenna were observed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:2147–2151, 2015
A differentially coupled series inductor for differential RFICs
Authors: Lee Changhyun , Yoon Seokhyun , Park Changkun
Published: June 2015

In this work, we propose a differentially coupled series inductor for RFIC‐matching networks. The proposed inductor is designed to reduce the chip area and to enhance the inductance. If a series inductor is required in differential RFICs, two bulky inductors should be implemented. The overall chip size thereby increases considerably. The proposed differentially coupled series inductor can be used instead of two series inductors in a differential RFIC. The size of the proposed inductor is less than half that of two conventional spiral inductors. From the measured results, the feasibility of the proposed differentially coupled series inductor is successfully proved. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:2223–2225, 2015
Reconfigurable multiband tapered slot antenna
Authors: Chagharvand Sahar , Hamid Mohamad R. , Kamarudin Muhammad R. , Ghanem Farid
Published: June 2015

In this article, a reconfigurable multiband tapered slot antenna is proposed. This antenna is able to support wideband, dual‐band, and triple‐band operations. This is achieved by incorporating T‐ and C‐ shaped resonators that are used to integrate a filtering functionality to the antenna. The behavior of the antenna can be reconfigured by activating/deactivating the different resonators by means of PIN diode switches. By activating only the T‐shaped resonator, a bandstop operation is obtained which results in a dual‐band operation, while by coupling both T‐ and C‐shaped resonators, a triple‐band operation is achieved. By deactivating all of the resonators, a wideband operation is achieved. Results show, the frequency range of the wideband operation spans from 1.04 to 3.76 GHz. In the dual‐band operation mode, the suppressed band is around 2.5 GHz. The operating frequency range of the triple‐band operation is divided into low frequency (0.97–1.24 GHz), midfrequency (1.63–2.08 GHz), and high frequency (2.64–3.71 GHz) bands. To validate the proposed approach both simulated and measured results are given and a good agreement is observed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:2182–2186, 2015
Age‐related differences in attention and memory toward emotional stimuli
Authors: Bi Dandan , Han Buxin
Published: July 2015

From the perspectives of time perception and motivation, socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) postulates that in comparison with younger adults, older adults tend to prefer positive stimuli and avoid negative stimuli. Currently the cross‐cultural consistency of this positivity effect (PE) is still not clear. While empirical evidence for Western populations is accumulating, the validation of the PE in Asians is still rare. The current study compared 28 younger and 24 older Chinese adults in the processing of emotional information. Eye‐tracking and recognition data of participants in processing pictures with positive, negative, or neutral emotional information sampled from the International Affection Picture System were collected. The results showed less negative bias for emotional attention in older adults than in younger adults, whereas for emotional recognition, only younger adults showed a negative bias while older adults showed no bias between negative and positive emotional information. Overall, compared with younger adults, emotional processing was more positive in older adults. It was concluded that Chinese older adults show a PE.
Generation and collection of photocarriers in dilute nitride GaInNAsSb solar cells
Authors: Miyashita Naoya , Ahsan Nazmul , Okada Yoshitaka
Published: June 2015

An improved photocurrent production is demonstrated in dilute nitride GaInNAsSb solar cells grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The photovoltaic properties were investigated by increasing the thickness of GaInNAsSb layers from 1.0 to 3.0 µm. The amount of photon absorption increased with increasing thickness. Yet an incomplete photocarrier collection was observed in the 2.0‐ and 3.0‐µm‐thick GaInNAsSb devices. This feature is due to a partial lack of electric field in the GaInNAsSb region. In order for complete carrier collection aided by the electric field, the background‐doping level should be as low as ~1014 cm−3 in a thick undoped‐GaInNAsSb absorption layer. Here, the effectiveness of annealing on improving the field‐assisted carrier collection is shown. This is ascribed to a decrease of the background doping in the GaInNAsSb layer. In a properly designed device for a 1.0‐eV GaInNAsSb cell, it is demonstrated that the external quantum efficiency can reach as high as 90% at wavelengths longer than the GaAs bandgap. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis and Application of Borate Ester Bonding Agents for a Four‐Component Hydroxy‐Terminated Polybutadiene Propellant
Authors: Zhang Xi‐Long , Liu Miao‐E , Tan Xiang‐Lu , Peng Jie , Deng Jian‐Ru
Published: July 2015

Low molecular weight interconnection monomers including polyepichlorohydrin, poly(propylene oxide), poly(ethylene glycol adipate), and poly(butylene adipate) were synthesized to evaluate the effects of the molecular structure of interconnection monomers on the bonding efficiency of borate ester bonding agents (BEBA) applied in four‐component hydroxy‐terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) propellants. The monomers were characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and gel permeation chromatography. A series of new borate ester bonding agents were synthesized using the as‐synthesized interconnection monomers as well as poly(ethylene glycol) and applied in the preparation of four‐component HTPB propellants. The application results showed that BEBA‐4 prepared from poly(butylene adipate) could significantly improve the mechanical properties of the four‐component HTPB propellant, reduce the slurry viscosity leading to improvement of processing properties and aging resistant performance, while no significant effect on the burning characteristics of the propellant was observed.
The representation of the West African monsoon vertical cloud structure in the Met Office Unified Model: an evaluation with CloudSat
Authors: Stein Thorwald H. M. , Parker Douglas J. , Hogan Robin J. , Birch Cathryn E. , Holloway Christopher E. , Lister Grenville M. S. , Marsham John H. , Woolnough Steven J.
Published: June 2015

Weather and climate model simulations of the West African Monsoon (WAM) have generally poor representation of the rainfall distribution and monsoon circulation because key processes, such as clouds and convection, are poorly characterized. The vertical distribution of cloud and precipitation during the WAM are evaluated in Met Office Unified Model simulations against CloudSat observations. Simulations were run at 40 and 12 km horizontal grid length using a convection parametrization scheme and at 12, 4, and 1.5 km grid length with the convection scheme effectively switched off, to study the impact of model resolution and convection parametrization scheme on the organisation of tropical convection. Radar reflectivity is forward‐modelled from the model cloud fields using the CloudSat simulator to present a like‐with‐like comparison with the CloudSat radar observations. The representation of cloud and precipitation at 12 km horizontal grid length improves dramatically when the convection parametrization is switched off, primarily because of a reduction in daytime (moist) convection. Further improvement is obtained when reducing model grid length to 4 or 1.5 km, especially in the representation of thin anvil and mid‐level cloud, but three issues remain in all model configurations. Firstly, all simulations underestimate the fraction of anvils with cloud‐top height above 12 km, which can be attributed to too low ice water contents in the model compared to satellite retrievals. Secondly, the model consistently detrains mid‐level cloud too close to the freezing level, compared to higher altitudes in CloudSat observations. Finally, there is too much low‐level cloud cover in all simulations and this bias was not improved when adjusting the rainfall parameters in the microphysics scheme. To improve model simulations of the WAM, more detailed and insitu observations of the dynamics and microphysics targeting these non‐precipitating cloud types are required.
Pulmonary Codelivery of Doxorubicin and siRNA by pH‐Sensitive Nanoparticles for Therapy of Metastatic Lung Cancer
Authors: Xu Caina , Wang Ping , Zhang Jingpeng , Tian Huayu , Park Kinam , Chen Xuesi
Published: July 2015

A pulmonary codelivery system that can simultaneously deliver doxorubicin (DOX) and Bcl2 siRNA to the lungs provides a promising local treatment strategy for lung cancers. In this study, DOX is conjugated onto polyethylenimine (PEI) by using cis‐aconitic anhydride (CA, a pH‐sensitive linker) to obtain PEI‐CA‐DOX conjugates. The PEI‐CA‐DOX/siRNA complex nanoparticles are formed spontaneously via electrostatic interaction between cationic PEI‐CA‐DOX and anionic siRNA. The drug release experiment shows that DOX releases faster at acidic pH than at pH 7.4. Moreover, PEI‐CA‐DOX/Bcl2 siRNA complex nanoparticles show higher cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction in B16F10 cells than those treated with either DOX or Bcl2 siRNA alone. When the codelivery systems are directly sprayed into the lungs of B16F10 melanoma‐bearing mice, the PEI‐CA‐DOX/Bcl2 siRNA complex nanoparticles exhibit enhanced antitumor efficacy compared with the single delivery of DOX or Bcl2 siRNA. Compared with systemic delivery, most drug and siRNA show a long‐term retention in the lungs via pulmonary delivery, and a considerable number of the drug and siRNA accumulate in tumor tissues of lungs, but rarely in normal lung tissues. The PEI‐CA‐DOX/Bcl2 siRNA complex nanoparticles are promising for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer by pulmonary delivery with low side effects on the normal tissues.
Community Gender Norms Change as a Part of a Multilevel Approach to Sexual Health Among Married Women in Mumbai, India
Authors: Schensul Stephen L. , Singh Rajendra , Schensul Jean J. , Verma Ravi K. , Burleson Joseph A. , Nastasi Bonnie K.
Published: July 2015

Inequitable gender norms in societies and communities negatively contribute to women’s sexual and reproductive health. While the need for change in gender norms is well recognized, the task is highly challenging in terms of intervention design, implementation and assessment of impact. This paper describes a methodology for identification of gender norms, the design of community level intervention, community participation and the assessment of intervention impact in a low income, predominately Muslim community of 600,000 people in Mumbai, India. Formative research focused on in‐depth interviews with women, men and couples yielding gender normative statements and assessment of community resources to facilitate change. A Gender Equity Scale (GES) based on this formative research was developed and administered annually for a three‐year period to random, cross‐sectional samples in the intervention and control communities, and to community based, non‐governmental organizations (NGO) staff and Imams (religious leaders) in the intervention community. NGO staff disseminated gender oriented messages to their female constituency through their regular outreach activities and through special events and festivals in the community. Imams disseminated gender messages through lectures on social issues for men attending Friday prayers. The results showed that the NGO staff and Imams, assumed more gender equitable attitudes across time. The intervention was associated with a significant improvement in attitudes towards gender equity in the intervention relative to the control community. Men showed a dramatic change in more positive gender attitudes, while women lagged behind in their GES scores. The meaning of these results are explored and the implications assessed for the generalizability of the methodology for other countries, cultures and communities.
Pyrolysis Results of Shales from the South Cambay Basin, India: Implications for Gas Generation Potential
Authors: Mishra Snigdharani , Mani Devleena , Kavitha S. , Patil D. J. , Kalpana M. S. , Vyas D. U. , Dayal A. M.
Published: June 2015

Shale, an abundant organic-rich sedimentary rock of extremely low porosity, is of lately being realized as a significant energy source, owing to the possibility of huge amount of natural gas which may be stored in it. Instigated by the enormous production of natural gas from the shale formations of Barnett, Marcellus and several other plays in USA, the Indian sedimentary basins are being looked assertively for their shale gas prospects. The petroliferous Cambay basin in western India with interbedded carbonaceous shales in its thick Tertiary sequence forms a potential prospect for the shale gas. Fine grained, clastic and organic-rich Cambay, Tarapur and other Tertiary shales have sourced the oil and gas for the basin.

The quality, quantity and type of organic matter play an important role in the generation of gas in shale horizons. Rock-Eval pyrolysis is one of the most basic organic geochemical methods to study these parameters. In the present study, the interbedded shale formations within the middle Eocene lignite sequences, referred to as Cambay Formation, (Nagori et al., 2013), of the Tadkeshwar and Rajpardi mines in Surat and Bharuch districts, respectively, have been sampled to study the organic matter properties using Rock-Eval pyrolysis. The sedimentary sequences exposed in the mines show the shales to be high in Total Organic Carbon (TOC) content, ranging between 0.2% to 47.3%. The S1 (free hydrocarbons) and S2 (hydrocarbons from cracking of kerogen) values range between 0.04 to 7.12 and 0.08 to 190.11 mg HC/g rock, respectively. The Tmax (temperature at highest yield of S2) varies between 342°C to 450°C, and the hydrogen index (HI) ranges between 32 to 754 mg HC/ g TOC. The variation of HI vs. Tmax suggests an immature to mature stage for the hydrocarbons. The organic matter in shales is characterized by Type II / III kerogen, suitable for the generation of gas.
Microfacies Types (MFT) and Palaeoenvironment of the Umlatodoh Carbonates in the Shillong Plateau of Meghalaya, NE India
Authors: Kalita Kalpana Deka , Gogoi Hemlet
Published: June 2015

One of the major marine transgressions in the Shillong Plateau is represented by the middlemost Umlatodoh Formation of the Sylhet Limestone Group during early Eocene. Based on 26 species of Larger Benthic Foraminifera (LBF) and eleven species of calcareous red algae and green algae, nine Tethyan MFT (microfacies types) viz, Miliolid Packstone-Grainstone, Algal Packstone-Grainstone, Miliolid Grainstone, Larger Benthic Foraminiferal Grainstone, Green Algae Grainstone, Alveolina oblonga Grainstone, Oolitic Packstone-Grainstone and Micrite have been identified for the Umlatodoh Limestone. These microfacies have contributed towards identification of a range of environments from low-energy, shallow neritic inner-shelf through shallow, reef shelf to more restricted environment represented by pure micrite. Petrographical characteristics indicate that these limestones are primarily microcrystalline allochemical rocks of biomicritic type and a mixture of packstone and grainstone. The foraminiferal assemblage associated with various species of coralline red algae and green algae suggests inner ramp, mud-free shallow neritic shelf carbonate sedimentation of the Umlatodoh Limestone showing depositions in calm water, low-energy conditions in the lower part changing to moderately high-energy conditions in the middle followed by low-energy restricted environment represented by micrite towards the upper part.
Peatland evolution and associated environmental changes in central China over the past 40,000 years
Authors: He Yuxin , Zhao Cheng , Zheng Zhuo , Liu Zhonghui , Wang Ning , Li Jie , Cheddadi Rachid
Published: June 2015

Central China has experienced stronger summer monsoon during warm periods such as Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1 and 3, and weaker summer monsoon during cool periods such as MIS 2. The evolution history of Dajiuhu subalpine peatland in central China can help investigate how the expansion and shrinkage of peatland were associated with monsoonal strength over the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Here we apply bulk organic carbon and molecular biomarkers (hopane and n-alkane) to reconstruct the evolution history for the Dajiuhu peatland over the past 40,000 yr. The results indicate fluctuations between lacustrine and peat-like deposition during MIS 3, steady lacustrine deposition during MIS 2, and peatland initiation and expansion during MIS 1 in the Dajiuhu peatland. Therefore, at the glacial–interglacial scale, warmer summer and cooler winter conditions in interglacial periods are crucial to trigger peat deposition, whereas reduced evaporation in glacial period instead of decreased monsoonal-driven precipitation would have played a predominant role in the regional effective moisture balance. However, within the Holocene (MIS 1), monsoonal precipitation changes appear to be the main controller on millennial-scale variations of water-table level of the Dajiuhu peatland.
Ten-year trends in stroke admissions and outcomes in Canada
Authors: Kamal Noreen , Lindsay M. Patrice , Côté Robert , Fang Jiming , Kapral Moira K. , Hill Michael D.
Published: July 2015

Background

We analyzed a 10-year stroke administrative dataset to examine trends in admissions, mortality, and discharge destination in Canada.

Methods

We conducted an analysis of hospital administrative data from April 1st 2003 to March 31st 2013 from the Canadian Institute of Health Information’s Discharge Abstract Database. Ten-year trends for population-based age- and sex-standardized admission rates were calculated. We reviewed 10-year trends in absolute stroke admissions for differences between provinces and age groups. Stroke 30-day in-hospital mortality rates were calculated and adjusted for sex, age, stroke type and comorbidities. We documented changes in discharge location for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients discharged from acute care.

Results

The rate of hospital admissions has declined from 140.2 to 117.5 (per 100,000 people). The number of absolute stroke admissions within provinces increased in Alberta and British Columbia (21.7% and 16.2% respectively). The proportion of stroke patients aged 40-69 years old increased by 4.8% (p<0.0001) over the 10 years, whereas the proportion aged over 70 decreased by 4.9% (p<0.0001). Risk-adjusted 30-day in-hospital mortality decreased from: 18.5% to 14.9% for all strokes; 15.2% to 12.1% for ischemic strokes; 35.6% to 29.7% for intracerebral hemorrhage; and 25.1% to 18.0% for subarachnoid hemorrhage. The absolute increase in patients requiring inpatient and outpatient support increased by 4% (p<0.0001).

Conclusion

The rate of admissions for stroke is decreasing but there is an increase in stroke admissions for younger patients. In-hospital mortality is decreasing; fewer patients are going directly home without services and more are requiring support services.
General Practitioner Preferences in Managing Care of Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Authors: Bray Mathieu , Wolfson Christina , Moore Fraser , Zhu Bin , Uniat Jennifer
Published: July 2015

Background:Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a lifelong neurological disorder requiring care in a variety of settings. The purpose of this study is to describe preferences of general practitioners (GPs) with regards to providing care for MS patients.Methods:A stratified sample of 900 GPs in the province of Quebec were sent a questionnaire, with 266 returning completed questionnaires. Respondents were surveyed about their preferences using four clinical scenarios describing hypothetical patients experiencing different stages of MS. Respondents were asked whether they would continue managing the patient themselves, formally refer the patient to a specialist, or seek specialist advice.Results:In two scenarios representing stable courses, 40.9% and 61.6% of GPs, respectively, intended to manage the patient themselves. GPs who reported having experience with MS patients were more likely to report an intention to continue management. In one scenario, GPs operating in rural areas were less likely to consider management than those in the Montreal metropolitan area (odds ratio=0.422, 95% confidence interval 0.20-0.90).Conclusions:For MS patients with a stable disease course, an important proportion of GPs appear to be willing to manage long-term care for MS patients.
Parent Perspectives on Sources of Information About Autism Spectrum Disorder Interventions in Australia
Authors: Carlon Sarah , Stephenson Jennifer , Carter Mark
Published: July 2015

Extant research on sources of information about interventions used by parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has provided a general overview of sources used. However, it has provided little insight into why parents view certain sources as reliable or trustworthy, or how useful parents found the information provided to them by the sources and why. This paper provides a qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with 12 Australian parents of preschool-age children with ASD. Participants discussed the factors related to their perceptions of the reliability and trustworthiness of sources used, as well as the usefulness of the information provided. Parent ratings of the reliability of sources were influenced by factors including the firsthand experience of other parents, the parent's relationship with the source, and their beliefs about the sources’ intentions. A number of parents reported that sources provided either information of limited use or an overwhelming amount of information. Considerable variation was reported in the usefulness of information provided to parents. Recommendations regarding research and practice are offered.
The Wages of Women in England, 1260–1850
Authors: Humphries Jane , Weisdorf Jacob
Published: July 2015

This paper presents two wage-series for unskilled English women workers 1260–1850, one based on daily wages and one on the daily remuneration implied in annual contracts. The series are compared with each other and with evidence for men, informing several debates. Our findings suggest first that women servants did not share the post-Black Death “golden age” and so offer little support for a “girl-powered” economic breakthrough; and second that during the industrial revolution, women who were unable to work long hours lost ground relative to men and to women who could work full-time and fell increasingly adrift from any “High Wage Economy.”
Written corrective feedback studies: Approximate replication of Bitchener & Knoch (2010a) and Van Beuningen, De Jong & Kuiken (2012)
Authors: Bitchener John , Knoch Ute
Published: July 2015

The question of whether written corrective feedback (CF) has a role to play in second language (L2) development has been controversial since Truscott (1996) published an article in Language Learning calling for the abandonment of the practice on theoretical, empirical and pedagogical grounds. As a result of his claims, an on-going debate about the efficacy of the practice has ensued while a number of dedicated researchers have focused their attention on empirically investigating whether learners benefit from the practice in terms of significantly improving their accuracy in subsequent texts over time. Responding not only to Truscott's doubts about the overall effectiveness of written CF for L2 learning and his specific doubts about whether certain types of provision could ever have a meaningful and enduring effect on acquisition, further questions about the potential impact of different variables were central to the thinking and research that followed his claims. Such variables include the linguistic focus of the feedback and the relative merits of targeting a limited number of error categories (focused feedback) rather than a more comprehensive range of error categories (unfocused feedback). While a growing body of research has begun investigating these issues over the last 15–20 years, the field is in need of replication studies before firm conclusions can be reached.
Ethics Issues in Social Media–Based HIV Prevention in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Authors: CHIU CHINGCHE J. , MENACHO LUIS , FISHER CELIA , YOUNG SEAN D.
Published: July 2015

Questions have been raised regarding participants’ safety and comfort when participating in e-health education programs. Although researchers have begun to explore this issue in the United States, little research has been conducted in low- and middle-income countries, where Internet and social media use is rapidly growing. This article reports on a quantitative study with Peruvian men who have sex with men who had previously participated in the Harnessing Online Peer Education (HOPE) program, a Facebook-based HIV education program. The survey assessed participants’ ethics-relevant perspectives during recruitment, consent, intervention, and follow-up.
The Medicalization of Love and Narrow and Broad Conceptions of Human Well-Being
Authors: NYHOLM SVEN
Published: July 2015

Would a “medicalization” of love be a “good” or “bad” form of medicalization? In discussing this question, Earp, Sandberg, and Savulescu primarily focus on the potential positive and negative consequences of turning love into a medical issue. But it can also be asked whether there is something intrinsically regrettable about medicalizing love. It is argued here that the medicalization of love can be seen as an “evaluative category mistake”: it treats a core human value (love) as if it were mainly a means to other ends (viz. physical health and hedonic well-being). It is also argued that Earp et al’s closing argument (that a scientific perspective on love actually adds more value to love) can be seen as involving another evaluative category mistake: it treats an object of desire and practical interest (namely, love) as if it mainly were an object of scientific contemplation and theoretical interest. It is concluded that, to relate love to health and well-being in a more satisfying way, we should construe the latter two in broader ways, whereby love is itself a component or element of human flourishing.
PRISM: Sparse recovery of the primordial spectrum from WMAP9 and Planck datasets
Authors: Paykari P. , Lanusse F. , Starck J.-L. , Sureau F. , Bobin J.
Published: July 2015

The primordial power spectrum is an indirect probe of inflation or other structure-formation mechanisms. We introduce a new method, named PRISM, to estimate this spectrum from the empirical cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum. This is a sparsity-based inversion method, which leverages a sparsity prior on features in the primordial spectrum in a wavelet dictionary to regularise the inverse problem. This non-parametric approach is able to reconstruct the global shape as well as localised features of the primordial spectrum accurately and proves to be robust for detecting deviations from the currently favoured scale-invariant spectrum. We investigate the strength of this method on a set of WMAP nine-year simulated data for three types of primordial spectra and then process the WMAP nine-year data as well as the Planck PR1 data. We find no significant departures from a near scale-invariant spectrum.
Euclid Space Mission: building the sky survey
Authors: Tereno I. , Carvalho C.S. , Dinis J. , Scaramella R. , Amiaux J. , Burigana C. , Cuillandre J.C. , da Silva A. , Derosa A. , Maiorano E. , Maris M. , Oliveira D. , Franzetti P. , Garilli B. , Gomez-Alvarez P. , Meneghetti M. , Wachter S. ,   the Euclid Collaboration
Published: July 2015

The Euclid space mission proposes to survey 15000 square degrees of the extragalactic sky during 6 years, with a step-and-stare technique. The scheduling of observation sequences is driven by the primary scientific objectives, spacecraft constraints, calibration requirements and physical properties of the sky. We present the current reference implementation of the Euclid survey and on-going work on survey optimization.
The cosmic radio dipole and local structure effects
Authors: Rubart Matthias , Bacon David , Schwarz Dominik J.
Published: July 2015

We investigate the contribution of a local over- or under-density to linear estimates of the cosmic dipole. We focus on radio continuum surveys. Recently it was shown that the radio dipole amplitude is larger than expected from the corresponding dipole of the CMB. We show that a significant contribution to this excess could come from local structure.
From data to science: Planck data and the CMB non-Gaussianity
Authors: Mangilli Anna ,   on behalf of the Planck collaboration
Published: July 2015

Studying the non-Gaussianity (NG) of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is an extremely powerful tool to investigate the properties of the very early Universe. The Planck nominal mission CMB maps yielded unprecedented constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity providing with the highest precision test of the standard model of inflation. Planck's high sensitivity also allowed to find evidence for the first time of the late-time non-Gaussianity arising from the Lensing-Integrated Sachs Wolfe (ISW) cross correlation. In this talk I will give details on the Planck data analysis and I will discuss the theoretical implications of the results.
Shape estimation for Košice, Almahata Sitta and Bassikounou meteoroids
Authors: Vinnikov Vladimir , Gritsevich Maria , Turchak Leonid
Published: July 2015

This paper is concerned with a meteoroid shape estimation technique based on statistical laws of distribution for fragment masses. The idea is derived from the experiments that show that brittle fracturing produces multiple fragments of size lesser than or equal to the least dimension of the body. The number of fragments depends on fragment masses as a power law with exponential cutoff. The scaling exponent essentially indicates the initial form of the fragmented body. We apply the technique of scaling analysis to the empirical data on the mass distributions for Košice, Almahata Sitta and Bassikounou meteorites.
Information Gains in Cosmological Parameter Estimation
Authors: Seehars Sebastian , Amara Adam , Refregier Alexandre , Paranjape Aseem , Akeret Joël
Published: July 2015

Combining datasets from different experiments and probes to constrain cosmological models is an important challenge in observational cosmology. We summarize a framework for measuring the constraining power and the consistency of separately or jointly analyzed data within a given model that we proposed in earlier work (Seehars et al.2014). Applying the Kullback-Leibler divergence to posterior distributions, we can quantify the difference between constraints and distinguish contributions from gains in precision and shifts in parameter space. We show results from applying this technique to a combination of datasets and probes such as the cosmic microwave background or baryon acoustic oscillations.
Extreme-Value Statistics for Testing Dark Energy
Authors: Aiola Simone , Kosowsky Arthur , Wang Bingjie
Published: July 2015

The integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect was recently detected at a level of 4.4σ by [Granett et al. (2008)], by stacking compensated CMB temperature patches corresponding to superstructures in the universe. We test the reported signal using realistic gaussian random realizations of the CMB sky, based on the temperature power spectrum predicted by the concordance ΛCDM model. Such simulations provide a complementary approach to the largely used N-body simulations and allow to include the contaminant effects due to small-scale temperature fluctuations. We also apply our pipeline to foreground-cleaned CMB sky maps using the [Granett et al. (2008)] voids/clusters catalog. We confirm the detection of a signal, which depart from the null hypothesis by 3.5σ, and we report a tension with our theoretical estimates at a significance of about 2.5σ.
Combining Probes
Authors: Rassat Anaïs , Lanusse François , Kirk Donnacha , Host Ole , Bridle Sarah
Published: July 2015

With the advent of wide-field surveys, cosmology has entered a new golden age of data where our cosmological model and the nature of dark universe will be tested with unprecedented accuracy, so that we can strive for high precision cosmology. Observational probes like weak lensing, galaxy surveys and the cosmic microwave background as well as other observations will all contribute to these advances. These different probes trace the underlying expansion history and growth of structure in complementary ways and can be combined in order to extract cosmological parameters as best as possible. With future wide-field surveys, observational overlap means these will trace the same physical underlying dark matter distribution, and extra care must be taken when combining information from different probes. Consideration of probe combination is a fundamental aspect of cosmostatistics and important to ensure optimal use of future wide-field surveys.
Prädiktoren studentischer Lehrveranstaltungsevaluationen
Authors: Staufenbiel Thomas , Seppelfricke Thomas , Rickers Judith
Published: July 2015

Zusammenfassung. Trotz des breiten Einsatzes von Bewertungen von Lehrveranstaltungen durch Studierende wird die Validität dieser Urteile immer wieder in Frage gestellt. Insbesondere wird befürchtet, dass die Urteile dadurch verzerrt sind, dass sie durch Variablen beeinflusst werden, die nicht mit der Qualität der Lehrveranstaltung zusammenhängen. Auf der Basis eines Datensatzes mit studentischen Bewertungen von 2 898 Lehrveranstaltungen wurde der Einfluss von 10 potentiellen Biasvariablen mittels Mehrebenenanalysen untersucht. Die Variablen sind dabei auf der Ebene der Studierenden (Geschlecht, Vorab-Interesse, Rahmenbedingungen, Fehlzeiten), der Veranstaltungen (Veranstaltungsgröße, Schwund, Pflichtcharakter) und der Lehrenden (Geschlecht, Status, Lehrerfahrung) lokalisiert. Fast alle der Einflussgrößen auf den ersten beiden Ebenen sowie eine Cross-Level Interaktion der Geschlechtsvariablen sind statistisch signifikante Prädiktoren der Studierendenurteile. Mit Ausnahme des Vorab-Interesses und der Rahmenbedingungen sind diese Beziehungen aber nur schwach. Zudem ist meist schwierig zu entscheiden, ob es sich bei den Einflüssen tatsächlich um verzerrende Faktoren handelt.
MRI Heralds Secondary Nigral Lesion after Brain Ischemia in Mice: A Secondary Time Window for Neuroprotection
Authors: Prinz Vincent , Hetzer Anna-Maria , Müller Susanne , Balkaya Mustafa , Leithner Christoph , Kronenberg Golo , Endres Matthias
Published: July 2015

Cerebral ischemia in the territory of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) can induce delayed neuronal cell death in the ipsilateral substantia nigra (SN) remote from the primary ischemic lesion. This exofocal postischemic neuronal degeneration (EPND) may worsen stroke outcomes. However, the mechanisms leading to EPND are poorly understood. Here, we studied the time course of EPND via sequential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and immunohistochemistry for up to 28 days after 30 minutes occlusion of the MCA (MCAo) and reperfusion in the mouse. Furthermore, the effects of delayed treatment with FK506 and MK-801 on the development of EPND were investigated. Secondary neuronal degeneration in the SN occurred within the first week after MCAo and was characterized by a marked neuronal cell loss on histology. Sequential neuroimaging examinations revealed transient MRI changes, which were detectable as early as day 4 after MCAo and thus heralding histologic evidence of EPND. Treatment with MK-801, an established anti-excitotoxic agent, conferred protection against EPND even when initiated days after the initial ischemic event, which was not evident with FK506. Our findings define a secondary time window for delayed neuroprotection after stroke, which may provide a promising target for the development of novel therapies.
miR-98 and let-7g* Protect the Blood-Brain Barrier Under Neuroinflammatory Conditions
Authors: Rom Slava , Dykstra Holly , Zuluaga-Ramirez Viviana , Reichenbach Nancy L , Persidsky Yuri
Published: July 2015

Pathologic conditions in the central nervous system, regardless of the underlying injury mechanism, show a certain level of blood-brain barrier (BBB) impairment. Endothelial dysfunction is the earliest event in the initiation of vascular damage caused by inflammation due to stroke, atherosclerosis, trauma, or brain infections. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as a class of gene expression regulators. The relationship between neuroinflammation and miRNA expression in brain endothelium remains unexplored. Previously, we showed the BBB-protective and anti-inflammatory effects of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β inhibition in brain endothelium in in vitro and in vivo models of neuroinflammation. Using microarray screening, we identified miRNAs induced in primary human brain microvascular endothelial cells after exposure to the pro-inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-α, with/out GSK3β inhibition. Among the highly modified miRNAs, let-7 and miR-98 were predicted to target the inflammatory molecules, CCL2 and CCL5. Overexpression of let-7 and miR-98 in vitro and in vivo resulted in reduced leukocyte adhesion to and migration across endothelium, diminished expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased BBB tightness, attenuating barrier ‘leakiness’ in neuroinflammation conditions. For the first time, we showed that miRNAs could be used as a therapeutic tool to prevent the BBB dysfunction in neuroinflammation.
SCARECROW-LIKE15 interacts with HISTONE DEACETYLASE19 and is essential for repressing the seed maturation programme
Authors: Gao Ming-Jun , Li Xiang , Huang Jun , Gropp Gordon M. , Gjetvaj Branimir , Lindsay Donna L. , Wei Shu , Coutu Cathy , Chen Zhixiang , Wan Xiao-Chun , Hannoufa Abdelali , Lydiate Derek J. , Gruber Margaret Y. , Chen Z. Jeffrey , Hegedus Dwayne D.
Published: July 2015

Epigenetic regulation of gene expression is critical for controlling embryonic properties during the embryo-to-seedling phase transition. Here we report that a HISTONE DEACETYLASE19 (HDA19)-associated regulator, SCARECROW-LIKE15 (SCL15), is essential for repressing the seed maturation programme in vegetative tissues.SCL15is expressed in and GFP-tagged SCL15 predominantly localizes to, the vascular bundles particularly in the phloem companion cells and neighbouring specialized cells. Mutation ofSCL15leads to a global shift in gene expression in seedlings to a profile resembling late embryogenesis in seeds. Inscl15seedlings, many genes involved in seed maturation are markedly derepressed with concomitant accumulation of seed 12S globulin; this is correlated with elevated levels of histone acetylation at a subset of seed-specific loci. SCL15 physically interacts with HDA19 and direct targets of HDA19–SCL15 association are identified. These studies reveal that SCL15 acts as an HDA19-associated regulator to repress embryonic traits in seedlings.
Self-assembled 2D WSe2 thin films for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production
Authors: Yu Xiaoyun , Prévot Mathieu S. , Guijarro Néstor , Sivula Kevin
Published: July 2015

WSe2—a layered semiconductor that can be exfoliated into atomically thin two-dimensional sheets—offers promising characteristics for application in solar energy conversion. However, the lack of controllable, cost-effective methods to scalably fabricate homogeneous thin films currently limits practical application. Here we present a technique to prepare controlled thin films of 2D WSe2 from dispersions of solvent-exfoliated few-layer flakes. Flake self-assembly at a liquid/liquid interface (formed exceptionally from two non-solvents for WSe2) followed by substrate transfer affords large-area thin films with superior 2D flake alignment compared with traditional (liquid/air) self-assembly techniques. We further demonstrate, for the first time, solar-to-hydrogen conversion from solution-processed WSe2 thin films. Bare photoelectrodes with a thickness of ca. 25 nm exhibit sustained p-type photocurrent under simulated solar illumination, and up to 1.0 mA cm–2 at 0 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode with an added water reduction catalyst (Pt). The importance of the self-assembled morphology is established by photoelectrochemical and conductivity measurements.
A novel alphaproteobacterial ectosymbiont promotes the growth of the hydrocarbon-rich green alga Botryococcus braunii
Authors: Tanabe Yuuhiko , Okazaki Yusuke , Yoshida Masaki , Matsuura Hiroshi , Kai Atsushi , Shiratori Takashi , Ishida Ken-ichiro , Nakano Shin-ichi , Watanabe Makoto M.
Published: July 2015

Botryococcus brauniiis a colony-forming green alga that accumulates large amounts of liquid hydrocarbons within the colony. The utilization ofB. brauniifor biofuel production is however hindered by its low biomass productivity. Here we describe a novel bacterial ectosymbiont (BOTRYCO-2) that confers higher biomass productivity toB. braunii. 16S rDNA analysis indicated that the sequence of BOTRYCO-2 shows low similarity (<90%) to cultured bacterial species and located BOTRYCO-2 within a phylogenetic lineage consisting of uncultured alphaproteobacterial clones. Fluorescencein situhybridization (FISH) studies and transmission electric microscopy indicated that BOTRYCO-2 is closely associated withB. brauniicolonies. Interestingly, FISH analysis of a water bloom sample also found BOTRYCO-2 bacteria in close association with cyanobacteriumMicrocystis aeruginosacolonies, suggesting that BOTRYCO-2 relatives have high affinity to phytoplankton colonies. A PCR survey of algal bloom samples revealed that the BOTRYCO-2 lineage is commonly found inMicrocystisassociated blooms. Growth experiments indicated thatB. brauniiBa10 can grow faster and has a higher biomass (1.8-fold) and hydrocarbon (1.5-fold) yield in the presence of BOTRYCO-2. Additionally, BOTRYCO-2 conferred a higher biomass yield to BOT-22, one of the fastest growing strains ofB. braunii. We propose the species name ‘CandidatusPhycosocius bacilliformis’ for BOTRYCO-2.
New Insight into the Role of the Calvin Cycle: Reutilization of CO2 Emitted through Sugar Degradation
Authors: Shimizu Rie , Dempo Yudai , Nakayama Yasumune , Nakamura Satoshi , Bamba Takeshi , Fukusaki Eiichiro , Fukui Toshiaki
Published: July 2015

Ralstonia eutropha is a facultative chemolithoautotrophic bacterium that uses the Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) cycle for CO2 fixation. This study showed that R. eutropha strain H16G incorporated 13CO2, emitted by the oxidative decarboxylation of [1-13C1]-glucose, into key metabolites of the CBB cycle and finally into poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] with up to 5.6% 13C abundance. The carbon yield of P(3HB) produced from glucose by the strain H16G was 1.2 times higher than that by the CBB cycle-inactivated mutants, in agreement with the possible fixation of CO2 estimated from the balance of energy and reducing equivalents through sugar degradation integrated with the CBB cycle. The results proved that the ‘gratuitously’ functional CBB cycle in R. eutropha under aerobic heterotrophic conditions participated in the reutilization of CO2 emitted during sugar degradation, leading to an advantage expressed as increased carbon yield of the storage compound. This is a new insight into the role of the CBB cycle and may be applicable for more efficient utilization of biomass resources.
DYNC2LI1 mutations broaden the clinical spectrum of dynein-2 defects
Authors: Kessler Kristin , Wunderlich Ina , Uebe Steffen , Falk Nathalie S. , Gießl Andreas , Helmut Brandstätter Johann , Popp Bernt , Klinger Patricia , Ekici Arif B. , Sticht Heinrich , Dörr Helmuth-Günther , Reis André , Roepman Ronald , Seemanová Eva , Thiel Christian T.
Published: July 2015

Skeletal ciliopathies are a heterogeneous group of autosomal recessive osteochondrodysplasias caused by defects in formation, maintenance and function of the primary cilium. Mutations in the underlying genes affect the molecular motors, intraflagellar transport complexes (IFT), or the basal body. The more severe phenotypes are caused by defects of genes of the dynein-2 complex, where mutations in DYNC2H1, WDR34 and WDR60 have been identified. In a patient with a Jeune-like phenotype we performed exome sequencing and identified compound heterozygous missense and nonsense mutations in DYNC2LI1 segregating with the phenotype. DYNC2LI1 is ubiquitously expressed and interacts with DYNC2H1 to form the dynein-2 complex important for retrograde IFT. Using DYNC2LI1 siRNA knockdown in fibroblasts we identified a significantly reduced cilia length proposed to affect cilia function. In addition, depletion of DYNC2LI1 induced altered cilia morphology with broadened ciliary tips and accumulation of IFT-B complex proteins in accordance with retrograde IFT defects. Our results expand the clinical spectrum of ciliopathies caused by defects of the dynein-2 complex.