bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A broadband gamma-ray spectrometry using novel unfolding algorithms for characterization of laser wakefield-generated betatron radiation
Authors: Jeon Jong Ho , Nakajima Kazuhisa , Kim Hyung Taek , Rhee Yong Joo , Pathak Vishwa Bandhu , Cho Myung Hoon , Shin Jung Hun , Yoo Byung Ju , Hojbota Calin , Jo Sung Ha , Shin Kang Woo , Sung Jae Hee , Lee Seung Ku , Cho Byeoung Ick , Choi Il Woo , Nam Chang Hee
Published: December 2015

We present a high-flux, broadband gamma-ray spectrometry capable of characterizing the betatron radiation spectrum over the photon energy range from 10 keV to 20 MeV with respect to the peak photon energy, spectral bandwidth, and unique discrimination from background radiations, using a differential filtering spectrometer and the unfolding procedure based on the Monte Carlo code GEANT4. These properties are experimentally verified by measuring betatron radiation from a cm-scale laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA) driven by a 1-PW laser, using a differential filtering spectrometer consisting of a 15-filter and image plate stack. The gamma-ray spectra were derived by unfolding the photostimulated luminescence (PSL) values recorded on the image plates, using the spectrometer response matrix modeled with the Monte Carlo code GEANT4. The accuracy of unfolded betatron radiation spectra was assessed by unfolding the test PSL data simulated with GEANT4, showing an ambiguity of less than 20% and clear discrimination from the background radiation with less than 10%. The spectral analysis of betatron radiation from laser wakefield-accelerated electron beams with energies up to 3 GeV revealed radiation spectra characterized by synchrotron radiation with the critical photon energy up to 7 MeV. The gamma-ray spectrometer and unfolding method presented here facilitate an in-depth understanding of betatron radiation from LWFA process and a novel radiation source of high-quality photon beams in the MeV regime.
Anvil cell gasket design for high pressure nuclear magnetic resonance experiments beyond 30 GPa
Authors: Meier Thomas , Haase Jürgen
Published: December 2015

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are reported at up to 30.5 GPa of pressure using radiofrequency (RF) micro-coils with anvil cell designs. These are the highest pressures ever reported with NMR, and are made possible through an improved gasket design based on nano-crystalline powders embedded in epoxy resin. Cubic boron-nitride (c-BN), corundum (α-Al2O3), or diamond based composites have been tested, also in NMR experiments. These composite gaskets lose about 1/2 of their initial height up to 30.5 GPa, allowing for larger sample quantities and preventing damages to the RF micro-coils compared to precipitation hardened CuBe gaskets. It is shown that NMR shift and resolution are less affected by the composite gaskets as compared to the more magnetic CuBe. The sensitivity can be as high as at normal pressure. The new, inexpensive, and simple to engineer gaskets are thus superior for NMR experiments at high pressures.
Fast rotational motion of water molecules increases ordering of hydrophobes in solutions and may cause hydrophobic chains to collapse
Authors: Mohorič Tomaž , Bren Urban , Vlachy Vojko
Published: December 2015

Using the molecular dynamics simulations with separate thermostats for translational and rotational degrees of freedom, we investigate the effects of water’s rotational motion on the interaction among Lennard–Jones solutes. The situation with rotational temperature higher than the translational one (TR > TT) is mimicking the effects of microwaves on model solutions. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that solutions of Lennard–Jones solutes become increasingly more structured with the rise in TR, while keeping the TT constant. This is evidenced by an increase of the first and the second peak of the solute–solute radial distribution function. In addition, the first peak moves toward slightly larger distances; the effect seems to be caused by the destabilization of water molecules in the first hydration shell around hydrophobic solutes. More evidence of strong effects of the rotationally excited water is provided by the simulations of short hydrophobic polymers, which upon an increase in TR assume more compact conformations. In these simulations, we see the re-distribution of water molecules, which escape from hydrophobic “pockets” to better solvate the solvent exposed monomers.
Impact of boron on the step-free area formation on Si(111) mesa structures
Authors: Roy Chaudhuri Ayan , Osten H. J. , Fissel A.
Published: December 2015

We report about the influence of boron (B) on surface morphology of Si layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) mesas. Dimension of step-free mesa areas is reduced in comparison to pristine Si and scales with the B-coverage. This can be explained by a reduced mass transport on the Si surface in the presence of B-induced √3 × √3 surface structure which is due to a reduced Si equilibrium free adatom density. We demonstrate that a suitable combination of initial B coverage and Si layer thickness results in large step free areas and B doping concentration up to 4 × 1018 cm−3.
Highly asymmetric interaction forces induced by acoustic waves in coupled plate structures
Authors: Fan Xiying , Qiu Chunyin , Zhang Shenwei , Ke Manzhu , Liu Zhengyou
Published: December 2015

Mutual forces can be induced between coupled structures when the structures are stimulated by external acoustic waves. In this work, we propose a concept for asymmetric interaction between two coupled plate-like structures generated by plane waves that are incident in opposite directions. In addition to the striking contrast between the interaction strengths produced by the different incident waves, the mutual force induced by one of these incident pairs can be tuned extremely strongly because of the resonant excitation of the flexural plate modes. The highly asymmetric interaction with enhanced strength on a single side is potentially useful in applications such as the design of ultrasound instruments and sensors.
Thermoelectric properties of β-Indium sulfide with sulphur deficiencies
Authors: Chen Yue Xing , Kitahara Koichi , Takeuchi Tsunehiro
Published: December 2015

We prepared a bulk sample of β-In2S3, which was predicted to possess high thermoelectric performance by ab initio calculations, using pulsed current sintering technique and conventional solid reaction method. The composition of prepared sample was In2S2.94, and the deficient in sulfur led to n-type behaviors of thermoelectric properties. The absolute value of Seebeck coefficient was |S| = 220 μV/K at room temperature, and monotonically increased with temperature up to 600 K then moderately decreased. The thermal conductivity was relatively low (0.68 W m−1 K−1) at 700 K presumably due to the phonon scattering with anharmonic lattice vibrations. The dimensionless figure of merit ZT consequently reached 0.38 at 700 K. We also estimated the value of ZT as a function of carrier concentration, and found that p-type β-In2S3 has potential to possess a large value of ZT exceeding 1.4.
Phonon wave-packet scattering and energy dissipation dynamics in carbon nanotube oscillators
Authors: Prasad Matukumilli V. D. , Bhattacharya Baidurya
Published: December 2015

Friction in carbon nanotube (CNT) oscillators can be explained in terms of the interplay between low frequency mechanical motions and high frequency vibrational modes of the sliding surfaces. We analyze single mode phonon wave packet dynamics of CNT based mechanical oscillators, with cores either stationary or sliding with moderate velocities, and study how various individual phonons travel through the outer CNT, interact with the inner nanostructure, and undergo scattering. Two acoustic modes (longitudinal and transverse) and one optical mode (flexural optical) are found to be responsible for the major portion of friction in these oscillators: the transmission functions display a significant dip in the rather narrow frequency range of 5–15 meV. We also find that the profile of the dip is characteristic of the inner core. In contrast, radial breathing and twisting modes, which are dominant in thermal transport, display ideal transmission at all frequencies. We also observe polarization dependent scattering and find that the scattering dynamics comprises of an oscillating decay of localized energy inside the inner CNT. This work provides a way towards engineering CNT linear oscillators with better tribological properties.
Resolving the biophysics of axon transmembrane polarization in a single closed-form description
Authors: Melendy Robert F.
Published: December 2015

When a depolarizing event occurs across a cell membrane there is a remarkable change in its electrical properties. A complete depolarization event produces a considerably rapid increase in voltage that propagates longitudinally along the axon and is accompanied by changes in axial conductance. A dynamically changing magnetic field is associated with the passage of the action potential down the axon. Over 75 years of research has gone into the quantification of this phenomenon. To date, no unified model exist that resolves transmembrane polarization in a closed-form description. Here, a simple but formative description of propagated signaling phenomena in the membrane of an axon is presented in closed-form. The focus is on using both biophysics and mathematical methods for elucidating the fundamental mechanisms governing transmembrane polarization. The results presented demonstrate how to resolve electromagnetic and thermodynamic factors that govern transmembrane potential. Computational results are supported by well-established quantitative descriptions of propagated signaling phenomena in the membrane of an axon. The findings demonstrate how intracellular conductance, the thermodynamics of magnetization, and current modulation function together in generating an action potential in a unified closed-form description. The work presented in this paper provides compelling evidence that three basic factors contribute to the propagated signaling in the membrane of an axon. It is anticipated this work will compel those in biophysics, physical biology, and in the computational neurosciences to probe deeper into the classical and quantum features of membrane magnetization and signaling. It is hoped that subsequent investigations of this sort will be advanced by the computational features of this model without having to resort to numerical methods of analysis.
Measurement and simulation of top- and bottom-illuminated solar-blind AlGaN metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors with high external quantum efficiencies
Authors: Brendel Moritz , Helbling Markus , Knigge Andrea , Brunner Frank , Weyers Markus
Published: December 2015

A comprehensive study on top- and bottom-illuminated Al0.5Ga0.5N/AlN metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetectors having different AlGaN absorber layer thickness is presented. The measured external quantum efficiency (EQE) shows pronounced threshold and saturation behavior as a function of applied bias voltage up to 50 V reaching about 50% for 0.1 μm and 67% for 0.5 μm thick absorber layers under bottom illumination. All experimental findings are in very good accordance with two-dimensional drift-diffusion modeling results. By taking into account macroscopic polarization effects in the hexagonal metal-polar +c-plane AlGaN/AlN heterostructures, new insights into the general device functionality of AlGaN-based MSM photodetectors are obtained. The observed threshold/saturation behavior is caused by a bias-dependent extraction of photoexcited holes from the Al0.5Ga0.5N/AlN interface. While present under bottom illumination for any AlGaN layer thickness, under top illumination this mechanism influences the EQE-bias characteristics only for thin layers.
Measurement of InAsSb bandgap energy and InAs/InAsSb band edge positions using spectroscopic ellipsometry and photoluminescence spectroscopy
Authors: Webster P. T. , Riordan N. A. , Liu S. , Steenbergen E. H. , Synowicki R. A. , Zhang Y.-H. , Johnson S. R.
Published: December 2015

The structural and optical properties of lattice-matched InAs0.911Sb0.089 bulk layers and strain-balanced InAs/InAs1−xSbx (x ∼ 0.1–0.4) superlattices grown on (100)-oriented GaSb substrates by molecular beam epitaxy are examined using X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and temperature dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy. The photoluminescence and ellipsometry measurements determine the ground state bandgap energy and the X-ray diffraction measurements determine the layer thickness and mole fraction of the structures studied. Detailed modeling of the X-ray diffraction data is employed to quantify unintentional incorporation of approximately 1% Sb into the InAs layers of the superlattices. A Kronig-Penney model of the superlattice miniband structure is used to analyze the valence band offset between InAs and InAsSb, and hence the InAsSb band edge positions at each mole fraction. The resulting composition dependence of the bandgap energy and band edge positions of InAsSb are described using the bandgap bowing model; the respective low and room temperature bowing parameters for bulk InAsSb are 938 and 750 meV for the bandgap, 558 and 383 meV for the conduction band, and −380 and −367 meV for the valence band.
Wrinkling of extensional thin films through modified large deflection equations analytically and experimentally
Authors: Jen M.-H. R. , Wu Y.-H.
Published: December 2015

The stretch-induced wrinkling of thin films is solved through the modified von Kármán large deflection equations by first selecting the suitable deformation expressions that satisfy boundary conditions. Then, adopting the principle of minimum potential energy we obtain the deformations of simply supported rectangular thin films. The obtained significant deflections are nonlinearly elastic and of the lowest order of infinite solutions. The parameters of aspect ratio, the thickness and material of thin films are studied analytically and numerically. The highlighted results of wrinkle amplitude and load are in good agreement with experiments. The methodology also indicates the limit load impending plasticity and predicts the applied load precisely for each wrinkle. Further, it can be extended to the variety of multifunctional orthotropic and multi-layered thin films.
Ion channels facilitate long-distance communication among bacteria
Authors: Chang Sung
Published: December 2015

The specialized membrane proteins’ function, puzzling in a single bacterial cell, becomes apparent when the cell joins a large colony.
Shape-programmable materials
Authors: Modes Carl , Warner Mark
Published: December 2015

Inspired by the insights of mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, scientists are engineering hydrogels and liquid-crystal-containing polymers that change from flat to curved in response to heat and other stimuli.
Nonnative SOD1 trimer is toxic to motor neurons in a model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Proctor Elizabeth A. , Fee Lanette , Tao Yazhong , Redler Rachel L. , Fay James M. , Zhang Yuliang , Lv Zhengjian , Mercer Ian P. , Deshmukh Mohanish , Lyubchenko Yuri L. , Dokholyan Nikolay V.
Published: December 2015

Significance

Protein aggregation is a hallmark of neurodegenerative disease and is hypothesized to cause neuron death. Despite extensive study of disease-associated aggregating proteins, mechanisms of neuron death remain a mystery, and no cures or effective treatments yet exist. Here, we demonstrate the toxicity of a small aggregate of the Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) protein, associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We present an experimentally verified structural model of this toxic species and show that SOD1 mutants designed to promote formation of this aggregate increase cell death, providing a direct link between aggregate presence and neuron death. Knowledge of toxic species and the ability to manipulate their formation provides a valuable direction for pursuit of therapeutic strategies in ALS.
Production of a YY Male Brook Trout Broodstock for Potential Eradication of Undesired Brook Trout Populations
Authors: Schill Daniel J , Heindel Jeff A , Campbell Matthew R , Meyer Kevin A , Mamer Elizabeth R J M
Published: December 2015

Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis introduced outside of their native range often negatively impact native aquatic fauna or provide marginal fisheries and are frequently targeted for manual or piscicide removal in lakes and streams. Unfortunately, complete eradication of exotic Brook Trout populations via these methods is rarely achieved; new approaches are needed. A potential alternative is a Trojan Y Chromosome (TYC) program in which hatchery-produced genetically YY male fish would be regularly released into an undesired population over time, skewing the population towards 100% males, theoretically resulting in wild population extirpation. We developed two genetic sex markers for Brook Trout and employed juvenile sex reversal methods commonly used in commercial aquaculture to develop a YY broodstock that can produce offspring for possible future use as biological control agents. Our search for genetic sex markers proved successful, with genotypic sex determination for two assays matching the observed phenotype for 90 out of 90 individuals. In the first phase of the program, estradiol-infused feed readily feminized genetic XY males into neofemales (FXY fish) at a high rate (99.6%; n = 224). Survival of progeny from such egg-laying FXY fish averaged 88% to eye-up and 91% from eye-up to ponding, values similar to untreated Brook Trout reared at the same facility. In the second program phase, we cultured both sperm- and egg-producing supermales (YY fish), a vital step towards development of TYC technology on a large aquaculture scale. Results showed that, in the hatchery, estradiol treatment does not reduce Brook Trout growth. This study demonstrates that hatchery production of a YY Brook Trout broodstock is feasible, modest in cost (less than US$10,000), and can be completed in 4 years. Although several hurdles remain before a full-scale stocking program could occur, we believe that future work on the TYC strategy for Brook Trout is warranted.
The Use of Tricaine Methanesulfonate, Clove Oil, Metomidate, and 2-Phenoxyethanol for Anesthesia Induction in Alewives
Authors: Berlinsky David L , Watson Mark T , DiMaggio Matthew A , Breton Timothy S
Published: December 2015

The efficacy of four anesthetic agents—tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222), clove oil, metomidate, and 2-phenoxyethanol (2-PE)—was studied in adult, juvenile (133.3 ± 1.5 mm, 27.5 ± 8.9 g; mean ± SE), and larval Alewives Alosa pseudoharengus. In an initial trial, wild-caught adults were anesthetized to a state where they failed to respond to strong tactile stimuli when dosed with 87.5–112.5 mg/L MS-222, 25–40 mg/L clove oil, 0.5–5.0 mg/L metomidate, and 125–550 mg/L 2-PE. Optimal doses for anesthesia, defined as those providing the combined shortest induction and recovery times, were similar for larvae and juveniles: 75–100 mg/L MS-222, 40 mg/L clove oil, 5–7 mg/L metomidate, and 500 mg/L 2-PE. All juvenile fish survived 48 h postexposure to each optimal dose. In a longer (24 h) sedation experiment, juvenile Alewives were netted and exposed to low clove oil (2.5 and 5.0 mg/L) and metomidate (0.25 and 0.50 mg/L) doses, after which plasma cortisol was measured. Fish exposed to the clove oil treatments exhibited a cortisol stress response that was prolonged in the higher-dose treatment. No cortisol stress response was observed in the metomidate treatments. Overall, optimal acute anesthesia doses for Alewives were similar to those reported for other species, and metomidate may be useful for longer-term sedation.
Competing Radical Translations: Examples, Limitations and Implications
Authors: Levy Edwin
Published: January 2016

In Chapter II of Word and Object, Quine presents and analyzes some of the philosophical difficulties found in the following situation: a linguist comes upon some jungle natives whose language is entirely unknown to him; the linguist then sets out to provide a translation of the jungle language into English. What the linguist would then be said to produce is a ‘radical translation’. Quine's thesis about radical translation is this: while, in a sense, translations can be produced, there are philosophical reasons why there can be no uniquely correct equivalence class of radical translations.

Although I have stated Quine's theme with respect to radical translation, it must be emphasized that even in this single chapter he is defending a far more general claim, i.e.:

Thinking in terms of radical translation of exotic languages has helped make factors vivid, but the main lesson to be derived concerns the empirical slack in our own beliefs… To the same degree that the radical translation of sentences is undetermined by the totality of dispositions to verbal behavior, our own theories and beliefs in general are underdetermined by the totality of possible sensory evidence time without end. ([10] p. 78)
On Some Autonomy Arguments in Social Science
Authors: Nickles Thomas
Published: January 2016

My aim in this necessarily compact paper is to sketch a philosophical defense of the kind of position assumed by the later Kroeber, when he wrote:

… That which is specifically characteristic and distinctively significant of phenomena of a level [of organization] is intelligible only in terms of the other phenomena, qualities, or regularities of that same level. The most characteristic qualities or phenomena are never explained by what we know of another level….

This does not mean that a new entity is hypostasized [sic] as the unique, substance of each level. Life, mind, society, and culture are not outside matter and energy, not outside space and time…. They are different organizations of matter and energy, if one will, which physicists and chemists cannot, in virtue of their physical and chemical methods, deal with fruitfully….
The Plausibility of Research Programs
Authors: Millman Arthur B.
Published: January 2016

Feyerabend, Kuhn, and Lakatos have held that no objective reasons can be given for entertaining or working on a particular new theory, paradigm, or research program. I shall examine one of the-main cases they appeal to and argue that, although Copernicus's theory was not superior to the Ptolemaic theory according to any of the usual criteria for comparing theories, it did have features which provided the early Copernicans with good reasons for entertaining it and trying to develop it further.

Let us begin with Feyerabend. He has been a vigorous advocate of a “principle of proliferation” according to which scientists should always be considering alternatives to the theories currently accepted. Indeed, Feyerabend holds that scientists should strive to “invent and elaborate theories which are inconsistent with the accepted point of view, even if the latter should happen to be highly confirmed and generally accepted” ([4] , p.26).
Are There Interesting Philosophical Issues in Technology as Distinct from Science? An Overview of Philosophy of Technology
Authors: Durbin Paul T.
Published: January 2016

I take it that the original issue of this symposium is implicit rather than explicit in the title. As expressed by one of the arrangers of the symposium, it was this: “Despite a growing interest in philosophy of technology, many philosophers of science doubt that there are any very interesting philosophical issues generated by technology as opposed to science.”

While I share the concern here — much that has been written on technology, even by philosophers, is of dubious merit — I have been asked to present my views, I am sure, as an advocate of philosophy of technology. And I gladly accept the challenge. I feel that worthwhile work has been done, especially in the last ten years, and even more strongly that worthwhile work needs to be done — and from many perspectives. I turn to the need first.
Technology and Science, or “Vive La Petite Difference”
Authors: Layton Edwin T.
Published: January 2016

Small differences can be very significant; this is as true of science and technology as it is with the sexes. To a first approximation, science and technology are strikingly similar; both deal with the world of matter and energy, and they deal with it in rather similar ways. Moreover, since the Renaissance science and technology have been growing closer to one another, in methods, organization and even in self-identification. Thus, there are some contexts in which it is quite proper to treat science and technology as the same. And this is valid in precisely the same sense that it is correct, in some contexts, to treat men and women as the same. But it is clearly fallacious to treat the sexes as identical in all respects. The same applies to science and technology.
Babies, Bathwater and Derivational Reduction
Authors: Caplan Arthur
Published: January 2016

There has been a good deal of discussion of the subject of reductionism in the literature of the history and philosophy of science. It would not be an understatement to claim that the standard or received account of the reduction of theories in science, characterized both by its close attention to the supposed connectability of terms between the theories involved in reduction, and, by the prominence assigned to derivation as the core of the reductionistic enterprise [27], has not fared well in recent critical evaluations ([7], [10], [11], [16], [17], [18], [19], [26], [29], [30], [38]). The derivational view of reduction, or at least the version put forth by Ernest Nagel in his book,The Structure of Science, has been criticized as impractical, inaccurate, idealized, distorting, sterile, and even incoherent [38]. Perhaps the most decimating of all the charges brought against the Nagelian account of derivational reduction is that there is not a single instance of derivational reduction to be found anywhere in the entire annals of scientific inquiry([3], [4], [38]).
Tachyon Signals, Causal Paradoxes, and the Relativity of Simultaneity
Authors: Savitt Steven F.
Published: January 2016

The basic equations of the Special Theory of Relativity (STR) imply that no massive particle travelling at a velocity less than the velocity of light in vacuo (call that ‘c’) can be accelerated to a velocity either equal to or greater than c. For instance, the total energy E of a particle is given by the formula

(1)

where m is the rest mass of the particle and v its velocity in some given co-ordinate system (CS). One can choose units so that c = 1; hence for ordinary particles (|v| < 1) as v approaches 1, E grows without bound. That is, as a particle accelerates, its total energy increases and ever-increasing amounts of energy are required to accelerate it. So no ordinary particle (tardyon, bradyon) can be accelerated continuously from velocity v < 1 to velocity v = 1, much less to velocity v > 1.
Must Beliefs be Sentences?
Authors: Loar Brian
Published: January 2016

The language of thought hypothesis is this: central among the causes of our behavior are inner states with linguistic structure that play roughly the role we pre-scientifically ascribe to our beliefs and desires. A philosophical thesis has been proposed on the basis of that scientific hypothesis- namely, that the way to explicate commonsense notions of the content of beliefs and desires, of their intentionality, is in terms of the meaning of such internal sentences. I am going to compare this explicative strategy with a certain functionalist theory of propositional attitudes, on which propositional attitude ascriptions of the form ‘x believes (desires) that —’ are explicatively more fundamental than anything linguistic and semantic. This is a modern dress version of an old dispute; but the issue is not between the naturalistic proponent of linguistic meaning and the antinaturalistic proponent of irreducible intentionality.
Computational Models in the Philosophy of Science
Authors: Thagard Paul
Published: January 2016

This paper is a summary of my oral presentation at PSA 86. Since that presentation was in turn a summary of views that will appear in great detail elsewhere (Thagard forthcoming), I shall be very brief here. My aim is to outline how computational models can provide the same benefits to the philosophy of science that they currently provide to cognitive psychology. I shall begin by situating an enterprise that I call computational philosophy of science in relation to the more familiar fields of historical philosophy of science, artificial intelligence, and cognitive psychology. After some general remarks about the use of computational models, I shall describe a particular model of problem solving and learning that has been used to simulate the discovery and justification of the wave theory of sound.
Philosophy of Science and Its Rational Reconstructions: Remarks on the VPI Program for Testing Philosophies of Science
Authors: Richardson Alan W.
Published: January 2016

For a number of years now, we, as philosophers of science, have been enjoined by more and more of our colleagues to understand the task of developing a philosophy of science to be itself a scientific task. We are told that if we want to understand science we have no better (and perhaps indeed no other) path to such an understanding than the path of science itself. We should view ourselves as ultimately attempting to arrive at a relatively complete theoretical understanding of how science proceeds. This is a call tonaturalizephilosophy of science.

Somewhat more recently some philosophers of science have become impatient even with those who have taken up the naturalist banner. It isn’t enough, they tell us, to arrive at an understanding of the nature of philosophy of science that proclaims it to be one science among many.
Theory-ladenness of Perception Arguments
Authors: Bishop Michael A.
Published: January 2016

The theory-ladenness of perception argument is not an argument at all. It is two clusters of arguments. The first cluster is empirical. These arguments typically begin with a discussion of one or more of the following psychological phenomena: (a) the conceptual penetrability of the visual system, (b) voluntary perceptual reversal of ambiguous figures, (c) adaptation to distorting lenses, or (d) expectation effects. From this evidence, proponents of theory-ladenness typically conclude that perception is in some sense “laden” with theory. The second cluster attempts to extract deep epistemological lessons from this putative fact Some philosophers conclude that science is not (in any traditional sense) a rational activity (Feyerabend 1975); while others conclude that we must radically reconceptualize what scientific rationality involves (Kuhn 1970; Churchland 1979).
Putting Philosophy of Science to the Test: the Case or Aristotle's Biology
Authors: Lennox James G.
Published: January 2016

Aristotle's De Partibus Animalium (PA) is, if there ever was one, a classic. It consists, at the broadest level, of four books. The first is devoted to articulating (I'm quoting its introduction) “…standards, by reference to which one will judge the manner of the demonstrations , apart from the question of how the truth has it, whether thus or otherwise.” (639al2-15). Books II-IV, on the other hand, are introduced as attempts to provide causal explanations for the facts regarding the parts that belong to the various kinds of animals, facts systematically organized in the Historia Animalium. (646a8-12). This means that Aristotle's De Partibus consists of an introductory book on the philosophy of biological science, and three books of biological science.

Such an arrangement provides the student of this great work an opportunity to explore one of the perennial issues in the history and philosophy of science: the connection between a scientist's theory of science, and his actual scientific practice.
Multivariate Models of Scientific Change
Authors: Solomon Miriam
Published: January 2016

Philosophers are particularly susceptible to the temptation to produce what Donna Haraway calls a “TOE (=a Theory of Everything)” (Haraway 1994). Many of us like to integrate the methods and results of different disciplines, discern underlying unity in bifurcations and thereby—so we think—get closer to a single, true, representation of the universe. Proposals to integrate cognitive and social models of scientific change have come from philosophers—and not from historians, sociologists, feminist critics, anthropologists, rhetoricians or semioticians of science. The proposals are also responses to the growing influence of sociologists of science (e.g. Collins, Latour, Shapin, Woolgar) who have taken stands on epistemological matters, formerly the province of philosophers. It is common among sociologists of science to reject all proposals to integrate cognitive and social accounts, as well as to reject all cognitive accounts: Bruno Latour's famous moratorium on cognitive studies of science (Latour 1987, 247) is one example of this.
The Metaphysics of the Disunified World
Authors: Cartwright Nancy
Published: January 2016

Pluralism is usually opposed to realism. That's why realists tend to affirm reductionism, even if only the lapsed reductionism of supervenience. It is no accident that postmoderns talk about the different worlds we live in. The realist is bent upon one world with one history, and that is the history for the sciences to tell about it, albeit with different degrees of precision, for different purposes and different points of view. The opposition between realism and pluralism is multiplied when the domains of different theories float about as in the balloon image of the relation of the sciences (Figure 1) and when no combination of fields can together supply a set of descriptions in terms of which at least one baseline history can be told. But the opposition is not necessary.
HPS and the Classic Normative Mission
Authors: Baigrie Brian S.
Published: January 2016

This session is about the future of philosophy of science, one of a series of negotiations occasioned by the suggestion that philosophy of science must engage, not only the history of science and/or contemporary scientific practice but also the challenge, raised by social scientists, of seeing science as essentially a cultural and dynamic activity. The session is timely because these negotiations are well underway. Many philosophers of science are already committed to an inter-disciplinary eclecticism that has generated a heterogeneous family of science studies programs and projects, all designed to situate science in its social, historical, and politico-economic contexts, but each with its own sense of what shape inter-disciplinary science studies research will take in the coming years. Philosophers who favor this new disciplinary eclecticism face many problems if they are to successfully forge a hybrid science studies that does not violate their integrity as philosophers.
Elementary approach to closed billiard trajectories in asymmetric normed spaces
Authors: Akopyan Arseniy , Balitskiy Alexey , Karasev Roman , Sharipova Anastasia
Published: December 2015

We apply the technique of Károly Bezdek and Daniel Bezdek to study billiard trajectories in convex bodies, when the length is measured with a (possibly asymmetric) norm. We prove a lower bound for the length of the shortest closed billiard trajectory, related to the non-symmetric Mahler problem. With this technique we are able to give short and elementary proofs to some known results.
Operator-valued dyadic harmonic analysis beyond doubling measures
Authors: Conde-Alonso José , López-Sánchez Luis Daniel
Published: December 2015

We obtain a complete characterization of the weak-type

(
1
,
1
)

(1,1)

for Haar shift operators in terms of generalized Haar systems adapted to a Borel measure

μ
\mu

in the operator-valued setting. The main technical tool in our method is a noncommutative Calderón-Zygmund decomposition valid for arbitrary Borel measures.
On flow equivalence of one-sided topological Markov shifts
Authors: Matsumoto Kengo
Published: December 2015

We introduce notions of suspension and flow equivalence on one-sided topological Markov shifts, which we call one-sided suspension and one-sided flow equivalence, respectively. We prove that one-sided flow equivalence is equivalent to continuous orbit equivalence on one-sided topological Markov shifts. We also show that the zeta function of the flow on a one-sided suspension is a dynamical zeta function with some potential function and that the set of certain dynamical zeta functions is invariant under one-sided flow equivalence of topological Markov shifts.
Using observational data to emulate a randomized trial of dynamic treatment-switching strategies: an application to antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Cain Lauren E , Saag Michael S , Petersen Maya , May Margaret T , Ingle Suzanne M , Logan Roger , Robins James M , Abgrall Sophie , Shepherd Bryan E , Deeks Steven G , John Gill M , Touloumi Giota , Vourli Georgia , Dabis François , Vandenhende Marie-Anne , Reiss Peter , van Sighem Ard , Samji Hasina , Hogg Robert S , Rybniker Jan , Sabin Caroline A , Jose Sophie , del Amo Julia , Moreno Santiago , Rodríguez Benigno , Cozzi-Lepri Alessandro , Boswell Stephen L , Stephan Christoph , Pérez-Hoyos Santiago , Jarrin Inma , Guest Jodie L , D’Arminio Monforte Antonella , Antinori Andrea , Moore Richard , Campbell Colin NJ , Casabona Jordi , Meyer Laurence , Seng Rémonie , Phillips Andrew N , Bucher Heiner C , Egger Matthias , Mugavero Michael J , Haubrich Richard , Geng Elvin H , Olson Ashley , Eron Joseph J , Napravnik Sonia , Kitahata Mari M , Van Rompaey Stephen E , Teira Ramón , Justice Amy C , Tate Janet P , Costagliola Dominique , Sterne Jonathan AC , Hernán Miguel A ,   on behalf of the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration, the Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems, and the HIV-CAUSAL Collaboration
Published: December 2015

Background: When a clinical treatment fails or shows suboptimal results, the question of when to switch to another treatment arises. Treatment switching strategies are often dynamic because the time of switching depends on the evolution of an individual’s time-varying covariates. Dynamic strategies can be directly compared in randomized trials. For example, HIV-infected individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy could be randomized to switching therapy within 90 days of HIV-1 RNA crossing above a threshold of either 400 copies/ml (tight-control strategy) or 1000 copies/ml (loose-control strategy).

Methods: We review an approach to emulate a randomized trial of dynamic switching strategies using observational data from the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration, the Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems and the HIV-CAUSAL Collaboration. We estimated the comparative effect of tight-control vs. loose-control strategies on death and AIDS or death via inverse-probability weighting.

Results: Of 43 803 individuals who initiated an eligible antiretroviral therapy regimen in 2002 or later, 2001 met the baseline inclusion criteria for the mortality analysis and 1641 for the AIDS or death analysis. There were 21 deaths and 33 AIDS or death events in the tight-control group, and 28 deaths and 41 AIDS or death events in the loose-control group. Compared with tight control, the adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for loose control were 1.10 (0.73, 1.66) for death, and 1.04 (0.86, 1.27) for AIDS or death.

Conclusions: Although our effective sample sizes were small and our estimates imprecise, the described methodological approach can serve as an example for future analyses.
RepA Protein Encoded by Oat dwarf virus Elicits a Temperature-Sensitive Hypersensitive Response–Type Cell Death That Involves Jasmonic Acid–Dependent Signaling
Authors: Qian Yajuan , Hou Huwei , Shen Qingtang , Cai Xinzhong , Sunter Garry , Zhou Xueping
Published: December 2015

The hypersensitive response (HR) is a component of disease resistance that is often induced by pathogen infection, but essentially no information is available for members of the destructive mastreviruses. We have investigated an HR-type response elicited in Nicotiana species by Oat dwarf virus (ODV) and have found that expression of the ODV RepA protein but not other ODV-encoded proteins elicits the HR-type cell death associated with a burst of H2O2. Deletion mutagenesis indicates that the first nine amino acids (aa) at the N terminus of RepA and the two regions located between aa residues 173 and 195 and between aa residues 241 and 260 near the C terminus are essential for HR-type cell-death elicitation. Confocal and electron microscopy showed that the RepA protein is localized in the nuclei of plant cells and might contain bipartite nuclear localization signals. The HR-like lesions mediated by RepA were inhibited by temperatures above 30°C and involvement of jasmonic acid (JA) in HR was identified by gain- and loss-of-function experiments. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an elicitor of HR-type cell death from mastreviruses.
The Effects of Intrapartum Supportive Care on Fear of Delivery and Labor Outcomes: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: İsbir Gözde Gökçe , Serçekuş Pinar
Published: December 2015

Background:

Supportive care during labor, the primary role of intrapartum nurses and midwives, provides comfort to prepartum women and helps facilitate a positive labor experience. It has been argued that supportive care during labor reduces fear and anxiety as well as the resultant side effects. However, evidence supporting this argument is insufficient.

Purpose:

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of intrapartum supportive care on fear of delivery and on the key parameters of the labor process.

Methods:

This study used a single-blind randomized controlled trial approach. Randomized block assignment was used to assign 72 participants to either the intervention group (n = 36) or the control group (n = 36). Three women in the intervention group and six in the control group were later excluded from the study because they received emergency cesarean delivery. The intervention group received continuous supportive care, and the control group received routine hospital care.

Results:

No significant differences were identified between the two groups at baseline. The intervention group reported less fear of delivery during the active and transient phases of labor, higher perceived support and control during delivery, lower pain scores during the transient phase of labor, and a shorter delivery period than the control group (p < .05). However, no significant difference in the use of oxytocin during delivery between the two groups was reported.

Conclusions/Implications for Practice:

The results of this evidence-based study suggest that continuous support during labor has clinically meaningful benefits for women and that all women should receive this support throughout their labor and delivery process.
Newborn Direct or Conjugated Bilirubin Measurements As a Potential Screen for Biliary Atresia
Authors: Harpavat Sanjiv , Ramraj Ramya , Finegold Milton J. , Brandt Mary L. , Hertel Paula M. , Fallon Sara C. , Shepherd Ross W. , Shneider Benjamin L.
Published: December 2015

Objectives:

Although screening for biliary atresia (BA) is associated with improved outcomes, no screening program currently exists in the United States. In this study, we explore the possibility of a screening strategy based on newborn direct or conjugated bilirubin (DB or CB) measurements. Our objective is to estimate testing's sensitivity and specificity for BA.

Methods:

Two groups were examined retrospectively. For sensitivity calculations, a BA group consisting of infants born between January 2011 and December 2014, diagnosed with BA, and cared for at a pediatric gastroenterology referral center was examined. For specificity calculations, a non‐BA group that comprised of infants born between June 2009 and August 2011 in a hospital with a policy of checking newborn bilirubin concentrations was studied.

Results:

All 35 infants with newborn DB or CB measurements in the BA group had elevated concentrations, translating to a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 87.7–100). In the non‐BA group, 8936 of 9102 infants had DB concentrations within the laboratory's reference interval, translating to a specificity of 98.2% (95% CI 97.9–98.4). Three methods—calculating direct:total bilirubin ratios, using 99% reference intervals, and repeat testing—changed specificity to different degrees.

Conclusions:

Newborn DB or CB measurements may have a high sensitivity and specificity for BA. Specificity can be further improved by using 99% reference intervals and/or repeat testing. Our findings can serve as the foundation for larger prospective studies, to determine whether newborn DB or CB measurements can be an effective screening strategy for BA.
Eosinophilic Esophagitis‐Associated Chemical and Mechanical Microenvironment Shapes Esophageal Fibroblast Behavior
Authors: Muir Amanda B. , Dods Kara , Henry Steven J. , Benitez Alain J. , Lee Dale , Whelan Kelly A. , DeMarshall Maureen , Hammer Daniel A. , Falk Gary , Wells Rebecca G. , Spergel Jonathan , Nakagawa Hiroshi , Wang Mei‐Lun
Published: December 2015

Objectives:

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an immune‐mediated allergic disease characterized by progressive esophageal dysmotility and fibrotic stricture associated with chronic esophageal fibroblast activation. It remains unknown how esophageal fibroblasts respond to EoE‐relevant matrix stiffness or inflammatory cytokines.

Methods:

Immunofluorescence was used to evaluate α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) expression in endoscopic esophageal biopsies. Primary esophageal fibroblasts from adult and pediatric patients with or without EoE were exposed to transforming growth factor (TGF)β to determine gene expression, collagen‐matrix contractility, and cytoskeletal organization. The influence of matrix stiffness upon fibroblast behavior was assessed on the engineered surface of polyacrylamide gels with varying stiffness. Fibroblast traction forces were measured using microfabricated‐post‐array‐detectors.

Results:

EoE esophageal fibroblasts had enhanced α‐SMA expression. TGFβ not only stimulated enhanced fibroblast‐specific gene expression but also promoted fibroblast‐mediated collagen‐matrix contraction, despite disease state or age of patients as the origin of cells. Unlike conventional monolayer cell, culture conditions using plastic surface (1 GPa) that activates fibroblasts constitutively, our engineered platforms recapitulating physiologically relevant stiffness (1–20 kPa) revealed that matrix stiffness defines the extent of α‐SMA expression, intracellular collagen fibril organization, SMAD3 phosphorylation, and fibroblast traction force.

Conclusions:

Matrix stiffness may critically influence TGFβ‐mediated gene expression and functions of esophageal fibroblasts ex vivo independent of age and disease conditions. These findings provide a novel insight into the pathogenesis of fibrostenotic disease in EoE.