bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Melatonin attenuates 60Co γ‐ray‐induced hematopoietic, immunological and gastrointestinal injuries in C57BL/6 male mice
Authors: Khan Shahanshah , Adhikari Jawahar Singh , Rizvi Moshahid Alam , Chaudhury Nabo Kumar
Published: March 2016

Protection of hematopoietic, immunological, and gastrointestinal injuries from deleterious effects of ionizing radiation is prime rational for developing radioprotector. The objective of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the radioprotective potential of melatonin against damaging effects of radiation‐induced hematopoietic, immunological, and gastrointestinal injuries in mice. C57BL/6 male mice were intraperitoneally administered with melatonin (50–150 mg/kg) 30 min prior to whole‐body radiation exposure of 5 and 7.5 Gy using 60Co‐teletherapy unit. Thirty‐day survival against 7.5 Gy was monitored. Melatonin (100 mg/kg) pretreatment showed 100% survival against 7.5 Gy radiation dose. Melatonin pretreatment expanded femoral HPSCs, and inhibited spleenocyte DNA strands breaks and apoptosis in irradiated mice. At this time, it also protected radiation‐induced loss of T cell sub‐populations in spleen. In addition, melatonin pretreatment enhanced crypts regeneration and increased villi number and length in irradiated mice. Translocation of gut bacteria to spleen, liver and kidney were controlled in irradiated mice pretreated with melatonin. Radiation‐induced gastrointestinal DNA strand breaks, lipid peroxidation, and expression of proapoptotic‐p53, Bax, and antiapoptotic‐Bcl‐xL proteins were reversed in melatonin pretreated mice. This increase of Bcl‐xL was associated with the decrease of Bax/Bcl‐xL ratio. ABTS and DPPH radical assays revealed that melatonin treatment alleviated total antioxidant capacity in hematopoietic and gastrointestinal tissues. Present study demonstrated that melatonin pretreatment was able to prevent hematopoietic, immunological, and gastrointestinal radiation‐induced injury, therefore, overcoming lethality in mice. These results suggest potential of melatonin in developing radioprotector for protection of bone marrow, spleen, and gastrointestine in planned radiation exposure scenarios including radiotherapy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 501–518, 2017.
Nurturing Writers: Making Room for Authentic Writing
Authors: Caponera Samantha
Published: March 2016

View From the Chalkboard essays share readers' reflections on teaching experiences, advice for new teachers, and perspectives on current issues.
Facing Time in Ischemic Stroke: An Alternative Hypothesis for Collateral Failure
Authors: Pham M. , Bendszus M.
Published: March 2016

Several randomized-controlled trials could recently demonstrate that ischemic stroke which is caused by large-cerebral-artery-occlusion can be treated effectively by endovascular recanalization. Among these studies, particularly the data from the ESCAPE study further corroborated the strong association between macrovascular pial collateral flow (before recanalization) and clinical outcome after recanalization. This review briefly gives an overview on these data and on the clinical key observations demonstrating this association in practice. Since the ischemic penumbra can only be sustained by collateral flow, the collapse of collateral blood flow or poor collateral filling, observed for example by DSA or CTA before recanalization, seems to be a primary cause of rapidly progressive infarction and futile therapeutic recanalization. However, it needs to be emphasized that the true cause-effect relationship between collateral failure and rapidly progressive infarction of the penumbra, i.e. the high probability of unfavorable clinical outcome despite recanalization, remains unclear. Along this line, an alternative hypothesis is offered viewing the collapse of collateral flow not as a cause but possibly as an inevitable secondary consequence of increasing peripheral/microvascular resistance during progressive infarction.
A language-independent proof system for full program equivalence
Authors: Ciobâcă Ştefan , Lucanu Dorel , Rusu Vlad , Roşu Grigore
Published: March 2016

Two programs are fully equivalent if, for the same input, either they both diverge or they both terminate with the same result. Full equivalence is an adequate notion of equivalence for programs written in deterministic languages. It is useful in many contexts, such as capturing the correctness of program transformations within the same language, or capturing the correctness of compilers between two different languages. In this paper we introduce a language-independent proof system for full equivalence, which is parametric in the operational semantics of two languages and in a state-similarity relation. The proof system is sound: a proof tree establishes the full equivalence of the programs given to it as input. We illustrate it on two programs in two different languages (an imperative one and a functional one), that both compute the Collatz sequence. The Collatz sequence is an interesting case study since it is not known whether the sequence terminates or not; nevertheless, our proof system shows that the two programs are fully equivalent (even if we cannot establish termination or divergence of either one).
Partnerships in medical education: looking across disciplinary boundaries to extend knowledge
Authors: Hall Emese , Cleland Jennifer , Mattick Karen
Published: March 2016

None
Tumor de células gigantes de la vaina tendinosa de la mano. Estudio de la epidemiología, eficacia de las pruebas de imagen en su diagnóstico y análisis de la recidiva
Authors: Codesal A. , Maldonado J.A. , Benavente P.
Published: March 2016

Objetivos: Conocer la capacidad diagnóstica de las diferentes pruebas de imagen empleadas en nuestro centro. Valorar si la distribución de las diferentes variables que definen la tumoración es la misma en los tumores con y sin recidiva.

Material y método: Se valoraron 54 casos de tumor de células gigantes de la vaina tendinosa de la mano. En todos se realizó una radiografía, en 19 ecografía y en 7 resonancia magnética. Los datos analizados fueron: sexo, edad, antecedente traumático, dedo afecto, localización, resultado de las pruebas de imagen, características anatomopatológicas de la tumoración (tamaño y número de nódulos), y presencia o no de recidiva.

Resultados: Se objetivó 1,7 mujeres por cada varón. La mano derecha y el segundo dedo fueron las localizaciones más frecuentes. Ninguna radiografía fue diagnóstica; la ecografía tuvo un valor predictivo positivo de 36,8% y la resonancia magnética de 71,4%. Hubo 6 casos de recidiva, sin relación estadísticamente significativa entre la recidiva y el tamaño, el número de nódulos o la artrosis.

Conclusión: La resonancia magnética tiene una capacidad diagnóstica superior a la ecografía, y esta, superior a la radiografía simple. No se ha encontrado ninguna asociación estadísticamente significativa entre la recidiva de la lesión y los factores estudiados.
La Palabre: A New Schema for Global Health
Authors: Luan William Patrick , Reed Paul
Published: March 2016

The Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa has led to a paradigm shift in the way the global community responds to outbreaks of disease. This new paradigm places even greater emphasis on collaboration in global health. Thepalabre,the traditional African practice of mediation and decision-making in the public sphere, offers a schema from which to view current and future global health engagement. This process of dialogue and exchange has many applications to global health exemplified recently by the West African Disaster Preparedness Initiative (WADPI), a follow-on activity to the Operation United Assistance (OUA) Ebola Response effort. WADPI, utilizing the structure of apalabre,seeks to catalyze and synergize constructive collaboration to set a foundation for disaster response in West Africa for years to come. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:541–543)
Effect of the eigenvalues of the velocity gradient tensor on particle collisions
Authors: Perrin Vincent E. , Jonker Harmen J. J.
Published: March 2016

This study uses the eigenvalues of the local velocity gradient tensor to categorize the local flow structures in incompressible turbulent flows into different types of saddle nodes and vortices and investigates their effect on the local collision kernel of heavy particles. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) results show that most of the collisions occur in converging regions with real and negative eigenvalues. Those regions are associated not only with a stronger preferential clustering of particles, but also with a relatively higher collision kernel. To better understand the DNS results, a conceptual framework is developed to compute the collision kernel of individual flow structures. Converging regions, where two out of three eigenvalues are negative, posses a very high collision kernel, as long as a critical amount of rotation is not exceeded. Diverging regions, where two out of three eigenvalues are positive, have a very low collision kernel, which is governed by the third and negative eigenvalue. This model is not suited for particles with Stokes number $St\gg 1$, where the contribution of particle collisions from caustics is dominant.
Substitutions of red meat, poultry and fish and risk of myocardial infarction
Authors: Würtz Anne M. L. , Hansen Mette D. , Tjønneland Anne , Rimm Eric B. , Schmidt Erik B. , Overvad Kim , Jakobsen Marianne U.
Published: March 2016

Red meat has been suggested to be adversely associated with risk of myocardial infarction (MI), but previous studies have rarely taken replacement foods into consideration. We aimed to investigate optimal substitutions between and within the food groups of red meat, poultry and fish for MI prevention. We followed up 55 171 women and men aged 50–64 years with no known history of MI at recruitment. Diet was assessed by a validated 192-item FFQ at baseline. Adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI for specified food substitutions of 150 g/week. During a median follow-up time of 13·6 years, we identified 656 female and 1694 male cases. Among women, the HR for replacing red meat with fatty fish was 0·76 (95 % CI 0·64, 0·89), whereas the HR for replacing red meat with lean fish was 1·00 (95 % CI 0·89, 1·14). Similarly, replacing poultry with fatty but not lean fish was inversely associated with MI: the HR was 0·81 (95 % CI 0·67, 0·98) for fatty fish and was 1·08 (95 % CI 0·92, 1·27) for lean fish. The HR for replacing lean with fatty fish was 0·75 (95 % CI 0·60, 0·94). Replacing processed with unprocessed red meat was not associated with MI. Among men, a similar pattern was found, although the associations were not statistically significant. This study suggests that replacing red meat, poultry or lean fish with fatty fish is associated with a lower risk of MI.
Associations between fruit, vegetable and legume intakes and prostate cancer risk: results from the prospective Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants (SU.VI.MAX) cohort
Authors: Diallo Abou , Deschasaux Mélanie , Galan Pilar , Hercberg Serge , Zelek Laurent , Latino-Martel Paule , Touvier Mathilde
Published: March 2016

Although experimental studies suggest that fruits, vegetables and legumes may exert protective effects against prostate carcinogenesis through various bioactive compounds such as dietary fibre and antioxidants, epidemiological evidence is lacking. Notably, very few prospective studies have investigated the relationship between legume intake and prostate cancer risk. Our objective was to prospectively investigate the association between fruit, vegetable, tomato products, potatoes and legume intakes and prostate cancer risk. This study included 3313 male participants to the SUpplémentation en VItamines et Minéraux AntioXydants cohort (follow-up: 1994–2007) who completed at least three 24-h dietary records during the first 2 years of follow-up. Associations between tertiles of intake and prostate cancer risk were assessed by multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. After a median follow-up of 12·6 years, 139 incident prostate cancers were diagnosed. An inverse association was observed between prostate cancer risk and tertiles of legume intake (hazard ratio (HR)T3v.T1=0·53; 95 % CI 0·34, 0·85; Ptrend=0·009). This association was maintained after excluding soya and soya products from the legume group (HRT3 v.T1=0·56; 95 % CI 0·35, 0·89; Ptrend=0·02). No association was observed between prostate cancer risk and tertiles of intakes of fruits (Ptrend=0·25), vegetables (Ptrend=0·91), potatoes (Ptrend=0·77) and tomato products (Ptrend=0·09). This prospective study confirms the null association between fruit and non-starchy vegetable intakes and prostate cancer risk observed in most previous cohorts. In contrast, although very few prospective studies have been published on the topic, our results suggest an inverse association between legume intake and prostate cancer risk, supported by mechanistic plausibility. These results should be confirmed by large-scale observational and intervention studies.
‘I AM GOING TO SAY … ’: A SIGN ON THE ROAD OF HERODOTUS’ LOGOS
Authors: Wood Clem
Published: March 2016

Er ist der Wanderer, der genau weiß, wohin er schließlich kommen will, auch genau die Hauptstationen seines Weges vorher festgelegt hat und innehält, der sich aber dabei Zeit läßt, um alles Schöne und Interessante, das die Gegend bietet, zu betrachten, und selbst lange Seitenwege zu diesem Zwecke nicht zu scheuen braucht, da er weiß, daß er die Hauptstraße am richtigen Punkte wieder erreichen wird.

M. Pohlenz, Herodot, der erste Geschichtschreiber des Abendlandes (1937)

Anyone familiar with Greek literature knows at once that this can describe no author but Herodotus. As readers have long recognized, travel is a crucial element of Herodotus’ persona not only as an historian and ethnographer but also as a narrator, to the extent that he has been called a tourist and a guide. Pohlenz draws his vivid metaphor from Herodotus himself, who assimilates movement through his narrative to movement through space by several well-known narratorial habits: he points out ‘paths’ of logoi (1.95.1: λόγων ὁδούς), goes out of his way to justify so-called ‘digressions’ (or Exkurse) and frequently uses verbs of movement to return to earlier narratives or to preview upcoming ones. However, most scholars have overlooked one important feature by which Herodotus creates this sense of progress through his logoi, although it appears in the programmatic sentence that begins his whole network of narrative signposts and recurs in his voice in the first half of the Histories and in important speeches in the second.
Defining the polyposis/colorectal cancer phenotype associated with the Ashkenazi GREM1 duplication: counselling and management recommendations
Authors: ZIAI JAMES , MATLOFF ELLEN , CHOI JAEHYUK , KOMBO NINANI , MATERIN MIGUEL , BALE ALLEN E.
Published: March 2016

Hereditary mixed polyposis is a genetically heterogeneous, autosomal dominant condition with adenomatous, hyperplastic and juvenile polyps. We conducted a comprehensive clinical evaluation of a large Ashkenazi Jewish family with this phenotype and performed extensive genetic testing. As seen in one previous report, a 40 kb duplication upstream of GREM1 segregated with the polyposis/colon cancer phenotype in this kindred. Our study confirms the association of GREM1 with mixed polyposis and further defines the phenotype seen with this mutation. This gene should be included in the test panel for all Jewish patients with mixed polyposis and may be considered in any Ashkenazi patient with unexplained hereditary colon cancer when mutations in other hereditary colon cancer genes have been ruled out.
A decision support system for the control of Campylobacter in chickens at farm level using data from Denmark
Authors: GARCIA A. B. , MADSEN A. L. , VIGRE H.
Published: March 2016

The control ofCampylobacterin poultry is considered a public health priority and some intervention strategies have been implemented in Denmark. Nonetheless,Campylobacterinfection in poultry can still be considerable particularly during the summer when the most promisingCampylobactercontrol strategy seems to be the use of fly screens. The use of cost-effective vaccines againstCampylobacteris also desirable. In order to controlCampylobacter, poultry producers need to make crucial decisions under conditions of uncertainty. With the aim of assisting poultry producers in decision making regardingCampylobactercontrol strategies, the objective of the present study was to produce a decision support system that integrated knowledge and used a Bayesian approach to handle uncertainty. This decision support system integrated epidemiological data, microbiological considerations, financial information and potential control strategies (the use of fly screens and hypothetical vaccines). In conclusion, results from model and sensitivity analyses indicated that the financial variables (cost–benefit functions) and the effectiveness of the different control strategies drove the results.
The prosocial benefits of seeing purpose in life events: A case of cultural selection in action?
Authors: Banerjee Konika
Published: March 2016

Norenzayan et al. propose that religious beliefs with incidental prosocial effects propagated via a long-term process of cultural evolution. Applying their model, I explore a possible candidate target of cultural selection: the teleological view – often culturally elaborated as a belief in karma or fate – that life events occur to punish or reward individuals’ moral behavior.
Monotheism versus an innate bias towards mentalizing
Authors: Costello Fintan John
Published: March 2016

Norenzayan et al.’s account for the spread of monotheistic “Big God” religions sees these religions originating as by-products of innate cognitive biases. These biases produce polytheistic rather than monotheistic systems, however, and so do not explain the origin of monotheism. Accounts where monotheism arises from polytheism (for political reasons, for example) appear better able to explain the spread of monotheism.
Mind God's mind: History, development, and teaching
Authors: Demetriou Andreas , Makris Nikos , Pnevmatikos Dimitris
Published: March 2016

We dispute the target article that belief in Big Gods facilitated development of large societies and suggest that the direction of causality might be inverted. We also suggest that plain theory of mind (ToM), although necessary, is not sufficient to conceive Big Gods. Grasp of other aspects of the mind is required. However, this theory is useful for the teaching of religion.
Awe: A direct pathway from extravagant displays to prosociality
Authors: Ejova Anastasia
Published: March 2016

Whereas Norenzayan et al. describe extravagant displays as a reliable means of belief transmission, this commentary reviews three emerging hypotheses about a direct connection between the awe elicited by extravagant displays and prosocial behaviour. If some of these hypotheses are correct, extravagant displays enhanced prosociality even among nonbelievers. Methodological suggestions are made for future experimental research on the awe–prosociality pathway.
Let us be careful with the evidence on mentalizing, cognitive biases, and religious beliefs
Authors: Lindeman Marjaana , Svedholm-Häkkinen Annika M.
Published: March 2016

Norenzayan et al.’s theoretical synthesis is highly plausible and commendable. However, the empirical evidence for the arguments on mentalizing, cognitive biases, and religious belief is currently not as strong as the writers suggest. Although certainly abundant and compelling, this evidence is indirect, contradictory, and weak and must be acknowledged as such. More direct studies are needed to support the theory.
Divorcing the puzzles: When group identities foster in-group cooperation
Authors: Seewald Daniel , Hechler Stefanie , Kessler Thomas
Published: March 2016

We argue that general social psychological mechanisms (e.g., common group identity) can account for prosocial behavior and cooperative norms without the need for punishing Big Gods. Moreover, prosocial religions often do not prevent conflict within their religious groups. Hence, we doubt whether Big Gods and prosocial religions are more effective than alternative identities in enhancing high-level cooperation.
Explicit generators for the relation module in the example of Gruenberg–Linnell
Authors: MANNAN W. H.
Published: March 2016

Gruenberg and Linnell showed that the standard relation module of a free product of n groups of the form Cr × $\mathbb{Z}$ could be generated by just n + 1 generators, raising the possibility of a relation gap. We explicitly give such a set of generators.
Evaluating consumer commonality leveraging consumer specific design information
Authors: Cormier Phillip , Lewis Kemper
Published: March 2016

When developing a product, designers must decide what consumer variation will be addressed and how they will address it, because each consumer has a unique set of human factors, preferences, personal knowledge, and solution constraints. Numerous design methodologies exist to support the design of a product or set of products that address this consumer variation. However, currently there is little work supporting the selection of a design methodology, resulting in anad hocora prioridecision before conceptual design begins. This paper presents an affordance-based design method for use prior to conceptual design to help designers understand the consumer variation that is present. This facilitates the creation of a product or set of products that meets the demands of both the consumer(s) and the organization that is developing the product. Once consumer variation is understood, conceptual design can be performed with a more complete understanding of the overall problem.
Technological process planning by the use of neural networks
Authors: Rojek Izabela
Published: March 2016

The central objective of the present author's research is to develop a system supporting the design of a technological process (a computer-aided process planning system) that functions similarly to a human expert in the field in question. The use of neural networks makes the creation of such a system possible. The proposed method uses a system of three blocks of neural networks, and involves the creation of neural networks to be used for the selection of machines, tools, and machining parameters. These networks are built for each process operation separately; that is, a set of neural networks is created for each selection. For the construction of models, different types of neural networks (multilayer networks with error backpropagation, radial basis function, and Kohonen) with different structures were employed, and the networks that made the best selections were identified. A method was also developed for the elimination of defects occurring during the production process. When a defect comes to light, this method suggests changes to the technological process, thus improving the quality of that process. Guidelines for the elimination of defects are produced in the form of decision rules. Such a computer-aided process planning system will be especially useful for process engineers who do not yet have sufficient experience in the design of technological processes, or who have only recently joined a particular manufacturing enterprise and are not fully familiar with its machines and other means of production (tools and instrumentation). It should be emphasized that such a system performs an advisory role, and it is always the process engineer who makes the final decision. The neural network models were tested on real data from an enterprise. A computer-aided process planning system based on rules and neural network models enables the intelligent design of technological processes.
The pragmatic proof: Hypermedia API composition and execution
Authors: VERBORGH RUBEN , ARNDT DÖRTHE , VAN HOECKE SOFIE , DE ROO JOS , MELS GIOVANNI , STEINER THOMAS , GABARRO JOAQUIM
Published: March 2016

Machine clients are increasingly making use of the Web to perform tasks. While Web services traditionally mimic remote procedure calling interfaces, a new generation of so-called hypermedia APIs works through hyperlinks and forms, in a way similar to how people browse the Web. This means that existing composition techniques, which determine a procedural plan upfront, are not sufficient to consume hypermedia APIs, which need to be navigated at runtime. Clients instead need a more dynamic plan that allows them to follow hyperlinks and use forms with a preset goal. Therefore, in this paper, we show how compositions of hypermedia APIs can be created by generic Semantic Web reasoners. This is achieved through the generation of a proof based on semantic descriptions of the APIs' functionality. To pragmatically verify the applicability of compositions, we introduce the notion of pre-execution and post-execution proofs. The runtime interaction between a client and a server is guided by proofs but driven by hypermedia, allowing the client to react to the application's actual state indicated by the server's response. We describe how to generate compositions from descriptions, discuss a computer-assisted process to generate descriptions, and verify reasoner performance on various composition tasks using a benchmark suite. The experimental results lead to the conclusion that proof-based consumption of hypermedia APIs is a feasible strategy at Web scale.
Radio evidence for AGN activity: relativistic jets as tracers of SMBHs
Authors: Kellermann Kenneth I.
Published: March 2016

Although the radio emission from most quasars appears to be associated with star forming activity in the host galaxy, about ten percent of optically selected quasars have very luminous relativistic jets apparently powered by a SMBH which is located at the base of the jet. When these jets are pointed close to the line of sight their apparent luminosity is enhanced by Doppler boosting and appears highly variable. High resolution radio interferometry shows directly the outflow of relativistic plasma jets from the SMBH. Apparent transverse velocities in these so-called “blazars” are typically about 7c but reach as much as 50c indicating true velocities within one percent of the speed of light. The jets appear to be collimated and accelerated in regions as much as a hundred parsecs downstream from the SMBH. Measurements made with Earth to space interferometers indicate apparent brightness temperatures of ~ 1014K or more. This is well in excess of the limits imposed by inverse Compton cooling. The modest Doppler factors deduced from the observed ejection speeds appear to be inadequate to explain the high observed brightness temperatures in terms of relativistic boosting.
Formation of discs around super-massive black hole binaries
Authors: Goicovic Felipe G. , Cuadra Jorge , Sesana Alberto
Published: March 2016

We model numerically the evolution of 104M⊙ turbulent molecular clouds in near-radial infall onto 106M⊙, equal-mass supermassive black hole binaries, using a modified version of the SPH code gadget-3. We investigate the different gas structures formed depending on the relative inclination between the binary and the cloud orbits. Our first results indicate that an aligned orbit produces mini-discs around each black hole, almost aligned with the binary; a perpendicular orbit produces misaligned mini-discs; and a counter-aligned orbit produces a circumbinary, counter-rotating ring.
Coronal accretion: the power of X-ray emission in AGN
Authors: Liu B.-F. , Taam R. E. , Qiao E. , Yuan W.
Published: March 2016

The optical/UV and X-ray emissions in luminous AGN are commonly believed to be produced in an accretion disk and an embedded hot corona respectively. We explore the possibility that a geometrically thick coronal gas flow, which is supplied by gravitational capture of interstellar medium or stellar wind, condenses partially to a geometrically thin cold disk and accretes via a thin disk and a corona onto the supermassive black hole. We found that for mass supply rates less than about 0.01 (expressed in Eddington units), condensation does not occur and the accretion flow takes the form of a corona/ADAF. For higher mass supply rates, corona gas condenses to the disk. As a consequence, the coronal mass flow rate decreases and the cool mass flow rate increases towards the black hole. Here the thin disk is characterized by the condensation rate of hot gas as it flows towards the black hole. With increase of mass supply rate, condensation becomes more efficient, while the mass flow rate of the coronal gas attains values of order 0.02 in the innermost regions of the disk, which can help to elucidate the production of strong X-ray with respect to the optical and ultraviolet radiation in high luminosity AGN.
The Megamaser Cosmology Project: precise black hole mass measurement and the implication for the MBH–σ∗ relation
Authors: Kuo Cheng-Yu , Braatz James A. , Condon James J. , Impellizzeri Caterina M. V. , Lo Kwok-Yung , Zaw Ingyin , Henkel Christian , Reid Mark J. , Greene Jenny E. , Gao Feng , Zhao Wei
Published: March 2016

We made dynamical black hole mass measurements from nineteen Seyfert 2 galaxies which host sub-parsec H2O maser disks using the H2O megamaser technique. The nearly perfect Keplerian rotation curves in many of these maser systems guarantee the high accuracy and precision of the black hole mass measurements. With the stellar velocity dispersion (σ∗) of the galaxy bulges measured with the Dupont 2.5 m telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in the South and the Apache Point Observatory (APO) 3.5m telescope in the North, we found that H2O maser galaxies, most of which host pseudo bulges rather than classical bulges, do not all follow the MBH–σ∗ relation shown in the literature. This result is well consistent with the latest findings by Kormendy & Ho (2013) that only early type galaxies and galaxies with classical bulges follow a tight MBH–σ∗ relation. Such a tight correlation may not exist in pseudo bulge galaxies.
Simulation of disc-bulge-halo galaxies using parallel GPU based codes
Authors: Veles O. , Berczik P. , Just A.
Published: March 2016

We compare the performance of the very popular Tree-GPU code BONSAI with the older Particle-(Multi)Mesh code SUPERBOX. Both code we run on a same hardware using the GPU acceleration for the force calculation. SUPERBOX is a particle-mesh code with high resolution sub-grid and a higher order NGP (nearest grid point) force-calculation scheme. In our research, we are aiming to demonstrate that the new parallel version of SUPERBOX is capable to do the high resolution simulations of the interaction of the system of disc-bulge-halo composed galaxy. We describe the improvement of performance and scalability of SUPERBOX particularly for the Kepler cluster (NVIDIA K20 GPU). A comparison was made with the very popular and publicly available Tree-GPU code BONSAI†.
Photometric and spectroscopic study of cD galaxies
Authors: Kemp S. N. , Pérez-Hernández Ernesto , Ramírez-Siordia Víctor Hugo
Published: March 2016

We have carried out photometry and spectroscopy on a sample of 10 cD galaxies. The photometry shows, in general, fairly flat and red profile colours, implying an envelope with the same stellar population as the central galaxy. This may indicate a possible primordial origin for both structures, consistent with ideas of downsizing. Preliminary spectroscopic results are generally in agreement with the photometry, with for example younger populations at large radii for A2199, but A2589 has only younger populations.
Shadow of a Kerr-like black hole
Authors: Atamurotov Farruh
Published: March 2016

The shadow of a Kerr-like black hole has been considered and it was shown that in addition to the specific angular momentum a, deformation parameter of Kerr-like space-time essentially deforms the shape of the black hole shadow. For a given value of the black hole spin parameter a, the presence of a deformation parameter ε reduces the shadow and enlarges its deformation with respect to the one in the Kerr space-time.
The Fermi bubbles inflated by winds from the accretion flow in Sgr A*
Authors: Mou Guobin
Published: March 2016

By performing three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, we show that the Fermi bubbles could be inflated by winds launched from the “past” hot accretion flow in Sgr A*. The parameters of the accretion flow required in the model are consistent with those obtained independently from other observational constraints. The wind parameters are taken from small scale MHD numerical simulations of hot accretion flows.
The black hole spins of quasars
Authors: You Bei , Cao Xinwu
Published: March 2016

We present the estimates of the black hole spins of five quasars. The peaks of the spectra of the accretion discs surrounding massive black holes in quasars are in the far-UV or soft X-ray band, which are usually not observed. However, in the disc corona model, the soft photons from the disc are Comptonized to high energy in the hot corona, and the hard X-ray spectra (luminosity and spectral shape) contain the information of the incident spectra from the disc. The values of black hole spin parameter a are inferred from the spectral fitting, which spread over a large range, ~ −0.94 to 0.998.
Are globular clusters the natural outcome of regular high-redshift star formation?
Authors: Kruijssen J. M. Diederik
Published: March 2016

We summarise the recent progress in understanding the formation and evolution of globular clusters (GCs) in the context of galaxy formation and evolution. It is discussed that an end-to-end model for GC formation and evolution should capture four different phases: (1) star and cluster formation in the high-pressure interstellar medium of high-redshift galaxies, (2) cluster disruption by tidal shocks in the gas-rich host galaxy disc, (3) cluster migration into the galaxy halo, and (4) the final evaporation-dominated evolution of GCs until the present day. Previous models have mainly focussed on phase 4. We present and discuss a simple model that includes each of these four steps – its key difference with respect to previous work is the simultaneous addition of the high-redshift formation and early evolution of young GCs, as well as their migration into galaxy haloes. The new model provides an excellent match to the observed GC mass spectrum and specific frequency, as well as the relations of GCs to the host dark matter halo mass and supermassive black hole mass. These results show (1) that the properties of present-day GCs are reproduced by assuming that they are the natural outcome of regular high-redshift star formation (i.e. they form according to same physical processes that govern massive cluster formation in the local Universe), and (2) that models only including GC evaporation strongly underestimate their integrated mass loss over a Hubble time.
Preliminary results from simulations on the sub-galactic structure formation
Authors: Chun Kyungwon , Shin Jihye
Published: March 2016

We aim to investigate the formation of sub-galactic structure in the Lambda cold dark matter (CDM) cosmology. To accomplish our research goal, we have added various baryonic physics on the existing cosmological hydrodynamic code, GADGET-2. We performed two test runs to check our new implementations. We show our preliminary results from these test runs.
Dynamics of primordial binary stars in multiple-population globular clusters
Authors: Hong Jongsuk , Vesperini Enrico , Sollima Antonio , McMillan Steve , D'Antona Franca , D'Ercole Annibale
Published: March 2016

We have performed a survey of N-body simulations to explore the dynamics of primordial binaries in multiple-population globular clusters. We show that, as a consequence of the initial differences between the spatial distribution of first-generation (FG) and second-generation (SG) stars, SG binaries are disrupted more efficiently than FG binaries. The effects of dynamical evolution on the surviving binaries produces a difference between the SG and the FG binary binding energy distribution with the SG population characterized by a larger fraction of high binding energy (more bound) binaries. We also explore the evolution of the radial variation of the SG-to-FG binary number ratio and find that although the global binary fraction decreases more rapidly for the SG population, the local binary fraction measured in the cluster inner regions may still be dominated by SG binaries.
Evolutionary models of rotating dense stellar systems: challenges in software and hardware
Authors: Fiestas Jose
Published: March 2016

We present evolutionary models of rotating self-gravitating systems (e.g. globular clusters, galaxy cores). These models are characterized by the presence of initial axisymmetry due to rotation. Central black hole seeds are alternatively included in our models, and black hole growth due to consumption of stellar matter is simulated until the central potential dominates the kinematics in the core. Goal is to study the long-term evolution (~ Gyr) of relaxed dense stellar systems, which deviate from spherical symmetry, their morphology and final kinematics. With this purpose, we developed a 2D Fokker-Planck analytical code, which results we confirm by detailed N-Body techniques, applying a high performance code, developed for GPU machines. We compare our models to available observations of galactic rotating globular clusters, and conclude that initial rotation modifies significantly the shape and lifetime of these systems, and can not be neglected in studying the evolution of globular clusters, and the galaxy itself.
Star-formation in nuclear clusters and the origin of the Galactic center apparent core distribution
Authors: Aharon Danor , Perets Hagai B.
Published: March 2016

Nuclear stellar clusters (NSCs) are known to exist around massive black holes (MBHs) in galactic nuclei. Two formation scenarios were suggested for their origin: build-up of NSCs and Continuous in-situ star-formation. Here we study the effects of star formation on the build-up of NSCs and its implications for their long term evolution and their resulting structure. We show that continuous star-formation can lead to the build-up of an NSC with properties similar to those of the Milky-way NSC. We also find that the general structure of the old stellar population in the NSC with in-situ star-formation could be very similar to the steady-state Bahcall-Wolf cuspy structure. However, its younger stellar population does not yet achieve a steady state. In particular, formed/evolved NSCs with in-situ star-formation contain differential age-segregated stellar populations which are not yet fully mixed. Younger stellar populations formed in the outer regions of the NSC have a cuspy structure towards the NSC outskirts, while showing a core-like distribution inwards; with younger populations having larger core sizes.
Globular Clusters in the Local Group
Authors: Grebel Eva K.
Published: March 2016

Only twelve of the > 76 Local Group galaxies contain globular clusters, showing a broad range of specific frequencies. Here we summarize the properties of these globular cluster systems. Many host galaxies contain very old globulars, but in some globular cluster formation may have been delayed. An age range of several Gyr is common. Except for the inner regions of the spirals, old globular clusters tend to be metal-poor. Increasingly, light element variations and hints of multiple stellar populations are being found also in extragalactic globulars. There is ample evidence for globular cluster accretion from dwarfs onto massive galaxies, but its magnitude has yet to be quantified. Caution is needed to avoid overinterpreting indirect evidence.
Individual Differences in Personality Masculinity-Femininity: Examining the Effects of Genes, Environment, and Prenatal Hormone Transfer
Authors: Verweij Karin J. H. , Mosing Miriam A. , Ullén Fredrik , Madison Guy
Published: March 2016

Males and females score differently on some personality traits, but the underlying etiology of these differences is not well understood. This study examined genetic, environmental, and prenatal hormonal influences on individual differences in personality masculinity–femininity (M-F). We used Big-Five personality inventory data of 9,520 Swedish twins (aged 27 to 54) to create a bipolar M-F personality scale. Using biometrical twin modeling, we estimated the influence of genetic and environmental factors on individual differences in a M-F personality score. Furthermore, we tested whether prenatal hormone transfer may influence individuals’ M-F scores by comparing the scores of twins with a same-sex versus those with an opposite-sex co-twin. On average, males scored 1.09 standard deviations higher than females on the created M-F scale. Around a third of the variation in M-F personality score was attributable to genetic factors, while family environmental factors had no influence. Males and females from opposite-sex pairs scored significantly more masculine (both approximately 0.1 SD) than those from same-sex pairs. In conclusion, genetic influences explain part of the individual differences in personality M-F, and hormone transfer from the male to the female twin during pregnancy may increase the level of masculinization in females. Additional well-powered studies are needed to clarify this association and determine the underlying mechanisms in both sexes.
The Effects of Invoking Stereotype Excuses on Perceivers’	Character Trait Inferences and Performance Attributions
Authors: Jenkins Jade S. , Skowronski John J.
Published: March 2016

Abstract. This investigation examined perceivers’ character trait inferences and performance attributions in response to a target who invoked a gender stereotype to excuse poor math performance. Furthermore, this investigation sought to compare the effects of this excuse to the effects produced by a non-stereotype excuses and the mere mention of a stereotype. Results revealed that invoking a gender stereotype excuse for poor math performance may elicit especially negative effects on perceptions of an excuse-maker’s: (a) overall character; (b) effectualness; (c) responsibility for the performance outcome; and (d) control over the performance outcome.
Loss of function of Ywhah in mice induces deafness and cochlear outer hair cells' degeneration
Authors: Buret L , Rebillard G , Brun E , Angebault C , Pequignot M , Lenoir M , Do-cruzeiro M , Tournier E , Cornille K , Saleur A , Gueguen N , Reynier P , Amati-Bonneau P , Barakat A , Blanchet C , Chinnery P , Yu-Wai-Man P , Kaplan J , Roux A-F , Van Camp G , Wissinger B , Boespflug-Tanguy O , Giraudet F , Puel J-L , Lenaers G , Hamel C , Delprat B , Delettre C
Published: March 2016

In vertebrates, 14-3-3 proteins form a family of seven highly conserved isoforms with chaperone activity, which bind phosphorylated substrates mostly involved in regulatory and checkpoint pathways. 14-3-3 proteins are the most abundant protein in the brain and are abundantly found in the cerebrospinal fluid in neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting a critical role in neuron physiology and death. Here we show that 14-3-3eta-deficient mice displayed auditory impairment accompanied by cochlear hair cells' degeneration. We show that 14-3-3eta is highly expressed in the outer and inner hair cells, spiral ganglion neurons of cochlea and retinal ganglion cells. Screening of YWHAH, the gene encoding the 14-3-3eta isoform, in non-syndromic and syndromic deafness, revealed seven non-synonymous variants never reported before. Among them, two were predicted to be damaging in families with syndromic deafness. In vitro, variants of YWHAH induce mild mitochondrial fragmentation and severe susceptibility to apoptosis, in agreement with a reduced capacity of mutated 14-3-3eta to bind the pro-apoptotic Bad protein. This study demonstrates that YWHAH variants can have a substantial effect on 14-3-3eta function and that 14-3-3eta could be a critical factor in the survival of outer hair cells.
Catch-bond mechanism of the bacterial adhesin FimH
Authors: Sauer Maximilian M. , Jakob Roman P. , Eras Jonathan , Baday Sefer , Eriş Deniz , Navarra Giulio , Bernèche Simon , Ernst Beat , Maier Timm , Glockshuber Rudi
Published: March 2016

Ligand–receptor interactions that are reinforced by mechanical stress, so-called catch-bonds, play a major role in cell–cell adhesion. They critically contribute to widespread urinary tract infections by pathogenic Escherichia coli strains. These pathogens attach to host epithelia via the adhesin FimH, a two-domain protein at the tip of type I pili recognizing terminal mannoses on epithelial glycoproteins. Here we establish peptide-complemented FimH as a model system for fimbrial FimH function. We reveal a three-state mechanism of FimH catch-bond formation based on crystal structures of all states, kinetic analysis of ligand interaction and molecular dynamics simulations. In the absence of tensile force, the FimH pilin domain allosterically accelerates spontaneous ligand dissociation from the FimH lectin domain by 100,000-fold, resulting in weak affinity. Separation of the FimH domains under stress abolishes allosteric interplay and increases the affinity of the lectin domain. Cell tracking demonstrates that rapid ligand dissociation from FimH supports motility of piliated E. coli on mannosylated surfaces in the absence of shear force.
Lasing in silicon–organic hybrid waveguides
Authors: Korn Dietmar , Lauermann Matthias , Koeber Sebastian , Appel Patrick , Alloatti Luca , Palmer Robert , Dumon Pieter , Freude Wolfgang , Leuthold Juerg , Koos Christian
Published: March 2016

Silicon photonics enables large-scale photonic–electronic integration by leveraging highly developed fabrication processes from the microelectronics industry. However, while a rich portfolio of devices has already been demonstrated on the silicon platform, on-chip light sources still remain a key challenge since the indirect bandgap of the material inhibits efficient photon emission and thus impedes lasing. Here we demonstrate a class of infrared lasers that can be fabricated on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) integration platform. The lasers are based on the silicon–organic hybrid (SOH) integration concept and combine nanophotonic SOI waveguides with dye-doped organic cladding materials that provide optical gain. We demonstrate pulsed room-temperature lasing with on-chip peak output powers of up to 1.1 W at a wavelength of 1,310 nm. The SOH approach enables efficient mass-production of silicon photonic light sources emitting in the near infrared and offers the possibility of tuning the emission wavelength over a wide range by proper choice of dye materials and resonator geometry.
CSF-contacting neurons regulate locomotion by relaying mechanical stimuli to spinal circuits
Authors: Böhm Urs Lucas , Prendergast Andrew , Djenoune Lydia , Nunes Figueiredo Sophie , Gomez Johanna , Stokes Caleb , Kaiser Sonya , Suster Maximilliano , Kawakami Koichi , Charpentier Marine , Concordet Jean-Paul , Rio Jean-Paul , Del Bene Filippo , Wyart Claire
Published: March 2016

Throughout vertebrates, cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons (CSF-cNs) are ciliated cells surrounding the central canal in the ventral spinal cord. Their contribution to modulate locomotion remains undetermined. Recently, we have shown CSF-cNs modulate locomotion by directly projecting onto the locomotor central pattern generators (CPGs), but the sensory modality these cells convey to spinal circuits and their relevance to innate locomotion remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate in vivo that CSF-cNs form an intraspinal mechanosensory organ that detects spinal bending. By performing calcium imaging in moving animals, we show that CSF-cNs respond to both passive and active bending of the spinal cord. In mutants for the channel Pkd2l1, CSF-cNs lose their response to bending and animals show a selective reduction of tail beat frequency, confirming the central role of this feedback loop for optimizing locomotion. Altogether, our study reveals that CSF-cNs constitute a mechanosensory organ operating during locomotion to modulate spinal CPGs.