bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The walls of medieval Zuwila
Authors: Mattingly D.J. , Daniels C.M. , Sterry M.J. , Edwards D.N. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe walls of Zuwila constitute one of the most impressive defensive enceintes among Libyan Saharan oasis towns, but hitherto their construction date has been uncertain. A new AMS radiocarbon date now offers the strongest support for an association with the establishment of the Banu Khattab dynasty at Zuwila in the early tenth century AD, as some previous commentators had suspected. The walls relate to a fortress of approximately 4.5 hectares built on the north flank of an already long-established Saharan town. No detailed account of these walls has ever been published before, though Charles Daniels did carry out a survey of them in 1968 and a summary description was included in the work of the Fazzan Project. Now that these walls can be more securely dated, a full description is merited. The present study is partly based on the unpublished notes and photographs of Charles Daniels. The walls of Zuwila can now firmly be included among Libya's most important medieval monuments.
Medicine, metals and empire: the survival of a chymical projector in early eighteenth-century London
Authors: YAMAMOTO KOJI 
Published: September 2015

AbstractIt is well known that Newtonian philosophers such as Johan T. Desaguliers defined their authority in contradistinction to the ‘projector’, a promoter of allegedly impractical and fraudulent schemes. Partly due to the lack of evidence, however, we know relatively little about these eighteenth-century projectors, especially those operating outside learned networks without claims to gentility, disinterest or theoretical sophistication. This paper begins to remedy this lacuna through the case of a ‘chymical’ projector, Moses Stringer (fl. 1693–1714). Instead of aspiring to respectability, this London chymist survived by vigorously promoting new projects, thereby accelerating, rather than attenuating, the course of action that rendered him dubious in the first place. The article follows his (often abortive) exploitation of medicine, metals and empire, and thereby illuminates the shady end of the enlightened world of public science.
GLOBAL EXPERIMENTALIST GOVERNANCE, INTERNATIONAL LAW AND CLIMATE CHANGE TECHNOLOGIES
Authors: Armeni Chiara 
Published: September 2015

AbstractGlobal experimentalist governance has emerged within and across a number of international regulatory regimes, but its potential contribution to the global governance of climate change remains largely unexplored. This article investigates the opportunities and barriers to developing global experimentalist governance approaches in the international regulation of climate change technologies, focusing on the recent framework for marine geoengineering under the London Dumping Protocol. It argues that, in the face of the limits of international law in dealing with uncertainty, multilevel distribution of power and regulatory disconnection, global experimentalist governance is attractive to catalyse adaptability, iterative learning, participation and cooperation. Such approach can help rethink the way international law deals with technological development, by emphasizing its problem-solving function.
Repair of an aorto-right ventricular tunnel in a newborn
Authors: Ziesenitz Victoria C. , Gorenflo Matthias , Loukanov Tsvetomir 
Published: September 2015

AbstractA newborn presented with an aorto-right ventricular tunnel, a defect connecting the left aortic sinus to the right ventricle. The patient underwent repair on 4th day of life.
Abstract gringo
Authors: GEBSER MARTIN , HARRISON AMELIA , KAMINSKI ROLAND , LIFSCHITZ VLADIMIR , SCHAUB TORSTEN 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThis paper defines the syntax and semantics of the input language of the ASP groundergringo. The definition covers several constructs that were not discussed in earlier work on the semantics of that language, including intervals, pools, division of integers, aggregates with non-numeric values, and lparse-style aggregate expressions. The definition is abstract in the sense that it disregards some details related to representing programs by strings of ASCII characters. It serves as a specification forgringofrom Version 4.5 on.
Learning weak constraints in answer set programming
Authors: LAW MARK , RUSSO ALESSANDRA , BRODA KRYSIA 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThis paper contributes to the area of inductive logic programming by presenting a new learning framework that allows the learning of weak constraints in Answer Set Programming (ASP). The framework, calledLearning from Ordered Answer Sets, generalises our previous work on learning ASP programs without weak constraints, by considering a new notion of examples asorderedpairs of partial answer sets that exemplify which answer sets of a learned hypothesis (together with a given background knowledge) arepreferredto others. In this new learning task inductive solutions are searched within a hypothesis space of normal rules, choice rules, and hard and weak constraints. We propose a new algorithm, ILASP2, which is sound and complete with respect to our new learning framework. We investigate its applicability to learning preferences in an interview scheduling problem and also demonstrate that when restricted to the task of learning ASP programs without weak constraints, ILASP2 can be much more efficient than our previously proposed system.
Horn clauses as an intermediate representation for program analysis and transformation
Authors: GANGE GRAEME , NAVAS JORGE A. , SCHACHTE PETER , SØNDERGAARD HARALD , STUCKEY PETER J. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractMany recent analyses for conventional imperative programs begin by transforming programs into logic programs, capitalising on existing LP analyses and simple LP semantics. We propose using logic programs as an intermediate program representation throughout the compilation process. With restrictions ensuring determinism and single-modedness, a logic program can easily be transformed to machine language or other low-level language, while maintaining the simple semantics that makes it suitable as a language for program analysis and transformation. We present a simple LP language that enforces determinism and single-modedness, and show that it makes a convenient program representation for analysis and transformation.
Complexity and compilation of GZ-aggregates in answer set programming
Authors: ALVIANO MARIO , LEONE NICOLA 
Published: September 2015

AbstractGelfond and Zhang recently proposed a new stable model semantics based on Vicious Circle Principle in order to improve the interpretation of logic programs with aggregates. The paper focuses on this proposal, and analyzes the complexity of both coherence testing and cautious reasoning under the new semantics. Some surprising results highlight similarities and differences versus mainstream stable model semantics for aggregates. Moreover, the paper reports on the design of compilation techniques for implementing the new semantics on top of existing ASP solvers, which eventually lead to realize a prototype system that allows for experimenting with Gelfond-Zhang's aggregates.
Adding partial functions to Constraint Logic Programming with sets
Authors: CRISTIÁ MAXIMILIANO , ROSSI GIANFRANCO , FRYDMAN CLAUDIA 
Published: September 2015

AbstractPartial functions are common abstractions in formal specification notations such as Z, B and Alloy. Conversely, executable programming languages usually provide little or no support for them. In this paper we propose to add partial functions as a primitive feature to a Constraint Logic Programming (CLP) language, namely {log}. Although partial functions could be programmed on top of {log}, providing them as first-class citizens adds valuable flexibility and generality to the form of set-theoretic formulas that the language can safely deal with. In particular, the paper shows how the {log} constraint solver is naturally extended in order to accommodate for the new primitive constraints dealing with partial functions. Efficiency of the new version is empirically assessed by running a number of non-trivial set-theoretical goals involving partial functions, obtained from specifications written in Z.
New Evidence on the Construct Validity of the ASI-3 and the Dimensional Conceptualization of Trait Anxiety Sensitivity From IRT Modeling
Authors: Kemper Christoph J. , Hock Michael 
Published: September 2015

Abstract. Anxiety Sensitivity (AS) denotes the tendency to fear anxiety-related sensations. Trait AS is an established risk factor for anxiety pathology. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) is a widely used measure of AS and its three most robust dimensions with well-established construct validity. At present, the dimensional conceptualization of AS, and thus, the construct validity of the ASI-3 is challenged. A latent class structure with two distinct and qualitatively different forms, an adaptive form (normative AS) and a maladaptive form (AS taxon, predisposing for anxiety pathology) was postulated. Item Response Theory (IRT) models were applied to item-level data of the ASI-3 in an attempt to replicate previous findings in a large nonclinical sample (N = 2,603) and to examine possible interpretations for the latent discontinuity observed. Two latent classes with a pattern of distinct responses to ASI-3 items were found. However, classes were indicative of participant’s differential use of the response scale (midpoint and extreme response style) rather than differing in AS content (adaptive and maladaptive AS forms). A dimensional structure of AS and the construct validity of the ASI-3 was supported.
Expression of decoy receptor 3 in kidneys is associated with allograft survival after kidney transplant rejection
Authors: Weng Shuo-Chun , Shu Kuo-Hsiung , Wu Ming-Ju , Wen Mei-Chin , Hsieh Shie-Liang , Chen Nien-Jung , Tarng Der-Cherng 
Published: September 2015

AbstractDecoy receptor 3 (DcR3) expression in kidneys has been shown to predict progression of chronic kidney disease. We prospectively investigated a cohort comprising 96 renal transplant recipients (RTRs) undergoing graft kidney biopsies. Computer-assisted quantitative immunohistochemical staining value of DcR3 in renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) was used to determine the predictive role of DcR3 in kidney disease progression. The primary end point was doubling of serum creatinine and/or graft failure. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the risk of DcR3 expression in rejected kidney grafts toward the renal end point. In total, RTRs with kidney allograft rejection were evaluated and the median follow-up was 30.9 months. The greater expression of DcR3 immunoreactivity in RTECs was correlated with a higher rate of the histopathological concordance of acute T cell-mediated rejection. Compared with 65 non-progressors, 31 progressors had higher DcR3 expression (HDE) regardless of the traditional risk factors. Cox regression analysis showed HDE was significantly associated with the risk of renal end point with a hazard ratio of 3.19 (95% confidence interval, 1.40 to 7.27; P = 0.006) after adjusting for other variables. In repetitive biopsies, HDE in tissue showed rapid kidney disease progression due to persistent inflammation.
Human testicular peritubular cells secrete pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), which may be responsible for the avascularity of the seminiferous tubules
Authors: Windschüttl S. , Kampfer C. , Mayer C. , Flenkenthaler F. , Fröhlich T. , Schwarzer J. U. , Köhn F. M. , Urbanski H. , Arnold G. J. , Mayerhofer A. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractMale fertility depends on spermatogenesis, which takes place in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. This compartment is devoid of blood vessels, which are however found in the wall of the seminiferous tubules. Our proteomic study using cultured human testicular peritubular cells (HTPCs) i.e. the cells, which form this wall, revealed that they constitutively secrete pigment epithelium-derived factor, PEDF, which is known to exert anti-angiogenic actions. Immunohistochemistry supports its presencein vivo, in the human tubular wall. Co-culture studies and analysis of cell migration patterns showed that human endothelial cells (HUVECs) are repulsed by HTPCs. The factor involved is likely PEDF, as a PEDF-antiserum blocked the repulsing action. Thus testicular peritubular cells, via PEDF, may prevent vascularization of human seminiferous tubules. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) increased PEDF (qPCR) in HTPCs, however PEDF expression in the testis of a non-human primate occurs before puberty. Thus PEDF could be involved in the establishment of the avascular nature of seminiferous tubules and after puberty androgens may further reinforce this feature. Testicular microvessels and blood flow are known to contribute to the spermatogonial stem cell niche. Hence HTPCs via control of testicular microvessels may contribute to the regulation of spermatogonial stem cells, as well.
Evidence for loss of nepotism in the evolution of permanent sociality
Authors: Berger-Tal Reut , Lubin Yael , Settepani Virginia , Majer Marija , Bilde Trine , Tuni Cristina 
Published: September 2015

AbstractKin selected benefits of cooperation result in pronounced kin discrimination and nepotism in many social species and favour the evolution of sociality. However, low variability in relatedness among group members, infrequent competitive interactions with non-relatives and direct benefits of cooperation may relax selection for nepotism. We tested this prediction in a permanently social spider, Stegodyphus dumicola that appears to fulfil these conditions. Sociality is a derived trait and kin discrimination exists in sub-social closely related congeners and is likely a selective force in the sub-social route to permanent sociality in spiders. We examined whether social spiders show nepotism in cooperative feeding when genetic relatedness among group members was experimentally varied. We found no effect of relatedness on feeding efficiency, growth rate or participation in feeding events. Previous studies on sub-social species showed benefits of communal feeding with kin, indicating nepotistic cooperation. The lack of evidence for nepotism in the social species suggests that kin discrimination has been lost or is irrelevant in communal feeding. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the role of nepotism is diminished when cooperation evolves in certain genetic and ecological contexts, e.g. when intra-group genetic relatedness is homogeneous and encounters with competitors are rare.
The Crystal Structure of Pneumolysin at 2.0 Å Resolution Reveals the Molecular Packing of the Pre-pore Complex
Authors: Marshall Jamie E. , Faraj Bayan H. A. , Gingras Alexandre R. , Lonnen Rana , Sheikh Md. Arif , El-Mezgueldi Mohammed , Moody Peter C. E. , Andrew Peter W. , Wallis Russell 
Published: September 2015

AbstractPneumolysin is a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin (CDC) and virulence factor of Streptococcus pneumoniae. It kills cells by forming pores assembled from oligomeric rings in cholesterol-containing membranes. Cryo-EM has revealed the structures of the membrane-surface bound pre-pore and inserted-pore oligomers, however the molecular contacts that mediate these oligomers are unknown because high-resolution information is not available. Here we have determined the crystal structure of full-length pneumolysin at 1.98 Å resolution. In the structure, crystal contacts demonstrate the likely interactions that enable polymerisation on the cell membrane and the molecular packing of the pre-pore complex. The hemolytic activity is abrogated in mutants that disrupt these intermolecular contacts, highlighting their importance during pore formation. An additional crystal structure of the membrane-binding domain alone suggests that changes in the conformation of a tryptophan rich-loop at the base of the toxin promote monomer-monomer interactions upon membrane binding by creating new contacts. Notably, residues at the interface are conserved in other members of the CDC family, suggesting a common mechanism for pore and pre-pore assembly.
Granular friction: Triggering large events with small vibrations
Authors: Lastakowski Henri , Géminard Jean-Christophe , Vidal Valérie 
Published: September 2015

AbstractTriggering large-scale motion by imposing vibrations to a system can be encountered in many situations, from daily-life shaking of saltcellar to silo unclogging or dynamic earthquakes triggering. In the well-known situation of solid or granular friction, the acceleration of imposed vibrations has often been proposed as the governing parameter for the transition between stick-slip motion and continuous sliding. The threshold acceleration for the onset of continuous slip motion or system unjamming is usually found of the order of the gravitational acceleration. These conclusions are mostly drawn from numerical studies. Here, we investigate, in the laboratory, granular friction by shearing a layer of grains subjected to horizontal vibrations. We show that, in contrast with previous results, the quantity that controls the frictional properties is the characteristic velocity and not the acceleration, of the imposed mechanical vibrations. Thus, when the system is statically loaded, the typical acceleration of the vibrations which trigger large slip events is much smaller than the gravitational acceleration. These results may be relevant to understand dynamic earthquake triggering by small ground perturbations.
Anisotropic thermoelectric behavior in armchair and zigzag mono- and fewlayer MoS2 in thermoelectric generator applications
Authors: Arab Abbas , Li Qiliang 
Published: September 2015

AbstractIn this work, we have studied thermoelectric properties of monolayer and fewlayer MoS2 in both armchair and zigzag orientations. Density functional theory (DFT) using non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) method has been implemented to calculate the transmission spectra of mono- and fewlayer MoS2 in armchair and zigzag directions. Phonon transmission spectra are calculated based on parameterization of Stillinger-Weber potential. Thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, is calculated using these electronic and phonon transmission spectra. In general, a thermoelectric generator is composed of thermocouples made of both n-type and p-type legs. Based on our calculations, monolayer MoS2 in armchair orientation is found to have the highest ZT value for both p-type and n-type legs compared to all other armchair and zigzag structures. We have proposed a thermoelectric generator based on monolayer MoS2 in armchair orientation. Moreover, we have studied the effect of various dopant species on thermoelectric current of our proposed generator. Further, we have compared output current of our proposed generator with those of Silicon thin films. Results indicate that thermoelectric current of MoS2 armchair monolayer is several orders of magnitude higher than that of Silicon thin films.
FoxM1 Directs STAT3 Expression Essential for Human Endometrial Stromal Decidualization
Authors: Jiang Yaling , Liao Yixin , He Hui , Xin Qiliang , Tu Zhaowei , Kong Shuangbo , Cui Tongtong , Wang Bingyan , Quan Song , Li Bing , Zhang Shuang , Wang Haibin 
Published: September 2015

AbstractHuman endometrium decidualization, which involves endometrial stromal proliferation and differentiation, is a prerequisite for embryo implantation, thus successful pregnancy. The Forkhead Box M1 (FoxM1), previously known as HNF-3, HFH-11, MPP2, Win and Trident, is a transcriptional factor that plays crucial roles in cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. However, the molecular mechanism of FoxM1 during human endometrial decidualization remains unexplored. In this study, we first found FoxM1 is dynamically expressed in human endometrium during menstrual cycle. Employing a human endometrial stromal cell (HESC) line, we then demonstrated that FoxM1 inhibition downregulates cyclin B1 expression, delaying G2/M phase transition during HESC proliferation. Additionally, loss of FoxM1 expression blocks the differentiation of HESCs in response to estrogen, progesterone and dbcAMP. Applying chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) technique and luciferase assay, we further approved that FoxM1 can transcriptionally active signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), ensuring normal HESC differentiation. Besides enriching our knowledge on molecular basis underlying stromal decidualization, these findings help to shed light on the potential molecular causes for the endometrial disorders in humans.
Theoretical cross‐comparative analysis on dynamics of small intestine and colon crypts during cancer initiation
Authors: Roznovăţ Irina A. , Ruskin Heather J. 
Published: September 2015

Epigenetics is emerging as a fundamentally important area of biological and medical research that has implications for our understanding of human diseases including cancer, autoimmune and neuropsychiatric disorders. In the context of recent efforts on personalised medicine, a novel research direction is concerned with identification of intra‐individual epigenetic variation linked to disease predisposition and development, i.e. epigenome‐wide association studies. A computational model has been developed to describe the dynamics and structure of human intestinal crypts and to perform a comparative analysis on aberrant DNA methylation level induced in these during cancer initiation. The crypt framework, AgentCrypt, is an agent‐based model of crypt dynamics, which handles intra‐ and inter‐dependencies. In addition, the AgentCrypt model is used to investigate the effect of a set of potential inhibitors with respect to methylation modification in intestinal tissue during initiation of disease. Methylation level decrease over a relatively short period of 90 days is marked for the colon compared to the small intestine, although similar alterations are induced in both tissues. In addition, inhibitor effect is notable for abnormal crypt groups, with largest average methylation differences observed ≈0.75% lower in the colon and ≈0.79% lower in the small intestine with inhibitor present.
Local Anesthetics delivered through Pleural Drainages improve Pain and Lung Function after Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Ismail Issam , Siemeni Thierry , Ruemke Stefan , Fleissner Felix , Zhang Ruoyu , Wiegmann Bettina , Filitz Joerg , Gottlieb Jens , Haverich Axel , Mashaqi Bakr 
Published: September 2015

Objective Pleural tubes after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery usually cause pain resulting interalia in an impact of postoperative breathing. Therefore, the influence of intrapleural lidocaine application through special double-lumen chest tubes with respect to pain relief and lung function was investigated and compared with placebo.
Methods In this study, 40 patients who underwent CABG got intrapleural injection either with 2% lidocaine (n = 20) or placebo (0.9% saline solution) (n = 20) on the first 2 days after surgery. Pain was measured by pain intensity numeric rating scale (NRS) (0 = no pain; 10 = the most intense pain) and lung function by portable spirometer.
Results On the first postoperative day (POD1), mean pain reduction was NRS 1.9 for the lidocaine group with an improvement of the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of 0.51 L. Similar results were shown on the second postoperative day (POD2) with a decreased pain level of mean NRS 1.65 and an FEV1 improvement of 0.26 L. In comparison, results of the placebo group showed no significant pain reduction, neither on the POD1 (NRS 0.35; p = 0.429) nor on the POD2 (NRS 0.55; p = 0.159). Also, there was no significant influence of FEV1 after placebo on the POD1 (FEV1 = 0.048 L; p = 0.70) or on the POD2 (FEV1 = 0.0135 L; p = 0.925).
Conclusion Intrapleural application of lidocaine is a safe and feasible method to reduce drainage-related pain and improving lung function after CABG.