bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Identification of Criticality in Neuronal Avalanches: II. A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of the Driven Case
Authors: Hartley Caroline , Taylor Timothy J , Kiss Istvan Z , Farmer Simon F , Berthouze Luc 
Published: April 2014

Abstract
The observation of apparent power laws in neuronal systems has led to the suggestion that the brain is at, or close to, a critical state and may be a self-organised critical system. Within the framework of self-organised criticality a separation of timescales is thought to be crucial for the observation of power-law dynamics and computational models are often constructed with this property. However, this is not necessarily a characteristic of physiological neural networks—external input does not only occur when the network is at rest/a steady state. In this paper we study a simple neuronal network model driven by a continuous external input (i.e. the model does not have an explicit separation of timescales from seeding the system only when in the quiescent state) and analytically tuned to operate in the region of a critical state (it reaches the critical regime exactly in the absence of input—the case studied in the companion paper to this article). The system displays avalanche dynamics in the form of cascades of neuronal firing separated by periods of silence. We observe partial scale-free behaviour in the distribution of avalanche size for low levels of external input. We analytically derive the distributions of waiting times and investigate their temporal behaviour in relation to different levels of external input, showing that the system’s dynamics can exhibit partial long-range temporal correlations. We further show that as the system approaches the critical state by two alternative ‘routes’, different markers of criticality (partial scale-free behaviour and long-range temporal correlations) are displayed. This suggests that signatures of criticality exhibited by a particular system in close proximity to a critical state are dependent on the region in parameter space at which the system (currently) resides.
Association between dietary intake and seasonal variations in postmenopausal women
Authors: Mansour Asieh , Ahadi Zeinab , Qorbani Mostafa , Hosseini Saeed 
Published: April 2014

Abstract
Background
Evidence supports that increasing number of postmenopausal women are suffering from one or more chronic diseases. Dietary patterns have a pivotal role in maintaining human health. The aim of this study was to characterize the nutrients and energy intake in postmenopausal women, with the special focus on seasonal variation effect in their food intake.

Methods
The study population consisted of 30 postmenopausal women referred to Dr. Shariati Hospital, Tehran (Iran). Socio-demographic characteristics and BMI were registered. Dietary assessment was performed by a 3 day food records in each season through one year, allowing the estimation of energy, protein, carbohydrate, total fat, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and saturated fatty acids (SFA) intake. The mean of nutrient intake in each season was adjusted for energy intake. The effect of season on energy and nutrients intake was assessed based on the General linear model (GLM).

Results
The mean of daily intake of vitamin C, B, B2, B12, iron, zinc, phosphorus and chromium was significantly higher than Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDAs ) (p < 0.05). The mean of vitamin D, E, B6, B5, folate, calcium, magnesium, potassium and selenium consumption was significantly less than RDAs (p < 0.05). All the participants meet the goal for vitamins A, K and B3 from food. The mean of energy intake was not different between seasons. However, the mean intake of fat, vitamin C, vitamin K and folate was significantly different between seasons.

Conclusion
These findings highlight some nutrients deficiency in postmenopausal women and therefore suggest nutritional education with emphasis on seasonal variation effect.
Integrated characterization of hydraulic fracture treatments in the Barnett Shale: The Stocker geophysical experiment
Authors: Roy Baishali , Hart Bruce , Mironova Anastasia , Zhou Changxi , Zimmer Ulrich 
Published: April 2014

We integrated several independent geophysical and geologic methods to examine the effects of stratigraphic and structural heterogeneities on the growth of hydraulic fracture networks from two horizontal wells in the Barnett Shale, Fort Worth Basin, Texas. Our data set included time-lapse 3D seismic surveys, microseismic data, wireline logs, and distributed temperature sensing (DTS) data. We first created a local stratigraphic framework using wireline logs. In our area, the lower Barnett Shale consists of siliceous mudstones (the primary reservoir) intercalated with carbonate submarine fan deposits. The latter are low porosity (i.e., nonreservoir) and, if thick enough are potential baffles to the growth of hydraulic fractures. We used stochastic inversion to define the 3D distribution of fan lobes with much better resolution than could be obtained using deterministic inversion and obtained a geologically reasonable lithology prediction. The lowest of the fan lobes partially overlies the two horizontal wells, and its limits could be defined using wireline logs, the stochastic inversion, and seismic attributes (e.g., coherence, seismic facies classification). As suggested by the distribution of microseismic events, the extent of this lobe (locally up to 80 ft/24-m-thick) had a significant impact on the growth of the hydraulic fracture networks. The DTS data showed that high production correlates to dense microseismic activity in this area. Our time-lapse seismic analyses suggested that velocity changes induced by the hydraulic injections are detectable, although (largely because of logistical problems) the data were inadequately sampled to quantitatively define these changes. Alone, none of the analyses described herein provided an adequate understanding of the subsurface. However, once integrated, our multidisciplinary work provided a coherent, if still largely qualitative, understanding of the relationships between the geology and the growth of hydraulic fracture networks and some of the geophysical and engineering methods that can be used to define those links.
Associations between common mental disorders and sexual dissatisfaction in the general population
Authors: Vanwesenbeeck Ine , ten Have Margreet , de Graaf Ron 
Published: April 2014

BackgroundLittle is known about the associations between common mental disorders and sexual dissatisfaction in the general population.AimsTo assess the associations between the presence of 12-month and remitted (lifetime minus 12-month) mood, anxiety and substance use disorders and sexual dissatisfaction in the general population of The Netherlands.MethodA total of 6646 participants, aged 18–64, took part in a face-to-face survey using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0. Childhood trauma, somatic disorders and sexual dissatisfaction were also assessed in an additional questionnaire. Associations were assessed with multivariate regression analyses.ResultsIn total, 29% reported some sexual dissatisfaction. Controlling for demography, somatic disorders and childhood trauma, significant associations with 12-month mood disorder (B = 0.31), substance use disorder (B = 0.23) and anxiety disorder (B = 0.16) were found. Specifically, relatively strong associations were found for alcohol dependence (B = 0.54), bipolar disorder (B = 0.45) and drug dependence (B = 0.44). The association between remitted disorders and sexual dissatisfaction showed significance for the category substance use disorder.ConclusionsPeople with mood, anxiety and substance use disorders show elevated scores on sexual dissatisfaction, even when relevant confounders are controlled for. Sexual satisfaction appears to be reduced most by alcohol and drug dependence and bipolar disorder. Once remitted, substance use disorder shows a persisting association with present sexual dissatisfaction.
Impact of depressive episodes on cognitive deficits in early bipolar disorder: data from the Systematic Treatment Optimization Programme for Early Mania (STOP-EM)
Authors: Muralidharan Kesavan , Torres Ivan J. , Silveira Leonardo E. , Kozicky Jan-Marie , Bücker Joana , Fernando Nadeesha , Yatham Lakshmi N. 
Published: April 2014

BackgroundAlthough manic episodes reportedly contribute to cognitive deficits in bipolar I disorder, the contribution of depressive episodes is poorly researched.AimsWe investigated the impact of depressive episodes on cognitive function early in the course of bipolar I disorder.MethodA total of 68 patients and 38 controls from the Systematic Treatment Optimization Programme for Early Mania (STOP-EM) first-episode mania programme were examined. We conducted (a) a cross-sectional analysis of the impact of prior depressive episodes on baseline cognitive function and (b) a prospective analysis assessing the contribution of depression recurrence within 1 year following a first episode of mania on cognitive functioning.ResultsThe cross-sectional analysis showed no significant differences between patients with past depressive episodes compared with those without, on overall or individual domains of cognitive function (allP>0.09). The prospective analysis failed to reveal a significant group×time interaction for cognitive decline from baseline to 1 year (P= 0.99) in patients with a recurrence of depressive episodes compared with those with no recurrence. However, impaired verbal memory at baseline was associated with a depression recurrence within 1 year.ConclusionsAlthough deficits in all domains of cognitive function are seen in patients early in the course of bipolar disorder, depressive episodes do not confer additional burden on cognitive function. However, poorer verbal memory may serve as a marker for increased susceptibility to depression recurrence early in the course of illness.
Sidgwick's Axioms and Consequentialism
Authors: Shaver Robert 
Published: April 2014

Sidgwick gives various tests for highest certainty. When he applies these tests to commonsense morality, he finds nothing of highest certainty. In contrast, when he applies these tests to his own axioms, he finds these axioms to have highest certainty. The axioms culminate inBenevolence: “Each one is morally bound to regard the good of any other individual as much as his own, except in so far as he judges it to be less, when impartially viewed, or less certainly knowable or attainable by him.”The axioms face challenges from two sides.First, one test requires that a claim not be denied by someone of whom one has no more reason to suspect of error than oneself. For Sidgwick, then, the egoist must not deny the axioms. But it would seem that an egoist would reject benevolence.Second, Sidgwick thinks he must show that the commonsense moralist agrees to the axioms. Benevolence seems to say that the only reason for departing from being bound to treat others like oneself is that more good would be produced. But the commonsense moralist will not agree that this is the only reason.In reply to the threat of an egoist's disagreement, this essay argues that many of the axioms should be read as having as their antecedent “from the point of view of the universe.” The essay replies to the objection that this makes these axioms analytic.In reply to the threat of a commonsense moralist's disagreement, this essay argues that each axiom states, in effect, a prima facie duty. The argument against the commonsense moralist concerns not benevolence but whether there are further duties that pass the tests. The essay raises the worry that here Sidgwick is unfair since sometimes he criticizes all-things-considered versions of commonsense duties; such criticisms would count against benevolence as well.
The Stability Theory of Belief
Authors: Leitgeb Hannes 
Published: April 2014

This essay develops a joint theory of rational (all-or-nothing) belief and degrees of belief. The theory is based on three assumptions: the logical closure of rational belief; the axioms of probability for rational degrees of belief; and the so-called Lockean thesis, in which the concepts of rational belief and rational degree of belief figure simultaneously. In spite of what is commonly believed, this essay will show that this combination of principles is satisfiable (and indeed nontrivially so) and that the principles are jointly satisfied if and only if rational belief is equivalent to the assignment of a stably high rational degree of belief. Although the logical closure of belief and the Lockean thesis are attractive postulates in themselves, initially this may seem like a formal “curiosity”; however, as will be argued in the rest of the essay, a very reasonable theory of rational belief can be built around these principles that is not ad hoc and that has various philosophical features that are plausible independently. In particular, this essay shows that the theory allows for a solution to the Lottery Paradox, and it has nice applications to formal epistemology. The price that is to be paid for this theory is a strong dependency of belief on the context, where a context involves both the agent's degree of belief function and the partitioning or individuation of the underlying possibilities. But as this essay argues, that price seems to be affordable.
This essay develops a joint theory of rational (all-or-nothing) belief and degrees of belief. The theory is based on three assumptions: the logical closure of rational belief; the axioms of probability for rational degrees of belief; and the so-called Lockean thesis, in which the concepts of rational belief and rational degree of belief figure simultaneously. In spite of what is commonly believed, I will show that this combination of principles is satisfiable (and indeed nontrivially so) and that the principles are jointly satisfied if and only if rational belief is equivalent to the assignment of a stably high rational degree of belief. Although the logical closure of belief and the Lockean thesis are attractive postulates in themselves, initially this may seem like a formal “curiosity”; however, as I am going to argue in the rest of the essay, a very reasonable theory of rational belief can be built around these principles that is not ad hoc but that has various philosophical features that are plausible independently.
Periodic convection within littoral lake sediments on the background of seiche‐driven oxygen fluctuations
Authors: Bernhardt Juliane , Kirillin Georgiy , Hupfer Michael 
Published: April 2014

Lay AbstractSediments at the bottom of lakes are active biogeochemical zones where settled particulate organic matter is decomposed into dissolved compounds. The latter serve as building materials and energy sources for lake organisms. The amount of the dissolved matter released back to the water column determines, in part, the production and activity of lake biota and directly affects dissolved oxygen levels. However, low‐mixing conditions at the water–sediment interface limit the upward flow of dissolved matter from the sediment to the water. Standing internal waves (seiches), which occur, for example, after changes in wind speed or direction and are inherent for thermally stratified lakes, produce horizontal motions of lake water so that cold deep waters climb over warmer sediment along sloped lake bottoms. This process may initiate pore‐water convection—vertical flow of the interstitial water in the sediment—and accelerate the release of dissolved matter into the water column. We investigated pore‐water convection by using vertical heat flux within the upper sediment as an indicator of convective motions. This was achieved using fine‐resolution temperature measurements within the upper sediment of Lake Arendsee, Germany. Our field study demonstrated that cold water flowing over warmer sediment amplified the vertical heat flux within the sediment. The rate of heat flow increase agreed with theoretical estimates, suggesting that it originates from vertical convective motions. The average velocities of these motions were estimated as ∼0.5 mm s−1, penetrating up to 9 cm deep in the sediments and lasting for 2–4 h. The consequences of this hydrodynamic phenomenon for benthic microorganisms and for transport of solutes have yet to be quantified.
A novel mouse model of Warburg Micro Syndrome reveals roles for RAB18 in eye development and organisation of the neuronal cytoskeleton
Authors: Carpanini Sarah M. , McKie Lisa , Thomson Derek , Wright Ann K. , Gordon Sarah L. , Roche Sarah L. , Handley Mark T. , Morrison Harris , Brownstein David , Wishart Thomas M. , Cousin Michael A. , Gillingwater Thomas H. , Aligianis Irene A. , Jackson Ian J. 
Published: April 2014

Abstract
Mutations in RAB18 have been shown to cause the heterogeneous autosomal recessive disorder Warburg Micro syndrome (WARBM). Patients with WARBM present with a range of clinical symptoms including ocular and neurological abnormalities. However, the underlying cellular and molecular pathogenesis of the disorder remains unclear, largely due to the lack of any robust animal models phenocopying both ocular and neurological features of the disease. We report here the generation and characterisation of a novel Rab18 mutant mouse model of WARBM. Rab18 mutant mice are viable and fertile. They present with congenital nuclear cataracts and atonic pupils, recapitulating characteristic ocular features associated with WARBM. In addition, Rab18 mutant cells have an increase in lipid droplet size following treatment with oleic acid. Lipid droplet abnormalities are a characteristic feature of WARBM patient cells, as well as cells from patients with other neurodegenerative conditions. Neurological dysfunction is also apparent in Rab18 mutant mice, including progressive weakness of the hind limbs. We show that the neurological defects are most likely not due to gross perturbations in synaptic vesicle recycling in the central or peripheral nervous system. Rather, loss of Rab18 is associated with widespread disruption of the neuronal cytoskeleton, including abnormal accumulations of neurofilament and microtubule proteins in synaptic terminals and gross disorganisation of the cytoskeleton in peripheral nerves. Global proteomic profiling of peripheral nerve in Rab18 mutant mice reveals significant alterations in several core molecular pathways regulating cytoskeletal dynamics in neurons. The clear similarities between WARBM and the phenotype we describe indicate that the Rab18 mutant mouse provides an important platform for investigating the disease pathogenesis and therapeutic interventions.
A Mean-Risk Model for the Traffic Assignment Problem with Stochastic Travel Times
Authors: Nikolova E. , Stier-Moses N. E. 
Published: April 2014

Heavy and uncertain traffic conditions exacerbate the commuting experience of millions of people across the globe. When planning important trips, commuters typically add an extra buffer to the expected trip duration to ensure on-time arrival. Motivated by this, we propose a new traffic assignment model that takes into account the stochastic nature of travel times. Our model extends the traditional model of Wardrop competition when uncertainty is present in the network. The focus is on strategic risk-averse users who capture the trade-off between travel times and their variability in a mean-standard deviation objective, defined as the mean travel time plus a risk-aversion factor times the standard deviation of travel time along a path. We consider both infinitesimal users, leading to a nonatomic game, and atomic users, leading to a discrete finite game. We establish conditions that characterize an equilibrium traffic assignment and find when it exists. The main challenge is posed by the users' risk aversion, since the mean-standard deviation objective is nonconvex and nonseparable, meaning that a path cannot be split as a sum of edge costs. As a result, even an individual user's subproblem—a stochastic shortest path problem—is a nonconvex optimization problem for which no polynomial time algorithms are known. In turn, the mathematical structure of the traffic assignment model with stochastic travel times is fundamentally different from the deterministic counterpart. In particular, an equilibrium characterization requires exponentially many variables, one for each path in the network, since an edge flow has multiple possible path-flow decompositions that are not equivalent. Because of this, characterizing the equilibrium and the socially optimal assignment, which minimizes the total user cost, is more challenging than in the traditional deterministic setting. Nevertheless, we prove that both can be encoded by a representation with just polynomially many paths. Finally, under the assumption that the standard deviations of travel times are independent from edge loads, we show that the worst-case ratio between the social cost of an equilibrium and that of an optimal solution is not higher than the analogous ratio in the deterministic setting. In other words, uncertainty does not further degrade the system performance in addition to strategic user behavior alone.
High Throughput Electrochemical Method for Contact Optimization in Printed Rectifying Diodes
Authors: Heljo Petri S. , Majumdar Himadri S. , Lupo Donald 
Published: April 2014

ABSTRACTWe report a low cost and high throughput electrochemical anodic oxidation method to enhance the metal-semiconductor contact between a silver electrode and an organic semiconductor in a rectifying diode application. The oxidized layer enhances the contact properties, leading to better device performance. Three different anodic oxide thicknesses were used in the study. Current-voltage and AC rectification measurements were used to characterize the printed devices. The DC output voltage of the half-wave rectifier increased consistently as a function of the oxide thickness. This procedure points toward a cost-effective way to optimize printed organic devices.
Direct laser patterning of GaAs(001) surfaces
Authors: Yang Haeyeon 
Published: April 2014

ABSTRACTAnalysis of surface images indicates that GaAs(001) surfaces can be patterned directly by applying interferential irradiation of high power laser pulses on the surface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to image the patterned surfaces. The patterned surface shows strips that have the same separation as the interference period used. The direct laser patterning leaves the surface with trenches. The depth of trenches increases with the laser intensity and can be varied from few nanometers to a few hundred nanometers. At low laser intensity, strip shaped mound appears at the both edges of a trench, leaving a plateau area between them. The width of mound increases with the laser intensity, making the plateau area smaller. With a higher laser intensity, the plateau area disappear as the mounds merge together, forming a single strip between the adjacent trenches. AFM images from the patterned surface indicate that direct laser patterning can be used to fabricate nanostructures with a period smaller than that of the interference period as well as the wavelength of the laser used.