bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
North to South: A Reappraisal of Anglican Communion Membership Figures
Authors: Muñoz Daniel 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn recent decades Anglicans have developed a largely unquestioned and unchallenged narrative of global growth and decline. This narrative tells a story of Anglicanism’s success being largely due to growth in developing, postcolonial nations which, according to the narrators, is ongoing and unstoppable. At the same time, first-world, mostly postmodern nations have seen a steep decline in church membership and attendance. Numeric growth and strength have been used to define ecclesial identity and to legitimate understandings of ‘Anglican orthodoxy’. This article offers an up-to-date reappraisal of Anglican Communion membership and, in that process, challenges many of the premises of such a narrative.
The international rule of law and the domestic analogy
Authors: HURD IAN 
Published: October 2015

AbstractA surge in academic interest in the interaction of international law with international politics has recently raised the profile of the rule of law in global politics. The idea of an ‘international rule of law’ is central to many accounts of international order, and to both political science and legal scholarship. Despite its popularity, the concept is rarely defined or examined. This article considers the theory and practice of the international rule of law. It shows first that the international rule of law cannot be deduced from the conventional Anglo-American version of the rule of law in domestic legal theory, as sketched by Joseph Raz and others. It then considers two competing versions of a distinctly international concept of the rule of law, one based on a positivist theory of compliance and the other on a structurationist theory of practice. The former is more common in legal and political scholarship but the latter accounts better for the political power of international law in relation to states.
Improving Electoral Integrity with Information and Communications Technology
Authors: Callen Michael , Gibson Clark C. , Jung Danielle F. , Long James D. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIrregularities plague elections in developing democracies. The international community spends hundreds of millions of dollars on election observation, with little robust evidence that it consistently improves electoral integrity. We conducted a randomized control trial to measure the effect of an intervention to detect and deter electoral irregularities employing a nation-wide sample of polling stations in Uganda using scalable information and communications technology (ICT). In treatment stations, researchers delivered letters to polling officials stating that tallies would be photographed using smartphones and compared against official results. Compared to stations with no letters, the letters increased the frequency of posted tallies by polling center managers in compliance with the law; decreased the number of sequential digits found on tallies – a fraud indicator; and decreased the vote share for the incumbent president in some specifications. Our results demonstrate that a cost-effective citizen and ICT intervention can improve electoral integrity in emerging democracies.
Transient thermal response of micro-thermal conductivity detector (µTCD) for the identification of gas mixtures: An ultra-fast and low power method
Authors: Mahdavifar Alireza , Navaei Milad , Hesketh Peter J. , Findlay Melvin , Stetter Joseph R. , Hunter Gary W. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractMicro-thermal conductivity detector (µTCD) gas sensors work by detecting changes in the thermal conductivity of the surrounding medium and are used as detectors in many applications such as gas chromatography systems. Conventional TCDs use steady-state resistance (i.e., temperature) measurements of a micro-heater. In this work, we developed a new measurement method and hardware configuration based on the processing of the transient response of a low thermal mass TCD to an electric current step. The method was implemented for a 100-µm-long and 1-µm-thick micro-fabricated bridge that consisted of doped polysilicon conductive film passivated with a 200-nm silicon nitride layer. Transient resistance variations of the µTCD in response to a square current pulse were studied in multiple mixtures of dilute gases in nitrogen. Simulations and experimental results are presented and compared for the time resolved and steady-state regime of the sensor response. Thermal analysis and simulation show that the sensor response is exponential in the transient state, that the time constant of this exponential variation was a linear function of the thermal conductivity of the gas ambient, and that the sensor was able to quantify the mixture composition. The level of detection in nitrogen was estimated to be from 25 ppm for helium to 178 ppm for carbon dioxide. With this novel approach, the sensor requires approximately 3.6 nJ for a single measurement and needs only 300 µs of sampling time. This is less than the energy and time required for steady-state DC measurements.
Inhibition of DYRK1A and GSK3B induces human β-cell proliferation
Authors: Shen Weijun , Taylor Brandon , Jin Qihui , Nguyen-Tran Van , Meeusen Shelly , Zhang You-Qing , Kamireddy Anwesh , Swafford Austin , Powers Andrew F. , Walker John , Lamb John , Bursalaya Badry , DiDonato Michael , Harb George , Qiu Minhua , Filippi Christophe M. , Deaton Lisa , Turk Carolina N. , Suarez-Pinzon Wilma L. , Liu Yahu , Hao Xueshi , Mo Tingting , Yan Shanshan , Li Jing , Herman Ann E. , Hering Bernhard J. , Wu Tom , Martin Seidel H. , McNamara Peter , Glynne Richard , Laffitte Bryan 
Published: October 2015

AbstractInsufficient pancreatic β-cell mass or function results in diabetes mellitus. While significant progress has been made in regulating insulin secretion from β-cells in diabetic patients, no pharmacological agents have been described that increase β-cell replication in humans. Here we report aminopyrazine compounds that stimulate robust β-cell proliferation in adult primary islets, most likely as a result of combined inhibition of DYRK1A and GSK3B. Aminopyrazine-treated human islets retain functionality in vitro and after transplantation into diabetic mice. Oral dosing of these compounds in diabetic mice induces β-cell proliferation, increases β-cell mass and insulin content, and improves glycaemic control. Biochemical, genetic and cell biology data point to Dyrk1a as the key molecular target. This study supports the feasibility of treating diabetes with an oral therapy to restore β-cell mass, and highlights a tractable pathway for future drug discovery efforts.
Quantum Hall states stabilized in semi-magnetic bilayers of topological insulators
Authors: Yoshimi R. , Yasuda K. , Tsukazaki A. , Takahashi K. S. , Nagaosa N. , Kawasaki M. , Tokura Y. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBy breaking the time-reversal symmetry in three-dimensional topological insulators with the introduction of spontaneous magnetization or application of magnetic field, the surface states become gapped, leading to quantum anomalous Hall effect or quantum Hall effect, when the chemical potential locates inside the gap. Further breaking of inversion symmetry is possible by employing magnetic topological insulator heterostructures that host non-degenerate top and bottom surface states. Here we demonstrate the tailored-material approach for the realization of robust quantum Hall states in the bilayer system, in which the cooperative or cancelling combination of the anomalous and ordinary Hall responses from the respective magnetic and non-magnetic layers is exemplified. The appearance of quantum Hall states at filling factor 0 and +1 can be understood by the relationship of energy band diagrams for the two independent surface states. The designable heterostructures of magnetic topological insulator may explore a new arena for intriguing topological transport and functionality.
Evidence of covalent synergy in silicon–sulfur–graphene yielding highly efficient and long-life lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Hassan Fathy M. , Batmaz Rasim , Li Jingde , Wang Xiaolei , Xiao Xingcheng , Yu Aiping , Chen Zhongwei 
Published: October 2015

AbstractSilicon has the potential to revolutionize the energy storage capacities of lithium-ion batteries to meet the ever increasing power demands of next generation technologies. To avoid the operational stability problems of silicon-based anodes, we propose synergistic physicochemical alteration of electrode structures during their design. This capitalizes on covalent interaction of Si nanoparticles with sulfur-doped graphene and with cyclized polyacrylonitrile to provide a robust nanoarchitecture. This hierarchical structure stabilized the solid electrolyte interphase leading to superior reversible capacity of over 1,000 mAh g−1 for 2,275 cycles at 2 A g−1. Furthermore, the nanoarchitectured design lowered the contact of the electrolyte to the electrode leading to not only high coulombic efficiency of 99.9% but also maintaining high stability even with high electrode loading associated with 3.4 mAh cm−2. The excellent performance combined with the simplistic, scalable and non-hazardous approach render the process as a very promising candidate for Li-ion battery technology.
Quasiparticle spin resonance and coherence in superconducting aluminium
Authors: Quay C. H. L. , Weideneder M. , Chiffaudel Y. , Strunk C. , Aprili M. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractConventional superconductors were long thought to be spin inert; however, there is now increasing interest in both (the manipulation of) the internal spin structure of the ground-state condensate, as well as recently observed long-lived, spin-polarized excitations (quasiparticles). We demonstrate spin resonance in the quasiparticle population of a mesoscopic superconductor (aluminium) using novel on-chip microwave detection techniques. The spin decoherence time obtained (∼100 ps), and its dependence on the sample thickness are consistent with Elliott–Yafet spin–orbit scattering as the main decoherence mechanism. The striking divergence between the spin coherence time and the previously measured spin imbalance relaxation time (∼10 ns) suggests that the latter is limited instead by inelastic processes. This work stakes out new ground for the nascent field of spin-based electronics with superconductors or superconducting spintronics.
An orphan gene is necessary for preaxial digit formation during salamander limb development
Authors: Kumar Anoop , Gates Phillip B. , Czarkwiani Anna , Brockes Jeremy P. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractLimb development in salamanders differs from other tetrapods in that the first digits to form are the two most anterior (preaxial dominance). This has been proposed as a salamander novelty and its mechanistic basis is unknown. Salamanders are the only adult tetrapods able to regenerate the limb, and the contribution of preaxial dominance to limb regeneration is unclear. Here we show that during early outgrowth of the limb bud, a small cohort of cells express the orphan geneProd1together withBmp2, a critical player in digit condensation in amniotes. Disruption ofProd1with a gene-editing nuclease abrogates these cells, and blocks formation of the radius and ulna, and outgrowth of the anterior digits. Preaxial dominance is a notable feature of limb regeneration in the larval newt, but this changes abruptly after metamorphosis so that the formation of anterior and posterior digits occurs together within the autopodium resembling an amniote-like pattern.
Zinc regulates a key transcriptional pathway for epileptogenesis via metal-regulatory transcription factor 1
Authors: van Loo Karen M. J. , Schaub Christina , Pitsch Julika , Kulbida Rebecca , Opitz Thoralf , Ekstein Dana , Dalal Adam , Urbach Horst , Beck Heinz , Yaari Yoel , Schoch Susanne , Becker Albert J. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractTemporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common focal seizure disorder in adults. In many patients, transient brain insults, including status epilepticus (SE), are followed by a latent period of epileptogenesis, preceding the emergence of clinical seizures. In experimental animals, transcriptional upregulation of CaV3.2 T-type Ca2+-channels, resulting in an increased propensity for burst discharges of hippocampal neurons, is an important trigger for epileptogenesis. Here we provide evidence that the metal-regulatory transcription factor 1 (MTF1) mediates the increase of CaV3.2 mRNA and intrinsic excitability consequent to a rise in intracellular Zn2+ that is associated with SE. Adeno-associated viral (rAAV) transfer of MTF1 into murine hippocampi leads to increased CaV3.2 mRNA. Conversely, rAAV-mediated expression of a dominant-negative MTF1 abolishes SE-induced CaV3.2 mRNA upregulation and attenuates epileptogenesis. Finally, data from resected human hippocampi surgically treated for pharmacoresistant TLE support the Zn2+-MTF1-CaV3.2 cascade, thus providing new vistas for preventing and treating TLE.
Simultaneous enhancements in photon absorption and charge transport of bismuth vanadate photoanodes for solar water splitting
Authors: Kim Tae Woo , Ping Yuan , Galli Giulia A. , Choi Kyoung-Shin 
Published: October 2015

Abstractn-Type bismuth vanadate has been identified as one of the most promising photoanodes for use in a water-splitting photoelectrochemical cell. The major limitation of BiVO4 is its relatively wide bandgap (∼2.5 eV), which fundamentally limits its solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency. Here we show that annealing nanoporous bismuth vanadate electrodes at 350 °C under nitrogen flow can result in nitrogen doping and generation of oxygen vacancies. This gentle nitrogen treatment not only effectively reduces the bandgap by ∼0.2 eV but also increases the majority carrier density and mobility, enhancing electron–hole separation. The effect of nitrogen incorporation and oxygen vacancies on the electronic band structure and charge transport of bismuth vanadate are systematically elucidated by ab initio calculations. Owing to simultaneous enhancements in photon absorption and charge transport, the applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of nitrogen-treated BiVO4 for solar water splitting exceeds 2%, a record for a single oxide photon absorber, to the best of our knowledge.
Improving the gate fidelity of capacitively coupled spin qubits
Authors: Wang Xin , Barnes Edwin , Sarma S Das 
Published: October 2015

AbstractCapacitively coupled semiconductor spin qubits hold promise as the building blocks of a scalable quantum computing architecture with long-range coupling between distant qubits. However, the two-qubit gate fidelities achieved in experiments to date have been severely limited by decoherence originating from charge noise and hyperfine interactions with nuclear spins, and are currently unacceptably low for any conceivable multi-qubit gate operations. Here, we present control protocols that implement two-qubit entangling gates while substantially suppressing errors due to both types of noise. These protocols are obtained by making simple modifications to control sequences already used in the laboratory and should thus be easy enough for immediate experimental realisation. Together with existing control protocols for robust single-qubit gates, our results constitute an important step toward scalable quantum computation using spin qubits in semiconductor platforms.
Blood-Brain Barrier Opening in Behaving Non-Human Primates via Focused Ultrasound with Systemically Administered Microbubbles
Authors: Downs Matthew E. , Buch Amanda , Karakatsani Maria Eleni , Konofagou Elisa E. , Ferrera Vincent P. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractOver the past fifteen years, focused ultrasound coupled with intravenously administered microbubbles (FUS) has been proven an effective, non-invasive technique to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vivo. Here we show that FUS can safely and effectively open the BBB at the basal ganglia and thalamus in alert non-human primates (NHP) while they perform a behavioral task. The BBB was successfully opened in 89% of cases at the targeted brain regions of alert NHP with an average volume of opening 28% larger than prior anesthetized FUS procedures. Safety (lack of edema or microhemorrhage) of FUS was also improved during alert compared to anesthetized procedures. No physiological effects (change in heart rate, motor evoked potentials) were observed during any of the procedures. Furthermore, the application of FUS did not disrupt reaching behavior, but in fact improved performance by decreasing reaction times by 23 ms and significantly decreasing touch error by 0.76 mm on average.
Highly selective detection of individual nuclear spins with rotary echo on an electron spin probe
Authors: Mkhitaryan V. V. , Jelezko F. , Dobrovitski V. V. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractWe consider an electronic spin, such as a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond, weakly coupled to a large number of nuclear spins and subjected to the Rabi driving with a periodically alternating phase. We show that by switching the driving phase synchronously with the precession of a given nuclear spin, the interaction to this spin is selectively enhanced, while the rest of the bath remains decoupled. The enhancement is of resonant character. The key feature of the suggested scheme is that the width of the resonance is adjustable and can be greatly decreased by increasing the driving strength. Thus, the resonance can be significantly narrowed, by a factor of 10–100 in comparison with the existing detection methods. Significant improvement in selectivity is explained analytically and confirmed by direct numerical many-spin simulations. The method can be applied to a wide range of solid-state systems.
Five-wave-packet quantum error correction based on continuous-variable cluster entanglement
Authors: Hao Shuhong , Su Xiaolong , Tian Caixing , Xie Changde , Peng Kunchi 
Published: October 2015

AbstractQuantum error correction protects the quantum state against noise and decoherence in quantum communication and quantum computation, which enables one to perform fault-torrent quantum information processing. We experimentally demonstrate a quantum error correction scheme with a five-wave-packet code against a single stochastic error, the original theoretical model of which was firstly proposed by S. L. Braunstein and T. A. Walker. Five submodes of a continuous variable cluster entangled state of light are used for five encoding channels. Especially, in our encoding scheme the information of the input state is only distributed on three of the five channels and thus any error appearing in the remained two channels never affects the output state, i.e. the output quantum state is immune from the error in the two channels. The stochastic error on a single channel is corrected for both vacuum and squeezed input states and the achieved fidelities of the output states are beyond the corresponding classical limit.
Use of ordinal information by fish
Authors: Petrazzini Maria Elena Miletto , Lucon-Xiccato Tyrone , Agrillo Christian , Bisazza Angelo 
Published: October 2015

AbstractMammals and birds can process ordinal numerical information which can be used, for instance, for recognising an object on the basis of its position in a sequence of similar objects. Recent studies have shown that teleost fish possess numerical abilities comparable to those of other vertebrates, but it is unknown if they can also learn ordinal numerical relations. Guppies (Poecilia reticulata) learned to recognise the 3rd feeder in a row of 8 identical ones even when inter-feeder distance and feeder positions were varied among trials to prevent the use of any spatial information. To assess whether guppies spontaneously use ordinal or spatial information when both are simultaneously available, fish were then trained with constant feeder positions and inter-feeder distance. In probe trials where these two sources of information were contrasted, the subjects selected the correct ordinal position significantly more often than the original spatial position, indicating that the former was preferentially encoded during training. Finally, a comparison between subjects trained on the 3rd and the 5th position revealed that guppies can also learn the latter discrimination, but the larger error rate observed in this case suggests that 5 is close to the upper limit of discrimination in guppies.
Thermodynamics of protein denaturation at temperatures over 100 °C: CutA1 mutant proteins substituted with hydrophobic and charged residues
Authors: Matsuura Yoshinori , Takehira Michiyo , Joti Yasumasa , Ogasahara Kyoko , Tanaka Tomoyuki , Ono Naoko , Kunishima Naoki , Yutani Katsuhide 
Published: October 2015

AbstractAlthough the thermodynamics of protein denaturation at temperatures over 100 °C is essential for the rational design of highly stable proteins, it is not understood well because of the associated technical difficulties. We designed certain hydrophobic mutant proteins of CutA1 from Escherichia coli, which have denaturation temperatures (Td) ranging from 101 to 113 °C and show a reversible heat denaturation. Using a hydrophobic mutant as a template, we successfully designed a hyperthermostable mutant protein (Td = 137 °C) by substituting six residues with charged ones. Thermodynamic analyses of these mutant proteins indicated that the hydrophobic mutants were stabilized by the accumulation of denaturation enthalpy (ΔH) with no entropic gain from hydrophobic solvation around 100 °C and that the stabilization due to salt bridges resulted from both the increase in ΔH from ion-ion interactions and the entropic effect of the electrostatic solvation over 113 °C. This is the first experimental evidence that has successfully overcome the typical technical difficulties.
The nasopharyngeal microbiota of feedlot cattle
Authors: Holman Devin B. , Timsit Edouard , Alexander Trevor W. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe bovine nasopharyngeal tract plays an important role in animal health and welfare by acting as a site for the carriage of pathogens causing bovine respiratory disease, a condition which results in significant morbidity and mortality in feedlot cattle. We characterized the bacterial nasopharyngeal microbiota in cattle at feedlot entry (day 0) and day 60 using 454 pyrosequencing. We also identified the most frequently isolated aerobic bacteria from nasopharyngeal swabs after plating onto three types of media. The cattle nasopharyngeal microbiota was composed primarily of Proteobacteria (68.9%) and Firmicutes (19.2%). At the genus-level, there was more inter-individual variability and a total of 55 genera were identified. The genera Pseudomonas (23.7%), Shewanella (23.5%), Acinetobacter (17.5%) and Carnobacterium (12.2%) were most prevalent at entry, while after 60 days in the feedlot, Staphylococcus (20.8%), Mycoplasma (14.9%), Mannheimia (10.4%) and Moraxella (9.4%) were dominant. The nasopharyngeal microbiota also became more homogenous after 60 days in the feedlot and differed in structure at day 0 and 60. Using culture-based methods, the most frequently isolated bacteria from nasopharyngeal swabs were Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Moraxella, Pasteurella and Mannheimia. These results provide insight into the nasopharyngeal microbiota of cattle and demonstrate that specific changes take place during feedlot production.