bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
IL BAROMETRO RITROVATO
Authors: BRENNI PAOLO 
Published: November 2012

Abstract<title> SUMMARY </title>In 1860 two large meteorological instruments, a metallic thermometer and a balance barometer, were installed in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence. The two public apparatus were dismanteled in the late 1930s and, apart of a few pieces of the dials, they were considered lost. A few months ago, during some restoration works, the balance barometer was discovered in a small room behind the Loggia. The instrument was removed, and after a careful restauration, it was recently displayed in the Museum of History of Science.
IL CARTEGGIO DEL FONDO SIACCI DELLA BIBLIOTECA DEL DIPARTIMENTO DI MATEMATICA RENATO CACCIOPPOLI: DELL'UNIVERSIT FEDERICO II DI NAPOLI
Authors: GATTO ROMANO , CARBONE LUCIANO 
Published: November 2012

Abstracttitle SUMMARY /title We present here the letters of the "Fondo Siacci" which was found recently while reorganising some papers from the old seat of the library at the Department of Mathematics "Renato Caccioppoli" of the University "Federico II" of Naples, in Via Mezzocannone 8. Grancing at these letters we discovered their interest to reconstruct various historical events of italian mathematics life in the 2nd half of the 19th century.
STRUMENTARIA LEARNED INSTITUTIONS: SOURCES FOR UNKNOWN SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS*
Authors: JIMENEZ MARIA J. , SEBASTIN AMPARO 
Published: November 2012

Abstracttitle RIASSUNTO /title Gli autori cercano di attirare l'attenzione sui problemi relativi alle collezioni di strumenti scientifici preservate in istituzioni (accademie, biblioteche, universit), i cui scopi sono lungi da essere quelli di un museo. Il lavoro di cura e conservazione andrebbe affidato a specialisti, che tuttavia sono scarsamente presenti in queste istituzioni. Tale situazione dovrebbe servire da stimolo ad una seria riflessione sulle condizioni e la tutela del patrimonio scientifico. Nell'articolo vengono presentati vari oggetti provenienti da diverse istituzioni e attualmente conservati presso il Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia di Madrid.
PER UN ARCHIVIO DELLA CORRISPONDENZA DEGLI SCIENZIATI ITALIANI MATEMATICA ED ERUDIZIONE. GIOVANNI ALFONSO BORELLI E L'EDIZIONE FIORENTINA DEI LIBRI V, VI E VII DELLE CONICHE DI APOLLONIO DI PERGA
Authors: GUERRINI LUIGI 
Published: November 2012

Abstracttitle SUMMARY /title As a consequence of the recovery of thirty-four of Giovanni Alfonso Borelli's letters to Carlo Roberto Dati relevant to the Florentine edition of the V, VI and VII books of Apollonius of Perga's CONICHE (1661), the article completes the known reconstruction of the various stages of the preparation of the edition with previously unknown events and gives some information about the meaning of some philological and mathematical controversy to which it gave rise. The letters show to the reader the lofty cultural quality of the edition of 1661 and enlighten the seventeenth-century debates on the genuineness of the codicological tradition as the means of transmission of the mathematical books of ancient times. The intellectual connexion between the letterato Carlo Roberto Dati and the mathematician Giovanni Alfonso Borelli gives furthermore a proof of the very close links binding erudition and science in seventeenth-century Italy.
UN CONTRIBUTO AL CARTEGGIO DI GUIDO GRANDI E ODOARDO CORSINI*
Authors: BARBIERI FRANCESCO , ZUCCOLI MARINA 
Published: November 2012

Abstracttitle SUMMARY /title The following letters aim to add a chapter to the studies about Guido Grandi (1671-1742), illustrating his relationship with Odoardo Corsini (1702-1765), historian and mathematician of the Scolopian fathers. Grandi, already a well known mathematician, received from the young Corsini an attempt at the squaring of the circle and kindly read it, pointing out its mistake. Eleven years later, Corsini submitted him another mathematical problem and its solution, which Grandi himself and other mathematicians had already discovered.
Unit-Ideas Unleashed: A Reinterpretation and Reassessment of Lovejovian Methodology in the History of Ideas
Authors: Knight Carl 
Published: November 2012

Abstract
This article argues for an unconventional interpretation of Arthur O. Lovejoy’s distinctive approach to method in the history of ideas. It is maintained that the value of the central concept of the ‘unit-idea’ has been misunderstood by friends and foes alike. The commonality of unit-ideas at different times and places is often defined in terms of familial resemblance. But such an approach must necessarily define unit-ideas as being something other than the smallest conceptual unit. It is therefore in tension with Lovejoy’s methodological prescription and, more importantly, disregards a potentially important aspect of intellectual history – the smaller conceptual units themselves. In response to this, an alternative interpretation of unit-ideas as ‘elemental’ – as the smallest identifiable conceptual components – is put forward. Unlike the familial resemblance approach, the elemental approach can provide a plausible explanation for changes in ideas. These are construed as being either the creation of new unit-ideas, the disappearance of existing ones, or alterations in the groups of unit-ideas that compose idea-complexes. The focus on the movement of unit-ideas and idea-complexes through history can also be sensitive to contextual issues, carefully distinguishing the different meanings that single words may have, in much the way that both Lovejoy and his influential critic Quentin Skinner suggest.
Temporal rate adaptation transfers cross-modally at a subconscious level
Authors: Yang Charlotte L. , Stiles Noelle R. B. , Levitan Carmel A. , Shimojo Shinsuke 
Published: November 2012

In an earlier study, we demonstrated that the temporal rate adaptation effect can be transferred from audition to vision and vice versa. However, it was unclear whether this effect was due to a top-down cognitive process, or rather to an earlier calibration process which is stimulus-driven and automatic. We therefore examined the effect of interocular masking of the adapting stimuli on the temporal rate adaptation and its cross-modal transfer from vision to audition (VA). Participants were trained, using feedback, to classify repetitive auditory stimuli presented at a range of frequencies (3.25–4.75 Hz) as fast or slow (as compared to the average frequency of 4 Hz). Afterwards, subjects were repeatedly exposed to visual stimuli at a specific rate (3 or 5 Hz). This adaptation stimulus was masked by continuous flash suppression (CFS). During CFS, a stimulus presented to one eye can be suppressed from awareness by a stream of constantly changing images in the other eye. To test whether adaptation resulted from this less visible exposure, participants then performed the same task as in the training, but without feedback. Test and adaptation tasks were presented in 20 alternating blocks. A comparison of the pre- and post-adaptation responses showed cross-modal changes in subjects’ perception of temporal rate. Adaptation to the masked 5 Hz (3 Hz) stimuli led to subsequent stimuli seeming slower (faster) than they had before adaptation. Since the adaptation stimuli were mostly masked by CFS, the results suggest that temporal rate adaptation and its cross-modal transfer occur mostly at a subconscious level.
The effect of vision on tactile TOJ during arm crossing
Authors: Wada Makoto , Kansaku Kenji 
Published: November 2012

When people cross their arms, subjective rank ordering of successive unseen tactile stimuli delivered to both arms is affected (often being reversed) (Shore et al., 2002; Yamamoto and Kitazawa, 2001). It is also known that vision plays a significant role in modulating perceived limb position (Graziano et al., 2000). In this study, we examined the effect of vision; i.e., eyes opening and closing on tactile temporal order judgment (TOJ) with their arms crossed or uncrossed. In a psychophysical experiment, participants (, 13 males, 27.3 ± 1.8 y.o.) were required to judge temporal order of two tactile stimuli that were delivered to their both ring fingers with four conditions: uncrossed arms with eyes closed, crossed arms with eyes closed, uncrossed arms with eyes open and crossed arms with eyes open. To evaluate judgment probabilities of the participants, degree of reversals of their judgment was calculated as the sum of differences between correct response rates of the arms crossed condition and those of the arms uncrossed condition. In arms uncrossed conditions, judgment probabilities of the participants were not significantly different between eyes closed and open conditions. In contrast, reversal of the judgment with eyes closed was significantly larger than that with eyes open in arms crossed conditions (). The results suggest that vision play a significant role in tactile order judgment when the subject arms crossed.
Audiovisual crossmodal correspondences in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)
Authors: Occelli Valeria , Esposito Gianluca , Venuti Paola , Walker Peter , Zampini Massimiliano 
Published: November 2012

The label ‘crossmodal correspondences’ has been used to define the nonarbitrary associations that appear to exist between different basic physical stimulus attributes in different sensory modalities. For instance, it has been consistently shown in the neurotypical population that higher pitched sounds are more frequently matched with visual patterns which are brighter, smaller, and sharper than those associated to lower pitched sounds. Some evidence suggests that patients with ASDs tend not to show this crossmodal preferential association pattern (e.g., curvilinear shapes and labial/lingual consonants vs. rectilinear shapes and plosive consonants). In the present study, we compared the performance of children with ASDs (6–15 years) and matched neurotypical controls in a non-verbal crossmodal correspondence task. The participants were asked to indicate which of two bouncing visual patterns was making a centrally located sound. In intermixed trials, the visual patterns varied in either size, surface brightness, or shape, whereas the sound varied in pitch. The results showed that, whereas the neurotypical controls reliably matched the higher pitched sound to a smaller and brighter visual pattern, the performance of participants with ASDs was at chance level. In the condition where the visual patterns differed in shape, no inter-group difference was observed. Children’s matching performance cannot be attributed to intensity matching or difficulties in understanding the instructions, which were controlled. These data suggest that the tendency to associate congruent visual and auditory features vary as a function of the presence of ASDs, possibly pointing to poorer capabilities to integrate auditory and visual inputs in this population.
Examining tactile spatial remapping using transcranial magnetic stimulation
Authors: Medina Jared , Khurshid Shaan , Hamilton Roy H. , Coslett H. Branch 
Published: November 2012

Previous research has provided evidence for two stages of tactile processing (e.g., Azañon and Soto-Faraco, 2008; Groh and Sparks, 1996). First, tactile stimuli are represented in a somatotopic representation that does not take into account body position in space, followed by a representation of body position in external space (body posture representation, see Medina and Coslett, 2010). In order to explore potential functional and neural dissociations between these two stages of processing, we presented eight participants with TMS before and after a tactile temporal order judgment (TOJ) task (see Yamamoto and Kitazawa, 2001). Participants were tested with their hands crossed and uncrossed before and after 20 min of 1 Hz repetitive TMS (rTMS). Stimulation occurred at the left anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS, somatotopic representation) or left Brodmann Area 5 (BA5, body posture) during two separate sessions. We predicted that left aIPS TMS would affect a somatotopic representation of the body, and would disrupt performance in both the uncrossed and crossed conditions. However, we predicted that TMS of body posture areas (BA5) would disrupt mechanisms for updating limb position with the hands crossed, resulting in a paradoxical improvement in performance after TMS. Using thresholds derived from adaptive staircase procedures, we found that left aIPS TMS disrupted performance in the uncrossed condition. However, left BA5 TMS resulted in a significant improvement in performance with the hands crossed. We discuss these results with reference to potential dissociations of the traditional body schema.
Intramodal and crossmodal refractory effects: Evidence from oscillatory brain activity
Authors: Bottari Davide , Rohlf Sophie , Hense Marlene , Habets Boukje , Roeder Brigitte 
Published: November 2012

Event-related potentials (ERP) to the second stimulus of a pair are known to be reduced in amplitude. The magnitude of this ‘refractoriness’ is modulated by both the interstimulus interval and the similarity between the two stimuli. Intramodal refractoriness is interpreted as an index of a temporary decrement in neural responsiveness. So, cross-modal refractoriness might be an indicator of shared neural generators between modalities. We analysed oscillatory neuronal activity while participants were engaged in an oddball paradigm with auditory (4000 Hz, 50 ms-long, 90 db, bilateral) and tactile stimuli (50 ms-long, 125 Hz-vibrations, index fingers) presented in a random order with an ISI of either 1000 or 2000 ms. Participants were required to detect rare tactile (middle fingers) and auditory deviants (600 Hz). A time–frequency analysis of the brain response to the second stimulus of each pair (T-T, A-A, T-A and A-T) contrasting Short and Long ISIs revealed a reduced refractory effect after Long ISI with respect to Short ISI, in all pairs (both intramodal and cross-modal). This emerged as a broadly distributed increase of evoked theta activity (3–7 Hz, 100–500 ms). Only in intramodal tactile pairs and cross-modal tactile-auditory pairs we also observed that Long ISI with respect to Short ISI determined a decrease of induced alpha (8–12 Hz, 200–700 ms), a typical sign of enhanced neural excitability and thus decreased refractoriness. These data suggest that somatosensory and auditory cortices display different neural markers of refractoriness and that the auditory cortex might have a stronger low level degree of influence on the tactile cortex than vice-versa.
Features of the Human Rod Bipolar Cell ERG Response During Fusion of Scotopic Flicker
Authors: Cameron Allison M. , Lam Jacqueline S. C. 
Published: November 2012

The ability of the eye to distinguish between intermittently presented flash stimuli is a measure of the temporal resolution of vision. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the features of the human rod bipolar cell response (as measured from the scotopic ERG b-wave) and the psychophysically measured critical fusion frequency (CFF). Stimuli consisted of dim (∼0.04 Td ⋅ s), blue flashes presented either singly, or as flash pairs (at a range of time separations, between 5 and 300 ms). Single flashes of double intensity (∼0.08 Td ⋅ s) were also presented as a reference. Visual responses to flash pairs were measured via (1) recording of the ERG b-wave, and (2) threshold determinations of the CFF using a two-alternative forced-choice method (flicker vs. fused illumination). The results of this experiment suggest that b-wave responses to flash pairs separated by <100 ms are electrophysiologically similar to those obtained with single flashes of double intensity. Psychophysically, the percepts of flash pairs <100 ms apart appeared fused. In conclusion, the visual system’s ability to discriminate between scotopic stimuli may be determined by the response characteristics of the rod bipolar cell, or perhaps by the rod photoreceptor itself.
Japanese Secularities and the Decline of Temple Buddhism
Authors: Nelson John K. 
Published: November 2012

Abstract
In many ways, Japan provides a predictable example of how historical, political, economic, and cultural factors in the postwar and late-modern periods influence the interactivity of religious affiliations and secular forces. And yet, to grasp the complexity of the situation also requires a broader analytical perspective, one that can incorporate secularizing influences that are harder to identify because they are more globally diffuse. Based on extended fieldwork that has examined the ‘boom and bust’ of contemporary Japanese temple Buddhism, I first discuss historical and political legacies unique to Japan that have shaped local secularities. Additionally, concepts of Japanese religiosity and secularity have been referenced in controversial court cases that are relevant to the practice of religion in the public sphere. Finally, the discussion surveys forces that are domestic and familiar as well as global and invasive—new information technologies, greater personal agency, hyper-consumerism, corporate and bureaucratic restructuring, and a growing tolerance for diversity—impacting traditional temple Buddhism. Each one of these factors is significant in understanding Japan’s secularities. The purpose here is to see them as a mutually-reinforcing and interactive web of relations and consequences for the Japanese people and the religious institutions in their midst.
Generation and analysis of expressed sequence tags in the extreme large genomes Lilium and Tulipa
Authors: Shahin Arwa , van Kaauwen Martijn , Esselink Danny , Bargsten Joachim W , van Tuyl Jaap M , Visser Richard GF , Arens Paul 
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Background
Bulbous flowers such as lily and tulip (Liliaceae family) are monocot perennial herbs that are economically very important ornamental plants worldwide. However, there are hardly any genetic studies performed and genomic resources are lacking. To build genomic resources and develop tools to speed up the breeding in both crops, next generation sequencing was implemented. We sequenced and assembled transcriptomes of four lily and five tulip genotypes using 454 pyro-sequencing technology.

Results
Successfully, we developed the first set of 81,791 contigs with an average length of 514 bp for tulip, and enriched the very limited number of 3,329 available ESTs (Expressed Sequence Tags) for lily with 52,172 contigs with an average length of 555 bp. The contigs together with singletons covered on average 37% of lily and 39% of tulip estimated transcriptome. Mining lily and tulip sequence data for SSRs (Simple Sequence Repeats) showed that di-nucleotide repeats were twice more abundant in UTRs (UnTranslated Regions) compared to coding regions, while tri-nucleotide repeats were equally spread over coding and UTR regions. Two sets of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers suitable for high throughput genotyping were developed. In the first set, no SNPs flanking the target SNP (50 bp on either side) were allowed. In the second set, one SNP in the flanking regions was allowed, which resulted in a 2 to 3 fold increase in SNP marker numbers compared with the first set. Orthologous groups between the two flower bulbs: lily and tulip (12,017 groups) and among the three monocot species: lily, tulip, and rice (6,900 groups) were determined using OrthoMCL. Orthologous groups were screened for common SNP markers and EST-SSRs to study synteny between lily and tulip, which resulted in 113 common SNP markers and 292 common EST-SSR. Lily and tulip contigs generated were annotated and described according to Gene Ontology terminology.

Conclusions
Two transcriptome sets were built that are valuable resources for marker development, comparative genomic studies and candidate gene approaches. Next generation sequencing of leaf transcriptome is very effective; however, deeper sequencing and using more tissues and stages is advisable for extended comparative studies.
Left atrial endocarditis as a rare complication of mitral valve endocarditis: a clinical case
Authors: Hamadanchi Ali , Bothe Wolfgang , Pfeil Alexander , Rad Azita Abdi , Brehm Bernhard R , Figulla Hans R , Doenst Thorsten , Franz Marcus , Jung Christian 
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Background
Infective Endocarditis (IE) is considered as a multifaceted problem in every aspect from etiology and presentation to diagnosis and management. Early recognition of this disease and especially its complications, remain a critical task for the cardiologist. Atrial endocarditis is a rare and sometimes unrecognized complication of mitral valve endocarditis.

Case presentation
We present a 48 year-old male patient who was admitted to our clinic because of recent onset of malaise, fever, jaundice and peripheral edema. Important physical findings were peripheral stigmata of IE in addition to holosystolic murmur over the left sternal border. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiophy revealed a severe eccentric MR due to a flailed posterior mitral valve caused by IE. The presence of atrial septal endocarditis caused by jet streaming was also observed. Blood culture was positive for streptococcus oralis and antibiotic therapy was immediately initiated. Considering the large burden of infective tissue, the patient was planned for an early surgical intervention. A minimally invasive resection of the atrial mass, direct closure of the defect, resection of the diseased portions of mitral leaflets and implantation of a biological mitral valve prosthesis was performed. Intra-operative and histological findings confirmed provisional diagnosis by echocardiography.

Conclusions
Together with comprehensive echocardiographic evaluation, attention should be placed on mural vegetations and excluded among all cases of mitral valve endocarditis, particularly those with severe eccentric regurgitant jets.
Centenarians and supercentenarians: a black swan. Emerging social, medical and surgical problems
Authors: Vacante Marco , D’Agata Velia , Motta Massimo , Malaguarnera Giulia , Biondi Antonio , Basile Francesco , Malaguarnera Michele , Gagliano Caterina , Drago Filippo , Salamone Salvatore 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe Black Swan Theory was described by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book “The Black Swan”. This theory refers to “high-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare events beyond the realm of normal expectations”. According to Taleb’s criteria, a Black Swan Event is a surprise, it has a major impact and after the fact, the event is rationalized by hindsight, as if it had been expected. For most of human history centenarians were a rare and unpredictable phenomenon. The improvements of the social-environmental conditions, of medical care, and the quality of life caused a general improvement of the health status of the population and a consequent reduction of the overall morbidity and mortality, resulting in an overall increase of life expectancy. The study of centenarians and supercentenarians had the objective to consider this black swan and to evaluate the health, welfare, social and economic consequences of this phenomenon.