bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pores and Void in Asclepiades’ Physical Theory
Authors: Leith David 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis paper examines a fundamental, though relatively understudied, aspect of the physical theory of the physician Asclepiades of Bithynia, namely his doctrine of pores. My principal thesis is that this doctrine is dependent on a conception of void taken directly from Epicurean physics. The paper falls into two parts: the first half addresses the evidence for the presence of void in Asclepiades’ theory, and concludes that his conception of void was basically that of Epicurus; the second half focuses on the precise nature of Asclepiadean pores, and seeks to show that they represent void interstices between the primary particles of matter which are the constituents of the human body, and are thus exactly analogous to the void interstices between atoms within solid objects in Epicurus’ theory.
Predation pressure and food abundance during early life alter risk-taking behaviour and growth of guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
Authors: Liesenjohann Thilo , Krause E. Tobias 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThe trade-off between predation risk and the need to feed is one of the major constraints animals have to cope with. Virtually all animals have a higher risk of being preyed upon when being active (e.g., searching for food or mating partners), compared with being inactive (e.g., staying at their burrows, nests, etc.). Yet, staying safe leads to a higher risk of starvation and may reduce reproductive success and body growth. Hence selection on behaviour optimizing the search, handling and digestion of food while avoiding the risk of predation is strong and should lead to strategies maximising survival chances and inclusive fitness. These facts call for integrative studies manipulating both, abundance of food and predation risk in a factorial set up, analysing the effects of both factors on behaviour and physiological parameters. We present results of a 2 × 2 factorial experiment, manipulating risk of predation and food abundance in guppies. We found that the two factors have an additive effect on body growth, but that predation risk by a pike cichlid is the main factor affecting the expression of behavioural strategies in guppies. Low food availability and high predation risk led to lower body growth. High predation risk affected swimming depth and risk sensitivity of guppies and might represent adaptive behavioural changes to the environmental context experienced in early life. Our study shows that integrative studies, analysing multiple interdependent and interconnected factors in the wild and in the lab are needed to further understand animal behaviour and development.
The History of Life and Death A 'Spiritual' History from Invisible Matter to Prolongation of Life
Authors: Gemelli Benedino 
Published: April 2012

AbstractOver a long period of time, particularly from the nineteenth century on, Francis Bacon's philosophy has been interpreted as centred on the Novum organum and focused on the role that a well-organized method may play in securing a reliable knowledge of nature. In fact, if we examine Bacon's oeuvre as a whole, including some recent manuscript findings (De vijs mortis), we can safely argue that the issues addressed in the Novum organum represent only a part of Bacon's agenda, and not even the most important ones. By contrast, it is apparent that, from the very beginning of his investigations, he emphasized the central role of medicine, the need to establish new approaches in the study of the vital functions and the importance of promoting new discoveries in the medical field, not so much to find a cure for the many illnesses that plagued mankind as to prolong human life. In this sense, Historia vitae et mortis plays a central role in Bacon's programme to extend human knowledge and power, for, in his opinion, human beings could recover their lost ability to live a long and healthy life by embarking on careful investigations of nature. Far from being a purely descriptive or abstract exercise, Bacon's historia can therefore be seen as an operative tool to attain some of mankind's basic aims.
Eznik on Manichaeism
Authors: Durkin-Meisterernst Desmond 
Published: April 2012

AbstractEznik of Kołb's famous script without a title, which modern editors have called Ełc ałandoc' "Against the Sects" or "De Deo", is rightly valued as a source on Zoroastrianism/Zurvanism. It's importance as a source of information on Manichaeism has been less appreciated. What does Eznik actually tell us about Manichaeism? In the following some relevant topics are presented.
WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC ABOUT A SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT? *
Authors: FIELD J. V. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract<title> SUMMARY </title>This paper is concerned with the relationship between scientific instruments and their corresponding science, and thus with the relationship between the studies of the history of instruments and the history of science. It discusses these relationships chiefly with reference to astronomy and related mathematical sciences in the period from about 1400 to 1650, but also suggests possible parellels in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century astronomy. On the basis of this analysis, it is suggested that the history of instruments, which at present is largely conceived as the history of instruments like those to be found in museums or private collections, is of most importance to those historians of science who are interested in exploring its social context.
CHEMISTS IN THE STORM: LAVOISIER, PRIESTLEY AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Authors: BERETTA MARCO 
Published: April 2012

Abstract<title> SOMMARIO </title>Sulla base di alcuni documenti inediti o poco noti, questo saggio esamina le opinioni di Lavoisier e Priestley sulla rivoluzione francese. La persecuzione subita dai due scienziati durante il periodo 1789-1794 è esaminata entro una nuova prospettiva. Lavoisier venne processato per la sua carica di Fermier général durante l'antico regime e, nonostante il suo crescente impegno nella difesa e sviluppo dei principi della rivoluzione, la sua posizione era già compromessa a partire dal 1789. Priestley invece venne perseguitato per il suo tentativo di combinare la ricerca scientifica con le sue posizioni politiche radicali.
IL METEOROGRAFO DI PADRE ANGELO SECCHI
Authors: BRENNI PAOLO 
Published: April 2012

Abstract<title> SUMMARY </title>During the 19th Century the systematic collecting of meteorological data became a general practice. Several scientists and instrument makers invented new meteorological instruments and improved the existing ones. Probably the most impressive and sophisticated recording apparatus was the meteorograph devised between 1855 and 1865 by the Italian astronomer Padre Angelo Secchi (1818-1878). This huge and complicated machine was presented to the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition where it was considered the technological masterpiece. The instrument worked in Rome for several years and then, partially dismanteled, was finally stored in the Osservatorio Astronomico di Monte Porzio (Rome). Recently carried to Florence, the meteorograph is now beeing restored in the laboratories of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure under the supervision of the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza. My paper will trace the history of this ingeniuos instrument which represented a technological achievement but an economic failure.
THE MAKING OF ASTRONOMY IN EARLY ISLAM
Authors: GOLDSTEIN BERNARD R. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract<title> RIASSUNTO </title>Lo studio dell'astronomia in Islam iniziò nel tardo ottavo secolo con influenze provenienti dall'Iran e dall'India. Durante il nono secolo si diffusero metodi e testi greci che condussero a un « rinascimento » nell'attività astronomica. Il centro di questa attività, che ebbe il sostegno (fra gli altri) del Califfo al-Ma'mūn, fu Bagdad. Nonostante la mancanza di testi sopravvissuti, possiamo ricostruire i risultati ottenuti in questo periodo dalle opere di al-Bīrūnī (morto ca. 1050), e di altri autori successivi. Conviene notare che un numero consistente di parametri basati su nuove osservazioni furono migliorati ma che i modelli sottostanti non furono mai messi in discussione. Il presente articolo propone 1) gli astronomi appartenevano alla classe media colta dei centri urbani della quale condividevano i valori e 2 che un pieno apprezzamento delle imprese di questi scienziati richiede una familiarità con il contesto in cui lavoravano.
UN ESPERTO LAICO D'ANIME: MARIN CUREAU DE LA CHAMBRE (1596-1669)
Authors: POGLIANO CLAUDIO 
Published: April 2012

Abstract<title> RIASSUNTO </title>One of the members of the Académie des Sciences, biographed by Condorcet in his famous Éloges, was Marin Cureau de la Chambre, a physician and philosopher quite unknown nowadays, but nevertheless an interesting figure in XVII century French culture. His career in the medical service of the court was prompted by an early protection assured to him by the chancellor Pierre Séguier, and then reinforced by the fact that he stood high both in Richelieu's and in Mazarin's favour. A polymath, Cureau wrote at first some physical essays on various arguments ― the nature of light and of the rainbow, for instance ―, rather precociously claiming the right to use French in scientific matters. His major contribution, though, aimed to a thorough knowledge of man, i.e. of his propensities and passions, vices and virtues. In what he called L'Art de connoistre les hommes, classic physiognomy merged with other techniques, and with a peculiar, sort of hermetic worldview, into a new discipline, wich should have served in everyday life and in the management of public affairs as well.
AN ICONOGRAPHIC STUDY OF SANDGLASSES
Authors: BOULLIN DAVID J. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract<title> RIASSUNTO </title>Un'indagine iconografica è stata effettuata su duemila quadri, incisioni, sculture, statue, che un precedente lavoro aveva indicati come interessanti per la rappresentazione di clessidre. Sono state rintracciate approssimativamente duecento clessidre ad un solo elemento tra il 1339 ed il 1700, e esse sono state classificate in funzione delle loro caratteristiche di costruzione.Si sono potute trarre le conclusioni seguenti: clessidre ad un elemento soltanto sono state rappresentate prima del 1700 circa, e vi si possono distinguere dieci modelli di base. Quella più frequente è la clessidra esagonale con balaustro a sei colonnine decorate.La prima clessidra rappresentata risale al 1339 circa, a Siena, ed è del tipo rettangolare che si fabbricava ancora nel diciottesimo secolo.Tra il 1510 ed il 1550 alcune clessidre sono state rappresentate sormontate da quadranti. È stato ipotizzato che queste clessidre fossero destinate ad un uso domestico, e di precisione uguale se non maggiore agli orologi meccanici del tempo.Si giunge inoltre alla conclusione che non è possibile datare le clessidre ad un elemento con tale metodo iconografico.
THE PERSPECTIVE SCHEME OF MASACCIO'S TRINITY FRESCO
Authors: FIELD J. V. , LUNARDI R. , SETTLE T. B. 
Published: April 2012

Abstracttitle RIASSUNTO /title I dati utilizzati nel presente studio sono stati misurati direttamente sull'affresco utilizzando ponteggi. Abbiamo ricercato il punto centrico della prospettiva del disegno, poi, basandoci sui cassettoni della volta a botte, abbiamo calcolato che la distanza ideale per guardare la pittura corrisponde all'incirca alla larghezza della prospiciente navata laterale della chiesa. Abbiamo riscontrato numerose infrazioni alla prospettiva matematica corretta: tutto sembra intenzionale. La natura delle tecniche matematiche che abbiamo costatato essere utilizzate tende a confermare l'opinione convenzionale secondo la quale Brunelleschi diede qualche contributo a questa pittura, e, in un secondo tempo, ci sugger che la scoperta di Brunelleschi nel campo della prospettiva potrebbe essere quella dell'esistenza e delle propriet del punto centrico.
CONTRIBUTO ALL'INVENTARIO DEL CARTEGGIO DI ALBERTO FORTIS
Authors: CIANCIO LUCA 
Published: April 2012

Abstract<title> SUMMARY </title>Presented is a list of previously unknown letters by Alberto Fortis (1741-1803) recently discovered in various archives and libraries. It includes 307 items who are to be added to the 1338 listed in Muljacic's Inventario («Nuncius», 1990, I, pp. 127-203). They provide new information about Fortis's education, scientific interests and political opinions.
Comparison of the Impact of Global Climate Changes and Urbanization on Summertime Future Climate in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
Authors: Adachi Sachiho A. , Kimura Fujio , Kusaka Hiroyuki , Inoue Tomoshige , Ueda Hiroaki 
Published: April 2012

AbstractIn this study, the impact of global climate change and anticipated urbanization over the next 70 years is estimated with regard to the summertime local climate in the Tokyo metropolitan area (TMA), whose population is already near its peak now. First, five climate projections for the 2070s calculated with the aid of general circulation models (GCMs) are used for dynamical downscaling experiments to evaluate the impact of global climate changes using a regional climate model. Second, the sensitivity of future urbanization until the 2070s is examined assuming a simple developing urban scenario for the TMA. These two sensitivity analyses indicate that the increase in the surface air temperature from the 1990s to the 2070s is about 2.0°C as a result of global climate changes under the A1B scenario in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) and about 0.5°C as a result of urbanization. Considering the current urban heat island intensity (UHII) of 1.0°C, the possible UHII in the future reaches an average of 1.5°C in the TMA. This means that the mitigation of the UHII should be one of the ways to adapt to a local temperature increase caused by changes in the future global climate. In addition, the estimation of temperature increase due to global climate change has an uncertainty of about 2.0°C depending on the GCM projection, suggesting that the local climate should be projected on the basis of multiple GCM projections.
A Multiscale Nonhydrostatic Atmospheric Model Using Centroidal Voronoi Tesselations and C-Grid Staggering
Authors: Skamarock William C. , Klemp Joseph B. , Duda Michael G. , Fowler Laura D. , Park Sang-Hun , Ringler Todd D. 
Published: April 2012

Abstract
The formulation of a fully compressible nonhydrostatic atmospheric model called the Model for Prediction Across Scales–Atmosphere (MPAS-A) is described. The solver is discretized using centroidal Voronoi meshes and a C-grid staggering of the prognostic variables, and it incorporates a split-explicit time-integration technique used in many existing nonhydrostatic meso- and cloud-scale models. MPAS can be applied to the globe, over limited areas of the globe, and on Cartesian planes. The Voronoi meshes are unstructured grids that permit variable horizontal resolution. These meshes allow for applications beyond uniform-resolution NWP and climate prediction, in particular allowing embedded high-resolution regions to be used for regional NWP and regional climate applications. The rationales for aspects of this formulation are discussed, and results from tests for nonhydrostatic flows on Cartesian planes and for large-scale flow on the sphere are presented. The results indicate that the solver is as accurate as existing nonhydrostatic solvers for nonhydrostatic-scale flows, and has accuracy comparable to existing global models using icosahedral (hexagonal) meshes for large-scale flows in idealized tests. Preliminary full-physics forecast results indicate that the solver formulation is robust and that the variable-resolution-mesh solutions are well resolved and exhibit no obvious problems in the mesh-transition zones.
Mouse obesity network reconstruction with a variational Bayes algorithm to employ aggressive false positive control
Authors: Logsdon Benjamin A , Hoffman Gabriel E , Mezey Jason G 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackgroundWe propose a novel variational Bayes network reconstruction algorithm to extract the most relevant disease factors from high-throughput genomic data-sets. Our algorithm is the only scalable method for regularized network recovery that employs Bayesian model averaging and that can internally estimate an appropriate level of sparsity to ensure few false positives enter the model without the need for cross-validation or a model selection criterion. We use our algorithm to characterize the effect of genetic markers and liver gene expression traits on mouse obesity related phenotypes, including weight, cholesterol, glucose, and free fatty acid levels, in an experiment previously used for discovery and validation of network connections: an F2 intercross between the C57BL/6 J and C3H/HeJ mouse strains, where apolipoprotein E is null on the background.ResultsWe identified eleven genes, Gch1, Zfp69, Dlgap1, Gna14, Yy1, Gabarapl1, Folr2, Fdft1, Cnr2, Slc24a3, and Ccl19, and a quantitative trait locus directly connected to weight, glucose, cholesterol, or free fatty acid levels in our network. None of these genes were identified by other network analyses of this mouse intercross data-set, but all have been previously associated with obesity or related pathologies in independent studies. In addition, through both simulations and data analysis we demonstrate that our algorithm achieves superior performance in terms of power and type I error control than other network recovery algorithms that use the lasso and have bounds on type I error control.ConclusionsOur final network contains 118 previously associated and novel genes affecting weight, cholesterol, glucose, and free fatty acid levels that are excellent obesity risk candidates.
Different selective pressures lead to different genomic outcomes as newly-formed hybrid yeasts evolve
Authors: Piotrowski Jeff S , Nagarajan Saisubramanian , Kroll Evgueny , Stanbery Alison , Chiotti Kami E , Kruckeberg Arthur L , Dunn Barbara , Sherlock Gavin , Rosenzweig Frank 
Published: April 2012

Abstract

Background
Interspecific hybridization occurs in every eukaryotic kingdom. While hybrid progeny are frequently at a selective disadvantage, in some instances their increased genome size and complexity may result in greater stress resistance than their ancestors, which can be adaptively advantageous at the edges of their ancestors' ranges. While this phenomenon has been repeatedly documented in the field, the response of hybrid populations to long-term selection has not often been explored in the lab. To fill this knowledge gap we crossed the two most distantly related members of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto group, S. cerevisiae and S. uvarum, and established a mixed population of homoploid and aneuploid hybrids to study how different types of selection impact hybrid genome structure.

Results
As temperature was raised incrementally from 31°C to 46.5°C over 500 generations of continuous culture, selection favored loss of the S. uvarum genome, although the kinetics of genome loss differed among independent replicates. Temperature-selected isolates exhibited greater inherent and induced thermal tolerance than parental species and founding hybrids, and also exhibited ethanol resistance. In contrast, as exogenous ethanol was increased from 0% to 14% over 500 generations of continuous culture, selection favored euploid S. cerevisiae x S. uvarum hybrids. Ethanol-selected isolates were more ethanol tolerant than S. uvarum and one of the founding hybrids, but did not exhibit resistance to temperature stress. Relative to parental and founding hybrids, temperature-selected strains showed heritable differences in cell wall structure in the forms of increased resistance to zymolyase digestion and Micafungin, which targets cell wall biosynthesis.

Conclusions
This is the first study to show experimentally that the genomic fate of newly-formed interspecific hybrids depends on the type of selection they encounter during the course of evolution, underscoring the importance of the ecological theatre in determining the outcome of the evolutionary play.
Altered monocyte activation markers in Tourette’s syndrome: a case–control study
Authors: Matz Judith , Krause Daniela L , Dehning Sandra , Riedel Michael , Gruber Rudolf , Schwarz Markus J , Müller Norbert 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackgroundInfections and immunological processes are likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of Tourette’s syndrome (TS). To determine possible common underlying immunological mechanisms, we focused on innate immunity and studied markers of inflammation, monocytes, and monocyte-derived cytokines.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, we used current methods to determine the number of monocytes and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in 46 children, adolescents, and adult patients suffering from TS and in 43 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 6 (IL-6), soluble CD14 (sCD14), IL1-receptor antagonist (IL1-ra), and serum neopterin were detected by immunoassays.ResultsWe found that CRP and neopterin levels and the number of monocytes were significantly higher in TS patients than in healthy controls. Serum concentrations of TNF-alpha, sIL1-ra, and sCD14 were significantly lower in TS patients. All measured values were within normal ranges and often close to detection limits.ConclusionsThe present results point to a monocyte dysregulation in TS. This possible dysbalance in innate immunity could predispose to infections or autoimmune reactions.
Language acquisition for deaf children: Reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative approaches
Authors: Humphries Tom , Kushalnagar Poorna , Mathur Gaurav , Napoli Donna Jo , Padden Carol , Rathmann Christian , Smith Scott R 
Published: April 2012

AbstractChildren acquire language without instruction as long as they are regularly and meaningfully engaged with an accessible human language. Today, 80% of children born deaf in the developed world are implanted with cochlear devices that allow some of them access to sound in their early years, which helps them to develop speech. However, because of brain plasticity changes during early childhood, children who have not acquired a first language in the early years might never be completely fluent in any language. If they miss this critical period for exposure to a natural language, their subsequent development of the cognitive activities that rely on a solid first language might be underdeveloped, such as literacy, memory organization, and number manipulation. An alternative to speech-exclusive approaches to language acquisition exists in the use of sign languages such as American Sign Language (ASL), where acquiring a sign language is subject to the same time constraints of spoken language development. Unfortunately, so far, these alternatives are caught up in an "either - or" dilemma, leading to a highly polarized conflict about which system families should choose for their children, with little tolerance for alternatives by either side of the debate and widespread misinformation about the evidence and implications for or against either approach. The success rate with cochlear implants is highly variable. This issue is still debated, and as far as we know, there are no reliable predictors for success with implants. Yet families are often advised not to expose their child to sign language. Here absolute positions based on ideology create pressures for parents that might jeopardize the real developmental needs of deaf children. What we do know is that cochlear implants do not offer accessible language to many deaf children. By the time it is clear that the deaf child is not acquiring spoken language with cochlear devices, it might already be past the critical period, and the child runs the risk of becoming linguistically deprived. Linguistic deprivation constitutes multiple personal harms as well as harms to society (in terms of costs to our medical systems and in loss of potential productive societal participation).