@article{AbboubBollAvetisyanBhataraetal.2016, author = {Abboub, Nawal and Boll-Avetisyan, Natalie and Bhatara, Anjali and H{\"o}hle, Barbara and Nazzi, Thierry}, title = {An Exploration of Rhythmic Grouping of Speech Sequences by French- and German-Learning Infants}, series = {Frontiers in human neuroscienc}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in human neuroscienc}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1662-5161}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2016.00292}, pages = {6707 -- 6712}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Rhythm in music and speech can be characterized by a constellation of several acoustic cues. Individually, these cues have different effects on rhythmic perception: sequences of sounds alternating in duration are perceived as short-long pairs (weak-strong/iambic pattern), whereas sequences of sounds alternating in intensity or pitch are perceived as loud-soft, or high-low pairs (strong-weak/trochaic pattern). This perceptual bias—called the Iambic-Trochaic Law (ITL)-has been claimed to be an universal property of the auditory system applying in both the music and the language domains. Recent studies have shown that language experience can modulate the effects of the ITL on rhythmic perception of both speech and non-speech sequences in adults, and of non-speech sequences in 7.5-month-old infants. The goal of the present study was to explore whether language experience also modulates infants' grouping of speech. To do so, we presented sequences of syllables to monolingual French- and German-learning 7.5-month-olds. Using the Headturn Preference Procedure (HPP), we examined whether they were able to perceive a rhythmic structure in sequences of syllables that alternated in duration, pitch, or intensity. Our findings show that both French- and German-learning infants perceived a rhythmic structure when it was cued by duration or pitch but not intensity. Our findings also show differences in how these infants use duration and pitch cues to group syllable sequences, suggesting that pitch cues were the easier ones to use. Moreover, performance did not differ across languages, failing to reveal early language effects on rhythmic perception. These results contribute to our understanding of the origin of rhythmic perception and perceptual mechanisms shared across music and speech, which may bootstrap language acquisition.}, language = {en} } @article{AbdallaAbramowskiAharonianetal.2016, author = {Abdalla, Hassan E. and Abramowski, Attila and Aharonian, Felix A. and Benkhali, Faical Ait and Akhperjanian, A. G. and Andersson, T. and Ang{\"u}ner, Ekrem Oǧuzhan and Arrieta, M. and Aubert, Pierre and Backes, Michael and Balzer, Arnim and Barnard, Michelle and Becherini, Yvonne and Tjus, J. Becker and Berge, David and Bernhard, Sabrina and Bernl{\"o}hr, K. and Birsin, E. and Blackwell, R. and Boettcher, Markus and Boisson, Catherine and Bolmont, J. and Bordas, Pol and Bregeon, Johan and Brun, Francois and Brun, Pierre and Bryan, Mark and Bulik, Tomasz and Capasso, M. and Carr, John and Casanova, Sabrina and Chakraborty, N. and Chalme-Calvet, R. and Chaves, Ryan C. G. and Chen, Andrew and Chevalier, J. and Chretien, M. and Colafrancesco, Sergio and Cologna, Gabriele and Condon, B. and Conrad, Jan and Couturier, C. and Cui, Y. and Davids, I. D. and Degrange, B. and Deil, C. and Devin, J. and de Wilt, P. and Djannati-Ataie, A. and Domainko, W. and Donath, A. and Dubus, G. and Dutson, K. and Dyks, J. and Dyrda, M. and Edwards, T. and Egberts, Kathrin and Eger, P. and Ernenwein, J. -P. and Eschbach, S. and Farnier, C. and Fegan, S. and Fernandes, M. V. and Fiasson, A. and Fontaine, G. and Foerster, A. and Funk, S. and Fuessling, M. and Gabici, S. and Gajdus, M. and Gallant, Y. A. and Garrigoux, T. and Giavitto, G. and Giebels, B. and Glicenstein, J. F. and Gottschall, D. and Goyal, A. and Grondin, M. -H. and Grudzinska, M. and Hadasch, D. and Hahn, J. and Hawkes, J. and Heinzelmann, G. and Henri, G. and Hermann, G. and Hervet, O. and Hillert, A. and Hinton, James Anthony and Hofmann, W. and Hoischen, Clemens and Holler, M. and Horns, D. and Ivascenko, A. and Jacholkowska, A. and Jamrozy, M. and Janiak, M. and Jankowsky, D. and Jankowsky, F. and Jingo, M. and Jogler, T. and Jouvin, L. and Jung-Richardt, I. and Kastendieck, M. A. and Katarzynski, K. and Katz, U. and Kerszberg, D. and Khelifi, B. and Kieffer, M. and King, J. and Klepser, S. and Klochkov, D. and Kluzniak, W. and Kolitzus, D. and Komin, Nu. and Kosack, K. and Krakau, S. and Kraus, M. and Krayzel, F. and Krueger, P. P. and Laffon, H. and Lamanna, G. and Lau, J. and Lees, J. -P. and Lefaucheur, J. and Lefranc, V. and Lemiere, A. and Lemoine-Goumard, M. and Lenain, J. -P. and Leser, Eva and Liu, R. and Lohse, T. and Lorentz, M. and Lypova, I. and Marandon, V. and Marcowith, A. and Mariaud, C. and Marx, R. and Maurin, G. and Maxted, N. and Mayer, Michael and Meintjes, P. J. and Meyer, M. and Mitchell, A. M. W. and Moderski, R. and Mohamed, M. and Mora, K. and Moulin, E. and Murach, T. and de Naurois, M. and Niederwanger, F. and Niemiec, J. and Oakes, L. and Odaka, H. and Ohm, S. and Ostrowski, M. and Oettl, S. and Oya, I. and Padovani, M. and Panter, M. and Parsons, R. D. and Arribas, M. Paz and Pekeur, N. W. and Pelletier, G. and Perennes, C. and Petrucci, P. -O. and Peyaud, B. and Pita, S. and Poon, H. and Prokhorov, D. and Prokoph, H. and Puehlhofer, G. and Punch, M. and Quirrenbach, A. and Raab, S. and Reimer, A. and Reimer, O. and Renaud, M. and Reyes, R. de los and Rieger, F. and Romoli, C. and Rosier-Lees, S. and Rowell, G. and Rudak, B. and Rulten, C. B. and Sahakian, V. and Salek, D. and Sanchez, David M. and Santangelo, A. and Sasaki, M. and Schlickeiser, R. and Schuessler, F. and Schulz, A. and Schwanke, U. and Schwemmer, S. and Settimo, M. and Seyffert, A. S. and Shafi, N. and Shilon, I. and Simoni, R. and Sol, H. and Spanier, F. and Spengler, G. and Spies, F. and Stawarz, L. and Steenkamp, R. and Stegmann, Christian and Stinzing, F. and Stycz, K. and Sushch, Iurii and Tavernet, J. -P. and Tavernier, T. and Taylor, A. M. and Terrier, R. and Tibaldo, L. and Tluczykont, M. and Trichard, C. and Tuffs, R. and van der Walt, J. and van Eldik, C. and van Soelen, B. and Vasileiadis, G. and Veh, J. and Venter, C. and Viana, A. and Vincent, P. and Vink, J. and Voisin, F. and Voelk, H. J. and Vuillaume, T. and Wadiasingh, Z. and Wagner, S. J. and Wagner, P. and Wagner, R. M. and White, R. and Wierzcholska, A. and Willmann, P. and Woernlein, A. and Wouters, D. and Yang, R. and Zabalza, V. and Zaborov, D. and Zacharias, M. and Zdziarski, A. A. and Zech, Alraune and Zefi, F. and Ziegler, A. and Zywucka, N.}, title = {HESS Limits on Linelike Dark Matter Signatures in the 100 GeV to 2 TeV Energy Range Close to the Galactic Center}, series = {Physical review letters}, volume = {117}, journal = {Physical review letters}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, organization = {HESS Collaboration}, issn = {0031-9007}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.151302}, pages = {7}, year = {2016}, abstract = {A search for dark matter linelike signals iss performed in the vicinity of the Galactic Center by the H.E.S.S. experiment on observational data taken in 2014. An unbinned likelihood analysis iss developed to improve the sensitivity to linelike signals. The upgraded analysis along with newer data extend the energy coverage of the previous measurement down to 100 GeV. The 18 h of data collected with the H.E.S.S. array allow one to rule out at 95\% C.L. the presence of a 130 GeV line (at l = -1.5 degrees, b = 0 degrees and for a dark matter profile centered at this location) previously reported in Fermi-LAT data. This new analysis overlaps significantly in energy with previous Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. results. No significant excess associated with dark matter annihilations was found in the energy range of 100 GeV to 2 TeV and upper limits on the gamma-ray flux and the velocity weighted annihilation cross section are derived adopting an Einasto dark matter halo profile. Expected limits for present and future large statistics H.E.S.S. observations are also given.}, language = {en} } @article{AbdallaAbramowskiAharonianetal.2016, author = {Abdalla, Hassan E. and Abramowski, Attila and Aharonian, Felix A. and Benkhali, Fai{\c{c}}al Ait and Akhperjanian, A. G. and Ang{\"u}ner, Ekrem Oǧuzhan and Arrieta, M. and Aubert, Pierre and Backes, Michael and Balzer, Arnim and Barnard, Michelle and Becherini, Yvonne and Tjus, Julia Becker and Berge, David and Bernhard, Sabrina and Bernl{\"o}hr, K. and Birsin, E. and Blackwell, R. and Bottcher, Markus and Boisson, Catherine and Bolmont, J. and Bordas, Pol and Bregeon, Johan and Brun, Francois and Brun, Pierre and Bryan, Mark and Bulik, Tomasz and Capasso, M. and Carr, John and Casanova, Sabrina and Chakraborty, N. and Chalme-Calvet, R. and Chaves, Ryan C. G. and Chen, Andrew and Chevalier, J. and Chretien, M. and Colafrancesco, Sergio and Cologna, Gabriele and Condon, B. and Conrad, Jan and Couturier, C. and Cui, Y. and Davids, I. D. and Degrange, B. and Deil, Christoph and deWilt, P. and Djannati-Atai, Arache and Domainko, Wilfried and Donath, Axel and Dubus, Guillaume and Dutson, Kate and Dyks, J. and Dyrda, M. and Edwards, T. and Egberts, Kathrin and Eger, P. and Ernenwein, J. -P. and Eschbach, S. and Farnier, C. and Fegan, Stuart and Fernandes, M. V. and Fiasson, A. and Fontaine, G. and Foerster, A. and Funk, S. and F{\"u}ßling, Matthias and Gabici, Stefano and Gajdus, M. and Gallant, Y. A. and Garrigoux, T. and Giavitto, Gianluca and Giebels, B. and Glicenstein, J. F. and Gottschall, Daniel and Goyal, A. and Grondin, M. -H. and Grudzinska, M. and Hadasch, Daniela and Hahn, J. and Hawkes, J. and Heinzelmann, G. and Henri, Gilles and Hermann, G. and Hervet, Olivier and Hillert, A. and Hinton, James Anthony and Hofmann, Werner and Hoischen, Clemens and Holler, M. and Horns, D. and Ivascenko, Alex and Jacholkowska, A. and Jamrozy, Marek and Janiak, M. and Jankowsky, D. and Jankowsky, Felix and Jingo, M. and Jogler, Tobias and Jouvin, Lea and Jung-Richardt, Ira and Kastendieck, M. A. and Katarzynski, Krzysztof and Katz, Uli and Kerszberg, D. and Khelifi, B. and Kieffer, M. and King, J. and Klepser, S. and Klochkov, Dmitry and Kluzniak, W. and Kolitzus, D. and Komin, Nu. and Kosack, K. and Krakau, S. and Kraus, Michael and Krayzel, F. and Kruger, P. P. and Laffon, H. and Lamanna, G. and Lau, Jeanie and Lees, J. -P. and Lefaucheur, J. and Lefranc, V. and Lemiere, A. and Lemoine-Goumard, M. and Lenain, J. -P. and Leser, Eva and Lohse, Thomas and Lorentz, M. and Lui, R. and Lypova, Iryna and Marandon, Vincent and Marcowith, Alexandre and Mariaud, C. and Marx, R. and Maurin, G. and Maxted, N. and Mayer, Michael and Meintjes, Petrus Johannes and Menzler, U. and Meyer, Manuel and Mitchell, A. M. W. and Moderski, R. and Mohamed, M. and Mora, K. and Moulin, E. and Murach, T. and de Naurois, Mathieu and Niederwanger, F. and Niemiec, J. and Oakes, L. and Odaka, Hirokazu and Ohm, Stefan and Oettl, S. and Ostrowski, M. and Oya, I. and Padovani, Marco and Panter, M. and Parsons, R. D. and Arribas, M. Paz and Pekeur, N. W. and Pelletier, G. and Petrucci, P. -O. and Peyaud, B. and Pita, S. and Poon, Helen and Prokhorov, Dmitry and Prokoph, Heike and Puehlhofer, Gerd and Punch, Michael and Quirrenbach, Andreas and Raab, S. and Reimer, Anita and Reimer, Olaf and Renaud, M. and de los Reyes, R. and Rieger, Frank and Romoli, Carlo and Rosier-Lees, S. and Rowell, G. and Rudak, B. and Rulten, C. B. and Sahakian, V. and Salek, David and Sanchez, David A. and Santangelo, Andrea and Sasaki, Manami and Schlickeiser, Reinhard and Schussler, F. and Schulz, Andreas and Schwanke, U. and Schwemmer, S. and Seyffert, A. S. and Shafi, N. and Simoni, R. and Sol, H. and Spanier, Felix and Spengler, G. and Spiess, F. and Stawarz, Lukasz and Steenkamp, R. and Stegmann, Christian and Stinzing, F. and Stycz, K. and Sushch, Iurii and Tavernet, J. -P. and Tavernier, T. and Taylor, A. M. and Terrier, R. and Tluczykont, Martin and Trichard, C. and Tuffs, R. and van der Walt, Johan and van Eldik, Christopher and van Soelen, Brian and Vasileiadis, Georges and Veh, J. and Venter, C. and Viana, A. and Vincent, P. and Vink, Jacco and Voisin, F. and Voelk, Heinrich J. and Vuillaume, Thomas and Wadiasingh, Z. and Wagner, Stefan J. and Wagner, P. and Wagner, R. M. and White, R. and Wierzcholska, Alicja and Willmann, P. and Woernlein, A. and Wouters, Denis and Yang, R. and Zabalza, Victor and Zaborov, D. and Zacharias, M. and Zdziarski, A. A. and Zech, Andreas and Zefi, F. and Ziegler, A. and Zywucka, Natalia}, title = {Search for Dark Matter Annihilations towards the Inner Galactic Halo from 10 Years of Observations with HESS}, series = {Physical review letters}, volume = {117}, journal = {Physical review letters}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, organization = {HESS Collaboration}, issn = {0031-9007}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.111301}, pages = {6}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The inner region of the Milky Way halo harbors a large amount of dark matter (DM). Given its proximity, it is one of the most promising targets to look for DM. We report on a search for the annihilations of DM particles using gamma-ray observations towards the inner 300 pc of the Milky Way, with the H.E.S.S. array of ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. The analysis is based on a 2D maximum likelihood method using Galactic Center (GC) data accumulated by H.E.S.S. over the last 10 years (2004-2014), and does not show any significant gamma-ray signal above background. Assuming Einasto and Navarro-Frenk-White DM density profiles at the GC, we derive upper limits on the annihilation cross section . These constraints are the strongest obtained so far in the TeV DM mass range and improve upon previous limits by a factor 5. For the Einasto profile, the constraints reach values of 6 x 10(-26) cm(3) s(-1) in the W+W- channel for a DM particle mass of 1.5 TeV, and 2 x 10(-26) cm(3) s(-1) in the tau(+)tau(-) channel for a 1 TeV mass. For the first time, ground-based gamma-ray observations have reached sufficient sensitivity to probe values expected from the thermal relic density for TeV DM particles.}, language = {en} } @article{AbdrakhmatovWalkerCampbelletal.2016, author = {Abdrakhmatov, Kanatbek E. and Walker, R. T. and Campbell, G. E. and Carr, A. S. and Elliott, A. and Hillemann, Christian and Hollingsworth, J. and Landgraf, Angela and Mackenzie, D. and Mukambayev, A. and Rizza, M. and Sloan, R. A.}, title = {Multisegment rupture in the 11 July 1889 Chilik earthquake (M-w 8.0-8.3), Kazakh Tien Shan, interpreted from remote sensing, field survey, and paleoseismic trenching}, series = {Journal of geophysical research : Solid earth}, volume = {121}, journal = {Journal of geophysical research : Solid earth}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union}, address = {Washington}, issn = {2169-9313}, doi = {10.1002/2015JB012763}, pages = {4615 -- 4640}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The 11 July 1889 Chilik earthquake (M-w 8.0-8.3) forms part of a remarkable sequence of large earthquakes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the northern Tien Shan. Despite its importance, the source of the 1889 earthquake remains unknown, though the macroseismic epicenter is sited in the Chilik valley, similar to 100 km southeast of Almaty, Kazakhstan (similar to 2 million population). Several short fault segments that have been inferred to have ruptured in 1889 are too short on their own to account for the estimated magnitude. In this paper we perform detailed surveying and trenching of the similar to 30 km long Saty fault, one of the previously inferred sources, and find that it was formed in a single earthquake within the last 700 years, involving surface slip of up to 10 m. The scarp-forming event, likely to be the 1889 earthquake, was the only surface-rupturing event for at least 5000 years and potentially for much longer. From satellite imagery we extend the mapped length of fresh scarps within the 1889 epicentral zone to a total of similar to 175 km, which we also suggest as candidate ruptures from the 1889 earthquake. The 175 km of rupture involves conjugate oblique left-lateral and right-lateral slip on three separate faults, with step overs of several kilometers between them. All three faults were essentially invisible in the Holocene geomorphology prior to the last slip. The recurrence interval between large earthquakes on any of these faults, and presumably on other faults of the Tien Shan, may be longer than the timescale over which the landscape is reset, providing a challenge for delineating sources of future hazard.}, language = {en} } @article{AbeysekaraArchambaultArcheretal.2016, author = {Abeysekara, A. U. and Archambault, S. and Archer, A. and Benbow, W. and Bird, R. and Biteau, Jonathan and Buchovecky, M. and Buckley, J. H. and Bugaev, V. and Byrum, K. and Cardenzana, J. V. and Cerruti, M. and Chen, Xuhui and Christiansen, J. L. and Ciupik, L. and Connolly, M. P. and Cui, W. and Dickinson, H. J. and Dumm, J. and Eisch, J. D. and Errando, M. and Falcone, A. and Feng, Q. and Finley, J. P. and Fleischhack, H. and Flinders, A. and Fortin, P. and Fortson, L. and Furniss, A. and Gillanders, G. H. and Griffin, S. and Grube, J. and Gyuk, G. and Huetten, M. and Hanna, D. and Holder, J. and Humensky, T. B. and Johnson, C. A. and Kaaret, P. and Kar, P. and Kelley-Hoskins, N. and Kertzman, M. and Kieda, D. and Krause, M. and Krennrich, F. and Lang, M. J. and Maier, G. and McArthur, S. and McCann, A. and Meagher, K. and Moriarty, P. and Mukherjee, R. and Nieto, D. and Ong, R. A. and Otte, A. N. and Park, N. and Pelassa, V. and Petrashyk, A. and Petry, D. and Pohl, Martin and Popkow, A. and Pueschel, Elisa and Quinn, J. and Ragan, K. and Ratliff, G. and Reyes, L. C. and Reynolds, P. T. and Reynolds, K. and Richards, G. T. and Roache, E. and Rulten, C. and Santander, M. and Sembroski, G. H. and Shahinyan, K. and Smith, A. W. and Staszak, D. and Telezhinsky, Igor O. and Tucci, J. V. and Tyler, J. and Vincent, S. and Wakely, S. P. and Weiner, O. M. and Weinstein, A. and Wilhelm, Alina and Williams, D. A. and Zitzer, B.}, title = {VERITAS and multiwavelength observations of the BL Lacertae object 1ES 1741+196}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {459}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stw664}, pages = {2550 -- 2557}, year = {2016}, abstract = {We present results from multiwavelength observations of the BL Lacertae object 1ES 1741 + 196, including results in the very high energy gamma-ray regime using the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). The VERITAS time-averaged spectrum, measured above 180 GeV, is well modelled by a power law with a spectral index of 2.7 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.2(syst). The integral flux above 180 GeV is (3.9 +/- 0.8(stat) +/- 1.0(syst)) x 10(-8) m(-2) s(-1), corresponding to 1.6 per cent of the Crab nebula flux on average. The multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of the source suggests that 1ES 1741+196 is an extreme-high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object. The observations analysed in this paper extend over a period of six years, during which time no strong flares were observed in any band. This analysis is therefore one of the few characterizations of a blazar in a non-flaring state.}, language = {en} } @article{AbeysekaraArchambaultArcheretal.2016, author = {Abeysekara, A. U. and Archambault, S. and Archer, A. and Benbow, W. and Bird, R. and Buchovecky, M. and Buckley, J. H. and Byrum, K. and Cardenzana, J. V. and Cerruti, M. and Chen, Xuhui and Christiansen, J. L. and Ciupik, L. and Cui, W. and Dickinson, H. J. and Eisch, J. D. and Errando, M. and Falcone, A. and Fegan, D. J. and Feng, Q. and Finley, J. P. and Fleischhack, H. and Fortin, P. and Fortson, L. and Furniss, A. and Gillanders, G. H. and Griffin, S. and Grube, J. and Gyuk, G. and Huetten, M. and Hakansson, Nils and Hanna, D. and Holder, J. and Humensky, T. B. and Johnson, C. A. and Kaaret, P. and Kar, P. and Kelley-Hoskins, N. and Kertzman, M. and Kieda, D. and Krause, M. and Krennrich, F. and Kumar, S. and Lang, M. J. and Lin, T. T. Y. and Maier, G. and McArthur, S. and McCann, A. and Meagher, K. and Moriarty, P. and Mukherjee, R. and Nieto, D. and Ong, R. A. and Otte, A. N. and Park, N. and Perkins, J. S. and Petrashyk, A. and Pohl, Martin and Popkow, A. and Pueschel, Elisa and Quinn, J. and Ragan, K. and Ratliff, G. and Reynolds, P. T. and Richards, G. T. and Roache, E. and Santander, M. and Sembroski, G. H. and Shahinyan, K. and Staszak, D. and Telezhinsky, Igor O. and Tucci, J. V. and Tyler, J. and Vincent, S. and Wakely, S. P. and Weiner, O. M. and Weinstein, A. and Williams, D. A. and Zitzer, B.}, title = {A SEARCH FOR BRIEF OPTICAL FLASHES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SETI TARGET KIC 8462852}, series = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters}, volume = {818}, journal = {The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {2041-8205}, doi = {10.3847/2041-8205/818/2/L33}, pages = {6}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The F-type star KIC. 8462852 has recently been identified as an exceptional target for search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) observations. We describe an analysis methodology for optical SETI, which we have used to analyze nine hours of serendipitous archival observations of KIC. 8462852 made with the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory between 2009 and 2015. No evidence of pulsed optical beacons, above a pulse intensity at the Earth of approximately 1 photon m(-2), is found. We also discuss the potential use of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays in searching for extremely short duration optical transients in general.}, language = {en} } @article{AbonKneisCrisologoetal.2016, author = {Abon, Catherine Cristobal and Kneis, David and Crisologo, Irene and Bronstert, Axel and David, Carlos Primo Constantino and Heistermann, Maik}, title = {Evaluating the potential of radar-based rainfall estimates for streamflow and flood simulations in the Philippines}, series = {GEOMATICS NATURAL HAZARDS \& RISK}, volume = {7}, journal = {GEOMATICS NATURAL HAZARDS \& RISK}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {1947-5705}, doi = {10.1080/19475705.2015.1058862}, pages = {1390 -- 1405}, year = {2016}, abstract = {This case study evaluates the suitability of radar-based quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) for the simulation of streamflow in the Marikina River Basin (MRB), the Philippines. Hourly radar-based QPEs were produced from reflectivity that had been observed by an S-band radar located about 90 km from the MRB. Radar data processing and precipitation estimation were carried out using the open source library wradlib. To assess the added value of the radar-based QPE, we used spatially interpolated rain gauge observations (gauge-only (GO) product) as a benchmark. Rain gauge observations were also used to quantify rainfall estimation errors at the point scale. At the point scale, the radar-based QPE outperformed the GO product in 2012, while for 2013, the performance was similar. For both periods, estimation errors substantially increased from daily to the hourly accumulation intervals. Despite this fact, both rainfall estimation methods allowed for a good representation of observed streamflow when used to force a hydrological simulation model of the MRB. Furthermore, the results of the hydrological simulation were consistent with rainfall verification at the point scale: the radar-based QPE performed better than the GO product in 2012, and equivalently in 2013. Altogether, we could demonstrate that, in terms of streamflow simulation, the radar-based QPE can perform as good as or even better than the GO product - even for a basin such as the MRB which has a comparatively dense rain gauge network. This suggests good prospects for using radar-based QPE to simulate and forecast streamflow in other parts of the Philippines where rain gauge networks are not as dense.}, language = {en} } @article{AbramowskiAharonianBenkhalietal.2016, author = {Abramowski, Attila and Aharonian, Felix A. and Benkhali, Faical Ait and Akhperjanian, A. G. and Ang{\"u}ner, Ekrem Oǧuzhan and Backes, Michael and Balzer, Arnim and Becherini, Yvonne and Tjus, J. Becker and Berge, David and Bernhard, Sabrina and Bernl{\"o}hr, K. and Birsin, E. and Blackwell, R. and Boettcher, Markus and Boisson, Catherine and Bolmont, J. and Bordas, Pol and Bregeon, Johan and Brun, Francois and Brun, Pierre and Bryan, Mark and Bulik, Tomasz and Carr, John and Casanova, Sabrina and Chakraborty, N. and Chalme-Calvet, R. and Chaves, Ryan C. G. and Chen, Andrew and Chretien, M. and Colafrancesco, Sergio and Cologna, Gabriele and Conrad, Jan and Couturier, C. and Cui, Y. and Davids, I. D. and Degrange, B. and Deil, C. and deWilt, P. and Djannati-Ata, A. and Domainko, W. and Donath, A. and Dubus, G. and Dutson, K. and Dyks, J. and Dyrda, M. and Edwards, T. and Egberts, Kathrin and Eger, P. and Ernenwein, J-P. and Espigat, P. and Farnier, C. and Fegan, S. and Feinstein, F. and Fernandes, M. V. and Fernandez, D. and Fiasson, A. and Fontaine, G. and Foerster, A. and Fuessling, M. and Gabici, S. and Gajdus, M. and Gallant, Y. A. and Garrigoux, T. and Giavitto, G. and Giebels, B. and Glicenstein, J. F. and Gottschall, D. and Goyal, A. and Grondin, M-H. and Grudzinska, M. and Hadasch, D. and Haeffner, S. and Hahn, J. and Hawkes, J. and Heinzelmann, G. and Henri, G. and Hermann, G. and Hervet, O. and Hillert, A. and Hinton, James Anthony and Hofmann, W. and Hofverberg, P. and Hoischen, Clemens and Holler, M. and Horns, D. and Ivascenko, A. and Jacholkowska, A. and Jamrozy, M. and Janiak, M. and Jankowsky, F. and Jung-Richardt, I. and Kastendieck, M. A. and Katarzynski, K. and Katz, U. and Kerszberg, D. and Khelifi, B. and Kieffer, M. and Klepser, S. and Klochkov, D. and Kluzniak, W. and Kolitzus, D. and Komin, Nu. and Kosack, K. and Krakau, S. and Krayzel, F. and Krueger, P. P. and Laffon, H. and Lamanna, G. and Lau, J. and Lefaucheur, J. and Lefranc, V. and Lemiere, A. and Lemoine-Goumard, M. and Lenain, J-P. and Lohse, T. and Lopatin, A. and Lu, C-C. and Lui, R. and Marandon, V. and Marcowith, A. and Mariaud, C. and Marx, R. and Maurin, G. and Maxted, N. and Mayer, M. and Meintjes, P. J. and Menzler, U. and Meyer, M. and Mitchell, A. M. W. and Moderski, R. and Mohamed, M. and Mora, K. and Moulin, E. and Murach, T. and de Naurois, M. and Niemiec, J. and Oakes, L. and Odaka, H. and Oettl, S. and Ohm, S. and Opitz, B. and Ostrowski, M. and Oya, I. and Panter, M. and Parsons, R. D. and Arribas, M. Paz and Pekeur, N. W. and Pelletier, G. and Petrucci, P-O. and Peyaud, B. and Pita, S. and Poon, H. and Prokoph, H. and Puehlhofer, G. and Punch, M. and Quirrenbach, A. and Raab, S. and Reichardt, I. and Reimer, A. and Reimer, O. and Renaud, M. and de los Reyes, R. and Rieger, F. and Romoli, C. and Rosier-Lees, S. and Rowell, G. and Rudak, B. and Rulten, C. B. and Sahakian, V. and Salek, D. and Sanchez, David M. and Santangelo, A. and Sasaki, M. and Schlickeiser, R. and Schuessler, F. and Schulz, A. and Schwanke, U. and Schwemmer, S. and Seyffert, A. S. and Simoni, R. and Sol, H. and Spanier, F. and Spengler, G. and Spies, F. and Stawarz, L. and Steenkamp, R. and Stegmann, Christian and Stinzing, F. and Stycz, K. and Sushch, Iurii and Tavernet, J-P. and Tavernier, T. and Taylor, A. M. and Terrier, R. and Tluczykont, M. and Trichard, C. and Tuffs, R. and Valerius, K. and van der Walt, J. and van Eldik, C. and van Soelen, B. and Vasileiadis, G. and Veh, J. and Venter, C. and Viana, A. and Vincent, P. and Vink, J. and Voisin, F. and Voelk, H. J. and Vuillaume, T. and Wagner, S. J. and Wagner, P. and Wagner, R. M. and Weidinger, M. and Weitzel, Q. and White, R. and Wierzcholska, A. and Willmann, P. and Woernlein, A. and Wouters, D. and Yang, R. and Zabalza, V. and Zaborov, D. and Zacharias, M. and Zdziarski, A. A. and Zech, Alraune and Zefi, F. and Zywucka, N.}, title = {Acceleration of petaelectronvolt protons in the Galactic Centre}, series = {Nature : the international weekly journal of science}, volume = {531}, journal = {Nature : the international weekly journal of science}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, organization = {HESS Collaboration}, issn = {0028-0836}, doi = {10.1038/nature17147}, pages = {476 -- +}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Galactic cosmic rays reach energies of at least a few petaelectronvolts (of the order of 1015 electronvolts). This implies that our Galaxy contains petaelectronvolt accelerators ('PeVatrons'), but all proposed models of Galactic cosmic-ray accelerators encounter difficulties at exactly these energies. Dozens of Galactic accelerators capable of accelerating particles to energies of tens of teraelectronvolts (of the order of 1013 electronvolts) were inferred from recent \&\#947;-ray observations3. However, none of the currently known accelerators—not even the handful of shell-type supernova remnants commonly believed to supply most Galactic cosmic rays—has shown the characteristic tracers of petaelectronvolt particles, namely, power-law spectra of \&\#947;-rays extending without a cut-off or a spectral break to tens of teraelectronvolts4. Here we report deep \&\#947;-ray observations with arcminute angular resolution of the region surrounding the Galactic Centre, which show the expected tracer of the presence of petaelectronvolt protons within the central 10 parsecs of the Galaxy. We propose that the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* is linked to this PeVatron. Sagittarius A* went through active phases in the past, as demonstrated by X-ray outbursts5and an outflow from the Galactic Centre6. Although its current rate of particle acceleration is not sufficient to provide a substantial contribution to Galactic cosmic rays, Sagittarius A* could have plausibly been more active over the last 106-107 years, and therefore should be considered as a viable alternative to supernova remnants as a source of petaelectronvolt Galactic cosmic rays.}, language = {en} } @article{AbseherMusliuWoltranetal.2016, author = {Abseher, Michael and Musliu, Nysret and Woltran, Stefan and Gebser, Martin and Schaub, Torsten H.}, title = {Shift Design with Answer Set Programming}, series = {Fundamenta informaticae}, volume = {147}, journal = {Fundamenta informaticae}, publisher = {IOS Press}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0169-2968}, doi = {10.3233/FI-2016-1396}, pages = {1 -- 25}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Answer Set Programming (ASP) is a powerful declarative programming paradigm that has been successfully applied to many different domains. Recently, ASP has also proved successful for hard optimization problems like course timetabling and travel allotment. In this paper, we approach another important task, namely, the shift design problem, aiming at an alignment of a minimum number of shifts in order to meet required numbers of employees (which typically vary for different time periods) in such a way that over- and understaffing is minimized. We provide an ASP encoding of the shift design problem, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been addressed by ASP yet. Our experimental results demonstrate that ASP is capable of improving the best known solutions to some benchmark problems. Other instances remain challenging and make the shift design problem an interesting benchmark for ASP-based optimization methods.}, language = {en} } @article{AcevedoReichCubasch2016, author = {Acevedo, Walter and Reich, Sebastian and Cubasch, Ulrich}, title = {Towards the assimilation of tree-ring-width records using ensemble Kalman filtering techniques}, series = {Climate dynamics : observational, theoretical and computational research on the climate system}, volume = {46}, journal = {Climate dynamics : observational, theoretical and computational research on the climate system}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {0930-7575}, doi = {10.1007/s00382-015-2683-1}, pages = {1909 -- 1920}, year = {2016}, abstract = {This paper investigates the applicability of the Vaganov-Shashkin-Lite (VSL) forward model for tree-ring-width chronologies as observation operator within a proxy data assimilation (DA) setting. Based on the principle of limiting factors, VSL combines temperature and moisture time series in a nonlinear fashion to obtain simulated TRW chronologies. When used as observation operator, this modelling approach implies three compounding, challenging features: (1) time averaging, (2) "switching recording" of 2 variables and (3) bounded response windows leading to "thresholded response". We generate pseudo-TRW observations from a chaotic 2-scale dynamical system, used as a cartoon of the atmosphere-land system, and attempt to assimilate them via ensemble Kalman filtering techniques. Results within our simplified setting reveal that VSL's nonlinearities may lead to considerable loss of assimilation skill, as compared to the utilization of a time-averaged (TA) linear observation operator. In order to understand this undesired effect, we embed VSL's formulation into the framework of fuzzy logic (FL) theory, which thereby exposes multiple representations of the principle of limiting factors. DA experiments employing three alternative growth rate functions disclose a strong link between the lack of smoothness of the growth rate function and the loss of optimality in the estimate of the TA state. Accordingly, VSL's performance as observation operator can be enhanced by resorting to smoother FL representations of the principle of limiting factors. This finding fosters new interpretations of tree-ring-growth limitation processes.}, language = {en} } @article{AchillesFinkFischeretal.2016, author = {Achilles, E. I. S. and Fink, G. R. and Fischer, Martin H. and Dovern, A. and Held, A. and Timpert, D. C. and Schroeter, C. and Schuetz, K. and Kloetzsch, C. and Weiss, P. H.}, title = {Effect of meaning on apraxic finger imitation deficits}, series = {Neuropsychologia : an international journal in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience}, volume = {82}, journal = {Neuropsychologia : an international journal in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0028-3932}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.12.022}, pages = {74 -- 83}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Apraxia typically results from left-hemispheric (LH), but also from right-hemispheric (RH) stroke, and often impairs gesture imitation. Especially in LH stroke, it is important to differentiate apraxia-induced gesture imitation deficits from those due to co-morbid aphasia and associated semantic deficits, possibly influencing the imitation of meaningful (MF) gestures. To explore this issue, we first investigated if the 10 supposedly meaningless (ML) gestures of a widely used finger imitation test really carry no meaning, or if the test also contains MF gestures, by asking healthy subjects (n=45) to classify these gestures as MF or ML. Most healthy subjects (98\%) classified three of the 10 gestures as clearly MF. Only two gestures were considered predominantly ML. We next assessed how imitation in stroke patients (255 LH, 113 RH stroke) is influenced by gesture meaning and how aphasia influences imitation of LH stroke patients (n=208). All patients and especially patients with imitation deficits (17\% of LH, 27\% of RH stroke patients) imitated MF gestures significantly better than ML gestures. Importantly, meaningfulness-scores of all 10 gestures significantly predicted imitation scores of patients with imitation deficits. Furthermore, especially in LH stroke patients with imitation deficits, the severity of aphasia significantly influenced the imitation of MF, but not ML gestures. Our findings in a large patient cohort support current cognitive models of imitation and strongly suggest that ML gestures are particularly sensitive to detect imitation deficits while minimising confounding effects of aphasia which affect the imitation of MF gestures in LH stroke patients. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @misc{Adak2016, author = {Adak, H{\"u}lya}, title = {Teaching the Armenian Genocide in Turkey: Curriculum, Methods, and Sources}, series = {PMLA : Publications of the Modern Language Association}, volume = {131}, journal = {PMLA : Publications of the Modern Language Association}, publisher = {Modern Language Association of America}, address = {New York}, issn = {0030-8129}, pages = {1515 -- 1518}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @article{AdamReitenbachPapenmeieretal.2016, author = {Adam, Maurits and Reitenbach, Ivanina and Papenmeier, Frank and Gredeb{\"a}ck, Gustaf and Elsner, Claudia and Elsner, Birgit}, title = {actions, but not for mechanical claws}, series = {Meteoritics \& planetary science : journal of the Meteoritical Society}, volume = {44}, journal = {Meteoritics \& planetary science : journal of the Meteoritical Society}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {New York}, issn = {0163-6383}, doi = {10.1016/j.infbeh.2016.05.001}, pages = {29 -- 37}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Previous research indicates that infants' prediction of the goals of observed actions is influenced by own experience with the type of agent performing the action (i.e., human hand vs. non-human agent) as well as by action-relevant features of goal objects (e.g., object size). The present study investigated the combined effects of these factors on 12-month-olds' action prediction. Infants' (N = 49) goal-directed gaze shifts were recorded as they observed 14 trials in which either a human hand or a mechanical claw reached for a small goal area (low-saliency goal) or a large goal area (high-saliency goal). Only infants who had observed the human hand reaching for a high-saliency goal fixated the goal object ahead of time, and they rapidly learned to predict the action goal across trials. By contrast, infants in all other conditions did not track the observed action in a predictive manner, and their gaze shifts to the action goal did not change systematically across trials. Thus, high-saliency goals seem to boost infants' predictive gaze shifts during the observation of human manual actions, but not of actions performed by a mechanical device. This supports the assumption that infants' action predictions are based on interactive effects of action-relevant object features (e.g., size) and own action experience.}, language = {en} } @article{AdaniStegenwallnerSchuetzHaendleretal.2016, author = {Adani, Flavia and Stegenwallner-Sch{\"u}tz, Maja Henny Katherine and H{\"a}ndler, Yair and Zukowski, Andrea}, title = {Elicited production of relative clauses in German: Evidence from typically developing children and children with specific language impairment}, series = {First language}, volume = {36}, journal = {First language}, publisher = {Sage Publ.}, address = {London}, issn = {0142-7237}, doi = {10.1177/0142723716648842}, pages = {203 -- 227}, year = {2016}, abstract = {We elicited the production of various types of relative clauses in a group of German-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing controls in order to test the movement optionality account of grammatical difficulty in SLI. The results show that German-speaking children with SLI are impaired in relative clause production compared to typically developing children. The alternative structures that they produce consist of simple main clauses, as well as nominal and prepositional phrases produced in isolation, sometimes contextually appropriate, and sometimes not. Crucially for evaluating the movement optionality account, children with SLI produce very few instances of embedded clauses where the relative clause head noun is pronounced in situ; in fact, such responses are more common among the typically developing child controls. These results underscore the difficulty German-speaking children with SLI have with structures involving movement, but provide no specific support for the movement optionality account.}, language = {en} } @article{AdelElbeheryAzizetal.2016, author = {Adel, Mustafa and Elbehery, Ali H. A. and Aziz, Sherry K. and Aziz, Ramy K. and Grossart, Hans-Peter and Siam, Rania}, title = {Viruses-to-mobile genetic elements skew in the deep Atlantis II brine pool sediments}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {6}, journal = {Scientific reports}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/srep32704}, pages = {8882 -- 8888}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The central rift of the Red Sea has 25 brine pools with different physical and geochemical characteristics. Atlantis II (ATIID), Discovery Deeps (DD) and Chain Deep (CD) are characterized by high salinity, temperature and metal content. Several studies reported microbial communities in these brine pools, but few studies addressed the brine pool sediments. Therefore, sediment cores were collected from ATIID, DD, CD brine pools and an adjacent brine-influenced site. Sixteen different lithologic sediment sections were subjected to shotgun DNA pyrosequencing to generate 1.47 billion base pairs (1.47 x 10(9) bp). We generated sediment-specific reads and attempted to annotate all reads. We report the phylogenetic and biochemical uniqueness of the deepest ATIID sulfur-rich brine pool sediments. In contrary to all other sediment sections, bacteria dominate the deepest ATIID sulfur-rich brine pool sediments. This decrease in virus-to-bacteria ratio in selected sections and depth coincided with an overrepresentation of mobile genetic elements. Skewing in the composition of viruses-to-mobile genetic elements may uniquely contribute to the distinct microbial consortium in sediments in proximity to hydrothermally active vents of the Red Sea and possibly in their surroundings, through differential horizontal gene transfer.}, language = {en} } @article{AdeltHanneStadie2016, author = {Adelt, Anne and Hanne, Sandra and Stadie, Nicole}, title = {Treatment of sentence comprehension and production in aphasia}, series = {Neuropsychological rehabilitation}, volume = {28}, journal = {Neuropsychological rehabilitation}, number = {6}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0960-2011}, doi = {10.1080/09602011.2016.1213176}, pages = {937 -- 965}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Exploring generalisation following treatment of language deficits in aphasia can provide insights into the functional relation of the cognitive processing systems involved. In the present study, we first review treatment outcomes of interventions targeting sentence processing deficits and, second report a treatment study examining the occurrence of practice effects and generalisation in sentence comprehension and production. In order to explore the potential linkage between processing systems involved in comprehending and producing sentences, we investigated whether improvements generalise within (i.e., uni-modal generalisation in comprehension or in production) and/or across modalities (i.e., cross-modal generalisation from comprehension to production or vice versa). Two individuals with aphasia displaying co-occurring deficits in sentence comprehension and production were trained on complex, non-canonical sentences in both modalities. Two evidence-based treatment protocols were applied in a crossover intervention study with sequence of treatment phases being randomly allocated. Both participants benefited significantly from treatment, leading to uni-modal generalisation in both comprehension and production. However, cross-modal generalisation did not occur. The magnitude of uni-modal generalisation in sentence production was related to participants' sentence comprehension performance prior to treatment. These findings support the assumption of modality-specific sub-systems for sentence comprehension and production, being linked uni-directionally from comprehension to production.}, language = {en} } @article{AdhikariGlombitzaNickeletal.2016, author = {Adhikari, Rishi Ram and Glombitza, Clemens and Nickel, Julia C. and Anderson, Chloe H. and Dunlea, Ann G. and Spivack, Arthur J. and Murray, Richard W. and Kallmeyer, Jens}, title = {Hydrogen Utilization Potential in Subsurface Sediments}, series = {Frontiers in microbiology}, volume = {7}, journal = {Frontiers in microbiology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-302X}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2016.00008}, pages = {16}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Subsurface microbial communities undertake many terminal electron-accepting processes, often simultaneously. Using a tritium-based assay, we measured the potential hydrogen oxidation catalyzed by hydrogenase enzymes in several subsurface sedimentary environments (Lake Van, Barents Sea, Equatorial Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico) with different predominant electron-acceptors. Hydrogenases constitute a diverse family of enzymes expressed by microorganisms that utilize molecular hydrogen as a metabolic substrate, product, or intermediate. The assay reveals the potential for utilizing molecular hydrogen and allows qualitative detection of microbial activity irrespective of the predominant electron-accepting process. Because the method only requires samples frozen immediately after recovery, the assay can be used for identifying microbial activity in subsurface ecosystems without the need to preserve live material. We measured potential hydrogen oxidation rates in all samples from multiple depths at several sites that collectively span a wide range of environmental conditions and biogeochemical zones. Potential activity normalized to total cell abundance ranges over five orders of magnitude and varies, dependent upon the predominant terminal electron acceptor. Lowest per-cell potential rates characterize the zone of nitrate reduction and highest per-cell potential rates occur in the methanogenic zone. Possible reasons for this relationship to predominant electron acceptor include (i) increasing importance of fermentation in successively deeper biogeochemical zones and (ii) adaptation of H(2)ases to successively higher concentrations of H-2 in successively deeper zones.}, language = {en} } @article{AgarwalMaheswaranKurthsetal.2016, author = {Agarwal, Ankit and Maheswaran, Rathinasamy and Kurths, J{\"u}rgen and Khosa, R.}, title = {Wavelet Spectrum and Self-Organizing Maps-Based Approach for Hydrologic Regionalization -a Case Study in the Western United States}, series = {Water Resources Management}, volume = {30}, journal = {Water Resources Management}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {0920-4741}, doi = {10.1007/s11269-016-1428-1}, pages = {4399 -- 4413}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Hydrologic regionalization deals with the investigation of homogeneity in watersheds and provides a classification of watersheds for regional analysis. The classification thus obtained can be used as a basis for mapping data from gauged to ungauged sites and can improve extreme event prediction. This paper proposes a wavelet power spectrum (WPS) coupled with the self-organizing map method for clustering hydrologic catchments. The application of this technique is implemented for gauged catchments. As a test case study, monthly streamflow records observed at 117 selected catchments throughout the western United States from 1951 through 2002. Further, based on WPS of each station, catchments are classified into homogeneous clusters, which provides a representative WPS pattern for the streamflow stations in each cluster.}, language = {en} } @article{AhlbergRancanEppleetal.2016, author = {Ahlberg, Sebastian and Rancan, Fiorenza and Epple, Matthias and Loza, Kateryna and H{\"o}ppe, David and Lademann, J{\"u}rgen and Vogt, Annika and Kleuser, Burkhard and Gerecke, Christian and Meinke, Martina C.}, title = {Comparison of different methods to study effects of silver nanoparticles on the pro- and antioxidant status of human keratinocytes and fibroblasts}, series = {Methods : focusing on rapidly developing techniques}, volume = {109}, journal = {Methods : focusing on rapidly developing techniques}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {San Diego}, issn = {1046-2023}, doi = {10.1016/j.ymeth.2016.05.015}, pages = {55 -- 63}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @article{AlFadelFayyazJaptoketal.2016, author = {Al Fadel, Frdoos and Fayyaz, Susann and Japtok, Lukasz and Kleuser, Burkhard}, title = {Involvement of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate in Palmitate-Induced Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease}, series = {Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology}, volume = {40}, journal = {Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology}, publisher = {Karger}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1015-8987}, doi = {10.1159/000453213}, pages = {1637 -- 1645}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background/Aims: Ectopic lipid accumulation in hepatocytes has been identified as a risk factor for the progression of liver fibrosis and is strongly associated with obesity. In particular, the saturated fatty acid palmitate is involved in initiation of liver fibrosis via formation of secondary metabolites by hepatocytes that in turn activate hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in a paracrine manner Methods: a-smooth muscle actin-expression (alpha-SMA) as a marker of liver fibrosis was investigated via western blot analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy in HSCs (LX-2). Sphingolipid metabolism and the generation of the bioactive secondary metabolite sphingosine I-phosphate (SIP) in response to palmitate were analyzed by LC-MS/MS in hepatocytes (HepG2). To identify the molecular mechanism involved in the progression of liver fibrosis real-time PCR analysis and pharmacological modulation of SIP receptors were performed. Results: Palmitate oversupply increased intra- and extracellular SIP-concentrations in hepatocytes. Conditioned medium from HepG2 cells initiated fibrosis by enhancing alpha-SMA-expression in LX-2 in a S1P-dependent manner In accordance, fibrotic response in the presence of SIP was also observed in HSCs. Pharmacological inhibition of SIP receptors demonstrated that S1P(3) is the crucial receptor subtype involved in this process. Conclusion: SIP is synthesized in hepatocytes in response to palmitate and released into the extracellular environment leading to an activation of HSCs via the S1P(3) receptor (C) 2016 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel}, language = {en} }