bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Translational Safety Genetics
Authors: Bhoumik Priyasma , Del Rio-Espinola Alberto , Hahne Florian , Moggs Jonathan , Grenet Olivier
Published: December 2016

The emerging field of translational safety genetics is providing new opportunities to enhance drug discovery and development. Genetic variation in therapeutic drug targets, off-target interactors and relevant drug metabolism/disposition pathways can contribute to diverse drug pharmacologic and toxicologic responses between different animal species, strains and geographic origins. Recent advances in the sequencing of rodent, canine, nonhuman primate, and minipig genomes have dramatically improved the ability to select the most appropriate animal species for preclinical drug toxicity studies based on genotypic characterization of drug targets/pathways and drug metabolism and/or disposition, thus avoiding inconclusive or misleading animal studies, consistent with the principles of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement). The genetic background of individual animals should also be taken into consideration when interpreting phenotypic outcomes from toxicity studies and susceptibilities to spontaneous safety-relevant background findings.
Allele rs2010963 C of the VEGFA gene is associated with the decreased risk of primary varicose veins in ethnic Russians
Authors: Shadrina Alexandra S , Smetanina Mariya A , Sokolova Ekaterina A , Shamovskaya Darya V , Sevost‘ianova Kseniya S , Shevela Andrey I , Soldatsky Evgenii Y , Seliverstov Evgenii I , Demekhova Marina Y , Shonov Oleg A , Ilyukhin Evgeny A , Voronina Elena N , Pikalov Ilya V , Zolotukhin Igor A , Kirienko Alexander I , Filipenko Maxim L
Published: December 2016

Objective

To study the association of polymorphisms rs699947, rs2010963, rs3025039 in the VEGFA gene region and rs1870377, rs2305949, rs2071559 in the VEGFR2 gene region with the risk of primary varicose veins in ethnic Russians.

Methods

Genotypes were determined by real-time PCR allelic discrimination. The case group consisted of 448 patients with primary varicose veins and the control group comprised 609 individuals without a history of chronic venous disease. Association was studied by logistic regression analysis.

Results

Allele rs2010963 C was associated with the decreased risk of varicose veins (additive model of inheritance: odds ratio = 0.73, 95% confidence interval = 0.59–0.91, P = 0.004).

Conclusions

Our results provide evidence that polymorphism rs2010963 located in the 5′ untranslated region of the VEGFA gene can influence genetic susceptibility to primary varicose veins in Russians. Otherwise, it can be in linkage disequilibrium with another functional single nucleotide polymorphism that can alter the level of vascular endothelial growth factor A protein.
Imagining the carbon neutral city: The (post)politics of time and space
Authors: Kenis Anneleen , Lievens Matthias
Published: December 2016

Putting climate neutrality on the urban agenda inevitably requires a re-imagination and delineation of the boundaries of the city, both at the geographical level, with regard to its inscription in history and concerning the social groups it is composed of. Such an exercise of (re-)imagination or representation is a profoundly political act. It is on the level of this symbolic representation that the (de)politicised nature of sustainability projects must be assessed. Leuven Klimaatneutraal 2030 (LKN2030), a project which aims to make the city of Leuven (Belgium) carbon neutral by 2030, is a case in point. The way it delineates its spatial boundaries, inscribes itself in time and conceives of the main actors representing the city generates profound forms of depoliticisation. Our contention is that these can explain some of the obstacles the project currently faces, whereas it initially triggered a lot of enthusiasm. Though mechanisms of in- and exclusion and agenda-setting inevitably take place in every sustainability project, in LKN2030 these choices tend to be neutralised behind a technical, managerial and scientific discourse. As a result, the project risks to translate potentially interesting dynamics into a consensual project for urban renewal and city marketing, whereby sustainability goals are reframed into marketing objectives and economic opportunities. Drawing on post-foundational political theory, this paper assesses this evolution, but also explores the potential forms of repoliticisation that are emerging in its wake.
The Relationship Between Acute Malnutrition, Hygiene Practices, Water and Livestock, and Their Program Implications in Eastern Chad
Authors: Marshak Anastasia , Young Helen , Bontrager Elizabeth N. , Boyd Erin M.
Published: December 2016

Background:

The causes of acute malnutrition are complex and time and geography variant and need to be better understood in order to both design more effective nutrition programs and evaluate them. The findings reported here are part of an evaluation of a 4-year multisectoral nutrition program led by Concern Worldwide in the Sila Region of eastern Chad.

Objective:

To present evidence and learning about the relationships between acute malnutrition and potential drivers in Sila, Chad.

Methods:

Quantitative household-level data from a clustered randomized control trial were collected in November/December 2014. The survey was complemented with water quality testing and qualitative data collected in February and March 2013 and 2014.

Results:

Households who reported not regularly cleaning the container used for transporting water for household consumption were almost twice as likely to have a malnourished child. Households living in villages with larger concentrations of cattle and having more livestock sharing the same water source as for human consumption were significantly more likely to have a malnourished child. However, cleaning the water container mediated the negative impact of living in a village with a large cattle concentration on wasting.

Conclusion:

These results demonstrate that hygiene practices and livestock water management are correlated with acute malnutrition in Sila, Chad. These findings provide a hypothesis for a possible pathogen driving acute malnutrition rates— Cryptosporidium—as part of a complex water chain, whereby the source of infection may be mitigated by hygiene behaviors with important implications for humanitarian programs.
Infantile Lhermitte-Duclos Disease Treated Successfully With Rapamycin
Authors: Zak Megan , Ledbetter Mark , Maertens Paul
Published: December 2016

Lhermitte-Duclos disease is a rare hamartomatous tumor of the cerebellum resulting from a mutation in the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) gene: it has been reported in fewer than 10 infants. Rapamycin treatment has not yet been described in Lhermitte-Duclos disease. The infant underwent shunt placement shortly after birth for aqueductal stenosis. Her clinical progression included failure to thrive, seizures, episodes of decerebrate posturing, loss of respiratory drive, and pituitary insufficiency from mass effect. The characteristic “tiger stripe” sign on imaging prompted diagnosis. Rapamycin therapy was initiated at 18 months. Within 5 months, our patient has become responsive to her surroundings and had return of spontaneous breathing. Repeat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reveals lack of brainstem compression or distortion of pituitary stalk. Rapamycin should be considered in cases of Lhermitte-Duclos disease where surgical removal may not be an option, as in our case where the cerebellum was entirely involved.
How Much Cerebrospinal Fluid Should We Remove Prior to Measuring a Closing Pressure?
Authors: McLaren Son H. , Monuteaux Michael C. , Delaney Atima C. , Landschaft Assaf , Kimia Amir A.
Published: December 2016

Objective:

The objective of this study was to identify a relationship between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume removal and change in CSF pressure in children with suspected idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH).

Methods:

We performed a cross-sectional study of children 22 years and younger who underwent a lumbar puncture (LP) and had a documented opening pressure, closing pressure, and volume removed. Relationship between volume removal and pressure change was determined using a fractional polynomial regression procedure.

Results:

In the 297 patients who met the inclusion criteria, CSF pressure decreased by 1 cm H2O for every 0.91 mL of CSF removed if the maximum change in pressure was less than 15 cm H2O ( R2 = 0.38).

Conclusion:

A linear relationship exists between the volume of CSF removed and the amount of pressure relieved when the desired pressure change is less than 15 cm H2O.
An in vivo pilot study of a microporous thin film nitinol-covered stent to assess the effect of porosity and pore geometry on device interaction with the vessel wall
Authors: Chun Youngjae , Kealey Colin P , Levi Daniel S , Rigberg David A , Chen Yanfei , Tillman Bryan W , Mohanchandra KP , Shayan Mahdis , Carman Gregory P
Published: December 2016

Sputter-deposited thin film nitinol constructs with various micropatterns were fabricated to evaluate their effect on the vessel wall in vivo when used as a covering for commercially available stents. Thin film nitinol constructs were used to cover stents and deployed in non-diseased swine arteries. Swine were sacrificed after approximately four weeks and the thin film nitinol-covered stents were removed for histopathologic evaluation. Histopathology revealed differences in neointimal thickness that correlated with the thin film nitinol micropattern. Devices covered with thin film nitinol with a lateral × vertical length = 20 × 40 µm diamond pattern had minimal neointimal growth with well-organized cell architecture and little evidence of ongoing inflammation. Devices covered with thin film nitinol with smaller fenestrations exhibited a relatively thick neointimal layer with inflammation and larger fenestrations showed migration of inflammatory and smooth muscle cells through the micro fenestrations. This “proof-of-concept” study suggests that there may be an ideal thin film nitinol porosity and pore geometry to encourage endothelialization and incorporation of the device into the vessel wall. Future work will be needed to determine the optimal pore size and geometry to minimize neointimal proliferation and in-stent stenosis.
A maturing civil society in China? The role of knowledge and professionalization in the development of NGOs
Authors: Hsu Jennifer Y. J. , Hasmath Reza
Published: December 2016

This article suggests that Chinese NGOs do not have the conviction that they are part of an epistemic community in mainland China. Interviews conducted in four cities, Chongqing, Kunming, Nanjing and Shanghai, suggest that this can be attributed to a lack of set standards and professionalization governing their sector of operation. Further, the study finds that Chinese NGOs do not see knowledge production as their primary role within their organizational development life cycle. This may indicate a varying path towards the maturation of civil society in China, whereby Chinese NGOs do not conform to the organizational development process as outlined in extant NGO literature.
Adjusting for bias in unblinded randomized controlled trials
Authors: Schmidt AF , Groenwold RHH
Published: December 2016

It may not always be possible to blind participants of a randomized controlled trial for treatment allocation. As a result, estimators of the actual treatment effect may be biased. In this paper, we will extend a novel method, originally introduced in genetic research, for instrumental variable meta-analysis, adjusting for bias due to unblinding of trial participants. Using simulation studies, this novel method, “Egger Correction for non-Adherence”, is introduced and compared to the performance of the “intention-to-treat,” “as-treated,” and conventional “instrumental variable” estimators. Scenarios considered (time-varying) non-adherence, confounding, and between-study heterogeneity. The effect of treatment on a binary endpoint was quantified by means of a risk difference. In all scenarios with unblinded treatment allocation, the Egger Correction for non-Adherence method was the least biased estimator. However, unless the variation in adherence was relatively large, precision was lacking, and power did not surpass 0.50. As a comparison, in a meta-analysis of blinded randomized controlled trials, power of the conventional IV estimator was 1.00 versus at most 0.14 for the Egger Correction for non-Adherence estimator. Due to this lack of precision and power, we suggest to use this method mainly as a sensitivity analysis.
Too good to be a sport? Why dog agility struggles in gaining recognition as a sport
Authors: Pehkonen Samu , Ikonen Hanna-Mari
Published: December 2016

Over the last two decades, the Finnish community of dog agility practitioners has worked diligently towards gaining recognition for agility as a sport. The process reached an important milestone in 2016 when the National Sports Council listed the Finnish Agility Association as eligible for financial support from the state. As one of the pioneer countries in this regard, Finland is of great interest, as the agility sport continues to become more popular and professionalised worldwide. Using the findings from a qualitative study of media coverage and expert interviews about attempts to gain recognition for agility as a sport, this article explores the strategies that practitioners and the Finnish Agility Association have utilised in their work. This article shows that recognition comes with the need to find a balance between elite sports, on the one hand, and sport for all on the other. Although agility may risk losing some of its particular character as a human–animal teamwork dynamic, it has the potential to contribute to the culture of sports more widely.
Systematic Instruction in Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence for Students With Reading Disabilities
Authors: Earle Gentry A. , Sayeski Kristin L.
Published: December 2016

Letter-sound knowledge is a strong predictor of a student’s ability to decode words. Approximately 50% of English words can be decoded by following a sound-symbol correspondence rule alone and an additional 36% are spelled with only one error. Many students with reading disabilities or who struggle to learn to read have difficulty with phonology, an understanding of how sounds are organized within language. This can result in difficulty grasping the alphabetic principle, the knowledge of the relation between speech sounds and the letters/letter patterns that represent them. Research has demonstrated the benefits of intensive, explicit instruction for developing struggling readers’ capacity to identify phonemes and apply knowledge of phoneme-grapheme correspondence for decoding. In this article, common misconceptions and basic tenets of effective letter-sound instruction are provided to help special educators and reading interventionists plan for effective phoneme-grapheme correspondence instruction for students with reading disabilities or who are at risk for reading failure.
Synthetic learning agents in game-playing social environments
Authors: Kiourt Chairi , Kalles Dimitris
Published: December 2016

This paper investigates the performance of synthetic agents in playing and learning scenarios in a turn-based zero-sum game and highlights the ability of opponent-based learning models to demonstrate competitive playing performances in social environments. Synthetic agents are generated based on a variety of combinations of some key parameters, such as exploitation-vs-exploration trade-off, learning back-up and discount rates, and speed of learning, and interact over a very large number of games on a grid infrastructure; experimental data is then analysed to generate clusters of agents that demonstrate interesting associations between eventual performance ranking and learning parameters’ set-up. The evolution of these clusters indicates that agents with a predisposition to knowledge exploration and slower learning tend to perform better than exploiters, which tend to prefer fast learning. Observing these clusters vis-à-vis the playing behaviours of the agents makes it also possible to investigate how to select opponents best from a group; initial results suggest that good progress and stable evolution arise when an agent faces opponents of increasing capacity, and that an agent with a good learning mechanism set-up progresses better when it faces less favourably set-up agents.
Remaking Our Identities
Authors: Matthews Elise J. , Desjardins Michel
Published: December 2016

Previous qualitative research findings have discussed motivations, decision-making, stigma, and resistance to pronatalism among voluntarily childless (VC) men and women. The current study placed such elements of the lifeworlds of VC individuals and dyads within the context of a life story of (re)making of the VC identity. Twelve life history and semistructured interviews with six VC men and women in three heterosexual couples in Canada were analyzed using thematic analysis. The VC choice was expressed as a decision to accept one’s essential voluntary childlessness. The construction of the VC participants’ bodies through their stories entailed episodes of conflict and resistance central to gendered experiences. We propose that this pattern of themes, in a pronatalist sociocultural context, points to a remaking of the figure of an extraordinary person from childhood, through to their current partnership, and into the future. These findings have implications for practitioners working with VC couples as they construct their identities, partnerships, reproductive decisions, life trajectories, and life projects.
Parallelism in computational biology
Authors: Vega-Rodríguez Miguel A , Rubio-Largo Álvaro
Published: December 2016

Computational biology allows and encourages the application of many different parallelism-based technologies. This special issue brings together high-quality state-of-the-art contributions about parallelism-based technologies in computational biology, from different points of view or perspectives, that is, from diverse high-performance computing applications. The special issue collects considerably extended and improved versions of the best papers, accepted and presented in PBio 2015 (the Third International Workshop on Parallelism in Bioinformatics, and part of IEEE ISPA 2015 ). The domains and topics covered in these seven papers are timely and important, and the authors have done an excellent job of presenting the material.
The Body and the Brain: Measuring Skin Conductance Responses to Understand the Emotional Experience
Authors: Christopoulos George I. , Uy Marilyn A. , Yap Wei Jie
Published: December 2016

In this article, we introduce the method of measuring skin conductance responses (SCR) reflecting peripheral (bodily) signals associated with emotions, decisions, and eventually behavior. While measuring SCR is a well-established, robust, widely used, and relatively inexpensive method, it has been rarely utilized in organizational research. We introduce the basic aspects of SCR methodology and explain the behavioral significance of the signal, especially in connection with the emotional experience. Importantly, we describe in detail a specific research protocol (fear conditioning) that serves as an illustrative example to support the initial steps for organizational scholars who are new to the method. We also provide the related scripts for stimulus presentation and basic data analysis, as well as an instructional video, with the aim to facilitate the dissemination of SCR methodology to organizational research. We conclude by suggesting potential future research questions that can be addressed using SCR measurements.
Access to energy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Owoeye Olasupo
Published: December 2016

Energy access is fundamental to the full enjoyment of not only economic and social rights but also civil and political rights. Whilst the campaign for extending energy access to the world’s most vulnerable populations may be validly anchored on the need to mitigate climate change and promote sustainability, it is exigent to also underscore its human rights significance. In Africa, where most countries have weak environmental regulation and enforcement structures, the climate change and sustainable development rhetoric most commonly used in emphasising the importance of energy access may not yield the desired results. Access to energy is a major issue in Africa and South Asia where a very significant proportion of their populations make use of biomass-sourced fuels to meet most of their energy needs. This has come with some major attendant health, environmental and socio-economic consequences. This article argues that energy access has transcended the contours of climate change and has become a human rights issue. It posits that African Union states may be made to take progressive measures to provide modern energy services through the adjudicatory jurisdiction of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Possible role for glomerular-derived angiotensinogen in nephrotic syndrome
Authors: Yamazaki Mihoko , Fukusumi Yoshiyasu , Kayaba Mutsumi , Kitazawa Yukina , Takamura Sayuri , Narita Ichiei , Kawachi Hiroshi
Published: December 2016

Background and objective:

Renin–angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors reduce glomerular injury and proteinuria, indicating that angiotensin II (Ang II) is involved in glomerular diseases. Although the local RAS is reported to play an essential role in maintaining local tissue functions, the role of the local RAS in regulating glomerular function is not well evaluated. In this study, we analyzed the glomerular expression of RAS components in nephrotic models and the effect of Ang II receptor blockers (ARB) on the expression of angiotensinogen (AGT).

Methods:

The levels of glomerular expression of RAS components were analyzed in two nephrotic models: anti-nephrin antibody-induced nephropathy and PAN nephropathy, a mimic of human minimal change nephrotic syndrome. The effect of the ARB irbesartan on the expression of AGT in the nephrotic model was analyzed.

Results:

Glomerular expression of AGT and the receptors for Ang II was clearly increased in the nephrotic models, while the expression levels of renin, ACE and ACE2 were decreased. ARB treatment suppressed the increase of glomerular expression of AGT in the nephrotic model.

Conclusion:

It is conceivable that the promoted local RAS action participated in the glomerular dysfunction, and that ARB treatment ameliorated slit diaphragm injury by inhibiting the positive feedback loop of the activated local Ang II action.
Adapting an HIV Risk Reduction Curriculum: Processes and Outcomes
Authors: Miller Melissa K. , Wickliffe Joi , Humiston Sharon G. , Dowd M. Denise , Kelly Patricia , DeLurgio Stephen , Goggin Kathy
Published: December 2016

Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART) is a community-based, HIV risk reduction curriculum shown to increase safer sex behaviors among African American adolescents. However, BART does not address common barriers to sexual health care access, which may limit program efficacy. We used a community-engaged adaptation process to maximize program relevance and health outcomes by incorporating a broad ecological perspective. Adolescent and staff advisory boards at a community-based organization recommended modifications (e.g., delete references to Kwanzaa, update language, localize incentives) and supported inclusion of critical on-site health services, such as sexually transmitted infection testing and condom provision. We conducted a trial of adapted BART (one session/week for 8 weeks) with 36 adolescents at two community organizations (mean age = 15.5 years, 52% female; 61% reported previous sexual intercourse). Most received on-site sexually transmitted infection testing (61%) and condoms (70%). Adolescents demonstrated significant improvements in self-efficacy for safer sexual practices (p < .02), AIDS risk knowledge (p < .001), condom knowledge (p < .001), and condom attitudes (p < .04). Adolescents and staff were satisfied with the revised curriculum and found on-site services acceptable. Based on improvements in constructs influencing behavior and the successful delivery of services essential for optimal health, future studies to assess efficacy and sustainability of the adapted curriculum appear warranted.
Corpus Callosum Structural Integrity Is Associated With Postural Control Improvement in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis Who Have Minimal Disability
Authors: Peterson Daniel S. , Gera Geetanjali , Horak Fay B. , Fling Brett W.
Published: December 2016

Background. Improvement of postural control in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) is an important target for neurorehabilitation. Although PwMS are able to improve postural performance with training, the neural underpinnings of these improvements are poorly understood. Objective. To understand the neural underpinnings of postural motor learning in PwMS. Methods. Supraspinal white matter structural connectivity in PwMS was correlated with improvements in postural performance (balancing on an oscillating surface over 25 trials) and retention of improvements (24 hours later). Results. Improvement in postural performance was directly correlated to microstructural integrity of white matter tracts, measured as radial diffusivity, in the corpus callosum, posterior parieto-sensorimotor fibers and the brainstem in PwMS. Within the corpus callosum, the genu and midbody (fibers connecting the prefrontal and primary motor cortices, respectively) were most strongly correlated to improvements in postural control. Twenty-four-hour retention was not correlated to radial diffusivity. Conclusion. PwMS who exhibited poorer white matter tract integrity connecting the cortical hemispheres via the corpus callosum showed the most difficulty learning to control balance on an unstable surface. Prediction of improvements in postural control through training (ie, motor learning) via structural imaging of the brain may allow for identification of individuals who are particularly well suited for postural rehabilitation interventions.
Estimation of Radiological Dose From Progeny of 222Rn and 220Rn Using DTPS/DRPS and Wire-Mesh-Capped Progeny Sensors
Authors: Mehra Rohit , Jakhu Rajan , Bangotra Pargin , Mittal Harish Mohan
Published: December 2016

Radon (222Rn) and its decay products are the major sources of natural radiation exposure to general population. The activity concentrations of unattached and attached short-lived 222Rn and thoron (220Rn) progeny in indoor environment of some dwellings of the Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts of Punjab had been calculated using the deposition-based progeny sensors (DRPS/DTPS) and wire-mesh-capped (DRPS/DTPS) progeny sensors. The observed concentration of attached 222Rn and 220Rn progeny showed the variation from 5 to 21 Bq·m−3 and 0.3 to 1.7 Bq·m−3, respectively. The activity concentration of the unattached 222Rn and 220Rn progeny varies from 1 to 5 Bq·m−3 and 0.1 to 0.6 Bq·m−3, respectively. The average unattached fraction of 222Rn and 220Rn progeny is 0.2 and 0.1. The average value of the indoor aerosol concentration attachment rate of 222Rn and 220Rn progeny is 2251 cm−3, 24 ms−1, and 617 ms−1. Relation among the unattached fraction and attachment rate is established, and the obtained results of dose conversion factors show the significance of the nano-sized 222Rn decay products in 222Rn dosimetry.
Intraperitoneal Injection Is Not a Suitable Administration Route for Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Biomedical Applications
Authors: Liu Xudong , Guo Qing , Zhang Yuchao , Li Jinquan , Li Rui , Wu Yang , Ma Ping , Yang Xu
Published: December 2016

Given the extensive application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in biomedical fields, there is increasing concern regarding unintentional health impacts. Research into safe usage is therefore increasingly necessary. This study investigated the responses of the mouse brain to single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) delivered via intraperitoneal (IP) injection and compared these results with the previous study where SWCNTs were delivered via intravenous (IV) injection so as to explore which administration route is potentially better for SWCNTs application. This study suggests SWCNTs delivered via IP injection can have negative effects on the mouse brain through oxidative stress and inflammation at high concentration exposure, but these responses were not consistent and showed no dose-dependent effect. In a previous study, the results showed that IV-delivered SWCNTs induced a more consistent and dose-dependent effect. The comparison of the 2 studies suggested that using SWCNTs at a safe dosage delivered via IV injection may be a better administration route for SWCNTs in biomedical applications.
Review of modeling and control during transport airdrop process
Authors: Xu Bin , Chen Jie
Published: December 2016

This article presents the review of modeling and control during the airdrop process of transport aircraft. According to the airdrop height, technology can be classified into high and low altitude airdrop and in this article, the research is reviewed based on the two scenarios. While high altitude airdrop is mainly focusing on the precise landing control of cargo, the low altitude flight airdrop is on the control of transport aircraft dynamics to ensure flight safety. The history of high precision airdrop system is introduced first, and then the modeling and control problem of the ultra low altitude airdrop in transport aircraft is presented. Finally, the potential problems and future direction of low altitude airdrop are discussed.
Enhancing the reliability of mobile robots control process via reverse validation
Authors: Turygin Yuri , Božek Pavol , Nikitin Yuri , Sosnovich Ella , Abramov Andrey
Published: December 2016

The article deals with integrating the inertial navigation unit implemented into the system of controlling the robot. It analyses the dynamic properties of the sensors of the inertial unit, for example, gyroscopes and accelerometers. The implementation of the original system of controlling the mobile robot on the basis of autonomous navigation systems is a dominant part of the article. The integration of navigational information represents the actual issue of reaching higher accuracy of required navigational parameters using more or less accurate navigation systems. The inertial navigation is the navigation based on uninterrupted evaluation of the position of a navigated object by utilizing the sensors that are sensitive to motion, that is, gyroscopes and accelerometers, which are regarded as primary inertial sensors or other sensors located on the navigated object.
Comparing episodes of mathematics teaching for higher achievers in England and Germany
Authors: Kelly Peter , Kotthoff Hans-Georg
Published: December 2016

To illustrate similarities and differences in lower secondary level mathematics teaching with higher achievers and thereby explore privileging processes, we contrast a teaching episode in Baden-Württemberg, Germany with one in South West England. These have been selected from a larger study as typical within each region for higher achieving students in the school year in which they become 12 years old. These episodes reflect the dominant discourses and recent policy initiatives in each country. Descriptions of the episodes are linked to wider debates about the ways education practices benefit some student groups, and potential areas for further exploration are identified.
Doing qualitative comparative research on teaching: Challenges and benefits of working with grounded theory
Authors: Rupp Claudia
Published: December 2016

The last decades have seen the completion of an increasing number of qualitative comparative research projects on teaching. Challenges and benefits which might arise from a qualitative international comparative research design have been considered. However, very little has been published on challenges and benefits which may arise from using grounded theory in international comparative research projects. This article explores some of these challenges and benefits, focusing on two methodological aspects: the emergent process of developing a grounded theory and analysing data in a foreign language. In order to illustrate the argument, an international comparative PhD project is used. The project is centred on how teachers see themselves with regards to accountability reforms in England and Germany.
The cultural construction of subject discipline knowledge: comparing ‘abstraction’ in two international contexts
Authors: Pratt Nick , Kelly Peter
Published: December 2016

This paper uses a comparative methodology to examine the teaching of abstraction in two mathematics lessons, in Denmark and England. In doing so it aims to extend previous work by the authors, examining the effect of local, cultural issues on the form of teaching in order to understand how these also affect the subject content too. The analysis draws on two theoretical frameworks: the work of Hazzan and Zazkis to make sense of mathematical abstraction; and of Bernstein to provide a framework for examining pedagogic discourses at classroom level. The work compares two lessons, one each in England and Denmark, drawing out the ways in which teachers’ situated activities help to construct different versions of the subject matter – mathematical abstraction in this case. We assert that as well as abstraction being a practice which is constructed socially, cultural practices also mean that this is done differentially for, and by, groups of pupils and their teachers in ways which are likely to exacerbate the former’s differences, not reduce them. Some implications of this insight are discussed at the close.
Effect of losartan combined with amlodipine or with a thiazide on uric acid levels in hypertensive patients
Authors: Rubio-Guerra Alberto F. , Garro-Almendaro Ana K. , Elizalde-Barrera Cesar I. , Suarez-Cuenca Juan A. , Duran-Salgado Montserrat B.
Published: December 2016

Hyperuricemia leads to endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance, and has been associated with diseases such as hypertension. Antihypertensive drugs modify serum uric acid levels, however, few data are available about their combinations on uricemia. In this study we evaluate the effect of two combinations of losartan, with amlodipine or with hydrochlorothiazide, on serum uric acid levels in hypertensive patients.

Methods:

A total of 60 hypertensive patients were randomized in two groups; group LA received losartan/amlodipine (100/5 mg) once a day, whereas LH group received losartan hydrochlorothiazide (100/12.5 mg) once a day for 3 months. In both groups serum uric acid levels were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Patients were evaluated monthly for blood pressure (BP) and adverse events. Statistical analysis was performed with a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures.

Results:

All patients experienced a significant reduction of BP to the same extent (LA 155/94 to 123/79, LH 157/92 to 124/78 mmHg, p > 0.05). In the LA group, serum uric acid decreased from 6.5 ± 1.6 to 4.6 ± 1.3 mg/ml ( p = 0.0001), whereas in the LH group there was a nonsignificant increase from 5.82 ± 1.4 to 5.85 ± 1.5 mg/ml, ( p = 0.936). When both groups were compared, we found a significant reduction ( p < 0.00013) on serum uric acid levels in the LA group.

Conclusions:

Both combinations decrease BP values to the same extent, however, LA combination showed a reduction on serum uric acid levels, which may contribute to a reduction in the metabolic risk in hypertensive patients.
Love in the Middle East: The contradictions of romance in the Facebook World
Authors: Friedland Roger , Afary Janet , Gardinali Paolo , Naslund Cambria
Published: December 2016

Romantic love is a social fact in the Muslim world. It is also a gender politics impinging on religious and patriarchal understandings of female modesty and agency. This paper analyzes the rise of love as a basis of mate selection in a number of Muslim-majority countries: Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, Tunisia, and Turkey where we have conducted Web-based anonymous surveys of Facebook users. Young people increasingly want love in their married lives, but they and the communities in which they live remain uncomfortable with the mating practices through which such love has traditionally been achieved in the Western world. The paper explores the religious contradictions and the gender politics of modern heterosexual love.
Comparative Evaluation of Triphala and Ela Decoction With 0.2% Chlorhexidine as Mouthwash in the Treatment of Plaque-Induced Gingivitis and Halitosis: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Authors: Mamgain Pratibha , Kandwal Abhishek , Mamgain Ravindra K.
Published: December 2016

Present study evaluates efficacy of Trifala and Ela as plaque controlling agent and compares it with chlorhexidine.

Aim.

To evaluate Antigingivitis, Antiplaque and Antihalitosis effect of Triphala and Ela decoction. A randomized sample of 60 patients with plaque induced gingivitis was enrolled and equally divided into two groups group A and group B. Group A was given Trifala and Ela decoction and Group B Chlorehexidine mouthwash for 21 days twice daily. Gingival inflammation index, plaque index and Organoleptic scoring scale was recorded at baseline, 14th day and 21st day. Comparing the plaque index for Group A with group B the reduction in from baseline to 14 day was 42.59 % and 38.62% respectively while from baseline to 21 day was 56.20% and 68.57% respectively. On comparing Gingival index for group A with group B the reduction from baseline to 14 day was 31.95% and 38.62 % respectively while from baseline to 21 day was 69.95 % and 68.57% respectively. Halitosis Percentage reduction at 14th day from base line was 33.33% and 38.18%; at 21 day from baseline 66.66% and 72.72% respectively for group A and group B. No statistical significant difference for intergroup comparison was found using paired t test. Intra group analysis using unpaired t test was significant for all the indices at different time intervals. Triphala and Ela decoction is organic, easy to prepare economical and equally effective as compared to chlorhexidine mouthwash.
Insidious Incentives
Authors: Stepanovich Paul L. , Hopkins Pamela J. , Stark Ernest
Published: December 2016

Critical thinking requires that we dig beneath the surface of organizational issues to explore multiple views, context, and aspects of knowing. In this exercise, students explore these deeper issues with the question: Are incentives effective? A hypothetical case unfolds to show how two consulting groups can arrive at very different recommendations regarding incentives. Systems thinking is used to demonstrate how issues of interrelationships, complexity, and time can alter our views. The exercise can be used as a general critical thinking exercise or to support topics in systems thinking, organizational dynamics, and research design.
Trametinib after disease reactivation under dabrafenib in Erdheim-Chester disease with both BRAF and KRAS mutations
Authors: Nordmann Thierry M. , Juengling Freimut D. , Recher Mike , Berger Christoph T. , Kalbermatten Daniel , Wicki Andreas , Paasinen-Sohns Aino , Cathomas Gieri , Tzankov Alexandar , Daikeler Thomas
Published: December 2016

Key Points

Development of treatment resistance through further somatic mutations may occur in Erdheim-Chester disease during BRAF inhibition. Combinatorial BRAF/MEK inhibition may be beneficial in treatment-resistant ECD harboring a BRAFV600E and further MAPK-activating mutations.
High glucose suppresses embryonic stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes
Authors: Yang Penghua , Chen Xi , Kaushal Sunjay , Reece E. Albert , Yang Peixin
Published: December 2016

Background

Babies born to mothers with pregestational diabetes have a high risk for congenital heart defects (CHD). Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are excellent in vitro models for studying the effect of high glucose on cardiac lineage specification because ESCs can be differentiated into cardiomyocytes. ESC maintenance and differentiation are currently performed under high glucose conditions, whose adverse effects have never been clarified.

Method

We investigated the effect of high glucose on cardiomyocyte differentiation from a well-characterized ESC line, E14, derived from mouse blastocysts. E14 cells maintained under high glucose (25 mM) failed to generate any beating cardiomyocytes using the hanging-drop embryonic body method. We created a glucose-responsive E14 cell line (GR-E14) through a graduated low glucose adaptation. The expression of stem cell markers was similar in the parent E14 cells and the GR-E14 cells.

Results

Glucose transporter 2 gene was increased in GR-E14 cells. When GR-E14 cells were differentiated into cardiomyocytes under low (5 mM) or high (25 mM) glucose conditions, high glucose significantly delayed the appearance and reduced the number of TNNT2 (Troponin T Type 2)-positive contracting cardiomyocytes. High glucose suppressed the expression of precardiac mesoderm markers, cardiac transcription factors, mature cardiomyocyte markers, and potassium channel proteins. High glucose impaired the functionality of ESC-derived cardiomyocytes by suppressing the frequencies of Ca2+wave and contraction.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that high glucose inhibits ESC cardiogenesis by suppressing key developmental genes essential for the cardiac program.
Exploiting surface consistency for surface-wave characterization and mitigation — Part 1: Theory and 2D examples
Authors: Krohn Christine E. , Routh Partha S.
Published: December 2016

We have developed a new tomographic inversion method that is able to determine the properties of complex surface waves, which are multimodal and heterogeneous. These properties can be used to generate a detailed near-surface earth model or to predict and remove the surface waves, while protecting reflection signals even with aliased data. The inversion assumes plane-wave physics and generates surface-consistent model parameters as a function of frequency. In this paper, we validate our method with 2D models and data. In a companion paper, we demonstrate its application to 3D data. Inversion for a single mode is linear, but the linearity does not hold at higher frequencies, where multiple modes interfere. However, single-mode inversion results can be used to create a starting model for the subsequent nonlinear multimode tomography. The resulting velocity-frequency grid has greater resolution compared with a beam-forming method. The dispersion curves can be used as input to a subsequent standard 1D surface-wave inversion to generate a velocity-depth model. The tomographic method also determines a grid of attenuation quality factors and variations in the source amplitude and bandwidth, which correlate with the near-surface elevation changes. The amplitude and phase properties can be used together to predict the surface-wave waveforms, which can then be adaptively subtracted from the data on a trace-to-trace basis.
Tragedy and Compromise in George Eliot's Armgart and Middlemarch
Authors: Kolentsis Alysia
Published: December 2016

Prevailing critical practice has tended to position tragedy as an influential but limited antecedent to the novel. The conditions of the bourgeois novelistic universe are seen to undermine and mitigate the effects of tragedy. The very occurrence of a tragic event precludes any further participation in the novelistic world, conceived of as the mundane territory of compromise and normalcy. In Armgart and Middlemarch George Eliot's engagement with the tragic form calls into question claims of the untenable coexistence of the tragic and the novelistic. In these works tragedy is a deliberate and vital influence, applied to guide the reader's response to the text but also to expose the possibilities for a modern sort of tragedy. Focusing on these works, this essay argues that the bourgeois novelistic universe can also be fertile ground for devastating tragic events, that the conflict between personal desire and social duty is reimagined to encompass a more quotidian type of tragic hero, and that in Eliot's reworking of tragedy, compromise is not its antithesis but its harbinger. The tragic figures of Armgart and Middlemarch, while distinct from classical models, nevertheless find themselves ensnared between their wills and their fates, and the limited choices of women represent a muted but authentic version of tragedy. In Eliot's work the seemingly narrow narratives of individual lives—a point frequently offered as evidence for the nontragic nature of Eliot's novels—prove to have universal resonance.
A divalent cation-dependent variant of the glmS ribozyme with stringent Ca2+ selectivity co-opts a preexisting nonspecific metal ion-binding site
Authors: Lau Matthew W.L. , Trachman Robert J. , Ferré-D'Amaré Adrian R.
Published: December 2016

Ribozymes use divalent cations for structural stabilization, as catalytic cofactors, or both. Because of the prominent role of Ca2+ in intracellular signaling, engineered ribozymes with stringent Ca2+ selectivity would be important in biotechnology. The wild-type glmS ribozyme (glmSWT) requires glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN6P) as a catalytic cofactor. Previously, a glmS ribozyme variant with three adenosine mutations (glmSAAA) was identified, which dispenses with GlcN6P and instead uses, with little selectivity, divalent cations as cofactors for site-specific RNA cleavage. We now report a Ca2+-specific ribozyme (glmSCa) evolved from glmSAAA that is >10,000 times more active in Ca2+ than Mg2+, is inactive in even 100 mM Mg2+, and is not responsive to GlcN6P. This stringent selectivity, reminiscent of the protein nuclease from Staphylococcus, allows rapid and selective ribozyme inactivation using a Ca2+ chelator such as EGTA. Because glmSCa functions in physiologically relevant Ca2+ concentrations, it can form the basis for intracellular sensors that couple Ca2+ levels to RNA cleavage. Biochemical analysis of glmSCa reveals that it has co-opted for selective Ca2+ binding a nonspecific cation-binding site responsible for structural stabilization in glmSWT and glmSAAA. Fine-tuning of the selectivity of the cation site allows repurposing of this preexisting molecular feature.
Envelope of a Family of Curves
Authors: Гирш  , Girsh A.
Published: December 2016

A one-parameter family of algebraic curves has an

envelope line, which may be imaginary in certain cases. Jakob

Steiner was right, considering the imaginary images as creation of

analysis. In the analysis a real number is just a part of a complex

number and in certain conditions the initial real values can give an

imaginary result. But Steiner was wrong in denying the imaginary

images in geometry. The geometry, in contrast to the single analytical

space exists in several spaces: Euclidean geometry operates

only on real figures valid and does not contain imaginary figures

by definition; pseudo-Euclidean geometry operates on imaginary

images and constructs their images, taking into account its own

features. Geometric space is complex and each geometric object in

it is the complex one, consisting of the real figure (core) having the

"aura" of an imaginary extension. Thus, any analytical figure of the

plane is present at every point of the plane or by its real part or by

its imaginary extension. Would the figure’s imaginary extension be

visible or not depends on the visualization method, whether the

image has been assumed on superimposed epures – the Euclideanpseudo-Euclidean

plane, or the image has been traditionally assumed

only in the Euclidean plane. In this paper are discussed cases when

a family of algebraic curves has an envelope, and is given an answer

to a question what means cases of complete or partial absence of

the envelope for the one-parameter family of curves. Casts some

doubt on widely known categorical st