bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anatomy of Teaching Anatomy: Do Prosected Cross Sections Improve Students Understanding of Spatial and Radiological Anatomy?
Authors: Samarakoon L. B. , Vithoosan S. , Kokulan S. , Dissanayake M. M. , Anthony D. J. , Dissanayake Vajira , Jayasekara Rohan
Published: August 2016

Introduction. Cadaveric dissections and prosections have traditionally been part of undergraduate medical teaching.Materials and Methods. Hundred and fifty-nine first-year students in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, were invited to participate in the above study. Students were randomly allocated to two age and gender matched groups. Both groups were exposed to identical series of lectures regarding anatomy of the abdomen and conventional cadaveric prosections of the abdomen. The test group (n=77, 48.4%) was also exposed to cadaveric cross-sectional slices of the abdomen to which the control group (n=82, 51.6%) was blinded. At the end of the teaching session both groups were assessed by using their performance in a timed multiple choice question paper as well as ability to identify structures in abdominal CT films.Results. Scores for spatial and radiological anatomy were significantly higher among the test group when compared with the control group (P<0.05, CI 95%). Majority of the students in both control and test groups agreed that cadaveric cross section may be useful for them to understand spatial and radiological anatomy.Conclusion. Introduction of cadaveric cross-sectional prosections may help students to understand spatial and radiological anatomy better.
Carrier Formation Dynamics in Prototypical Organic Solar Cells as Investigated by Transient Absorption Spectroscopy
Authors: Moritomo Yutaka , Yonezawa Kouhei , Yasuda Takeshi
Published: August 2016

Subpicosecond transient absorption spectroscopy is a powerful tool used to clarify the exciton and carrier dynamics within the organic solar cells (OSCs). In this review article, we introduce a method to determine the absolute numbers of the excitons and carriers against delay time (t) only from the photoinduced absorption (PIA) and electrochemically induced absorption (EIA) spectra. Application of this method to rr-P3HT-, PTB7-, and SMDPPEH-based OSCs revealed common aspects of the carrier formation dynamics. First, the temporal evolution of the numbers of the excitons and carriers indicates that the late decay component of exciton does not contribute to the carrier formation process. This is probably because the late component has not enough excess energy to separate into the electron and hole across the donor/acceptor (D/A) interface. Secondly, the spectroscopy revealed that the exciton-to-carrier conversion process is insensitive to temperature. This observation, together with the fast carrier formation time in OSCs, is consistent with the hot exciton picture.
Pancreatic GIST in a Patient with Limited Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Case Report and Review of Published Cases
Authors: Phan Minh , Jones Shari , Jenkins Justin , Pant Shubham , Khawandanah Mohamad
Published: August 2016

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and usually occur in the stomach and the small intestine. The pancreas is an extremely rare primary site for GISTs and there are 25 reported cases of pancreatic GIST with most being treated with surgical resection. We describe a 52-year-old African-American female who was diagnosed with limited stage small cell carcinoma in November 2009 and treated with concurrent cisplatin/etoposide chemotherapy and radiation. She subsequently achieved complete remission. Two years later she was diagnosed with localized pancreatic GIST by endoscopic ultrasonography guided fine needle aspiration. We treated her with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib 400 mg oral dose daily as she declined surgery. Her disease is stable based on computed tomography imaging scans 40 months after diagnosis without any metastasis. To the best of our knowledge, our case is the second case of localized pancreatic GIST treated with TKI monotherapy.
Gene Expression and Proteome Analysis as Sources of Biomarkers in Basal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Lupu Mihai , Caruntu Constantin , Ghita Mihaela Adriana , Voiculescu Vlad , Voiculescu Suzana , Rosca Adrian E. , Caruntu Ana , Moraru Liliana , Popa Iris Maria , Calenic Bogdan , Greabu Maria , Costea Daniela Elena
Published: August 2016

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the world’s leading skin cancer in terms of frequency at the moment and its incidence continues to rise each year, leading to profound negative psychosocial and economic consequences. UV exposure is the most important environmental factor in the development of BCC in genetically predisposed individuals, this being reflected by the anatomical distribution of lesions mainly on sun-exposed skin areas. Early diagnosis and prompt management are of crucial importance in order to prevent local tissue destruction and subsequent disfigurement. Although various noninvasive or minimal invasive techniques have demonstrated their utility in increasing diagnostic accuracy of BCC and progress has been made in its treatment options, recurrent, aggressive, and metastatic variants of BCC still pose significant challenge for the healthcare system. Analysis of gene expression and proteomic profiling of tumor cells and of tumoral microenvironment in various tissues strongly suggests that certain molecules involved in skin cancer pathogenic pathways might represent novel predictive and prognostic biomarkers in BCC.
Two new species of Ankareus Kerremans (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Haplostethinae) from southern Africa
Authors: LEVEY BRIAN
Published: August 2016

Two new species of Ankareus, A. bellamyi sp. nov. and A. bilyi sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Haplostethinae) are described from southern Africa, and distinguished from the other species of Ankareus and Mastogenius known from Africa and Arabia.
Chaetanaphothrips kiyosumianus (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) new to India with first record of the male
Authors: TYAGI KAOMUD , KUMAR VIKAS , BHUYAN MANTU , SHANDILYA SHARADHA , CHANDA SANJOY K.
Published: August 2016

The male of Chaetanaphothrips kiyosumianus Kudô is diagnosed for the first time along with the first record of this species from India. Molecular data of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (mtCOI) from specimens of this species are also generated as additional data for future studies.
Force Irregularity Following Maximal Effort
Authors: Doucet Barbara M. , Mettler Joni A. , Griffin Lisa , Spirduso Waneen
Published: August 2016

Irregularities in force output are present throughout human movement and can impair task performance. We investigated the presence of a large force discontinuity (after-peak reduction, APR) that appeared immediately following peak in maximal effort ramp contractions performed with the thumb adductor and ankle dorsiflexor muscles in 25 young adult participants (76% males, 24% females; M age 24.4 years, SD = 7.1). The after-peak reduction displayed similar parameters in both muscle groups with comparable drops in force during the after-peak reduction minima (thumb adductor: 27.5 ± 7.5% maximal voluntary contraction; ankle dorsiflexor: 25.8 ± 6.2% maximal voluntary contraction). A trend for the presence of fewer after-peak reductions with successive ramp trials was observed, suggesting a learning effect. Further investigation should explore underlying neural mechanisms contributing to the after-peak reduction.
Way Out West
Authors: Stratton Jon , Beilharz Peter
Published: August 2016

Western Australia, like Tasmania, can slip too easily off the map, a periphery on the periphery, its significance occluded by the hegemony of the eastern states of Australia. Yet Western Australia is core to Australia’s economy, not least through mining, and through its proximity to Asia. The West is itself connected more closely to region, in both the local and transnational senses. Its tradition of secessionist thinking indicates a kind of exceptionalist culture. This is a difference which begs for explanation. This essay introduces some motifs and themes of this special issue of Thesis Eleven, entitled ‘Way Out West: Mapping Western Australia’. It locates the West in some recent historical, geographical and narrative context. It gestures toward the biography of its editors, Jon Stratton and Peter Beilharz, and their locations spread across the west and east of the continent. It calls for further scrutiny of these, and other antipodes.
Facades of diversity
Authors: Leong Susan , Kerr Thor , Cox Shaphan
Published: August 2016

This article focuses on urban space and heritage. Our aim is to understand how ordinary streets in Perth respond to urban change and how much these urban streets represent Western Australia’s heritage. The intention is to eschew the dominant branding of WA as Australia’s mining state and shift the spotlight so that in addition to the economic and material, light is also shed on the socio-cultural in the everyday and the vernacular. This project uses Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis approach to explore a contrapuntal reading of heritage that disrupts the deserving, dominant and fixed histories of High Road in Willetton and High Street in Fremantle. Amid the tides of migration, commerce, and cultures, heritage facades on High Street Fremantle appear singular and fixed, whereas multiple cultures have been extracted for sale on High Road. Superficially High Road seems diverse, but the overarching impulse across both sites is commerce – ‘Business as usual’ reigns.
Parkinson Disease and Dementia
Authors: Garcia-Ptacek Sara , Kramberger Milica G.
Published: August 2016

Dementia is a frequent complication of Parkinson disease (PD) with a yearly incidence of around 10% of patients with PD. Lewy body pathology is the most important factor in the development of Parkinson disease dementia (PDD) and there is evidence for a synergistic effect with β-amyloid. The clinical phenotype in PDD extends beyond the dysexecutive syndrome that is often present in early PD and encompasses deficits in recognition memory, attention, and visual perception. Sleep disturbances, hallucinations, neuroleptic sensitivity, and fluctuations are often present. This review provides an update on current knowledge of PDD including aspects of epidemiology, pathology, clinical presentation, management, and prognosis.
Frontotemporal Dementia
Authors: Rosness Tor Atle , Engedal Knut , Chemali Zeina
Published: August 2016

Today, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) remains one of the most common forms of early-onset dementia, that is, before the age of 65, thus posing several diagnostic challenges to clinicians since symptoms are often mistaken for psychiatric or neurological diseases causing a delay in correct diagnosis, and the majority of patients with FTD present with symptoms at ages between 50 and 60. Genetic components are established risk factors for FTD, but the influence of lifestyle, comorbidity, and environmental factors on the risk of FTD is still unclear. Approximately 40% of individuals with FTD have a family history of dementia but less than 10% have a clear autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Lack of insight is often an early clue to FTD. A tailored treatment option at an early phase can mitigate suffering and improve patients’ and caregivers’ quality of life.
Moving the Dial for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Authors: Conroy Maureen A.
Published: August 2016

For many years, the field has struggled to provide effective supports and interventions for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). Rarely are EBDs identified and treated early. Additionally, students with EBDs who require intensive supports often have a myriad of needs, which can be difficult to address. Thus, the long-term outcome for many of these students is poor. As illustrated in this special issue, the science behind our intervention practices has advanced; but these advancements have not necessarily translated into authentic school settings across the nation. To move the dial for students with EBDs, we need to be more proactive as a field by providing early identification and intervention for students with EBDs and ensure access to high quality intensive services and supports for all students across the nation.
Focus groups as temporal ecosystems for newly qualified early childhood teachers
Authors: Farquhar Sandy , Tesar Marek
Published: August 2016

This article reports on a focus group study of newly qualified early childhood teachers’ experiences during their first year of teaching. It argues that focus groups have the potential to invite dialogical engagement in ways that support teachers’ exploration of their own identities, and it emphasises the significant role group context plays in their professional support and development. A feature of the study was the way in which participants interacted with one another, with the researchers and with imagined others, resulting in a production of unique narratives that revealed both affiliation and difference. With a focus on the associational and interactional elements of the teachers’ responses, rather than the content of their responses, this article examines the use of focus groups as a method for exploring social interactions and group processes. In this study, focus groups are seen as temporal ecosystems, engendering new understandings from existing and ongoing encounters within the group. The authors argue that the resonance and cohesion of the interactions within the group are productive in responding to new teachers’ feelings of isolation, and that there is a need for more attention to the vitality of group processes in the lives of early childhood teachers.
Improved hybrid de novo genome assembly of domesticated apple (Malus x domestica)
Authors: Li Xuewei , Kui Ling , Zhang Jing , Xie Yinpeng , Wang Liping , Yan Yan , Wang Na , Xu Jidi , Li Cuiying , Wang Wen , van Nocker Steve , Dong Yang , Ma Fengwang , Guan Qingmei
Published: August 2016

Background

Domesticated apple (Malus × domestica Borkh) is a popular temperate fruit with high nutrient levels and diverse flavors. In 2012, global apple production accounted for at least one tenth of all harvested fruits. A high-quality apple genome assembly is crucial for the selection and breeding of new cultivars. Currently, a single reference genome is available for apple, assembled from 16.9 × genome coverage short reads via Sanger and 454 sequencing technologies. Although a useful resource, this assembly covers only ~89 % of the non-repetitive portion of the genome, and has a relatively short (16.7 kb) contig N50 length. These downsides make it difficult to apply this reference in transcriptive or whole-genome re-sequencing analyses.

Findings

Here we present an improved hybrid de novo genomic assembly of apple (Golden Delicious), which was obtained from 76 Gb (~102 × genome coverage) Illumina HiSeq data and 21.7 Gb (~29 × genome coverage) PacBio data. The final draft genome is approximately 632.4 Mb, representing ~ 90 % of the estimated genome. The contig N50 size is 111,619 bp, representing a 7 fold improvement. Further annotation analyses predicted 53,922 protein-coding genes and 2,765 non-coding RNA genes.

Conclusions

The new apple genome assembly will serve as a valuable resource for investigating complex apple traits at the genomic level. It is not only suitable for genome editing and gene cloning, but also for RNA-seq and whole-genome re-sequencing studies.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF GEOPHYSICS
Authors: WAIT JAMES R.
Published: August 2016

The steady-state fields of both electric and magnetic dipole elements in a conducting mediumc are discussed numerically. The dependence of the fields on the dielectric constant is noted.
Long-offset moveout for VTI using Padé approximation
Authors: Song Hanjie , Gao Yingjie , Zhang Jinhai , Yao Zhenxing
Published: August 2016

The approximation of normal moveout is essential for estimating the anisotropy parameters of the transversally isotropic media with vertical symmetry axis (VTI). We have approximated the long-offset moveout using the Padé approximation based on the higher order Taylor series coefficients for VTI media. For a given anellipticity parameter, we have the best accuracy when the numerator is one order higher than the denominator (i.e., [[Formula: see text]]); thus, we suggest using [4/3] and [7/6] orders for practical applications. A [7/6] Padé approximation can handle a much larger offset and stronger anellipticity parameter. We have further compared the relative traveltime errors between the Padé approximation and several approximations. Our method shows great superiority to most existing methods over a wide range of offset (normalized offset up to 2 or offset-to-depth ratio up to 4) and anellipticity parameter (0–0.5). The Padé approximation provides us with an attractive high-accuracy scheme with an error that is negligible within its convergence domain. This is important for reducing the error accumulation especially for deeper substructures.
Type 2 Deiodinase Disruption in Astrocytes Results in Anxiety-Depressive-Like Behavior in Male Mice
Authors: Bocco Barbara M. L. C. , Werneck-de-Castro João Pedro , Oliveira Kelen C. , Fernandes Gustavo W. , Fonseca Tatiana L. , Nascimento Bruna P. P. , McAninch Elizabeth A. , Ricci Esther , Kvárta-Papp Zsuzsanna , Fekete Csaba , Bernardi Maria Martha , Gereben Balázs , Bianco Antonio C. , Ribeiro Miriam O.
Published: August 2016

Millions of levothyroxine-treated hypothyroid patients complain of impaired cognition despite normal TSH serum levels. This could reflect abnormalities in the type 2 deiodinase (D2)-mediated T4-to-T3 conversion, given their much greater dependence on the D2 pathway for T3 production. T3 normally reaches the brain directly from the circulation or is produced locally by D2 in astrocytes. Here we report that mice with astrocyte-specific Dio2 inactivation (Astro-D2KO) have normal serum T3 but exhibit anxiety-depression-like behavior as found in open field and elevated plus maze studies and when tested for depression using the tail-suspension and the forced-swimming tests. Remarkably, 4 weeks of daily treadmill exercise sessions eliminated this phenotype. Microarray gene expression profiling of the Astro-D2KO hippocampi identified an enrichment of three gene sets related to inflammation and impoverishment of three gene sets related to mitochondrial function and response to oxidative stress. Despite normal neurogenesis, the Astro-D2KO hippocampi exhibited decreased expression of four of six known to be positively regulated genes by T3, ie, Mbp (∼43%), Mag (∼34%), Hr (∼49%), and Aldh1a1 (∼61%) and increased expression of 3 of 12 genes negatively regulated by T3, ie, Dgkg (∼17%), Syce2 (∼26%), and Col6a1 (∼3-fold) by quantitative real-time PCR. Notably, in Astro-D2KO animals, there was also a reduction in mRNA levels of genes known to be affected in classical animal models of depression, ie, Bdnf (∼18%), Ntf3 (∼43%), Nmdar (∼26%), and GR (∼20%), which were also normalized by daily exercise sessions. These findings suggest that defects in Dio2 expression in the brain could result in mood and behavioral disorders.
Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Excites GnRH Neurons in Male and Female Mice
Authors: Piet Richard , Dunckley Henry , Lee Kiho , Herbison Allan E.
Published: August 2016

A variety of external and internal factors modulate the activity of GnRH neurons to control fertility in mammals. A direct, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-mediated input to GnRH neurons originating from the suprachiasmatic nucleus is thought to relay circadian information within this network. In the present study, we examined the effects of VIP on GnRH neuron activity in male and female mice at different stages of the estrous cycle. We carried out cell-attached recordings in slices from GnRH-green fluorescent protein mice and calcium imaging in slices from a mouse line expressing the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP3 selectively in GnRH neurons. We show that 50%–80% of GnRH neurons increase their firing rate in response to bath-applied VIP (1nM–1000nM) in both male and female mice and that this is accompanied by a robust increase in intracellular calcium concentrations. This effect is mediated directly at the GnRH neuron likely through activation of high-affinity VIP receptors. Because suprachiasmatic nucleus-derived timing cues trigger the preovulatory surge only on the afternoon of proestrus in female mice, we examined the effects of VIP during the estrous cycle at different times of day. VIP responsiveness in GnRH neurons did not vary significantly in diestrous and proestrous mice before or around the time of the expected preovulatory surge. These results indicate that the majority of GnRH neurons in male and female mice express functional VIP receptors and that the effects of VIP on GnRH neurons do not alter across the estrous cycle.
Features and Outcome of Autonomous Thyroid Nodules in Children: 31 Consecutive Patients Seen at a Single Center
Authors: Ly Samantha , Frates Mary C. , Benson Carol B. , Peters Hope E. , Grant Frederick D. , Drubach Laura A. , Voss Stephan D. , Feldman Henry A. , Smith Jessica R. , Barletta Justine , Hollowell Monica , Cibas Edmund S. , Moore Francis D. , Modi Biren , Shamberger Robert C. , Huang Stephen A.
Published: August 2016

Context:

Most thyroid nodules are benign and their accurate identification can avoid unnecessary procedures. In adult patients, documentation of nodule autonomy is accepted as reassurance of benign histology and as justification to forgo biopsy or thyroidectomy. In contrast, the negative predictive value of nodule autonomy in children is uncertain. Some recent publications recommend surgical resection as initial management, but few address the degree of TSH suppression or the specific scintigraphic criteria used to diagnose autonomy.

Objective:

The objective of the study was to study the presenting features and cancer risk of children with autonomous nodules.

Design and Setting:

Medical records of all 31 children diagnosed with autonomous nodules at our center from 2003 to 2014 were retrospectively reviewed.

Patients and Results:

All children met full diagnostic criteria for autonomous nodules, defined by both autonomous 123I uptake into the nodule and the suppression of uptake in the normal thyroid parenchyma on scintigraphy performed during hypothyrotropinemia. The median age of presentation was 15 years (range 3–18 y) with a female to male ratio of 15:1. Fifty-eight percent of patients had solitary nodules and 42% had multiple nodules. The median size of each patient’s largest autonomous nodule was 39 mm (range 18–67 mm). Most of the children in this series (68%) had diagnostic biopsies and/or operative pathology of their largest autonomous nodule, which showed benign cytology or histology in all cases.

Conclusions:

In this pediatric series, the cancer rate observed in biopsied or resected autonomous nodules was 0%. Whereas larger studies are needed to confirm our findings, these results agree with earlier reports suggesting that thyroid cancer is rare in rigorously defined autonomous nodules and support that conservative management may be offered to selected children who meet strict diagnostic criteria for autonomous nodules, deferring definitive therapies until adulthood when the risks of thyroidectomy and 131I ablation are lower.
Highly productive precoat filters
Authors: Булыжев Евгений , Bulyzhev Evgeniy , Худобин Леонид , Khudobin Leonid
Published: August 2016

The performance attributes of depth filters and precoat (thin-layer) ones intended for the purification of water technological liquids and water from mechanical impurities are compared. The trends for precoat filter updating the circuit solutions of precoat lamellar filters ensuring fine cleaning of large volumes and consumptions of water liquids are revealed. The design of a prototype gravity lamellar filter of high efficiency is shown.
Accuracy increase in cog-wheel finishing
Authors: Клепиков В. , Klepikov V. , Черепахин Александр , Cherepakhin Aleksandr
Published: August 2016

One of the most problem areas in the technological process of cog-wheel machining is a succession of roughing (by a hob) and finishing (by shaving). In the paper there are shown the results of comparative experimental researches of a succession heredity “milling by a hob –shaving) at working with an uncorrelated and correlated shaver. The shaver correction was carried out according to the results of the analysis of toothing and accuracy parameters (profile error) of a milling wheel.
Genezis of Self-Government
Authors: Латфуллин  , Latfullin Gennadiy
Published: August 2016

The self-government today is a qualitatively new phenomenon, which preserved just the old name in the new

conditions of privatization of property and privatization of enterprises, the rapid development of its private

form, as relevant part of measures for transition to market relations. Self-government as a phenomenon of

social life has always been, what stages of development the society was. Externally, self-governing relations

were presented in different forms, which suggest that in the differences in the forms it is necessary to see

the uniformity of nature. In different nations in different countries, and in the same nation in different historical

periods, there were different social roles of subjects and objects of management and government, and their

social, ethical and legal status, and, therefore, relations with state authorities and management.
The Genesis of a New Model of Regional Development Management
Authors: Никитин  , Nikitin A.
Published: August 2016

The article represents the analysis of formulation and program of assignments of the President of the

Russian Federation of 31 January 2013 in the field of regional development management.
Interpretation of Law: Classics, Modern and Postmodern
Authors: Лазарев Валерий , Lazaryev Valyeriy
Published: August 2016

The article expresses the views on the controversial attitudes relating to the interpretation of law at different stages of development of science in general and legal science in particular. Tracing the respective changes, the author comes to the conclusion that classics was based on the rule of law; art Nouveau was aimed to destroy the rule of law; postmodern — on departure from reality. In the postmodern world-both legislator, and his will — are all the essence of fiction. Classical science was concerned to establish the objective truth; modernism believes all truth is relative; the postmodern — denies the establishment of the truth. The author suggests the answer to the question as to where the perspectives of the science lie should be sought in the realm of conjunction of natural and humanitarian sciences. And in the context of such cognitive-information theory the author draws the attention to importance of modern scientific trend-memetics and the use thereof in the field of jurisprudence. As a subtype of memetics the author suggests to introduce the notion of lawmemetics to be employed to study the two types of the mems: the entity of legal reality and the entity of psychological reality. The substantial aspect memetics is called to be the resumption and poliform-like repetition of what was originally coded as the mem information and was designed to secure its values as applied to the new circumstances of place and time.
Equal to the Constitution: the Sources of Law of Highest Legal Force in the Russian Federation
Authors: Пресняков Михаил , Pryesnyakov Mikhail
Published: August 2016

In article the question of validity of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and some other sources of the right which can also possess the highest validity is considered. In particular the author comes to a conclusion that legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation possess the highest validity and in total with the constitutional provisions represent the actual Constitution. On the other hand, both laws on amendments to the Constitution, and the universally recognized norms of international law on the validity stand below constitutional precepts of law. Acts of the Constitutional Assembly of the Russian Federation may in future be qualified as having the highest judicial effect. Such acts may abolish or change any provision of the present Constitution. At the same time the universally recognized norms of international law and the laws of the Russian Federation regulating amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation as independent juridical acts and sources of constitutional law are inferior as compared with the constitutional legal norms.
Some Aspects of Correlation between Definitions of Constitutional Delict and Crimе
Authors: Ливадная Юлия , Livadnaya Yuliya
Published: August 2016

The present article deals with the qualification of the offences problem in case of specific legal norms of constitutional and criminal law conjunction along with the place of constitutional delicts in contemporary system of offences. Having analyzed the situations relating to constitutional provisions in other civilized countries the author has identified common indicia for definition of constitutional delict and crime (social danger, wrongfulness, culpability and punishability). It is concluded that there is an established interrelation of these law violations conditioned that crime could be the cornerstone of constitutional delict. Author propose the criteria for separation of these definitions by reference to social danger level of above named offences together with special status of constitutional delict actor and fixed sequence of constitutional and criminal incurrence of liability for such person. In view of fact that constitutional delict presents the highest level of social danger as compared with crimes and other types of offences, the author suggests to adopt the approach according to which the structure of contemporary system of offences that covers constitutional delicts as a hierarchical subsystem should be based with regard to underlying constitutional delict (crime, administrative offence, disciplinary case or civil tort); crimes with regard to broad understanding of their wrongfulness and minor offences (or other types of offences).
Juridical Persons and Subjects of Public Law: in Legal Balance Search
Authors: Яковлев Вениамин , YAkovlyev Vyeniamin , Талапина Эльвира , Talapina Elvira
Published: August 2016

The joint position of civil and administrative law specialists concerning an opportunity and need to obtain by public law subjects of the juridical person status is presented in this article. Public entity is a civil law subject, but it is presented by its public bodies. Considering features of public authorities as juridical person, authors draw the conclusion about a secondary role of a civil status. The article suggests new classification of administrative law subjects for public and private subjects depending on their role in public administration. The category of the juridical person of public law could be useful to settle the problem of the state “double face” in private relations. At the same time the authors call attention to various and ambiguous prospects of the Russian legislation development in this concept should be employed. The authors have formulated the principle of correct adoption according to which traditional civil concepts have to be accepted by public law in their initial understanding, without distortions, and vice versa.
Molecular models of human visual pigments: insight into the atomic bases of spectral tuning
Authors: Centola Francesca , Polticelli Fabio
Published: August 2016

The cycle of vision is a chain of biochemical reactions that occur after exposure of the pigments to the light. The known mechanisms of the transduction of the light pulse derive mainly from studies on bovine rhodopsin. The objective of this work is to construct molecular models of human rhodopsin and opsins, for which three-dimensional structures are not available, to analyze the retinal environment and identify the similarities and differences that characterize the human visual pigments. One of the main results of this work is the identification of Glu102 as the probable second counterion of the Schiff base in M opsin (green pigments) and L opsin (red pigments). Further, the analysis of the molecular models allows uncovering the molecular bases of the different absorption maxima of M and L opsins with respect to rhodopsin and S opsin. These differences appear to be due to both an increase in the polarity of the retinal environment and specific electrostatic interactions, which determine a reorganization of the electronic distribution of retinal by selectively stabilizing one of the two resonance forms.
Σχολαστικός. Remarques sur le sens du terme à Byzance (IVe–XVe siècles)
Authors: Loukaki Marina
Published: August 2016

The Greek word scholastikos as a human attribute appears continuously from classical antiquity to modern times. However, over the centuries, the term took various nuances, which are associated with respective activities, the participation in public life and the social status of the persons qualified as scholastikoi. In the article, starting with Axel Claus’ conclusions in his doctoral thesis (Cologne 1965) as well as the exploitation of new evidences concludes that from the 3rd until the 7th century AD the number of people known as scholastikoi is particularly high. These people were well educated with rhetoric and legal knowledge. The term did not designate a specific profession, though often during this period a scholastikos gathered the characteristics of a jurist in today’s sense; he was an advocate, legal advisor, teacher of law, judge, notary, etc. Although he was not directly related to the education system as a teacher or professor of rhetoric, occasionally a scholastikos could have been, under certain circumstances, a private teacher of grammar (grammarian). During the middle and late Byzantine period, the attribute scholastikos for a person is found in very few and isolated cases (Arethas’ letters to Niketas David Paphlagon, Ecloga privata aucta, Alexiad, Nikephoros Gregoras to Theodoros Metochites and Thomas Magistros, Life of saint Athanasios of Meteora). It is clear that scholastikos, as a human type with the characteristics outlined above, did not disappear, but the term was no longer used in this context. According to the rare available evidence, most of the authors used the term in its ancient Greek meaning, associating it mainly with education, teachers and letters in general.
Il Manoscritto Plut. 86.14 della Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana di Firenze
Authors: Rapisarda Stefano , Calcagno Agata
Published: August 2016

The manuscript Plut. 86.14 displays an uncommon variety of geomantical texts in medieval Greek.We propose to challenge the traditional idea of the ‘derivation’ of Greek geomancy from the Arabic one, and to show the existence of an ‘original’ Greek tradition, quite divergent from the Arabic one for what concerns both the technical lexicon and the procedures of interrogation.
Teaching Greek grammar in 11th-century Constantinople: Michael Psellus on the Greek ‘dialects’
Authors: Van Rooy Raf
Published: August 2016

In this paper, I aim at sketching the place of the Ancient Greek literary dialects within grammar in the 11th-century Byzantine curriculum, for which a didactic grammatical poem, composed by the polymath Michael Psellus (ca. 1018-ca. 1080), is a unique and understudied source (viz. Poemata, 6). I do so by offering, together with a first English translation of the relevant verses, a close analysis of part of the poem and its sources. This enables us to assess how Psellus pictured the relationship of the κοινή (koinè) with the four other canonical dialects. I likewise argue that, although Psellus does not offer a definition of the word διάλεκτος (dialektos), his poem nevertheless allows us to reconstruct his conception of it to a certain extent. This contribution also seeks to contextualize Psellus’ views against the backdrop of the Hellenistic and Byzantine tradition of Greek dialect studies.
Der Zusammenhang von Urbanität und Literatur bei Dante
Authors: Klinkert Thomas
Published: August 2016

Riassunto

Lo scopo di questo contributo è di analizzare il rapporto tra urbanità e letteratura sulla base dell’esempio di Dante. Il punto di partenza dell’argomentazione è il celebre affresco di Domenico di Michelino (1465), che raffigura la Commedia quale atto di comunicazione rivolto a Firenze, suo destinatario privilegiato. Quest’interpretazione del pittore tocca il cuore dell’opera dantesca, come si cerca di mostrare tramite l’analisi di due canti (Inf. VI e Inf. X). Risulta da quest’analisi che la Commedia può essere considerata il correlato testuale di un ordine del sapere che nasce nell’ambito dello sviluppo sociale, culturale e politico della città di Firenze dei secoli XIII e XIV. All’interno della Commedia si manifestano delle contraddizioni fondamentali. Da una parte, infatti, Dante critica esplicitamente e radicalmente la mentalità affaristica dei fiorentini e le loro discordie politiche; ma dall’altra parte egli è consapevole di dover molto al milieu innovativo di questa città in quanto poeta e pensatore filosofico. Inoltre si cerca di mostrare che il testo dantesco in parte presuppone un lettore che conosca bene dall’interno la situazione di Firenze. Così la dimensione urbana è integrata nella Commedia non solo a livello tematico, ma soprattutto a livello strutturale.
The use of objective oriented project planning tools for nanosafety and health concerns: a case study in nanomedicine research project
Authors: Nejadmoghaddam Mohammad-Reza , Babamahmoodi Abdolreza , Minai-Tehrani Arash , Zarnani Amir-Hassan , Dinarvand Rassoul
Published: August 2016

Potential human health and environmental risks associated with nanoscience research projects and their deliverables, termed nanosafety, is one of the important issues for translating research findings into commercially viable products. This paper examined the applicability of project management tools to address nanosafety in an efficient manner. Using objectives oriented project planning (OOPP) we describe a new integrated content of the problem tree, the result tree, and the logical framework approach (LFA), by modeling our nanomedicine research project entitled “Nanomedicine preparation based on antibody drug conjugate (ADC)” as a case study. As a main result of the case study, we demonstrated an LFA matrix that highlights the need to deal with nanosafety as an activity of the research project. Consequently, the activity can lead to the output, standing operating procedure (SOP), for managing the project waste disposals and its deliverables side effects. In general, such output can be concluded as an important output for all nanoscience research projects to avoid underestimating risks for their nano-objects. Moreover, this article is written in the hope of providing an easy-to-understand template of project management tools for novice nanomedicine researchers who aim to apply OOPP in the design of their research projects.
Estimation of the Overall Treatment Effect in the Presence of Interference in Cluster-Randomized Trials of Infectious Disease Prevention
Authors: Carnegie Nicole Bohme , Wang Rui , De Gruttola Victor
Published: August 2016

An issue that remains challenging in the field of causal inference is how to relax the assumption of no interference between units. Interference occurs when the treatment of one unit can affect the outcome of another, a situation which is likely to arise with outcomes that may depend on social interactions, such as occurrence of infectious disease. Existing methods to accommodate interference largely depend upon an assumption of “partial interference” – interference only within identifiable groups but not among them. There remains a considerable need for development of methods that allow further relaxation of the no-interference assumption. This paper focuses on an estimand that is the difference in the outcome that one would observe if the treatment were provided to all clusters compared to that outcome if treatment were provided to none – referred as the overall treatment effect. In trials of infectious disease prevention, the randomized treatment effect estimate will be attenuated relative to this overall treatment effect if a fraction of the exposures in the treatment clusters come from individuals who are outside these clusters. This source of interference – contacts sufficient for transmission that are with treated clusters – is potentially measurable. In this manuscript, we leverage epidemic models to infer the way in which a given level of interference affects the incidence of infection in clusters. This leads naturally to an estimator of the overall treatment effect that is easily implemented using existing software.
Complementary and alternative medicine for rheumatic diseases
Authors: Teng Sophia
Published: August 2016

The use of complementary and alternative medicine is not uncommonly encountered in our patients. This manuscript reviewed the latest evidence on other modalities in treating rheumatic diseases. Treatments that are found to be helpful for rheumatoid arthritis include herbs, fish oil, and acupuncture. Fish oil, vitamin D, N-acetylcysteine, and cognitive behavior treatments are helpful for systemic lupus erythematosus. Hydrotherapy and massage are potentially beneficial for fibromyalgia patients. Diet supplement is not found to be beneficial for osteoarthritis. CAM modalities will need further studies.
Semiparametric Regression Estimation for Recurrent Event Data with Errors in Covariates under Informative Censoring
Authors: Yu Hsiang , Cheng Yu-Jen , Wang Ching-Yun
Published: August 2016

Recurrent event data arise frequently in many longitudinal follow-up studies. Hence, evaluating covariate effects on the rates of occurrence of such events is commonly of interest. Examples include repeated hospitalizations, recurrent infections of HIV, and tumor recurrences. In this article, we consider semiparametric regression methods for the occurrence rate function of recurrent events when the covariates may be measured with errors. In contrast to the existing works, in our case the conventional assumption of independent censoring is violated since the recurrent event process is interrupted by some correlated events, which is called informative drop-out. Further, some covariates may be measured with errors. To accommodate for both informative censoring and measurement error, the occurrence of recurrent events is modelled through an unspecified frailty distribution and accompanied with a classical measurement error model. We propose two corrected approaches based on different ideas, and we show that they are numerically identical when estimating the regression parameters. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators are established, and the finite sample performance is examined via simulations. The proposed methods are applied to the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer trial for assessing the effect of the plasma selenium treatment on the recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma.
Die Interpretation des p-Wertes – Grundsätzliche Missverständnisse
Authors: Hirschauer Norbert , Mußhoff Oliver , Grüner Sven , Frey Ulrich , Theesfeld Insa , Wagner Peter
Published: August 2016

Der p-Wert wird vielfach als Goldstandard für Inferenzschlüsse angesehen. Zur Validierung statistischer Zusammenhänge hat sich die Konvention herausgebildet, möglichst geringe p-Werte einzufordern und bei Werten unterhalb gewisser Schwellen (z. B. 0,05) von statistisch signifikanten Ergebnissen zu sprechen. Häufig wird der p-Wert auch als Irrtumswahrscheinlichkeit bezeichnet. Beide Begriffe sind problematisch, da sie Missverständnissen Vorschub leisten. Hinzu kommt, dass das sog. p-hacking, d. h. die gezielte Suche nach Auswertungen, die zu statistisch signifikanten Ergebnissen führen, Verzerrungen hervorrufen und die Rate falscher Entdeckungen (false discovery rate) erhöhen kann. Fehlinterpretationen des p-Wertes und auswertungsbedingte Verzerrungen wurden über die Jahrzehnte hinweg immer wieder kritisch diskutiert. In der empirischen Forschung scheinen sie aber persistent zu sein und in den letzten Jahren wurde die p-Wert-Debatte wegen der Nicht-Reproduzierbarkeit vieler Studien zunehmend intensiv geführt. Angesichts der über die Disziplinen verstreuten und oft auf Einzelaspekte abzielenden Literatur zur p-Wert-Problematik beschreibt dieser Methodenkommentar systematisch die wichtigsten Probleme und diskutiert die entsprechenden Lösungsvorschläge.
Analyzing the Full BINMA Time Series Process Using a Robust GQL Approach
Authors: Khan Naushad Mamode , Sunecher Yuvraj , Jowaheer Vandna
Published: August 2016

We investigate a new bivariate-integer valued moving average time series process where the innovation series follow the bivariate Poisson assumption under stationary moments and constant cross-correlations. Furthermore, due to the complication involved in specifying the joint likelihood function, this paper considers a robust generalized quasi-likelihood approach to estimate the mean, serial and dependence parameters. Unlike previous estimation techniques such as the Generalized Least Squares, this estimation approach here involves a two-step Newton-Raphson iterative procedure where in the first step, the serial and cross correlations are estimated while in the second step, these dependence estimates are used to compute iteratively the vector of regression coefficients. The consistency of the estimates under this approach is checked through several simulation experiments under different combinations of low and high serial and cross-correlations.
Zirkulierende Nukleinsäuren – ein neues Universum in der laboratoriumsmedizinischen Diagnostik
Authors: Neumaier Michael
Published: August 2016

Zirkulierende zell-freie Nukleinsäuren (cfNA, meist als cfDNA bezeichnet) werden zunehmend als eine neue Klasse von diagnostischen Markern wahrgenommen. DNA, mRNA und miRNA zirkulieren weniger in „nackter Form“, sondern sind verpackt und entgehen so einem schnellen Abbau im peripheren Blut. Zusammen mit der Tatsache, dass cfNA in verschiedenen wichtigen Erkrankungen sowohl qualitativ als auch quantitativ verändert sind, schafft dies ein völlig neues Universum für die labormedizinische Diagnostik. Erste Anwendungen wie z.B. die sensitive und spezifische Detektion von tumor-spezifischen Mutationen im Plasma erobern die Arena der labordiagnostischen Krankenversorgung und erlauben den Nachweis therapeutisch relevanter molekulargenetischer Tumorprofile aus dem Blut für die frühe Erkennung von Rezidiv oder Therapieversagen. Es bleiben viele Fragen zu klären, darunter die Kreuzvalidierung mit etablierten und wichtigen Parametern der Labormedizin. Auch die Einordnung präanalytischer Aspekte, die metrologische Fragen von Richtigkeit und Präzision, etc. sind für die Einordnung von analytischer und medizinischer Qualität dringend erforderlich. Nicht zuletzt eröffnen die frei zirkulierenden Nukleinsäuren eine völlig neue Biologie von Signalen, die in Gesundheit und Krankheit zwischen Zellen und Organen durch unseren Körper reisen. Es wird eine große wissenschaftliche Herausforderung sein, die biochemischen und pathobiochemischen Implikationen zu verstehen. Für Entwicklung und Implementation dieses neuen diagnostischen Felds ist signifikant, dass die Klinische Chemie die erforderlichen Expertisen sowie das komplementierende Spektrum etablierter Biomarker bereithält, um eine ordentliche Transition des Einsatzes zirkulierender Nukleinsäuren in die Diagnostik zu gewährleisten. Dies wird vorhersehbar das Spektrum der Labormedizin komplementieren, um die therapeutische Medizin bei ihren Entscheidungen in der Patientenbehandlung zu unterstützen.