bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic effect of hydrogen injected subcutaneously on onion poisoned dogs
Authors: Zhao Jinghua , Zhang Ming , Li Yue , Zhang Zhiheng , Chen Mingzi , Liu Tao , Zhang Jiantao , Shan Anshan
Published: December 2017

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of hydrogen on the therapy of onion poisoned dogs.

Material and Methods: A total of 16 adult beagle dogs were divided into two groups (control and hydrogen) and all were fed dehydrated onion powder at the dose of 10 g/kg for three days. The dogs of the experimental group were given subcutaneous injection of 0.2 mL/kg of hydrogen for 12 days after making the poisoned model successful. Blood samples were collected before feeding onions, one day before injecting hydrogen, and 2 h after the injection of hydrogen on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12. Control dogs were not treated with hydrogen.

Results: The levels of leukocyte production, anaemia, red blood cell degeneration which was reflected by the values of Heinz body count, haemolytic ratio, and oxidative products in hydrogen treated group were lower than in control dogs on some days. The capacity of medullary haematopoiesis that was based on reticulocyte counts, and the antioxidation in hydrogen group were higher compared with control group. However, the differences in renal function were not obvious in both groups.

Conclusion: Accordingly, it was concluded that subcutaneous injection of hydrogen could alleviate the symptoms in onion poisoned dogs.
Detection of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in biological samples by SYBR Green I and TaqMan probe-based real-time PCRs
Authors: Kędrak-Jabłońska Agnieszka , Budniak Sylwia , Krupa Marek , Szczawińska Anna , Reksa Monika , Szulowski Krzysztof , Iwaniak Wojciech
Published: December 2017

Introduction: The aim of the study was the application and comparison of real-time PCR methods based on the fluorescence of SYBR Green I intercalating dye and TaqMan probes for the detection of the 23S rDNA gene of Listeria spp. and the hlyA gene of Listeria monocytogenes in biological samples of the liver, brain, and blood.

Material and Methods: Five strains of L. monocytogenes and single strains of each species L. ivanovii, L. innocua, L. grayi, L. welshimeri, and L. seeligeri were used for the experiments. Additionally, five strains of other species of bacteria were used for evaluation of the specificity of tests. In the first stage of the study SYBR Green I real-time PCRs, one allowing detection of the 23S rDNA gene and two based on the amplification the hlyA gene, were performed. In the next part, three TaqMan probe-based real-time PCRs allowing confirmation of belonging to Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes were conducted.

Results: The observation of amplification curves in real-time PCRs enabled the detection of both genes. A high regression coefficient of 0.99 was found for all reactions. Specific amplification products were obtained for the 23S rDNA and hlyA genes which confirm their belonging to Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes, respectively. Other microbial species did not reveal real-time PCR products.

Conclusion: Both real-time PCR methods for the detection of Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes in biological samples demonstrated a significant sensitivity and high specificity.
Occurrence of ochratoxin A in animal tissues and feeds in Poland in 2014–2016
Authors: Pietruszka Katarzyna , Piątkowska Marta , Jedziniak Piotr
Published: December 2017

Introduction: Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic metabolite mainly produced by Aspergillus spp. and Penicillum spp. fungi. Research on the contamination of cereals, complete feeds, and tissues with this mycotoxin has indicated that it can be a toxicological problem impacting animal health and food safety in temperate climes. OTA contamination mainly besets the global pig industry, necessitating the monitoring of feeds and animal tissues. The aim of the study was to present the results of the official monitoring of OTA in animal tissues and feeds in Poland in 2014–2016 and determine the possible correlation between the presence of OTA in different types of samples.

Material and Methods: The presence of ochratoxin A was determined using accepted procedures based on liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after immunoaffinity column clean-up. Determination of OTA was afforded in the range of 0.3 μg/kg to 300 μg/kg in complete feeds and from 0.2 μg/kg to 150 μg/kg in the kidneys, liver, and muscles.

Results: Over the three year span, about 23.5% of the animal tissues samples were contaminated by ochratoxin A. In the 2014 survey, 10% of the sample tissues contained 5–10 μg/kg (only one sample above 10 μg/kg), and in 2015 and 2016, 24% of samples showed levels above the limit of quantification 0.2 μg/kg, while none of the samples exceeded the established provisional action level of 5 μg/kg for animal tissues. The animal feed analysis showed that 9% was contaminated with ochratoxin A above the limit of quantification of 0.3μg/kg. In 2% of feed samples the OTA concentration was greater than 50 μg/kg.

Conclusion: The results confirm the appropriacy of OTA contamination monitoring and help to increase food safety.
Poultry in Poland as Chlamydiaceae carrier
Authors: Szymańska-Czerwińska Monika , Mitura Agata , Zaręba Kinga , Schnee Christiane , Koncicki Andrzej , Niemczuk Krzysztof
Published: December 2017

Introduction: The study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of Chlamydia spp. in poultry in Poland and estimate possible transmission to humans.

Material and Methods: Molecular diagnostic methods followed by sequencing and strain isolation were used on cloacal/faecal swabs collected from 182 apparently healthy poultry flocks including chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. Serum samples obtained from people exposed (study group) and non-exposed (control group) to birds were tested by complement fixation test to acquire data on Chlamydia spp. antibody level.

Results: Overall, 15.9% of the tested flocks were Chlamydiaceae-positive and three Chlamydia spp. were identified. Predominant chlamydial agent found was C. gallinacea occurring in 65.5% of all positive poultry flocks and in 73.0% of positive chicken flocks. The sequences from four chicken flocks were assigned to C. abortus, whereas C. psittaci was confirmed in one duck and one goose flock. The analysis of ompA variable domains revealed at least nine genetic variants of C. gallinacea. Chlamydial antibodies were detected in 19.2% of human serum samples in the study group in comparison with 10.8% in the controls.

Conclusion: The obtained results confirm that chlamydiae are common among chicken flocks in Poland with C. gallinacea as a dominant species. Moreover, the presence of C. abortus in chickens is reported here for the first time. Further investigation should focus on possible zoonotic transmission of C. gallinacea and C. abortus as well as potential pathogenic effects on birds’ health and poultry production.
The Relationship Between the Intellectual Capital Disclosure and Cost of Debt Capital – A Case of Slovenian Private Audited Organisations
Authors: Stropnik Neca , Korošec Bojana , Tominc Polona
Published: December 2017

The existing empirical research into the association between intellectual capital disclosures by organisations and the cost of debt is scarce or is based solely on the samples of the (large) listed organisations. Since agency issues between management/owners and lenders exist also in (large) private organisations whose financing is greatly dependent on loans and whose audited annual reports can be a source of additional information for external users, we performed an empirical research to find the answer to the question whether the level of intellectual capital disclosure (as a whole and of its sub-categories) of organisations is associated with the cost of their debt capital. Our study was performed on a sample of private Slovenian organisations with audited annual reports. The results of our research did not reveal that lenders would take into account intellectual capital disclosures by Slovenian private audited organisations as the information about the potential for their future cash flows when deciding on the cost of debt issued to these organisations.
Audits as a Vaccine or Just Aspirin?
Authors: Jagrič Timotej , Lešnik Tomaž
Published: December 2017

This paper examines the impact of audits on voluntary tax compliance in the area of value added tax in Slovenia. The analyses argues that audited taxpayers with additional tax assessments as the result of an audit display a higher level of tax compliance within the year of the audit as within the year before audit, while audited taxpayers with no irregularities on the basis of an audit do not change their behavior significantly within the same period. However, regarding the longterm effect, the results reveal the possibility of worsening tax compliance with respect to audits where an additional tax assessment was imposed and where no irregularities were discovered during an audit.
Individual’s Resistance Regarding BPM Initiative: Case Study of the Insurance Company
Authors: Pejić Bach Mirjana , Bosilj Vukšić Vesna , Suša Vugec Dalia
Published: December 2017

Though the individual’s resistance is very often considered a significant barrier to BPM success, the literature on that topic is quite scarce. With the aim to shed light on this topic, we have conducted research of a Croatian insurance company. We examined the impact of individual’s resistance regarding BPM initiative using the theory of reasoned action. Structural equation model was developed using the data collected by the survey among company employees. The results indicate that subjective norms are positively related to the individual’s resistance regarding BPM initiative, while positive initial belief regarding BPM initiative tends to decrease the probability of resistance to change.
Is there Something as an Ex-Yugoslavian HRM Model? – Sticking to the Socialist Heritage or Converging With Neoliberal Practices
Authors: Pološki Vokić Nina , Kohont Andrej , Slavić Agneš
Published: December 2017

The question of this paper is whether there is an ex-Yugoslavia HRM model drawing upon Western imported features fused with ethno open-socialistic and self-management elements? In the empirical part Cranet data for 341 companies from Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia are analysed. Main characteristics of HRM systems in ex-Yugoslavia are: the HRM strategic partner role is still neglected, the mind-set of taking care for everybody is omnipresent, the value of performance management is not fully entrusted, the full-time employment still predominates, and the trade unions retained their barging power. Although 30 indicators revealed specifics of ex-Yugoslavia HRM model, the theorized hybrid HRM system was not disclosed.
Determinants of Subjective Emotional Well-Being and Self-Determination of Employees: Slovene Case
Authors: Šarotar Žižek Simona , Mulej Matjaž , Milfelner Borut
Published: December 2017

Work is a crucial part of human life. One should attain employees’ well-being (WB) to support organisational success. In the first phase, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to assess the dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the reflective latent constructs. In the second phase, structural equation modelling was performed to test the research hypotheses. By structural equation modelling we found that physical health (PH) statistically significant negatively affects subjective emotional well-being (SEWB). Positive PH and SEWB were negatively connected. Emotional intelligence (EI) has a statistically significant impact on SEWB. The last relationship in the model—between spiritual intelligence (SI) and self-determination (SD)—was negative, but statistically significant. Therefore, human resource management’s activities (HRM) must concentrate on optimal physical/mental health, emotional (EI) and spiritual (SI) intelligence. Employees’ good health supports their emotional WB. Their emotional balance, based on their EI, enhances their subjective emotional WB and SD. The employees ’SI affects their SD.
Dimensions of Decision-Making Process Quality and Company Performance: A Study of Top Managers in Slovenia
Authors: Grušovnik Damjan , Kavkler Alenka , Uršič Duško
Published: December 2017

This paper investigates the relationship between the dimensions of the decisionmaking process quality and company performance of top managers’ in Slovenia. We found out that companies whose managers exhibit an above-average dimension of openness of spirit in the quality of the decision making process, on average, have a higher stance on foreign markets as companies in which managers show a below-average open spirit. For the managers who work in companies that are present in foreign markets, we could confirm that there is a low/weak correlation between the dimension of effort of the decision-making process quality and the number of employees in a company.
The effects of royal jelly on the oxidant-antioxidant system in rats with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced breast cancer
Authors: Malkoç Meltem , Us Altay Diler , Alver Ahmet , Ersöz Şafak , Şen Tuğba Mazlum , Kural Birgül Vanizor , Uydu Hüseyin Avni
Published: December 2017

Objectives

To determine the effect of royal jelly (RJ) on the oxidant-antioxidant balance in rats with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) induced breast cancer and to compare this with the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel.

Material and methods

Fifty-six female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into five groups. Except control group (n=8, Group I) others received MNU (50 mg/kg, a single dose, i.p.) to develop breast cancer: Group II (n=8) untreated, Group III (n=7) treated with paclitaxel (15 mg/kg/week, 3 times, i.p.), Group IV (n=7) with RJ (by oral gavage, 100 mg/kg/day, for 30 days), and Group V (n=7), with paclitaxel+RJ. At the end of 30 days, histopathological and biochemical parameters were evaluated in breast tissues.

Results

Levels of protein carbonyl (PC) and 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were higher in Group V than in Group II while malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were lower in groups IV and V compared to Group II (p<0.05). Levels of catalase (CAT) in Group V and glutathione (GSH) in Group III were higher than Group II (p<0.05). Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels did not significantly different. Decreasing effect of RJ on CA15-3 levels was relevant to histopathological results.

Conclusion

Although RJ (with or without paclitaxel) had increasing effect of antioxidant status it was insufficient to reduce oxidative stress in breast cancer.
Large-Scale Combination Direct Shear/Simple Shear Device for Tire-Derived Aggregate
Authors: Fox Patrick J. , Thielmann Stuart S. , Sanders Michael J. , Latham Christopher , Ghaaowd Ismaail , McCartney John S.
Published: December 2017

This paper describes a novel large-scale device capable of performing both direct shear and simple shear tests to evaluate shear deformation and strength properties of Type B tire-derived aggregate (TDA). The device consists of stacked tubular steel members that can be locked as upper and lower rigid sections to displace relative to one another in direct shear or pinned at the ends to translate in simple shear. For both configurations, the TDA specimen has a length of 3,048 mm, a width of 1,220 mm, and an initial height up to 1,830 mm. The upper rigid section of the device can also be used to conduct interface direct shear tests. Vertical stress is applied to the top surface of the specimen using deadweights and horizontal shearing force is applied using two hydraulic actuators in displacement-control mode. Typical results from internal direct shear, concrete interface direct shear, and cyclic simple shear tests are presented. In direct shear mode, the device allows for mobilization of peak shear strength and, in simple shear mode, for evaluation of shear stiffness and damping ratio under large strain conditions for TDA with large particle size.
Experimental Study on the Impact Properties of Concrete Bridge Pier Reinforced with Stainless Steel Rebar
Authors: Zhang Guoxue , Chen Ziqing , Lu Juan , Xu Shixiang , Zhou Xiwu
Published: December 2017

In this study, in order to examine the impact properties of a stainless steel reinforced concrete bridge pier under the conditions of horizontal impact load effects, a multifunction ultrahigh heavy drop hammer impact test system was utilized. The stainless steel reinforced concrete bridge piers had different impact energies, and the impact force time-history, displacement time-history, and strain time-history curves, as well as the crack developing state, were obtained during the testing. The test results showed that the peak values of the impact force, strain, and displacement increased with the increase of the impact energy under the impact load, and the fluctuation frequency also increased. The crack development was mainly concentrated in the lower frontal section of the bridge pier, as well as the middle and lower sections of the back of the bridge pier.
Theoretical Prediction of Forming Limit Diagrams for B1500HS Steel at Elevated Temperature Based on Modified Arrhenius and M–K Models
Authors: Hou Hongli , Li Huiping , He Lianfang
Published: December 2017

Boron steel B1500HS deforms at elevated temperature under the complete austenite state, and it accords with the 0-angle necking type, irrespective of the strain state on the left- or right-hand side of the forming limit diagram (FLD), which is in accordance with the M–K simplified model. However, the constitutive equation significantly affects the prediction of the FLD of the sheet metal. In this study, the modified Arrhenius model, including the deformation activation energy and the deformation temperature, describing the hot deformation of the sample with austenitic microstructure combined with the Logan–Hosford yield criterion and the Von Mises yield criterion, was used to predict the forming limits of boron steel B1500HS. The theoretical calculation of the forming limits for B1500HS steel at elevated temperature and under different conditions was carried out, and the FLD predicted by the theoretical calculation was found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. It was concluded that with decrease in the initial inhomogeneity of the material, the hot forming limit curves for B1500HS steel at elevated temperature decreased, and the initial inhomogeneity coefficient f0 = 0.997 was better for the accurate prediction of the hot forming limits of boron steel. With increasing forming temperature, the forming limit curves calculated for B1500HS steel at elevated temperature increased. With increasing mean strain rate, the forming limit curves of B1500HS steel at elevated temperature increased slightly.
Sequencing of Linkage Region on Chromosome 12p11 Identifies PKP2 as a Candidate Gene for Left Ventricular Mass in Dominican Families
Authors: Dueker Nicole D , Guo Shengru , Beecham Ashley , Wang Liyong , Blanton Susan H , Di Tullio Marco R , Rundek Tatjana , Sacco Ralph L
Published: December 2017

Increased left ventricular mass (LVM) is an intermediate phenotype for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and a predictor of stroke. Using families from the Dominican Republic, we have previously shown LVM to be heritable and found evidence for linkage to chromosome 12p11. Our current study aimed to further characterize the QTL by sequencing the 1 LOD unit down region in 10 families from the Dominican Republic with evidence for linkage to LVM. Within this region, we tested 5477 common variants [CVs; minor allele frequency (MAF) ≥5%] using the Quantitative Transmission-Disequilibrium Test (QTDT). Gene-based analyses were performed to test rare variants (RVs; MAF < 5%) in 181 genes using the family-based sequence kernel association test. A sample of 618 unrelated Dominicans from the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) and 12 Dominican families with Exome Array data were used for replication analyses. The most strongly associated CV with evidence for replication was rs1046116 (Discovery families P = 9.0 × 10−4; NOMAS P = 0.03; replication families P = 0.46), a missense variant in PKP2. In nonsynonymous RV analyses, PKP2 was one of the most strongly associated genes (P = 0.05) with suggestive evidence for replication in NOMAS (P = 0.05). PKP2 encodes the plakophilin 2 protein and is a desmosomal gene implicated in arrythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and recently in arrhythmogenic left ventricular cardiomyopathy, which makes PKP2 an excellent candidate gene for LVM. In conclusion, sequencing of our previously reported QTL identified common and rare variants within PKP2 to be associated with LVM. Future studies are necessary to elucidate the role these variants play in influencing LVM.
PENGGUNAAN TWO-TIER MULTIPLE CHOICE DIAGNOSTIC TEST DISERTAI CRI UNTUK MENGANALISIS MISKONSEPSI SISWA
Authors: Noprianti Elvira , Utami Lisa
Published: December 2017

Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif yang bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan dan menjelaskan miskonsepsi yang dialami siswa pada materi larutan elektrolit dan konsep redoks serta menjelaskan faktor-faktor penyebab miskonsepsi siswa. Sasaran penelitian adalah siswa kelas X SMAN 1 Tambang Tahun Ajaran 2016/2017. Sampel dipilih menggunakan teknik purposive sampling. Data miskonsepsi siswa diperoleh dari tes diagnostik, wawancara, dan kuisioner. Intrumen tes diagnostik two-tier multiple choice  divalidasi isi dan konstruk oleh satu dosen ahli dan satu guru mata pelajaran kimia SMAN 1 Tambang serta divalidasi empirik oleh 25 siswa kelas XI IPA SMAN 1 Tambang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 10,63% siswa mengalami miskonsepsi, 32,73% siswa paham konsep, dan 56,64% siswa tidak paham konsep. Miskonsepsi yang terjadi pada siswa disebabkan oleh kondisi siswa, buku pegangan dan guru.
Studi Laju Umpan pada Proses Biokonversi Limbah Pengolahan Tuna Menggunakan Larva Hermetia illucens
Authors: Hakim Arif Rahman , Prasetya Agus , Petrus Himawan T. B. M.
Published: December 2017

Seiring dengan berkembangnya industri tuna, limbah pengolahan yang dihasilkan semakin meningkat. Namun demikian pemanfaatan limbah tersebut belum optimal. Biokonversi bahan organik limbah tuna menjadi biomassa larva sebagai bahan pakan diharapkan mampu mengatasi permasalahan tersebut. Biokonversi menggunakan larva Hermetia illucens atau Black Soldier Fly (BSF) memiliki keunggulan dibandingkan proses konversi lain; di antaranya larva BSF mampu mengkonversi berbagai macam bahan organik, memiliki kandungan nutrisi tinggi serta bukan vektor penyakit. Tujuan penelitian ini ialah mempelajari laju umpan larva BSF dalam mengkonversi limbah tuna menjadi biomassa larva. Limbah tuna yang digunakan sebagai umpan larva BSF adalah kepala dan jeroan. Larva dipelihara selama 19 hari dengan pemberian umpan bervariasi (60, 80, 100 mg/larva/hari). Analisa dilakukan terhadap konsumsi umpan, indeks pengurangan limbah (waste reduction index/WRI), efisiensi konversi umpan tercerna (efficiency of conversion of digested-feed/ECD), tingkat kelulusan hidup (survival rates /SR), bobot larva, kandungan protein dan lemak larva. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan kepala dan jeroan tuna dapat digunakan sebagai pakan BSF, dengan nilai SR 41,33 – 98,33%. Laju umpan yang menghasilkan proses biokonversi paling optimum adalah umpan berupa kepala tuna sebesar 60 mg/larva/hari (K60). Nilai parameter pada perlakuan K60 adalah konsumsi umpan 77,09 %, WRI 4,06 % per hari, ECD 8,32 %, bobot larva 72,59 mg dan SR 98,33 %. Limbah berupa kepala tuna menghasilkan konsumsi umpan, WRI, ECD, bobot larva dan SR yang lebih tinggi dibandingkan limbah jeroan tuna. Penggunaan limbah kepala tuna dapat dimanfaatkan untuk mereduksi limbah sekaligus menghasilkan bahan pakan yang potensial. Kandungan larva BSF dengan umpan kepala tuna 60 mg/larva/hari meliputi protein 25,38 %, lemak 6,85 % dan air 62,81 %.
Shear behaviour of elongated rectangular wall–footing connections under eccentric loads
Authors: Farzam Masood , Sadaghian Hamed , Khodadade Gahreman
Published: January 2018

The shear behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) plates at the junction of interior rectangular walls was experimentally studied. Four tests were conducted on rectangular RC plates that were simply set on edge supports. Walls had different aspect ratios and were located at the centre of the plates. The load was applied with specified eccentricities and was increased monotonically. The failure mode of all plates was brittle punching. Furthermore, the effect of eccentricity of loads on the ultimate punching resistance and rotational capacity of wall–footing connections were numerically studied. The results of the experimental tests and numerical studies were compared with the predictions of American Concrete Institute (ACI) and Eurocode 2 (BS EN 1992-1-1) codes. Results indicate that wall–footing or wall–slab connections having wall aspect ratios greater than 5·0 have a small rotational capacity and are not able to resist the predicted drift values specified by ACI.
Fibrotic Venous Remodeling and Nonmaturation of Arteriovenous Fistulas
Authors: Martinez Laisel , Duque Juan C. , Tabbara Marwan , Paez Angela , Selman Guillermo , Hernandez Diana R. , Sundberg Chad A. , Tey Jason Chieh Sheng , Shiu Yan-Ting , Cheung Alfred K. , Allon Michael , Velazquez Omaida C. , Salman Loay H. , Vazquez-Padron Roberto I.
Published: January 2018

The frequency of primary failure in arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) remains unacceptably high. This lack of improvement is due in part to a poor understanding of the pathobiology underlying AVF nonmaturation. This observational study quantified the progression of three vascular features, medial fibrosis, intimal hyperplasia (IH), and collagen fiber organization, during early AVF remodeling and evaluated the associations thereof with AVF nonmaturation. We obtained venous samples from patients undergoing two-stage upper-arm AVF surgeries at a single center, including intraoperative veins at the first-stage access creation surgery and AVFs at the second-stage transposition procedure. Paired venous samples from both stages were used to evaluate change in these vascular features after anastomosis. Anatomic nonmaturation (AVF diameter never ≥6 mm) occurred in 39 of 161 (24%) patients. Neither preexisting fibrosis nor IH predicted AVF outcomes. Postoperative medial fibrosis associated with nonmaturation (odds ratio [OR], 1.55; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.05 to 2.30; P=0.03, per 10% absolute increase in fibrosis), whereas postoperative IH only associated with failure in those individuals with medial fibrosis over the population’s median value (OR, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.07 to 6.46; P=0.04, per increase of 1 in the intima/media ratio). Analysis of postoperative medial collagen organization revealed that circumferential alignment of fibers around the lumen associated with AVF nonmaturation (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.84; P=0.03, per 10° increase in angle). This study demonstrates that excessive fibrotic remodeling of the vein after AVF creation is an important risk factor for nonmaturation and that high medial fibrosis determines the stenotic potential of IH.
Potentiating Tissue-Resident Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells by IL-33 to Prevent Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Cao Qi , Wang Yiping , Niu Zhiguo , Wang Chengshi , Wang Ruifeng , Zhang Zhiqiang , Chen Titi , Wang Xin Maggie , Li Qing , Lee Vincent W.S. , Huang Qingsong , Tan Jing , Guo Minghao , Wang Yuan Min , Zheng Guoping , Yu Di , Alexander Stephen I. , Wang Hui , Harris David C.H.
Published: January 2018

The IL-33-type 2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2) axis has an important role in tissue homeostasis, inflammation, and wound healing. However, the relative importance of this innate immune pathway for immunotherapy against inflammation and tissue damage remains unclear. Here, we show that treatment with recombinant mouse IL-33 prevented renal structural and functional injury and reduced mortality in mice subjected to ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Compared with control-treated IRI mice, IL-33–treated IRI mice had increased levels of IL-4 and IL-13 in serum and kidney and more ILC2, regulatory T cells (Tregs), and anti-inflammatory (M2) macrophages. Depletion of ILC2, but not Tregs, substantially abolished the protective effect of IL-33 on renal IRI. Adoptive transfer of ex vivo–expanded ILC2 prevented renal injury in mice subjected to IRI. This protective effect associated with induction of M2 macrophages in kidney and required ILC2 production of amphiregulin. Treatment of mice with IL-33 or ILC2 after IRI was also renoprotective. Furthermore, in a humanized mouse model of renal IRI, treatment with human IL-33 or transfer of ex vivo–expanded human ILC2 ameliorated renal IRI. This study has uncovered a major protective role of the IL-33–ILC2 axis in renal IRI that could be potentiated as a therapeutic strategy.
Desarrumando o nosso álbum: fotografia e género
Authors: Correia Maria da Luz , Cerqueira Carla
Published: December 2017

Este número da revista Comunicação e Sociedade partiu do desejo das suas editoras de cruzar saberes e trocar olhares, convocando um encontro na fronteira entre as áreas dos estudos da fotografia e dos estudos de género...
Disarranging our album: photography and gender
Authors: Correia Maria da Luz , Cerqueira Carla
Published: December 2017

This special issue of the journal Comunicação e Sociedade departed from our desire of intersecting knowledges and exchanging looks, proposing a meeting on the border-crossing between photography studies and gender studies...
Pode haver uma estética feminista?
Authors: Raymond Claire
Published: December 2017

“Pode haver uma estética feminista?” analisa a dificuldade em encontrar uma posição ontológica a partir da qual se escreva sobre as fotografias criadas por mulheres. Interroga-se acerca do desconforto de habitar, socialmente e na arte e na literatura, a posição do feminino corporizado e procura minar este desconforto através da análise estética. O ensaio argumenta que, apesar do desconforto social e intelectual de articular um espaço do feminino, na medida em que este espaço já é sempre codificado como um espaço de opressão, existe valor na interpretação da fotografia criada por mulheres através da lente da resistência feminista. O artigo reconhece que definir a palavra mulher é sempre arriscado, na medida em que este termo reflete variadas e contraditórias experiências corporizadas. E, no entanto, dentro deste risco reconhecido, emerge o único espaço de resistência possível à opressão, a oportunidade de criar um reordenamento do visível, para que a categoria da mulher oprimida, por muito irreal que seja, passe a ser refocalizada como soberana. Contudo, cada ato de refocagem da mulher deve ser culturalmente específico. Por isso, o ensaio termina com uma interpretação da série de imagens da fotógrafa etíope Aida Muluneh, intitulada Dinkinesh (ou “és bela”), recordando os restos de uma hominídea etíope que são há muito considerados como o mais antigo antepassado humano. Muluneh reivindica como etíope esta antepassada distante, vestindo-a com um extravagante vestido vermelho, usando a fotografia para refocalizar a entrada de Dinkinesh na história, concedendo a esta antepassada o poder de assombrar a modernidade.
Can there be a feminist aesthetic?
Authors: Raymond Claire
Published: December 2017

Can there be a feminist aesthetic?” analyzes the difficulty of finding an ontological position from which to write about photography created by women. It interrogates the discomfort of inhabiting, socially, and in art and literature, the position of the embodied feminine, and seeks through aesthetic analysis to mine this discomfort. The essay argues that despite the social and intellectual discomfort of articulating a space of the feminine, in that this space is always already coded as oppressed, there is a value in interpreting photography created by women through the lens of feminist resistance. The article concedes that defining the word woman is always a risk, in that the term reflects manifold and contradictory embodied experiences. And yet, within this avowed risk emerges the only space of possible resistance to oppression, the opportunity to create a rearrangement of the visible so that the category of the oppressed woman, however phantasmatic, is re-envisioned as sovereign. However, each act of re-envisioning woman must be culturally specific. Hence, the essay concludes with an interpretation of Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh’s series of images Dinkinesh (or, “you are beautiful”), evoking the remains of an Ethiopian hominid that were long considered to be the oldest of human ancestors. Muluneh reclaims this distant ancestor as Ethiopian, dressing her in an extravagant red gown, using photography to re-envision Dinkinesh’s fall into history, granting this ancestor the power to haunt modernity.
Hermafroditismo e intersexualidade na fotografia médica portuguesa
Authors: Cascais António Fernando
Published: December 2017

O interesse da Cultura Visual da Medicina por imagens fotográficas de hermafroditas remonta no nosso País aos primórdios da fotografia médica, com o registo fotográfico de um caso de hermafroditismo masculino estudado em 1864 por Carlos Miguel Augusto May Figueira (1829-1913) no Serviço de Clínica Médica do Hospital de S. José, escassos quatro anos após a obra tida por seminal de Félix Nadar em 1860. Este estudo é um dos elementos fundadores de uma scientia sexualis portuguesa, no âmbito mais amplo da sexologia moderna descrita por Michel Foucault, que entre nós se desenvolve sensivelmente entre meados do século XIX e as décadas de 1930-1940. A linhagem temática de pesquisa sobre o hermafroditismo e à intersexualidade assim aberta por May Figueira foi prosseguida por vários clínicos e cientistas portugueses desde a década inicial do século XX até aos anos de 1940. O propósito último da fotografia médica de hermafroditas era a preparação da intervenção cirúrgica corretiva no respeito absoluto do dimorfismo sexual binário que já o próprio diagnóstico nunca ousava pôr em causa.
Hermaphroditism and intersexuality in Portuguese medical photograph
Authors: Cascais António Fernando
Published: December 2017

The interest harboured by the Visual Culture of Medicine in photographic images of hermaphrodites dates back in Portugal to the birth of medical photography, with the photographic recording of a case of male hermaphroditism, that was studied in 1864 by Carlos Miguel Augusto May Figueira (1829-1913) at the Medical Clinic Service of the S. José Hospital, only four years after the publication of the seminal work on this topic by Félix Nadar. This 1864 study is one of the founding elements of a Portuguese scientia sexualis in the wider context of modern sexology, as described by Michel Foucault, that evolved in Portugal between the mid-19th century and the 1930s-1940s. The thematic lineage of research into hermaphroditism and intersexuality, initiated by May Figueira was subsequently pursued by Portuguese clinicians and medical scientists from the first decade of the 20th century up until the 1940s. The ultimate goal of the medical photographic recording of hermaphrodites was to pave the way to surgical correction, in strict compliance with binary sexual dimorphism that the original diagnosis never dared to question.
Maria Pia fecit / By Maria Pia: the observed and the observer. Some reflections on gender issues considering the case of Queen Maria Pia, the photographer
Authors: Flores Teresa Mendes
Published: December 2017

his article discusses some aspects of the status of women amateur photographers during the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries, considering the case of the Portuguese Queen Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911). We acknowledge the difficulties of making the historiography of women photographers in Portugal, due to the scarcity of sources and archives, and the lack of questions about these absences and their reasons. These facts have contributed to a history of photography in Portugal that consists of a succession of male names of “great photographers”. Asking questions about “the other half”, as well as broadening conceptions of photography to include the diversity of their practices may contribute to highlight the gender constructions raised by photographic practice. It also will help to understand the factors contributing to the limited  access of Portuguese women to this practice and the lack of their public visibility, during this period.
The Brazilian woman: from the colonial photography to contemporary Portuguese photography
Authors: Travassos Lorena
Published: December 2017

This study aims to carry out an initial analysis of how the Brazilian woman image is shaped by a discourse that is historically constructed and reinforced by colonial photography. This visuality has endured through the ages and represents a form of contemporary colonialism, as it is characterized by an identity reductionism disguised as a global ideology. The possibility of paradox prevalence in these speeches is analyzed through a critical view of the work of André Cepeda and Miguel Valle de Figueiredo, Portuguese photographers who has produced photography artwork about the Brazilian woman. In these images, the construction of a visual concept of Brazilian women revealed underlying statements supported by their perceptions and experiences, as well as in generalized beliefs. Thus, it was concluded that the understanding of the image of Brazilian women as portrayed by those photographers shows itself covered of brand new colonizing processes in which the Brazilian woman’s image is linked with a sense of an available and sensual body, imbued with the concept of a colonial body that still persists in contemporary imagery.
Bela e sadia! A mulher nas páginas da revista Alterosa (1939-1945) durante o Estado Novo e o processo de americanização do Brasil
Authors: Barros Gelka
Published: December 2017

Este artigo tem por objetivo analisar as estratégias discursivas presentes na revista ilustrada Alterosa. O intuito é compreender a construção do papel social da mulher brasileira, no período de 1939 a 1945, cenário que redefiniu o padrão corporal, conformando condutas sociais, por meio de valores morais baseados na ordem conjugal. A metodologia utilizada combina análise de conteúdo de texto e fotografia. O aporte teórico subsidia as reflexões, embasando-se em Scott (1995), Perrot (2000), Maia (2001), Del Priori (2003) e Matos (2003), agregando a especificidade contextual do Estado Novo em Goellner (2008) e Carvalho (2011). Para o entendimento das circunstâncias do processo de americanização buscou-se diálogo com Tota (2000). Da análise conclui-se que os discursos publicados sobre a mulher na revista, indiciando traços de uma educação do corpo, se alinhavam à cultura de massa norte-americana e ao projeto nacionalista do presidente Getúlio Vargas, conhecido por Estado Novo (1937-1945) e caracterizado pela centralização do poder, autoritarismo, populismo, nacionalismo e anticomunismo (Neto, 2013).
Beautiful and healthy! The women in the pages of Alterosa magazine (1939-1945) during the New State and the Americanization process of Brazil
Authors: Barros Gelka
Published: December 2017

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the discursive strategies present on illustrated magazine Alterosa. The aim is to understand the construction of Brazilian woman’s social role in the period 1939-1945, a scenario that has redefined the bodily standard, conforming social behavior through moral values based on marital order. The methodology used combines text content analysis and photography. The theoretical input subsidizes reflections, based on Scott (1995), Perrot (2000), Maia (2001), Del Priori (2003) and Matos (2003), aggregating contextual specificity from the New State in Goellner (2008) and Carvalho (2011). To understand the circumstances of the Americanization process it sought dialogue with Tota (2000). From the analysis it has been concluded that speeches published in the magazine about women, by indicating traces of a body education, lined with the US mass culture nationalist and with the project of President Getúlio Vargas, which was known as New State (1937-1945) and characterized by centralization of power, authoritarianism, populism, nationalism and anti-communism (Neto, 2013).
Pigmalião digital: a construção simbólica e visual do feminino na revista online CoverDoll
Authors: Faustino Maria João
Published: December 2017

Partindo da moldura teórica do ciberfeminismo, e questionando a construção da visualidade no contexto digital e a dimensão de género que a baliza, o presente estudo centra-se na análise dos conteúdos imagéticos e linguísticos publicados na CoverDoll, revista online dedicada às sex dolls. O mito de Pigmalião é proposto como dispositivo hermenêutico na análise da CoverDoll, já que os mecanismos de simulação de uma subjetividade parecem reproduzir o mesmo fundo simbólico: o feminino ficcionado surge numa condição de alteridade, como produto do masculino criador. A nossa análise aponta para continuidades simbólicas e convenções estéticas que permanecem apesar das disrupções técnicas. A construção visual do feminino nas produções fotográficas da revista prolonga mecanismos operantes na tradição da pintura descritos por John Berger: o feminino retratado dirige-se a um voyeur masculino, ausente da imagem. A câmara é na CoverDoll sucedânea do espelho enquanto dispositivo de construção do feminino narcísico: pelas múltiplas referências à camara, a pretensa vaidade feminina surge como artifício de ocultação do voyeur masculino. Os conteúdos imagéticos convergem para a erotização e espectacularização do corpo feminino, tratando-o como objeto visual e traduzindo uma visão padronizada de beleza. As narrativas ficcionais articulam estereotipias do feminino: frivolidade, sedução e cuidado.
(In)visibilidade de mulheres sem rosto: ética e política em imagens fotográficas de Teresa Margolles
Authors: Marques Ângela , Biondi Angie
Published: December 2017

Na contramão dos quadros morais produzidos pelos discursos fotojornalísticos tradicionais e pela cobertura mediática dos casos de femicídio no cotidiano, a artista mexicana Teresa Margolles cria obras onde a brutalidade de assassinatos em série conecta o sofrimento individual a uma responsabilidade ética coletiva. Neste texto, analisaremos as construções fotográficas de duas obras recentes da artista mexicana: La búsqueda (2014) e Pesquisas (2016). A partir das noções de vulnerabilidade e de precariedade (Butler, 2006; Butler et al., 2016), argumentamos que a relação entre violência e gênero no trabalho de Margolles é apresentada sob a forma da resistência, dirigindo-se a um comum enquanto espaço público polémico (Rancière, 2004), e instaurando a possibilidade de uma cena de interpelação (Butler, 2015). Consideramos ainda que estas obras, onde os sofrimentos individuais foram articulados em uma narrativa complexa, passíveis de interpelar os espectadores, compõem um gesto estético-político, que se acorda com a política das imagens reivindicada por pensadores como Jacques Rancière (2010b) e Georges Didi-Huberman (2012). A dinâmica política e estética que atravessa as fotografias de Margolles é relacionada ainda com a responsabilidade ética implícita na noção de rosto em Emmanuel Levinas (1982).
The (in)visibility of the faceless women: ethics and politics on the photographic images by Teresa Margolles
Authors: Marques Ângela , Biondi Angie
Published: December 2017

In the opposite side of these moralizing pictures produced by traditional journalistic and photojournalistic narratives, the Mexican artist Teresa Margolles creates art works that disclose the vulnerable condition of women in the brutality of serial murders in order to connect individual suffering to a collective ethics of responsibility. In this text, the analytical work focuses on two of Margolles recent art works: La búsqueda (2014) and Pesquisas (2016). Taking the concepts of vulnerability and precariousness (Butler, 2006; Butler et al., 2016), we argue that the relation between violence and gender in Margolles’s art work is presented as resistance addressing a common as polemical public space (Rancière, 2004), and giving place to the possibility of an interpellation scene (Butler, 2015). We also consider that this photographic work, which articulates individual sufferings in a complex narrative capable to invite spectators to a careful and reflexive contemplation, give rise to a political and aesthetical gesture that can be related to a politics of the images as it is argued by Jacques Rancière (2010b) and Georges Didi-Huberman (2012). The political and aesthetical dynamics crossing Margolles photographs is also related to the ethical responsibility voiced by Emmanuel Levinas (1982) concept of face.
“Neither here nor there”: traces of the feminine in the photoperformances of Ana Mendieta
Authors: Wanderley Olga da Costa Lima
Published: December 2017

This article addresses the questions triggered by the work of the Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta, who has a large part of her work composed exclusively of camera performances and what she termed earth-body-works. Through her strategies of representation based on the disappearance of the female body, Mendieta draws our attention to the legitimized violence and erasures through the establishment of fixed identities – ethnic and gender – within the hegemonic discourses of power. The notions of performance as an instrument for transmission of knowledge and cultural memory, of performativity as a constitutive factor of the categories of identity, as well as of archive, repertory and live event will be explored in the effort to problematize as the themes of exile and feminine, regular in the art of Mendieta, reach a deeply political dimension based on their artistic propositions that integrate photography with performance art.
Esquecer Bárbara Virgínia? Uma cineasta precursora entre Portugal e o Brasil
Authors: Sequeiros Paula , Sequeira Luísa
Published: December 2017

Bárbara Virgínia foi uma das primeiras realizadoras de cinema em Portugal e no Festival de Cannes. Iniciando-se artisticamente como declamadora e atriz, dirigiu, muito jovem, uma longa metragem e um documentário em 1946. Imigrou em 1952 para o Brasil para trabalhar em rádio e televisão. Aí se radicou, constituiu família, abandonando a declamação, e faleceu em 2015. Neste artigo recolhemos e analisamos documentação pública e de memória privada, uma entrevista de investigação e conversas com familiares. Recorremos à história e memórias do cinema português para produzir, de um ponto de vista feminista, uma análise sócio-biográfica. Recusando a mitificação, pretendemos contribuir para a desocultação do olhar patriarcal na literatura produzida sobre esta figura. Os estudos de género de Linda Alcoff e Teresa de Lauretis, a sociologia da cultura de Pierre Bourdieu que Bev Skeggs convoca num cruzamento entre classe, género e colonialidade, e ainda investigação histórica e social sobre os contextos dos dois países alimentaram este questionamento e análise. A sócio-biografia apresentada enfoca-se nos papéis artístico e familiar de Bárbara Virgínia, pretendendo alimentar o conhecimento fino sobre barreiras de género e classe em torno das práticas culturais e profissionais na época e ainda discutir o apagamento da memória sobre a realizadora.
Virginia Woolf e a fotografia
Authors: Humm Maggie
Published: December 2017

A partir do ano 2000, o volume da análise crítica sobre Woolf e a sua relação com o visual tem quadruplicado. O trabalho de pesquisa sobre uma Woolf fotográfica – que inclui a interação de outros fotógrafos com Woolf, como Gisèle Freund, ou a minha própria análise dos álbuns de fotos pessoais de Woolf e Bell – mostra como estas mais recentes questões de Woolf e da fotografia são agora um tema absolutamente central em qualquer análise dos estudos de Virginia Woolf, adquirindo uma importância notória se considerarmos o aspeto interdisciplinar da fotografia e do género.