bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards a Legal Narratology I: Probability, Fidelity and Plot
Authors: Gaakeer Jeanne
Published: September 2019

Chapter 9 continues the search for a humanities-inspired methodology for law. It emphasises the need for conceptual clarity when it comes to incorporating the findings of narratology into law and legal theory, because the term “narrative” is an umbrella concept in literary theory. As a consequence the goals, impact and status of narratology remain undecided and that affects its interdisciplinary uses. On the basis of this book’s concept of narrative intelligence and on the view that the act of judicial emplotment and application requires a new narratology, this chapter re-engages with the topic of mimesis and suggests that the first three topics to be included when considering the development of a legal narratology are probability and fidelity as analysed by Walter Fisher, and plot in the sense given to it by Peter Brooks.
Towards a Legal Narratology II: Implications and Pathologies
Authors: Gaakeer Jeanne
Published: September 2019

This chapter builds on the suggestions made for a legal narratology in Chapter 9. It deals with the implications and pathologies of narratological insights for judicial practice in criminal law by drawing attention, firstly, to the false dichotomies of common law versus civil law and of inquisitorial versus accusatorial approaches, and secondly, by asking what it is in narratives (and images) in court surroundings that justifies their credibility. The effect of modern media and visuality on juries and judges, it suggests, is not to be underestimated. Its main argument being that to judge is to choose, this chapter offers suggestions for narratological research to differentiate between the pre-trial and the trial stage and to consider carefully how the defendant’s narrative is written down. The ability to “narrate oneself”, it is argued finally, is a matter of voice and this is illustrated by means of John Coetzee’s Disgrace.
Othello: Shakespeare’s À bout de souffle
Authors: Chiari Sophie
Published: September 2019

Chapter 4 shows that Othello (1604) is a play obsessed with breath and wind, a cosmological piece in which climate and air coalesce to make the Moor the victim of his own humours as much as of the satanic Iago. The importance given to cosmic elements as well as to the planets and their influence on men and women’s behaviour serves to elevate and magnify a play sometimes wrongly reduced to the genre of the domestic tragedy. Besides, the recurring imagery related to pneuma turns the scene into a dark carnival with its frightening disaster at the end epitomised by the image of the ‘tragic loading of [the] bed’ (5.2.374). If a providential tempest preserves Cyprus from the assaults of the Turkish fleet, Othello and Desdemona’s love quickly becomes a highly tempestuous affair that ends in tragic suffocation.
Clime and Slime in Anthony and Cleopatra
Authors: Chiari Sophie
Published: September 2019

Chapter 6 analyses Anthony and Cleopatra (1606-07) in connection with the Lucretian philosophy already at work in King Lear. Indeed, Shakespeare’s ‘Epicurean’ (2.1.24) vision of the weather, which operates in the play’s subtext, suggests that the atomism already displayed in previous works underpins the playwright’s obvious concerns about climate and the environment. Questions such as the infinite, the void and the flux in particular are major concerns in this Roman play obsessed with shifting shapes and the dissolution of living beings. The destructive yet paradoxically creative power of the Nile provides a rich background for the tragedy, and it is in this hot and moist context that the playwright calls attention to Cleopatra’s intimate meteorology and bodily humours. While climate is mainly present in a number of geo-humoral features characterizing the lovers, a rich system of cosmological references runs through the text, suggesting that the title parts are not just lovers but also explorers of the world’s celestial forces. It is no mere coincidence that Anthony’s famous tirade on clouds, representative as it is of the centrality of celestial issues in this tragedy, should coincide with the poetic and dramatic climax of the play.
Conclusion: ‘Under heaven’s eye’
Authors: Chiari Sophie
Published: September 2019

This General Conclusion argues that Shakespeare’s stance was of course not that of a would-be scientist, since what he was interested in was the representation of climate and its possible effects on a theatrical audience rather than trying to define its possible causes. To him, the various climatic manifestations and environmental phenomena were the ‘objective correlatives’ of his characters’ actions and emotions. The technical means then available served to reinforce these manifestations and turned them into material sensations that could instil surprise, terror or admiration in the spectators’ minds. In Shakespeare’s plays, climate/klima is to be taken as a liminal space that reveals tensions, anxieties, expectations, and oppositions. It is up to the present-day directors to turn this threshold zone into a dramatic locus where the trajectories, or fates, of the various dramatis personae may ultimately be grasped and mapped.
Rethinking democratic representation: eight theoretical issues and a postscript1
Authors: Castiglione Dario , Warren Mark E.
Published: September 2019

This chapter offers here a sketch of eight theoretical issues that are fundamental to rethinking the problems and potentials of political representation under emerging conditions. The issues include: (1) the relational character of representation; (2) the role that trusteeship plays in forms of democratic representation; (3) an assessment of representation in terms of both input and output; (4) representation considered as a political practice; (5) the way in which representation is constituted by and within political processes; (6) the objects of representation: who and what are represented; (7) the question of who is a democratic representative; and (8) the relationship between authorization and accountability in informal representation. In each of these dimensions the theory of representation in democracies needs refurbishing, a task that requires returning to the concept of representation in a more systematic way, also taking on board theoretical intuitions from deliberative, participatory and radical populist conceptions of democracy. The postscript takes stock of some of these developments and suggests that rethinking political representation is part of the pressing task to reconsider democracy in the 21st century.
Machiavelli against the Venice myth: a sixteenth-century dialogue on the nature of political representation
Authors: Bíba Jan
Published: September 2019

Florence may be a birthplace of modern representative democracies but its legacy encumbers these democracies with a component of elitism and oligarchy that depreciates all attempts to revive contemporary democratic political culture through reference to classical republicanism. This chapter reconstructs the discussion between two main ideological opponents in the early 16th century Florence – between populist republicanism defending governo largo represented by Machiavelli and elitist republicanism defending governo stretto whose main proponent was Francesco Guicciardini. The chapter argues that Guicciardini’s proposed constitutional reform of Florence, the introduction of the institution of the senate, originates the “Venice Myth” that is present in democratic elitism today. That reform would eliminate the people’s ability to effectively influence the government’s decision by reducing representation only to collective authorization of the elite’s proposals without any possibility for the popolo to discuss or influence them. By contrast, Machiavelli’s proposals display an agonistic understanding of representation whose purpose does not consist - as proponents of the Venice myth still seem to believe - in reducing or bypassing social conflicts, but in institutionalizing executing them in and through representative institutions. The permanence of this agonistic conflict in and through representative institutions makes modern democracy possible.
Two regimes of the symbolic: radical democracy between Romanticism and structuralism
Authors: Breckman Warren
Published: September 2019

The ‘symbolic’ has found its way into the heart of contemporary radical democratic theory. When one encounters this term in major theorists such as Ernesto Laclau and Slavoj Žižek, our first impulse is to trace its genealogy to the offspring of the linguistic turn, structuralism and poststructuralism. This paper seeks to expose the deeper history of the symbolic in the legacy of Romanticism. It argues that crucial to the concept of the symbolic is a polyvalence that was first theorized in German Romanticism. The linguistic turn that so marked the twentieth century tended to suppress this polyvalence, but it has returned as a crucial dimension of contemporary radical political theory and practice. At stake is more than a recovery of historical depth. Through a constructed dialogue between Romanticism and the thought of both Žižek and Laclau, the paper seeks to provide a sharper appreciation of the resources of the concept of the symbolic.
Political representation: the view from France
Authors: Geenens Raf
Published: September 2019

It is now widely accepted that political representation is not merely a passive, ‘mirroring’ process, but that the process of political representation plays a constitutive role in the construction of citizens’ ideas and preferences. This chapter argues that French political philosophy points to an even more fundamental role for power and representation in the construction (or the ‘constitution’) of society and the self-image of its members. It focuses on a key argument of political theorist, Claude Lefort, who maintained that the specificity of a society is determined by the way power is organized and symbolically represented in that society. On this account, the importance of political representation goes far beyond the formation of opinions and the process of collective decision making. The organization and representation of power is instead seen as a key determinant of society’s self-understanding and of the way citizens within that society understand themselves and their mutual relations.
Don Alejandro’s fantasy: radical democracy and the negative concept of representation
Authors: Marchart Oliver
Published: September 2019

Starting from a short story by Borges, this chapter discusses the role that representation may play in a project of radical democracy, defined as a ‘collective will’ aiming at expanding the democratic horizon of freedom, equality and solidarity, as established in the democratic revolution. It is radical not in the sense of referring, with these terms, to a particular ground or foundation of democracy, but to the ultimate absence of such ground. This implies that we have to see radical democracy as an emancipatory project of expanding the democratic idea of representation – as a relation of mediacy and self-alienation – to more and more social fields. The chapter takes its lead from Claude Lefort, Ernesto Laclau and Frank Ankersmit, to claim that representation should be understood as, precisely, a relation of non-identity between represented and representative, as only then it attests to the ultimately ungroundable nature of the democratic regime. These points are exemplified by analyses of the case of Bosnia, where the democratic, non-identitarian form of representation was replaced by an identitarian one, and that of the anti-representational ideology of the assembly movement of 2011, which fell into the self-delusionary trap of a fantasy of presence and immediacy.
The improper politics of representation
Authors: Devenney Mark
Published: September 2019

This chapter takes issue with the renewed justification and theorisation of representative democracy associated with the constructivist turn, to reframe debates concerning the relationship between representation, property and civil society. Drawing on a set of older debates about democracy, property and representation the chapter contends that theorists such as Nadia Urbinati and Lisa Disch do not adequately account for existing forms of inequality, structured around property and wealth. The chapter defends a principle of democratic representation as improper in respect of existing orders of property and propriety, as against constructivist accounts that too quickly forget constituted representative interests so as to focus on the coming into being of new claims (e.g. Michael Saward). By contrast to the procedural justification of representative democracy defended most coherently by Urbinati, which seeks to establish a proper form of politics, the chapter argues that democracy is always in excess of particular forms of representation and property.
The constructivist paradox: contemporary protest movements and (their) representation
Authors: Sande Mathijs van de
Published: September 2019

The recent global wave of protest movements is often characterized with reference to a ‘prefigurative politics’ and not without reason closely associated with a critique of representative democracy and its institutions. Chantal Mouffe has recently argued that the refusal by such movements to engage with representative institutions evinces a fundamental neglect of the ‘radical negativity’ that inheres in politics – and thus amounts to a fundamental misconception of politics itself. This chapter argues that Mouffe frames her verdict in terms and categories that are significantly at odds with those of these protest movements themselves. By failing to take into account their own understanding of either ‘success’ or ‘politics,’ she implicitly assumes a standpoint outside of – and thus flatly unaffected by – these movements’ interventions in a discursive reality. Mouffe takes up a position in analyzing these movements that seems immune to the constructivist turn that she herself has helped to theorize. This chapter poses this paradox and asks how political theorists are to deal with it. How to remain receptive to movement critiques of political representation without dismissing the insights of constructivist representation theory? And how to appreciate the representative functions that these movements did effectively fulfill?
The Voyage
Authors: Pettinger Alasdair
Published: September 2019

Introduces Frederick Douglass in the context of his incident-packed voyage on the Cunard ship Cambria from Boston in August 1845 during which some racist passengers tried to prevent him from delivering a lecture at the invitation of the Captain. Summarising his early experiences, the chapter goes on to explain how Douglass escaped from slavery and, though a fugitive, became a leading antislavery campaigner in Massachusetts and why he and other black abolitionists crossed the Atlantic in the 1830s and 1840s. Douglass would spend nearly two years away from his family in Britain and Ireland, a third of that time in Scotland, and frequently remarked on the relative freedom he enjoyed in public spaces there.
The Voyage Home
Authors: Pettinger Alasdair
Published: September 2019

Through a close reading of Douglass’s farewell speech in London, the newspaper coverage of the racist discrimination he faced once again from the Cunard shipping company, and his subsequent account of the episode, this chapter shows how Douglass returned to the United States, equipped with the skills and confidence to embark on a new phase of his career, breaking away with his mentor William Lloyd Garrison with a strong sense of his own, distinctive, role in the antislavery struggle to come.
The Affinity Scot
Authors: Pettinger Alasdair
Published: September 2019

Douglass plays with the language of kinship, in particular to claim a kind of fictive Scottish ancestry, even if the mediaeval nobles whose name he adopts don’t exactly epitomise the values he seeks to promote. The chapter reads this gesture in relation to the ways in which contemporary Scottish-American ethnic identities are often articulated in the United States and explores how Douglass is remembered today amid renewed interest in how Scotland’s history has been shaped by transatlantic slavery and the struggle for emancipation.
The ‘Iura Connata’ in the Natural Law of Christian Wolff
Authors: Grunert Frank
Published: September 2019

Whether Christian Wolff’s concept of innate rights is a substantial contribution to the development of the concept of human rights or not has been a major concern of recent literature. This chapter explores the role of Christian Wolff’s conception of iura
connata or innate rights as possible foundations for the modern doctrine of human rights, imbuing natural law with a degree of transhistoricality and engaging with Knud Haakonssen’s rather different treatment of Wolff’s natural rights as alienable.
Towards an experimental analytics of government
Authors: Prozorov Sergei
Published: September 2019

The Introduction discusses the way the question of democracy has been addressed in the canonical theories of biopolitics, presents the method of the inquiry and briefly outlines the structure of the argument.
Is there a democratic form of life?
Authors: Prozorov Sergei
Published: September 2019

Chapter 4 addresses the question of whether the democratic principles of freedom, equality and community constitute a form of life of their own or rather function as the framework for the coexistence of diverse forms of life. While the first possibility is best illustrated by Alain Badiou’s politics of truth, which takes up and radicalizes the Rousseauan tradition, the latter option has been developed in Jean-Luc Nancy’s theory of democracy. Prozorov critically engages with both positions while ultimately opting for the third, inspired by Agamben’s notion of destituent power. Rather than single out any particular form of life as democratic, he argues that democracy may be affirmed from within any particular form of life, but only as long as this form is practiced in the manner that manifests its contingency.
Demos distracted
Authors: Prozorov Sergei
Published: September 2019

In Chapter 5 Prozorov argues that the ontological contingency that defines democracy is accessible in our lived experience in states of distraction, characterized by the alternation between captivation and boredom. This alternation makes it possible for us to dwell within plural forms of life in a non-definitive manner, retaining our potentiality for being otherwise. He develops this argument by critically re-engaging with Heidegger’s discussion of curiosity and distraction in Being and Time. Prozorov argues that democracy is existentially experienced in the potentiality for perpetual alternation between captivation and boredom in whatever form of life we dwell in, which constitutes our lives as freeform, always manifesting the possibility of being otherwise than they are. In this manner he grounds the possibility of democratic biopolitics in the aspect of the human condition familiar and available to all, thus demonstrating its realizability.
How to enjoy democracy again (and again)
Authors: Prozorov Sergei
Published: September 2019

Chapter 6 argues that the oscillation between captivation and boredom in the distracted dwelling in forms of life is not merely a possible but also an enjoyable and pleasant experience. Drawing on Jean-Luc Nancy’s account of pleasure as the experience of one’s formative force in every act of formation, Prozorov argues that the biopolitical conversion of democracy that affirms the experimental, freeform life renders democracy more viable by adding to its normative legitimacy an affective dimension of enjoyment. Democracy is not merely ‘right’ from any given normative perspective but also feels good, since it ensures the possibility of freely forming and transforming our lives without being held captive in any privileged form. Thus, democracy is not merely sustainable in a biopolitical mode but is in fact reinvigorated by its translation into concrete forms of life.
Volunteering as Media Work: The Case of the Eurovision Song Contest
Authors: Stiernstedt Fredrik , Golovko Irina
Published: September 2019

This article explores volunteering in relation to the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which took place in Stockholm in 2016 and in Kyiv in 2017, with the aim of shedding light on volunteering as a form of “media work”. Following from this, the article aims to problematize the theoretical concept of free labour and analyse the symbolic exchanges and currencies involved in employing a “free” labour force. Through interviews with volunteers, this article explores what volunteers at huge media events do, how their work is organized, and what motivates them. The empirical basis for this article is an interview study with volunteers and volunteer organizers of the ESC in Stockholm (May 2016) and in Kyiv (May 2017), complemented with a document analysis of volunteer guidebooks and organizational reports. The article shows that eventfulness is an essential part of what volunteer labour brings to an event such as the ESC. It is also a key element in the production of economic value: eventfulness is a currency that expresses the value of the event itself and is a key feature of place branding. Furthermore, eventfulness – along with the feeling of being a part of an event, of something bigger, as it unfolds in time – is a key feature of the motivation for the volunteers who contribute with unpaid labour. As such, eventfulness can also be understood as a form of currency or symbolic capital that forms the main remuneration or “wage” earned by volunteers at an event such as the ESC.
Characterization of LysBC17, a Lytic Endopeptidase from Bacillus cereus
Authors: Swift Steven M. , Etobayeva Irina V. , Reid Kevin P. , Waters Jerel J. , Oakley Brian B. , Donovan David M. , Nelson Daniel C.
Published: September 2019

Bacillus cereus, a Gram-positive bacterium, is an agent of food poisoning. B. cereus is closely related to Bacillus anthracis, a deadly pathogen for humans, and Bacillus thuringenesis, an insect pathogen. Due to the growing prevalence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, alternative antimicrobials are needed. One such alternative is peptidoglycan hydrolase enzymes, which can lyse Gram-positive bacteria when exposed externally. A bioinformatic search for bacteriolytic enzymes led to the discovery of a gene encoding an endolysin-like endopeptidase, LysBC17, which was then cloned from the genome of B. cereus strain Bc17. This gene is also present in the B. cereus ATCC 14579 genome. The gene for LysBC17 encodes a protein of 281 amino acids. Recombinant LysBC17 was expressed and purified from E. coli. Optimal lytic activity against B. cereus occurred between pH 7.0 and 8.0, and in the absence of NaCl. The LysBC17 enzyme had lytic activity against strains of B. cereus, B. anthracis, and other Bacillus species.
Modular Diversity of the BLUF Proteins and Their Potential for the Development of Diverse Optogenetic Tools
Authors: Kaushik Manish , Sharma Ramandeep , Veetil Sindhu , Srivastava Sandeep , Kateriya Suneel
Published: September 2019

Organisms can respond to varying light conditions using a wide range of sensory photoreceptors. These photoreceptors can be standalone proteins or represent a module in multidomain proteins, where one or more modules sense light as an input signal which is converted into an output response via structural rearrangements in these receptors. The output signals are utilized downstream by effector proteins or multiprotein clusters to modulate their activity, which could further affect specific interactions, gene regulation or enzymatic catalysis. The blue-light using flavin (BLUF) photosensory module is an autonomous unit that is naturally distributed among functionally distinct proteins. In this study, we identified 34 BLUF photoreceptors of prokaryotic and eukaryotic origin from available bioinformatics sequence databases. Interestingly, our analysis shows diverse BLUF-effector arrangements with a functional association that was previously unknown or thought to be rare among the BLUF class of sensory proteins, such as endonucleases, tet repressor family (tetR), regulators of G-protein signaling, GAL4 transcription family and several other previously unidentified effectors, such as RhoGEF, Phosphatidyl-Ethanolamine Binding protein (PBP), ankyrin and leucine-rich repeats. Interaction studies and the indexing of BLUF domains further show the diversity of BLUF-effector combinations. These diverse modular architectures highlight how the organism’s behaviour, cellular processes, and distinct cellular outputs are regulated by integrating BLUF sensing modules in combination with a plethora of diverse signatures. Our analysis highlights the modular diversity of BLUF containing proteins and opens the possibility of creating a rational design of novel functional chimeras using a BLUF architecture with relevant cellular effectors. Thus, the BLUF domain could be a potential candidate for the development of powerful novel optogenetic tools for its application in modulating diverse cell signaling.
Feasibility of the Detection of Carrageenan Adulteration in Chicken Meat Using Visible/Near-Infrared (Vis/NIR) Hyperspectral Imaging
Authors: Zhang Yue , Jiang Hongzhe , Wang Wei
Published: September 2019

The detection of carrageenan adulteration in chicken meat using a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technique associated with three spectroscopic transforms was investigated. Minced chicken was adulterated with carrageenan solution (2% w/v) in the volume range of 0–5 mL at an increment of 1 mL. Hyperspectral images of prepared samples were captured in a reflectance mode in a Visible/Near-Infrared (Vis/NIR, 400–1000 nm) region. The reflectance (R) spectra were first extracted from regions of interest (ROIs) by applying a mask that was built using band math combined with thresholding and were then transformed into two other spectral units, absorbance (A) and Kubelka-Munck (KM). Partial least squares regression (PLSR) models based on full raw and preprocessed spectra in the three profiles were established and A spectra were found to perform best with Rp2 = 0.92, root mean square error of prediction set (RMSEP) = 0.48, and residual predictive deviation (RPD) = 6.18. To simplify the models, several wavelengths were selected using regression coefficients (RC) based on all three spectral units, and 10 wavelengths selected from A spectra (409, 425, 444, 521, 582, 621, 763, 840, 893, and 939 nm) still performed best with the Rp2, RMSEP, and RPD of 0.85, 0.93, and 3.20, respectively. Thus, the preferred simplified RC-A-PLSR model was selected and transferred into each pixel to obtain the distribution maps and finally, the general different adulteration levels of different samples were readily discernible. The overall results ascertained that the HSI technique demonstrated to be an effective tool for detecting and visualizing carrageenan adulteration in authentic chicken meat, especially in the absorbance mode.
Experimental Verification of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) Drying with Solar Adsorption Drying
Authors: Amankwah Emmanuel , Kyere Gloria , Kyeremateng Herbert , van Boxtel Anton
Published: September 2019

This work evaluates the yam (Dioscorea rotundata) drying performance of solar adsorption drying (SAD) compared to solar drying (SD) and open sun drying (OSD). The evaluation concerns the drying cycle for batches of yam, the effect on vitamin C, color and composition. As SAD can be applied during the night, by using air dehumidified by passing through a bed of silica gel, the cycle time for drying batches of yam can be reduced over 20–25% compared to SD and halved compared to OSD. SAD is thereby most effective during the first nights of drying when the driving force is the highest. Composition was not affected by drying methods but did affect vitamin C content. Vitamin C retention is not significant different for SD and SAD, but with a slight preference for SD. For three yam cultivars (‘Pona’, ‘Lilii’ and ‘Dente’), ‘Lilii’ dried fastest and ‘Dente’ drying slowest. SAD maintained 16 the whitish color of yam better than the other drying methods.
A New Approach for Grid-Connected Hybrid Renewable Energy System Sizing Considering Harmonic Contents of Smart Home Appliances
Authors: Erenoğlu Ayşe Kübra , Çiçek Alper , Arıkan Oktay , Erdinç Ozan , Catalão João P. S.
Published: September 2019

Even renewable energy sources provide several advantages, especially from an environmental point of view, where the world has faced great challenges in the last few decades; several negative issues also exist regarding the integration of renewable resources-based power production units in electric power systems. One of the main problems related to pivotal renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, etc., is their stochastic and uncontrollable nature in terms of power production. Therefore, this stochasticity in the supply side of the power system may pose many challenges for system operators. This issue is also problematic for smaller applications where the stochastic production by a main resource, such as a roof-top photovoltaic system, and load demand may not match perfectly at each time instant and therefore should be compensated by additional resources such as battery-based energy storage systems. Herein, the economic considerations to ensure minimum costs for such a hybrid system design are vital so as to increase the penetration of such systems. Therefore, the optimal sizing and planning of hybrid systems have recently gained increasing importance to enhance power system operation in the context of the smart grid paradigm. From a different perspective, harmonics are one of the most important power quality problems in system operations caused by widespread integration of power electronic loads with non-linear characteristics that should be considered. Thus, a new approach for grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system sizing is provided. In order to determine optimal capacities for photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage system (ESS) units for covering residential consumer demand, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP)-based formulation is presented. The main objective is minimizing total costs of the system consisting of investment, capital and maintenance cost functions. A daily power curve is created accurately with real measurements of non-linear loads considering harmonic contents of smart home appliances in Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. In addition, real radiation and temperature values are used in PV production as well as dynamic pricing schemes for realistic evaluations. Moreover, optimal sizing results are compared for both the harmonic-based power curve and rated power curve in terms of satisfying objective function.
Mutational Analysis of a Highly Conserved PLSSMXP Sequence in the Small Subunit of Bacillus licheniformis γ-Glutamyltranspeptidase
Authors: Chi Meng-Chun , Lo Huei-Fen , Lin Min-Guan , Chen Yi-Yu , Wang Tzu-Fan , Lin Long-Liu
Published: September 2019

A highly conserved 458PLSSMXP464 sequence in the small subunit (S-subunit) of an industrially important Bacillus licheniformis γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (BlGGT) was identified by sequence alignment. Molecular structures of the precursor mimic and the mature form of BlGGT clearly reveal that this peptide sequence is in close spatial proximity to the self-processing and catalytic sites of the enzyme. To probe the role of this conserved sequence, ten mutant enzymes of BlGGT were created through a series of deletion and alanine-scanning mutagenesis. SDS-PAGE and densitometric analyses showed that the intrinsic ability of BlGGT to undergo autocatalytic processing was detrimentally affected by the deletion-associated mutations. However, loss of self-activating capacity was not obviously observed in most of the Ala-replacement mutants. The Ala-replacement mutants had a specific activity comparable to or greater than that of the wild-type enzyme; conversely, all deletion mutants completely lost their enzymatic activity. As compared with BlGGT, S460A and S461S showed greatly enhanced kcat/Km values by 2.73- and 2.67-fold, respectively. The intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence and circular dichroism spectral profiles of Ala-replacement and deletion mutants were typically similar to those of BlGGT. However, heat and guanidine hydrochloride-induced unfolding transitions of the deletion-associated mutant proteins were severely reduced as compared with the wild-type enzyme. The predictive mutant models suggest that the microenvironments required for both self-activation and catalytic reaction of BlGGT can be altered upon mutations.
Dendritic Cell-Based and Other Vaccination Strategies for Pediatric Cancer
Authors: de Bruijn Sévérine , Anguille Sébastien , Verlooy Joris , Smits Evelien L. , van Tendeloo Viggo F. , de Laere Maxime , Norga Koenraad , Berneman Zwi N. , Lion Eva
Published: September 2019

Dendritic cell-based and other vaccination strategies that use the patient’s own immune system for the treatment of cancer are gaining momentum. Most studies of therapeutic cancer vaccination have been performed in adults. However, since cancer is one of the leading causes of death among children past infancy in the Western world, the hope is that this form of active specific immunotherapy can play an important role in the pediatric population as well. Since children have more vigorous and adaptable immune systems than adults, therapeutic cancer vaccines are expected to have a better chance of creating protective immunity and preventing cancer recurrence in pediatric patients. Moreover, in contrast to conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, therapeutic cancer vaccines are designed to specifically target tumor cells and not healthy cells or tissues. This reduces the likelihood of side effects, which is an important asset in this vulnerable patient population. In this review, we present an overview of the different therapeutic cancer vaccines that have been studied in the pediatric population, with a main focus on dendritic cell-based strategies. In addition, new approaches that are currently being investigated in clinical trials are discussed to provide guidance for further improvement and optimization of pediatric cancer vaccines.
Prognostic and Predictive Implications of PTEN in Breast Cancer: Unfulfilled Promises but Intriguing Perspectives
Authors: Carbognin Luisa , Miglietta Federica , Paris Ida , Dieci Maria Vittoria
Published: September 2019

The characterization of tumor biology and consequently the identification of prognostic and predictive biomarkers represent key issues for the translational research in breast cancer (BC). Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN), the negative regulator of the proto-oncogenic phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway, constitutes one of the most intriguing tumor suppressor genes involved in a series of biological processes, such as cell growth and survival, cellular migration and genomic stability. Loss of PTEN activity, due to protein, genetic or epigenetic alterations, was reported in up to almost half of BC cases. Recently, besides the role of PTEN in the pathogenesis of BC, investigated for over 20 years after the PTEN discovery, several retrospective and prospective translational studies, in the early and advanced setting, reported controversial results regarding the association between PTEN functional status and both clinical outcome and response to various BC treatments. This review explores the pre-clinical and clinical role of PTEN in BC with regard to the potential association of PTEN with prognosis and treatment response or resistance, underlying the complexity of the interpretation of available results and suggesting potential future perspectives.
Effect of Copper Precursors on the Activity and Hydrothermal Stability of CuII−SSZ−13 NH3−SCR Catalysts
Authors: Wang Meixin , Peng Zhaoliang , Zhang Changming , Liu Mengmeng , Han Lina , Hou Yaqin , Huang Zhanggen , Wang Jiancheng , Bao Weiren , Chang Liping
Published: September 2019

A series of CuII−SSZ−13 catalysts are prepared by in-situ hydrothermal method using different copper precursors (CuII(NO3)2, CuIISO4, CuIICl2) for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3 in a simulated diesel vehicle exhaust. The catalysts were characterized by X−ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X−ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), N2 adsorption-desorption, hydrogen-temperature-programmed reduction (H2−TPR), ammonia temperature-programmed desorption (NH3−TPD), and 27Al and 29Si solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). The CuII−SSZ−13 catalyst prepared by CuII(NO3)2 shows excellent catalytic activity and hydrothermal stability. The NO conversion of CuII−SSZ−13 catalyst prepared by CuII(NO3)2 reaches 90% at 180 °C and can remain above 90% at a wide temperature range of 180–700 °C. After aging treatment at 800 °C for 20 h, the CuII−SSZ−13 catalyst prepared by CuII(NO3)2 still exhibits above 90% NO conversion under a temperature range of 240–600 °C. The distribution of Cu species and the Si/Al ratios in the framework of the synthesized CuII−SSZ−13 catalysts, which determine the catalytic activity and the hydrothermal stability of the catalysts, are dependent on the adsorption capacity of anions to the cation during the crystallization process due to the so called Hofmeister anion effects, the NO3− ion has the strongest adsorption capacity among the three kinds of anions (NO3−, Cl−, and SO42−), followed by Cl– and SO42– ions. Therefore, the CuII−SSZ−13 catalyst prepared by CuII(NO3)2 possess the best catalytic ability and hydrothermal stability.
Proteomic Analysis of miR-195 and miR-497 Replacement Reveals Potential Candidates that Increase Sensitivity to Oxaliplatin in MSI/P53wt Colorectal Cancer Cells
Authors: Poel Dennis , Boyd Lenka N.C. , Beekhof Robin , Schelfhorst Tim , Pham Thang V. , Piersma Sander R. , Knol Jaco C. , Jimenez Connie R. , Verheul Henk M.W. , Buffart Tineke E.
Published: September 2019

Most patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) eventually develop resistance to systemic combination therapy. miR-195-5p and miR-497-5p are downregulated in CRC tissues and associated with drug resistance. Sensitization to 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan by transfection with miR-195-5p and miR-497-5p mimics was studied using cell viability and clonogenic assays in cell lines HCT116, RKO, DLD-1, and SW480. In addition, proteomic analysis of transfected cells was implemented to identify potential targets. Significantly altered proteins were subjected to STRING (protein-protein interaction networks) database analysis to study the potential mechanisms of drug resistance. Cell viability analysis of transfected cells revealed increased sensitivity to oxaliplatin in microsatellite instable (MSI)/P53 wild-type HCT116 and RKO cells. HCT116 transfected cells formed significantly fewer colonies when treated with oxaliplatin. In sensitized cells, proteomic analysis showed 158 and 202 proteins with significantly altered expression after transfection with miR-195-5p and miR-497-5p mimics respectively, of which CHUK and LUZP1 proved to be coinciding downregulated proteins. Resistance mechanisms of these proteins may be associated with nuclear factor kappa-B signaling and G1 cell-cycle arrest. In conclusion, miR-195-5p and miR-497-5p replacement enhanced sensitivity to oxaliplatin in treatment naïve MSI/P53 wild-type CRC cells. Proteomic analysis revealed potential miRNA targets associated with the cell-cycle which possibly bare a relation with chemotherapy sensitivity.
The Effect of Gamma Irradiation on the Physiochemical Properties of Caesium-Selective Ammonium Phosphomolybdate–Polyacrylonitrile (AMP–PAN) Composites
Authors: Holdsworth Alistair F. , Eccles Harry , Rowbotham Daniel , Brookfield Adam , Collison David , Bond Gary , Kavi Parthiv C. , Edge Ruth
Published: September 2019

Managing certain by-products of the nuclear fuel cycle, such as the radioactive isotopes of caesium: 134Cs, 135Cs and 137Cs is challenging due to their environmental mobility and radioactivity. While a great many materials can isolate Cs+ ions from neutral or basic aqueous solutions via ion exchange, few of these, with the exception of ammonium phosphomolybdate (AMP), function effectively in acidic media. The use of AMP, and its porous composite in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) for management of Cs radioisotopes in various nuclear wastes have been known for decades and are well studied, yet the effects of radiation on the physiochemical properties of such composites have only received limited attention to date. In a previous publication, we demonstrated that a 100 kGy gamma irradiation dose has negligible effect on the ion exchange performance of AMP and AMP–PAN with respect to capacity or kinetics under the Cs+ concentrations and acidity found in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) recycling. As a continuation of this prior study, in this publication we explore the effects of gamma irradiation on the physiochemical properties of AMP and AMP–PAN using a range of characterisation methods. The effects of the same gamma dose on the oxidation state of Mo in AMP and AMP–PAN, the thermal degradation of both AMP and AMP–PAN, combined with a first study into the high-temperature degradation AMP, are reported. The implications of irradiation, its possible mechanism, the conditions present in SNF recycling, and for the end-of-life disposal or recycling of these materials are also discussed.
Short- and Long-Term Wettability Evolution and Corrosion Resistance of Uncoated and Polymer-Coated Laser-Textured Steel Surface
Authors: Conradi Marjetka , Sever Tina , Gregorčič Peter , Kocijan Aleksandra
Published: September 2019

We present the results of one year observation of wetting and corrosion properties of nanosecond fiber laser-textured stainless steel, uncoated and coated with epoxy or FAS (fluoroalkylsilane)-TiO2/epoxy. A comparative study was performed on samples kept under ambient conditions and in reduced air pressure and humidity. The results show the ability to induce wettability conversion from initially superhydrophilic to final superhydrophobic state either indirectly by ageing the uncoated laser-textured surface or directly by application of FAS-TiO2/epoxy coating. The storage conditions significantly influenced the wettability development of uncoated laser-textured steel, i.e., the process of ageing was slowed down in reduced air pressure and humidity. Detailed surface chemical analysis revealed that adsorption of the organic matters from the surrounding media influences the wettability conversion and ageing. However, the ageing of the coated surfaces was not affected by the storage conditions. Corrosion stability of uncoated laser-textured surfaces was enhanced over time due to the wettability transition, depending on their morphology. Coatings represent a superior barrier over the texture and wettability with the stable long-term surface protection against aggressive media.
UAV-g 2019: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Geomatics
Authors: Nex Francesco
Published: September 2019

Unmanned aerial vehicle in geomatics (UAV-g) is a well-established scientific event dedicated to UAVs in geomatics and remote sensing. In the different editions of the journal, new scientific challenges have increased their synergy with adjacent domains, such as robotics and computer vision, thereby increasing the impact of this conference. The 2019 edition has been hosted by the University of Twente (The Netherlands) and has attracted about 300 participants for the full three-day program. Researchers from 36 different countries (from all continents) have presented 89 accepted papers in 17 oral and 2 poster sessions. The presented papers covered multi-disciplinary topics, such as photogrammetry, natural resources monitoring, autonomous navigation, and deep learning. All these contributions have in common the use of UAV platforms for the innovative acquisition and processing of the acquired data and information extracted from the surrounding environment.
Design and Analysis of the Domestic Micro-Cogeneration Potential for an ORC System Adapted to a Solar Domestic Hot Water System
Authors: Leal-Chavez Daniel , Beltran-Chacon Ricardo , Cardenas-Terrazas Paola , Islas Saúl , Velázquez Nicolás
Published: September 2019

This paper proposes the configuration of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) coupled to a solar domestic hot water system (SDHWS) with the purpose of analyzing the cogeneration capacity of the system. A simulation of the SDHWS was conducted at different temperatures, observing its performance to determine the amounts of useable heat generated by the solar collector; thus, from an energy balance point of view, the amount of heat that may be used by the ORC could be determined. The working fluid that would be suitable for the temperatures and pressures in the system was selected. The best fluid for the given conditions of superheated vapor at 120 °C and 604 kPa and a condensation temperature of 60 °C and 115 kPa was acetone. The main parameters for the expander thermodynamic design that may be used by the ORC were obtained, with the possibility of generating 443 kWh of annual electric energy with 6.65% global efficiency of solar to electric power, or an overall efficiency of the cogeneration system of 56.35% with a solar collector of 2.84 m2.
Multivariate Multiscale Dispersion Entropy of Biomedical Times Series
Authors: Azami Hamed , Fernández Alberto , Escudero Javier
Published: September 2019

Due to the non-linearity of numerous physiological recordings, non-linear analysis of multi-channel signals has been extensively used in biomedical engineering and neuroscience. Multivariate multiscale sample entropy (MSE–mvMSE) is a popular non-linear metric to quantify the irregularity of multi-channel time series. However, mvMSE has two main drawbacks: (1) the entropy values obtained by the original algorithm of mvMSE are either undefined or unreliable for short signals (300 sample points); and (2) the computation of mvMSE for signals with a large number of channels requires the storage of a huge number of elements. To deal with these problems and improve the stability of mvMSE, we introduce multivariate multiscale dispersion entropy (MDE–mvMDE), as an extension of our recently developed MDE, to quantify the complexity of multivariate time series. We assess mvMDE, in comparison with the state-of-the-art and most widespread multivariate approaches, namely, mvMSE and multivariate multiscale fuzzy entropy (mvMFE), on multi-channel noise signals, bivariate autoregressive processes, and three biomedical datasets. The results show that mvMDE takes into account dependencies in patterns across both the time and spatial domains. The mvMDE, mvMSE, and mvMFE methods are consistent in that they lead to similar conclusions about the underlying physiological conditions. However, the proposed mvMDE discriminates various physiological states of the biomedical recordings better than mvMSE and mvMFE. In addition, for both the short and long time series, the mvMDE-based results are noticeably more stable than the mvMSE- and mvMFE-based ones. For short multivariate time series, mvMDE, unlike mvMSE, does not result in undefined values. Furthermore, mvMDE is faster than mvMFE and mvMSE and also needs to store a considerably smaller number of elements. Due to its ability to detect different kinds of dynamics of multivariate signals, mvMDE has great potential to analyse various signals.