bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Forgetting to Remember, Again: On Curatorial Practice and “Cambodian Art” in the Wake of Genocide
Authors: Thompson Ashley
Published: February 2014

The goal is two-fold: to lay an interpretative ground for writing a history of post-genocide Cambodian art, and to suggest ways in which this particular art history is symptomatic of tensions at work more generally in contemporary art and art institutions. The turn of the twenty-first century saw the coalescence of a certain art scene in Cambodia: a loose group of artists and institutions with a number of shared themes, references and outlooks formed in the encounter between different, even opposing cultural paradigms, typically experienced and described as “Eastern” and “Western.” The fact that these paradigms are to some degree constituted in the encounter (or non-encounter) itself in no way negates the apparently natural inevitability of their constitutive role in the contemporary Cambodian art world. On the one hand, much Cambodian art of the past decades has been produced in response to largely external demands that Cambodians assume responsibility for the Khmer Rouge genocide as an historico-political event with traumatic effects on societal, cultural as well as individual levels. Born in part of a perceived absence of Cambodian memory-work, these demands are made or imposed on Cambodia most directly through international initiatives for democracy and justice. The association explicitly made in these demands between a certain treatment of memory regarding the genocide and democratic political rehabilitation is firmly grounded in the experience of the Shoah in Europe and its Euro-American commemorative aftermath. On the other hand, the art has evolved in relation to the historical specifics of the genocide in Cambodia—specifics which themselves have international dimensions—and in response to domestic political and cultural demands. Most pertinent are the ways in which Theravadin Buddhist aspects of contemporary Cambodian society and its dominant cultural forms, characterized by theories and practices of subjectivity that differ significantly from those underpinning the now globalized discourses on democratization, inflect art production in this context.
False Beggars: Marcel Mauss, The Gift , and Its Commentators
Authors: Siegel James
Published: February 2014

A gift to be a gift must be generous. But one gives to others. This makes giving less than generous, stimulating as it does a reflection of oneself that leaves the giver interested. And yet there are what the world calls “gifts.” To explain how this might be possible is the object of the essay. Beginning with an ethnographic perspective it focuses on Marcel Mauss and a few of his commentators.
The Qing State and Its Awareness of Eurasian Interconnections, 1789–1806
Authors: Mosca Matthew W.
Published: February 2014

This article examines the response of the Qing state to two instances in its foreign relations that required long-distance coordination between overland and maritime frontiers: the implementation of a rhubarb embargo in 1789 and the emergence between 1792 and 1806 of clear links between affairs at Kiakhta and Canton. It argues that Qing emperors and minsters had the intelligence capabilities to perceive that their empire was encircled within global networks of economic exchange and political rivalry. Unlike their Russian and British competitors, however, they pursued their interests primarily by seeking to break rather than forge these connections, designing their frontier as a series of discrete sectors rather than one integrated entity.
Where Does History Begin?: J. G. Herder and the Problem of Near Eastern Chronology in the Age of Enlightenment
Authors: Marchand Suzanne
Published: February 2014

This essay treats the very long set of debates concerning biblical and oriental chronology in early modern Europe down to the time of J. G. Herder and William Jones in the later eighteenth century. It shows that sacred chronology remained a burning issue for Herder; controversy about dating “oriental” texts did not wane, even as a series of newly-readable, original texts made their way westward. What did happen in Herder’s lifetime, however, was that a more specialized classical philology began to set the standards for what counted as wissenschaftlich , making it more difficult for scholarly “orientalists” to make the case that the cultures that they studied really had been at the forefront of cultural developments.
Japanese American Beauty Pageants and Minstrel Shows: The Performance of Gender and Race by Nisei Youth during World War II
Authors: McAndrew Malia
Published: February 2014

This essay examines Japanese American youth culture as it was presented in incarceration-camp newspapers. It argues that these publications offered a unique forum for racially suspect Nisei youngsters to represent their bodies, culture, and ideals as fundamentally all-American. Through these publications many Japanese American youth crafted a look that conformed, as much as possible, with white mainstream conceptions of what an American looked like. As such, this essay examines clothing styles, beauty practices, and other cultural means that Japanese American youth used to craft an image of themselves as ideal American citizens. In addition, this essay explores how incarceration-camp newspapers often went a step further by covering the peculiar nature of other American racial minorities, whom they depicted as less patriotic and less American than Japanese American youth. These newspapers reported on minstrel shows put on by Nisei high school students, printed blackface cartoon strips, and ran editorials that critiqued elements of black youth culture. In this way, incarceration-camp newspapers attempted to rework America’s complex racial hierarchy by suggesting that Japanese Americans posed little threat to the United States, while African Americans—the nation’s historic racial other—should be watched with greater suspicion.
Platonic Causes Revisited
Authors: Bailey D. T. J.
Published: February 2014

This paper offers a new interpretation of the notorious section of Plato’s Phaedo , 96a–103a, in which Socrates discourses on the nature of cause and explanation. I offer new reasons for an old account of why Socrates rejects his predecessors’ views wholesale, before turning to a new account of his positive proposals. I steer a path between the two most influential modern approaches to the text by highlighting Socrates’ avowed methodology, arguing that he is not, in the relevant passages, trying to do anything more than provide adequacy conditions for causation. Finally I use these results to illuminate the further fragment of theory he provides in the proof of the soul’s immortality, offering some explanatory models for why Socrates develops his own position s he does. These are quite different from, and more fruitful than, those suggested by the opposing modern approaches previously navigated.
Hobbes and the Question of Power
Authors: Field Sandra
Published: February 2014

Thomas Hobbes has been hailed as the philosopher of power par excellence ; however, I demonstrate that Hobbes’s conceptualization of political power is not stable across his texts. Once the distinction is made between the authorized and the effective power of the sovereign, it is no longer sufficient simply to defend a doctrine of the authorized power of the sovereign; such a doctrine must be robustly complemented by an account of how the effective power commensurate to this authority might be achieved. Nor is this straightforward: for effective political power can fluctuate, sometimes severely. In this light, the prevalent juridical reading of Hobbes’s political philosophy is inadequate.
Democracy, Give or Take?
Authors: DeGooyer Stephanie
Published: February 2014

In 2007, the King of Bhutan “gave” democracy to his people. Using this story as a point of departure, this article interrogates the complicated humanitarian notion of democracy as a gift in thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, Claude Lefort, and Jacques Rancière. After bringing out the paradoxes in the King of Bhutan’s abdication, I speculate to what degree a protest against the Bhutanese state might model a new formulation of democracy, one that cannot be reduced to a consensualist scheme of sovereign sacrifice. While I conclude that we cannot fully abandon an economy of rights as “giving and taking,” a new discussion of the rhetorical structure of rights emerges.
The Tactics and Ethics of Humanitarianism
Authors: Toscano Alberto
Published: February 2014

This review article explores the incisive critiques of contemporary humanitarianism advanced in Meister’s After Evil and Weizman’s The Least of All Possible Evils. Read jointly, the two books allow us to move beyond generic invocations of ethics and liberal visions of international law, in order to explore deeply problematic dimensions of the politics of human rights. Meister’s analysis of “human rights discourse” reveals a technology of time that infinitely postpones justice in the name of a pacifying transition, while Weizman’s chronicling of the spatial strategies of humanitarianism shows us how the calculated lessening of evil is one of foremost figures of neo-colonial and neo-imperial violence today.
“This Isn’t Your Battle or Your Land”: The Native American Occupation of Alcatraz in the Asian-American Political Imagination
Authors: Fung Catherine
Published: February 2014

This article assembles a historical narrative about the Asian-American presence at the Native American occupation of Alcatraz in the earlly 1970s by examining three sources: a series of contemporary articles from the newspaper Gidra , Shawn Wong’s novel Homebase (1979), and Karen Tei Yamashita’s novel I Hotel (2010). In contextualizing this moment within the larger history of cross-racial coalitional politics during the 1960s and 1970s, this paper illustrate how minority nationalisms of the time emerged in “mimetic dynamism”: a process of contiguous interchange that changes the conditions by which it exists. This paper focuses on the Asian-American appropriation of the concept “self-determination” and its relation to land occupation.
Rethinking Alternative Contact in Native American and Chinese Encounters: Juxtaposition in Nineteenth-Century US Newspapers
Authors: Carpenter Cari M. , Yoon K. Hyoejin
Published: February 2014

This essay both introduces the Native/Asian Encounters special issue and theorizes and applies juxtaposition as a heuristic of alternative contact in nineteenth-century US newspapers. It takes as its focus journalistic representations that compare and contrast Chinese and American Indians with each other and with the white settlers and city dwellers on both the East and West Coasts across the nineteenth century. Specifically, the writers analyze the representations of Chinese and Native Americans in specific eras: Black Hawk, the Sauk Indian leader, and Afong Moy, the first documented Chinese woman in the US, in the 1830s; and Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, Paiute orator, in the 1870s. The essay also introduces and summarizes the contributors’ essays that follow.
Powers of Zero: Aggregation, Negation, and the Dimensions of Scale in Indra Sinha's Animal's People
Authors: Taylor Jesse Oak
Published: February 2014

Set in a fictionalized version of Bhopal, India, Indra Sinha's Animal's People is a vivid dramatization of disempowerment and environmental injustice, juxtaposed with the power of narrative and the resilience of communal spirit. Perhaps most intriguingly, it presents hopelessness as a source of strength, the enigmatic "power of zero" possessed by those who having nothing. This article uses Sinha's remarkable novel to think about the novel form as a model for applied social change. The challenge lies in the dynamics of scale. The locus of individual action and identity politics usually associated with the novel form is inadequate to address the issues of aggregation, collectivity, and networked interconnection that are the stuff of global crisis in human and ecological health, especially the elusive the imperative to "go to scale." By contrast, this essay argues that the novel be treated as a thought experiment in the quantum physics of social change.
Insecure Lives: Zombies, Global Health, and the Totalitarianism of Generalization
Authors: Pokornowski Steven
Published: February 2014

This article examines how biological and political insecurity have become increasingly imbricated with one another. Building on Priscilla Wald's assertion that contagion reveals the connections of an imagined community, I show how it also reveals disconnections: who is dispossessed by these imagined communities. Through examinations of the Resident Evil franchise, Steven Soderbergh's Contagion , and Max Brooks's World War Z , I demonstrate how through contagion, individuals are marked as biologically and politically threatening, dispossessed of an imagined community, and then subjected to violence. In all of these texts, the globalization of an imbricated health and security complex enacts a generalizing logic that obscures local history and cultural specificity. This logic works to dispossess individuals of imagined communities along racialized, gendered, and classed lines, and makes that dispossession appear apolitical. This article advocates instead for a recognition of the history and relation of the terms and figures that populate the cultural imaginary.
RESOLUÇÃO DE CONFLITOS NA ESCOLA: UM DESAFIO PARA O EDUCADOR
Authors: Vidigal Sônia Maria Pereira , De Oliveira Aluani Tordin
Published: February 2014

Um dos objetivos da escola atual é contribuir para a formação de cidadãos autônomos, críticos, conscientes de suas atitudes e de seu papel na sociedade. Muitos educadores preocupam-se em como intervir nos conflitos interpessoais vivenciados por seus alunos. Por entendermos que esta é uma questão ligada à evolução da moralidade dos educandos, buscamos na teoria construtivista a compreensão de como se dá o desenvolvimento moral. Com base nessa teoria, refletimos sobre como os educadores das séries iniciais poderiam ter maiores condições de pensar em práticas educativas que visassem os âmbitos: cognitivo, afetivo e moral. Para ilustrar ações possíveis na escola, relatamos um caso real que retrata cenas comuns do nosso cotidiano e, a partir dele, refletimos sobre possíveis caminhos para que nossos alunos atuem na resolução dos conflitos interpessoais que enfrentam em seu dia-a-dia e possam, paulatinamente, buscar a conquista da autonomia moral.http://dx.doi.org/10.14572/nuances.v24i3.2707
Enhancing Value in IT Services Offshoring: Real Options Matter
Authors: Chipalkatti Niranjan , Buchanan Bonnie G. , Koch Bruce , Doh Jonathan
Published: February 2014

In a complex global business environment, more organizations are relying on offshoring to provide critical information technology services (ITS). While there can be substantial cost savings for the offshoring firm, the decision to offshore ITS involves a considerable degree of uncertainty and it is essential to understand the issues and hurdles that will be faced by the offshoring operation. Based on a sample of 189 firms from 34 industries (with most coming from the Asia-Pacific region) that have made at least one offshoring decision, we find that larger market capitalized firms are more likely to outsource offshore than smaller firms. Our results also indicate an initial decrease in downside risk with a diminution in the decline, as offshore intensity increases. We also find some evidence of offshoring’s contribution to growth premia. In considering contingencies to adopt in order to manage downside risk, a real-options framework is discussed. Our findings support the view of offshoring as a dynamic process firms use to create value by leveraging growth options and mitigating risk. By considering the real-options possibilities, the investor gets a better picture of the potential losses and gains which should lead to more prudent IT offshoring investment decisions.
Congestion of Academic Journals Under Papers’ Imperfect Selection
Authors: Besancenot Damien , Faria João R. , Huynh Kim V.
Published: February 2014

This paper studies how the congestion of its editorial process affects an academic journal. In a publishing game played by researchers and editors, we assume that quality screening by editors depends on their ability to properly process the flow of submissions. When too many papers arrive, this ability declines and editors may reject good papers or accept papers with little contribution to scientific knowledge. In this game, a separating equilibrium always exists in which only good researchers submit their papers to the journal. Each paper is accepted and the quality of the journal reaches its highest level. However, when the researchers’ reward for each publication exceeds a given threshold, two hybrid equilibria are also feasible. In these equilibria, authors of low-quality papers submit their papers to the journal and, as the flow of papers exceeds the editors’ capacity of perfect assessment, the selection process becomes imperfect. This creates an opportunity for authors to submit poor quality papers, a behaviour which contributes to the congestion of the editorial process. The various strategies implemented by the editors to oppose congestion are then discussed.
Classical and Neural Network–Based Approach of Model Predictive Control for Binary Continuous Distillation Column
Authors: Singh Amit Kumar , Tyagi Barjeev , Kumar Vishal
Published: February 2014

The objective of present research work is to develop a neural network–based model predictive control scheme (NN-MPC) for distillation column. To fulfill this objective, an existing laboratory setup of continuous binary-type distillation column (BDC) is used. An equation-based model that uses the fundamental physical and chemical laws along with valid normal assumptions is validated for this experimental setup. Model predictive control (MPC) is one of the main process control techniques explored in the recent past for various chemical engineering applications; therefore, the conventional MPC scheme and the proposed NN-MPC scheme are applied on the equation-based model to control the methanol composition. In NN-MPC scheme, a three-layer feedforward neural network model has been developed and is used to predict the methanol composition over a prediction horizon using the MPC algorithm for searching the optimal control moves. The training data is acquired by the simulation of the equation-based model under the variation of manipulated variables in the defined range. Two cases have been considered, one is for set point tracking and another is for feed flow disturbance rejection. The performance of the control schemes is compared on the basis of performance parameters namely overshoot and settling time. NN-MPC and MPC schemes are also compared with conventional PID controller. The results show the improvement in settling time with NN-MPC scheme as compared to MPC and conventional PID controller for both the cases.
Leptin, a mediator of cardiac damage associated with obesity
Authors: Martínez-Martínez E. , Jurado-López R. , Cervantes-Escalera P. , Cachofeiro V. , Miana M.
Published: February 2014

Obesity and excess of adipose tissue are associated with the development of cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. At the cardiac level, various morphological adaptations in cardiac structure and function occur in obese individuals. Different mechanisms linking obesity to these modifications have been postulated. Adipose tissue and epicardial fat releases a large number of cytokines and bioactive mediators such as leptin. Leptin circulates in proportion to body fat mass, thus serving as a satiety signal and informing central metabolic control centers as to the status of peripheral energy stores. It participates in numerous other functions both peripherally and centrally, as indicated by the wide distribution of leptin and the different isoforms of its receptor in different tissues including the heart. This hormone has distinct effects on the reproductive, cardiovascular, and immune systems; however, its role in the heart could mediate wide physiological effects observed in obese individuals. Oxidative stress is associated with obesity and may be considered to be a unifying mechanism in the development of obesity-related comorbidities. It has been reported that obesity may induce systemic oxidative stress; in turn, oxidative stress is associated with an irregular production of adipokines. We herein review the current knowledge of cardiac effects of leptin and the possible mechanisms that are involved, including oxidative stress that plays a major role in the development of cardiovascular damage.
Sleep disturbances, body fat distribution, food intake and/or energy expenditure: pathophysiological aspects
Authors: St-Onge Marie-Pierre , Shechter Ari
Published: February 2014

Data from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have illustrated a relationship between short sleep duration (SSD) and weight gain. Individuals with SSD are heavier and gain more weight over time than normal-duration sleepers. This sleep-obesity relationship may have consequences for obesity treatments, as it appears that short sleepers have reduced ability to lose weight. Laboratory-based clinical studies found that experimental sleep restriction affects energy expenditure and intake, possibly providing a mechanistic explanation for the weight gain observed in chronic short sleepers. Specifically, compared to normal sleep duration, sleep restriction increases food intake beyond the energetic costs of increased time spent awake. Reasons for this increased energy intake after sleep restriction are unclear but may include disrupted appetite-regulating hormones, altered brain mechanisms involved in the hedonic aspects of appetite, and/or changes in sleep quality and architecture. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder at the intersection of sleep and obesity, and the characteristics of the disorder illustrate many of the effects of sleep disturbances on body weight and vice versa. Specifically, while obesity is among the main risk factors for OSA, the disorder itself and its associated disturbances in sleep quality and architecture seem to alter energy balance parameters and may induce further weight gain. Several intervention trials have shown that weight loss is associated with reduced OSA severity. Thus, weight loss may improve sleep, and these improvements may promote further weight loss. Future studies should establish whether increasing sleep duration/improving sleep quality can induce weight loss.
Chemical Equilibrium Model and Prediction for Coal Hydrogasification
Authors: Yan Linbo , He Boshu , Ma Lele , Pei Xiaohui , Wang Chaojun
Published: February 2014

Researches on coal hydrogasification (CHG) which is the core component of the zero emission coal (ZEC) system are rarely reported and the characteristics of CHG have not been well understood. A chemical equilibrium model (CEM) for coal hydrogasification is proposed in this work to study the effects of different reaction conditions on the CHG characteristics. The results from the model are then validated against literature available experimental data and the model is proved reliable. After the validation, sensitivity analysis on the CHG process is done and meaningful results are obtained. Increasing the reaction pressure (p) and H2/coal mass ratio (R) or decreasing the reaction temperature (T) can enhance the hydrogasification reactions. The carbon conversion rate begins to decrease at 800 K and 1,250 K for operation pressures of 0.1 MPa and 7 MPa, respectively. Remarkable effects on the gasification characteristics are found when p is lower than 1 MPa. At 7 MPa and 1,000 K, carbon is entirely converted when R is 0.25 and the maximum CH4 mole fraction is reached. In the case that T is variable, carbon will be all converted at 7 MPa when R is about 0.5. Carbon will never be all converted at 0.1 MPa no matter how high R is. Mole fraction of CH4 will decrease with R both at the pressures of 7 MPa and 0.1 MPa.
Online horizontal partitioning of heterogeneous data
Authors: Herrmann Kai , Voigt Hannes , Lehner Wolfgang
Published: February 2014

In an increasing number of use cases, databases face the challenge of
managing heterogeneous data. Heterogeneous data is characterized by
a quickly evolving variety of entities without a common set of
attributes. These entities do not show enough regularity to be
captured in a traditional database schema. A common solution is to
centralize the diverse entities in a universal table. Usually, this
leads to a very sparse table. Although today's techniques allow
efficient storage of sparse universal tables, query efficiency is
still a problem. Queries that address only a subset of attributes
have to read the whole universal table including many irrelevant
entities. A solution is to use a partitioning of the table, which
allows pruning partitions of irrelevant entities before they are
touched. Creating and maintaining such a partitioning manually is
very laborious or even infeasible, due to the enormous
complexity. Thus an autonomous solution is desirable.

In this article, we define the Online Partitioning Problem for
heterogeneous data. We sketch how an optimal solution for this
problem can be determined based on hypergraph partitioning. Although
it leads to the optimal partitioning, the hypergraph approach is
inappropriate for an implementation in a database system. We present
Cinderella, an autonomous online algorithm for horizontal partitioning
of heterogeneous entities in universal tables. Cinderella is designed
to keep its overhead low by operating online; it incrementally assigns
entities to partition while they are touched anyway during
modifications. This enables a reasonable physical database design at
runtime instead of static modeling.
Autonomic physical database design – from indexing to multidimensional clustering
Authors: Baumann Stephan , Sattler Kai-Uwe
Published: February 2014

Database design is a well-studied and well-understood problem in developing database applications.
However, modern application requirements in terms of query response time, query throughput, database sizes, database maintenance and database interactivity capabilities on the one hand, and the manifold features of modern DBMS for physical schema design such as numerous different index structures, materialized views, partitioning, and clustering schemes on the other hand make high demands on the database design process.
With this growing number of impact factors on physical database design automatic solutions have been developed and are provided in most systems, while research in this area still continues.
In this paper, we give a survey on the state of the art in autonomic physical design. Starting with the classic index tuning problem and possible solutions, we describe further design problems such as choosing materializations of aggregations for OLAP and multidimensional clustering schemes. Finally, we point out to most recent challenges resulting from a shift in requirements and give a direction on how to tackle these.
Calibration of an infrared 3d scanner
Authors: Dunker Thomas , Luther Sebastian
Published: February 2014

The AiMESS Services GmbH has developed a new infrared fringe projection
system, which allows 3D
measurements on specular surfaces and many
materials, which are transparent
for the visible spectrum of light.
This article presents a model and a calibration method for this system and
explains why existing models for fringe projection systems did not
fit.
A Sensitive Period for the Impact of Hearing Loss on Auditory Perception
Authors: Buran Bradley N. , Sarro Emma C. , Manno Francis A. M. , Kang Ramanjot , Caras Melissa L. , Sanes Dan H.
Published: February 2014

Manipulations of the sensory environment typically induce greater changes to the developing nervous system than they do in adulthood. The relevance of these neural changes can be evaluated by examining the age-dependent effects of sensory experience on quantitative measures of perception. Here, we measured frequency modulation (FM) detection thresholds in adult gerbils and investigated whether diminished auditory experience during development or in adulthood influenced perceptual performance. Bilateral conductive hearing loss (CHL) of ≈30 dB was induced either at postnatal day 10 or after sexual maturation. All animals were then trained as adults to detect a 5 Hz FM embedded in a continuous 4 kHz tone. FM detection thresholds were defined as the minimum deviation from the carrier frequency that the animal could reliably detect. Normal-hearing animals displayed FM thresholds of 25 Hz. Inducing CHL, either in juvenile or adult animals, led to a deficit in FM detection. However, this deficit was greater for juvenile onset hearing loss (89 Hz) relative to adult onset hearing loss (64 Hz). The effects could not be attributed to sensation level, nor were they correlated with proxies for attention. The thresholds displayed by CHL animals were correlated with shallower psychometric function slopes, suggesting that hearing loss was associated with greater variance of the decision variable, consistent with increased internal noise. The results show that decreased auditory experience has a greater impact on perceptual skills when initiated at an early age and raises the possibility that altered development of CNS synapses may play a causative role.
Firing Pattern Characteristics of Tonically Active Neurons in Rat Striatum: Context Dependent or Species Divergent?
Authors: Benhamou Liora , Kehat Orli , Cohen Dana
Published: February 2014

Tonically active neurons (TANs)—presumably, striatal cholinergic interneurons—exert a strong influence on striatal information processing. Primate studies often describe a characteristic TAN response comprising suppressed activity followed by rebound firing that occasionally is preceded by a brief activation. By contrast, studies in behaving rats report pronounced excitation during movement. These differences in firing patterns may be due to variations in behavioral conditions or could stem from the fact that TANs in rodents use different neuronal mechanisms. If similar/different task conditions yield similar/different activity patterns, then the two species may share neuronal mechanisms; however, if similar task conditions yield different activity patterns, then the two species use different neuronal mechanisms. To evaluate these possibilities, we recorded TAN activity in the ventral and dorsolateral striatal regions in rats performing a simple instrumental task similar in concept to one used in primate studies. We demonstrate that TAN activity is substantially influenced by event context; yet, under identical task conditions, primate and rat TANs display similar activity patterns, whereas under different conditions they do not. Our results suggest that the observed differences in firing patterns likely reflect dissimilarities in task attributes rather than species-dependent neuronal mechanisms and call for re-evaluation of the excitatory response in primate research.
Androgen-regulated metabolism and biosynthesis in prostate cancer
Authors: Barfeld Stefan J , Itkonen Harri M , Urbanucci Alfonso , Mills Ian G
Published: February 2014

Metabolic changes are a well-described hallmark of cancer and are responses to changes in the activity of diverse oncogenes and tumour suppressors. For example, steroid hormone biosynthesis is intimately associated with changes in lipid metabolism and represents a therapeutic intervention point in the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa). Both prostate gland development and tumorigenesis rely on the activity of a steroid hormone receptor family member, the androgen receptor (AR). Recent studies have sought to define the biological effect of the AR on PCa by defining the whole-genome binding sites and gene networks that are regulated by the AR. These studies have provided the first systematic evidence that the AR influences metabolism and biosynthesis at key regulatory steps within pathways that have also been defined as points of influence for other oncogenes, including c-Myc, p53 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, in other cancers. The success of interfering with these pathways in a therapeutic setting will, however, hinge on our ability to manage the concomitant stress and survival responses induced by such treatments and to define appropriate therapeutic windows.
The Evolution of Phenotypic Switching in Subdivided Populations
Authors: Carja Oana , Liberman Uri , Feldman Marcus W
Published: February 2014

Stochastic switching is an example of phenotypic bet hedging, where offspring can express a phenotype different from that of their parents. Phenotypic switching is well documented in viruses, yeast, and bacteria and has been extensively studied when the selection pressures vary through time. However, there has been little work on the evolution of phenotypic switching under both spatially and temporally fluctuating selection pressures. Here we use a population genetic model to explore the interaction of temporal and spatial variation in determining the evolutionary dynamics of phenotypic switching. We find that the stable switching rate is mainly determined by the rate of environmental change and the migration rate. This stable rate is also a decreasing function of the recombination rate, although this is a weaker effect than those of either the period of environmental change or the migration rate. This study highlights the interplay of spatial and temporal environmental variability, offering new insights into how migration can influence the evolution of phenotypic switching rates, mutation rates, or other sources of phenotypic variation.
Absorption enhancement in photonic crystal thin films by pseudo disordered perturbations
Authors: Peretti Romain , Gomard Guillaume , Lalouat Loïc , Seassal Christian , Drouard Emmanuel
Published: February 2014

The effects resulting from the introduction of a controlled perturbation in a single pattern membrane on its absorption are first studied and then analyzed on the basis of band folding considerations. The interest of this approach for photovoltaic applications is finally demonstrated by overcoming the integrated absorption of an optimized single pattern membrane through the introduction of a proper pseudo disordered perturbation.
Nanoantioxidant Materials for Theranostics: Near-Infrared Plasmon Enhanced Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer
Authors: Deligiannakis Yiannis , Sotiriou Georgios A , Pratsinis Sotiris E
Published: February 2014

Hydrogen atom H (≡ proton + electron) transfer (HAT), is the most common reaction that involves the transfer of two elementary particles, a proton and an electron. Antioxidant, proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions involve also the transfer of two elementary particles, a proton and an electron. These constitute the fundamental step in a wide range of processes, chemical energy technologies, which rely on e–/H+ transfer from combustion and aerobic oxidations, to enzymatic catalysis and the destructive effects of reactive oxygen species in vivo. Here we describe a novel phenomenon, plasmonically-enhanced PCET, using nanothin silica-coated plasmonic Ag nanoparticles, functionalized with gallic acid, a natural antioxidant molecule, that is able to perform PCET. These nanoparticles can transfer rapidly electrons and protons to stable radicals. The kinetics and yield of these PCET reactions can be enhanced by plasmonic resonance modes excited by low-power, near-Infrared (785nm) laser irradiation. The demonstration that these plasmonic nanoparticles can enhance the HAT rates for both electrons and protons expands the traditional view of interfacial PCET. The occurrence of interfacial plasmon-enhancement of PCET brings together so far unrelated domains of nanoplasmonics, electron/proton translocation with significant impact on a variety of applications and most notably in theranostics.
Characterization of mechanical, optical and structural properties of bismuth oxide thin films as a write-once medium for blue laser recording
Authors: Martyniuk M. , Baldwin D. , Jeffery R. , Silva K.K.M.B.D. , Woodward R.C. , Cliff J. , Krishnan R.N. , Dell J.M. , Faraone L
Published: February 2014

We report on the preparation and characterization of crystalline bismuth oxide thin films via Biased Target Ion Beam Deposition method. A focused blue laser (405nm) is used to write an array of dots in the bismuth oxide thin film and demonstrate clear and circular recording marks in form of “bubbles” or “little volcanos” (FWHM ∼500nm). Results indicate excellent static recording characteristics, writing sensitivity and contrast. The recording mechanism is investigated and is believed to be related to laser-induced morphology change.
Análise dos valores de composição corporal em homens com diferentes níveis de lesão medular
Authors: Ribeiro Neto Frederico , Lopes Guilherme Henrique Ramos
Published: February 2014

INTRODUÇÃO: A proporção entre massa corporal magra e de gordura é um preditor de doenças metabólicas. Assim, quantificar variáveis de composição corporal, iniciando uma análise de valores de referência de acordo com o nível da lesão medular (LM), tornou-se importante para o planejamento e monitoramento de atividades físicas. OBJETIVOS: 1) Determinar valores de referências de somatório de dobras cutâneas (ΣDC) e percentual de gordura em diferentes níveis de LM. 2) Detectar diferenças de composição corporal entre níveis de LM. 3) Correlacionar ΣDC com tempo de lesão e índice de massa corpórea (IMC). MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Setenta e quatro pacientes homens com LM, de 18 a 52 anos, foram divididos em tetraplegia (TT - C4 a C8), paraplegia alta (PPa - T1 a T6) e paraplegia baixa (PPb - T7 a L3). A composição corporal foi avaliada pelas dobras cutâneas. RESULTADOS: Não houve diferença significativa entre TT, PPa e PPb para as variáveis tempo de lesão, estatura, massa corporal total, ΣDC, percentual de gordura, massa corporal magra e IMC. Apenas a idade diferenciou entre os grupos TT e PPb (P < 0,05). A variável ΣDC não se correlacionou com o nível de lesão (rho = -0,08; IC95%: -0,537 a 0,420) ou com tempo de lesão (rho = 0,18; IC95%: -0,050 a 0,393). Não houve diferença significativa entre lesão completa e incompleta para todas as variáveis antropométricas. O ΣDC correlacionou-se positivamente com o IMC (rho = 0,68; IC95%: 0,539 a 0,739). CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS: TT, PPa e PPb não apresentaram diferenças significativas nos valores de composição corporal. O IMC apresentou boa correlação com ΣDC entre os grupos.
A interface entre bioética e fisioterapia nos artigos brasileiros indexados
Authors: Lorenzo Cláudio Fortes Garcia , Bueno Gláucia Teles Araújo
Published: February 2014

INTRODUÇÃO: Apesar de ainda muito incipiente a aproximação entre fisioterapia e bioética no Brasil, tem sido crescente a preocupação com o seu desenvolvimento devido à variedade de conflitos éticos que podem envolver os fisioterapeutas. O objetivo deste artigo foi fazer um estudo sobre as temáticas e a fundamentação teórica dos artigos indexados que pretendiam discutir a interface entre fisioterapia e bioética. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Trata-se de estudo de análise de conteúdo pelo método de Bardin em todos os artigos publicados em revistas indexadas, encontrados nas fontes BIREME e SciELO entre 2000 e 2011, utilizando os descritores: fisioterapia e bioética e seus derivados. RESULTADOS: Confirmou-se o nível primário do desenvolvimento da reflexão bioética em fisioterapia, mostrando deficiências conceituais, distanciamento das teorias mais modernas e dos modelos desenvolvidos no Brasil e falta de consideração dos contextos socioculturais e econômicos como elementos que influenciam a geração de conflitos. CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS: Apontou-se a necessidade de desenvolver projetos de capacitação em bioética para professores e pesquisadores da área de fisioterapia, com vistas ao desenvolvimento de conteúdos nos programas de graduação e pós-graduação.
Prática habitual de atividade física afeta o equilíbrio de idosas?
Authors: Freitas Eliane Regina Ferreira Sernache de , Rogério Fernando Raphael Pinto Guedes , Yamacita Cárita Mayume , Vareschi Mayara de Luca , Silva Rubens Alexandre da
Published: February 2014

INTRODUÇÃO: Os sistemas responsáveis pela manutenção do controle postural naturalmente entram em declínio com o avanço da idade, o que pode comprometer a capacidade de manter a postura nos limites de estabilidade, influenciando no equilíbrio das estruturas corporais e, consequentemente, aumentando os riscos de quedas. OBJETIVO: Verificar o impacto da prática habitual de atividade física sobre os parâmetros estabilográficos, equilíbrio estático e dinâmico de idosos fisicamente independentes. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Trata-se de um estudo transversal e descritivo. A amostra foi composta de 77 mulheres com idade entre 60 a 75 anos estratificadas em cinco grupos de acordo com a prática de atividade física classificada pelo International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Foi utilizada a plataforma de força para avaliação estabilográfica, Teste de Apoio Unipodal (TAU) - equilíbrio estático, e o Timed Up and Go (TUG) - equilíbrio dinâmico. RESULTADOS: Foram observadas diferenças estatisticamente significantes em todos os parâmetros estabilométricos analisados exceto na velocidade de oscilação no eixo X. Por outro lado, os resultados referentes aos testes funcionais não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre os grupos, entretanto, para o TUG verificou-se uma tendência à boa mobilidade funcional com o aumento da prática habitual de atividade física. CONCLUSÃO: A prática habitual de atividade física mais elevada representa melhora na estabilidade corporal quantificada pela estabilometria, fato este não demonstrado nos testes neuromotores.
Capacidade funcional como preditor de qualidade de vida na insuficiência cardíaca
Authors: Ulbrich Anderson Zampier , Netto Almir Schmitt , Angarten Vitor Giatte , Marques Thais , Sties Sabrina Weiss , Carvalho Tales de
Published: February 2014

INTRODUÇÃO: A insuficiência cardíaca (IC) prejudica a qualidade de vida (QV), enquanto a reabilitação cardiopulmonar e metabólica (RCPM) de pacientes com a síndrome proporciona melhora da capacidade funcional (CF) e da qualidade de vida. OBJETIVOS: Determinar a relação dos domínios da QV com a CF de pacientes com IC, assim como propor pontos de corte dos domínios da QV por meio da CF. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Avaliou-se 57 pacientes com IC, classe funcional II e III, sendo 37 ingressantes (GI) no programa de RCPM e 20 participantes (GP) com mais de três meses de programa. A QV foi avaliada pelo questionário de Minnesota por meio dos domínios físicos, emocionais e dimensões gerais. A CF foi determinada por meio do teste de caminhada de seis minutos (TC6'), tendo pontos de corte definidos conforme proposto na literatura. Utilizou-se teste t de Student, correlação de Pearson e análise da curva ROC para responder aos objetivos da pesquisa, considerando significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: Participantes da RCPM apresentaram melhores escores da QV quando comparados aos ingressantes. Correlações significativas foram observadas entre o domínio emocional e TC6' para ambos os grupos. Verificou-se pontos de corte significativos dos domínios da QV advindos da CF, com destaque ao domínio emocional (sensibilidade/especificidade) para ambos os grupos. CONCLUSÃO: Os portadores de IC com mais de três meses de RCPM apresentaram melhor QV e capacidade funcional do que os iniciantes. O domínio emocional do questionário de Minnesota se mostrou um bom preditor de ponto de corte da capacidade funcional.
Atividade eletromiográfica dos extensores de tronco durante manuseio pelo Método Neuroevolutivo Bobath
Authors: Pagnussat Aline de Souza , Simon Anelise de Saldanha , Santos Camila Grazziotin dos , Postal Morgana , Manacero Sonia , Ramos Renata Raab
Published: February 2014

INTRODUÇÃO: Paralisia cerebral é um distúrbio caracterizado por alterações no desenvolvimento da atividade, do movimento e da postura. O Conceito Neuroevolutivo Bobath é um método utilizado na reabilitação neuropediátrica, fundamentando-se na facilitação da aquisição de habilidades sensório-motoras de acordo com a sequência de desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor normal. OBJETIVO: Verificar atividade eletromiográfica de músculos envolvidos no controle cervical nos planos frontal, sagital e transverso, mediante manuseio em pontos-chave de controle, objetivando transferência de peso e estabilização corporal. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Trata-se de uma avaliação quantitativa em um estudo de caso, no qual uma paciente de sete anos de idade, com diagnóstico clínico de paralisia cerebral e síndrome de West, foi submetida à análise eletromiográfica da musculatura envolvida no controle cervical, mediante manuseio em pontos-chave de controle. O registo ocorreu durante o manuseio utilizando postura de decúbito ventral sobre cunha e postura de decúbito lateral sobre o solo. RESULTADOS: O sinal eletromiográfico dos extensores e flexores na região cervical intensificou-se mediante manuseio para transferência de peso em ponto-chave de quadril em ambas as posturas. Embora o sinal de base tenha sido ampliado durante a transferência de peso para o quadril, o registro eletromiográfico nos segmentos musculares avaliados foi superior no decúbito lateral. CONCLUSÕES: Verificou-se que a transferência de peso para o quadril induziu facilitação do controle cervical e que o decúbito lateral de forma repetida e sustentada, mediante correto manuseio, alinhamento e transferência de peso, facilitou de forma mais pronunciada a atividade muscular na região cervical e de tronco superior do que o manuseio em decúbito ventral sobre a cunha.
Sintomas musculoesqueléticos em motoristas de ônibus: prevalência e fatores associados
Authors: De Vitta Alberto , De Conti Marta Helena Souza , Trize Débora de Melo , Quintino Natasha Mendonça , Palma Roger , Simeão Sandra Fiorelli de Almeida Penteado
Published: February 2014

INTRODUÇÃO: Os profissionais do transporte coletivo realizam atividades laborais que envolvem grande número de fatores de risco para acometimentos musculoesqueléticos, e o conhecimento desses riscos é fundamental para que esses trabalhadores possam gozar de boa qualidade de vida. OBJETIVOS: Verificar a prevalência dos sintomas musculoesqueléticos em motoristas de ônibus urbano e investigar fatores associados. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Realizou-se um estudo transversal com 55 motoristas de uma empresa de uma cidade do estado de São Paulo, com a utilização de questionário muldimensional composto de variáveis demográficas, ocupacionais e hábitos de vida, assim como o Índice de Capacidade para o Trabalho e o Questionário Nórdico de Sintomas Osteomusculares. RESULTADOS: Realizaram-se análises descritiva, bivariada e multivariada por regressão logística binária. Verificou-se que 65,7% dos trabalhadores relataram algum tipo de sintoma osteomuscular nos últimos 12 meses, localizados, principalmente, na região lombar (17,0%), ombros e joelhos (13,3%). Observou-se associação entre os sintomas e o baixo nível de escolaridade, a alta demanda psicológica, o sedentarismo e o baixo nível de capacidade para o trabalho. CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de sintomas osteomusculares nos motoristas é alta, necessitando de ações de promoção à saúde.