bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CARF (Collaborator of ARF) overexpression in p53‐deficient cells promotes carcinogenesis
Authors: Kalra Rajkumar S. , Cheung Caroline T. , Chaudhary Anupama , Prakash Jay , Kaul Sunil C. , Wadhwa Renu
Published: August 2015

Collaborator of ARF (CARF), initially identified as a binding partner of ARF (Alternate Reading Frame), has been shown to activate ARF–p53 pathway by multiple ways including stabilization of ARF and p53 tumor suppressor proteins, and transcriptional repression of a p53 antagonist, HDM2. Level of CARF expression was shown to determine fate of cells. Whereas its knockdown caused apoptosis, its over‐ and super‐expressions caused senescence and increase in malignant properties of cancer cells, respectively, and were closely linked to increase and decrease in p53 activity. Using p53‐compromised cancer cells, we demonstrate that CARF induces growth arrest when wild type p53 is present and in p53‐absence, it promotes carcinogenesis. Biochemical analyses on CARF‐induced molecular signaling revealed that in p53‐null cells, it caused transcriptional repression of p21WAF1 leading to increase in CDK4, CDK6, pRb and E2F1 resulting in continued cell cycle progression. Furthermore, it instigated increase in migration and invasion of cancer cells that was marked by upregulation of MMP2, MMP3, MMP9, uPA, several interleukins and VEGF expression. Consistent with these findings, we found that human clinical samples of epithelial and glial cancers (frequently marked by loss of p53 function) possessed high level of CARF expression showing a relationship with cancer aggressiveness. The data demonstrated that CARF could be considered as a diagnostic marker and a therapeutic target in p53‐compromised malignancies.
Quantum Statistical Mechanics
Authors: Schieve William C. , Horwitz Lawrence P.
Published: August 2015

Many-body theory stands at the foundation of modern quantum statistical mechanics. It is introduced here to graduate students in physics, chemistry, engineering and biology. The book provides a contemporary understanding of irreversibility, particularly in quantum systems. It explains entropy production in quantum kinetic theory and in the master equation formulation of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. The first half of the book focuses on the foundations of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics with emphasis on quantum mechanics. The second half of the book contains alternative views of quantum statistical mechanics, and topics of current interest for advanced graduate level study and research. Unique to textbooks on this subject, this book contains a discussion of the fundamental Gleason theorem. Quantum entanglements are treated in application to quantum computation and the difficulties arising from decoherence. The relativistic generalization of the Boltzmann equation is derived, and modern transport applications to reservoir ballistic transport are developed.
Filter Bank Transceivers for OFDM and DMT Systems
Authors: Lin Yuan-Pei , Phoong See-May , Vaidyanathan P. P.
Published: August 2015

Providing key background material together with advanced topics, this self-contained book is written in an easy-to-read style and is ideal for newcomers to multicarrier systems. Early chapters provide a review of basic digital communication, starting from the equivalent discrete time channel and including a detailed review of the MMSE receiver. Later chapters then provide extensive performance analysis of OFDM and DMT systems, with discussions of many practical issues such as implementation and power spectrum considerations. Throughout, theoretical analysis is presented alongside practical design considerations, whilst the filter bank transceiver representation of OFDM and DMT systems opens up possibilities for further optimization such as minimum bit error rate, minimum transmission power, and higher spectral efficiency. With plenty of insightful real-world examples and carefully designed end-of-chapter problems this is an ideal single-semester textbook for senior undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a self-study guide for researchers and professional engineers.
Case
Authors: Baker Mark
Published: August 2015

In Case, Mark Baker develops a unified theory of how the morphological case marking of noun phrases is determined by syntactic structure. Designed to work well for languages of all alignment types - accusative, ergative, tripartite, marked nominative, or marked absolutive - this theory has been developed and tested against unrelated languages of each type, and more than twenty non-Indo-European languages are considered in depth. While affirming that case can be assigned to noun phrases by function words under agreement, the theory also develops in detail a second mode of case assignment: so-called dependent case. Suitable for academic researchers and students, the book employs formal-generative concepts yet remains clear and accessible for a general linguistics readership.
Radicals in America
Authors: Brick Howard , Phelps Christopher
Published: August 2015

Radicals in America is a masterful history of controversial dissenters who pursued greater equality, freedom and democracy - and transformed the nation. Written with clarity and verve, Radicals in America shows how radical leftists, while often marginal or ostracized, could assume a catalytic role as effective organizers in mass movements, fostering the imagination of alternative futures. Beginning with the Second World War, Radicals in America extends all the way down to the present, making it the first comprehensive history of radicalism to reach beyond the sixties. From the Communist Party and the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, its coverage extends to the Battle of Seattle and Occupy Wall Street. Each chapter begins with a particular life story, including a Harlem woman deported in the McCarthy era, a gay Japanese-American opponent of the Vietnam War, and a Native American environmentalist, vignettes that bring to life the personal within the political.
Organic Electro-Optics and Photonics
Authors: Dalton Larry R. , Günter Peter , Jazbinsek Mojca , Kwon O-Pil , Sullivan Philip A.
Published: August 2015

This definitive guide to modern organic electro-optic and photonic technologies provides critical insight into recent advances in organic electro-optic materials, from the underlying quantum and statistical concepts through to the practical application of materials in modern devices and systems.
• Introduces theoretical and experimental methods for improving organic electro-optic and photonic technologies
• Reviews the central concepts of nonlinear optics, focusing on multi-scale theoretical methods
• Provides clear insight into the structure and function relationships critical to optimizing the performance of devices based on organic electro-optic materials.
Serving as a primer for the systematic nano-engineering of soft matter materials, this is an invaluable resource for those involved in the development of modern telecommunication, computing, and sensing technologies depending on electro-optic technology. It is also an indispensable work of reference for academic researchers and graduate students in the fields of chemistry, physics, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, and chemical engineering.
Building Legislative Coalitions for Free Trade in Asia
Authors: Naoi Megumi
Published: August 2015

What accounts for the large reduction in trade barriers among new democracies in Asia after World War II? Using new data from Japan and Thailand, this book provides a surprising answer: politicians, especially party leaders, liberalized trade by buying off legislative support with side-payments such as pork barrel projects. Trade liberalization was a legislative triumph, not an executive achievement. This finding challenges the conventional 'insulation' argument, which posits that insulating executives from special interest groups and voters is the key to successful trade liberalization. By contrast, this book demonstrates that party leaders built open economy coalitions with legislators by feeding legislators' rent-seeking desires with side-payments rather than depriving their appetites. This book unravels the political foundations of open economy.
Terrorism and the Right to Resist
Authors: Finlay Christopher J.
Published: August 2015

The words 'rebellion' and 'revolution' have gained renewed prominence in the vocabulary of world politics and so has the question of justifiable armed 'resistance'. In this book Christopher J. Finlay extends just war theory to provide a rigorous and systematic account of the right to resist oppression and of the forms of armed force it can justify. He specifies the circumstances in which rebels have the right to claim recognition as legitimate actors in revolutionary wars against domestic tyranny and injustice and wars of liberation against wrongful foreign occupation and colonialism. Arguing that violence is permissible only in a narrow range of cases, Finlay shows that the rules of engagement vary during and between different conflicts and explores the potential for irregular tactics to become justifiable, such as non-uniformed guerrillas and civilian disguise, the assassination of political leaders and regime officials, and the waging of terrorist war against civilian targets.
Robotic Industrialization
Authors: Bock Thomas , Linner Thomas
Published: August 2015

In this volume, concepts, technologies and developments in the field of building-component manufacturing - based on concrete, brick, wood and steel as building materials and on large-scale prefabrication, delivering complex, customized components and products - are introduced and discussed. Robotic industrialization refers to the transformation of parts and low-level components into higher-level components, modules and finally building systems by highly mechanized, automated, or robot-supported industrial settings in structured off-site environments. Components and modules are open building systems (in modular building product structures) that are delivered by suppliers to original equipment manufacturers such as, for example, large-scale prefabrication companies or automated/robotic on-site factories. In particular, innovative large-scale prefabrication companies have altered the building structures, manufacturing processes, and organizational structures significantly to be able to assemble in their factories high-level components and modules from Tier-1 suppliers into customized buildings by heavily utilizing robotic technology in combination with automated logistics and production lines.
Transparency in International Investment Arbitration
Authors: Wong Meagan , Hadgett Rebecca
Published: August 2015

The topic of transparency in international investment arbitration is gaining increasing attention. This in-depth commentary analyses the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration, one of the most recent and innovative developments in international law. Focusing on the application of these rules, contributors analyse the issue of transparency in investment law more broadly and provide in-depth guidance on how to apply the UNCITRAL transparency rules. Chapters encompass all treaty-based disputes between investors and state, examining the perspectives of disputing parties, third parties, non-disputing state parties and arbitral tribunals. The contributors each have a strong background in investment arbitration, in both professional practice and academia. This commentary will be of interest to all actors involved in investment arbitrations, especially practitioners, counsels, NGOs and scholars in the fields of international law, commercial arbitration and investor-state arbitration.
The Search for Tactical Success in Vietnam
Authors: Ross Andrew , Hall Bob , Griffin Amy
Published: August 2015

From 1966 to 1971 the First Australian Task Force was part of the counterinsurgency campaign in South Vietnam. Though considered a small component of the Free World effort in the war, these troops from Australia and New Zealand were in fact the best trained and prepared for counterinsurgency warfare. However, until now, their achievements have been largely overlooked by military historians. The Search for Tactical Success in Vietnam sheds new light on this campaign by examining the thousands of small-scale battles that the First Australian Task Force was engaged in. The book draws on statistical, spatial and temporal analysis, as well as primary data, to present a unique study of the tactics and achievements of the First Australian Task Force in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. Further, original maps throughout the text help to illustrate how the Task Force's tactics were employed.
Music in the Georgian Novel
Authors: Dubois Pierre
Published: August 2015

Music was an essential aspect of life in eighteenth-century Britain and plays a crucial role in the literary strategies of Georgian novels. This book is the first to investigate the literary representation of music in these works and explores the structural, dramatic and metaphorical roles of music in novels by authors ranging from Richardson to Austen. Pierre Dubois explores the meaning of 'musical scenes' by framing them within contemporary cultural issues, such as the critique of Italian opera or the theoretical shift from mimesis to the alleged autonomy and mystery of music. Focusing upon both eighteenth-century theories of music, and the way specific musical instruments were perceived in the collective imagination, Dubois suggests new interpretative perspectives for a whole range of novels of the Georgian era. This book will be of interest to a wide readership interested not only in literature, but also in music and cultural history at large.
The Affordable Care Act and Medicare in Comparative Context
Authors: Kinney Eleanor D.
Published: August 2015

Burdened with perennially rising costs and responsible for providing health insurance to more than one sixth of all Americans, Medicare in its original form is fiscally and demographically unsustainable. In light of dramatic reforms under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this book provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of Medicare. Eleanor D. Kinney explains how the ACA addresses systemic problems of cost and volume inflation, quality assurance, and fraud. Recognizing the potential for more radical change in the future, Kinney also explores the potential of Medicare to become a single-payer system. Comparisons are made with national health systems in Canada and the United Kingdom, from which the United States can draw valuable lessons. An approachable yet comprehensive account of Medicare and the ACA, this book will be invaluable for health care professionals and informed citizens.
An Introduction to International Arbitration
Authors: Bantekas Ilias
Published: August 2015

This concise yet comprehensive textbook introduces the reader to the law and practice of international arbitration. Arbitration is a complex field due to the variety of disciplines involved and necessitates an approach that takes nothing for granted. Written by a renowned scholar and practitioner, this book explains the divergent issues of civil procedure, contracts, conflict of laws, international law amongst others in an accessible manner. Focusing mainly on international commercial arbitration, the book also features a distinct chapter on consumer and online arbitration and an equally comprehensive chapter on international investment arbitration.
Fighting Fair
Authors: Hutchinson Allan C.
Published: August 2015

Along with used car dealers and telemarketers, lawyers are considered to be among the least trustworthy of all professionals. If lawyers want more respect, they will have to earn it by reframing their ethical responsibilities. In an original approach to law's moral dilemma, legal theorist Allan C. Hutchinson takes seriously the idea that 'litigation is war'. By drawing an extended analogy with the theory of ethical warfare, he examines the most difficult questions facing practicing lawyers today. Comparing the role of military officers to legal professionals and theories of just peace to legal settlement, Hutchinson outlines a boldly original approach to legal ethics. Fighting Fair's recommendation for a more substantive, honor-based approach to ethics will be a thought-provoking tool for anyone concerned about the moral standing of the legal profession.
From Slavery to Aid
Authors: Rossi Benedetta
Published: August 2015

From Slavery to Aid engages two major themes in African historiography, the slow death of slavery and the evolution of international development, and reveals their interrelation in the social history of the region of Ader in the Nigerien Sahel. Benedetta Rossi traces the historical transformations that turned a society where slavery was a fundamental institution into one governed by the goals and methods of 'aid'. Over an impressive sweep of time - from the pre-colonial power of the Caliphate of Sokoto to the aid-driven governments of the present - this study explores the problem that has remained the central conundrum throughout Ader's history: how workers could meet subsistence needs and employers fulfil recruitment requirements in an area where natural resources are constantly exposed to the climatic hazards characteristic of the edge of the Sahara.
Excavations at the Nubian royal town of Kerma: 1975–91
Authors: Bonnet Charles
Published: August 2015

Kerma is an ancient city on the Nile in Middle Nubia, long known and the subject of renewed recent exploration. Its position, at the southern limit of Egyptian control, sets it strategically on the routes to the African interior. Its environment in the arid desert results in remarkable preservation of organic remains.
Archaeologist by appointment to a treasure-hunter
Authors: Keith Donald H.
Published: August 2015

Earlier this year, a BBC television series dived into the regions where underwater archaeology fades into the murkier waters of treasure-hunting. This is an opportune moment to review an archaeologist's account of his rôle in the richest of recent recoveries, the gold from the Spanish galleon Atocha.
TWO OPTIMISATION PROBLEMS FOR CONVEX BODIES
Authors: YANG YUNLONG , ZHANG DEYAN
Published: August 2015

In this paper, we will show that the spherical symmetric slices are the convex bodies that maximise the volume, the surface area and the integral of mean curvature when the minimum width and the circumradius are prescribed and the symmetric $2$-cap-bodies are the ones which minimise the volume, the surface area and the integral of mean curvature given the diameter and the inradius.
ON MINIMAL ASYMPTOTIC -ADIC BASES
Authors: LING DENGRONG , TANG MIN
Published: August 2015

Let$g\geq 2$be a fixed integer. Let$\mathbb{N}$denote the set of all nonnegative integers and let$A$be a subset of$\mathbb{N}$. Write$r_{2}(A,n)=\sharp \{(a_{1},a_{2})\in A^{2}:a_{1}+a_{2}=n\}.$We construct a thin, strongly minimal, asymptotic$g$-adic basis$A$of order two such that the set of$n$with$r_{2}(A,n)=2$has density one.
Nutrition transition and chronic diseases in Nigeria
Authors: Oyewole O. E. , Atinmo T.
Published: August 2015

Nutrition transition goes with industrialisation that fosters human development which is usually desirable, especially in developing nations. However, the health consequences of this development include high rates of preventable non-communicable diseases which are usually undermined in the quest for industrialisation. The goal of the present paper is to provide evidence-based information that will promote healthy lifestyle including healthy consumption pattern among urban dwellers. Relevant local and international literature was accessed and reviewed to harvest evidence-based information through the use of validated review guide in addition to observation from the field experience. Industrialisation promotes creation of more job opportunities and this facilitates proliferation of fast-food eateries in the cities. However, it was also observed that many of the available workplaces in urban areas are not health-promoting because employees have poor access to preventive health information and sensitisation to healthy lifestyle has been poorly considered. Ironically, weight gain among urban workers which may be linked with increased intake of high-energy foods and low participation in physical activities as a result of accessibility to many energy saving devices have been highlighted as some of the pull-pull factors that attract many people to the cities. Using the concept of health promoting workplace, the workforce in urban areas can be trained as agent of change in health-promoting lifestyle. Consumption of healthy indigenous foods through aggressive promotion of its health potentials should be seriously advocated through the use of existing structure of urban fast-food vendors who constitute a strong stakeholder in nutrition transition.
‘Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt’: David Stradling (1537–c.1595) and His Circle of Welsh Catholic Exiles in Continental Europe
Authors: Orofino Anna Maria
Published: August 2015

This paper examines the lives and careers of two Welsh Catholics, David Stradling and Hugh Owen, who sought refuge on the Continent during the reign of Elizabeth I. Whereas something about Hugh Owen's life is known, particularly of his career as the creator of an intelligence service which countered that of Sir Francis Walsingham, David Stradling's life has, in contrast, remained somewhat obscure. Little is known of him other than some details of his family background and his education. My recent research at the Simancas Archive and at the Archives Royales de Bruxelles, however, has revealed hitherto unknown sources that now provide further information on both men. In describing the events of their flight from England to the Continent and their establishment there, I re-examine the circle of well-known English Catholic refugees in the Spanish Low Countries and in Spain.
Survival strategies late in life: living conditions of never-married elderly women in Gothenburg in the 1920s
Authors: HÖGMAN ANN-KRISTIN
Published: August 2015

The growing percentage of never-married elderly people led to increasing demographic pressure on Swedish local communities in the beginning of the twentieth century. This article deals with never-married elderly women's income strategies when the idea of self-help dominated social policy. The study uses a prosopographical approach, based on micro-level data. The findings indicate that pooling income sources was of utmost importance for this vulnerable group of elderly women. Furthermore, as a consequence of this demographic change, there was an expansion of charitable organisations specifically aimed at elderly care.
Pericarp micromorphology and dehydration characteristics of Quercus suber L. acorns
Authors: Sobrino-Vesperinas Eduardo , Viviani Ana Belén
Published: August 2015

The aim of the present study was to examine the micromorphology of the cork-oak (Quercus suber) acorn and to evaluate the efficiency of the pericarp as a barrier to water loss. When the desiccation curve obtained at 25 ± 1°C and 62% RH for physiologically mature acorns collected from the tree was compared with that corresponding to fully ripe acorns which had been shed, the latter showed a slightly lower rate of water loss. A marked reduction in the mean rate of water loss was recorded for intact acorns compared with those from which the pericarp had been removed. The external surface and transverse sections of the pericarp from both mature and fully ripe acorns were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Two zones presenting morphological and micromorphological differences were identified: an area including the point of attachment to the cupule and an apical zone covering the embryo. The microstructure of the pericarp showed an external thick cuticle and a single external palisade layer of closely packed cells with no intercellular spaces. Underlying this layer, there was a further parenchymatous layer of poorly differentiated, roughly isodiametric cells. The pericarp in the cupular zone consisted of only this undifferentiated layer between the two epidermal cell layers and contained vascular bundles with many xylem elements.
WILKIE COLLINS'S BLUE PERIOD: COLOR, AESTHETICS, AND RACE INPOOR MISS FINCH
Authors: Durgan Jessica
Published: August 2015

Although subtitled “A Domestic Story,”Wilkie Collins'sPoor Miss Finch(1872) offers a sensational plot bursting with secrets and mistaken identities. Many of the novel's plot twists and turns center on the transformation of the hero, Oscar Dubourg, from a wealthy white Englishman into a dark blue “Other” when he is treated with nitrate of silver after a serious head injury. While Oscar's medication cures him of his seizures, it also causes agryria, a skin discoloration, which turns him permanently dark blue. The hero's experience of this traumatic side effect is exacerbated by the reaction of his blind fiancée Lucilla, the title's “Poor Miss Finch.” In the novel, Lucilla's blindness leads her to distort visual concepts such as light and color in her imagination, resulting in her desperate fear of dark colors. The novel's central conflict arises when Oscar engages the help of Lucilla's companion Madame Pratolungo in hiding his new dark skin color from the blind heroine. Complicating this situation further is the arrival of Oscar's identical (but still white) twin Nugent, who deviously schemes to elope with the beautiful Lucilla by impersonating his brother.
WHERE IS VICTORIAN ECOCRITICISM?
Authors: Taylor Jesse Oak
Published: August 2015

The most striking thingabout reviewing the field of Victorian ecocriticism is that there is so little of it. This relative absence is all the more perplexing given that ecocritical work on Romanticism and nineteenth-century American literature is so profuse. Thoreau and Wordsworth remain the most-discussed authors in a field that was in many respects inaugurated by Jonathan Bate'sRomantic Ecology: Wordsworth and the Environmental Tradition(1991) and Lawrence Buell'sThe Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing and the Formation of American Culture(1995). Romanticism remains the point of departure for some of the most influential studies in the field, including those like Timothy Morton'sEcology Without Nature(2009) that challenge many of its core precepts. Meanwhile, ecocriticism has expanded to include many other periods and regions, with collections ranging fromThe Ecocritical Shakespeare(2011) toPostcolonial Ecologies(2011), and unsurprisingly, a strong turn toward the contemporary.
When Injury Clouds Understanding of Others: Theory of Mind after Mild TBI in Preschool Children
Authors: Bellerose Jenny , Bernier Annie , Beaudoin Cindy , Gravel Jocelyn , Beauchamp Miriam H.
Published: August 2015

There is evidence to suggest that social skills, such as the ability to understand the perspective of others (theory of mind), may be affected by childhood traumatic brain injuries; however, studies to date have only considered moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study aimed to assess theory of mind after early, mild TBI (mTBI). Fifty-one children who sustained mTBI between 18 and 60 months were evaluated 6 months post-injury on emotion and desires reasoning and false-belief understanding tasks. Their results were compared to that of 50 typically developing children. The two groups did not differ on baseline characteristics, except for pre- and post-injury externalizing behavior. The mTBI group obtained poorer scores relative to controls on both the emotion and desires task and the false-belief understanding task, even after controlling for pre-injury externalizing behavior. No correlations were found between TBI injury characteristics and theory of mind. This is the first evidence that mTBI in preschool children is associated with theory of mind difficulties. Reduced perspective taking abilities could be linked with the social impairments that have been shown to arise following TBI. (JINS, 2015,21, 483–493)
The structural non-integration ofwh-clefts
Authors: GUZ WOJCIECH
Published: August 2015

Weinert & Miller (1996) suggest that Englishwh-clefts are a heterogeneous class in that they can have varied degrees of structural integration. Many such constructions depart structurally from the canonicalwh-cleft which consists of awh-clause, the copula and a focus constituent, and in which all the three elements are brought together into a fully integrated utterance. In the types ofwh-clefts displaying looser structure, their lack of syntactic integration has so far been related to such linguistic features as (a) omission of the copula, (b) non-canonical copular complementation, e.g. independent main clauses instead of standard infinitival phrases appearing in the focus constituent, (c) lack of a clearly identifiable copular complement, (d) the focusing effect of thewh-clause extending over several clauses (Weinert & Miller 1996; Koops & Ross-Hagebaum 2008; Hopper & Thompson 2008; Callies 2012). Although the disintegrating effect of these features has been observed, the extent of the phenomenon in modern English has not been properly established and other non-integration features have not been investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to use corpus data to identify and examine such non-integration features and to investigate the extent – expressed quantitatively – to which these features are found inwh-clefts with the verbdoin thewh-clause. The article also points out the formulaic status of thosewh-clauses which become disconnected from their focus phrases.
What is the Point of the Ikenberry-Acharya Debate?
Authors: IIDA KEISUKE
Published: August 2015

Since the outbreak of the Great Recession triggered by the Lehman shock in 2008, writings on American decline have proliferated. World-renowned scholars and commentators have all pointed out that the American hegemony or empire is rapidly coming to an end, and that as a consequence the world is in greater turmoil than ever (for example, Zakaria, 2008; Friedman and Mandelbaum, 2011; Kupchan, 2012; Bremmer, 2012). Although there are differences among various works, most commentators predict a bleak prospect for the future.
Post Hegemonic Global Governance
Authors: HAAS PETER M.
Published: August 2015

What are the prospects for effective global governance? It is widely held that global governance is a public good, but what are the political factors that are likely to ensure its provision? Is the USA able or willing to able to provide it? Can international institutions, norms, or causal beliefs, in the absence of US leadership, fill in?
In Defence of the Multiplex World
Authors: ACHARYA AMITAV
Published: August 2015

I thank the contributors to the discussion on the American-led world order for their insightful comments and criticisms. Below are my brief responses to them.
War Occurrence: Hyper-Insecurity and Multilateral Institutions
Authors: INOGUCHI TAKASHI
Published: August 2015

Two lines of argument seem to stand solidly without seeing eye to eye with each other about the current world order. Steven Pinker, the American psychologist, writes about the steady reduction in human violence in settling disputes among humankind (Pinker, 2012). John Mearsheimer, the American political scientist, writes about the structurally almost inevitable conflicts of interest between great powers in the early twenty-first century in his analysis of hegemonic competition between the United States and China (Mearsheimer, 2005). It is not necessary to note that their arguments are made looking at conflicts of interest and use of violence from very different angles and time ranges. Yet their differences are stark and clear. Pinker says that the future is bright and shining due to the non-use of violence. Mearsheimer says that the future is dark and potentially devastating due to the consequences of the high tensions surrounding the conflicts of interest. The question posed at the outset is thus: Is the current era one of peace or war?
Fetal sex differences in human chorionic gonadotropin fluctuate by maternal race, age, weight and by gestational age
Authors: Adibi J. J. , Lee M. K. , Saha S. , Boscardin W. J. , Apfel A. , Currier R. J.
Published: August 2015

Circulating levels of the placental glycoprotein hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are higher in women carrying female v. male fetuses; yet, the significance of this difference with respect to maternal factors, environmental exposures and neonatal outcomes is unknown. As a first step in evaluating the biologic and clinical significance of sex differences in hCG, we conducted a population-level analysis to assess its stability across subgroups. Subjects were women carrying singleton pregnancies who participated in prenatal and newborn screening programs in CA from 2009 to 2012 (1.1 million serum samples). hCG was measured in the first and second trimesters and fetal sex was determined from the neonatal record. Multivariate linear models were used to estimate hCG means in women carrying female and male fetuses. We report fluctuations in the ratios of female to male hCG by maternal factors and by gestational age. hCG was higher in the case of a female fetus by 11 and 8% in the first and second trimesters, respectively (P<0.0001). There were small (1–5%) fluctuations in the sex difference by maternal race, weight and age. The female-to-male ratio in hCG decreased from 17 to 2% in the first trimester, and then increased from 2 to 19% in the second trimester (P<0.0001). We demonstrate within a well enumerated, diverse US population that the sex difference in hCG overall is stable. Small fluctuations within population subgroups may be relevant to environmental and physiologic effects on the placenta and can be probed further using these types of data.
Ein wissenschaftlicher Diskurs über Demenz – Erste Ergebnisse der exemplarischen Anwendung eines integrativen Analyseansatzes
Authors: Panke-Kochinke Birgit , Krause Gabriele , Klimann Olga
Published: August 2015

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Eine Analyse des wissenschaftlichen Diskurses zum Umgang von Menschen mit Demenz innerhalb der Pflege- und Gesundheitsforschung in Deutschland fehlt bisher. Fragestellung: Wie werden Menschen mit Demenz im pflege- und gesundheitswissenschaftlichen Diskurs dargestellt und welche Perspektiven lassen sich daraus ableiten? Methode: Mithilfe eines neu entwickelten integrativen Analyseverfahrens wird ein Diskurs in der Analyse des Umgangs mit Menschen mit Demenz im wissenschaftlichen Diskurs in der Pflege- und Gesundheitsforschung rekonstruiert. Ergebnisse: Inhaltlich wird Demenz im exemplarisch rekonstruierten wissenschaftlichen Diskurs vor allem unter dem Aspekt einer Belastung für Angehörige diskutiert. Sie werden als diejenigen bezeichnet, denen durch die Menschen mit Demenzeine große Belastung entsteht. Schlussfolgerungen: Ein methodisches Verfahren der integrativen Analyse konnte durch den vorgestellten Forschungszugang erprobt werden. Zukünftig ist die Perspektive des Menschen mit Demenz im Forschungskontext stärker zu berücksichtigen.
Recovery Self Assessment – Übersetzung und kulturelle Anpassung eines recovery-orientierten Einschätzungsinstrumentes
Authors: Zuaboni Gianfranco , Degano Kieser Luciana , Kozel Bernd , Glavanovits Katharina , Utschakowski Jörg , Behrens Johann
Published: August 2015

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Der Recovery-Ansatz gewinnt in der psychiatrischen Forschung und Praxis zunehmend an Bedeutung. Im englischen Sprachraum ist die praktische Etablierung und wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung fortgeschritten. Um die Implementierung des Ansatzes zu unterstützen, sind Einschätzungsinstrumente notwendig. Ein verbreitetes und anerkanntes Instrument ist die Recovery Self Assessment Scale (RSA). Diese besteht aus vier Versionen eines Fragebogens, welche die Perspektiven von Nutzenden, Fachpersonen, Angehörigen und dem Management erfassen. Ziel/Methode: In diesem Artikel werden die Entwicklung des Instrumentes und der Übersetzungsprozess dargestellt. Zwei voneinander unabhängige Arbeitsgruppen verwendeten unterschiedliche Übersetzungsverfahren: Die Arbeitsgruppe aus der Schweiz (AGS) orientierte sich an den ISOR-Prinzipien, die Arbeitsgruppe aus Norddeutschland (AGN) an den Richtlinien des European Social Survey Programme zur Übersetzung von Fragebögen – TRAPD. Die Methoden unterscheiden sich darin, dass die TRAPD Fokusgruppen vorsieht. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeitsgruppen wurden mittels eines Konsensusverfahrens zur RSA-D zusammengeführt. Ergebnisse: Bei der Übersetzung und kulturellen Anpassung der RSA-D wurde die Nähe zum theoretischen Bezugsrahmen der RSA gewahrt und die Übertragbarkeit in den deutschsprachigen Kontext berücksichtigt. Schlussfolgerung: Bevor die RSA-D in der Praxis und Forschung eingesetzt werden kann, sollte in weiterführenden Studien die psychometrische Testung erfolgen.
Antipsychotika im Kindes- und Jugendalter: pro und contra
Authors: Schmeck Klaus
Published: August 2015

Zusammenfassung. Das Indikationsspektrum für Antipsychotika hat sich in den letzten Jahren vergrössert und umfasst inzwischen nicht nur die Behandlung von Psychosen, sondern auch die Behandlung von impulsiv-aggressivem Verhalten bei intelligenzgeminderten Kindern und Jugendlichen mit Störungen des Sozialverhaltens oder Autismus-Spektrum-Störungen. Dadurch ist es weltweit zu einer Zunahme von Verschreibungen gekommen, die sehr kritisch diskutiert wird. In diesem Beitrag werden das Indikationsspektrum und die potenziellen Nebenwirkungen von Antipsychotika bei der Behandlung von Kindern und Jugendlichen dargestellt und die mit der Medikation verbundenen Risiken dem möglichen Nutzen gegenübergestellt, um zu einer rationalen Behandlungsempfehlung zu gelangen.
Turning terminally differentiated skeletal muscle cells into regenerative progenitors
Authors: Wang Heng , Lööf Sara , Borg Paula , Nader Gustavo A. , Blau Helen M. , Simon András
Published: August 2015

The ability to repeatedly regenerate limbs during the entire lifespan of an animal is restricted to certain salamander species among vertebrates. This ability involves dedifferentiation of post-mitotic cells into progenitors that in turn form new structures. A long-term enigma has been how injury leads to dedifferentiation. Here we show that skeletal muscle dedifferentiation during newt limb regeneration depends on a programmed cell death response by myofibres. We find that programmed cell death-induced muscle fragmentation produces a population of ‘undead’ intermediate cells, which have the capacity to resume proliferation and contribute to muscle regeneration. We demonstrate the derivation of proliferating progeny from differentiated, multinucleated muscle cells by first inducing and subsequently intercepting a programmed cell death response. We conclude that cell survival may be manifested by the production of a dedifferentiated cell with broader potential and that the diversion of a programmed cell death response is an instrument to achieve dedifferentiation.
Mto2 multisite phosphorylation inactivates non-spindle microtubule nucleation complexes during mitosis
Authors: Borek Weronika E. , Groocock Lynda M. , Samejima Itaru , Zou Juan , de Lima Alves Flavia , Rappsilber Juri , Sawin Kenneth E.
Published: August 2015

Microtubule nucleation is highly regulated during the eukaryotic cell cycle, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. During mitosis in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, cytoplasmic microtubule nucleation ceases simultaneously with intranuclear mitotic spindle assembly. Cytoplasmic nucleation depends on the Mto1/2 complex, which binds and activates the γ-tubulin complex and also recruits the γ-tubulin complex to both centrosomal (spindle pole body) and non-centrosomal sites. Here we show that the Mto1/2 complex disassembles during mitosis, coincident with hyperphosphorylation of Mto2 protein. By mapping and mutating multiple Mto2 phosphorylation sites, we generate mto2-phosphomutant strains with enhanced Mto1/2 complex stability, interaction with the γ-tubulin complex and microtubule nucleation activity. A mutant with 24 phosphorylation sites mutated to alanine, mto2[24A], retains interphase-like behaviour even in mitotic cells. This provides a molecular-level understanding of how phosphorylation ‘switches off’ microtubule nucleation complexes during the cell cycle and, more broadly, illuminates mechanisms regulating non-centrosomal microtubule nucleation.
Effects of the interaction between TiO2 with different percentages of exposed {001} facets and Cu2+ on biotoxicity in Daphnia magna
Authors: Liu Lingling , Fan Wenhong , Lu Huiting , Xiao Wei
Published: August 2015

Anatase TiO2 nanosheets (NSs) with exposed {001} facets have been widely used because of their high activity and particular surface atomic configuration. However, investigations on their biotoxicity are rare. In this study, bioaccumulation of five different TiO2 (with 10%, 61%, 71%, 74% and 78% exposed {001} facets), as well as copper and enzyme activities in Daphnia magna, are systematically investigated and rationalized. The results indicated that the addition of Cu2+ enhanced agglomeration–sedimentation of TiO2, resulting in the reduction of TiO2 bioaccumulation by 10% to 26%. TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) increased copper bioaccumulation by 9.8%, whereas the other four TiO2 nanosheets (NSs) decreased it by 43% to 53%, which depended on TiO2 variant adsorption and free Cu2+ concentrations in the supernatant. The levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme and Na+/K+-ATPase activities suggested that oxidative stress, instead of membrane damage, was the main toxicity in D. magna. Meanwhile, the SOD enzyme activities increased with decreasing Cu accumulation and increasing Ti accumulation because of the different functions of Cu and Ti in organisms. This research highlighted the important role of the percentage of exposed {001} facets in nanostructured TiO2 on bioaccumulation and biotoxicity of TiO2 and Cu2+ in Daphnia magna.
Fertilization competence of the egg-coating envelope is regulated by direct interaction of dicalcin and gp41, the Xenopus laevis ZP3
Authors: Miwa Naofumi , Ogawa Motoyuki , Hanaue Mayu , Takamatsu Ken
Published: August 2015

Fertilization begins with species-restricted interaction of sperm and the egg-coating envelope, which includes a three-dimensional meshwork of filaments composed of glycoproteins (called ZP proteins). Growing evidence has unveiled the molecular nature of ZP proteins; however, the structural property conferring fertilization competence to the egg-coating envelope remains unknown. Here, we show the molecular mechanism that mediates direct interaction between dicalcin, a novel fertilization-suppressive ZP protein-associated protein and gp41, a Xenopus laevis ortholog of mammalian ZP3 and subsequently demonstrate the structural basis of the envelope for fertilization competence. The interactive regions between dicalcin and gp41 comprised five and nine amino acid residues within dicalcin and twenty-three within gp41. Synthetic peptides corresponding to these regions dramatically affected fertilization: treatment with dicalcin- or gp41-derived peptides decreased or increased fertilization rates, respectively. Prior application of these peptides caused distinct alterations in the in vivo lectin-staining pattern of the envelope as well. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the dicalcin-derived peptide induced the formation of a well-organized meshwork, whereas the gp41-derived peptide caused the formation of a significantly disorganized meshwork. These findings indicated that the fertilization competence of the egg-coating envelope is crucially regulated by the direct interaction between dicalcin and gp41.
Anomalous incident-angle and elliptical-polarization rotation of an elastically refracted P-wave
Authors: Fa Lin , Fa Yuxiao , Zhang Yandong , Ding Pengfei , Gong Jiamin , Li Guohui , Li Lijun , Tang Shaojie , Zhao Meishan
Published: August 2015

We report a newly discovered anomalous incident-angle of an elastically refracted P-wave, arising from a P-wave impinging on an interface between two VTI media with strong anisotropy. This anomalous incident-angle is found to be located in the post-critical incident-angle region corresponding to a refracted P-wave. Invoking Snell’s law for a refracted P-wave provides two distinctive solutions before and after the anomalous incident-angle. For an inhomogeneously refracted and elliptically polarized P-wave at the anomalous incident-angle, its rotational direction experiences an acute variation, from left-hand elliptical to right-hand elliptical polarization. The new findings provide us an enhanced understanding of acoustical-wave scattering and lead potentially to widespread and novel applications.
Localization of a bacterial group II intron-encoded protein in human cells
Authors: Reinoso-Colacio Mercedes , García-Rodríguez Fernando Manuel , García-Cañadas Marta , Amador-Cubero Suyapa , Pérez José Luis García , Toro Nicolás
Published: August 2015

Group II introns are mobile retroelements that self-splice from precursor RNAs to form ribonucleoparticles (RNP), which can invade new specific genomic DNA sites. This specificity can be reprogrammed, for insertion into any desired DNA site, making these introns useful tools for bacterial genetic engineering. However, previous studies have suggested that these elements may function inefficiently in eukaryotes. We investigated the subcellular distribution, in cultured human cells, of the protein encoded by the group II intron RmInt1 (IEP) and several mutants. We created fusions with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and with a FLAG epitope. We found that the IEP was localized in the nucleus and nucleolus of the cells. Remarkably, it also accumulated at the periphery of the nuclear matrix. We were also able to identify spliced lariat intron RNA, which co-immunoprecipitated with the IEP, suggesting that functional RmInt1 RNPs can be assembled in cultured human cells.
Arteriovenous Blood Metabolomics: A Readout of Intra-Tissue Metabostasis
Authors: Ivanisevic Julijana , Elias Darlene , Deguchi Hiroshi , Averell Patricia M. , Kurczy Michael , Johnson Caroline H. , Tautenhahn Ralf , Zhu Zhengjiang , Watrous Jeramie , Jain Mohit , Griffin John , Patti Gary J. , Siuzdak Gary
Published: August 2015

The human circulatory system consists of arterial blood that delivers nutrients to tissues and venous blood that removes the metabolic by-products. Although it is well established that arterial blood generally has higher concentrations of glucose and oxygen relative to venous blood, a comprehensive biochemical characterization of arteriovenous differences has not yet been reported. Here we apply cutting-edge, mass spectrometry-based metabolomic technologies to provide a global characterization of metabolites that vary in concentration between the arterial and venous blood of human patients. Global profiling of paired arterial and venous plasma from 20 healthy individuals, followed up by targeted analysis made it possible to measure subtle (<2 fold), yet highly statistically significant and physiologically important differences in water soluble human plasma metabolome. While we detected changes in lactic acid, alanine, glutamine and glutamate as expected from skeletal muscle activity, a number of unanticipated metabolites were also determined to be significantly altered including Krebs cycle intermediates, amino acids that have not been previously implicated in transport and a few oxidized fatty acids. This study provides the most comprehensive assessment of metabolic changes in the blood during circulation to date and suggests that such profiling approach may offer new insights into organ homeostasis and organ specific pathology.