bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
TheXenopusAmygdala Mediates Socially Appropriate Vocal Communication Signals
Authors: Hall Ian C. , Ballagh Irene H. , Kelley Darcy B.
Published: September 2013

Social interaction requires that relevant sensory information is collected, classified, and distributed to the motor areas that initiate an appropriate behavioral response. Vocal exchanges, in particular, depend on linking auditory processing to an appropriate motor expression. Because of its role in integrating sensory information for the purpose of action selection, the amygdala has been implicated in social behavior in many mammalian species. Here, we show that two nuclei of the extended amygdala play essential roles in vocal communication in the African clawed frog,Xenopus laevis. Transport of fluorescent dextran amines identifies theX. laeviscentral amygdala (CeA) as a target for ascending auditory information from the central thalamic nucleus and as a major afferent to the vocal pattern generator of the hindbrain. In the isolated (ex vivo) brain, electrical stimulation of the CeA, or the neighboring bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), initiates bouts of fictive calling.In vivo, lesioning the CeA of males disrupts the production of appropriate vocal responses to females and to broadcasts of female calls. Lesioning the BNST in males produces an overall decrease in calling behavior. Together, these results suggest that the anuran CeA evaluates the valence of acoustic cues and initiates socially appropriate vocal responses to communication signals, whereas the BNST plays a role in the initiation of vocalizations.
Distinct Hippocampal Time Cell Sequences Represent Odor Memories in Immobilized Rats
Authors: MacDonald Christopher J. , Carrow Stephen , Place Ryan , Eichenbaum Howard
Published: September 2013

Previous studies have revealed the existence of hippocampal “time cells,” principal neurons in CA1 that fire at specific moments in temporally organized experiences. However, in all these studies, animals were in motion; and so, temporal modulation might be due, at least in part, to concurrent or planned movement through space or self-generated movement (path integration). Here the activity of hippocampal CA1 neurons was recorded in head-fixed and immobile rats while they remembered odor stimuli across a delay period. Many neurons selectively and reliably activated at brief moments during the delay, as confirmed by several analyses of temporal modulation, during a strong ongoing θ rhythm. Furthermore, each odor memory was represented by a temporally organized ensemble of time cells composed mostly of neurons that were unique to each memory and some that fired at the same or different moments among multiple memories. These results indicate that ongoing or intended movement through space is not necessary for temporal representations in the hippocampus, and highlight the potential role of time cells as a mechanism for representing the flow of time in distinct memories.
A Reorganized GABAergic Circuit in a Model of Epilepsy: Evidence from Optogenetic Labeling and Stimulation of Somatostatin Interneurons
Authors: Peng Zechun , Zhang Nianhui , Wei Weizheng , Huang Christine S. , Cetina Yliana , Otis Thomas S. , Houser Carolyn R.
Published: September 2013

Axonal sprouting of excitatory neurons is frequently observed in temporal lobe epilepsy, but the extent to which inhibitory interneurons undergo similar axonal reorganization remains unclear. The goal of this study was to determine whether somatostatin (SOM)-expressing neurons in stratum (s.) oriens of the hippocampus exhibit axonal sprouting beyond their normal territory and innervate granule cells of the dentate gyrus in a pilocarpine model of epilepsy. To obtain selective labeling of SOM-expressing neurons in s. oriens, a Cre recombinase-dependent construct for channelrhodopsin2 fused to enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (ChR2-eYFP) was virally delivered to this region in SOM-Cre mice. In control mice, labeled axons were restricted primarily to s. lacunosum-moleculare. However, in pilocarpine-treated animals, a rich plexus of ChR2-eYFP-labeled fibers and boutons extended into the dentate molecular layer. Electron microscopy with immunogold labeling demonstrated labeled axon terminals that formed symmetric synapses on dendritic profiles in this region, consistent with innervation of granule cells. Patterned illumination of ChR2-labeled fibers in s. lacunosum-moleculare of CA1 and the dentate molecular layer elicited GABAergic inhibitory responses in dentate granule cells in pilocarpine-treated mice but not in controls. Similar optical stimulation in the dentate hilus evoked no significant responses in granule cells of either group of mice. These findings indicate that under pathological conditions, SOM/GABAergic neurons can undergo substantial axonal reorganization beyond their normal territory and establish aberrant synaptic connections. Such reorganized circuitry could contribute to functional deficits in inhibition in epilepsy, despite the presence of numerous GABAergic terminals in the region.
The Many Faces of B Cells
Authors: Schelonka Robert L. , Maheshwari Akhil
Published: September 2013

B lineage lymphocytes (B cells) produce exquisitely specific and long-lasting antibodies that recognize a broad and ever-changing array of foreign antigens and microbial pathogens. Perturbations in B-cell development maturation lead to specific immune disturbances. Certain features intrinsic to fetal and neonatal B cells contribute to what has been called the relative immunodeficiency of infancy. Although the primary function of B lineage cells is to produce antibodies for host defense, emerging data show that B cells are key activators and regulators of the immune response.
Aproveitamento de soro lácteo na formulação de bebidas com frutas e hortaliças
Authors: Guedes A.F.L.M. , Machado E.C.L. , Fonseca M.C. , Andrade S.A.C. , Stamford T.L.M.
Published: September 2013

O uso do soro lácteo como complemento na formulação de alimentos visando ao seu aproveitamento é uma alternativa para a obtenção de novos produtos. Neste trabalho, desenvolveram-se bebidas à base de soro oriundo de queijo coalho tipo A com frutas e hortaliças. Na formulação das bebidas, utilizaram-se diferentes proporções entre soro lácteo, frutas e hortaliças, com adição de 10% de açúcar. Seis bebidas foram formuladas e submetidas a um teste de preferência, e as três primeiras colocadas foram submetidas a um teste de aceitação sensorial. As três preferidas foram as bebidas sabor graviola, morango e goiaba. A bebida sabor graviola obteve aceitação com as melhores notas nos atributos sensoriais cor, sabor, aparência e qualidade global, seguida pela formulação de sabor morango, mas sem diferença significativa (P>0,05). A bebida sabor goiaba teve o diferencial no atributo odor e superou as bebidas sabor graviola e morango (P<0,05). Conclui-se que é viável a elaboração de bebidas à base de soro de queijo coalho com frutas.
Liberation psychology: a constructive critical praxis
Authors: Burton Mark
Published: September 2013

Can a critical psychology be more than an inward looking critique of the discipline itself? Liberation psychology emerged in Latin America in the 1980s. It is a critical psychology with an action focus, taking sides with the oppressed populations of the continent. The originator of the approach, Ignacio Martín-Baró practiced psychology in the context of the El Salvador an civil war, himself becoming a victim of State repression. The consequences of social conflict have since then been an important theme for liberation psychology. Other areas of emphasis have been community social psychology with an emphasis on the role of social movements and social and political commentary and critique. I will present a review of the field covering some key concepts (conscientisation, de-ideologization, historical memory, reconstruction of psychology from the perspective of the other), its geographical spread (in Latin America and other regions), its organization (the emergence of liberation psychology networks and collectives) and some examples of work that is relevant to social trauma, the theme of this symposium.
Cognitive therapy: using a specific technique to improve quality of life and health
Authors: Kunzler Lia Silvia , Araujo Tereza Cristina Cavalcanti Ferreira de
Published: September 2013

In this study we implemented and assessed a specific cognitive therapy technique - Decision Making and Quality of Life, which is used to promote health and improve quality of life. Eighteen employees from a higher education institution participated in the study, which was organized into 12 group sessions. At the admission and concluding phases, we asked participants to complete the World Health Organization Quality of Life - Bref Questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory. Results showed significant improvement in five of the domains that measure quality of life: physical, psychological, environmental, general, and health. There were no significant changes (p=0.26) in anxiety scores. In contrast, the depression scores got significantly better (p=0.02). The results suggest that the proposed technique is conducive to health promotion and quality of life.
Perda auditiva induzida por ruído de motores de alta rotação em odontólogos e alunos de odontologia: análise audiométrica em freqüências entre 250 Hz e 16 KHz
Authors: Berbare Gisele Mary , Fukusima Sérgio Seiji
Published: September 2013

Esse estudo consistiu em investigar se alunos de odontologia e cirurgiões dentistas apresentam alteração auditiva em conseqüência do ruído de motores de alta rotação. Foram analisados a taxa de mercúrio no organismo, o grau e o tipo de perda auditiva. A amostra consistiu de 80 acadêmicos do 1º ao 4º ano, 40 dentistas expostos ao ruído e 20 dentistas sem exposição ao ruído como grupo controle. Todos foram submetidos a um exame de audiometria nas freqüências de 250 Hz a 16 KHz e a um exame de urina caso manipulassem mercúrio. Os resultados indicaram que 5% dos acadêmicos e 70% dos profissionais apresentaram alguma perda auditiva. Os dentistas que apresentaram maior grau de perda auditiva tinham taxa de mercúrio acima da normalidade.
Incidência de sintomas, doenças profissionais e doenças do trabalho em nadadores de competição da Cidade de Campinas, São Paulo
Authors: Osawa Cibele Cristina , Andries Júnior Orival
Published: September 2013

A natação no Brasil é um desporto de rendimento, praticado de modo não profissional, sem contratos de trabalho, mantida por incentivos e patrocínios. Ao contrário do que se acredita, não é um esporte inofensivo. Pode causar tanto lesões por movimentos repetitivos, como doenças intrínsecas ao ambiente aquático (otite externa, dermatites, micoses, etc). Visando a apontar a incidência de sintomas, lesões e doenças relacionadas à natação, ocorridas nos últimos dois anos, 33 nadadores de competição da cidade de Campinas responderam a questionários. Tinham idade média de 17 ± 2 anos (s14 a 21 anos), pesavam e mediam 54,6 ± 6,1 kg e 1,65 ± 0,04 m (sexo feminino), respectivamente, e 69 ± 7,7 kg e 1,78 ± 0,07 m (sexo masculino, equivalente a 57,6%) e nadavam semanalmente 35,8 ± 5,8 km. As principais queixas de dores foram: ombro (82%), coluna (52%), ouvido (36%) e joelho (33%). Em relação a doenças, 88% dos nadadores relataram casos de resfriado, seguido por gripe (61%), sinusite (27%), micose (15%), bronquite (12%) e conjuntivite (6%). Outras ocorrências foram: torções (12,1%) e tendinites (27,3%).
Queixas, doenças ocupacionais e acidentes de trabalho em trabalhadores de cozinhas industriais
Authors: Casarotto Raquel Aparecida , Mendes Luciane Frizo
Published: September 2013

As atividades desenvolvidas em cozinhas industriais apresentam um conjunto de características que podem desencadear doenças ocupacionais e acidentes de trabalho típicos. O objetivo deste estudo é comparar a prevalência de doenças ocupacionais, acidentes de trabalho e dores músculo-esqueléticas em trabalhadores de cinco cozinhas industriais. Para alcançar estes objetivos, foram avaliados 257 trabalhadores de cinco cozinhas industriais, com os seguintes procedimentos: entrevistas, questionários, análise da atividade real e aplicação do método NIOSH. Utilizou-se o teste qui-quadrado (x) para comparar a homogeneidade dos dados entre os trabalhadores. Excetuando-se a prevalência de dor na região dorsal da coluna (p=0,01) e alergia (p=0,00461), todas as variáveis estudadas apresentaram p>0,05, mostrando a homogeneidade entre os trabalhadores. A análise ergonômica identificou os seguintes problemas: ambiente físico (dimensões, configurações, ambiências), instrumentos e equipamentos inadequados, má postura, organização do trabalho inadequada e levantamento de pesos acima dos limites recomendados.
Avaliação da eficácia do laser de baixa intensidade no tratamento das disfunções têmporo-mandibular: estudo clínico randomizado
Authors: Catão Maria Helena Chaves de Vasconcelos , Oliveira Polyana Sarmento de , Costa Roniery de Oliveira , Carneiro Vanda Sanderana Macêdo
Published: September 2013

OBEJTIVO: avaliar a eficácia do laser de baixa intensidade no tratamento da dor em pacientes com desordens temporomandibulares. MÉTODO:consistiu de um ensaio clínico randomizado divididos em dois grupos: Grupo 1: laser AsGaAl, Grupo 2: laser InGaAlP, do qual participaram 20 pacientes entre 19 e 35 anos de idade, com diagnóstico de sinais e sintomas de DTM. Os pacientes tinham a amplitude de movimento para abertura máxima da boca e lateralidade registados no início e no final do tratamento a laser. O Laser foi aplicado em quatro pontos pré-auriculares, totalizando 12 sessões três vezes por semana, durante um mês. Dor dos pacientes foi registrado com base na utilização da escala analógica visual (EAV) e também por exame físico dos pontos álgicos. RESULTADOS: observou-se redução significante (p<0,028) do nível de dor em ambos os grupos, porém no G1 a significância foi maior. A evolução do limiar de sensibilidade muscular evidenciou diferença estatisticamente significante (p<0,05) para G1 e G2. A laserterapia no Grupo 1 melhorou a abertura bucal em média de 4,643 mm, enquanto no Grupo 2, a média foi de 3,71 mm por paciente. CONCLUSÃO: houve eficácia em ambos os lasers no controle da dor e abertura bucal dos pacientes.
Genotype and spatial structure shape pathogen dispersal and disease dynamics at small spatial scales
Authors: Tack Ayco J. M. , Hakala Jani , Petäjä Tuukka , Kulmala Markku , Laine Anna-Liisa
Published: September 2013

Many devastating pathogens are passively dispersed, and their epidemics are characterized by variation that is typically attributed to environmental factors. Here, by combining laboratory inoculations with wind tunnel and field trials using the wind‐dispersed pathogen Podosphaera plantaginis, we demonstrated striking genetic variation affecting the unexplored microscale (<2 m) of epidemics. Recipient and source host genotypes, as well as pathogen strain, explained a large fraction of variation in the three key dispersal phases: departure, movement, and settlement. Moreover, we found genotypic variation affecting group size of the pathogen dispersal unit, ultimately resulting in increased disease development on hosts close to the infection source. Together, our results show that genotypic variation may generate considerable variation in the rate of disease spread through space and time with disease hotspots emerging around initial foci. Furthermore, the extent of genetic variation affecting the entire dispersal process confirms that these traits may be targeted by selection.
Why Not "Crying It Out" Part 2: Can Certain Infant Care Practices Cause Excessive Stress?
Authors: Miller Patrice Marie , Commons Michael Lamport
Published: September 2013

Understanding the importance of responsiveness is an essential foundation for communicating with parents about early care. Helping parents create healthy, responsive environments may benefit from looking at some common parenting practices and how they may impact infants’ development.
The role of stress experiences is an essential consideration when choosing care. What practices may be more risky for infants and which may be more protective is the focus of Part 2.
The use of biological markers in determination of origin and type of organic matter in the Tisza river sediments
Authors: Strbac Snezana , Gajica Gordana , Sajnovic Aleksandra , Vasic Nebojsa , Stojanovic Ksenija , Jovancicevic Branimir
Published: September 2013

The objective of the study was to determine the origin and type of organic
matter (OM) of the Tisza recent sediments along the distance of 153 km
through the territory of Serbia. For this purpose group organic-geochemical
parameters and biomarker compositions were used. All samples contain
approximately same amount of OM, which was deposited under uniform, slightly
reducing conditions. Based on the distribution of n-alkanes, the origin and
type of OM could not be precisely estimated. However, n-alkane patterns
suggest the presence of immature singenetic organic matter of terrestrial
origin. Distributions of terpanes and steranes and values of corresponding
maturity parameters indicate that Tisza River sediments, apart from immature
singenetic organic matter, contain oil pollutant of anthropogenic origin.
Identical composition of these biomarkers in all samples confirms that the
recent sediments of the Tisza River, from Kanjiza town to the confluence
into the Danube River, contain the same type of oil pollutant. Based on the
compositions of terpanes and steranes and values of biomarker parameters in
Tisza sediments, it is supposed that oil pollution generally could be
related to heavy fuel oil from tankers due to intense river transport and,
in lower extent, to crude oils from the Elemir and Rusanda oil fields.
Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2012
Authors: Dyer Jessie L. , Wallace Ryan , Orciari Lillian , Hightower Dillon , Yager Pamela , Blanton Jesse D.
Published: September 2013

SUMMARY—During 2012, 49 states and Puerto Rico reported 6,162 rabid animals and 1 human rabies case to the CDC, representing a 2.1% increase from the 6,031 rabid animals and 6 human cases reported in 2011. Approximately 92% of reported rabid animals were wildlife. Relative contributions by the major animal groups were as follows: 1,953 raccoons (31.7%), 1,680 bats (27.3%), 1,539 skunks (25.0%), 340 foxes (5.5%), 257 cats (4.2%), 115 cattle (1.9%), and 84 dogs (1.4%). Compared with 2011, there was a substantial increase in the number of rabid cattle reported. One case of rabies involving a human was reported from California after the patient died abroad. The infection was determined to be a result of a rabies virus variant associated with Tadarida brasiliensis, with exposure occurring in California.
Comparison of basilar and axial sesamoidean approaches for digital flexor tendon sheath synoviocentesis and injection in horses
Authors: Rocconi Richard A. , Sampson Sarah N.
Published: September 2013

Objective—To define a method for the basilar sesamoidean approach (BSA) to the digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) in horses and compare it with the axial sesamoidean approach (ASA) for DFTS synoviocentesis and injection.

Design—Evaluation study.

Animals—12 healthy adult mares without evidence of abnormalities related to the lower limbs.

Procedures—Each horse had 1 forelimb and 1 hind limb assigned to each DFTS approach (basilar vs axial, relative to the proximal sesamoid bones) in a Latin square design. The order of horses and of limb injection for each horse was randomly selected. All procedures were performed in standing sedated horses. The number of attempts to place a needle in the DFTS, presence of synovial fluid in the needle hub, time for DFTS injection, and number of accurate injections of sterile contrast material into the DFTS (evaluated by means of radiography) were compared between methods.

Results—Median time for injection was significantly shorter for the BSA, compared with the ASA. The median number of times the needle was redirected was also significantly less for the BSA. Odds of obtaining synovial fluid via the BSA were 5.7 times as great as for the ASA (95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 278). Successful injection of contrast material into the DFTS did not differ significantly between the BSA (24/24 limbs) and ASA (23/24).

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The BSA was a useful method for DFTS synoviocentesis in the forelimbs and hind limbs of standing sedated horses and was superior to the ASA in most aspects. This approach to the DFTS should be considered when DFTS injection or synovial fluid retrieval is desired, particularly in horses with minimal DFTS effusion.
Dimensionality of the 9-Item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9)
Authors: de Bruin Gideon P. , Henn Carolina M.
Published: September 2013

Despite wide-spread use, questions remain about the dimensionality of the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). Theoretical underpinnings of the UWES-9 point toward a hierarchical structure with a general factor and three group or primary factors: Dedication, Vigor, and Absorption. To date, researchers have failed to model the general factor, which contributes to the lack of consensus about the dimensionality of the scale. Bi-factor analysis was used to demonstrate the presence of a very strong general factor and, in comparison, two weak group factors. The results shed additional light on the meaning of the work engagement construct. The implications for research with the UWES-9 are discussed.
On the Importance of Tail Ratios for Psychological Science
Authors: Voracek Martin , Mohr Elisabeth , Hagmann Michael
Published: September 2013

Even small group-mean differences (whether combined with variance differences or not) or variance differences alone (absent mean differences) can generate marked and sometimes surprising imbalances in the representation of the respective groups compared in the distributional tail regions. Such imbalances in group representation, quantified as tail ratios, have general importance in the context of any threshold, susceptibility, diathesis-stress, selection, or similar models (including the study of sex differences), as widely conceptualized and applied in the psychological, social, medical, and biological sciences. However, commonly used effect-size measures, such as Cohen's d, largely exploit data information around the center of distributions, rather than from the tails, thereby missing potentially important patterns found in the tail regions. This account reviews the background and history of tail ratios, emphasizes their importance for psychological research, proposes a consensus approach for defining and interpreting them, introduces a tail-ratio calculator, and outlines future research agenda.
Environmental Factors Influencing Pedestrian Walking Speed
Authors: Franěk Marek
Published: September 2013

The present study investigated various factors influencing pedestrian speed. Undergraduate students who were registered in psychology courses participated in three studies (Study 1: N = 71, M age = 20.3 yr., 37 women; Study 2: N = 92, M age = 19.6 yr., 48 women; Study 3: N =108, M age = 20.4 yr., 56 women). They were required to walk within the city of Hradec Králové (Czech Republic) along a route consisting of streets with various amounts of vegetation, traffic intensity, and noise. In Studies 1 to 3, participants tended to walk statistically significantly faster in sections without greenery and with more traffic, higher perceived noise, and more people than in sections with greenery and with less traffic, perceived noise, and fewer people. They also walked statistically significantly faster in less open spaces. In a fourth study, participants ( N = 70, M age = 20.7 yr., 35 women) were asked to evaluate their emotional reactions to the environment (dimensions of pleasure, arousal, and dominance), as well as to the restorative qualities of the environment. In sections where participants reported more positive emotions and higher restoration, the walking speed was statistically significantly slower. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship between urban environmental design and stress reduction.
Effect of Practice Distribution and Experience on the Performance and Retention of a Discrete Sport Skill
Authors: Panchuk Derek , Spittle Michael , Johnston Natillie , Spittle Sharna
Published: September 2013

This study examined how practice distribution influenced performance and learning of a discrete sport skill, the Australian Football (AF) handball pass. A secondary aim was to assess whether previous experience playing competitive Australian Football influenced learning. Participants performed the handball 50 times (5 blocks × 10 repetitions) using either a massed (1 sec. between repetitions or distributed (30 sec. between repetitions) practice schedule. Testing consisted of pre-test, acquisition, immediate retention (10 min.), and delayed retention (2 weeks) sessions. Performance accuracy scores improved in the massed practice condition from pre-test to immediate retention and from pre-test to delayed retention. Likewise, performance improved in the distributed practice group from pretest to immediate retention, but scores were not different from pre-test to delayed retention, and decreased from immediate retention to delayed retention. While students with previous AF experience performed better overall, there were no differences between the massed and distributed groups based on experience. Results suggested that, regardless of previous related skill, massed practice of a discrete sport skill may lead to better retention of learning over a two-week period.
Effects of Light, Rotation, and Texture on Errors in the Estimated Length of a Three-Dimensional Object in a Two-Dimensional Display
Authors: Lien Chun-Ming , Wu Chih-Fu , Huang Kuo-Chen
Published: September 2013

This study investigated the effects of light type (spot, directional, and point), forward-rotated stimulus angle (20°, 45°, and 70°), and surface texture (wood, metal, transparent glass, dark brown leather, and translucent plastic) on errors in the estimated vertical diameter of a three-dimensional object. Twenty female and 12 male Taiwanese college students, ages 18–22 years, participated in the current study. Participants were asked to judge the vertical diameter of an elliptical hole within a square plate that was displayed on an LCD monitor. Analysis indicated that the errors in estimated vertical diameter for rotated angles of 20° and 45° were greater than were those for 70°. Additionally, the error of estimated vertical diameter for a rotated angle of 45° was less than was that for 20°. The surface texture also affected errors in estimated vertical diameter: transparent glass was associated with more errors than were wood and metal textures. However, light type had no effect on errors in estimated vertical diameter. These results have implications for the graphics-based design of interfaces.
Proactive and Reactive Effects of Vigorous Exercise on Learning and Vocabulary Comprehension
Authors: Salis Andrea S.
Published: September 2013

College students ( N = 90) were randomly assigned to participate in vigorous, moderate or no physical exercise and vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activities under varying conditions to assess whether or not increased intensities of exercise, performed either before a vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activity (i.e., proactive effect) or after a vocabulary recall and comprehension learning activity (i.e., reactive effect), would improve vocabulary recall and comprehension. The results demonstrated that performing exercise at a vigorous intensity before or after rehearsing for a vocabulary comprehension test improved test results.
Wartość diagnostyczna testu Cramptona (próba ortostatyczna) u osób w podeszłym wieku / The diagnostic value of the Crampton test (the orthostatic test) in the ederly individuals
Authors: Magiera Andrzej , Kaczmarczyk Katarzyna , Wiszomirska Ida
Published: September 2013

Streszczenie

Wprowadzenie: Wydolność fizyczna i sprawność życiowa u ludzi w starszym wieku jest nie tyle wynikiem procesów starzenia się ustroju, ile biologicznie nieuzasadnionego obniżania aktywności ruchowej w miarę upływu lat. Czynniki psychologiczne, socjologiczne i inne decydują o narastającej już w średnim wieku skłonności do ograniczania w życiu codziennym wysiłku fizycznego. Diagnostyka stanu układu krążenia w zakresie wydolności fizycznej i tolerancji wysiłku u osób starszych jest znacznie utrudniona w stosunku do osób młodych. Do przyczyn powodujących taki stan rzeczy zaliczyć należy przede wszystkim naturalne procesy inwolucyjne związane z wiekiem.

Cel pracy: Celem niniejszej pracy jest ocena reakcji ortostatycznej układu krążenia za po- mocą wskaźnika Cramptona przy zmianie pozycji z leżącej do stojącej, oraz ewolucji wartości tego wskaźnika po 4 miesiącach wzmożonej aktywności fizycznej u osób w podeszłym wieku oraz. czy wskaźnik ten ma wartość diagnostyczną dla kwalifikacji osób starszych do badania wysiłkowego

Materiał i metody: Badania przeprowadzono na 44-osobowej grupie słuchaczek Uniwersytetu III Wieku Akademii Wychowania Fizycznego z Warszawy. Średnia wieku wynosiła 64.2. średnia masa ciała 66.5 kg. średnia wysokość ciała 158.5 cm. Próba polegała na dwukrotnej ocenie częstości skurczów serca i skurczowego ciśnienia tętniczego, po dziesięciu minutach w pozycji leżącej oraz po dwóch minutach od przyjęcia postawy spionizowanej.

Wyniki: Wydolność ortostatyczna układu krążenia przy zmianach pozycji ciała oceniono na poziomie dobrym i bardzo dobrym Osiągnięcie wysokich wartości w teście Cramptona nie koreluje ze zdolnością wysiłkową. Test Cramptona ma niską wartość diagnostyczną w zakresie przewidywania tolerancji wysiłku osób starszych.
Causes of Attrition of Senior Level Employees: A Study on Selected Commercial Banks of Nepal
Authors: Subedi Jackson
Published: September 2013

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/bj.v3i2.8543 Banking Journal Vol.3(2) 2013 pp.37-56
Beliefs about Teaching Geometric Transformations with Geometers' Sketchpad: A Reflexive Abstraction
Authors: Belbase Shashidhar
Published: September 2013

A teacher's belief plays a significant role in the quality of teaching mathematics. In a fictive way, I changed my role from a researcher to a research participant in an imaginative interview. My interior other (David) interviewed me as a researcher. A single interview session was held lasting for about three hours. The interview text was used for the analysis and interpretation using the grounded theory method. I invented a substantive theory of my beliefs about teaching geometric transformations with Geometer's Sketchpad. The theory is "reflexive abstraction of my beliefs about teaching Geometric Transformations with Geometer's Sketchpad" as a personal theory characterized by some basic categories of - beliefs about the advancement of pedagogy, beliefs about pedagogical environment, beliefs about the role of students' and teacher, beliefs about self as a future teacher, beliefs about teaching learning activities, and beliefs about transitions in teaching learning. I reconstructed a synthesis of the characteristics of these beliefs. While constructing these layers of interpretive accounts, I used radical constructivist grounded theory as a theoretical base.
A Third Space Research Methodology Through the Metaphor of Mokshya
Authors: Gautam Suresh , Luitel Bal Chandra
Published: September 2013

In this paper, we argue that research paradigms arising from the Western Modern Worldview (WMW) orient research enterprise to serve metaphysics of presence (positive evidence), propositional, deductive and analytical genre and logics (Luitel, 2003), thereby privileging knowing as misappropriating local knowledge system. When the WMW fails to understand the connectedness within local worldviews, they are like colonization. Many researches are taken for granted to put all in boxes creating a dualism of the West (colonized) and non-West (decolonized). However, the dualism of the West and the Rest hardly recognizes the multiple realities of the local people. In so doing, we envision Third Space Research Methodology where we can realize the importance of both the West and the Rest drawing from their best practices. Developing such a methodology allows all voices to be heard but take precedence over the indigenous/local voice rather than the voice of the researchers. This is why, we suggest a Third Space (Mokshya- an interest of emancipation) methodology through breaking the hierarchies of the West and the local. We use a metaphor of Mokshya describing the Eastern (Hindu/Baudhhist /Jain/Sikhs) epistemic view to be aware of the colonial and decolonial parameters of research.
An Academic Journey Toward Educational Excellence
Authors: Parajuli Mahesh Nath
Published: September 2013

Editorial
Re-imagining Embodiment: Prostheses, Supplements and Boundaries
Authors: Shildrick Margrit
Published: September 2013

The question of what is at stake in the notion of the corporeal integrity of human beings is one that contemporary somatechnics must increasingly face. The reassuring image of the Cartesian body as the unified, unchanging material base of continuing existence has been radically contested not simply by postconventional modes of theoretical enquiry, but more pragmatically and disturbingly by contemporary bioscientific developments. In one influential response, the explanatory model offered by phenomenology has begun to engage with the affective significance of prostheses, whether conventionally external as with ‘replacements’ for missing limbs, or internal as with donated organs. In uncovering the inherent plasticity of the body and its multiple possibilities of intercorporeality, in incorporating both organic and inorganic non-self matter, such modes of corporeal transformation can comprehensively undo the conventional limits of the embodied self. Calling on my own substantive research into the use of prostheses in the arena of physical disabilities and more specifically in organ transplantation, I offer a rethinking of the problematic through a reading of both Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze. In their respective work, the infinitely deferred possibility, and the dis-organisation, of bodily integrity suggest a celebratory re-imaging of the multiple possibilities of corporeal extensiveness.
Grains of Resonance: Affect, Pornography and Visual Sensation
Authors: Paasonen Susanna
Published: September 2013

In studies of pornography to date, feminist theorisations of looking have largely focused on issues of power, control and the gaze. Much, however, remains to be said of being impressed by images and sounds beyond conceptualisations of the gaze. This article investigates the possibilities of resonance as an analytical concept in and for addressing affective intensities in encounters with pornography and, with some reservations, with visual culture more generally. The article argues for the need of tactile concepts for tackling the force of images and our myriad ways of engaging with them – not as mere surfaces but as material entities that we are drawn to and impressed by. Rather than defining resonance as impersonal affective potentiality or force, the article addresses it as dynamic encounters between images, media technologies and the particular, historically layered sensoria of the viewing bodies. By doing so, the article explores both connections and differences between theorisations of affect and the methodological challenges that these distinctions pose.
Corporeal Anachronisms: Notes on Affect, Relationality, and Power in Steampunk
Authors: Sundén Jenny
Published: September 2013

Steampunk is an aesthetic technological movement incorporating science fiction, art, engineering, and a vibrant 21st century Do-It-Yourself counterculture. This article explores the feminist potentials of ‘thinking with’ steampunk as a playful, affective and decidedly political response to the present technological condition. It starts out by navigating the field of affect theory with a Deleuzian reading of Baruch Spinoza on affect, to then engage in the affective renderings of the relations, rhythms, and power of a soma-technology central to steampunks as well as their Victorian predecessors: the corset. The purpose of the article is (at least) threefold: first, it sets out to complicate the notion of the corset as either oppressive or liberating by a move from signification to affect. Secondly, it aims to put a feminist spin on Spinoza, by offering what Moira Gatens (2000) calls a micropolitical feminism of the in-betweens of subjects (or bodies). The argument, thus, takes seriously the seeming lack of distinction in Spinoza between nature and artifice, which opens up possibilities of exploring the affective relations and the in-betweens of human and nonhuman bodies. Finally, and as a result of this interest in the affective relationality of human and nonhuman bodies, the article contributes to the discussion of ‘somatechnics’ ( Sullivan and Murray 2009 ) by proposing an intimate relationship between somatechnics and affect.
Critical Analysis of Assessment Studies of the Animal Ethics Review Process
Authors: Varga Orsolya
Published: September 2013

In many countries the approval of animal research projects depends on the decisions of Animal Ethics Committees (AEC’s), which review the projects. An animal ethics review is performed as part of the authorization process and therefore performed routinely, but comprehensive information about how well the review system works is not available. This paper reviews studies that assess the performance of animal ethics committees by using Donabedian’s structure-process-outcome model. The paper points out that it is well recognised that AECs differ in structure, in their decision-making methods, in the time they take to review proposals and that they also make inconsistent decisions. On the other hand, we know little about the quality of outcomes, and to what extent decisions have been incorporated into daily scientific activity, and we know almost nothing about how well AECs work from the animal protection point of view. In order to emphasise this viewpoint in the assessment of AECs, the paper provides an example of measures for outcome assessment. The animal suffering is considered as a potential measure for outcome assessment of the ethics review. Although this approach has limitations, outcome assessment would significantly increase our understanding of the performance of AECs.
Deformed Exponentials and Applications to Finance
Authors: Trivellato Barbara
Published: September 2013

We illustrate some financial applications of the Tsallis and Kaniadakis deformed exponential. The minimization of the corresponding deformed divergence is discussed as a criterion to select a pricing measure in the valuation problems of incomplete markets. Moreover, heavy-tailed models for price processes are proposed, which generalized the well-known Black and Scholes model.
Land-Use Planning for Urban Sprawl Based on the CLUE-S Model: A Case Study of Guangzhou, China
Authors: Xu Linyu , Li Zhaoxue , Song Huimin , Yin Hao
Published: September 2013

In recent years, changes in land use resulting from rapid urbanization or urban sprawl have brought about many negative effects to land ecosystems, and have led to entropy increases. This study introduces the novel ideas of a planning regulation coefficient for sustainable land-use planning in order to decrease entropy, combined with the CLUE-S model to predict land-use change. Three scenarios were designed as the basis for land-use projections for Guangzhou, China, in 2015, and the changes in the land ecological service function for each scenario were predicted. The results show that, although the current land-use plan is quite reasonable, it will be necessary to further strengthen the protection of farmland and important ecological service function areas.
The DNA-Damage Response to γ-Radiation Is Affected by miR-27a in A549 Cells
Authors: Di Francesco Andrea , De Pittà Cristiano , Moret Francesca , Barbieri Vito , Celotti Lucia , Mognato Maddalena
Published: September 2013

Perturbations during the cell DNA-Damage Response (DDR) can originate from alteration in the functionality of the microRNA-mediated gene regulation, being microRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. The oncogenic miR-27a is over-expressed in several tumors and, in the present study, we investigated its interaction with ATM, the gene coding for the main kinase of DDR pathway. Experimental validation to confirm miR-27a as a direct regulator of ATM was performed by site-direct mutagenesis of the luciferase reporter vector containing the 3'UTR of ATM gene, and by miRNA oligonucleotide mimics. We then explored the functional miR-27a/ATM interaction under biological conditions, i.e., during the response of A549 cells to ionizing radiation (IR) exposure. To evaluate if miR-27a over-expression affects IR-induced DDR activation in A549 cells we determined cell survival, cell cycle progression and DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Our results show that up-regulation of miR-27a promotes cell proliferation of non-irradiated and irradiated cells. Moreover, increased expression of endogenous mature miR-27a in A549 cells affects DBS rejoining kinetics early after irradiation.
Physical Layer Design in Wireless Sensor Networks for Fading Mitigation
Authors: Berber Stevan , Chen Nuo
Published: September 2013

This paper presents the theoretical analysis, simulation results and suggests design in digital technology of a physical layer for wireless sensor networks. The proposed design is able to mitigate fading inside communication channel. To mitigate fading the chip interleaving technique is proposed. For the proposed theoretical model of physical layer, a rigorous mathematical analysis is conducted, where all signals are presented and processed in discrete time domain form which is suitable for further direct processing necessary for devices design in digital technology. Three different channels are used to investigate characteristics of the physical layer: additive white Gaussian noise channel (AWGN), AWG noise and flat fading channel and AWG noise and flat fading channel with interleaver and deinterleaver blocks in the receiver and transmitter respectively. Firstly, the mathematical model of communication system representing physical layer is developed based on the discrete time domain signal representation and processing. In the existing theory, these signals and their processing are represented in continuous time form, which is not suitable for direct implementation in digital technology. Secondly, the expressions for the probability of chip, symbol and bit error are derived. Thirdly, the communication system simulators are developed in MATLAB. The simulation results confirmed theoretical findings.
Nanoscale Design of Nano-Sized Particles in Shape-Memory Polymer Nanocomposites Driven by Electricity
Authors: Lu Haibao , Huang Wei , Liang Fei , Yu Kai
Published: September 2013

In the last few years, we have witnessed significant progress in developing high performance shape memory polymer (SMP) nanocomposites, in particular, for shape recovery activated by indirect heating in the presence of electricity, magnetism, light, radio frequency, microwave and radiation, etc. In this paper, we critically review recent findings in Joule heating of SMP nanocomposites incorporated with nanosized conductive electromagnetic particles by means of nanoscale control via applying an electro- and/or magnetic field. A few different nanoscale design principles to form one-/two-/three- dimensional conductive networks are discussed.
Effect of Non-Pharmacologic Vitamin D Status Correction on Circulating Bone Markers in Healthy Overweight and Obese Saudis
Authors: Al-Daghri Nasser , Alkharfy Khalid , Al-Othman Abdulaziz , Yakout Sobhy , Al-Saleh Yousef , Fouda Mona , Sabico Shaun
Published: September 2013

While moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in Saudi Arabia, skeletal effects associated with this deficiency are not common in this population. In this interventional study we measured the effects of improving vitamin D status on bone biochemical markers in overweight and obese adult Saudis. A total of 47 volunteers (21 males, 26 females) out of the initial 95 subjects were given verbal advice to expose themselves to sunlight for 5–30 min twice weekly and were encouraged to increase their intake of vitamin D–rich foods. Serum 25(OH)D, osteocalcin, and type 1 collagen cross-linked C-telopeptide (CTx), were measured at baseline and after one year. A significant decrease in the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was observed (44% to 27%) after one year follow-up (p = 0.025). Also, a parallel significant increase in osteocalcin and a decrease in CTX and osteoprotegerin were observed. The results suggest that a modest increase in vitamin D levels among overweight and obese subjects through the promotion of lifestyle changes for one year have marginal effects in bone turnover markers as well as obesity itself.
Migrants in Chains: On the Enslavement of Muslims in Renaissance and Enlightenment Europe
Authors: Salzmann Ariel
Published: September 2013

Between the Renaissance and the French Revolution, hundreds of thousands of Muslim men and women from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean were forcibly transported to Western Europe. Those who were not ransomed or who did not return to their homelands as part of prisoner exchanges, languished for decades and, many, for the remainder of their lives, in chattel slavery. This essay considers the enslavement process overall and the conceptual frameworks necessary to bring this poorly known chapter in European social history into focus. Emphasizing the case of the Muslim galley slaves of the Catholic ports of France, Italy and Malta, it argues that without appreciating this phenomenon as a form of migration, as well as part of a larger history of global slavery, it not possible to understand the specificity of confessionalized enslavement within the early modern Mediterranean.
Microseismic Monitoring of CO2 Injection at the Penn West Enhanced Oil Recovery Pilot Project, Canada: Implications for Detection of Wellbore Leakage
Authors: Martínez-Garzón Patricia , Bohnhoff Marco , Kwiatek Grzegorz , Zambrano-Narváez Gonzalo , Chalaturnyk Rick
Published: September 2013

A passive seismic monitoring campaign was carried out in the frame of a CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) pilot project in Alberta, Canada. Our analysis focuses on a two-week period during which prominent downhole pressure fluctuations in the reservoir were accompanied by a leakage of CO2 and CH4 along the monitoring well equipped with an array of short-period borehole geophones. We applied state of the art seismological processing schemes to the continuous seismic waveform recordings. During the analyzed time period we did not find evidence of induced micro-seismicity associated with CO2 injection. Instead, we identified signals related to the leakage of CO2 and CH4, in that seven out of the eight geophones show a clearly elevated noise level framing the onset time of leakage along the monitoring well. Our results confirm that micro-seismic monitoring of reservoir treatment can contribute towards improved reservoir monitoring and leakage detection.