bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Childhood Maltreatment and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from South Africa
Authors: Pieterse Duncan
Published: May 2014

Many South African children experience maltreatment, but we know little about the effects on long‐term child development. Using the only representative dataset that includes a module on childhood maltreatment for a metropolitan city in South Africa, we explore the association between different measures of childhood maltreatment and two educational outcomes (numeracy test scores and dropout). Our study provides an estimate of the association between childhood maltreatment and educational outcomes in a developing country where maltreatment is high. We control for potential confounders using a range of statistical techniques and add several robustness checks to evaluate the strength of our findings. Our results indicate that children who are maltreated suffer large adverse consequences in terms of their numeracy test scores and probability of dropout and that the estimated effects of maltreatment are larger and more consistent for the most severe type of maltreatment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Investigating muscle regeneration with a dermis/small intestinal submucosa scaffold in a rat full‐thickness abdominal wall defect model
Authors: Ma Jinjin , Sahoo Sambit , Baker Andrew R. , Derwin Kathleen A.
Published: May 2014

Repair of large complex ventral wall hernias is challenging and outcomes are often poor due to hernia recurrence and compromised abdominal wall function. Currently, biological grafts are used to assist in repairing these complex hernias. Dermis grafts are often chosen because of their mechanical characteristics; however, dermis does not have the ability to promote the muscle regeneration needed to regain abdominal wall function. In contrast, small intestinal submucosa (SIS) grafts have been shown to promote muscle generation in volumetric muscle loss (VML) models. Hence, the objective of this study is to investigate the extent to which SIS grafts can be used together with dermis grafts to repair and promote muscle regeneration in a full‐thickness abdominal wall defect in a rat model. The dermis layer is intended to mechanically bridge the defect and support constructive tissue remodeling while the SIS is intended to degrade and promote neo‐muscle formation. After 16 weeks of implantation, we found only a small amount of vascularized muscle (<10% of the defect area) in the repaired defects. No significant difference in defect muscle area was found between the groups receiving the dermis + SIS scaffolds and the control (dermis alone) group. Our findings indicate that the SIS constructions investigated could not promote appreciable muscle regeneration in this rigorous animal model of VML and incomplete abdominal closure. Future investigation into combination scaffold, cell and molecular therapies would be warranted to address the need for functional muscle regeneration in challenging clinical conditions such as complex abdominal wall repair. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 103B: 355–364, 2015.
In vitro degradation, hemolysis, and cytocompatibility of PEO/PLLA composite coating on biodegradable AZ31 alloy
Authors: Wei Zhongling , Tian Peng , Liu Xuanyong , Zhou Bangxin
Published: May 2014

Magnesium and its alloys have large potential as degradable and absorbable biomaterials because of their mechanical properties and biocompatibility. However, their corrosion resistance is usually inadequate especially in physiological environment, which limits their broad applications in biomedical areas. In this work, plasma electrolytic oxidized/poly(l‐lactide) (PEO/PLLA) composite coating was successfully fabricated on biodegradable AZ31 alloy by combing PEO process and sealing with PLLA. The microstructure, elemental composition, and phase composition of the PEO/PLLA composite coating were investigated. The in vitro degradation of the PEO/PLLA composite coating in simulated body fluid (SBF) was also systematically evaluated. The results revealed that the PEO/PLLA composite coating improved the corrosion resistance of AZ31 alloy significantly. The corrosion potential shifted from −1.663V to more positive position −1.317 V and the corrosion current density was reduced with six‐order of magnitude. The Mg2+ ions, hydrogen release, and pH value change of solution caused by degradation were all decreased significantly. Moreover, the PEO process played a critical role in sustaining the integrity of the implant in long‐term service. The result of hemolysis test showed that the PEO/PLLA composite coating vested AZ31 alloy a low hemolysis ratio (0.806 ± 0.771)%, which is much lower than the safe value of 5% according to ISO 10993‐4. For the cytocompatibility test, compared with bare AZ31 alloy and PEO coating, MC3T3‐E1 cells showed much better adhesion and proliferation on the PEO/PLLA composite coating with nearly 4‐fold increase of cells after 7‐day cultivation, indicating that the PEO/PLLA composite coating has good biocompatibility for biomedical applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 103B: 342–354, 2015.
The Syndrome of Inappropriate Secretion of AntiDiuretic Hormone in Patients With Brucellosis
Authors: Dulger Ahmet Cumhur , Aslan Mehmet , Ceylan Mehmet Resat , Olmez Sehmus , Karadas Sevdegul , Akdeniz Hayrettin
Published: May 2014

Objective

Various studies have shown that a number of infectious disease causes syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH). However, the relationship between infectious disease and SIADH is not yet fully known. In this prospective study, we aimed to assess the presence of SIADH in patients with brucellosis.

Patients and methods

Thirty‐five patients with acute brucellosis were retrospectively reviewed. The diagnosis of brucellosis was performed using the Wright test in connection with blood culture. SIADH was defined by euvolemic hyponatremia (serum sodium level lower than 135 mEq/l) with increased urinary sodium excretion (urinary sodium higher than 40 mmol/l).

Results

Of the 35 patients, 19 (54%) had SIADH; 20 (57%) also had hypouricemia (uric acid level lower than 4 mg/dl). Additionally, all of the studied patients had a high mean urinary sodium excretion rate (mean 132 mmol/l; range 40–224). Most importantly, the hyponatremic patients were more likely to have a lower albumin level (P < 0.01).

Conclusions

SIADH is a major complication of brucellosis. The presence of SIADH could be a diagnostic tool for diagnosing brucellosis. Further larger randomized studies may confirm these findings.
Increased activity correlates with reduced ability to mount immune defenses to endotoxin in zebra finches
Authors: Lopes Patricia C. , Springthorpe Dwight , Bentley George E.
Published: May 2014

When suffering from infection, animals experience behavioral and physiological alterations that potentiate the immune system's ability to fight pathogens. The behavioral component of this response, termed “sickness behavior,” is characterized by an overall reduction in physical activity. A growing number of reports demonstrate substantial flexibility in these sickness behaviors, which can be partially overcome in response to mates, intruders and parental duties. Since it is hypothesized that adopting sickness behaviors frees energetic resources for mounting an immune response, we tested whether diminished immune responses coincided with reduced sickness behaviors by housing male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in social conditions that alter their behavioral response to an endotoxin. To facilitate our data collection, we developed and built a miniaturized sensor capable of detecting changes in dorsoventral acceleration and categorizing them as different behaviors when attached to the finches. We found that the immune defenses (quantified as haptoglobin‐like activity, ability to change body temperature and bacterial killing capacity) increased as a function of increased time spent resting. The findings indicate that when animals are sick attenuation of sickness behaviors may exact costs, such as reduced immune function. The extent of these costs depends on how relevant the affected components of immunity are for fighting a specific infection. J. Exp. Zool. 321A: 422–431, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Towards an ecological understanding of morphological evolution
Authors: Kalinka Alex T.
Published: May 2014

The roots of modern evo‐devo can be traced back to the comparative anatomy of the 19th century. Inheriting from this tradition, the field has maintained a mechanistic approach to understanding the origins of distinct animal morphologies. While this focus has produced a valuable body of work, we argue here that a fuller understanding of why species diverge morphologically must be centered on the selective forces driving divergence, and these forces ultimately reside in the ecological context in which organisms live and reproduce. We discuss reasons why we expect many morphological novelties to evolve largely secondarily to, and often as a by‐product of, primary selection on life‐history traits. By shifting the focus to proximate evolutionary causes, our perspective necessarily prioritises selection experiments as a means of empirical testing. We outline experimental approaches designed to dissect the role of ecological variables in the evolution of animal development and morphology, and we show how methods and advances in fields as diverse as population genomics and ecological stoichiometry can contribute to progress in this direction.J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 324B: 383–392, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Heterochrony in mandible development of larval shrimp (Decapoda: Caridea)—A comparative morphological SEM study of two carideans
Authors: Batel Annika , Melzer Roland R. , Anger Klaus , Geiselbrecht Hannes
Published: May 2014

Mandible development in the larval stages I–V of two palaemonid shrimp species, Palaemon elegans and Macrobrachium amazonicum, was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, light microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. In contrast to the zoea I of P. elegans, first‐stage larvae of M. amazonicum are nonfeeding. At hatching, the morphology of the mandibles is fully expressed in P. elegans, while it appears underdeveloped in M. amazonicum, presenting only small precursors of typical caridean features. In successive zoeal stages, both species show similar developmental changes, but the mandibular characters of the larvae in M. amazonicum were delayed compared to the equivalent stages in P. elegans, especially in the development of submarginal setae and mandible size. In conclusion, our results indicate heterochrony (postdisplacement) of mandible development in M. amazonicum compared to that in P. elegans, which is related to initial lack of mandible functionality or planktivorous feeding at hatching, respectively. This conclusion is supported by comparison with other palaemonid zoeae exhibiting different feeding modes. Our data suggest that an evolutionary ground pattern of mandible morphology is present even in species with nonfeeding first‐stage larvae. J. Morphol. 275:1258–1272, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Recent progress of high efficiency Si thin‐film solar cells in large area
Authors: You Dong Joo , Kim Sun Ho , Lee Hyun , Chung Jin‐Won , Hwang Sun‐Tae , Heo Youn Ho , Lee Sungeun , Lee Heon‐Min
Published: May 2014

Si thin‐film solar cells are suitable to the sunbelt region due to a low temperature coefficient and to building integrated photovoltaics owing to flexible size, easily controllable transmittance, and an aesthetic design. Nevertheless, the application is limited until now due to their low conversion efficiency. We have developed a triple junction cell (a‐Si:H/a‐SiGe:H/µc‐Si:H) providing efficient light utilization. For the high efficiency, we have focused on the smoothing of high haze TCO, a low absorption window layer, a low refractive index interlayer, uniformity control of the thickness and crystalline volume fraction in the microcrystalline silicon layer, and a low absorption back reflector. Through these activities, we have achieved a world record of 13.4% stabilized efficiency in the small size cell (1 cm2) and 10.5% stabilized efficiency in the large area module (1.1 × 1.3 m2), certificated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, respectively. This result was presented in solar cell efficiency tables (Version 41). At this moment, we have increased a stabilized efficiency of 11.2% (Output power 160 W) in the large area module. We will report on the advanced materials in detail for high efficiency. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Solar irradiation and PV module temperature dispersion at a large‐scale PV plant
Authors: García Miguel , Marroyo Luis , Lorenzo Eduardo , Marcos Javier , Pérez Miguel
Published: May 2014

When evaluating the performance of a photovoltaic (PV) system, it is extremely important to correctly measure the plant operating conditions: incident irradiation and cell temperature. At large‐size PV plants, the possible dispersion of the plant operating conditions may affect the representativeness of the values measured at one single point. The available literature contains many observations on irradiance dispersion (typically associated to high temporal resolution experiments) and its effects on the PV power output (unexpected power transients, power fluctuations, etc.). However no studies have been made on the long‐term energy‐related effects of geographic dispersion of solar irradiation, which could affect, for example, to the uncertainty in determining energy performance indexes like PR. This paper analyses the geographical dispersion in the PV operating conditions observed at low temporal resolutions (day, month and year) at two PV plants located, respectively, in the south of Portugal and the north of Spain. It shows that daily irradiation deviations are significantly higher than is commonly supposed. Furthermore, once the measurement points are a certain distance apart (a few hundred metres), the deviations in irradiation appear to be independent of distance. This could help to determine how many irradiance sensors to install in order to reduce uncertainty. Daily mean temperature differences between different points at a large‐scale PV plant range from 1 to 7 K and are not related to the distance between measurement points. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Electronic descriptors for analytical use of the benzidine‐based compounds and the mechanism of oxidative coupling of anilines
Authors: Bondarchuk Sergey V. , Minaev Boris F.
Published: May 2014

A number of hybrid exchange‐correlation functionals, namely, B3LYP, BMK, M06‐2X, PBE0, CAM‐B3LYP, BH&HLYP, and HSE06, have been employed to calculate the electronic spectra of a series of theN,N′‐derivatives of benzidine, their radical cations, and dications; the results are compared with available experimental data. In most cases studied, the time‐dependent density functional theory results based on the CAM‐B3LYP and BMK functionals indicate a better agreement with the experimental absorption bands in the UV–Vis spectra. The other five functionals provide statistically comparable but lower accuracy. On the basis of the time‐dependent density functional theory calculations with both the CAM‐B3LYP and BMK functionals and the 6‐311 + G(d,p) basis set including effect of polar medium simulation, the electronic spectrum of the benzidine dication has been completely assigned. Because the latter dication is formed during oxidative coupling of two aniline molecules, as the reductive reagents for analytical determination of strong oxidants, the mechanism of this reaction has been clarified on the ground of density functional theory calculations including effect of dispersion for all possible reaction paths and intermediates. By the analysis of spectral properties and ionization energies of several aniline derivatives, a few simple electronic descriptors that help to justify a reagent molecule as a potentially favorable for colorimetric use have been proposed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Institutional inertia and climate change: a review of the new institutionalist literature
Authors: Munck af Rosenschöld Johan , Rozema Jaap G. , Frye‐Levine Laura Alex
Published: May 2014

Climate scientists and policy analysts alike have repeatedly called for urgent mitigating action to avoid the most adverse effects of climate change. However, within the political arena this action is largely lacking. To understand this discrepancy, we consider the institutions in climate change policy to be of central importance. Renewed interest in institutions has been generated to a great extent by ‘new institutionalism’, a field of research combining economics, political science, and sociology, and which has become increasingly popular since the 1980s. The tendency of institutions to resist change and thereby stabilize policy can be understood by using the concept of institutional inertia. Our review of the new institutionalist literature on climate change identifies five main mechanisms that generate institutional inertia: costs, uncertainty, path dependence, power, and legitimacy. Means of addressing these mechanisms are proposed by referring to the literature on institutional entrepreneurship and institutional work. A focus on the mechanisms that generate and regenerate institutional inertia is beneficial for future research on institutions and climate change, as it can be used to study bottlenecks for action and address more clearly the urgency of necessary policy interventions.WIREs Clim Change2014, 5:639–648. doi: 10.1002/wcc.292

This article is categorized under:

Climate Economics > Iterative Risk‐Management Policy Portfolios

Policy and Governance > Multilevel and Transnational Climate Change Governance
Reproducibility of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia diagnosis on histological review of cervical punch biopsies from a visual inspection with acetic acid and HPV detection‐based screening program
Authors: Mittal Srabani , Ghosh Ishita , Banerjee Dipanwita , Singh Priyanka , Biswas Jaydip , Nijhawan Raje , Srinivasan Radhika , Ray Chinmayi , Basu Partha
Published: May 2014

Objective

To assess the reproducibility of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) diagnosis in a visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and HPV detection‐based screening program, and to correlate CIN diagnosis with oncogenic HPV status.

Methods

A total of 9630 women were screened by VIA and high‐risk HPV detection at community outreach clinics in India between June 2011 and June 2012. Biopsies obtained from women who were positive on either test were reviewed by two pathologists blinded to the histological diagnoses originally made by pathologists working at the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute.

Results

The interobserver agreement between the pathologists' diagnoses and the diagnoses made by the expert reviewers on 424 slides was fair (kappa = 0.26). There was a distinct difference in agreement in detecting CIN 2 (kappa = 0.21) and detecting CIN 3 (kappa = 0.74). The overall agreement in diagnosis improved when the slides obtained from the HPV‐positive women were considered (kappa = 0.5). Almost half of the discordant CIN 2 cases were high‐risk HPV negative.

Conclusion

Diagnosis of CIN 2 is poorly reproducible. The natural history of CIN 2 lesions is more similar to CIN 1 than CIN 3; it is therefore necessary to re‐evaluate whether to consider CIN 2 lesions as high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions with CIN 3, as in the Bethesda system of classification.
Nonprofit engagement with provincial policy officials: The case of NGO policy voice in Canadian immigrant settlement services
Authors: Evans Bryan , Shields John
Published: May 2014

This paper explores the role of nonprofit organizations in the immigrant settlement and integration sector in the public policy process in three Canadian provinces. Drawing on thirty one (31) semi-structured interviews with nonprofit and mid-level policy officials (working for a provincial government) in three provinces (Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan), the place of nonprofit agencies in providing input and voice to policy issues in the area of settlement and integration services is presented. Issues regarding the willingness to use advocacy/voice with government funders, the usefulness of government consultations, strategies used in approaching government, the role of research in making evidence-based cases regarding policy and program change, among other considerations are examined. The assessments provided by key nonprofit actors and government policy officials are used to bring better understanding of the perceived roles of nonprofit organizations in the daily work of policy.
How to Perform Crisis: A Model for Understanding the Key Role of Crisis in Contemporary Populism
Authors: Moffitt Benjamin
Published: May 2014

A focus on crisis is a mainstay of the literature on contemporary populism. However, the links between populism and crisis remain under-theorized and undeveloped. This article puts forward a novel perspective for understanding this relationship, arguing that crisis does not just trigger populism, but that populism also attempts to act as a trigger for crisis. This is because crises are always mediated and ‘performed’. The article presents a six-step model of how populist actors ‘perform’ crisis, drawing on empirical examples from Europe, Latin America, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. It explains how the performance of crisis allows populist actors to pit ‘the people’ against a dangerous other, radically simplify the terrain of political debate and advocate strong leadership. It ultimately suggests that we should move from thinking of crisis as something purely external to populism, towards thinking about the performance of crisis as an internal core feature of populism.
The Future of Democratic Reform in Turkey: Constitutional Moment or Constitutional Process?
Authors: Cengiz Firat
Published: May 2014

Turkey is undergoing the most substantial constitutional reform process in its history, at the same time as carrying out significant peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. These two processes will have profound effects on the country’s future governance. Most importantly, the processes could contribute to bridging gaps in Turkey’s polarized society. As the processes take place in secret, their substantive contents are currently unknown. This article provides a critical analysis of the processes in the light of the new theory of constitutionalism, paying particular attention to the changing role of the European Union in Turkey’s reform discussions. This analysis leads to some sceptical conclusions: given the secrecy, exclusiveness and political hostility surrounding the processes, it seems that they are unlikely to achieve their potential. In addition, despite its contradictions, the weakening of European Union conditionality appears to have negatively affected the reform process.
Novel candidate genes putatively involved in stress fracture predisposition detected by whole-exome sequencing
Authors: FRIEDMAN EITAN , MORAN DANIEL S. , BEN-AVRAHAM DANNY , YANOVICH RAN , ATZMON GIL
Published: May 2014

While genetic factors in all likelihood contribute to stress fracture (SF) pathogenesis, a few studies focusing on candidate genes have previously been reported. The objective of this study is to gain better understanding on the genetic basis of SF in a gene-naive manner. Exome sequence capture followed by massive parallel sequencing of two pooled DNA samples from Israeli combat soldiers was employed: cases with high grade SF and ethnically matched healthy controls. The resulting sequence variants were individually verified using the Sequenom™ platform and the contribution of the genetic alterations was validated in a second cohort of cases and controls. In the discovery set that included DNA pool of cases (n = 34) and controls (n = 60), a total of 1174 variants with >600 reads/variant/DNA pool were identified, and 146 (in 127 genes) of these exhibited statistically significant (P < 0·05) different rates between SF cases and controls after multiple comparisons correction. Subsequent validation of these 146 sequence variants individually in a total of 136 SF cases and 127 controls using the Sequenom™ platform validated 20/146 variants. Of these, three missense mutations (rs7426114, rs4073918, rs3752135 in the NEB, SLC6A18 and SIGLEC12 genes, respectively) and three synonymous mutations (rs2071856, rs2515941, rs716745 in the ELFN2, GRK4, LRRC55 genes) displayed significant different rates in SF cases compared with controls. Exome sequencing seemingly unravelled novel candidate genes as involved in SF pathogenesis and predisposition.
CONSTRUCTING ARGUMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS OF ISLAMIC BELONGING: M. O. ABBASI, COLONIAL TANZANIA, AND THE WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN WORLD, 1925–61
Authors: Brennan James R.
Published: May 2014

This article explores the intellectual life and organizational work of an Indian Muslim activist and journalist, M. O. Abbasi, a largely forgotten figure who nonetheless stood at the center of colonial-era debates over the public role of Islam in mainland Tanzania. His greatest impact was made through the Anjuman Islamiyya, the territory's leading pan-Islamic organization that he co-founded and modeled on Indian modernist institutions. The successes and failures of Abbasi and the Anjuman Islamiyya demonstrate the vital role played by Western Indian Ocean intellectual networks, the adaptability of transoceanic, pan-Islamic organizational structures, and, ultimately, the limits imposed on pan-Islamic activism by racial politics in colonial Tanzania.
ZANZIBARIS OR AMAKHUWA? SUFI NETWORKS IN SOUTH AFRICA, MOZAMBIQUE, AND THE INDIAN OCEAN
Authors: Kaarsholm Preben
Published: May 2014

This article investigates the role of Sufi networks in keeping Durban's ‘Zanzibari’ community of African Muslims together and developing their response to social change and political developments from the 1950s to the post-apartheid period. It focuses on the importance of religion in giving meaning to notions of community, and discusses the importance of the Makua language in maintaining links with northern Mozambique and framing understandings of Islam. The transmission of ritual practices of the Rifaiyya, Qadiriyya, and Shadhiliyya Sufi brotherhoods is highlighted, as is the significance of Maputo as a node for such linkages. The article discusses change over time in notions of cosmopolitanism, diaspora, and belonging, and examines new types of interactions after 1994 between people identifying themselves as Amakhuwa in Durban and Mozambique.
MIDDLE PASSAGES OF THE SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN: A CENTURY OF FORCED IMMIGRATION FROM AFRICA TO THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
Authors: Harries Patrick
Published: May 2014

Forced immigration from the Southwest Indian Ocean marked life at the Cape of Good Hope for over a century. Winds, currents, and shipping linked the two regions, as did a common international currency, and complementary seasons and crops. The Cape's role as a refreshment station for French, Portuguese, American, and Spanish slave ships proved particularly important in the development of a commerce linking East Africa, Madagascar, and the Mascarenes with the Americas. This slave trade resulted in the landing at the Cape of perhaps as many as 40,000 forced immigrants from tropical Africa and Madagascar. Brought to the Cape as slaves, or freed slaves subjected to strict periods of apprenticeship, these individuals were marked by the experience of a brutal transhipment that bears comparison with the trans-Atlantic Middle Passage. The history of the Middle Passage occupies a central place in the study of slavery in the Americas and plays a vital role in the way many people today situate themselves socially and politically. Yet, for various reasons, this emotive subject is absent from historical discussions of life at the Cape. This article brings it into the history of slavery in the region. By focusing on the long history of this forced immigration, the article also serves to underline the importance of the Cape to the political and economic life of the Southwest Indian Ocean.
INTRODUCTION: PERFORMING CITIZENSHIP AND ENACTING EXCLUSION ON AFRICA'S INDIAN OCEAN LITTORAL
Authors: Becker Felicitas , Cabrita Joel
Published: May 2014

The Indian Ocean is frequently depicted as a sphere of seamless connectivity, characterized by fluid and wide-ranging exchanges between traders, sea-farers, clerics, intellectuals, and authors. We seek to nuance this depiction by highlighting the importance of specific, place-bound social concerns that tempered these cosmopolitan performances of citizenship with more exclusionary dynamics. Our goal is to emphasize the importance of context, contingency, and circumstance in shaping and breaking new forms and practices of citizenship and its twin – exclusionary politics – on Africa's Indian Ocean littoral.
The Conqueror Worm: recent advances with cholinergic anthelmintics and techniques excite research for better therapeutic drugs
Authors: Martin R.J. , Puttachary S. , Buxton S.K. , Verma S. , Robertson A.P.
Published: May 2014

The following account is based on a review lecture given recently at the British Society of Parasitology. We point out that nematode parasites cause very widespread infections of humans, particularly in economically underdeveloped areas where sanitation and hygiene are not adequate. In the absence of adequate clean water and effective vaccines, control and prophylaxis relies on anthelmintic drugs. Widespread use of anthelmintics to control nematode parasites of animals has given rise to the development of resistance and so there is a concern that similar problems will occur in humans if mass drug administration is continued. Recent research on the cholinergic anthelmintic drugs has renewed enthusiasm for the further development of cholinergic anthelmintics. Here we illustrate the use of three parasite nematode models, Ascaris suum, Oesophagostomum dentatum and Brugia malayi, microfluidic techniques and the Xenopus oocyte expression system for testing and examining the effects of cholinergic anthelmintics. We also show how the combination of derquantel, the selective nematode cholinergic antagonist and abamectin produce increased inhibition of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on the nematode body muscle. We are optimistic that new compounds and combinations of compounds can limit the effects of drug resistance, allowing anthelmintics to be continued to be used for effective treatment of human and animal helminth parasites.
Design and evaluation of a head-mounted display for immersive 3D teleoperation of field robots
Authors: Martins Henrique , Oakley Ian , Ventura Rodrigo
Published: May 2014

This paper describes and evaluates the use of a head-mounted display (HMD) for the teleoperation of a field robot. The HMD presents a pair of video streams to the operator (one to each eye) originating from a pair of stereo cameras located on the front of the robot, thus providing him/her with a sense of depth (stereopsis). A tracker on the HMD captures 3-DOF head orientation data which is then used for adjusting the camera orientation by moving the robot and/or the camera position accordingly, and rotating the displayed images to compensate for the operator's head rotation. This approach was implemented in a search and rescue robot (RAPOSA), and it was empirically validated in a series of short user studies. This evaluation involved four experiments covering two-dimensional perception, depth perception, scene perception, and performing a search and rescue task in a controlled scenario. The stereoscopic display and head tracking are shown to afford a number of performance benefits. However, one experiment also revealed that controlling robot orientation with yaw input from the head tracker negatively influenced task completion time. A possible explanation is a mismatch between the abilities of the robot and the human operator. This aside, the studies indicated that the use of an HMD to create a stereoscopic visualization of the camera feeds from a mobile robot enhanced the perception of cues in a static three-dimensional environment and also that such benefits transferred to simulated field scenarios in the form of enhanced task completion times.
Trajectory-tracking controller design with constraints in the control signals: a case study in mobile robots
Authors: Serrano Mario Emanuel , Scaglia Gustavo Juan Eduardo , Cheein Fernando Auat , Mut Vicente , Ortiz Oscar Alberto
Published: May 2014

This paper is a continuation of a previous work of authors, Scagliaet al. [G. J. E. Scaglia, L. M. Quintero, V. Mut and F. Di Sciascio, “Numerical methods based controller design for mobile robots,”Robotica27(2), 269–279 (2009)]. A method is presented to choose the controller parameters such that, the values of the control actions do not exceed the maximum allowable and the tracking errors tend to zero. In addition, the analysis of the controller design parameters is included. The experimental results (laboratory experiments and a real world application) demonstrate the efficiency of the controller.
The Dissemination of International Scholarship: The Future of Books and Book Reviews
Authors: BAETENS FREYA , PRISLAN VID
Published: May 2014

A question such as this one usually results in a slightly incredulous smile on the addressee's face, as if it implies an assumption that there is time to spare in the life of an international lawyer faced with a myriad of interesting-looking publications. For a long time, writing a monograph used to be the keystone, the ultimate test, to join the academic ranks – yet today, universities grant PhD titles based on the writing of separate articles on a common theme and doctoral researchers are increasingly encouraged to choose this option, so as to ensure their ideas actually reach the intended audience. Arguably, today's academic audience is assumed not to have, or at least not to make, the time to read an entire book.
IGF-I slightly improves nuclear maturation and cleavage rate of bovine oocytes exposed to acute heat shockin vitro
Authors: Meiyu Qi , Liu Di , Roth Zvi
Published: May 2014

Anin vitromodel of embryo production was used to examine the effects of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I on maturation and developmental competence of oocytes exposed to heat shock. Cumulus–oocyte complexes were matured at 38.5°C or exposed to acute heat shock (HS; 41.5°C), with or without 100 ng/ml IGF-I, for 22 h throughin vitromaturation. The experimental groups were control (C), C + IGF-I, HS, and HS + IGF-I. Oocytes were fertilized at the end of maturation, and the proportion of cleaved embryos was recorded 44 h later. HS during maturation increased the proportion of TUNEL-positive oocytes (P< 0.05). HS did not have any effect on cortical granule translocation but impaired resumption of meiosis, expressed as a decreased proportion of oocytes with nuclei in metaphase I (P <0.05) and metaphase II (MII;P <0.05). HS decreased the proportion of oocytes that cleaved (P< 0.05), in particular those oocytes that further developed to 4-cell-stage embryos (P< 0.05). IGF-I alleviated, to some extent, the deleterious effects of HS on the oocytes as reflected by a reduced proportion of TUNEL-positive oocytes (P< 0.03). While not significant, IGF-I tended to increase the proportion of MII-stage oocytes (P< 0.08) and 4-cell-stage cleaved embryos (P< 0.06). Further examination is required to explore whether IGF-I also affects the developmental competence of oocytes exposed to HS.
Effects of maternal ageing on ICSI outcomes and embryo development in relation to oocytes morphological characteristics of birefringent structures
Authors: Korkmaz Cem , Tekin Yesim Bayoglu , Sakinci Mehmet , Ercan Cihangir Mutlu
Published: May 2014

The aim of this study was to determine the morphological characteristics of the older reproductive aged women's oocytes and to reveal the influence of these characteristics on intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes. The oocytes of women older than 35 years of age were evaluated retrospectively. Non-invasive polarization microscopy (PolScope) examinations of mature oocytes were performed by measurement of meiotic spindles’ length, area and retardance and zona pellucida thickness and retardance. Fertilization and conception competence and the correlation with the birefringent structures were assessed. Two hundred and thirteen mature oocytes from 54 women were evaluated with a PolScope. Length of the meiotic spindle was shown to be related to fertilization success of women with advanced maternal age. In conclusion, the PolScope is a useful device used to identify the oocyte quality. Quantitative measurements of meiotic spindle parameters may be valuable for the selection of high-quality oocytes that have the potential for embryo development in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratory of women older than 35 years of age who are mostly poor responders.
THE OPTIMAL INFLATION TARGET IN AN ECONOMY WITH LIMITED ENFORCEMENT
Authors: Antinolfi Gaetano , Azariadis Costas , Bullard James
Published: May 2014

We formulate a central bank's problem of selecting an optimal long-run inflation rate as the choice of a distorting tax by a planner who wishes to maximize discounted stationary utility for a heterogeneous population of infinitely lived households in an economy with constant aggregate income and public information. Households are segmented into agents who store value in currency alone and agents who have access to both currency and loans. We show that the optimum inflation rate is positive, because inflation reduces the value of the outside option for credit agents and raises their debt limits.
Kant on Existential Import
Authors: Vanzo Alberto
Published: May 2014

This article reconstructs Kant's view on the existential import of categorical sentences. Kant is widely taken to have held that affirmative sentences (theAandIsentences of the traditional square of opposition) have existential import, whereas negative sentences (EandO) lack existential import. The article challenges this standard interpretation. It is argued that Kant ascribes existential import only to some affirmative synthetic sentences. However, the reasons for this do not fall within the remit of Kant's formal logic. Unlike traditional logic and modern standard quantification theory, Kant's formal logic is free from existential commitments.
Patriotism, Poverty, and Global Justice: A Kantian Engagement with Pauline Kleingeld's Kant and Cosmopolitanism
Authors: Varden Helga
Published: May 2014

In this article I critically engage some of the philosophical ideas Kleingeld presents in Kant and Cosmopolitanism, namely patriotism, poverty and global justice. Against Kleingeld, I propose, first, that perhaps democracy is less important and affectionate love more so to both Kant himself as well as to an account that can successfully refute a Bernard Williams style ‘one-thought-too-many’ objection to Kantian patriotism; second, that guaranteeing unconditional poverty relief for all its citizens is constitutive of the minimally just state for Kant; and, third, that there seem to be more disanalogies between the domestic and the global public authorities in Kant's account of right than Kleingeld's interpretation allows for.
Maternal perceptions of supervision in pre-school-aged children: a qualitative approach to understanding differences between families living in affluent and disadvantaged areas
Authors: Ablewhite Joanne , Kendrick Denise , Watson Michael , Shaw Ian
Published: May 2014

Aim

To explore maternal perceptions of supervision and childhood unintentional injury in order to develop understanding and explanation for differences in unintentional injury rates between an advantaged and disadvantaged area.

Background

Unintentional injury is the second cause of mortality and a significant cause of morbidity in the zero to four year age group. Children living in socio-economic disadvantage are at a greater risk of unintentional injury than their more affluent counter-parts.

Methods

Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews; content data analysis was undertaken. Participants included 37 mothers with a child aged less than five years; 16 living in an area of disadvantage (and high rate of childhood unintentional injury) and 21 living in an advantaged area (and low rate of childhood unintentional injury).

Findings

Parents in both areas described the importance of parental supervision in reducing child unintentional injury risks. Parents in both areas used listening as a supervision strategy. Parents in both areas described how ‘when the child goes quiet’ that is a cue for them to make a visual check on the child. Listening was used more for boys than girls in both areas, but parents in the advantaged area used listening as a supervision strategy more frequently than those in the disadvantaged area. Parents described supervision strategies as being shaped by child character and age rather than child gender. Parents in both areas described similar strategies for managing distractions. An important difference was found with regard to older siblings; parents living in the advantaged area described older siblings as an injury risk to younger children. Parents in the disadvantaged area described older siblings as providing some supervision for younger children. Parents living in disadvantaged circumstances may face greater challenges with regard to supervision than parents living in advantaged circumstances and this may partly explain differences in injury risk.
Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie/Psychotherapie versus Kinder- und Jugendhilfe
Authors: Fegert Jörg M. , Petermann Franz
Published: May 2014

Jugendhilfe und Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie/Psychotherapie besitzen eine unterschiedliche Tradition und werden durch unterschiedliche Berufsgruppen geprägt. Besonders deutlich zeigt sich dies im Verständnis und der Behandlungsbedürftigkeit von psychischen Störungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter. An dieser Unterschiedlichkeit der Professionen leidet die Kooperation zwischen beiden Bereichen erheblich. Zusätzlich unterscheiden sich beide Bereiche erheblich in ihren Forschungstraditionen und aktuellen Forschungsbemühungen. Die Bedeutung der Jugendhilfe wird durch die vielfältigen Vernetzungen mit den Bereichen „Schule”, „Justiz”, „Medizin” etc. unterstrichen.
Separating NADH and NADPH fluorescence in live cells and tissues using FLIM
Authors: Blacker Thomas S. , Mann Zoe F. , Gale Jonathan E. , Ziegler Mathias , Bain Angus J. , Szabadkai Gyorgy , Duchen Michael R.
Published: May 2014

NAD is a key determinant of cellular energy metabolism. In contrast, its phosphorylated form, NADP, plays a central role in biosynthetic pathways and antioxidant defence. The reduced forms of both pyridine nucleotides are fluorescent in living cells but they cannot be distinguished, as they are spectrally identical. Here, using genetic and pharmacological approaches to perturb NAD(P)H metabolism, we find that fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) differentiates quantitatively between the two cofactors. Systematic manipulations to change the balance between oxidative and glycolytic metabolism suggest that these states do not directly impact NAD(P)H fluorescence decay rates. The lifetime changes observed in cancers thus likely reflect shifts in the NADPH/NADH balance. Using a mathematical model, we use these experimental data to quantify the relative levels of NADH and NADPH in different cell types of a complex tissue, the mammalian cochlea. This reveals NADPH-enriched populations of cells, raising questions about their distinct metabolic roles.
Asymmetrically interacting spreading dynamics on complex layered networks
Authors: Wang Wei , Tang Ming , Yang Hui , Younghae Do  , Lai Ying-Cheng , Lee GyuWon
Published: May 2014

The spread of disease through a physical-contact network and the spread of information about the disease on a communication network are two intimately related dynamical processes. We investigate the asymmetrical interplay between the two types of spreading dynamics, each occurring on its own layer, by focusing on the two fundamental quantities underlying any spreading process: epidemic threshold and the final infection ratio. We find that an epidemic outbreak on the contact layer can induce an outbreak on the communication layer and information spreading can effectively raise the epidemic threshold. When structural correlation exists between the two layers, the information threshold remains unchanged but the epidemic threshold can be enhanced, making the contact layer more resilient to epidemic outbreak. We develop a physical theory to understand the intricate interplay between the two types of spreading dynamics.
Window of audio-visual simultaneity is unaffected by spatio-temporal visual clutter
Authors: Van der Burg Erik , Cass John , Alais David
Published: May 2014

In the present study we investigate the rules governing the perception of audiovisual synchrony within spatio-temporally cluttered visual environments. Participants viewed a ring of 19 discs modulating in luminance while hearing an amplitude modulating tone. Each disc modulated with a unique temporal phase (40 ms intervals), with only one synchronized to the tone. Participants searched for the synchronised disc whose spatial location varied randomly across trials. Square-wave modulation facilitated search: the synchronized disc was frequently chosen, with tight response distributions centred near zero-phase lag. In the sinusoidal condition responses were equally distributed over the 19 discs regardless of phase. To investigate whether subjective synchrony in the square-wave condition was limited by spatial or temporal factors we repeated the experiment with either reduced spatial density (9 discs) or temporal density (80 ms phase intervals). Reduced temporal density greatly facilitated synchrony perception but left the synchrony bandwidth unchanged, while no influence of spatial density was found. We conclude that audio-visual synchrony is not strongly constrained by the spatial or temporal density of the visual display, but by a temporal window within which audio-visual events are perceived as synchronous, with a full bandwidth of ~185 ms.
Non-destructive evaluation of pork freshness using a portable electronic nose (E-nose) based on a colorimetric sensor array
Authors: Li Huanhuan , Chen Quansheng , Zhao Jiewen , Ouyang Qin
Published: May 2014

This paper investigated the feasibility of rapid non-destructive evaluation of pork freshness using a portable electronic nose (E-nose) based on a colorimetric sensor array.
Electrophysiological analysis of biopsy samples using elasticity as an inherent cell marker for cancer detection
Authors: Ilyas Azhar , Asghar Waseem , Ahmed Shahina , Lotan Yair , Hsieh Jer-Tsong , Kim Young-tae , Iqbal Samir M.
Published: May 2014

Micropores are used to differentiate tumor cells from samples.
Turning unreactive copper acetylides into remarkably powerful and mild alkyne transfer reagents by oxidative umpolung
Authors: Evano G. , Jouvin K. , Theunissen C. , Guissart C. , Laouiti A. , Tresse C. , Heimburger J. , Bouhoute Y. , Veillard R. , Lecomte M. , Nitelet A. , Schweizer S. , Blanchard N. , Alayrac C. , Gaumont A.-C.
Published: May 2014

Upon oxidation, copper acetylides formally behave as highly electrophilic species that could be trapped by a wide range of nucleophiles.
Cucurbituril/hydroxyapatite based nanoparticles for potential use in theranostic applications
Authors: Victor Sunita Prem , Paul Willi , Jayabalan Muthu , Sharma Chandra P.
Published: May 2014

Interactions of cucurbituril and hydroxyapatite augment drug loading and the concomitant presence of samarium and CB[7] offers theranostic potential.
Influence of the coligand in the magnetic properties of a series of copper(ii)–phenylmalonate complexes
Authors: Pasán Jorge , Sanchiz Joaquín , Fabelo Óscar , Cañadillas-Delgado Laura , Déniz Mariadel , Díaz-Gallifa Pau , Martínez-Benito Carla , Lloret Francesc , Julve Miguel , Ruiz-Pérez Catalina
Published: May 2014

The magnetic properties of a series of copper(ii)–phenylmalonate complexes are tuned by the pyridine-type coligand.