bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
KARAKTERISTIK KARAGENAN SEMI-MURNI DARI RUMPUT LAUT Kappaphycus striatum DAN Kappaphycus alvarezii
Authors:   Program Studi Magister Ilmu Pangan, Sekolah Pascasarjana, IPB University, Bogor, Arzani Lalu Danu Prima , Muhandri Tjahja ,   Departemen Ilmu dan Teknologi Pangan, Fakultas Teknologi Pertanian, IPB University, Bogor, Yuliana Nancy Dewi ,   Departemen Ilmu dan Teknologi Pangan, Fakultas Teknologi Pertanian, IPB University, Bogor
Published: December 2020

Kappaphycus striatum and Kappaphycus alvarezii are kappa carrageenan-producing seaweeds. K. striatum is also a source of iota carrageenan. The study was aimed to evaluate the effects of extraction time and alkali concentration on the characteristics of semi refined carrageenan (SRC) produced from seaweeds K. striatum and K. alvarezii. The SRC was extracted prepared by cooking dried seaweed samples in KOH solution (ratio seaweed:KOH solution= 1:40) with KOH concentrations of 6, 8 and 10% for 60 and 120 minutes at 70°C. The results showed that the best SRC characteristics produced from K. striatum seaweed were obtained from the extraction process at 6% KOH for 60 minutes which yielded 46.05±0.16%, carrageenan with gel strength of 362,07±21,44 g/cm2 and viscosity at 70°C 74 cP. Meanwhile the best characteristics of SRC produced from K. alvarezii seaweed were obtained from extraction in 10% KOH for 60 minutes having the highest yield of 39,03±0.95%, gel strength 1130.67± 16.34 g/cm2 and viscosity at 70°C of 59 cP. FTIR analysis showed that the functional groups which are kappa carrageenan and iota carrageenan characteristics were found in both samples at wave numbers of 846.97-847.09 and 800.53-801.29 cm-1, respectively.
La Constitución “social” supranacional como ficción: lecciones de Weimar a propósito de las diferencias entre la falta y la imposibilidad metafísica de cumplimiento constitucional
Authors: Lasa López Ainhoa
Published: December 2020

En esta reflexión trataremos de dar respuesta a dos interrogantes presentes en el debate generado tras la crisis de
2010-2012 del proyecto europeo. Por una parte, ¿es posible revertir la centralidad incondicionada del mercado
único sin romper los Tratados? Por otra parte, ¿pueden los Estados miembros neutralizar esta centralidad a través
de la Constitución de la forma de Estado social? Para ello, recuperaremos, con matices, la dialéctica metodológica
del periodo de entreguerras de Weimar sobre la política, el poder, y su relación con lo jurídico.
Referencias iusfilosóficas clásicas en el pensamiento de Thomas Jefferson
Authors: Corona Encinas Alex
Published: December 2020

El presente trabajo plantea la necesidad de abordar la recepción del pensamiento clásico grecolatino por parte de Thomas Jefferson desde un punto de vista iusfilosófico, con la intención de determinar en qué medida corrientes como el estoicismo o la filosofía helenística ejercieron una influencia sobre el pensador virginiano en el desarrollo de principios que acabarían por plasmarse en la experiencia constitucional estadounidense y si verdaderamente tal influjo trascendió un mero rol formativo o, incluso, estilístico y formal, como habitualmente se ha defendido en la literatura científica.
Lo civil en el Código napoleónico y la libertad de los modernos
Authors: Scotto Pablo
Published: December 2020

Para Montesquieu, las leyes civiles son aquellas que regulan las relaciones de los ciudadanos entre sí, a fin de garantizar el mantenimiento y la unidad de la comunidad política. Portalis, en cambio, pretende que esta misma función de cemento cívico la desempeñe un Código civil que se ocupa únicamente de esa esfera privada en la que los individuos disfrutan de su propiedad. Benjamin Constant asume este cambio y lo lleva un paso más allá, identificando el mencionado disfrute privado con la verdadera libertad de los tiempos modernos.
La multidimensionalidad de una pandemia. Sociedad y Derecho en la era del post-coronavirus
Authors: Belloso Martin Nuria
Published: December 2020

La multidimensionalidad de lecturas que se han abierto derivadas de los efectos del Covid-19 (filosófica, sociológica y jurídica) ofrece una oportunidad para reflexionar sobre algunas dicotomías –además de la ya clásica salud/economía- tales como riesgo-miedo/alteridad, individualismo/comunidad, así como a revisar algunos de los relatos y narrativas que han intentado explicar lo que esta crisis ha supuesto y el escenario post-pandémico que podría configurarse. A partir del análisis de las dimensiones filosófica y sociológica, se pretende sentar las bases para identificar qué cuestiones nucleares inciden en la dimensión jurídica y, a partir de ahí, apuntar algunos parámetros acerca de cómo podría repensarse el Derecho en un escenario post-coronavirus.
El camino hacia el reconocimiento legal de la violencia sexual contra la mujer en tiempos de guerra
Authors: Aldave Orzaiz Ana
Published: December 2020

El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar el proceso de configuración de un Derecho Internacional que atienda al fenómeno de la violencia sexual contra las mujeres en contextos de conflictos armados, analizando el alcance del cambio de paradigma logrado en los años noventa con la tipificación y enjuiciamiento de la violencia sexual contra las mujeres en conflictos armados en el ámbito de la justicia penal internacional y, en última instancia, identificando posibles elementos sobre los que seguir avanzando hacia un Derecho Internacional que reconozca un estatus jurídico de las mujeres y huya de la imagen única de la mujer como víctima.
Enterramientos prehistóricos en fosa en el entorno megalítico de Los Molares (margen izquierda de la cuenca del Bajo Guadalquivir)
Authors: Garcia Rivero Daniel , Barrera Cruz María , López Ortín Cristina María , Gómez Murga Ezequiel
Published: December 2020

El artículo presenta nuevos datos procedentes de excavaciones recientes en Los Molares (provincia de Sevilla). Las intervenciones arqueológicas de carácter preventivo anteriores a la urbanización de la finca de El Palomar, en el entorno de los dólmenes de El Palomar y Cañada Real, se documentan diversos enterramientos prehistóricos en tres estructuras siliformes. Se presentan los contextos arqueológicos, la bioarqueología de los enterramientos, los conjuntos cerámicos y líticos, así como los resultados de los análisis radiocarbónicos efectuados. Se realiza una discusión sobre las implicaciones de estos nuevos hallazgos en relación con el entorno megalítico previamente conocido y con el registro funerario del IV milenio cal BC en la margen izquierda de la cuenca del Bajo Guadalquivir.
Las cerámicas importadas del Sector G de La Serreta (Alcoi-Cocentaina-Penàguila). Repertorio, distribución y comensalidad en una ciudad contestana
Authors: Amorós López Iván
Published: December 2020

En este trabajo presentamos un conjunto inédito de cerámicas importadas del denominado Sector G del poblado ibérico de La Serreta de Alcoi, recuperadas en las excavaciones del año 1968. El conjunto está compuesto por un repertorio variado que incluye desde ánforas a vajilla de mesa de barniz negro, abarcando un periodo amplio de tiempo entre los ss. V- IV a.C. y el III a.C. Es precisamente esta última fase la que resulta más interesante, ya que ha sido posible reconocer los contextos y establecer una distribución por departamentos. A partir de todos estos datos, podemos proponer algunas interpretaciones de carácter social que nos aproximan a cuál pudo ser la relevancia y el papel de estos bienes importados en una ciudad ibérica del s. III a.C.
Simultaneous measurement of cloud microphysical parameters based on digital holographic interferometry
Authors: Gao Pan , Wang Jun , Zhao Cheng-Cheng , Tang Jia-Bin , Liu Jing-Jing , Yan Qing , Hua Deng-Xin ,   School of Mechanical and Precision Instrument Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Published: December 2020

Investigation of cloud microphysical is of great significance in deepening the understanding of the radiation energy budget, water cycle process, and precipitation mechanism, and improving the scientificity and effectiveness of artificial precipitation. Especially under the action of turbulence, in addition to shear and inertia, the turbulence in the cloud will accelerate the collision of cloud droplets through vortex superposition. The above process will further complicate the cloud microphysical characters. At present, the methods of measuring cloud microphysical parameters based on light scattering, collision and imaging theories encounter bottlenecks: the inversion process needs to make the assumptions about cloud droplet spectrum and particle characteristics, the impact process will destroy particle characteristics, and the three-dimensional characteristics of cloud particles cannot be obtained. Because of its many advantages, such as fast, real-time, non-destructive, non-invasive, high-resolution, full-field optical measurement, etc., in-line digital holographic interferometry is considered as a new potential tool for the dynamical measurement of cloud microphysical property. In particular, the mutual interference between the particle image and twin image is small under far-field recording conditions. In this paper, the measurement method of the on-line digital holographic interferometry based on interference theory, combining optical information processing, depth of field compression, and gray gradient variance technology of fusion holograms, is investigated. This method, with a z-axis position accuracy of 0.01 mm and system resolution of 2 μm, is employed for simultaneously and finely detecting the cloud droplet spectrum, cloud particle diameter, and number concentration. In the experiment, the liquid droplet with a median diameter of 3.9 μm, produced by the ultrasonic atomizer, is used as an example of the cloud particle. The measurement results are consistent with realistic scenario. By using a high speed charge coupled device or complementary metal oxide semiconductor camera, this method can solve the technical bottleneck of three-dimensional fine characteristics of cloud particle in airborne measurement by using cloud droplet spectrometer. It can provide effective support for the research of liquid water in the cloud, entrainment, condensation, collision, and temporal and spatial evolution laws. In addition, it has reference significance for the study of particle dynamics. Simultaneously, this method provides a feasible solution for the measurement of cloud in land-based and airborne platforms.
Superconducting quantum interference devices
Authors: Zheng Dong-Ning ,   Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China,   School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China,   Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, China
Published: December 2020

Superconductivity is a macroscopic quantum phenomenon. Flux quantization and the Josephson effect are two physical phenomena which can best reflect the macroscopic quantum properties. Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) is one type of superconducting devices which uses these two characteristics. SQUID devices are widely used in the sensitive detection of magnetic signals. This paper briefly introduces the background and recent developments of low temperature superconductor and high temperature superconductor SQUID devices.
COMPARATIVE PHYSICOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF WET AND DRY GUDUCHI (TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA WILLD.) MIERS.
Authors: Dongre Sushma , Pande Shishir
Published: December 2020

Bhaishajya Kalpana is a branch of Ayurveda which deals with pharmaceutics. It is based on certain scientific principles which need to be followed for quality pharmaceutical preparations. Use of dry form drugs over fresh form in pharmaceutical preparation is one of the principles. It excludes some drugs such as Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) As Guduchi is being widely used in Ayurveda for preventive as well as curative purpose; it has been selected for the study. In order to find difference between morphological and physicochemical characteristics analysis of wet and dry Guduchi, was carried as per standards of Ayurved Pharmacopeia of India (API). It was noticed that almost all the Macroscopic and Microscopic profile matches with standard parameters of Guduchi in API. It is observed that pH Value of fresh Guduchi was more than its dry form which is directed to its alkaline nature. Foreign matter content was found to be negligible in Fresh form. Fresh Guduchi also showed more water soluble extractive than dry, however alcohol soluble extractive was higher in dry form. This study has added new analytical parameters for wet Guduchi i.e. pH. Value, Total ash, water soluble and alcohol soluble extractive other than foreign matter and moisture content. So, it could be considered as a standard for future study. This study evidenced classical principle of using Fresh Guduchi over dry. Further qualitative analysis needs to be done by using qualitative parameters.
CRITICAL REVIEW ON THE EFFECT OF GUDUCHI AS RASAYANA IN STRESS
Authors: TP Fousiya , Sivaram Anjali , Panthappulan Hakkeem
Published: December 2020

Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. Any agent or event that threatens homeostasis and causes stress is stressors. Stress can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry or nervous. Prolonged exposure to stressors can causes emotional, behavioural and even physical symptoms and these symptoms of stress vary among different individuals. In Ayurveda Guduchi has been used as rasayana, its rasayana properties are to increase the vigor and immunity. Amrita is attributed to its ability to impart youthfulness, vitality, and longevity. Guluchi has Pharmacological properties like deepana, jwara nashana and tridosha shamaka, detoxifies dhatus and rejuvenates the entire body. It is found to be safe on haematological and biochemical organ function tests and has muscle strengthening, lipid lowering action in healthy individuals. Guduchi has antioxidant activities which helpful in stress conditions.
CONCEPT OF DOSHA IN AYURVEDA: A REVIEW
Authors: Akhtar Roji Afroja Yeasmin , Paliwal Murlidhar
Published: December 2020

Ayurveda is the most ancient medical science, which is still in practice because of its potent clinical philosophical perspective with treatment modules. Proper knowledge about tridosha is most important factor in the field of treatment. Tridosha stands for Vayu, Pitta and Kapha. Vayu partially generates the activities of the body through ionic exchange and means as action potential. The term pitta denotes the biochemical enzymes, hormones etc. Likewise, the term kapha is implied for the fluid like substances of the body responsible for the lubrication, satiation and immunity of the body. Tridosha are the causes for origin of the body in equilibrium condition and also responsible for the initiation of all pathology inside the body. These Tridoshas are called tristhuna (three main pillar) on which body sustains. As the Loka (macrocosm) is afflicted or maintained respectively by the morbidity and normal state of wind, sun and moon, so also the adhyatma-Loka (sentient world or microcosm) is either afflicted or maintained respectively by the morbidity and normal state of vayu, pitta and kapha. So, the concept of doshas is essential to be understood for proper application of principles of Ayurveda.
From Hypotheses and Working Scenarios to Arguments Aimed at Alternating Traditional Training with Computer-Assisted Training
Authors: Cioruța Bogdan-Vasile , Lauran Alexandru
Published: December 2020

Nowadays, the era that we live in can be described as the Information Age, sometimes even as the Knowledge Age. No matter what area of science and technology we look at, it is obvious that we are dealing with an ‘information overflow’ without precedent in the history of mankind. In this context, Educational Sciences are no exception, and recent advances in this field, considering Computer-Aided Training, would have been unthinkable, unmanageable, and unattainable without the support offered by modern information and communication technologies, in the sense of Learning Management Systems. In its turn, Computer-Aided Training via sustainability educational index is integrated into Knowledge Society, where it plays an important role, for educational data-dependent actors, in decision-making, problem-solving, analyzing trends, understanding their customers, and doing research, being closely linked with pedagogical requirements in decades. Through this paper we aim to show that, at the moment, it is appropriate not to rely only on classical training, or on the contrary to deviate too much from it, embracing only computer-assisted training. It is appropriate to be flexible and to choose to carry out the pedagogical act using both variants equally, by alternating them in a modular aspect.
Improving “Fast” Indicators of TB Infection Control through Targeted Health Workers Training; Findings from Facility Based Studies in Abia State, Nigeria
Authors: Iwuoha Ejiroghene C. , Onwasigwe Chika N.
Published: December 2020

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of health workers training and implementation of the FAST strategy on the “FAST” indicators at Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH); a tertiary referral facility. ”FAST” strategy; a focused approach to stopping TB spread in congregate settings developed by TB Care1 stands for Finding TB cases Actively, Separating safely, and Treating effectively.

Study Design: This was a facility based interventional study using control group design methods with ABSUTH as the intervention facility while Federal Medical Centre Umuahia (FMCU) was the control.

Methodology: Health workers (74 across cadres; doctors, nurses, laboratory scientist and medical record staff)  selected through stratified random sampling were trained to ensure daily cough surveillance and screening for TB among patients at the General outpatient, medical wards and HIV clinic of ABSUTH under supervision of a “FAST” focal person.Baseline “Fast Indicators” in the facility TB records of newly diagnosed TB patients 3 months before and 3 months after the training intervention were obtained.

Results: At baseline the “FAST” strategy indicators recorded in the study facility include time to diagnosis > 1 week, time to treatment 3.5 days, presumptive TB cases 92, number of cases commenced on treatment were 22 while presumptive DRTB cases was 0.33. This study observed a significant positive difference in all the “FAST” indicators following the intervention. Time to diagnosis decreased by 52%, time to treatment decreased by 17% while the number of presumptive TB cases increased by over 100%. Number of TB cases diagnosed also increased by 100% as well as the cases commenced on treatment by 91%, while number of diagnosed DRTB cases increased by over 100%.These were all statistically significant ( P=.013,.03, .032,  and .049 except time to treatment P= 0.053).

Conclusion: The training intervention on ‘FAST” strategy of TB infection Control significantly improved FAST Indicators in the intervention facility with attendant reduction in diagnostic delays and increased case notification.
Overview of HIV Risk Reduction Interventions among Adolescents - A Call to Evaluate the HIV Education Curriculum in Nigeria
Authors: Chizoba A. F. , Chineke H. N. , Adogu P. O. U. , Nwafia A. E. , Chizoba C. J.
Published: December 2020

Background: Adolescence is typically a period of experimentation, new experiences, and vulnerability which influences their HIV risk behaviours. Some may out-grow many risk behaviors, yet prevention efforts are needed to reduce the risk of HIV infection during this period. Knowledge about risk is not sufficient for the prevention of HIV risk behavior. This review examines the existing types of education targeted at reducing HIV risk and their application to adolescents for optimal outcome.

Methodology: Keywords from objectives of review were used to search for related literatures through online libraries of national and international journals. Out of 60 related studies initially generated, 38 literatures were selected for review.

Results: School-based health services should ideally be complementary rather than replacement option for the provision of health care services for adolescents. Interventions to improve HIV knowledge and reduce risky sexual behaviour may need to specifically target adolescents. The types of HIV risk reduction education intervention among adolescents is classified into peer-based and health provider-based education. Given the complexity of factors that contribute to risk behavior, prevention efforts that focus exclusively on knowledge are unlikely to be successful. Effective school-based (youth-targeted) HIV prevention programs, which typically rely on principles of social cognitive (Learning) theory could be employed to bridge the gap.

Conclusion and Recommendations: With this in mind, a comprehensive review of the Family life and HIV education (FLHE) programme in Nigerian secondary schools is long overdue.
Vasorelaxant Effect Induced by the Essential Oil of Ocotea duckei Vattimo Leaves and Its Main Constituent, Trans-caryophyllene, in Rat Mesenteric Artery
Authors: Gonçalves Tays Amanda Felisberto , Cunha Renildo Moura da , Meneguetti Dionatas Ulises de Oliveira , Santos Marcio Roberto Viana , Filho José Maria Barbosa- , Ribeiro Êurica Adélia Nogueira , Egito Eryvaldo Sócrates Tabosa do , Medeiros Isac Almeida de , Rodriguez Anselmo Fortunato Ruiz
Published: December 2020

Aims: To evaluate the vasorelaxant effect induced by the essential oil of the leaves of O. duckei Vattimo (ODEO) and its main constituent, trans-caryophyllene, in rat superior mesenteric arteries.

Methodology: Isolated rat superior mesenteric rings were suspended by cotton threads for isometric tension recordings in Tyrode’s solution at 37ºC, gassed with 95% O2 and 5% CO2 and different ODEO concentrations (0.1-300 μg/mL) or trans-caryophyllene (1-1000 μg/mL) were added cumulatively to the organ baths.

Results: Vasorelaxant effect induced by the essential oil of Ocotea duckei leaves (ODEO) and its main constituent, trans-caryophyllene (60.54 %), was evaluated in this work. In intact isolated rat superior mesenteric rings ODEO (0.1-300 μg/mL, n=6) induced concentration-dependent relaxation of tonus induced by phenylephrine (10 µM) or K+-depolarizing solution (KCl 80 mM) (IC50=31±5, 5±0.4 µg/mL, respectively, n=6). The relaxations of phenylephrine-induced contractions were not significantly attenuated after removal of the vascular endothelium (IC50=25±5 µg/mL). ODEO antagonized the concentration-response curves to CaCl2 (10-6-3x10-2 M) and Bay K 8644 (10-10-3x10-6 M). Furthermore, in nominally without calcium solution, ODEO significantly inhibited, in a concentration-dependent manner, transient contractions induced by 10 µM phenylephrine or 20 µM caffeine. Trans-caryophyllene induced vasorelaxations, however, this effect was 18.6 times less potent when compared to ODEO-induced vasorelaxations.

Conclusion: The relaxant effect induced by ODEO in rat superior mesenteric artery rings is endothelium-independent and seems to be related to both, inhibition of Ca2+ influx through L-type voltage-gated Ca2+-channels sensitive to dihydropyridines and inhibition of the calcium release from intracellular IP3-and caffeine-sensitive stores.
Effect of Pullulanase Debranching and Retrogradation on Resistant Starch Yield and Glycemic Index of Garri
Authors: Ogbo F. C. , Nwozor N. C.
Published: December 2020

Aims: This research is aimed at developing a method of processing to increase the quantity of resistant starch in garri and reduce its glycemic index using pullulanase-producing Bacillus subtilis organism.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of applied microbiology and brewing, Nnnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka between January, 2018 and February, 2019.

Methodology: The organism was isolated from different cassava processing sites in Anambra metropolis, Nigeria. It was then identified based on phenotypic, biochemical and molecular characteristics After which the pullulanase assay, the fermentation studies, resistant starch analysis and glycemic index was analysed.

Results: Pullulanase assay result showed Bacillus subtilis as a very good pullulanase producing organism with a pullulanase quantity of. The resistant starch content was found to be higher for the samples fermented with the choice organism and retrograded at 10oC at 14.29%, than the control garri sample fermented without any organism and not retrograded at 4.73%. The glycemic index was relatively high in all the garri samples, however, the lowest glycemic index, 62% was observed in the garri sample produced with the choice organism.

Conclusion: This research has been able to show that pullulanase enzyme from Bacillus subtilis is a very useful industrial raw material in production of functional foods with low glycemic index.
Validated High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Quantification of Pamidronate in Bulk and Dosage Form
Authors: Gawad Sherif A. Abdel- , Suwailem Aymen Khalid Al , AlShowiman Sami Salem
Published: December 2020

Aims: The studied drug is lacking the presence of chromophore so a reaction with NBD-Cl is optimized to facilitate its chromatographic detection, so the main aim of the work is to quantify pamidronate in a sensitive and accurate way either in bulk or dosage forms.

Methodology: The quantification of this group of drugs is a challenging task as they lack the presence of chromophore groups in their structure. The proposed method depends on the chromatographic quantification of the studied drug after its derivatization via its reaction with 4-Chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxazole and the product is separated on ODS C18 column (5 µm, 15 cm x 5 mm, i.d.) as a stationary phase and methanol : water (8:2, v/v) as a mobile phase. The flow rate was 1 ml/min.

Results: The studied drug can be determined in the range of 900 - 3000 ng/mL after optimizing the assay conditions to get optimum stationary – mobile phases match. Method validation is performed according to USP-guidelines and different validation parameters like, linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness are calculated and found to be excellent.

Conclusion: The proposed method is accurate, sensitive and can be applied for the routine analysis of pamidronate in quality control laboratories.
Local and global theories of relativity in flat and curved spacetimes
Authors:   Centre for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Zakir Zahid
Published: December 2020

Special and general theories of relativity consist in describing both local and global phenomena - the first in flat, and the second in curved spacetime. In the paper it is shown that each of these two classes of relativistic effects, local and global, is universal and is the subject of a separate theory. First, descriptions in local frames of reference, related by the local Lorentz transformations, form the local theory of relativity, or local relativity (LR). The locality principle allows to apply LR to non-inertial local frames, and the equivalence principle to the local frames in gravitational field. Secondly, descriptions in global frames of reference, constructed from local frames coexisting on a common hypersurface of simultaneity, form the global theory of relativity, or global relativity (GlR). LR and GlR are based on physical coordinates and complement each other, the special and general theories of relativity were hybrids of these two theories. LR and GlR describe the local and global properties of gravity, separating the field effects from the effects of motion by different methods, such as bimetric formalism, where one metric describes geometry of the global frames, and other describes spacetime geometry. It is shown that GlR leads to a picture of collapse with formation of frozars, and also leads to a cutoff of the loop integrals of quantum fields at the Planck length. In GlR, cosmological models are built on hypersurfaces of simultaneity, where both stretching and the Doppler effect contribute to redshifts, and aberration is also taken into account. Predicted an initial violetshift removing the double redshift paradox, and this leads to the slowing time cosmology consistent with observational data.
Substitution of arginine for lysine 134 alters electrostatic parameters of the active site in shark Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase
Authors: Calabrese Lilia , Polticelli Fabio , O'Neill Peter , Galtieri Antonio , Barra Donatella , Schininà Eugenia , Bossa Francesco
Published: July 2002

The complete amino acid sequence was determined for the Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase from the shark Prionace glauca. The active site region shows the substitution of an Arg for Lys at position 134, which is important for electrostatic facilitation of the diffusion of O−
2 to the catalytically active copper. This change may be related to observed alterations of electrostatic parameters of the enzyme (pK of the pH dependence of the enzyme activity, rate of inactivation by H2O2), although it preserves a high efficiency of dismutation at neutral pH.
Molecular characterization of an Escherichia coli mutant with a temperature‐sensitive malonyl coenzyme A‐acyl carrier protein transacylase
Authors: Verwoert Ira I.G.S. , Verhagen Etienne F. , van der Linden Karin H. , Verbree Elizabeth C. , Nijkamp H.John J. , Stuitje Antoine R.
Published: July 2002

The temperature‐sensitive malonyl CoA‐ACP transacylase found in the Escherichia coli strain LA2‐89, carrying the fabD89 allele, was shown to result from the presence of an amber mutation in the fabD gene, at codon position 257, in combination with the supE44 genotype of this strain. The truncated form of the protein produced as the result of the amber mutation was demonstrated to be enzymatically inactive, whereas amber suppression rendered the resulting enzyme temperature labile. Site‐directed mutagenesis of codon 257 revealed a requirement for an aromatic amino acid at this position in the polypeptide chain, to assure temperature stability of the enzyme.
Cerebral investigation of healthy siblings of schizophrenics
Authors: Mourot A , d'Amato T , Rochet T , Marie-Cardine M , Artéaga C , Martin JP , Dalery J
Published: July 2002

Computed tomography (CT) studies have demonstrated that lateral ventricular size measured by ventricular brain ratio (VBR), as well as third ventricle width, is statistically enlarged in schizophrenics. Moreover, these cerebral abnormalities differ according to symptomatology evaluated with a positive and negative symptom scale. The aim of this study was to investigate, using CT scans, healthy siblings of schizophrenics, and relate the results to their ill siblings. Nineteen healthy siblings of 12 previously studied schizophrenics underwent CT scans, which were compared to those of their related schizophrenic sibling and to 17 unrelated control subjects. The results showed that in ten of 12 families, schizophrenics have larger ventricles (lateral and third ventricles) than their healthy siblings. Ventricular enlargement of healthy siblings was correlated with severity of negative symptoms of their ill sibling. Implications of a familial contribution for ventricular size and negative symptoms are discussed.
Graphene Functionalization for Polymer Nanocomposites
Authors: Salavagione Horacio J , Quiles‐Díaz Susana , Shuttleworth Peter S , Ellis Gary J , Gómez‐Fatou Marián A
Published: December 2020

Polymer nanocomposites represent one of the most important application materials of this century, and those based on the incorporation of graphene and related materials are at the forefront. This article describes the salient features of nanomaterials from the graphene family and describes in detail recent advances in the strategies employed to successfully incorporate them into polymer matrices for the development of a new generation of materials with superior and tunable properties.
Kant and Biology
Authors: Spahn Christian
Published: December 2020

Immanuel Kant, the most important German philosopher of the era of Enlightenment, participated actively in the discussions within and about the natural sciences of his time. He became a defender of a Newtonian conception of science against Aristotelean Scholasticism that relied upon final causes and essentialist explanation for phenomena in nature. While gaining fame for developing his ‘critical philosophy’, he continued to address contemporary questions of philosophy of biology, such as critically analysing the argument from design, addressing the question of the natural origin of mankind, and searching for a middle ground between preformationism and epigenesis. Kant claims it is necessary for us to conceptualise organisms as ‘ends in nature’ with a purposive (teleonomic) structure that differs from any other Newtonian form of organisation in nature. Kant claims that due to the limits of our human reasoning we may never be able to find a mere Newtonian mechanical explanation of the origin of life and its order.

Key Concepts

Preformationism: The view according to which organic growth and adaptability is resulting from a mechanical unfolding of ‘pre‐formed’ germs.

Epigenesis (opposed to preformationism) the view that organic forces beyond Newtonian principles are needed to explain the flexible adaptiveness and the growth of organisms.

Ends in Nature: Kant's term for the teleonomic (purposive) structure of organism that separate them from all other products of nature.

Critical Philosophy: The attempt to deliver an epistemological foundation for philosophy by critically investigating the reach and limits of human reason.

Bildungstrieb: The concept of a ‘formative force’ proposed by Blumenbach to explain the special causality responsible for the formation, growth and inner organisation of living organism that could not be explained by Newtonian forces alone.

Aristotelean Teleology: The view that some forces in nature have to be understood as ‘final causes’ such that the ‘idea of the whole’ is the cause for the production of something in nature or by human or divine activity.
Evolution of North American Lizards
Authors: Scarpetta Simon G , Ledesma David T , Llauger Francisco O , White Brittney A
Published: December 2020

Lizards are a diverse reptile group with an ancient and global evolutionary history. Fossil lizards first appeared in North America during the Mesozoic. Many lizard lineages have inhabited North America throughout geologic time, including several lineages that are extinct, others that no longer occur on the continent, and many groups that are still there today. Lizards are currently found in a diverse range of habitats and in regions across the continent, including islands and human‐modified habitats. The modern lizard biota of North America contains diverse biogeographic and phylogenetic components along with the evolution of many distinctive behaviours, morphologies, and ecologies, including the evolution of venom, repeated limb loss, and ecological specialisations. Some lizards have been introduced to North America from elsewhere in the world or the continent, posing a potential problem for native biodiversity.

Key Concepts

North America contains an astounding diversity of lizards both in the modern biota and through geologic time.

Although many fossil lizards are documented, there is still a lot to learn from the fossil record.

Historic extirpations and extinctions of lizards are known and conservation efforts are needed to preserve lizard biodiversity.

Biogeographic scenarios of lizards in North America are often disputed but are informed by fossil and molecular evidence.

North American lizards have a diverse set of behavioural, morphological and ecological characteristics.
Hybridogenesis in Water Frogs
Authors: Dufresnes Christophe , Mazepa Glib
Published: December 2020

Several water frogs from the genusPelophylaxhave a hybrid origin and perpetuate by hybridogenesis, a peculiar mode of reproduction ruled by complex phenomena such as clonality and polyploidy, and which can constitute a transient stage towards the formation of novel species. Different kinds of hybridogenetic complexes have been documented throughout Europe, and a tremendous diversity of breeding systems allows their maintenance in space and time, each with its own subtilities to bypass the numerous challenges posed by a semi‐sexual life cycle. The other side of the coin is that hybridogenesis can boost the invasive potential of introduced frogs by altering the fragile dynamics of these natural populations, hence illustrating the thin line that separates ephemeral hybrid forms versus perennial reticulate taxa.

Key Concepts

Hybrids between diverged species can avoid sterility by abandoning sexual reproduction.

Hybridogenetic hybrids typically transmit a single, clonal genome to offspring.

Clonality promotes genetic decay and the need to breed with a sexual species.

Reliance on a sexual host can be bypassed by polyploidy.

Clonal genomes have various opportunities to recombine in populations.

Genetic integrity, ecomorphological differentiation and sexual independence of hybridogenetic hybrids may represent steps towards hybrid speciation.

Hybridogenetic systems can collapse due to invasive parental species.
Darwin's Finches, An Iconic Adaptive Radiation
Authors: Grant Peter R , Grant B Rosemary , Enbody Erik D , Andersson Leif , Lamichhaney Sangeet
Published: December 2020

Darwin's finches are a prime example of an adaptive radiation. Eighteen species have diversified ecologically and morphologically from a common ancestor that arrived in the Galápagos archipelago approximately 2 million years ago (Ma). Speciation occurred when populations on different islands diverged, principally in body size and beak characteristics, and continued when populations came together on a single island. Field observations show that natural selection increases the ecological differences during food scarcity caused by droughts. Genomic studies have identified two important transcription factor genes that show genetic variation associated with beak morphology. Species typically do not breed with each other, instead, they recognise and respond to members of their own species by song and appearance. Nevertheless, they do occasionally hybridise and exchange genes because the hybrids are viable and fertile. Hybridisation provides an alternative route to the formation of a new species.

Key Concepts

Adaptive radiation is the rapid ecological diversification of species from a common ancestor.

Natural selection is the differential survival or reproduction of individuals due to differences in their phenotypic traits, and it leads to evolutionary change in the next generation if the traits are heritable.

Beaks are tools for gathering and processing foods and are key functional traits in the ecological diversification of Darwin's finches.

Divergence of beaks of coexisting species, known as character displacement, occurs when two species compete for a limited food supply and evolve away from each other in traits that reduce competition.

Sexually reproducing species are diagnosably distinct groups that rarely if ever breed with other groups of organisms.

Speciation occurs by the formation of barriers to gene exchange that may function either before mating occurs or later after fertilisation of the eggs has taken place.

A premating barrier to gene exchange in Darwin's finches is formed by a sexual imprinting process whereby species‐specific song and morphology are learned early in life and used when adults choose a mate.

The barrier may break down by accidental disruption of the learning process and then young finches may learn the song of another species and breed with that other species later in life.

Hybrids may be viable and fertile, which results in gene flow among closely related species.

Introgressive hybridisation is another route to speciation and occurs when the hybrids are sufficiently different from the parental species in song and appearance that they do not breed with them but only breed with members of their own (hybrid) group.
Drosophila
Retinal Patterning
Authors: Spencer Susan A , Johnson Ruth I , Setu Bipul
Published: December 2020

The
Drosophila
eye is an outstanding model system for exploring fundamental mechanisms of growth and development. The adult eye is composed of a perfect hexagonal lattice of ∼750 unit eyes, or ommatidia, each containing precisely 20 well‐characterized cells. The eye develops from the eye/antennal imaginal disc, a flattened epithelial sac. During larval and pupal development, cells in the disc grow and undergo compartmentalisation, cell cycle arrest, differentiation, directed movement, and apoptosis, all utilising gene networks and signalling pathways similar to those in vertebrates. The genetic accessibility of
Drosophila
, together with the precision of eye development, makes the fly retina an extremely useful system with which to investigate the roles of genes and signalling pathways in development.

Key Concepts

Adult
Drosophila
eyes contain ∼750 ommatidia, or unit eyes; each ommatidium is made up of precisely 20 cells, each of which can be identified by its position and protein expression.

Like other adult structures in
Drosophila
, the eye develops from an imaginal disc, a flattened sac of epithelial cells that develops during larval and pupal stages.

Drosophila
retinal development utilises gene regulatory networks similar to those in human eye development.

Photoreceptor differentiation requires passage of the morphogenetic furrow, an invagination in eye disc that moves across the tissue from posterior to anterior during larval development.

Photoreceptors differentiate during larval stages using signals emanating from previously differentiated cells, rather than through lineage restrictions.

During pupal development, accessory cells differentiate and apoptosis reduces the number of cells in each ommatidium to 20.

Cell interactions during pupal development produce the precise hexagonal lattice characteristic of the adult
Drosophila
eye.
Macroscelidea
Authors: Montuire Sophie
Published: December 2020

Macroscelids are known as elephant shrews because of their long and narrow snouts. Living exclusively in Africa, they are small mammals with a head and body length between 95 and 315 mm, and tail length between 80 and 235 mm.

Key Concepts

In spite of their name, elephant shrews (Macroscelidea) are not shrews and despite their appearance and size, they are not rodents either.

Systematics is the study and description of the diversification of both past and present organisms and their classification.

Phylogeny is a part of systematics that reports the inference of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups of organisms.

Conservation biology is the management of biodiversity with the objective of esablishing protective measures against the risks of extinction of species, of their habitats and to maintain a balance in ecosystems. This is why the species are classified by the IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species).

Paleontology corresponds to the study of organisms (classification and relationships) that lived prior to, and sometimes including, the beginning of the Holocene (around 11,700 years before present).
Protozoan Ecology
Authors: Anderson O Roger
Published: December 2020

Protozoan ecology is the interaction in space and time of protozoa (flagellates, amoeboid organisms and ciliates) with other living organisms and the physical environment. It encompasses, among other factors, sources of food and energy used to sustain life, food web dynamics, the role of protozoa in maintaining fertility of ecosystems and adaptive strategies for survival in varying habitats. Among the physical environmental (abiotic) factors, temperature, salinity, nutrients and levels of pollutants, when present, are major sources of influence. A complex set of interactions exists among microbial biota, including the role of nutrient regeneration during protozoan predation on bacteria resulting in release of nutrients due to digestion and disruption of the bacteria during feeding. These nutrients, in turn, are reutilised by algae during photosynthesis. This process of cyclical nutrient uptake by algae and subsequent release by protozoan predation is known as ‘the microbial loop’. The use of molecular genetic analyses has substantially improved our identification of protozoan species and their role in ecology including the microbial loop.

Key Concepts

Characteristics of the physical environment (including temperature, available nutrients and salinity) set the boundary conditions for the abundance and diversity of protozoa within a given habitat.

Algae and other photosynthetic organisms are primary producers that fix carbon into organic compounds through photosynthesis and thus provide food sources for all other organisms, including protozoa, within a food web.

Heterotrophic (nonphotosynthetic) microorganisms, particularly the protozoa, prey on algae and other microbes, including bacteria, and are consumers within food webs.

A complex set of interactions exist in microbial communities, including predator–prey relationships, that determine the flow of matter and energy through the food webs.

Competition within and among species partially accounts for the abundance and diversity of species in a microbial community.

The stability of microbial communities depends in part on the diversity of species and available resources needed to support life.

Protozoa, as predators and also as prey for larger organisms, are often key members of microbial communities and sustain the flow of energy and matter through food webs, including the regeneration of nutrients through their significant role in the microbial loop.
Longitudinal association between emotion‐related parenting behavior and child aggression: The moderating role of parent‐child physiological synchrony
Authors: Ahemaitijiang Nigela , Ren Haining , Wang Hui , Han Zhuo Rachel
Published: December 2020

Considering the high prevalence of aggressive problems found in middle childhood and their negative impacts on children's overall adjustment, it is important to explore factors that may give rise to childhood aggression, as well as the underlying mechanisms involved within the family context. Applying a biopsychosocial approach, the aim of our study was to examine the relations between emotion‐related parenting behavior (ERPB, e.g., parental psychological control and parental emotion dysregulation) and childhood aggression with a focus on the potential moderating effects of parent‐child physiological synchrony on these relations. Eighty‐nine parent‐child dyads (total N = 178) participated in the study (child M age = 8.76 years, SD = 1.81 years, 49 boys). At T1, ERPB was observed and coded from dyadic interaction and parent‐child physiological synchrony was assessed using interbeat interval (IBI) calculated from the participant's heart rate (HR) during an interaction task. Parents also reported their child's aggressive behavior at T1 and 9 months later (T2). The results showed that for children demonstrating stronger physiological synchrony with their parents, higher levels of parental psychological control and parental emotion dysregulation predicted their more aggressive behavior. Our findings suggest that for certain negative types of ERPB, parent‐child physiological synchrony seems to be a risk factor for the development of children's aggressive behavior.
Building Relationships With LGBTQ+ Mentees by Sharing Our Vulnerability
Authors: Reneau Clint‐Michael , Brooks Ann K.
Published: December 2020

Although LGBTQ+ persons are one of the largest minority groups in the workforce, little has been written on the most helpful way to mentor them for leadership. We present a model of relational mentoring based on mentor critical awareness of their own intersected identities and sharing vulnerabilities.