bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Energy Field Trips: Chernobyl and the Catastrophe with Nuclear Power
Authors: Perkins John H. , Kopytko Natalie , Saul Kathleen M.
Published: March 2019

Energy poses challenges to environmental studies because of climate change and other effects, and field trips are indispensable aids to learning. They enable students to see situations first-hand, and many are joyous and fun, such as field trips to forests, wetlands, wildlife reserves, or communities exhibiting positive contributions to safeguarding the natural world. Field trips to the built environment, especially those illustrating sites with raging controversies or past catastrophes are equally important in helping students turn theory into understanding of real situations. Chernobyl, one of the two worst nuclear power plant disasters, provided the venue for a field trip examining the strengths and weaknesses of nuclear power. Students had 3 weeks of preparatory classwork before departing for Kyiv, Ukraine. They spent 2 weeks there, with 1 day touring the Exclusion Zone surrounding the Chernobyl plant. Background work included basic concepts and units for measuring radiation and their biological and medical effects, types of nuclear power plants, disaster planning and response, Ukrainian history, and details of the Chernobyl accident and its effects. Participants heard from a wide variety of speakers, who presented details of the accident, its lingering consequences, efforts of the Ukrainian government and various NGOs to deal with the consequences, and Ukrainian plans for new nuclear power plants. Participants also heard both strong pro-nuclear and anti-nuclear proponents. At the end, students prepared a paper on the lessons about nuclear power from Chernobyl. Evaluations of the experience indicated the trip’s objectives were achieved. For some, the expedition proved life-altering.
Ur: Empire, Modernity, and the Visualization of Antiquity Between the Two World Wars
Authors: Melman Billie
Published: March 2019

This article explores the multiple visual presences of antiquity in the first half of the twentieth century and connects visual histories to the history of empires. It shows how archaeology mediated between the newly discovered material civilizations of the ancient Mesopotamian empires and experiences of modernity in the British Empire, the world’s largest modern empire. The article demonstrates how the materiality of antiquity enabled its visualization in a variety of forms, from illustrations through black-and-white and color photography to aerial photography, and in three-dimensional reconstructions in museums. The article focuses on the spectacular archaeological discoveries at Ur, Tell Al-Muqayyar, in Southern Iraq, which exposed to mass audiences the unknown Sumerian culture. Ur was represented and constructed as the place of origin of monotheism, a site of a rich material culture, and, at the same time, as barbarous.
The Accent of Truth: The Hollywood Research Bible and the Republic of Images
Authors: Rich Aaron
Published: March 2019

Hollywood studio film production through the 1960s involved visual research into depictions of the past in order to help show the audience representations they could recognize and believe. This was part of a much larger and more complex republic of images through which pictures of the world, its people, and its material culture circulated within a system of modern media, including illustrated books, the pictorial press, and other image-based materials of which movies were a part. Hollywood cinema should be reconsidered an essential part of how twentieth-century audiences have perceived history, regardless of the accuracy of these depictions.
Visualizing History in Eighteenth-Century France
Authors: Siegfried Susan L.
Published: March 2019

This essay explores an impulse to visualize history in eighteenth-century France. It focuses on massive compilations of printed images that assembled overviews of history as represented by artifacts, portraits, and events and compares that documentary mode of visualizing the past to imaginary reconstructions of historical events in illusionistic scenes as depicted in the radically different formats of book illustration and monumental history painting.
Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, hijos de desaparecidos, nietos recuperados y hermanos*: de las “labores detectivescas” a las acciones y producciones culturales, artísticas y mediáticas
Authors: Diz María Luisa
Published: March 2019

El presente artículo se propone construir una genealogía de prácticas dramáticas, performáticas y artísticas de Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, de la generación de los hijos de desaparecidos, de nietos recuperados y de hermanos de nietos apropiados y recuperados, agrupados en Hijos e Hijas por la Identidad y la Justicia contra el Olvido y el Silencio (Hijos) y en Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, que se realizaron en el escenario público entre fines de la década de los setenta y fines de la década de los noventa, que pueda ayudar a comprender, por un lado, por qué el teatro fue considerado por Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo el medio de comunicación artístico más indicado para reflexionar sobre la apropiación de menores como un delito que afecta a la identidad social; y por otro, que pueda contribuir a entender por qué quienes se acercaron a colaborar con la causa político-institucional de Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo fueron actores y actrices, cuya profesión, tal como afirma el filósofo José Pablo Feinmann, consiste en encontrar sus identidades a través de los miles de rostros de los personajes que encarnan. Se examinan el discurso institucional y las acciones de búsqueda, denuncia y difusión de Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo a partir de un enfoque que prioriza los aspectos culturales, artísticos y mediáticos de su trabajo institucional. Las prácticas de Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo son consideradas como tácticas o estrategias de acuerdo con los diferentes contextos histórico-políticos y los términos desarrollados por De Certeau. Para analizar las tácticas y estrategias, se toman los conceptos de teatralidades sociales, testimonio, familismo y narrativa humanitaria. Además, se tienen en cuenta los estudios sobre la renovación generacional en el movimiento de derechos humanos, a partir del surgimiento de Hijos en 1995, y las nociones de protestas performáticas motivadas por el trauma, ADN performático, performances y activismo artístico.
El falso problema de la privatización educativa a la luz de la crisis orgánica: Argentina, 2003-2015
Authors: Sartelli Eduardo , De Luca Romina
Published: March 2019

Este artículo analiza la evolución de la matrícula pública y privada del nivel primario y secundario en Argentina en el periodo de 2003 a 2014. Se discute con otros trabajos académicos que sostienen que dicho periodo coincide con un aumento en los niveles de privatización educativa. Se muestra, a partir del cruce de datos educativos, de rendimiento educacional y poblacionales, que la evolución de la matrícula privada no acelera su ritmo y su expansión sigue el ciclo económico. Por su parte, se enseña cómo la matrícula estatal se ve condicionada por la evolución de los indicadores de rendimiento interno y la política educativa. En el nivel secundario, se concluye que la tendencia se corresponde con una mayor estatización y fragmentación del nivel. Se sostiene a modo de hipótesis que los subregistros poblacionales y las mejoras en el rendimiento interno escolar impiden ver la mayor estatización del sistema educativo argentino y los cambios que operan en las distintas modalidades educativas. Se sostiene que estos cambios guardan relación con las transformaciones y la crisis orgánica de la sociedad en un plano general. Desde una perspectiva teórica materialista, se entiende la dinámica escolar atravesada por los cambios en las relaciones sociales de producción, situación que explica la creciente degradación y estatización escolar.
Hacer decolonial: desobedecer a la metodología de investigación
Authors: Ortiz Ocaña Alexander , Arias López María Isabel
Published: March 2019

En este artículo, reflexionamos sobre la urgencia de decolonizar las ciencias sociales. Es necesario crear formas “otras” de pensar, sentir y existir, lo cual requiere la configuración de nuevos tipos de conocimiento y nuevas “ciencias”, cuya estructura categorial se sustente en el saber del otro, considerado inferior, y no solo en la episteme del logos moderno/colonial, considerado superior. Caracterizamos el hacer decolonial, que se despliega mediante sus acciones/huellas constitutivas: contemplar comunal, conversar alterativo y reflexionar configurativo, las cuales caracterizan la vocación decolonial, que permite el desprendimiento de la metodología de investigación.
Reflexiones en y para la enseñanza de la historia de la ética
Authors: Cifuentes Medina José Eriberto , Torres Ortiz Jaime Andrés
Published: March 2019

El proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la ética como disciplina, que en la actualidad se torna complejo por la pérdida de sentido y significado, se ha de recuperar en los niveles educativos en busca de escenarios posibles a partir de la didáctica y la pedagogía desde el aula de clase como espacio de reflexión sistemática de contenido y la posibilidad de la praxis que de paso se ha de entrelazar con su devenir histórico. En el estudio de la ética en su contexto general y a la base de sus principios, también su historia como elemento fundante. La preocupación de los docentes en los diferentes niveles del sistema educativo por la enseñanza de la ética ha sido y es continua, y para el presente caso de investigación se ha diseñado una propuesta que se aborda en el proceso de enseñanza de la ética en la educación superior en pregrado. La investigación desde el aula de clase busca resolver problemas de conocimiento para la enseñanza de la ética: sus alcances, limitaciones, retos desafíos, conceptos epistemológicos y pragmáticos. La experiencia de enseñanza de la ética está en doble sentido dialógico y sistemático, desde la norma y los lineamientos hasta el análisis de las vivencias y se centra en la enseñanza de su historia.
Factores de riesgo y protección asociados a la experiencia de ser madre: Un estudio comparativo entre México y los Estados Unidos
Authors: Orozco Vargas Arturo Enrique , Mercado Monjardín María del Rocío
Published: March 2019

Ser madre es considerada una de las experiencias más significativas en la vida de una mujer. A pesar de su importancia en la sociedad, las mujeres mexicanas tienen que enfrentar múltiples desafíos dentro y fuera del hogar. El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer los efectos de la depresión, la violencia de pareja y los factores socioculturales presentes en México y los Estados Unidos en la experiencia de ser madre. El discurso de las participantes permitió identificar cinco temas eje: sus propias percepciones como madres, la influencia cultural, el involucramiento parental, los recursos que poseen y las barreras que enfrentan. La principal diferencia entre ambos grupos radica en el apoyo social que diversas organizaciones gubernamentales y no gubernamentales proporcionan a las madres inmigrantes en los Estados Unidos.
Rights, Authority, and Workability: An Examination of Universal Jurisdiction
Authors: Durica Srdan
Published: March 2019

In this paper, I conceptualize ‘universal jurisdiction’ along three axes: rights, authority, and workability to reduce the compendium of scholarly work on the subject into three prominent focus areas. I then review the longstanding debates between critics and supports, and ultimately show the vitality of this debate and persuasiveness of each side’s sets of arguments. By using these three axes as a sort of methodological filter, one can develop a richer understanding of universal jurisdiction, its theoretical pillars, practical barriers, and the core areas of contention that form the contemporary state of knowledge.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: The Good, the Bad, and the Useless
Authors: Matthew Midori
Published: March 2019

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC), put forth in 1989, has generated a global movement in the direction of protecting and promoting children’s rights, resulting in a paradigm change in how children are perceived under the law. While the UNCRC is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty in human history, children’s fundamental right to protection continues to be violated through actions instigated by adults, such as neglect, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, or being coerced into marriage, wartime activities, or slavery. This is largely a result of international law having no empirical legal binding; since countries are sovereign upon themselves, without domestic enforcement by each individual signatory country, there is no obligation to abide by the terms of international treaties. Applying both a philosophical and legal framework, this paper seeks to provide a critical analysis of whether or not treaties of international law, such as the Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC), have an unyielded potential to spark a tangible, beneficial change in the promotion of children’s rights, or if such doctrines are nothing more than glorified pieces of lip service paid to bolster the signatory country’s face value on a global level.
Patent Foramen Ovale Closure in 2019
Authors: Giblett Joel P , Abdul-Samad Omar , Shapiro Leonard M , Rana Bushra S , Calvert Patrick A
Published: March 2019

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common abnormality affecting between 20% and 34% of the adult population. For most people it is a benign finding; however, in some the PFO can open widely, enabling a paradoxical embolus to transit from the venous to arterial circulation, which is associated with stroke and systemic embolisation. Percutaneous closure of PFO in patients with cryptogenic stroke has been undertaken for a number of years, and a number of purpose-specific septal occluders have been marketed. Recent randomised controlled trials have demonstrated that closure of PFO in patients with cryptogenic stroke is associated with reduced rates of recurrent stroke. After a brief overview of the anatomy of a PFO, this review considers the evidence for PFO closure in cryptogenic stroke. The review also addresses other potential indications for closure, including systemic embolisation, decompression sickness, platypnoea–orthodeoxia syndrome and migraine with aura. It lays out the pre-procedural investigations and preparation for the procedure. Finally, it gives an overview of the procedure itself, including discussion of closure devices.
La Crisis de los Misiles vista por la prensa española, octubre-noviembre de 1962
Authors: Fleites Marcos Álvaro
Published: March 2019

Este artículo tiene por objeto analizar la recepción en la España franquista de la llamada Crisis de los Misiles, episodio clave de la Guerra Fría que tuvo por protagonistas a las dos superpotencias del momento —Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética— y a Cuba a finales de octubre y noviembre de 1962 y que no ha sido tratada previamente por ningún estudio específico. Así, este trabajo examinará la reacción de algunos de los principales diarios españoles ante las diferentes fases del acontecimiento, complementando esta fuente principal con la consulta de archivos españoles y norteamericanos. La posición de la prensa española ante la Crisis de los Misiles reflejó las paradojas del régimen franquista, el cual controlaba estos órganos de opinión directa o indirectamente. En todo caso, los diarios, mostraron una indudable inquietud al principio de la Crisis y no ocultaron su satisfacción ante el final de esta y la retirada de los misiles de Cuba. Sin embargo, su visión de la Crisis estuvo definida, esencialmente, por el anticomunismo primario del régimen y por su deseo de situarse en el mundo occidental como un adalid privilegiado de los Estados Unidos. De esta manera la mayoría de la prensa lamentó el desenlace que tuvo la Crisis, vista por ellos como una oportunidad perdida para derrocar al castrismo.
Семинарни занятия - учебен театър с три роли
Authors: Йорданова Лина
Published: March 2019

Основна цел на обучението и в училище и в университета би трябвало да бъде създаването на умение за самостоятелно учене. Съвременното развитие на технологиите и ускореното натрупване на човешкото знание допринасят Ученето през целия живот да бъде неизменна характеристика на професионалния път на днешните ученици и студенти. Умението да се придобиват знания самостоятелно не се създава само и с еднократното изпълнение, например, на една курсова задача. То изисква системно прилагане през целия период на обучение на подходи, които активират и мотивират обучаваните за учене. В настоящата работа представяме резултатите от един вид организация на семинарни лекции по актуални теми, не включени в програмата на дисциплината „Информатика III част“, преподавана на студентите от икономическите специалности на Стопански факултет при Тракийския университет. В организацията на тези занятия, наричани от нас учебен театър, се включват три роли – за всяка тема две съревноваващи се групи, един арбитър, който познава съответната тема, и преподавателят.
Онлайн конкурси в обучението по информационни технологии
Authors: Чехларова Тони , Петков Иван
Published: March 2019

Представен е експеримент, свързан с използване на онлайн конкурс в часовете по информационни технологии, съчетаващ математика, изобразително изкуство и информационни технологии. Целта на експеримента е повишаване качеството на обучението по информационни технологии, чрез създаване на конкурентна образователна среда и засилване на връзката между обучението и практиката.
Страхът от математиката в училище
Authors: Тотев Димитър
Published: March 2019

Математиката е предмет, който не се радва на голяма популярност в училище. Много ученици се страхуват от него или не разбират, защо изобщо трябва да учат математика. Това неразбиране на математическото учебно съдържание обаче може да се превърне в проблем за някои от тях. В известни случаи такова затруднение може да предизвика страх от математиката, който не бива осъзнат веднага. Едва когато пораснат, учениците започват да споделят и да признават, че се страхуват от една страна от математиката, а от друга от това, да прилагат математическите си знания. Преподавателите трябва да знаят как да се справят с този проблем.
Gerstmann syndrome in a young man: a case report
Authors: Dimitrov Iv. , Atanasova S. , Kaprelyan A. , Ivanov B. , Nestorova V. , Drenska K. , Chuperkova Zh. , Aleksandrov Iv.
Published: March 2019

Gerstmann syndrome is a classical cerebral syndrome in neurology, named after Joseph Gerstmann, a Jewish Austrian-born American neurologist. Patients present with a tetrad of cognitive symptoms, including agraphia, acalculia, finger agnosia and left-right disorientation. The syndrome is known to result from a lesion of the posterior portion of the dominant parietal lobe and is usually due to stroke or to developmental problems. We describe the case of a 35-year-old man whose illness debuted about 9 months before the initial presentation to the neurology clinic, with memory complaints, anxiety, verbal aggression, sleeping problems, as well as subjective word finding difficulty and depressed mood. The patient had 3 out of the 4 classic symptoms of Gerstmann syndrome, among other, mostly neuropsychiatric symptoms. Initially, structural lesions were sought for, but were not found on magnetic resonance imaging. Psychiatric conditions were discussed but not confirmed by the consulting psychiatrist. We are prone to accepting a non-organic reason for the condition of the patient, but follow-up of the clinical course and repeated assessments, including neuropsychological and psychiatric evaluations, structural and possibly functional neuroimaging will be required to verify and confirm this presumption.
Queensferry Crossing, UK: foundations and geotechnical works
Authors: West Stephen , Chisholm Alistair , Oligmüller Ludger , Wharton James , Pita Nicolas Burbano
Published: March 2019

Each foundation for the Queensferry Crossing road bridge over the Firth of Forth in Scotland, UK, required significant investigation and technical development to deliver a successful project. The tender stage decision to use only mass footings for the crossing placed an emphasis on clear understanding of the geology, application of this understanding in analysis and the verification of these conditions during construction. This paper summarises the collaborative approach between the contractor, designer and employer used for investigation, analysis and design of permanent and temporary works with substantive dialogue started during the tendering process. Post contract award this dialogue continued with collective agreement on the performance indicators that would define success to allow continuation of the construction of the permanent works. This approach resulted in a construction process that permitted speedy resolution of issues such as the encounter of unexpected rock conditions or localised breaching of temporary cofferdams that would have created substantial delay on projects of a similar scale and complexity. Construction included the use of underwater inspection techniques that were unique to this project.
Electroporation of Thalassiosira pseudonana v1
Authors: Bugge Joshua , Robertson Deborah
Published: March 2019

An electroporation-mediated genetic transformation or the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana was developed. Using a sorbitol-based buffer, T. pseudonana cells were successfully transformed with the Tpfcp/nat plasmid at an efficiency of 2820 per 108 cells. This represents a six-fold improvement compared with previously published methods.
Actualization of information by euphemisms in legal texts
Authors: Bulakh Maya
Published: March 2019

The paper focuses on the analysis of the euphemistic process in Ukrainian legal discourse. It is generally known that the reader is already accustomed to actively using euphemisms in political speeches, speeches by politicians and officials, where they become a part of manipulative tactics. The use of euphemisms in such texts is also relevant, since the specifics of its communication are excessive courtesy, mitigation of statements, and excessiveness of etiquette formulas. Moreover, the specificity of public broadcasting requires figurativeness, which is reflected both in the mitigation of the expression and in the deliberate exaggeration, roughness, that called dysphemization. The article aims to explore the euphemistic mechanisms in Ukrainian legal texts. To solve this problem this paper presents different approaches to the definition of the phenomenon of euphemism. The materials for the study were chosen texts of annual reports of Kyiv city state administration for 2015-2017 years and Strategy of Kyiv development till 2025. This material allows us to investigate the functions of euphemistic means in the texts of official legal documents, which the main implicit function is the ideological impact on citizens. Focusing on positive achievements in the report, at the same time, it is necessary to reflect the existing actual state of affairs. Euphemisms allow speaker to do, as much as possible, soften the statement, conceal the negative effects of action. However, traditionally hidden things such as social inequality, poverty, illness, age restrictions etc. are veiled. It will be shown that this is obligatory and typical characteristic of political discourse. The author points out the motivation of creating euphemisms in the political discourse and communicative potential of euphemistic units. In particular, the following approaches are mentioned in the studies of the motivation of the creation of euphemisms: euphemism as part of the demobilization strategy and euphemism as a component of the method of emotional contamination, that is, the suggestive verbal technique used to create the mood desired by the audience. The author examines in detail various ways of euphemistic mechanisms due to its linguistic peculiarities, such as euphemisms as metaphorical nominations, euphemism-terms, euphemisms with a negative epithet, syntactic euphemistic substitutions, as well as a specific information delivery structure known as contrast-based manipulation and generalization.
Las familias en el corazón de la educación inclusiva
Authors: Simón Rueda Cecilia , Barrios Fernández Ángela
Published: March 2019

El trabajo que se presenta analiza cómo se entiende el papel que las familias deben desempeñar en la transformación de los sistemas y entornos educativos para ser más inclusivos. Para ello, partiendo del significado de una educación inclusiva, y considerando ésta como un derecho de todo el alumnado sin exclusiones, se justifica por qué las familias deben formar parte de este proceso, así como los beneficios que se derivan de su participación real en los centros escolares. Asimismo, a partir de experiencias de centros que comparten los valores de la educación inclusiva, se muestra qué lugar han ocupado las familias en ellos. Finalmente se realiza una reflexión en torno a qué tipo de participación por parte de las familias es necesario promover para acortar la distancia entre los valores declarados respecto a la inclusión y las acciones que se llevan a cabo, así como las oportunidades y espacios que se ofrecen a las mismas en los centros escolares.
Padres y madres ante las tareas escolares: La visión del profesorado
Authors: Fernández-Freire Álvarez Lara , Rodríguez-Ruiz Beatriz , Martínez-González Raquel-Amaya
Published: March 2019

RESUMENEn este estudio se analiza la percepción que tiene el profesorado de centros públicos de Educación Infantil y de Educación Primaria acerca de la implicación de los padres y de las madres en el proceso educativo de sus hijos e hijas y en sus tareas escolares. Se estudian también las posibles dificultades que tienen para ello. La muestra está configurada por 78 docentes de 30 centros ubicados tanto en zonas urbanas como rurales del Principado de Asturias (norte de España). La recogida de información se ha realizado con la Escala de Relaciones entre el Centro Escolar y la Familia, de Martínez-González (1994), obteniendo una fiabilidad adecuada con el índice Alfa de Cronbach. Se han efectuado análisis descriptivos y comparativos de dos grupos con la t de Student teniendo en cuenta el género de los progenitores. Los resultados indican que el profesorado percibe una adecuada implicación de ambos padres en el proceso de aprendizaje académico de sus hijos e hijas en estas etapas escolares iniciales. No obstante, indican que las madres se involucran más y hacen frente con más frecuencia a dificultades derivadas de la conciliación entre la vida familiar, laboral y personal. El estudio concluye con algunas orientaciones educativas y con la propuesta de nuevas líneas de investigación, entre las que se incluye contar con información procedente de los propios padres y madres.Palabras Clave: Tareas escolares, profesorado, familia, Educación infantil, Educación primaria.Parents and homework. The teachers’ perspectiveABSTRACTThis study examines the perception of early childhood and primary education teachers in state funded schools as regards the involvement of fathers and mothers in their children´s learning and their schoolwork. The study also examines the possible difficulties that parents face to do this. The sample is composed of 78 teachers of 30 centres located both in urban and rural areas of the Principality of Asturias (North of Spain). To gather information, the study applied the School-Family Relationship Scale, by Martínez-González (1994), obtaining an adequate reliability Cronbach's Alpha index. Descriptive and comparative analysis of two groups were conducted with Student´s t taking into account the gender of the parents. The results indicate that teachers perceived an adequate involvement of both parents in their children's academic tasks and process in these early stages of school. However, these results suggest that mothers engage more and deal more frequently with difficulties arising from the conciliation between family, work and personal life. The study concludes with some educational guidelines and proposal of new lines of research, including gathering information from parents and mothers.Keywords: Homework, teacher’s perceptions, father, mother, Primary Education.
Editorial
Authors: Saber, Ciencia y Libertad Editorial
Published: March 2019

It has been very long since our country does not face such an important topic as the ones which are themes of everyday conversation among the country citizens: The many acts of corruption within the state institutions; The FARC member’s challenge to be back to both the social and politics life, the effects of worldwide climate change, our own and neighbor country economic crisis, the stoppable drug dealer business; the poor country health system and the government educational system serious problem has helped to set a scenary which involves directly and indirectly every citizen in the country.
It is not enough to say that this is the public officer’s business or the ones who has the faculty and power to make important decisions. Furthermore, it is not enough either to save our own houses and look over the daily city’s picture of poverty, crime together with the lack of sense of goodness. It seems that now when we just hear about bad news and how unstable our present time keeps us from thinking positively about the future that we must understand that a nation whose name has been used to give many speeches and under whose flag has been killed many people do not have to give up.
Towards Using Cloud Elasticity on the Internet of Things Landscape
Authors: Righi Rodrigo Da Rosa , Gomes Márcio Miguel , Da Costa Cristiano Andrá , Parzyjegla Helge , Heiss Hans-Ulrich
Published: March 2019

The digital universe is growing at significant rates in recent years. One of the main responsible for this sentence is the Internet of Things, or IoT, which requires a middleware that should be capable to handle this increase of data volume at real-time. Particularly, data can arrive in the middleware in parallel as in terms of input data from Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) readers as request-reply query operations from the users side. Solutions modeled at software, hardware and/or architecture levels present limitations to handle such load, facing the problem of scalability in the IoT scope. In this context, this arti- cle presents a model denoted Eliot - Elasticity-driven Internet of Things - which combines both cloud and high performance computing to address the IoT scal- ability problem in a novel EPCglobal-compliant architecture. Particularly, we keep the same API but offer an elastic EPCIS component in the cloud, which is designed as a collection of virtual machines (VMs) that are allocated and deallocated on-the-fly in accordance with the system load. Based on the Eliot model, we developed a prototype that could run over any black-box EPCglobal- compliant middleware. We selected the Fosstrak for this role, which is currently one of the most used IoT middlewares. Thus, the prototype acts as an upper layer over the Fosstrak to offer a better throughput and latency performances in an effortless way. The results are encouraging, presenting significant performance gains in terms of response time and request throughput when comparing both elastic (Eliot) and non-elastic (standard Fosstrak) executions.
Prevailing pattern of feeding practices and malnutrition among infant and young children
Authors: Kumar Thirunavukkarasu Bharath , Kumar Earan Sujay
Published: March 2019

Background: Nutritional factors like breast feeding practices, weaning practices and diet during illness influence the growth and development of children. Recurrent   infections are other important factors that lead to malnutrition.Methods: This was a non-randomized prospective study using pretested, predesigned questionnaires. Study was done in a single centre to determine the pattern of feeding practices and malnutrition among infant and young children. This study was carried out in the Department of Paediatrics at Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and hospital, Puducherry.Results: Out of the 200 babies studied, 22% of the babies were exclusively breast fed and 5% of the babies were bottle fed. The remaining 73% of the babies were on both breasts feeding and bottle feeding. A 52% of children in the age group 6-12 months, 50% children under12-24 months and 52% of children >24 months were found to be malnourished according to WHO growth standards.Conclusions: Quantity and quality of complementary feeds given is inadequate due to lake of awareness, fear and food stigmata. Hence feeding practices are far from satisfactory. Complementary feeding and weaning practice guidelines are better practiced as the age advances but their practice at a younger age would lead to a better outcome.
EVALUATION OF THE TECTONIC DISPLACEMENTS IN FAULT ZONES OF THE ALTAI, ACCORDING TO THE EARTHQUAKE FOCAL MECHANISMS
Authors: Kuchay O. A. , Dyadkov P. G.
Published: March 2019

The characteristics of horizontal displacements in fault zones of the Altai-Sayan mountain region are revealed with use of the earthquake focal mechanisms data. Left-lateral strike-slips are characteristic for the Bogdo, Southern Tannuol and Sayan-Tuva faults, and for the eastern part of the Bollnay fault. Right-lateral strikeslip is characteristic for the Koktokay fault.
Curcumin and curcuminoids in quest for medicinal status.
Authors: Grynkiewicz Grzegorz , Ślifirski Piotr
Published: March 2019

Curcumin, known for thousands of years as an Ayurvedic medicine, and popular as a spice in Asian cuisine, has undergone in recent times remarkable transformation into a drug candidate with prospective multipotent therapeutic applications. Characterized by high chemical reactivity, resulting from an extended conjugated double bond system prone to nucleophilic attack, curcumin has been shown to interact with a plethora of molecular targets, in numerous experimental observations based on spectral, physicochemical or biological principles. The collected preclinical pharmacological data support traditional claims concerning the medicinal potential of curcumin and its congeners but at the same time point to their suboptimal properties in the ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) area.
Renal tubular acidosis--underrated problem?
Authors: Golembiewska Edyta , Ciechanowski Kazimierz
Published: March 2019

Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) is a hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis characterized by a normal anion gap and normal (or near normal) glomerular filtration rate in the absence of diarrhoea. Inherited isolated forms of renal tubular acidosis are not common. However, they can also be a part of a more generalized tubule defect, like in Fanconi syndrome. In recent years more and more gene mutations have been found which are associated with RTA (mutations in the gene SLC4A4, encoding a Na(+)-HCO(3)(-) cotransporter (NBC-1); in the gene SLC4A1, encoding Cl(-)/HCO3(-) exchanger (AE1); in the gene ATP6B1, encoding B1 subunit of H(+)-ATPase; in the gene CA2 encoding carbonic anhydrase II; and others) and allow better understanding of underlying processes of bicarbonate and H(+) transport. Isolated renal tubular acidosis can be frequently acquired due to use of certain drug groups, autoimmune disease or kidney transplantation. As the prevalence of acquired forms of RTA is common, new therapeutic options for the currently used supplementation of oral alkali, are awaited.
Pinellia ternata agglutinin produced in Bombyx mori cells exhibits bioactivity.
Authors: Xu Tao , Wang Bo , Wang Liya , Zhang Yaozhou , Lv Zhengbing
Published: March 2019

Pinellia ternata agglutinin (PTA) is highly homologous to many other monocot mannose-binding lectins which reportedly possess antitumor activities. Its production in silkworm cells has great application potential because the baculovirus expression system can produce post-translationally modified proteins at low cost. In the current study, the pta gene was cloned and expressed in silkworm cells, and the expressed protein was analyzed using a hemagglutination assay. A preliminary in vitro study on its anti-proliferative activity was performed. The results show that the recombinant PTA with an apparent molecular mass of 29 kDa can hemagglutinate rabbit erythrocytes and this activity can be inhibited by D-mannan at a low concentration. In addition, the recombinant hemagglutinin exhibited a dose-dependent anti-proliferative activity on hepatoma cells. The results of the current study suggest that PTA and other important bioactive proteins could be produced by silkworm bioreactor for biomedicine research and application.
Association between intestinal and antioxidant barriers in children with cancer.
Authors: Stachowicz-Stencel Teresa , Synakiewicz Anna , Owczarzak Anna , Sliwinska Aleksandra , Lysiak-Szydlowska Wieslawa , Balcerska Anna
Published: March 2019

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a role in cancerogenesis processing and damage tissues. Furthermore, oncological treatment may impair proper function of the gut barrier. The aim of this study was to measure intestinal permeability in children in clinical remission for solid tumours and to search for a possible relationship between free radicals and the intestinal barrier. No such investigation in children has been reported so far.
The prospective study consisted of 19 paediatric patients with cancer after completion of chemotherapy. 32 healthy children from the outpatients clinics were recruited for measurement of intestinal permeability and antioxidant barrier as a control group. Intestinal permeability was assessed by measurement of urinary lactulose and mannitol after oral challenge. Antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in erythrocytes were assessed. Ischemia modified albumin (IMA) concentration was measured in serum.
Cancer patients excreted less mannitol and more lactulose versus controls. The ratio of lactulose to mannitol was significantly higher in oncological children vs control (mean 0.188 and 0.0453, respectively, p=0.0006,). Significantly higher IMA level in the oncological group vs control was noted (mean 123.8 and 87.3 U/ml, respectively, p=0.0037). No correlation between intestinal permeability and oxidative stress barrier was found.
Our data shows that intestinal barrier is damaged in paediatric cancer patients after chemotherapy. IMA is believed to play a protective role in the defence against tissue damage. No correlation was found between these two barriers.
Reduction of bilirubin ditaurate by the intestinal bacterium Clostridium perfringens.
Authors: Koníčková Renata , Jirásková Alena , Zelenka Jaroslav , Lešetický Ladislav , Štícha Martin , Vítek Libor
Published: March 2019

Bilirubin is degraded in the human gut by microflora into urobilinoids. In our study we investigated whether the bilirubin-reducing strain of Clostridium perfringens can reduce bilirubin ditaurate (BDT), a bile pigment of some lower vertebrates, without hydrolysis of the taurine moiety. C. perfringes was incubated under anaerobic conditions with BDT; reduction products were quantified by spectrophotometry and separated by TLC. Based on Rf values of BDT reduction products and synthetic urobilinogen ditaurate, three novel taurine-conjugated urobilinoids were identified. It is likely that bilirubin-reducing enzyme(s) serve for the effective disposal of electrons produced by fermentolytic processes in these anaerobic bacteria.
Nature of cross-seeding barriers of amyloidogenesis.
Authors: Stępkowski Dariusz , Bieniaś Juliusz
Published: March 2019

The epidemics of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) several decades ago and present epidemics of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among cervids posed a threat of cross-species infections to humans or other animals. Therefore, the question as to the molecular nature of the species barriers to transmissibility of prion diseases is very important. We approached this problem theoretically, first developing a model of template-monomer interaction based on logical and topological grounds and on experimental data about cross-seeding of PrP 23-144 protein orthologs. Further, we propose that the strength of the cross-seeding barriers is proportional to dissimilarity of key amyloidogenic regions of the proteins. This dissimilarity can be measured by dissimilarity function we propose. Scaled on experimental data, this function predicts if cross-seeding can occur between different variants of PrP23-144. The resemblance of PrP23-144 cross-seeding barriers to the barriers of cross-species transmissibility of prion diseases is discussed. We suggest that a similar theoretical approach could be applied to predicting the occurrence of species barriers of prion diseases at least in part corresponding to the process of multiplication of infectious agent.
Denaturation and aggregation of lysozyme in water-ethanol solution.
Authors: Szymańska Agnieszka , Hornowski Tomasz , Ślósarek Genowefa
Published: March 2019

We have applied rheological methods for the analysis of ethanol-lysozyme interaction during the process of denaturation and aggregation of the protein. At low concentration of ethanol a destruction of the hydration shell of lysozyme is observed. With the increase in the ethanol concentration a structural transformation takes place. It leads to the formation of a protein aggregate with an elongated structure. The rheological characteristics of lysozyme-water-ethanol solution changes from Newtonian to pseudoplastic.
Superlative carotenoids.
Authors: Sliwka Hans-Richard , Partali Vassilia
Published: March 2019

A selection of carotenoids beyond normal appearance or properties has been presented at the 16(th) International Symposium on Carotenoids. Some of the exceptional compounds shown at the conference cannot be reproduced in this proceeding since they have not yet been published. In addition, editorial space limitation does not allow illustrating all of the previously mentioned carotenoids.
Exceptional molecular organization of canthaxanthin in lipid membranes.
Authors: Sujak Agnieszka
Published: March 2019

Canthaxanthin (β,β-carotene 4,4' dione) used widely as a drug or as a food and cosmetic colorant may have some undesirable effects on human health, caused mainly by the formation of crystals in the macula lutea membranes of the retina of an eye. Experiments show the exceptional molecular organization of canthaxanthin and a strong effect of this pigment on the physical properties of lipid membranes. The most striking difference between canthaxanthin and other macular pigments is that the effects of canthaxanthin at a molecular level are observed at much lower concentration of this pigment with respect to lipid (as low as 0.05 mol%). An analysis of the molecular interactions of canthaxanthin showed molecular mechanisms such as: strong van der Waals interactions between the canthaxanthin molecule and the acyl chains of lipids, restrictions to the segmental molecular motion of lipid molecules, modifications of the surface of the lipid membranes, effect on the membrane thermotropic properties and finally interactions based on the formation of the hydrogen bonds. Such interactions can lead to a destabilization of the membrane and loss of membrane compactness. In the case of the retinal vasculature, it can lead to an increase in the permeability of the retinal capillary walls and the development of retinopathy.
Femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy of the dark S1 excited state of carotenoid in photosynthetic light harvesting complex.
Authors: Yoshizawa Masayuki , Nakamura Ryosuke , Yoshimatsu Orihiro , Abe Kenta , Sakai Shunsuke , Nakagawa Katsunori , Fujii Ritsuko , Nango Mamoru , Hashimoto Hideki
Published: March 2019

Vibrational dynamics of the excited state in the light-harvesting complex (LH1) have been investigated by femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS). The native and reconstituted LH1 complexes have same dynamics. The ν(1) (C=C stretching) vibrational mode of spirilloxanthin in LH1 shows ultrafast high-frequency shift in the S(1) excited state with a time constant of 0.3 ps. It is assigned to the vibrational relaxation of the S(1) state following the internal conversion from the photoexcited S(2) state.
Variations in xanthophyll composition in etiolated seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana correlate with protochlorophyllide accumulation.
Authors: Myśliwa-Kurdziel Beata , Jemioła-Rzemińska Małgorzata , Turek Elżbieta , Strzałka Kazimierz , Malec Przemysław
Published: March 2019

Protochlorophyllide (Pchlide) accumulation and xantophyll composition were studied in 5-day old etiolated seedlings of three ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana: Columbia (Col-0), Landsberg erecta (Ler) and Wassiliewska (Ws). The total Pchlide level as measured by fluorescence spectroscopy varied significantly between ecotypes. A rapid HPLC method revealed quantitative differences in carotenoid composition. It was found that in the Ler ecotype any enhanced accumulation of Pchlide correlates with an increased level of lutein, suggesting the role of enzymes involved in lutein synthesis in cross-regulation between chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthetic pathways. The function of the dark-accumulated carotenoid pool in seedling de-etiolation is discussed.
Biosynthesis of α- and β-ionone, prominent scent compounds, in flowers of Osmanthus fragrans.
Authors: Baldermann Susanne , Kato Masaya , Fleischmann Peter , Watanabe Naoharu
Published: March 2019

Carotenoid derived volatiles are important fragrance compounds, which contribute to the scents of flowers from diverse taxa. A famous example is represented by the flowers of Osmanthus fragrans where apocarotenoids account for more than 20% of all volatiles. In the recent years, bio-degradation of carotenoids has been shown to be an important route for apocarotenoids formation. Here, we report on the contribution the O. fragrans carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 1 to the synthesis of the two predominant C(13)-apocarotenoids, α- and β-ionone, derived from α-and β-carotene, respectively.
EPR study of thylakoid membrane dynamics in mutants of the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803.
Authors: Kłodawska Kinga , Malec Przemysław , Kis Mihály , Gombos Zoltán , Strzałka Kazimierz
Published: March 2019

EPR spectroscopy using 5-doxylstearic acid (5-SASL) and 16-doxylstearic acid (16-SASL) spin probes was used to study the fluidity of thylakoid membranes. These were isolated from wild type Synechocystis and from several mutants in genes encoding selected enzymes of the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway and/or acyl-lipid desaturases. Cyanobacteria were cultivated at 25°C and 35°C under different light regimes: photoautotrophically (PAG) and/or in light-activated heterotrophic conditions (LAHG). The relative fluidity of membranes was estimated from EPR spectra based on the empirical outermost splitting parameter in a temperature range from 15°C to 40°C. Our findings demonstrate that in native thylakoid membranes the elimination of xanthophylls decreased fluidity in the inner membrane region under optimal growth conditions (25°C) and increased it under sublethal heat stress (35°C). This indicated that the overall fluidity of native photosynthetic membranes in cyanobacteria may be influenced by the ratio of polar to non-polar carotenoid pools under different environmental conditions.