bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Frobenius number in the set of numerical semigroups with fixed multiplicity and genus
Authors: Robles-Pérez Aureliano M. , Carlos Rosales José
Published: October 2016

We compute all possible numbers that are the Frobenius number of a numerical semigroup when multiplicity and genus are fixed. Moreover, we construct explicitly numerical semigroups in each case.
The 12th roots of the discriminant of an elliptic curve and the torsion points
Authors: Fukuda Kohei , Yoshikawa Sho
Published: October 2016

Given an elliptic curve over a field of characteristic different from 2, 3, its discriminant defines a [Formula: see text]-torsor over the field. In this paper, we give an explicit description of this [Formula: see text]-torsor in terms of the 3-torsion points and of the 4-torsion points on the given elliptic curve. As an application, we generalize a result of Coates on the 12th root of the discriminant of an elliptic curve.
Some stochastic properties on the GCFϵ expansion when ϵ(kn) = cknτ + cknτ−1
Authors: Tang Liang , Zhong Ting
Published: October 2016

For any [Formula: see text], let [Formula: see text] be the generalized continued fraction (GCF[Formula: see text]) expansion of [Formula: see text] with parameter [Formula: see text]. The concrete case has shown that, for different range of the parameter [Formula: see text] (when [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for all [Formula: see text]), the stochastic properties of [Formula: see text] differ. In this paper, we deal with the case [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], and obtain two probabilistic results as follows: [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]

Besides, we also prove the so-called “0–1” law and some other limit results when [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. These results are closely related to [Formula: see text], but independent of [Formula: see text].
Imatinib attenuates cerebrovascular injury and phenotypic transformation after intracerebral hemorrhage in rats
Authors: Pearce William J. , Doan Coleen , Carreon Desirelys , Kim Dahlim , Durrant Lara M. , Manaenko Anatol , McCoy Lauren , Obenaus Andre , Zhang John H. , Tang Jiping
Published: October 2016

This study explored the hypothesis that intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) promotes release of diffusible factors that can significantly influence the structure and function of cerebral arteries remote from the site of injury, through action on platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors. Four groups of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were studied ( n = 8 each): 1) sham; 2) sham + 60 mg/kg ip imatinib; 3) ICH (collagenase method); and 4) ICH + 60 mg/kg ip imatinib given 60 min after injury. At 24 h after injury, sham artery passive diameters (+3 mM EGTA) averaged 244 ± 7 µm (at 60 mmHg). ICH significantly increased passive diameters up to 6.4% and decreased compliance up to 42.5%. For both pressure- and potassium-induced contractions, ICH decreased calcium mobilization up to 26.2% and increased myofilament calcium sensitivity up to 48.4%. ICH reduced confocal colocalization of smooth muscle α-actin (αActin) with nonmuscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) and increased its colocalization with smooth muscle MHC, suggesting that ICH promoted contractile differentiation. ICH also enhanced colocalization of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) with both αActin and regulatory 20-kDa myosin light chain. All effects of ICH on passive diameter, compliance, contractility, and contractile protein colocalization were significantly reduced or absent in arteries from animals treated with imatinib. These findings support the hypothesis that ICH promotes release into the cerebrospinal fluid of vasoactive factors that can diffuse to and promote activation of cerebrovascular PDGF receptors, thereby altering the structure, contractile protein organization, contractility, and smooth muscle phenotype of cerebral arteries remote from the site of hemorrhage.
Breathing while altricial: the ontogeny of ventilatory chemosensitivity in red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) nestlings
Authors: Dzialowski Edward M. , Sirsat Tushar S. , Sirsat Sarah K. G. , Price Edwin R.
Published: October 2016

Altricial bird species, like red-winged blackbirds, hatch at an immature state of functional maturity with limited aerobic capacity and no endothermic capacity. Over the next 10–12 days in the nest, red-winged blackbirds develop increased metabolic capacity before fledging. Although ontogeny of respiration has been described in precocial birds, ontogeny of ventilatory chemosensitivity is unknown in altricial species. Here we examined developmental changes in chemosensitivity of tidal volume (Vt), breathing frequency (ƒ), minute ventilation (V̇e), and whole animal oxygen consumption (V̇o2) from hatching to just before fledging in red-winged blackbirds on days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 posthatching (dph) in response to hypercapnia (2 and 4% CO2) and hypoxia (15 and 10% O2). Under control conditions, there was a developmental increase in V̇e with age due to increased Vt. Hypercapnic and hypoxic chemosensitivities were present as early as 1 dph. In response to hypoxia, 1, 3, and 9 dph nestlings increased V̇e at 10% O2, by increasing ƒ with some change in Vt in younger animals. In contrast to early neonatal altricial mammals, the hypoxic response of nestling red-winged blackbirds was not biphasic. In response to hypercapnia, 3 dph nestlings increased V̇e by increasing both ƒ and Vt. From 5 dph on, the hypercapnic increase in V̇e was accounted for by increased Vt and not ƒ. Chemosensitivity to O2and CO2matures early in nestling red-winged blackbirds, well before the ability to increase V̇o2in response to cooling, and thus does not represent a limitation to the development of endothermy.
Vagal afferent activation induces salivation and swallowing-like events in anesthetized rats
Authors: Ueda Hirotaka , Suga Mayu , Yagi Takakazu , Kusumoto-Yoshida Ikue , Kashiwadani Hideki , Kuwaki Tomoyuki , Miyawaki Shouichi
Published: October 2016

The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of vagal afferent activation on salivation and swallowing-like events. Salivation is part of a reflex induced by stimulation of the oral area during feeding or chewing. Recently, we reported that nausea induced by gastroesophageal reflux (GER) activation produced salivation and swallowing in humans. Here, we investigated the ability of visceral sensation to enhance salivation and swallowing in rodents in order to inform the mechanism of GER-mediated stomatognathic activation. First, we administered LiCl to anesthetized male rats to induce nausea. LiCl significantly increased salivation and increased the activity of the vagal afferent nerve. Next, we simultaneously recorded salivation and swallowing using an electrode attached to the mylohyoid muscle during vagal afferent stimulation in a physiological range of frequencies. Vagal afferent stimulation significantly increased salivation and swallowing-like events in a frequency-dependent manner. A muscle relaxant, vecuronium bromide, diminished the swallowing-like response but did not affect salivation. These results indicate that visceral sensation induces salivation and swallowing-like events in anesthetized rodents through vagal afferent activation.
Specific connectivity between photoreceptors and horizontal cells in the zebrafish retina
Authors: Klaassen Lauw J. , de Graaff Wim , van Asselt Jorrit B. , Klooster Jan , Kamermans Maarten
Published: October 2016

The functional and morphological connectivity between various horizontal cell (HC) types (H1, H2, H3, and H4) and photoreceptors was studied in zebrafish retina. Since HCs are strongly coupled by gap junctions and feedback from HCs to photoreceptors depends strongly on connexin (Cx) hemichannels, we characterized the various HC Cxs (Cx52.6, Cx52.7, Cx52.9, and Cx55.5) in Xenopus oocytes. All Cxs formed hemichannels that were conducting at physiological membrane potentials. The Cx hemichannels differed in kinetic properties and voltage dependence, allowing for specific tuning of the coupling of HCs and the feedback signal from HCs to cones. The morphological connectivity between HC layers and cones was determined next. We used zebrafish expressing green fluorescent protein under the control of Cx promoters. We found that all HCs showed Cx55.5 promoter activity. Cx52.7 promoter activity was exclusively present in H4 cells, while Cx52.9 promoter activity occurred only in H1 cells. Cx52.6 promoter activity was present in H4 cells and in the ventral quadrant of the retina also in H1 cells. Finally, we determined the spectral sensitivities of the HC layers. Three response types were found. Monophasic responses were generated by HCs that contacted all cones (H1 cells), biphasic responses were generated by HCs that contacted M, S, and UV cones (H2 cells), and triphasic responses were generated by HCs that contacted either S and UV cones (H3 cells) or rods and UV cones (H4 cells). Electron microscopy confirms that H4 cells innervate cones. This indicates that rod-driven HCs process spectral information during photopic and luminance information during scotopic conditions.
Primate Torpor Expression: Ghost of the Climatic Past
Authors: Dausmann Kathrin H. , Warnecke Lisa
Published: October 2016

Torpor, the controlled depression of virtually all bodily function during scarce periods, was verified in primates under free-ranging conditions less than two decades ago. The large variety of different torpor patterns found both within and among closely related species is particularly remarkable. To help unravel the cause of these variable patterns, our review investigates primate torpor use within an evolutionary framework. First, we provide an overview of heterothermic primate species, focusing on the Malagasy lemurs, and discuss their use of daily torpor or hibernation in relation to habitat type and climatic conditions. Second, we investigate environmental characteristics that may have been involved in shaping the high variability of torpor expression found in lemurs today. Third, we examine potential triggers for torpor use in lemurs. We propose the “torpor refugia hypothesis” to illustrate how disparate primate torpor patterns possibly evolved in response to environmental cues during glacial periods, when animals were restricted to different refuge habitats along riverine corridors. For example, individuals enduring harsher conditions at higher altitudes likely developed seasonal hibernation, whereas those inhabiting lower elevation river catchments might have coped with unfavorable conditions by employing daily torpor. The ultimate stimuli triggering torpor use today likely differ between the different habitats of Madagascar. The broad diversity of torpor patterns in lemurs among closely related species, both within the same and in distinctly different habitat types, provides an ideal base for research into the stimuli for torpor use in endotherms in general. Our hypothesis highlights the importance of considering the environmental conditions under which ecosystems and species evolved when trying to explain physiological adaptations seen today.
Landscape of Genomic Alterations in Pituitary Adenomas
Authors: Bi Wenya Linda , Horowitz Peleg , Greenwald Noah F. , Abedalthagafi Malak , Agarwalla Pankaj K. , Gibson Wiliam J. , Mei Yu , Schumacher Steven E. , Ben-David Uri , Chevalier Aaron , Carter Scott , Tiao Grace , Brastianos Priscilla K. , Ligon Azra H. , Ducar Matthew , MacConaill Laura , Laws Edward R. , Santagata Sandro , Beroukhim Rameen , Dunn Ian F.
Published: October 2016

Purpose: Pituitary adenomas are the second most common primary brain tumor, yet their genetic profiles are incompletely understood.

Experimental Design: We performed whole-exome sequencing of 42 pituitary macroadenomas and matched normal DNA. These adenomas included hormonally active and inactive tumors, ones with typical or atypical histology, and ones that were primary or recurrent.

Results: We identified mutations, insertions/deletions, and copy-number alterations. Nearly one-third of samples (29%) had chromosome arm-level copy-number alterations across large fractions of the genome. Despite such widespread genomic disruption, these tumors had few focal events, which is unusual among highly disrupted cancers. The other 71% of tumors formed a distinct molecular class, with somatic copy number alterations involving less than 6% of the genome. Among the highly disrupted group, 75% were functional adenomas or atypical null-cell adenomas, whereas 87% of the less-disrupted group were nonfunctional adenomas. We confirmed this association between functional subtype and disruption in a validation dataset of 87 pituitary adenomas. Analysis of previously published expression data from an additional 50 adenomas showed that arm-level alterations significantly impacted transcript levels, and that the disrupted samples were characterized by expression changes associated with poor outcome in other cancers. Arm-level losses of chromosomes 1, 2, 11, and 18 were significantly recurrent. No significantly recurrent mutations were identified, suggesting no genes are altered by exonic mutations across large fractions of pituitary macroadenomas.

Conclusions: These data indicate that sporadic pituitary adenomas have distinct copy-number profiles that associate with hormonal and histologic subtypes and influence gene expression. Clin Cancer Res; 23(7); 1841–51. ©2016 AACR.
Exploitation of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Transcription Factor Dependencies by the Novel BET Inhibitor ABBV-075
Authors: Faivre Emily J. , Wilcox Denise , Lin Xiaoyu , Hessler Paul , Torrent Maricel , He Wei , Uziel Tamar , Albert Daniel H. , McDaniel Keith , Kati Warren , Shen Yu
Published: October 2016

Competitive inhibitors of acetyl-lysine binding to the bromodomains of the BET (bromodomain and extra terminal) family are being developed for the treatment of solid and hematologic malignancies. The function of BET family member BRD4 at enhancers/superenhancers has been shown to sustain signal-dependent or pathogenic gene expression programs. Here, the hypothesis was tested that the transcription factor drivers of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) clinical progression, including the androgen receptor (AR), are critically dependent on BRD4 and thus represent a sensitive solid tumor indication for the BET inhibitor ABBV-075. DHT-stimulated transcription of AR target genes was inhibited by ABBV-075 without significant effect on AR protein expression. Furthermore, ABBV-075 disrupted DHT-stimulated recruitment of BET family member BRD4 to gene-regulatory regions cooccupied by AR, including the well-established PSA and TMPRSS2 enhancers. Persistent BET inhibition disrupted the composition and function of AR-occupied enhancers as measured by a reduction in AR and H3K27Ac ChIP signal and inhibition of enhancer RNA transcription. ABBV-075 displayed potent antiproliferative activity in multiple models of resistance to second-generation antiandrogens and inhibited the activity of the AR splice variant AR-V7 and ligand-binding domain gain-of-function mutations, F877L and L702H. ABBV-075 was also a potent inhibitor of MYC and the TMPRSS2-ETS fusion protein, important parallel transcription factor drivers of CRPC.

Implications: The ability of BET family inhibitor ABBV-075 to inhibit transcription activation downstream of the initiating events of transcription factors like AR and TMPRSS2:ETS fusion proteins provides a promising therapeutic option for CRPC patients who have developed resistance to second-generation antiandrogens. Mol Cancer Res; 15(1); 35–44. ©2016 AACR.
Too Many Blood Donors - Response Bias in the Swiss Health Survey 2012
Authors: Volken Thomas , Bänziger Andreas , Buser Andreas , Castelli Damiano , Fontana Stefano , Frey Beat M. , Sarraj Amira , Sigle Jörg , Thierbach Jutta , Weingand Tina , Mansouri-Taleghani Behrouz
Published: October 2016

Background: Data on blood donor status obtained from general surveys and health interview surveys have been widely used. However, the integrity of data on self-reported blood donor status from surveys may be threatened by sampling and non-sampling error. Our study aimed to compare self-reported blood donors (including one-time as well as regular donors) from the Swiss Health Survey 2012 (SHS) with register-based blood donors recorded by blood establishments and evaluate the direction and magnitude of bias in the SHS. Methods: We compared population-weighted SHS point estimates of the number of blood donors with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals to the respective figures from blood donor registries (birth cohorts 1978-1993) and estimates of donors based on period donor tables derived from blood donor registries (birth cohorts 1920-1993). Results: In the birth cohorts 1978-1993, the SHS-predicted number of donors was 1.8 times higher than the respective number of donors based on registry data. Adjusting for foreign and naturalized Swiss nationals that immigrated after their 18th birthday, the SHS overall predicted number of donors was 1.6 times higher. Similarly, SHS estimates for the 1920-1993 birth cohorts were 2.4 and 2.1 times higher as compared to register-based estimates. Generally, the differences between SHS and register-based donors were more pronounced in men than in women. Conclusion: Self-reported blood donor status in the SHS is biased. Estimates of blood donors are substantially higher than respective estimates based on blood donor registries.
Surgical Strategy and Facial Nerve Outcomes in Petrous Bone Cholesteatoma
Authors: Prasad Sampath Chandra , Piras Gianluca , Piccirillo Enrico , Taibah Abdelkader , Russo Alessandra , He Jingchun , Sanna Mario
Published: October 2016

Objective: To review the classification and management of petrous bone cholesteatomas (PBCs) at our center and the outcomes of facial nerve (FN) management in these lesions. Methods: This was a retrospective study. The setting was a quaternary referral center for skull base pathology in Italy. A total of 200 patients with 201 PBCs were included in the study. All patients diagnosed radiologically with PBCs were classified according to the Sanna classification. All patients were surgically treated and followed up with radiology. The main outcome measures - classification of PBCs, the surgical approach used, disease control, and FN outcomes - were analyzed. Results: Supralabyrinthine PBCs were the most common type with 92 cases (45.8%) followed by the massive PBCs with 72 cases (35.8%). Preservation of preoperative FN function was highest in the infralabyrinthine (72.2%) and infralabyrinthine-apical (73.3%) types. The transotic approach was used in 66 cases (32.8%) in this series. The modified transcochlear approach type A was applied in 55 cases (27.3%). Active management of the nerve (rerouting, anastomosis, or grafting) was required in 53 cases (26.4%). Postoperatively, of the 116 cases with FN House-Brackmann grade I and II, 107 cases (92.2%) retained the same grade or improved. Recurrence was seen in 7 cases (3.5%). The mean duration of follow-up was 6.3 years. Conclusions: Radical disease clearance must take precedence over hearing and FN preservation in PBCs. Active FN management, including rerouting, end-to-end anastomosis, and cable nerve grafting, routinely come to play in the surgical management of PBCs, and the postoperative FN results after such interventions can be satisfactory in most cases.
Familial Brain Periventricular Pseudocysts
Authors: Shinar Shiri , Malinger Gustavo , Leibovitz Zvi , Ben-Sira Liat , Leshinsky-Silver Esther , Gindes Liat , Lerman-Sagie Tally , Kidron Dvora , Lev Dorit
Published: October 2016

Introduction: We report the rare finding of recurrent periventricular pseudocysts (PVPC) in consecutive pregnancies in 4 families and their postnatal outcome. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the databases of 3 large ultrasound units searching for the diagnosis of PVPC in 2 pregnancies of the same patient. Results: The first case of recurrent PVPC was diagnosed in 2011 and since then 3 additional families were diagnosed (8 cases of PVPC all in all). All fetuses underwent fetal MRI that confirmed the presence of frontal or frontocaudal PVPC. Amniocentesis, when performed, demonstrated a normal karyotype. Termination of pregnancy was carried out in 2 pregnancies in 2 of 4 families. The remaining 6 pregnancies ended with a term delivery, and to date all babies are developing normally. Conclusion: The rare finding of recurrent brain PVPC in consecutive pregnancies raises the possibility of a hereditary etiology as opposed to a sporadic event. As in isolated PVPC, frontocaudal ‘familial PVPC' appears to carry a favorable prognosis.
The Role of Biogenic Amines in the Regulation of Interaction between the Immune and Nervous Systems in Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Boyko Alexey , Melnikov Mikhail , Zhetishev Rustam , Pashenkov Mikhail
Published: October 2016

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating, presumably autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Biogenic amines may participate in MS pathogenesis modulating immune cell activity and cytokine production. Methods: Forty-three patients with relapsing-remitting MS were examined. Serotonin (SE), norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI) concentrations in sera were measured by ELISA. The functional activity of Th17 and Th1 cells was assessed by the ability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to produce interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) and cell proliferation upon stimulation with microbeads coated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies. To evaluate the effect of biogenic amines on Th17 and Th1 cells, PBMCs were cultured in the presence of SE and NE. Statistical analysis was performed using Prism 6 software. Results: Concentrations of SE and EPI in sera were not different between the groups. Concentrations of NE in sera from MS patients were lower than those in the healthy control group. The production of IL-17 and IFN-γ in MS patients in relapse was higher than that in patients in remission or in the control group. SE at a concentration of 10-4M suppressed IL-17 production. NE at a concentration of 10-4M suppressed both IL-17 and IFN-γ production. Conclusions: These data suggest an anti-inflammatory role for biogenic amines in MS.
Stent Retriever-Mediated Manual Aspiration Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Jadhav Ashutosh P. , Aghaebrahim Amin , Horev Anat , Giurgiutiu Dan-Victor , Ducruet Andrew F. , Jankowitz Brian , Jovin Tudor G.
Published: October 2016

Background and Purpose: Stent retriever thrombectomy and manual aspiration thrombectomy (MAT) have each been shown to lead to high rates of recanalization as single-modality endovascular stroke therapy. We sought to describe the safety and efficacy of a multimodal approach combining these two techniques termed ‘stent retriever-mediated manual aspiration thrombectomy' (SMAT) and compared them to MAT alone. Methods: Retrospective review of a prospectively acquired acute endovascular stroke database. Results: 195 consecutive patients with large-vessel occlusion were identified between July 2013 and April 2015. Occlusion distribution was as follows: 52% middle cerebral artery segment 1 (M1), 6% M2, 29% internal carotid artery, and 13% vertebrobasilar. Median onset to treatment time was 278 min. Intravenous rtPA was administered in 33% of cases, whereas 34% of cases had symptom onset beyond 8 h. Effective recanalization (TICI 2b/3) was achieved in 91% of patients and in 49% of patients, only a single pass was necessary. Median groin puncture to recanalization time was 40 min. Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in 5% of patients. Favorable outcomes defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2 were noted in 42% of patients. Compared with MAT alone, SMAT achieved a similar rate of effective recanalization (91 vs. 88%, p = n.s.) but was associated with faster access to reperfusion times (49 vs. 77 min, p < 0.00001). Conclusions: SMAT is a safe and efficacious method to achieve rapid revascularization that leads to faster recanalization compared to manual aspiration alone. Future prospective comparisons are necessary to establish the most clinically effective therapy for acute thrombectomy.
Clot Formation in the Presence of Acetylsalicylic Acid Leads to Increased Lysis Rates Regardless of the Chosen Thrombolysis Strategy
Authors: Roessler Florian C. , Schumacher Sabrina , Sprenger Andreas , Gärtner Ulrich , Al-Khaled Mohamed , Eggers Jürgen
Published: October 2016

Background: Patients with acute ischemic strokes frequently take an acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) premedication. We determined the impact of ASA on different thrombolysis strategies in vitro. Methods: For two clot types made from platelet-rich plasma (one with and one without ASA) lysis rates were measured by weight loss after 1 h for five different groups: in control group A clots were solely placed in plasma; in groups B and C clots were treated with rt-PA (60 kU/ml), and in groups D and E clots were treated with desmoteplase (DSPA; 2 µg/ml). Ultrasound (2 MHz, 0.179 W/cm2) was included in groups C and E. The fibrin mesh structures of the clots were investigated by electron microscopy. Results: For both clot types lysis rates increased significantly for all treatment strategies compared to their control group (each p < 0.001). The addition of ASA significantly increased the lysis rate in all 5 groups (each p < 0.001) and led to a ceiling effect concerning the treatment. A semiquantitative analysis of transmission electron micrographs revealed a decreased fibrin density for clots with ASA. For both clot types DSPA and ultrasound led to a significant dissolution of the fibrin mesh (both p = 0.029). Conclusions: In vitro ASA pretreatment leads to significantly increased lysis rates due to a weaker fibrin mesh in platelet-rich plasma clots.
Weight Management in Primary Care
Authors: Maurer Susanne
Published: October 2016

Background: Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges worldwide. It is not only a medical but also a philosophical, ecological, economic, sociocultural, and psychological problem as well as a severe consequence of our modern value definition to ‘receive more and more'. Therefore, physicians are not able to treat obesity broadly and should not be used as tools to achieve certain weight goals. Methods: This article presents an outline of conservative obesity therapy. Using the key words ‘obesity', ‘diet', and ‘exercise', a search was conducted in the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases for the period from 1995 to 2015. Results/Conclusion: The goal of obesity therapy is primarily the reduction of abdominal fat distribution. Only after achieving this main objective, weight loss reduction can be included by changes in eating and activity habits as well as further lifestyle modifications supplemented by weight-reducing medical, invasive, and/or surgical therapy measures in order to reduce obesity-associated comorbidities and to improve quality of life. A reduction of fat intake while avoiding unsaturated fatty acids, an optimization especially of the quality of carbohydrate and protein intake, an increase in physical activity (about 30-60 min per day) with individual adaption, and a personal, ongoing therapeutic leadership is necessary to reach the main goal, i.e. losing 5-15% of the initial weight.
Metabolic Vascular Syndrome: New Insights into a Multidimensional Network of Risk Factors and Diseases
Authors: Scholz Gerhard H. , Hanefeld Markolf
Published: October 2016

Background: Since 1981, we have used the term metabolic syndrome to describe an association of a dysregulation in lipid metabolism (high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, disturbed glucose homeostasis (enhanced fasting and/or prandial glucose), gout, and hypertension), with android obesity being based on a common soil (overnutrition, reduced physical activity, sociocultural factors, and genetic predisposition). We hypothesized that main traits of the syndrome occur early and are tightly connected with hyperinsulinemia/insulin resistance, procoagulation, and cardiovascular diseases. Methods: To establish a close link between the traits of the metabolic vascular syndrome, we focused our literature search on recent original work and comprehensive reviews dealing with the topics metabolic syndrome, visceral obesity, fatty liver, fat tissue inflammation, insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Results: Recent research supports the concept that the metabolic vascular syndrome is a multidimensional and interactive network of risk factors and diseases based on individual genetic susceptibility and epigenetic changes where metabolic dysregulation/metabolic inflexibility in different organs and vascular dysfunction are early interconnected. Conclusion: The metabolic vascular syndrome is not only a risk factor constellation but rather a life-long abnormality of a closely connected interactive cluster of developing diseases which escalate each other and should continuously attract the attention of every clinician.
Pharmacological Interventions against Obesity: Current Status and Future Directions
Authors: Schultes Bernd
Published: October 2016

The metabolic syndrome (MS) comprises a cluster of metabolic disturbances including obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and elevated blood pressure that are pathophysiologically highly interlinked and that altogether lead to an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk. While lifestyle interventions represent the basic therapeutic measure to address all components of the MS, they are in most cases not effective enough to reduce the CV risk. Therefore, pharmacological interventions are necessary for many patients. This review will provide an overview on current and potential future pharmacological interventions for obesity, which is the main driver of the MS.
Myths of South Asian Stasis
Authors: Smith Blake
Published: October 2016

During the eighteenth century, European trade with Asia was characterized by the importation of sophisticated manufactured goods in exchange for silver. The features of Euro-Asian trade testify to the vitality of the Indian, Chinese, and Japanese economies in the period before the Great Divergence. Many European observers, however, mistook them for symptoms of economic stasis, purportedly caused by Oriental despotism. Investigating French descriptions of the South Asian economy articulated in debates concerning both the export of silver and competition with South Asian textiles, this article reads Orientalist stereotypes about economic dysfunction as responses to the challenges posed by the Subcontinent’s dynamism and as part of the rhetorical strategies by which European divergence from Asia could be imagined, anticipated, and pursued.
The Baojia System as Institutional Control in Manchukuo under Japanese Rule (1932-45)
Authors: Tian Mo
Published: October 2016

Thebaojiasystem was a Chinese mechanism of social control in rural areas. The Japanese authorities revived this system in the villages of Manchuria in the mid-1930s. Thebaojiasystem placed the villages under the control of the state by registering population, organising village defence corps and instituting internal surveillance. Thebaojiasystem also functioned as a source of revenue for the state. This article examines the structural characteristics of thebaojiasystem and the way it was implemented in practice. It argues that thebaojiasystem as a tool for social control served the temporary purpose of maintaining security in Japanese-administered rural Manchukuo.
Resistance, Liberation, and Aesthetics in the Early Novels of Alex La Guma
Authors: Agho Jude Aigbe
Published: October 2016

Alex La Guma, the late South African Coloured novelist and short-story writer, died in exile in Cuba in 1985. Until his death, he was clearly the most ambitious novelist in South Africa of the apartheid era. Even while he was in exile, he kept in touch with the momentum of the anti-apartheid struggle, which culminated in the abrogation of apartheid and the attainment of independence with the ascendance of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first non-white president in 1994. Resistance and liberation are unmistakably the credos enshrined in La Guma’s fiction. But these thematic preoccupations did not distract him from his calling as a consummate writer who also needed to pay particular attention to the dictates of the art of fiction in his novels and short stories. Thus, in his fiction we find a true blend or matrix of resistance, liberation, and aesthetics. This essay sets out to unravel the trajectory of La Guma’s depiction of this matrix in some of his early novels which, by and large, could be said to have anticipated the revolutionary imperatives of his later fiction.
Representation of Post-Apartheid Social Reality after the Collapse of Racism in Nadine Gordimer’s No Time Like the Present
Authors: Hunjo Henry J.
Published: October 2016

The essay demonstrates that a literary writer is not just an advocate for the ideal life but is also capable of reflecting how life could be lived by confronting potentially emergent social changes. Drawing on theoretical and methodological tools of Faircloughian critical discourse analysis and using Nadine Gordimer’s No Time Like the Present, a novel that represents post-apartheid social realities as its data source, the essay shows that, after the collapse of apartheid, many problems remain with which South Africa must contend. Gordimer shows that post-apartheid South Africa must gradually extract itself from the psychological fangs of apartheid and make the transition to democracy. She draws attention to the benefits of the repeal of the racist laws of the apartheid regime and the need for democratic governance to have direct impact on the people. The essay concludes that with another twenty years from now, a vision Gordimer tenaciously holds to in her narrative, post-apartheid South Africa should rank among other democratic nations.
Trauma as Double Wound in Shimmer Chinodya’s Harvest of Thorns
Authors: Stephen Bernard Otonye
Published: October 2016

The colonial experience in Africa left deep corporeal and psychic scars. The anti-colonial struggle involved bloody armed conflicts which left many dead and many more physically and psychologically maimed. Writers as diverse as Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Ousmane Sembène, and Shimmer Chinodya have variously addressed the cultural, material, racial, class, psychological, and ideological aspects of this unprecedented history. And literary critics have equally responded by examining African literary texts from cultural, Marxist, colonial, and post-colonial angles. However, given the traumatic experience of the struggle for independence, not much has been done by way of applying trauma theory to the study of African literary texts to illuminate Africa’s violent encounter with the racist imperialism of Europe. Employing the insights of Cathy Caruth, the essay analyses trauma’s characteristic double infliction of a wound on the individual in Chinodya’s anti-colonial novel Harvest of Thorns. The traumatic memories of the liberation war testify to the physical and psychic wounds inflicted on the individual and the community.
The Poetics of Place and Space in Michael David Kyazze’s Zimbabwe-Set Novel Rustlings of the Mulberry Tree (2014)
Authors: Kahyana Danson Sylvester
Published: October 2016

The essay explores the centrality of place and space in the Ugandan Michael David Kyazze’s Zimbabwe-set Rustlings of the Mulberry Tree (2014), a novel which details the fight against pederasty of some Pentecostal Church pastors. One of the issues examined is why this novel, which is a fictionalized account of real-life events that happened in Uganda, is set in Zimbabwe. I argue that if we look at Zimbabwe not just as a geographical reality—i.e. as a country located in southern Africa—but also as a socio-political reality, then Kyazze’s choice of this country as the setting for his book becomes a discursive strategy to carry across his message to his Ugandan reading public through the refraction of another place that closely resembles Uganda. In other words, through the abuse of office that happens in the fictional Zimbabwe that the author creates, the Ugandan reader is invited to compare and contrast this far-away place with home. Also explored are the ways by which the novel can be read as a battle over the control of space between the accused pastors and government forces as represented by the police.
Modelling Chronometric Counting
Authors: Wearden John H.
Published: October 2016

Participants performed on a temporal generalization task with standard durations being either 4 or 8 s, and comparison durations ranging from 2.5 to 5.5, or 5 to 11 s. They were required to count during all stimulus presentations, and counts were recorded as spacebar presses. Generalization gradients around both standard values peaked at the standard, but the gradient from the 8-s condition was steeper. Measured counts had low variance, both within trials and between trials, and a start process, which was different from the counting sequence, could also be identified in data. A computer model assuming that a comparison duration was identified as the standard when the count value for the comparison was one that had previously occurred for a standard fitted the temporal generalization gradients well. The model was also applied to some published data on temporal reproduction with counting, and generally fitted data adequately. The model makes a distinction between the variance of the count unit from one trial to another, and the counts within the trial, and this distinction was related to the overall variance of behaviours resulting from counting, and the ways in which variability of timing measures change with the duration timed.
Battle of Qadesh in Ramesses II’s Memory: A Brief Note
Authors: Omar Amr
Published: October 2016

أحيانًا يتعدى حدث ما¬¬¬¬¬¬ حدود الزمان والمكان اللذين وقع فيهما؛ ليستمر حاضرًا في ذاكرة الإنسان، لا يغيب عنها بمرور السنوات. وعادة ما ترتبط استمرارية هذا الحدث بأهمية الحدث نفسه، ومدى قوة تأثيره في حياة هذا الإنسان وشخصيته. وهذا الوصف يمكن أن يطلق إلى حدٍّ كبير على أحداث معركة "قادش"، وأهميتها لدى الملك "رمسيس الثاني" دون غيرها من أعماله العسكرية الأخرى، والتي حرص على تسجيل أحداثها، كتابةً وتصويرًا، على واجهات المعابد الرئيسية في "طيبة" أو في غيرها من المدن المصرية؛ لتكون أحداث تلك المعركة دائمًا الماضي الحاضر في الأذهان. كما نُسجت حولها نصوص أدبية تم تداولها بين طبقة الكتبة، في شكل أقرب ما يكون إلى "الملحمة"، التي كان يُتغنى بها في الاحتفالات. وظل صدى تلك الأحداث ماثلاً في الذاكرة، بشكل أو بآخر، حتى فترة متأخرة من حكمه، كما عبَّرت عن ذلك النصوص، وهذا ما تحاول هذه الورقة البحثية أن تستعرضه.
Who are Youth in Theological Perspective?
Authors: Štěch František
Published: October 2016

Who are youth in theological perspective? The central question this article is trying to ask is: How does youth ministry research on youth connect with systematic or more specifically fundamental theology? The first section, following the introduction, aims to summarise traditional perspectives on young people predominantly as an age-related group. The second section attempts to describe the specific theological vision on youth and its connection to youth theology. The final section seeks a new perspective on youth by introducing fundamental theology and drawing on its particular concept of “expectation” proposed by Czech theologian Vladimír Boublík. It is argued that a theological understanding of youth is a necessary prerequisite for any genuine theological engagement with young people and vice versa. Here, theological engagement with young people may bring fresh insights into the dry bodies of traditional theological disciplines, including fundamental theology.
A new combination in the genus Siler (Apiaceae) for the Balkan flora
Authors: CONTI FABIO , BARTOLUCCI FABRIZIO , NIKETIĆ MARJAN , LAKUŠIĆ DMITAR
Published: October 2016

A recent molecular study (Banasiak et al. 2016) reconstructed the phylogeny of all the genera belonging to tribe Scandiceae Spreng. subtribe Daucinae Dumort., showing that the genus Laserpitium Linnaeus (1753: 248) is polyphyletic. Banasiak et al. (l.c.) split Laserpitium into 5 genera: Laserpitium L., Ekimia Duman & Watson (1999: 200), Laser Borkh. ex Gaertner, Meyer & Scherbius (1799: 244, 384), Siler Miller (1754: without pagination), Silphiodaucus (Koso-Poljansky 1916: 211) Spalik, Wojewódska, Banasiak, Piwczyński & Reduron in Banasiak et al. (2016: 578), and Thapsia Linnaeus (1753: 261).
Assessment of Renal Injury in Patients Undergoing Elective EVAR Using Urinary Neutrophil Gelatin-Associated Lipocalin, Interleukin 18, and Retinol-Binding Protein
Authors: Noorani Ayesha , Sadat Umar , Rollins Katherine E. , Chowdhury Mohammed M. , Tang Tjun Y. , Harrison Seamus C. , Usman Ammara , Burling Keith , Nordon Anthony , Boyle Jonathan R.
Published: October 2016

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a recognized complication post-endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Neutrophil gelatin-associated lipocalin (NGAL), interleukin 18 (IL-18), and retinol-binding protein are emerging urinary biomarkers that have shown promise in detecting subclinical and clinical renal impairment. In this study, we assessed changes in these urinary biomarkers as well as serum creatinine (SCr) in patients undergoing EVAR. Urine samples were collected prospectively at 5 time points for each recruited patient: pre-EVAR (baseline) and 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after the procedure for serial assessment of urinary biomarkers. Serum creatinine was quantified preoperatively and at 24 and 48 hours postoperatively. Serial changes of urinary biomarkers and SCr were assessed. A significant increase in NGAL and IL-18 from baseline was observed ( P < .05), as early as 6 hours for NGAL. A significant rise in levels of NGAL and IL-18 precedes the significant rise in SCr. These findings highlight the potential of emerging urinary biomarkers in detecting early AKI following EVAR.
Pattern Recognition-Assisted Infrared Library Searching of the Paint Data Query Database to Enhance Lead Information from Automotive Paint Trace Evidence
Authors: Lavine Barry K. , White Collin G. , Allen Matthew D. , Weakley Andrew
Published: October 2016

Multilayered automotive paint fragments, which are one of the most complex materials encountered in the forensic science laboratory, provide crucial links in criminal investigations and prosecutions. To determine the origin of these paint fragments, forensic automotive paint examiners have turned to the paint data query (PDQ) database, which allows the forensic examiner to compare the layer sequence and color, texture, and composition of the sample to paint systems of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). However, modern automotive paints have a thin color coat and this layer on a microscopic fragment is often too thin to obtain accurate chemical and topcoat color information. A search engine has been developed for the infrared (IR) spectral libraries of the PDQ database in an effort to improve discrimination capability and permit quantification of discrimination power for OEM automotive paint comparisons. The similarity of IR spectra of the corresponding layers of various records for original finishes in the PDQ database often results in poor discrimination using commercial library search algorithms. A pattern recognition approach employing pre-filters and a cross-correlation library search algorithm that performs both a forward and backward search has been used to significantly improve the discrimination of IR spectra in the PDQ database and thus improve the accuracy of the search. This improvement permits inter-comparison of OEM automotive paint layer systems using the IR spectra alone. Such information can serve to quantify the discrimination power of the original automotive paint encountered in casework and further efforts to succinctly communicate trace evidence to the courts.
For whom do local peace processes function? Maintaining control through conflict management
Authors: Millar Gearoid
Published: October 2016

Recent peacebuilding literature provides a sustained critique of externally designed conflict management processes and promotes instead local mechanisms. Such mechanisms, it is argued, will provide more ownership and agency to local actors and, thus, a more sustainable peace. But while there are many examples of local conflict management institutions, and many discussions of the hybrid outcomes of interaction between the global and local, the literature rarely explores exactly what transpires on the ground when international actors influence the operation of local peace processes; this article provides exactly this insight. The data presented illustrate how local conflict management institutions in rural Sierra Leone are subtly manipulated by actors – both international and local – to maintain and enhance existing relations of power. The article illustrates, therefore, the problems that arise when local conflict management institutions become interlaced with new forms of power and start themselves to serve as sites of contestation and resistance.
Everyone wants to go to paradise, but … in Giose Rimanelli’s Peccato originale
Authors: Postman Sheryl Lynn
Published: October 2016

One year after the publication of his first novel, Tiro al piccione, Giose Rimanelli published his second narrative, Peccato originale. Whereas Tiro al piccione handles the horrific wartime experience of its protagonist Marco Laudato and his Orphic journey through Italy’s Civil War, Peccato originale deals with the socioeconomic inferno of the postwar period that ultimately serves as a basis for immigration for many and helps to show clearly the problema del sud. The author, creating parallels between the peasant of Southern Italy and the condemned biblical character of Cain, shows that man’s “original sin” is not pride, but poverty, with all its cruelty, misery, and unspeakable attributes. Peccato originale is the story of the journey the poor must take in order to get out of their socioeconomic hell and enter a new world of geopolitical freedom.
Simple Geomagnetic Induced Current Detection and Monitoring in Power Transformers
Authors: Ramírez José , Rodríguez–Rodríguez Joaquín H , Mijarez Rito
Published: October 2016

This paper presents a detection system of geomagnetic induced currents based on the measurement of the magnetic field outside the magnetic core; it is possible to evaluate the core operating conditions of power transformers under the effect of geomagnetic induced currents. The nonlinear behavior of the core due to asymmetric saturation produces a distortion in the external magnetic field which can be evaluated by the measurement of the magnitude of even harmonics; we describe the experimental setup and the instrumentation required for real-time detection of asymmetric saturation caused by quasi-DC magnetic fields. The experimental results obtained by simulating the presence of geomagnetic induced currents are presented.
The Changing Nature of Change Resistance
Authors: Jones Stephen L. , Van de Ven Andrew H.
Published: October 2016

This research examines whether relationships between change resistance and its consequences and antecedents strengthen or weaken over time during an extended duration of organizational change. In 40 health care clinics undergoing a 3-year period of significant organizational changes, we found that resistance to change had increasingly negative relationships over time with two important consequences: employees’ commitment to the organization and perceptions of organizational effectiveness. That these relationships became stronger (rather than weaker) over time suggests festering effects of resistance to change. We also found that over time supportive leadership was increasingly impactful in reducing change resistance. A major implication of this research for practice is that it is important for change agents to address employee resistance because, left unchecked, it can fester and increasingly inflict harm. Also, engaging in supportive leader behaviors can be particularly useful in ameliorating resistance to change at later stages of a change initiative.