bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Randomized Experiment Testing the Efficacy of a Scheduling Nudge in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
Authors: Baker Rachel , Evans Brent , Dee Thomas
Published: November 2016

An increasing number of students are taking classes offered online through open-access platforms; however, the vast majority of students who start these classes do not finish. The incongruence of student intentions and subsequent engagement suggests that self-control is a major contributor to this stark lack of persistence. This study presents the results of a large-scale field experiment ( N = 18,043) that examines the effects of a self-directed scheduling nudge designed to promote student persistence in a massive open online course. We find that random assignment to treatment had no effects on near-term engagement and weakly significant negative effects on longer-term course engagement, persistence, and performance. Interestingly, these negative effects are highly concentrated in two groups of students: those who registered close to the first day of class and those with .edu e-mail addresses. We consider several explanations for these findings and conclude that theoretically motivated interventions may interact with the diverse motivations of individual students in possibly unintended ways.
Rare variants in GP1BB are responsible for autosomal dominant macrothrombocytopenia
Authors: Sivapalaratnam Suthesh , Westbury Sarah K. , Stephens Jonathan C. , Greene Daniel , Downes Kate , Kelly Anne M. , Lentaigne Claire , Astle William J. , Huizinga Eric G. , Nurden Paquita , Papadia Sofia , Peerlinck Kathelijne , Penkett Christopher J. , Perry David J. , Roughley Catherine , Simeoni Ilenia , Stirrups Kathleen , Hart Daniel P. , Tait R. Campbell , Mumford Andrew D. ,   NIHR BioResource, Laffan Michael A. , Freson Kathleen , Ouwehand Willem H. , Kunishima Shinji , Turro Ernest
Published: November 2016

Key Points

Variants in GP1BB can cause autosomal dominant macrothrombocytopenia.
Outcomes measures in a decade of dementia and mild cognitive impairment trials
Authors: Harrison Jennifer Kirsty , Noel-Storr Anna H. , Demeyere Nele , Reynish Emma L. , Quinn Terry J.
Published: November 2016

Background

In a research study, to give a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of interventions, the outcome measures should reflect the lived experience of the condition. In dementia studies, this necessitates the use of outcome measures which capture the range of disease effects, not limited to cognitive functioning. In particular, assessing the functional impact of cognitive impairment is recommended by regulatory authorities, but there is no consensus on the optimal approach for outcome assessment in dementia research. Our aim was to describe the outcome measures used in dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) intervention studies, with particular interest in those evaluating patient-centred outcomes of functional performance and quality of life.

Methods

We performed a focused review of the literature with multiple embedded checks of internal and external validity. We used the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group’s register of dementia studies, ALOIS. ALOIS was searched to obtain records of all registered dementia and MCI intervention studies over a 10-year period (2004–2014). We included both published and unpublished materials. Outcomes were categorised as cognitive, functional, quality of life, mood, behaviour, global/disease severity and institutionalisation.

Results

From an initial return of 3271 records, we included a total of 805 records, including 676 dementia trial records and 129 MCI trial records. Of these, 78 % (630) originated from peer-reviewed publications and 60 % (487) reported results of pharmacological interventions. Cognitive outcomes were reported in 70 % (563), in contrast with 29 % (237) reporting measures of functional performance and only 13 % (102) reporting quality of life measures. We identified significant heterogeneity in the tools used to capture these outcomes, with frequent use of non-standardised tests.

Conclusions

This focus on cognitive performance questions the extent to which intervention studies for dementia are evaluating outcome measures which are relevant to individual patients and their carers. The heterogeneity in measures, use of bespoke tools and poor descriptions of test strategy all support the need for a more standardised approach to the conduct and reporting of outcomes assessments.
Calcium homeostasis alterations in a mouse model of the Dynamin 2-related centronuclear myopathy
Authors: Fraysse Bodvaël , Guicheney Pascale , Bitoun Marc
Published: November 2016

Autosomal dominant centronuclear myopathy (CNM) is a rare congenital myopathy characterized by centrally located nuclei in muscle fibers. CNM results from mutations in the gene encoding dynamin 2 (DNM2), a large GTPase involved in endocytosis, intracellular membrane trafficking, and cytoskeleton regulation. We developed a knock-in mouse model expressing the most frequent DNM2-CNM mutation; i.e. the KI-Dnm2R465W model. Heterozygous (HTZ) KI-Dnm2 mice progressively develop muscle atrophy, impairment of contractile properties, histopathological abnormalities, and elevated cytosolic calcium concentration. Here, we aim at better characterizing the calcium homeostasis impairment in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus muscles from adult HTZ KI-Dnm2 mice. We demonstrate abnormal contractile properties and cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in EDL but not soleus muscles showing that calcium impairment is correlated with muscle weakness and might be a determinant factor of the spatial muscle involvement. In addition, the elevated cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in EDL muscles is associated with an increased sarcolemmal permeability to Ca2+ and releasable Ca2+ content from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. However, amplitude and kinetics characteristics of the calcium transient appear unchanged. This suggests that calcium defect is probably not a primary cause of decreased force generation by compromised sarcomere shortening but may be involved in long-term deleterious consequences on muscle physiology. Our results highlight the first pathomechanism which may explain the spatial muscle involvement occurring in DNM2-related CNM and open the way toward development of a therapeutic approach to normalize calcium content.
Cancer cells become less deformable and more invasive with activation of β-adrenergic signaling
Authors: Kim Tae-Hyung , Gill Navjot Kaur , Nyberg Kendra D. , Nguyen Angelyn V. , Hohlbauch Sophia V. , Geisse Nicholas A. , Nowell Cameron J. , Sloan Erica K. , Rowat Amy C.
Published: November 2016

Invasion by cancer cells is a crucial step in metastasis. An oversimplified view in the literature is that cancer cells become more deformable as they become more invasive. β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) signaling drives invasion and metastasis, but the effects on cell deformability are not known. Here, we show that activation of β-adrenergic signaling by βAR agonists reduces the deformability of highly metastatic human breast cancer cells, and that these stiffer cells are more invasive in vitro. We find that βAR activation also reduces the deformability of ovarian, prostate, melanoma and leukemia cells. Mechanistically, we show that βAR-mediated cell stiffening depends on the actin cytoskeleton and myosin II activity. These changes in cell deformability can be prevented by pharmacological β-blockade or genetic knockout of the β2-adrenergic receptor. Our results identify a β2-adrenergic–Ca2+–actin axis as a new regulator of cell deformability, and suggest that the relationship between cell mechanical properties and invasion might be dependent on context.
Ratiometric analysis of Acridine Orange staining in the study of acidic organelles and autophagy
Authors: Thomé Marcos P. , Filippi-Chiela Eduardo C. , Villodre Emilly S. , Migliavaca Celina B. , Onzi Giovana R. , Felipe Karina B. , Lenz Guido
Published: November 2016

Acridine Orange is a cell-permeable green fluorophore that can be protonated and trapped in acidic vesicular organelles (AVOs). Its metachromatic shift to red fluorescence is concentration-dependent and, therefore, Acridine Orange fluoresces red in AVOs, such as autolysosomes. This makes Acridine Orange staining a quick, accessible and reliable method to assess the volume of AVOs, which increases upon autophagy induction. Here, we describe a ratiometric analysis of autophagy using Acridine Orange, considering the red-to-green fluorescence intensity ratio (R/GFIR) to quantify flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy data of Acridine-Orange-stained cells. This method measured with accuracy the increase in autophagy induced by starvation or rapamycin, and the reduction in autophagy produced by bafilomycin A1 or the knockdown of Beclin1 or ATG7. Results obtained with Acridine Orange, considering R/GFIR, correlated with the conversion of the unlipidated form of LC3 (LC3-I) into the lipidated form (LC3-II), SQSTM1 degradation and GFP–LC3 puncta formation, thus validating this assay to be used as an initial and quantitative method for evaluating the late step of autophagy in individual cells, complementing other methods.
Free serum haemoglobin is associated with brain atrophy in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Lewin Alex , Hamilton Shea , Witkover Aviva , Langford Paul , Nicholas Richard , Chataway Jeremy , Bangham Charles R.M.
Published: November 2016

Background: A major cause of disability in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) is progressive brain atrophy, whose pathogenesis is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to identify protein biomarkers of brain atrophy in SPMS.

Methods: We used surface-enhanced laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry to carry out an unbiased search for serum proteins whose concentration correlated with the rate of brain atrophy, measured by serial MRI scans over a 2-year period in a well-characterized cohort of 140 patients with SPMS.  Protein species were identified by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Results: There was a significant (p<0.004) correlation between the rate of brain atrophy and a rise in the concentration of proteins at 15.1 kDa and 15.9 kDa in the serum.  Tandem mass spectrometry identified these proteins as alpha-haemoglobin and beta-haemoglobin, respectively.  The abnormal concentration of free serum haemoglobin was confirmed by ELISA (p<0.001).  The serum lactate dehydrogenase activity was also highly significantly raised (p<10-12) in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. 

Conclusions: An underlying low-grade chronic intravascular haemolysis is a potential source of the iron whose deposition along blood vessels in multiple sclerosis plaques contributes to the neurodegeneration and consequent brain atrophy seen in progressive disease. Chelators of free serum iron will be ineffective in preventing this neurodegeneration, because the iron (Fe2+) is chelated by haemoglobin.
Gestão de recursos humanos na administração pública: um estudo de caso no Governo Estadual de Mato Grosso
Authors: Matoso Joelson Obregão , Coraiola Diego M. , Roglio Karina De Déa
Published: November 2016

O objetivo deste artigo é avaliar a percepção de servidores públicos quanto à qualidade dos papéis desempenhados pelaárea de Recursos Humanos (RH). Para tanto foi realizada uma pesquisa descritiva do tipo survey com 332 servidores dasáreas meio do Governo Estadual de Mato Grosso. Os dados foram coletados em período único e avaliados com medidasde estatística descritiva e análise de variância. A análise dos dados indica que não existem diferenças significativas entre asmédias de avaliação dos papéis de RH no Governo Estadual de Mato Grosso e as médias encontradas pelas pesquisas realizadasem empresas privadas. Os resultados mostram a necessidade do RH de estabelecer uma maior coerência entre a suaautoimagem e as expectativas e necessidades dos servidores com relação aos serviços prestados pela área.
Florescimento: saúde e bem-estar de jovens aprendizes da indústria cearense
Authors: Leite Ana Maria Andreazza Araújo , Braga Clara Suzana Cardoso , Canholi Júnior Celso , Lima Tereza Cristina Batista de , Rebouças Silvia Maria Dias Pedro
Published: November 2016

Com o objetivo de avaliar o nível de florescimento no trabalho dos jovens aprendizes da indústria cearense, foi aplicadosurvey a 309 jovens utilizando a Escala de Florescimento no Trabalho (EFLOT). A pesquisa caracteriza-se como descritiva eexploratória, com abordagem quantitativa. Os resultados indicam que não há diferença significativa no nível de florescimentoquanto aos aspectos sexo, formação escolar e renda familiar. Porém, há diferença em setores industriais diversos,destacando-se uma média significativamente menor no setor de alimentos e bebidas dentre os quatro analisados. Concluiu--se que os jovens aprendizes não apresentam um estágio de florescimento completo em relação ao seu primeiro emprego.
A expansão do crédito no Brasil: uma ferramenta para o desenvolvimento socioeconômico
Authors: Ivo Gabriel de Andrade , Cruz Diogo Batista de Freitas , Chinelato Flavia Braga , Ziviani Fabrício
Published: November 2016

O mercado de crédito brasileiro sofre há tempos com a instabilidade macroeconômica e da alta inflação. Porém, desde que a inflação foi controlada e com a implantação do Plano Real em 1994, a quantidade de crédito concedido às famílias aumentou substancialmente. O objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar a evolução do crédito no Brasil, no período recente, mostrando como as políticas adotadas pelo governo influenciaram o consumo das famílias. Nos últimos anos, o crescimento da economia esteve calcado no consumo, principalmente, pelas políticas econômicas e sociais adotadas. Isso permitiu maior acesso a produtos e serviços, porém, menor preocupação com investimento e poupança, impactando diretamente o desenvolvimento e desempenho da atividade econômica. Esses levantamentos são analisados com os demais contidos no artigo, corroborando com o argumento de expansão creditícia e as principais contribuições e necessidades para estudos e acompanhamentos futuros, com base na corrente de trabalhos que estudam as variáveis institucionais.
Efeito moderador da inovação verde sobre gestão da cadeia de suprimentos e desempenho
Authors: Moori Roberto Giro , Shibao Fabio Ytoshi , Kimura Herbert
Published: November 2016

O objetivo deste artigo foi investigar o efeito moderador da inovação verde na relação entre gestão da cadeia de suprimentos e o desempenho em empresas do ramo químico brasileiro. Inicialmente, foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com oito gestores da cadeia para conhecer a inovação verde nas empresas e desenvolver um questionário para coleta de dados. Os questionários, após pré-testes com sete especialistas em gestão da cadeia de suprimentos, foram enviados às empresas do setor químico e resultaram em 316 respostas utilizáveis. Os dados coletados, tratados pela regressão linear hierárquica, revelaram que a inovação verde proativa modera a relação entre a gestão da cadeia de suprimentos e desempenho. Esse resultado evidenciou que as empresas do ramo químico têm despertado para a gestão da cadeia de suprimentos verde com atitudes que vão além daquelas regulamentares, por meio da integração de ações verdes para a melhoria do desempenho ambiental.
Optimistic Suburbia, building an heritage
Authors: Vaz Milheiro Ana
Published: November 2016

Between the 1960s and 1980s Luanda, Lisbon and Macao saw the emergence of a number of residential complexes that had a shared matrix: privately developed high-rise buildings aimed at the middle-classes and located on the periphery. The three cities had different urban histories, even if they were united by the common denominator of being under Portuguese political and administrative control. Lisbon was a European capital made up of successive strata and occupation phases with ancient and mediaeval predecessors. Luanda was an old outpost on the west coast of Southern Africa that gradually took on the status of main city in Angola in the course of the 19th century and, in 1960, was in an ongoing process of rapid population growth and was expanding through its many areas of informal occupation. And Macao, an Asian city within the confines of a peninsula and the boundaries that separated it from continental China, was in a process of self-renewal and permanent reutilization of the space, with the urban transformation processes being characterized by a speed that set it apart from the conventional European city. It is in this context of diversity of backgrounds and conditions that an analysis of these residential complexes takes on particular importance, by applying residential models with a common urban, architectural and social matrix. This article stems for a wider research project entitled “Homes for the biggest number: Lisbon, Luanda, Macao” and its main intent is to analyze the residential models that were applied in the construction of the peripheries of cities with a Portuguese background from the 1960s onwards, and its current state in an historical and patrimonial perspectives.
O espaço do olhar
Authors: Costa Alexandre Alves
Published: November 2016

O título geral que dei a este texto foi “O espaço do olhar” (fig. 1), que me servirá de pretexto para falar de arquitetura, do homem, da paisagem e da multiplicidade e complexidade de que se reveste o nosso exercício disciplinar. Selecionei alguns trabalhos que vos vou apresentar: Castelo Velho em Freixo de Numão, Santa Clara-a-Velha, em Coimbra, uma pequena Torre/Biblioteca no Campus de Azurém em Guimarães, Lavadouro Público e Museu na Afurada todos em coautoria com Sergio Fernandez.
El proyecto PHI. Patrimonio Histórico+cultural Iberoamericano.
Authors: De Gamón María Estévez , Montoya Joaquín Ibáñez
Published: November 2016

This is PHI: Ibero-American Cultural and Historic Heritage.The PHI project focuses on developing an innovative global information system to research and study of the cultural legacy of the Hispanic-Portuguese. It is based on two hypotheses: getting the most out of the capabilities of a permanently critical and innovative University world and the design of an instrument with cutting-edge technology to use in our present time.The PHI network: a number of universities coordinated in a homogeneous effort, making use of the present potential of iberoamerican countries, through a collective programming along with local specialized public institutions. This potential can reveal unknown opportunities such as enhance gender equality, improvements in the environment, in city and land planning, and help in the decision-making process. It is a tool of social transformation. A methodology competitive in technology, pursuing improvements in governance, and of focused issues.  The PHI platform: an advanced technological system able to manage more efficiently the large inventory of cases collected by academics. As facilitator of teaching innovation, it intends, through the visibility of information, to link researchers, media and ways to do with non-formal and informal social levels of Cultural heritage.
Integrity amidst Schizophrenia
Authors: Carvalho Jorge
Published: November 2016

The fire, in 1988, that burned to the ground 14 buildings of Chiado, one of the areas in the 18th century Pombaline master plan for Lisbon downtown, created an unpredicted break in the history of this city. Álvaro Siza´s plan for the reconstruction of Chiado, seeks to preserve, through architecture, the cultural value of this area and to solve previously accumulated problems.The article reviews the approach and the methodology of the reconstruction plan, using the drawings and the built work itself as the main source.After a short description of the burned architectural heritage, it analyses how the reconstruction process includes a methodology that is specifically architectural and that unfolds into five dimensions: the adequacy of the design of the new urban elements to the Pombaline architecture; the ongoing concern with the possible continuity of the social fabric; the adequacy of the buildings brief to their spatial structure and to urban character; the conservation of the existing the construction system whenever possible and the careful integration of new construction systems where necessary; and, finally, the evolution of detailed solutions without caricaturing the earlier ones.In its last section, the article analyses the topicality of the process of Chiado reconstruction against recent urban rehabilitation trends.
Disease Phobia in Patients with Temporomandibular Joint Pain Assessed by the Illness Attitude Scale
Authors: Stavrianos Christos , Kafas Panagiotis , Jerjes Waseem , Upile Tahwinder , Stavrianou Irene , Nazaroglou Ioannis , Kafas Georgios
Published: November 2016

Disease phobia refers to a psychological state when the person continuously thinks that he/she is sick and improvement from the condition is impossible. Disease phobia in patients suffering from pain, secondary to temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), is usually the consequence of long-term problems; diagnosis and treatment of this group is a real challenge for healthcare professionals. Aim: The purpose of this prospective study was to objectively evaluate the role of Illness Attitude Scale (Kellner or IAS) in measuring cancerophobia and heart disease phobia in patients suffering from pain, as a consequence of TMDs. Subjects and Methods: The cohort included 22 patients with TMDs who underwent evaluation of these phobias; pain was acute in 7 and chronic in 15. The patients were asked to complete the “Kellner” questionnaire, and this was followed by full clinical examination of the temporomandibular region. Results: When measuring the correlation between the cancerophobia and heart disease phobia patients, the outcome was found significant in the total cohort, p<0.01. Comparisons were carried out in the chronic group (n=15) and was significant (p=0.034 and r=0.549); while in the acute group no significance was identified. Conclusion: Cancerophobia and heart disease phobia in TMD patients are factors that need to be taken in consideration when managing chronic pain in this group.
Long‐term exercise in mice has sex‐dependent benefits on body composition and metabolism during aging
Authors: McMullan Rachel C. , Kelly Scott A. , Hua Kunjie , Buckley Brian K. , Faber James E. , Pardo‐Manuel de Villena Fernando , Pomp Daniel
Published: November 2016

Aging is associated with declining exercise and unhealthy changes in body composition. Exercise ameliorates certain adverse age‐related physiological changes and protects against many chronic diseases. Despite these benefits, willingness to exercise and physiological responses to exercise vary widely, and long‐term exercise and its benefits are difficult and costly to measure in humans. Furthermore, physiological effects of aging in humans are confounded with changes in lifestyle and environment. We used C57BL/6J mice to examine long‐term patterns of exercise during aging and its physiological effects in a well‐controlled environment. One‐year‐old male (n = 30) and female (n = 30) mice were divided into equal size cohorts and aged for an additional year. One cohort was given access to voluntary running wheels while another was denied exercise other than home cage movement. Body mass, composition, and metabolic traits were measured before, throughout, and after 1 year of treatment. Long‐term exercise significantly prevented gains in body mass and body fat, while preventing loss of lean mass. We observed sex‐dependent differences in body mass and composition trajectories during aging. Wheel running (distance, speed, duration) was greater in females than males and declined with age. We conclude that long‐term exercise may serve as a preventive measure against age‐related weight gain and body composition changes, and that mouse inbred strains can be used to characterize effects of long‐term exercise and factors (e.g. sex, age) modulating these effects. These findings will facilitate studies on relationships between exercise and health in aging populations, including genetic predisposition and genotype‐by‐environment interactions.
Glucocorticoids increase skeletal muscle NF‐κB inducing kinase (NIK): links to muscle atrophy
Authors: Fry Christopher S. , Nayeem Syed Z. , Dillon Edgar L. , Sarkar Partha S. , Tumurbaatar Batbayar , Urban Randall J. , Wright Traver J. , Sheffield‐Moore Melinda , Tilton Ronald G. , Choudhary Sanjeev
Published: November 2016

Glucocorticoids (GC) are a frontline therapy for numerous acute and chronic diseases because of their demonstrated efficacy at reducing systemic inflammation. An unintended side effect of GC therapy is the stimulation of skeletal muscle atrophy. Pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for GC‐induced skeletal muscle atrophy have been extensively investigated, and the ability to treat patients with GC without unintended muscle atrophy has yet to be realized. We have reported that a single, standard‐of‐care dose of Methylprednisolone increases in vivo expression of NF‐κB‐inducing kinase (NIK), an important upstream regulatory kinase controlling NF‐κB activation, along with other key muscle catabolic regulators such as Atrogin‐1 and MuRF1 that induce skeletal muscle proteolysis. Here, we provide experimental evidence that overexpressing NIK by intramuscular injection of recombinant human NIK via adenoviral vector in mouse tibialis anterior muscle induces a 30% decrease in the average fiber cross‐sectional area that is associated with increases in mRNA expression of skeletal muscle atrophy biomarkers MuRF1, Atrogin‐1, myostatin and Gadd45. A single injection of GC induced NIK mRNA and protein within 2 h, with the increased NIK localized to nuclear and sarcolemmal locations within muscle fibers. Daily GC injections induced skeletal muscle fore limb weakness as early as 3 days with similar atrophy of muscle fibers as observed with NIK overexpression. NIK overexpression in primary human skeletal muscle myotubes increased skeletal muscle atrophy biomarkers, while NIK knockdown significantly attenuated GC‐induced increases in NIK and Atrogin‐1. These results suggest that NIK may be a novel, previously unrecognized mediator of GC‐induced skeletal muscle atrophy.
Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller and
Feasible Path Planning for Autonomous Robots
Authors: Minh Vu Trieu
Published: November 2016

This paper develops the nonlinear model predictive
control (NMPC) algorithm to control autonomous
robots tracking feasible paths generated directly from the
nonlinear dynamic equations.NMPC algorithm can secure
the stability of this dynamic system by imposing additional
conditions on the open loop NMPC regulator. The
NMPC algorithm maintains a terminal constrained region
to the origin and thus, guarantees the stability of the nonlinear
system. Simulations show that the NMPC algorithm
can minimize the path tracking errors and control the autonomous
robots tracking exactly on the feasible paths
subject to the system’s physical constraints.
Substrate processing in intramembrane proteolysis by γ-secretase – the role of protein dynamics
Authors: Langosch Dieter , Steiner Harald
Published: November 2016

Intramembrane proteases comprise a number of different membrane proteins with different types of catalytic sites. Their common denominator is cleavage within the plane of the membrane, which usually results in peptide bond scission within the transmembrane helices of their substrates. Despite recent progress in the determination of high-resolution structures, as illustrated here for the γ-secretase complex and its substrate C99, it is still unknown how these enzymes function and how they distinguish between substrates and non-substrates. In principle, substrate/non-substrate discrimination could occur at the level of substrate binding and/or cleavage. Focusing on the γ-secretase/C99 pair, we will discuss recent observations suggesting that global motions within a substrate transmembrane helix may be much more important for defining a substrate than local unraveling at cleavage sites.
Mechanisms of action of Rab proteins, key regulators of intracellular vesicular transport
Authors: Goody Roger Sidney , Müller Matthias Philipp , Wu Yao-Wen
Published: November 2016

Our understanding of the manner in which Rab proteins regulate intracellular vesicular transport has progressed remarkably in the last one or two decades by application of a wide spectrum of biochemical, biophysical and cell biological methods, augmented by the methods of chemical biology. Important additional insights have arisen from examination of the manner in which certain bacteria can manipulate vesicular transport mechanisms. The progress in these areas is summarized here.
Existence of Solutions for Schrödinger–Kirchhoff Type Problems Involving Nonlocal Elliptic Operators
Authors: Xiang Mingqi , Yang Zhengquan
Published: November 2016

The aim of this paper is to establish the existence of nonnegative solutions for a class of Schrödinger–Kirchhoff type problems driven by nonlocal integro-differential operators, that is,
$$\begin{align*}&M\left(\mathop{\iint_{\mathbb{R}^{2N}}}|u(x)-u(y)|^pK(x-y)dxdy,\int_{\mathbb{R}^N}V(x)|u|^pdx\right)\\&\kern10pt \left(\mathcal{L}_Ku+V(x)|u|^{p-2}u\right)\\&=G\left(\mathop{\iint_{\mathbb{R}^{2N}}}|u(x)-u(y)|^pK(x-y)dxdy,\int_{\mathbb{R}^N}V(x)|u|^pdx\right)\nonumber\\&\kern11pt f(x,u)+h(x)\ \ \ \ {\rm in}\ \mathbb{R}^N,\end{align*}$$

where $\mathcal{L}_K$ is a nonlocal integro-differential operator with singular kernel $K:\mathbb{R}^N\,\backslash\,\{0\}\rightarrow(0,\infty)$, $M,G$ are two nonnegative continuous functions on $(0,\infty)\times(0,\infty)$, $V\in C(\mathbb{R}^N,\mathbb{R}^+)$, $h:\mathbb{R}^N\rightarrow (0,\infty)$ is a measurable function and $f:\mathbb{R}^N\times\mathbb{R}\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ is a Carathéodory function. Employing several nonvariational techniques, we prove various results of existence of nonnegative solutions. The main feature of this paper is that the Kirchhoff function $M$ can be zero at zero and the problem is not variational in nature.
Antiplasmodial activity of the ethanolic root bark extract of Icacina senegalensis in mice infected by Plasmodium berghei
Authors: Akuodor Godwin C. , Essien David-Oku , Nkorroh Julie A. , Essien Augustine D. , Nkanor Effiong E. , Ezeunala Mercy N. , Chilaka Kingsley C.
Published: November 2016

Background:

The root of Icacina senegalensis is used for the treatment of malaria and related conditions in southeastern Nigeria.

Methods:

To establish its efficacy, the ethanolic root bark extract was investigated as antiplasmodial agent against Plasmodium berghei in mice. A 4-day suppressive test and the curative effect against established infection models of antiplasmodial studies were used.

Results:

The root bark extract of I. senegalensis (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) exhibited a significant (p<0.05) dose-dependent activity against the parasite based on suppressive and curative study. The antimalarial effect of I. senegalensis is compared with that of chloroquine (10 mg/kg), the standard drug. The ethanolic root bark extract also prolonged the survival time of infected mice.

Conclusions:

The results showed that the root bark extract possesses a potential antiplasmodial activity, which can be exploited for the possible development of new antimalarial agent.
Salivary flow rate, buffer capacity, and urea concentration in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Saes Busato Ivana Maria , Antoni Carlos Cesar De , Calcagnotto Thiago , Ignácio Sérgio Aparecido , Azevedo-Alanis Luciana Reis
Published: November 2016

Background:

The objective of the study was to analyze salivary flow rate, urea concentration, and buffer capacity in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (type 1 DM) in two different stages.

Methods:

This study was performed on adolescents (14–19 years), allocated between two groups: type 1 DM group comprised 32 adolescents with type 1 DM, and non-type 1 DM group comprised 32 nondiabetics. The adolescents in type 1 DM group were evaluated at a baseline (T0) and after 15 months (T1), and those in non-type 1 DM group were only evaluated at T0. Diabetic status was determined by glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb) and capillary glucose tests. Measurement of salivary flow was performed by means of stimulated saliva (SSFR) collection. The buffer capacity (BC) was determined, and analysis of urea salivary concentration was performed using the colorimetric method.

Results:

At T0, there were significant differences between diabetics and nondiabetics for SSFR and BC (p<0.05). In diabetics, SSFR was 0.790 mL/min in T0 and 0.881 mL/min in T1 (p>0.05). BC at T0 was 4.8, and at T1, it was 3.9 (p=0.000). Urea concentration mean value had a significant decrease at T1 (28.13) compared with T0 (34.88) (p=0.013). There was a negative correlation between SSFR and urea salivary concentration at both T0 (r=−0.426, p≤0.05) and T1 (r=−0.601, p≤0.01).

Conclusions:

In adolescents with type 1 DM, hyposalivation at T0 was associated with an increase in urea salivary concentration. At T1, hyposalivation was associated with a reduction in BC, and an increase in salivary urea.
Central diabetes insipidus: clinical profile that suggests organicity in Peruvian children: Lima – Peru 2001–2013
Authors: De los Santos Miguel Angel , Águila Carlos Manuel Del , Rojas Maria Isabel , Falen Juan Manuel , Nuñez Oswaldo , Chávez Eliana Manuela , Espinoza Oscar Antonio , Pinto Paola Marianella , Calagua Martha Rosario
Published: November 2016

Background:

Central diabetes insipidus (CDI) is a heterogeneous disease caused by arginine vasopressin deficiency; its management implies a profound understanding of the pathophysiology and the clinical spectrum. The aim of the study was to describe the clinical characteristics that indicate organicity in children and adolescents with central diabetes insipidus treated at the Department of Endocrinology from The Child Health’s Institute during 2001 to 2013.

Methods:

Cross-sectional, retrospective study. 79 cases of patients diagnosed with CDI (51 males and 28 females) from 1 month to 16 years of age were reviewed. For the descriptive analysis, measures of central tendency and dispersion were used; groups of organic and idiopathic CDI were compared using χ

Results:

The average age of patients was 8.1±4.2 years. Organic causes were intracranial tumors, 44 (55.7%), Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), 11 (13.9%) and cerebral malformations in 7 (8.9%) patients, while the idiopathic group was 14 (17.7%) patients. Regarding clinical characteristics suggestive of organicity, headache (p=0.02) and visual disturbances (p=0.01) were found statistically significant. The anterior pituitary hormonal abnormalities were documented in 34 (52.3%) organic CDI patients. Furthermore, we did not find a significant difference in the average daily dose of desmopressin between patients with permanent vs. transitory CDI (0.81±0.65 vs. 0.59±0.62; p=0.363).

Conclusions:

The main clinical features suggestive of organicity in pediatric patients with central diabetes insipidus were headache and visual disturbances; furthermore, anterior pituitary hormonal abnormalities suggest an underlying organic etiology.
Advanced characterizations of nanoparticles for drug delivery: investigating their properties through the techniques used in their evaluations
Authors: Mahmood Syed , Mandal Uttam Kumar , Chatterjee Bappaditya , Taher Muhammad
Published: November 2016

Nanomedicine has achieved a huge success in delivering a wide variety of drug molecules into the target site of the body. In this respect, the characterization of nanoformulation is very important to investigate the drug molecule together with its carrier as a nanoform during formulation, storage, and in vivo transport through the body. This review article summarizes important advanced characterization techniques of nanoformulation with respect to their theories, use of required instrumental parameters, sample preparation techniques, data interpretation, etc., to exploit them for the best possible results. This review article also sheds a glimpse to the shortcomings of these techniques together with further advancements required in future.
A review of heavy metals in indoor dust and its human health-risk implications
Authors: Tan Sock Yin , Praveena Sarva Mangala , Abidin Emilia Zainal , Cheema Manraj Singh
Published: November 2016

Indoor dust acts as a media for heavy metal deposition. Past studies have shown that heavy metal concentration in indoor dust is affected by local human activities and atmospheric transport can have harmful effects on human health. Additionally, children are more sensitive to heavy metals due to their hand-to-mouth behaviour and rapid body development. However, limited information on health risks were found in past dust studies as these studies aimed to identify heavy metal concentrations and sources of indoor dust. The objective of this review is to discuss heavy metal concentration and sources influencing its concentration in indoor dust. Accordingly, high lead (Pb) concentration (639.10 μg/g) has been reported in heavy traffic areas. In addition, this review paper aims to estimate the health risk to children from heavy metals in indoor dust via multiple exposure pathways using the health-risk assessment (HRA). Urban areas and industrial sites have revealed high heavy metal concentration in comparison to rural areas. Hazard index (HI) values found in arsenic (As), chromium (Cr) and Pb were 21.30, 1.10 and 2.40, respectively, indicate that non-carcinogenic elements are found in children. Furthermore, most of the past studies have found that carcinogenic risks for As, cadmium (Cd), Cr and Pb were below the acceptable total lifetime cancer risk (TLCR) range (1×10−6–1×10−4). The results of health risk assessment in this review show that carcinogenic risk exists among children. Hence, this proves that future studies need to focus on children’s carcinogenic risk in indoor dust studies in order to find out the sources of heavy metals in indoor dust. This review highlights the importance of having the HRA application using bioavailable heavy metal concentration as it provides more accurate health-risk estimation. Moreover, this review is also useful as a reference for policy decision making in protecting children’s health.
Intertextualität und Interritualität als Mimesis
Authors: Kreinath Jens
Published: November 2016

Ziel dieses Aufsatzes ist es, den ästhetischen Zusammenhang von Texten und Ritualen und deren Rolle in den interreligiösen Beziehungen unter Juden, Christen und Muslimen zu erforschen. Dabei wird der Schwerpunkt nicht auf Texte, sondern Rituale gelegt. Der Begriff der Mimesis wird eingeführt, um die Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede in interreligiösen Beziehungen zu bestimmen, und dabei in Repräsentation, Imitation und Simulation differenziert, um die verschiedenen Ebenen von interreligiösen Austauchprozessen in historischer wie ethnographischer Perspektive herauszuarbeiten. Interritualität und Intertextualität werden dabei religionsästhetisch aufeinander bezogen, um die Dynamiken interreligiöser Beziehungen für die Gegenwart wie Vergangenheit zu rekonstruieren. Diesem religionsästhetischen Forschungsansatz werden Feldforschungsdaten zu den interreligiösen Beziehungen unter Juden, Christen und Muslimen in Hatay, der südlichsten Provinz der Türkei an der syrischen Grenze, zugrundegelegt.
Quine and the Problem of Truth
Authors: Schwartz Joshua
Published: November 2016

Widespread deflationistic readings of Quine misrepresent his view of disquotation’s significance and the truth predicate’s utility. I demonstrate this by answering a question that philosophers have not directly addressed: how does Quine understand the philosophical problem of truth? A primary thesis of this paper is that we can answer this question only by working from within Quine’s naturalistic framework. Drawing on neglected texts from Quine's corpus, I defend the view that, for Quine, the problem of truth emerges from the development of science, in particular, from logical theorizing. I show that disquotation itself, from this Quinean point of view, is the problematic phenomenon calling for philosophical reflection. I conclude by arguing that Quine does not envisage the kind of explanatory role for disquotation taken up by contemporary deflationists, and he shows no interest in the task that animates deflationism, namely, to show that concerns with truth’s nature are fundamentally confused.
Carpento certe: Conveying Gender in Roman Transportation
Authors: Hudson Jared
Published: November 2016

This article analyzes the prominent role played by a particular vehicle, the matronly carriage (carpentum), in the construction of Roman gender. Its focus is on the conveyance’s two most significant appearances in literary representation. First, I examine the various accounts of the vehicle’s best-known and most dramatic tableau, Tullia’s use of a carpentum to drive over her dead father king Servius Tullius’ body, arguing that the conveyance functions to articulate the cultural anxiety surrounding the passage from daughter to wife. I suggest that the story of Tullia’s carpentum, as a quasi-mythic exemplum of “feminine transportation,” looms as a dangerous threat in need of accommodation. Next, I examine the story of the Roman matrons’ demonstration in favor of the repeal of the lex Oppia, which had prohibited, among other things, their right to ride in carpenta. I argue that the accounts of Livy and others seek to offer a solution to the challenge posed by the physically protesting women by redefining their vehicular mobility as state-authorized, and as directly tied to their reproductive function. Thus, while Latin literature often articulates urban traffic as a familiarly frustrating system of obstacles, my analysis uncovers a contrasting Roman discourse, one that identifies traffic with the fertility of the city and its ability to reproduce Roman citizens.
Archives, Performance, and Resistance in Uruguayan Art Under Dictatorship
Authors: Giunta Andrea
Published: November 2016

This essay analyzes the 1983 installation Sal-si-puedes by Uruguayan artist Nelbia Romero, and its status as an act of resistance, in light of the dictatorship then in power in her country.
The “Peasant Problem” and Time in Contemporary Chinese Art
Authors: Yi Gu
Published: November 2016

This article examines the time-based artworks involving peasants as participants, coworkers, and fellow artists that were created by Chinese artists during the first decade of the millennium. These works bring into relief China’s postsocialist reality and socialist legacy, offering a unique perspective on the politics of time in global contemporary art.
Imagined Heritage
Authors: Stoutamire William F.
Published: November 2016

While the national monuments have long been considered the product of federal preservation efforts, this article explores the dynamic relationship between pothunters, boosters, and preservationists on the local stage. It argues that local and regional communities like Flagstaff, Arizona, played an important role in early efforts to promote and protect many western cultural resources. Adopting an imagined heritage and sense of history, Flagstaff’s residents powerfully and effectively advocated for the preservation of the Walnut Canyon cliff dwellings. Yet this imagined heritage was also a form of cultural appropriation, setting the stage for the decades-long exclusion of Native voices from the conversation.
“White People Like Hiking”
Authors: Schiavo Laura Burd
Published: November 2016

For the past few decades there have been repeated calls from within and without the National Park Service for more inclusive interpretation in the park system. Concurrently there has been great concern about the lack of diversity among visitors to Park Service units. The 2009 Comprehensive Survey of the American Public, repeatedly cited in the popular press, reported that recent visitors to a Park Service unit were “disproportionately” “white, non-Hispanic.” This paper looks to problematize this survey and its conclusions that concern for the environment is predominantly white, that attendance at NPS sites is tantamount to national belonging, and that future support for NPS is threatened as the United States becomes majority nonwhite. The paper also looks to question the link between the racial and ethnic identity of visitors and “relevant” interpretation.
Why Administrative Histories Matter
Authors: Zenzen Joan M.
Published: November 2016

This article chronicles the history of administrative histories within the National Park Service. Administrative histories describe the history of a site or a group of parks. They can be important resources for management decisions. Managers, however, often do not know about or pay attention to these documents. Some managers have even threatened the intellectual integrity of these histories. Despite these issues, administrative histories matter: they fill an acute need by park superintendents and others to inform decision making and help with reporting and preservation.
Pulling from Outside, Pushing from Inside
Authors: Whisnant Anne Mitchell , Miller Marla R.
Published: November 2016

In 2011, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) released Imperiled Promise: The State of History in the National Park Service, a multi-year team-authored study commissioned by the NPS Chief Historian. The study offered twelve findings assessing strengths and challenges facing history practice across the agency, and made almost one hundred recommendations that aimed to support that work. The report’s fifth anniversary offers an opportunity to review how Imperiled Promise’s proposals have fared. We find that, although the report has been positively received and many of its perspectives and specific suggestions embraced, the persistent structural issues it identified continue to hinder full realization of the parks’ promise. The OAH, National Council on Public History (NCPH), American Historical Association (AHA), and other professional associations, as well as their members, must continue to advocate strongly and consistently for NPS history.
4‐Aminopyridine promotes functional recovery and remyelination in acute peripheral nerve injury
Authors: Tseng Kuang‐Ching , Li Haiyan , Clark Andrew , Sundem Leigh , Zuscik Michael , Noble Mark , Elfar John
Published: November 2016

Traumatic peripheral nerve damage is a major medical problem without effective treatment options. In repurposing studies on 4‐aminopyridine (4‐AP), a potassium channel blocker that provides symptomatic relief in some chronic neurological afflictions, we discovered this agent offers significant promise as a small molecule regenerative agent for acute traumatic nerve injury. We found, in a mouse model of sciatic crush injury, that sustained early 4‐AP administration increased the speed and extent of behavioral recovery too rapidly to be explained by axonal regeneration. Further studies demonstrated that 4‐AP also enhanced recovery of nerve conduction velocity, promoted remyelination, and increased axonal area post‐injury. We additionally found that 4‐AP treatment enables distinction between incomplete and complete lesions more rapidly than existing approaches, thereby potentially addressing the critical challenge of more effectively distinguishing injured individuals who may require mutually exclusive treatment approaches. Thus, 4‐AP singularly provides both a new potential therapy to promote durable recovery and remyelination in acute peripheral nerve injury and a means of identifying lesions in which this therapy would be most likely to be of value.