bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mixed Arabic as a Subversive Literary Style
Authors: Pepe Teresa
Published: September 2019

The chapter shows how bloggers mix of elements drawn from high and low varieties (Mixed Arabic) and foreign languages to develop new literary styles. It adopts Deleuze and Guattari’s theory of ‘minor literature’ (1983) to illuminate the subversive nature of bloggers’ literary practices. The concept of ‘minority’ sheds light on the collective and political value of this literature, as it is produced by writers who publish their personal life-stories on the Internet to distance themselves from mainstream, state-owned media, to connect with each other and push the boundaries for freedom of expression. Besides, ‘minority’ allows to understand the use of mixed varieties of Arabic as a ‘deterritorialized language’, that is, a new, subversive literary style coined by a young generation of writers who feels alienated in respect to the national standardized written language. This chapter is based on the analysis of the six blogs chosen as case studies, but it includes examples drawn from the larger sample of blogs. It combines theories drawn from sociolinguistics and literary studies. Furthermore, it shows some examples of editorial choices made concerning this style when blogs are turned into books.
Bytes of Freedom: Fictionalised Bodies in the Egyptian Blogosphere
Authors: Pepe Teresa
Published: September 2019

This chapter focuses on the main contents and themes developed in the blog. Here, the body is identified as the recurring theme in blogger’s identity construction. Indeed, the blog is conceived as an attempt at recollecting the scattered pieces of the body, as it allows the description of feelings and emotions, which are considered the true attributes of one’s individuality. At the same time, the body is re-imagined in the forms of animals, objects, Egyptian goddesses and small children, as a means of taking refuge from the constraints of daily reality. While autofictional authors worldwide are often accused of exhibitionism and narcissism, the study argues that for these Egyptian bloggers, writing the body is political because it displays in public how power is imposed on their bodies. The chapter also elaborates on the fact that writing the body on the blog was conducive to the exposure of the body in the 25th January uprising, as evidenced by the mobilisation for Khaled Said’s (Khālid Saʿīd) murder at the hands of the police, the public discussions on sexual harassment, and Aliaa al-Mahdi’s (ʿAlyāʿal-Mahdī) nude pictures on her blog Mudhakkirat Thaʾira (A Rebel’s Diary, 2011–).
Blogging a Revolution: From Utopia to Dystopia
Authors: Pepe Teresa
Published: September 2019

The chapter discusses the relation between these blogs and the events of the 25th January uprising. It recounts how bloggers imagined a revolution in their writing long before the actual political events of 2011; how they relate to the uprisings in their blog; how blogs have evolved in the years after 2011, and what is left of the blog in Arabic literary production. Here it shows that blogging continues to be an important phenomenon in the Arab world, even though blogging practices have changed following the spread of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. In addition, the blog continues to impact Arabic print literature, in terms of young authors’ access to the literary field, their experimentation with language and genre, and the importance of the visual. The novel Istikhdam al-Haya (Using Life, 2014) by Ahmed Naji, mentioned before, and Youssef Rakha’s novel Bawlu (Paulo, 2016) are analysed to discuss the link between the blog, the dystopic novel and new literary styles in Egypt.
Global Justice and Climate Governance
Authors: Dietzel Alix
Published: September 2019

This book evaluates the global response to climate change from a cosmopolitan justice perspective. Going above and beyond existing studies, Alix Dietzel neatly illustrates that climate justice theory can be used to normatively assess and compare both state (multilateral) and non-state (transnational) climate change governance – in other words, that theory and practice can be bridged. Investigating the role of states, cities, corporations, and non-governmental organisations in the post-Paris Agreement era, Dietzel provides fresh insight into the ‘big picture’ of climate change (mis)management and the injustices that come along with it. These insights allow her to make recommendations for change that should be of keen interest to climate justice scholars and climate governance practitioners alike.
Introduction
Authors: Dietzel Alix
Published: September 2019

The Introduction sets out the main aims of the book: make sense of the lack of proper response to climate change – focusing on what has gone wrong, what has gone right, and what might change now that the Paris Agreement has been ratified. After this has been set out, the Introduction provides a brief overview of the climate change problem. Next, the Introduction defends the use of a cosmopolitan approach and comments on existing cosmopolitan research, to explain how this book relates to and contributes to current work on the subject. Finally, the Introduction outlines what is to come in the remainder of the book.
The Scope of Climate Justice
Authors: Dietzel Alix
Published: September 2019

Chapter One defines the scope of climate justice. Defining the scope of justice is an essential part of any global justice account, because doing so clarifies who must be included in considerations of justice, or in other words, how wide the net of justice should be cast. The chapter considers the merits of a non-relational versus relational approach to climate justice and argues that both relational and non-relational elements are necessary to include the two key groups of victims of climate change in the scope of justice: future generations and those living in less developed countries. In this way, the chapter defends, and begins to develop, a climate justice account that includes both relational and non-relational elements. This account is further developed in Chapter Two, which defines the non-relational grounds of climate justice, and Chapter Three, which applies the mixed position in order to develop three demands of climate justice.
Conclusion
Authors: Dietzel Alix
Published: September 2019

The Conclusion of the book focuses on the lessons that can be learned from the bridging of theory and practice. More specifically, the Conclusion considers how transnational and multilateral responses compare, and explains that state and non-state actors face very similar problems, including the ongoing struggle to lower greenhouse gas emissions at the rate required, the entrenched favouring of mitigation over adaptation, the pervasive exclusion of less developed countries from decision making processes, and the incessant failure to change the behaviour of responsible actors. These shared problems imply that integrating transnational climate change actors in multilateral processes, which the Post-Paris Agreement regime is moving towards, may not be a simple or straightforward improvement of the climate change response. The Conclusion therefore reflects on whether the direction the Post-Paris regime is heading in might be a hindrance to a just response to the climate change problem, rather than a help. The Conclusion ultimately recommends that transnational actors should be given as much space as possible to pursue their ambitions, with limited guidance from the UNFCCC.
Katherine Mansfield and Periodical Culture
Authors: Mourant Chris
Published: September 2019

Katherine Mansfield’s contemporaries knew her primarily as a contributor to magazines and periodicals. In 1922, for instance, Wyndham Lewis described her as ‘the famous New Zealand Mag.-story writer’. This book provides the first in-depth study of Mansfield’s engagement in periodical culture, examining her contributions to the political weekly The New Age, the avant-garde little magazine Rhythm and the literary journal The Athenaeum. Reading these writings against the editorial strategies and professional cultures of each periodical, Chris Mourant situates Mansfield’s work within networks of production and uncovers the many ways in which she engaged with the writings of others and responded to the political, aesthetic and social contexts of early twentieth-century periodical culture. By examining Mansfield’s ambivalent position as a colonial woman writer working both within and against the London literary establishment, in particular, this book provides a new perspective on Mansfield as a ‘colonial-metropolitan modernist’ and proto-postcolonial writer.
The Athenaeum: ‘Wanted, a New Word’ (World)
Authors: Mourant Chris
Published: September 2019

Between April 1919 and December 1920, Mansfield found her voice as a literary critic, publishing over a hundred reviews under the initials ‘K.M.’ in the literary journal The Athenaeum, edited by John Middleton Murry. In her reviews, Mansfield linked the ‘new word’ of modernist formal experimentation with the spatial imaginary of an ‘undiscovered country’ or ‘new world’, a critical vocabulary formulated in response to the disintegration and ‘spiritual crisis’ of the First World War. The chapter positions Mansfield’s work in relation to writings by D. H. Lawrence and Murry, before tracing a dialogue between her reviews and Virginia Woolf’s critical writings in the years 1919–20. The chapter highlights the ways in which both Mansfield and Woolf privileged deep ‘emotion’ as the basis for a modernist ‘new word’.
Kopple’s Work within the Changing Documentary Business Ecology
Authors: Aufderheide Patricia
Published: September 2019

Barbara Kopple has both worked within, and helped to shape, a changing documentary environment. This chapter discusses the changing options and creative solutions Kopple has faced in funding and distributing her work. The independent documentary scene Kopple first encountered involved being funded primarily through government agencies and private foundations and distributed in theatres and on public television. She went on to explore relationships with major network television networks (e.g. Homicide) and cable outlets. She has developed a substantial body of work in sponsored documentaries, profiling organizations and people with whom she politically or socially has some kind of affinity. Throughout, she has been able to maintain relationships and exploit existing markets while exploring new ones. The chapter examines how her career also tracks the changing conditions for independent documentary filmmakers.
Exposing the Lethal Gaze in Shut Up & Sing! and Running from Crazy
Authors: Baron Jaimie
Published: September 2019

This chapter examines Shut Up and Sing! and Running from Crazy to consider the ways in which Kopple’s use of archival footage contributes to the construction of biography. It poses the question of what recordings of a person from different—but always selective—moments in their lives may tell us about what it means to represent an individual and a life through recorded traces. In these two films, Kopple trains her eye on women who have lived in the media spotlight and draws on existing recordings of them in order to try to understand how the cameras that previously recorded them have helped shape the course of their lives. In doing so, the chapter explores how she reveals something about the gaze of those cameras, the ways in which their act of recording has had lethal—or at least menacing—effects on their subjects.
Kopple and her Critics
Authors: Brown Gregory
Published: September 2019

Barbara Kopple’s considerable portfolio of work has consistently garnered critical attention, both positive and negative. Through their reviews, critics reveal fundamental themes and characteristics found in her films. Among those issues explored are her commitments and abilities to expose injustice and crises, her varied approaches to covering celebrities, how successfully she hits the heart of a story, and her cultural contextualization or ability to translate the experiences of one group to another. This chapter examines the critical response to many of her films in relation to common themes and issues, and suggests that the success of her earlier, award-winning films about labour and social injustice may have influenced critical reviews of her later films such as celebrity profiles and forays into reality television.
Diasporas: Thomas Pringle and Mary Prince
Authors: McNeil Kenneth
Published: September 2019

Chapter two argues that Thomas Pringle’s experiences of exile and displacement informed his editorial contributions to The History of Mary Prince (1831), the first narrative of a black woman’s life published in Britain. While critics have looked at Pringle’s contributions to emphasize the intercultural aspects of the History and slave narratives more generally, few have attended to the transnational elements of Pringle’s own background. In 1820, the collapse of his family’s fortune forced Pringle and his family to leave Scotland and sail for the Cape Colony, where he led a party of Scottish immigrants to newly opened settlements along the frontier. Tensions with colonial officials forced Pringle to leave, and he resettled in London, where he became secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society and crossed paths with Prince. As a product of a Scottish diaspora, Pringle’s contribution manifests a partial identification with Prince, while providing its own distinct expression of dispossession..
Shakespeare's Representation of Weather, Climate and Environment
Authors: Chiari Sophie
Published: September 2019

While ecocritical approaches to literary texts receive more and more attention, climate-related issues remain fairly neglected, particularly in the field of Shakespeare studies. This monograph explores the importance of weather and changing skies in early modern England while acknowledging the fact that traditional representations and religious beliefs still fashioned people’s relations to meteorological phenomena. At the same time, a growing number of literati stood against determinism and defended free will, thereby insisting on man’s ability to act upon celestial forces. Yet, in doing so, they began to give precedence to a counter-intuitive approach to Nature. Sophie Chiari argues that Shakespeare reconciles the scholarly views of his time with more popular ideas rooted in superstition and that he promotes a sensitive, pragmatic understanding of climatic events. She pays particular attention to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Othello, King Lear, Anthony and Cleopatra, and The Tempest. Taking into account the influence of classical thought, each of the book’s seven chapters emphasises specific issues (e.g. cataclysmic disorders, the dog days’ influence, freezing temperatures, threatening storms) and considers the way climatic events were presented on stage and how they came to shape the production and reception of Shakespeare’s drama.
‘[T]he fire is grown too hot!’: Romeo and Juliet and the Dog Days
Authors: Chiari Sophie
Published: September 2019

In Romeo and Juliet (1595-96), weather and humoural determinism play a central role with the background references to the dog days that may, up to a certain extent, be held responsible for both plague and misrule so that, beyond bad luck or misfortune, the influence of the stars turns out to be preponderant in the lovers’ fate. In such a context, the play’s heavenly signs take on an importance almost equal to that of the earthly events, to the point that heat may be considered as a major actor in the tragedy. As an anagram of ‘hate’, ‘heat’ overdetermines the climate of the play. Both words foreshadow the flare up of violence in Verona, leading Romeo and Juliet to be trapped in an overall astronomical, humoural, and climatic pattern giving them virtually no chance to escape the stifling air of Verona. Besides, the chapter suggests that light and lightning, omnipresent in the tragedy, also emphasise the violence of passions and reinforce the inevitability of the lovers’ final death march inscribed in the sonnet prologue.
Power without representation is blind, representations without power are empty
Authors: Flynn Bernard
Published: September 2019

In the modern period, power can be exercised only insofar as it is represented. This chapter develops this argument by a reading of Claude Lefort's interpretation of Machiavelli’s account of the metamorphosis by which natural force is transformed into political power: its being no longer located in the body(s) of the prince but rather in a symbolic register that is not reducible to real social processes. Michel Foucault has refused this "symbolic turn" and attached himself to an older tradition that equates desymbolization with secularization. Foucault pursues his analysis in accord with a tradition of "realism” that would unmask the representations of power, both juridical and symbolic, as occulting the true operation of power on the level of the real. His analysis maps grids of power and the resistances that they engender. He views power as being exercised directly on the body, without need of representation. His radical antinomianism has led him to very questionable judgments in concrete historical situations. This chapter argues that Foucault' de-symbolization has, as is the case with Marx, issued in a denegation of the political as such, a move that one would be ill advised to follow.
Douglass, Scott and Burns
Authors: Pettinger Alasdair
Published: September 2019

Douglass was an astute reader of two major Scottish writers, Walter Scott and Robert Burns. Familiarity with the first led him to adopt a historically-resonant Scottish surname, a choice he expected audiences in Scotland to appreciate; but he also appreciated how Scott’s narratives could be used to interpret the relationships between masters and the people they enslaved. Douglass also knew Burns’ work well and visited his birthplace in Ayr. And while he went on record as a great admirer, careful analysis of his speeches and letters suggest a more ambivalent assessment, which may owe something to the poet’s own ambiguous attitudes to abolitionism. The chapter closes with reflections on why Douglass might have preferred to associate himself with the ancient ‘Black Douglas’ rather than accept the designation as the ‘black O’Connell’, heir to the contemporary Irish leader Daniel O’Connell.
Measuring Heads, Reading Faces
Authors: Pettinger Alasdair
Published: September 2019

The fourth chapter takes off from Douglass’s meeting in Edinburgh with the phrenologist George Combe in order to investigate Douglass’ complex attitudes towards mid-century racial science and visual culture. Douglass’ own suspicion of the prevailing assumption that physical appearance offered a reliable guide to character was intensified by the awareness that the novelty of his appearance was drawing audiences, already familiar with the performances of blackface minstrel troupes, which toured Scotland at the same time. It also helps to explain his willingness to overrule his Irish publisher over which portrait to use for the frontispiece of a new edition of his Narrative, after arriving in Glasgow with only a few copies left. Following the dispute in some detail, the chapter goes on to suggest why Douglass disliked the first portrait so much and took great pains to have it replaced.
Rousseau’s aporia
Authors: Prozorov Sergei
Published: September 2019

Chapter 1 revisits Rousseau’s account of the inherently problematic relation between sovereignty and government and addresses the interpretations of this account in contemporary critiques of biopolitics in the work of Badiou, Agamben and Esposito. Prozorov demonstrates that the dualism established by Rousseau between universalist popular sovereignty and particularist acts of government remains at work in contemporary critical literature on biopolitics. As an inherently particularistic mode of government, biopolitics is held to be necessarily opposed to popular sovereignty expressed in general will and can therefore only contaminate or pervert democracy.
The community of solitary walkers
Authors: Prozorov Sergei
Published: September 2019

Chapter 2 addresses a recent reinterpretation of Rousseau by Peter Sloterdijk, which prioritizes his late work The Reveries of the Solitary Walker as politically more important than the theory of sovereignty in The Social Contract. In contrast to Sloterdijk Prozorov reads these two works as by no means opposed but affirming the same thing, the sheer existence of the subject, individual or collective, subtracted from all particular predicates. It is this mode of subtractive subjectivity that Rousseau wishes to oppose to partial interests in society that perpetually threaten to corrupt the general will. Prozorov then shows how the contemporary critique of biopolitics relies on the same logic of subtraction, which necessarily leads it into the same aporia as it did Rousseau: if democracy is only conceivable through the subtraction from all particularism, it ends up unsustainable and indefensible in the face of this very particularism.
Biopower and the politics of contingency
Authors: Prozorov Sergei
Published: September 2019

Chapter 3 offers a biopolitical translation of Claude Lefort’s idea of the democratic regime as characterized by ontological contingency and epistemic indeterminacy. Lefort’s powerful image of the void at the heart of democracy is in the context of biopolitics specified in terms of the absence of any proper form of life and the affirmation of radical pluralism of contingent ways of living. This contingency is, moreover, not itself contingent but is a necessary consequence of the disarticulation of truth, power and ethics in the democratic regime. From this necessary contingency Prozorov infers the principles of freedom, equality and community that are universal conditions of legitimacy for all forms of life in a democracy.
The Emergence and Rise of Industry 4.0 Viewed through the Lens of Management Fashion Theory
Authors: Madsen Dag Øivind
Published: September 2019

The Industry 4.0 (I4.0) concept is concerned with the fourth industrial revolution in manufacturing, in which technological trends such as digitalization, automation and artificial intelligence are transforming production processes. Since the concept’s introduction at the Hannover Fair in Germany in 2011, I4.0 has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity and is currently high on the agenda of governments, politicians and business elites. In light of these observations, some commentators have asked the question of whether I4.0 is a concept that is hyped up and possibly just the latest in a long line of fashionable management concepts introduced over the course of the last few decades. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide a critical outside-in look at the emergence and rise of I4.0. Theoretically, these processes are viewed through the lens of management fashion, a theoretical perspective well suited to examinations of evolutionary trajectories of management concepts and ideas. The findings indicate that the I4.0 concept has quickly become highly popular and is dominating much of the popular management discourse. The concept has migrated out of the specialized manufacturing discourse to become a more general concept with mainstream appeal and applicability, evidenced by a multitude of neologisms such as Work 4.0 and Innovation 4.0. The numbers 4.0 have spread in a meme-like fashion, evidenced by the fact that the combination of a noun and the numbers 4.0 are used to signal and usher in discussions about the future of business and society. While there is much evidence that clearly shows that the concept has had a wide-ranging impact at the discursive level, the currently available research is less clear about what impact the concept has had so far on industries and organizations worldwide.
Sheep Quickstep while the Floor Rock and Rolls: Visuomotor Lateralization during Simulated Sea Travel
Authors: Robins Andrew , Berthoux Gabrielle , Santurtun Eduardo , Navarro Grisel , Phillips Clive J. C.
Published: September 2019

Unpredictable floor motions during transport disturbs animals’ balance, requiring stepping to move the centre of gravity in the direction of body movement. When repeated regularly, this may be stressful, requiring involvement of the right brain hemisphere, hence we investigated the existence of behavioral laterality in sheep during prolonged floor motions. Six sheep were restrained in pairs on a programmable rocking platform, in which they were unable to turn around. They were exposed to three continuous rocking motion treatments (roll, pitch or both) in a regular or irregular pattern for 1 h periods in a changeover design. Right forelimb and left hindlimb diagonal stepping was more frequent in response to the motion treatment of irregular roll and pitch, which previous research has suggested to be the most stressful from heart rate measurements. An overall strategy to maintain balance appeared to be the use of the right hindlimb as a stabilizer, which was repositioned least often of all limbs until towards the end of the hour of experimental treatment. Of each tested pair, sheep restrained on the left side of the rocking floor stepped significantly often than its partner restrained on the right side, and we postulate the existence of visuomotor lateralization as left restrained sheep were unable to view their partner within the field of view of their left eye. We also investigated which side sheep lie down on, which if left lateralized could explain our observed bipedal diagonal control of sheep balance under stress. From the observation of 412 web-based images of sheep, there was an overall left-sided laterality to their lying, as has been observed in cattle. We conclude that stepping activity in sheep in response to a motion stressor is lateralized, providing evidence that floor motion experienced in transport may induce stress responses.
Perceptions of Responsible Cat Ownership Behaviors among a Convenience Sample of Australians
Authors: Elliott Alicia , Howell Tiffani J. , McLeod Emily M. , Bennett Pauleen C.
Published: September 2019

Responsible cat ownership is important for keeping pet cats and wildlife safe. Much research investigating levels of compliance with and attitudes towards responsible cat ownership practices has focused on cat owners. Non-owner attitudes are relevant because their opinions may encourage cat-owning friends and family to engage (or not) in a cat management practice. The aim of this study was to determine levels of compliance with responsible cat ownership practices among cat owners, as well as attitudes towards those behaviors by owners and non-owners alike. An online survey was completed by 6808 people living in Australia who were recruited via companion animal or wildlife interest groups on social media. Frequency data were used to measure owner compliance with responsible cat ownership behaviors and t-tests were used to determine whether owners and non-owners differed in their attitudes towards these behaviors. Owner compliance with responsible practices ranged from 46.5% (complete cat containment all day and night) to 76.9% (cat is de-sexed). Owner attitudes towards these practices were generally more positive than the reported levels of management practices implemented for their own cat. For example, 47.3% of owners agreed or strongly agreed that cats should always be contained and 88.6% agreed that cats should be contained at night. Non-owners were more likely than owners to agree that cats should be contained during the day, but there was no difference for containment at night. Owners were more likely to report that cats should be de-sexed. These results can be used to inform campaigns aimed at increasing compliance with responsible cat ownership behaviors.
Poloidal Rotation and Edge Ion Temperature Measurements Using Spectroscopy Diagnostic on Aditya-U Tokamak
Authors: Shukla Gaurav , Chowdhuri Malay B. , Shah Kajal , Yadava Nandini , Manchanda Ranjana , Jadeja Kumarpalsinh A. , Tanna Rakesh L. , K. Balamurali Krishna Mayya , Ghosh Joydeep ,   Aditya-U Team
Published: September 2019

The impurity ion poloidal rotation and ion temperature from the Aditya-U tokamak plasma have been measured using a high-resolution spectroscopic diagnostic. It comprises of a high resolution, 1 m, f/8.7, Czerny-Turner configuration spectrometer along with charge coupled device (CCD) detector. The system monitors the spectral line emission of C2+ impurity ions at 464.74 nm from the top port of the Aditya-U vacuum vessel with the lines of sight covering the plasma minor radius from r = 11.55 cm to 21.55 cm. The impurity ion poloidal rotation velocity and temperature have been estimated using the Doppler shift and Doppler broadening of the spectral lines respectively. The maximum poloidal rotation at a radial location of 21.55 cm in the edge of the plasma during the plasma current flat top was observed to be ~4 km/s for the analyzed discharges and the ion temperatures measured in the edge were in the range of 32–40 eV.
γ-H2AX Foci Persistence at Chromosome Break Suggests Slow and Faithful Repair Phases Restoring Chromosome Integrity
Authors: Ricoul Michelle , Gnana Sekaran Tamizh Selvan , Brochard Patricia , Herate Cecile , Sabatier Laure
Published: September 2019

Many toxic agents can cause DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), which are in most cases quickly repaired by the cellular machinery. Using ionising radiation, we explored the kinetics of DNA lesion signaling and structural chromosome aberration formation at the intra- and inter-chromosomal level. Using a novel approach, the classic Premature Chromosome Condensation (PCC) was combined with γ-H2AX immunofluorescence staining in order to unravel the kinetics of DNA damage signalisation and chromosome repair. We identified an early mechanism of DNA DSB joining that occurs within the first three hours post-irradiation, when dicentric chromosomes and chromosome exchanges are formed. The slower and significant decrease of ”deleted chromosomes” and 1 acentric telomere fragments observed until 24 h post-irradiation, leads to the conclusion that a second and error-free repair mechanism occurs. In parallel, we revealed remaining signalling of γ-H2AX foci at the site of chromosome fusion long after the chromosome rearrangement formation. Moreover there is important signalling of foci on the site of telomere and sub-telomere sequences suggesting either a different function of γ-H2AX signalling in these regions or an extreme sensibility of the telomere sequences to DNA damage that remains unrepaired 24 h post-irradiation. In conclusion, chromosome repair happens in two steps, including a last and hardly detectable one because of restoration of the chromosome integrity.
Dynamic Interplay between Pericytes and Endothelial Cells during Sprouting Angiogenesis
Authors: Chiaverina Giulia , di Blasio Laura , Monica Valentina , Accardo Massimo , Palmiero Miriam , Peracino Barbara , Vara-Messler Marianela , Puliafito Alberto , Primo Luca
Published: September 2019

Vascular physiology relies on the concerted dynamics of several cell types, including pericytes, endothelial, and vascular smooth muscle cells. The interactions between such cell types are inherently dynamic and are not easily described with static, fixed, experimental approaches. Pericytes are mural cells that support vascular development, remodeling, and homeostasis, and are involved in a number of pathological situations including cancer. The dynamic interplay between pericytes and endothelial cells is at the basis of vascular physiology and few experimental tools exist to properly describe and study it. Here we employ a previously developed ex vivo murine aortic explant to study the formation of new blood capillary-like structures close to physiological situation. We develop several mouse models to culture, identify, characterize, and follow simultaneously single endothelial cells and pericytes during angiogenesis. We employ microscopy and image analysis to dissect the interactions between cell types and the process of cellular recruitment on the newly forming vessel. We find that pericytes are recruited on the developing sprout by proliferation, migrate independently from endothelial cells, and can proliferate on the growing capillary. Our results help elucidating several relevant mechanisms of interactions between endothelial cells and pericytes.
Comparison of the Timber Management Expenses of Non-Industrial Private Forest Landowners in Mississippi, United States: Results from 1995–1997 and 2015
Authors: Godar Chhetri Sagar , Gordon Jason , Munn Ian , Henderson James
Published: September 2019

Forest landowner activities change over the lifespan of the forest and ownership cycle. Patterns of change emerge which suggest the evolving nature of forest landownership and Non-industrial Private Forest (NIPF) landowners’ interest in their land. The objective of this study was to examine trends in NIPF landowners’ distribution of forestry expenses in their management activities over time. First, 2010 Mississippi NIPF landowners were randomly selected from a property tax roll list. Our analysis compared study results of Arano et al. (2002) with a 2016 survey that was conducted by the authors of this paper. Both studies drew on assessments of timber management expenditures that were conducted on behalf of a state government department of revenue to determine ad valorem taxes for forest land. As such, both studies contained similar survey questions with 12 forestry-related activities grouped into four major categories: (1) Fees for Professional Services (e.g., consulting foresters, surveyors), (2) Timber Management Expenditures (e.g., site preparation, planting), (3) Other Management Expenditures (e.g., road construction), and (4) Property Taxes. Like the 2002 article, results here are presented as descriptive statistics. In both survey cycles, Timber Management Expenditures represented the largest component of annual expenditures in both the 1990s and 2015. The largest decrease in reported expenditures occurred for Other Management Expenditures. By broadly describing differences in expenditures over time, this study provides insights into the involvement of NIPF landowners in management activities on forest land such as reforestation after final harvest, thinning, and timber stand improvement, which can impact forest products’ supply over time.
Assessing Habitat Suitability of Parasitic Plant Cistanche deserticola in Northwest China under Future Climate Scenarios
Authors: Liu Jing , Yang Yang , Wei Haiyan , Zhang Quanzhong , Zhang Xuhui , Zhang Xiaoyan , Gu Wei
Published: September 2019

Cistanche deserticola Ma, a perennial parasitic herb of family Orobanchaceae, is mainly parasitic on the roots of the Haloxylon ammodendron Bunge. In view of this special parasitic relationship, we applied random forest (RF) model to forecast potential geographic distribution, and developed a comprehensive habitat suitability model by integrating bioclimatic and soil factors to assess the suitable distribution of C. deserticola and H. ammodendron across China in 2050s and 2070s under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, respectively. We modeled the core potential geographic distribution of C. deserticola by overlaying the distribution of these two species, and analyzed the spatial distribution pattern and migration trend of C. deserticola by using the standard deviational ellipse. In addition, we evaluated the accuracy of RF model through three evaluation indexes, and analyzed the dominant climate factors. The results showed that the core potential distribution areas of C. deserticola are distributed in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the junction of Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia provinces, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The spatial dispersion would intensify with the increasing of emission scenarios, and the geographical habitat is moving towards higher latitude. Among the three evaluation indexes, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) and True Skill Statistic (TSS) have better assessment results. The main bioclimatic factors affecting the distribution are min temperature of coldest month (Bio6), annual precipitation (Bio12), precipitation of wettest month (Bio13), precipitation of wettest quarter (Bio16), and precipitation of warmest quarter (Bio18), among which the importance of precipitation factors is greater than temperature factors. More importantly, the results of this study could provide some guidance for the improvement of desert forest system, the protection of endangered species and the further improvement of the ecological environment.
Phytochemicals in Daucus carota and Their Health Benefits—Review Article
Authors: Ahmad Tanveer , Cawood Maria , Iqbal Qumer , Ariño Agustín , Batool Asmat , Tariq Rana Muhammad Sabir , Azam Muhammad , Akhtar Sajjad
Published: September 2019

Carrots are a multi-nutritional food source. They are an important root vegetable, rich in natural bioactive compounds, which are recognised for their nutraceutical effects and health benefits. This review summarises the occurrence, biosynthesis, factors affecting concentration, and health benefits of phytochemicals found in Daucus carota. Two hundred and fifty-five articles including original research papers, books, and book chapters were analysed, of which one hundred and thirty articles (most relevant to the topic) were selected for writing the review article. The four types of phytochemicals found in carrots, namely phenolics, carotenoids, polyacetylenes, and ascorbic acid, were summarised. These chemicals aid in the risk reduction of cancer and cardiovascular diseases due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, plasma lipid modification, and anti-tumour properties. Numerous factors influence the amount and type of phytochemicals present in carrots. Genotype (colour differences) plays an important role; high contents of α and β-carotene are present in orange carrots, lutein in yellow carrots, lycopene in red carrots, anthocyanins in the root of purple carrots, and phenolic compounds abound in black carrots. Carotenoids range between 3.2 mg/kg and 170 mg/kg, while vitamin C varies from 21 mg/kg to 775 mg/kg between cultivars. Growth temperatures of carrots influence the level of the sugars, carotenoids, and volatile compounds, so that growing in cool conditions results in a higher yield and quality of carrots, while higher temperatures would increase terpene synthesis, resulting in carrots with a bitter taste. It is worthwhile to investigate the cultivation of different genotypes under various environmental conditions to increase levels of phytochemicals and enhance the nutritional value of carrot, along with the valorisation of carrot by-products.
Advances in Food and Byproducts Processing towards a Sustainable Bioeconomy
Authors: Kopsahelis Nikolaos , Kachrimanidou Vasiliki
Published: September 2019

The bioeconomy concept was initially focused on resource substitution, aiming to mitigate the depletion of fossil resources and confer an alternative approach for resource utilization [...]
Efficacy of Different Energy Levels Used in Focused and Radial Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy in the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials
Authors: Wang Ying-Chun , Chen Shu-Jung , Huang Peng-Ju , Huang Hsuan-Ti , Cheng Yuh-Min , Shih Chia-Lung
Published: September 2019

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of different energy levels used in extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) in the treatment of plantar fasciitis using a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library, from inception to March 2019 for randomized controlled trials that compared ESWT with placebo in patients with plantar fasciitis. The risk of bias for selected articles was assessed based on the Cochrane Handbook Systematic Review of Interventions. The pooled data were estimated by the mean difference or odds ratio. The meta-analysis showed that the high-energy ESWT group had a better success rate than the control group only at a three-month follow-up, but no significant difference between groups was observed for the other follow-up visits (1 and 12 months). In addition, no significant differences in visual analog scale (VAS) scores between groups were observed for all the follow-up visits (one-month and three-month). On the contrary, the medium-energy ESWT group had significantly better success rates than the control group for all the follow-up visits (3, 6, and 12 months). In addition, the medium-energy ESWT group had significant improvement in VAS scores compared with the control group for all the follow-up visits (1, 3, 6, and 12 months) after removing the extreme values. The low-energy ESWT group had significant improvement in VAS scores compared with the control group for all the follow-up visits (3 and 12 months). Otherwise, focused ESWT seems to be more effective than radial ESWT when compared with the control group. Use of local anesthesia can reduce the efficacy of low- and high-energy ESWTs. Our meta-analysis suggested that medium-energy ESWT in the treatment of plantar fasciitis was more effective than the control group. A limited number of trials related to low- and high-energy ESWTs were included in our meta-analysis. More research is required to confirm the efficacy of low- and high-energy ESWTs in future studies.
Nonlinear Operators as Concerns Convex Programming and Applied to Signal Processing
Authors: Padcharoen Anantachai , Sukprasert Pakeeta
Published: September 2019

Splitting methods have received a lot of attention lately because many nonlinear problems that arise in the areas used, such as signal processing and image restoration, are modeled in mathematics as a nonlinear equation, and this operator is decomposed as the sum of two nonlinear operators. Most investigations about the methods of separation are carried out in the Hilbert spaces. This work develops an iterative scheme in Banach spaces. We prove the convergence theorem of our iterative scheme, applications in common zeros of accretive operators, convexly constrained least square problem, convex minimization problem and signal processing.
A New Global Optimization Algorithm for a Class of Linear Fractional Programming
Authors: Liu X. , Gao Y.L. , Zhang B. , Tian F.P.
Published: September 2019

In this paper, we propose a new global optimization algorithm, which can better solve a class of linear fractional programming problems on a large scale. First, the original problem is equivalent to a nonlinear programming problem: It introduces p auxiliary variables. At the same time, p new nonlinear equality constraints are added to the original problem. By classifying the coefficient symbols of all linear functions in the objective function of the original problem, four sets are obtained, which are

I

i

+

,

I

i

−

,

J

i

+

and

J

i

−

. Combined with the multiplication rule of real number operation, the objective function and constraint conditions of the equivalent problem are linearized into a lower bound linear relaxation programming problem. Our lower bound determination method only needs

e
i
T

x
+

f
i

≠
0

, and there is no need to convert molecules to non-negative forms in advance for some special problems. A output-space branch and bound algorithm based on solving the linear programming problem is proposed and the convergence of the algorithm is proved. Finally, in order to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the algorithm, we have done a series of numerical experiments, and show the advantages and disadvantages of our algorithm by the numerical results.
Syzygies, Betti Numbers, and Regularity of Cover Ideals of Certain Multipartite Graphs
Authors: Jayanthan A. V. , Kumar Neeraj
Published: September 2019

Let G be a finite simple graph on n vertices. Let J G ⊂ K [ x 1 , … , x n ] be the cover ideal of G. In this article, we obtain syzygies, Betti numbers, and Castelnuovo–Mumford regularity of J G s for all s ≥ 1 for certain classes of graphs G.
Existence of Solutions for Nonhomogeneous Choquard Equations Involving p-Laplacian
Authors: Shi Xiaoyan , Zhao Yulin , Chen Haibo
Published: September 2019

This paper is devoted to investigating a class of nonhomogeneous Choquard equations with perturbation involving p-Laplacian. Under suitable hypotheses about the perturbation term, the existence of at least two nontrivial solutions for the given problems is obtained using Nehari manifold and minimax methods.
Involvement of Spermidine in the Reduced Lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans During Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Authors: Bito Tomohiro , Okamoto Naho , Otsuka Kenji , Yabuta Yukinori , Arima Jiro , Kawano Tsuyoshi , Watanabe Fumio
Published: September 2019

Vitamin B12 deficiency leads to various symptoms such as neuropathy, growth retardation, and infertility. Vitamin B12 functions as a coenzyme for two enzymes involved in amino acid metabolisms. However, there is limited information available on whether amino acid disorders caused by vitamin B12 deficiency induce such symptoms. First, free amino acid levels were determined in vitamin B12-deficient Caenorhabditis elegans to clarify the mechanisms underlying the symptoms caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. Various amino acids (valine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, and cystathionine, among others) metabolized by vitamin B12-dependent enzymes were found to be significantly changed during conditions of B12 deficiency, which indirectly affected certain amino acids metabolized by vitamin B12-independent enzymes. For example, ornithine was significantly increased during vitamin B12 deficiency, which also significantly increased arginase activity. The accumulation of ornithine during vitamin B12 deficiency constitutes the first report. In addition, the biosynthesis of spermidine from ornithine was significantly decreased during vitamin B12 deficiency, likely due to the reduction of S-adenosylmethionine as a substrate for S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, which catalyzes the formation of spermidine. Moreover, vitamin B12 deficiency also demonstrated a significant reduction in worm lifespan, which was partially recovered by the addition of spermidine. Collectively, our findings suggest that decreased spermidine is one factor responsible for reduced lifespan in vitamin B12-deficient worms.
Bioactive Compounds of Nigella Sativa Essential Oil as Antibacterial Agents against Chlamydia Trachomatis D
Authors: Mosolygó Tímea , Mouwakeh Ahmad , Hussein Ali Munira , Kincses Annamária , Mohácsi-Farkas Csilla , Kiskó Gabriella , Spengler Gabriella
Published: September 2019

Urogenital tract infection caused by obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis D (CtrD) is a leading cause of sexually transmitted diseases. Essential oil (EO) of Nigella sativa has a broad antimicrobial spectrum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the bioactive compounds (p-cymene, thymoquinone, carvacrol, and thymol) of N. sativa EO against CtrD. The cytotoxic effects of the compounds were determined by MTT assay. In order to quantify the anti-chlamydial activity of the compounds, HeLa cells were infected with CtrD or CtrD treated previously with the compounds. The titer of the infectious CtrD was determined by indirect immunofluorescence assay. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the compounds were evaluated by direct quantitative PCR. None of the compounds showed a cytotoxic effect on HeLa cells in the concentrations tested. According to the immunofluorescence assay, all of the compounds significantly inhibited the growth of CtrD. The quantitative PCR revealed that the minimum concentration that exerted anti-chlamydial activity was 3.12 µM in the case of thymoquinone and p-cymene, while that of carvacrol and thymol was 6.25 µM. Therefore, it can be concluded that bioactive compounds of N. sativa EO could be used as effective antimicrobial agents against CtrD.