bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Visit to China, May 2015
Authors: Rana Kishan S.
Published: October 2015

Prime Minister Modi’s May 2015 visit to China is examined with reference to several issues: the border dispute; trade, investment and economic cooperation; education, culture and people exchanges; South Asia, Pakistan; ‘Silk’, BCIM and other routes; and building trust. External Affair’s Minister Sushma Swaraj’s January 2015 hint in Beijing about an ‘out of box’ solution to the border issue was not borne out; we may ask if Indian publics are being prepared for a possible settlement, and without that it appears that the issue has not reached a tipping point where past positions become redundant. But the bilateral engagement has been widened and deepened. Modi seems to act on the premise that diplomacy can deliver result attuned to India’s basic objective of national social-economic development.
Program Evaluation of Community College Learning Assistance Centers
Authors: Franklin Doug , Blankenberger Bob
Published: October 2015

Objective: This study seeks to determine the nature of current program evaluation practices for learning assistance centers (LACs), the practices being used for program evaluation, and whether LAC directors believe their practices are appropriate for evaluating program effectiveness. Method: We conducted a survey ( n = 61) of community college LAC directors to determine the pervasiveness of program evaluation and use of evaluation practices. In addition to rating the level of use of these practices, we asked directors to rate their agreement as to whether these practices were currently being used and whether these should be used at their institutions. We provide both a descriptive analysis of the responses and an analysis using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (WSRT). Results: The study yielded several findings. Evaluation of LACs is common at 70.5%. LACs are often small with limited capacity to carry out program evaluation. LACs rely on many part-time and student employees to provide services. Centers lack data on special populations served such as developmental and underrepresented students. LAC directors would appreciate greater faculty involvement in program evaluation. LAC directors have limited control over program evaluation and the measures used in evaluation. Many evaluation best practices are being employed, although LAC directors believed improvements could be made. Survey results include a list of commonly employed data collection measures. Contributions: Despite crucial services provided by LACs at community colleges, little is known about how these centers are evaluated. To address this gap, this study surveys LAC directors about their program evaluation practices and needs.
Are Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels an Effective Message Strategy? A Test of Psychological Reactance Theory and Source Appraisal
Authors: LaVoie Nicole R. , Quick Brian L. , Riles Julius M. , Lambert Natalie J.
Published: October 2015

The purpose of this study is to examine psychological reactance in response to graphic cigarette warning labels and to strengthen and expand on the current literature by using validated measures. Young adults ( N = 435) were randomly assigned to a cigarette package featuring a graphic image or a package featuring no image. Utilizing both structural equation modeling and multivariate analyses, the results indicate that graphic warning labels are associated with freedom threat perceptions directly and reactance indirectly. In addition, exposure to graphic cigarette warning labels resulted in higher freedom threat perceptions, negative cognitions, and source domineeringness. Our results are considered with an emphasis on the theoretical and practical implications for policy makers.
From the Crisis to the ‘Welfare of the Common’ as a New Mode of Production
Authors: Vercellone Carlo
Published: October 2015

The aim of this article is to show in what sense the institutions of the welfare state are key to the struggles that are developing around the debt crisis and against the austerity policies carried out in its name. The first part is dedicated to isolating some elements which contribute to explaining the nature of the current crisis of capitalism and the strategic issues at stake in the policies of expropriation of welfare institutions. The second part emphasizes how, around the question of welfare institutions, the crisis articulates two alternative models of society and regulation of a knowledge-based economy. Within this framework, we will put forward a few lines of analysis in order to think of a different model of development, one which is founded on the ‘Welfare of the Common’ as a new mode of production.
Neoliberalism, the Financial Crisis and the End of the Liberal State
Authors: Lazzarato Mauricio
Published: October 2015

The article turns to Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of state capitalism and their theorization of money and debt in their critique of capitalism to develop an analysis of the governmental management of the current crisis determined by ordo- and neoliberalism. The paper argues that analyses which fail to properly recognize the power of capital to determine both state apparatuses and economic policy thereby fail to grasp the real functioning of money, debt and the Euro in the crisis and end up unwittingly supporting liberalism. This is true of positions such as heterodox theory that, though critical of conventional and neoliberal political economy, nevertheless continue to uphold the state as an independent or mediating mechanism in relation to the power of capital. The neglect of the role which money plays in the strategies of capital to control both the creation of value and the functioning of the state is to be found even in Foucault’s genealogy of neoliberalism, a neglect which undermines his analysis of power. The paper highlights the implications of the standpoint of state capitalism for a more incisive analysis of the current crisis that reveals what is at stake for political struggles.
Assessment of mode-II fracture tests for unidirectional fiber reinforced composite laminates
Authors: Shivakumar Kunigal N , Panduranga Raghu , Skujins John , Miller Sandi
Published: October 2015

Three basic mode-II test methods (ENF, JIS, and ASTM D7905M-14) are assessed using the material system AS4/8552 carbon/epoxy unidirectional composite laminate to understand similarities and differences. The modified JIS method uses a PTFE film coated stainless steel rod instead of the PTFE strip that was proposed in JIS. The ASTM D7905M-14 test method determines FEP film crack front (NPC) and shear precrack front (PC) fracture toughnesses. Alternately, wedge precracked specimens were also tested to assess the shear versus opening mode precracking on mode-II fracture toughness. The analysis and test results revealed that the JIS method is a mixed-mode I-II test and result in lower value of mode-II fracture toughness. The GI loading is about 51 J/m2 for the material tested and GIIc measured by JIS is always less than pure mode-II fracture toughness. The GIIc measured from the ASTM D7905M-14 NPC and the ENF tests are almost identical, but the ASTM test offers a compliance equation that may be beneficial in fatigue crack growth studies. As suggested in ASTM standard, shear precracked specimen is appropriate to measure mode-II fracture toughness.
Three-dimensional elastic behavior of undulating laminas in fiber composites
Authors: Henry Todd C , Bakis Charles E , Riddick Jaret C
Published: October 2015

Analytical models have been developed in recent years for predicting the elastic properties of fiber reinforced composite laminates with undulated laminas, such as woven and filament wound composites. In these models, a representative volume element (RVE) is defined, assumptions about how strains or stresses vary throughout the RVE are made, and then the homogenized constitutive behavior of the RVE is calculated. The constitutive behavior has been modeled in the context of either two-dimensional plate behavior or three-dimensional continuum behavior. Of the latter genre, the few existing models capable of handling undulated laminas have not captured the full three-dimensional constitutive behavior, including all the out-of-plane couplings arising from the most general undulation configurations. Building on the existing models, the current investigation utilizes micromechanics to determine the three-dimensional stiffness at discrete stations along the length of an RVE containing an undulated lamina, and determines the overall RVE constitutive behavior by averaging either the stiffness or compliance along the length of the RVE, thus providing bounds on the material behavior. The new model is evaluated by comparison with existing models as well as experiments for laminates with and without undulations. Similarities and differences with previous models are discussed.
Improving the interlaminar fracture toughness of carbon/epoxy laminates by directly incorporating with porous carbon nanotube buckypaper
Authors: Liu Ling , Shen Lulu , Zhou Yexin
Published: October 2015

In this study, thin carbon nanotube (CNT) buckypapers (BPs) with desired porosity were prepared by using of positive pressure filtration method. The obtained porous BP was then directly incorporated into the middle interface of a composite laminate to improve the interlaminar fracture toughness. Double cantilever beam and end-notch flexure tests were conducted to examine the influence of the obtained BP on mode I and mode II interlaminar fracture toughness ( GIC and GIIC) of the laminates. Results have shown the porous BPs would significantly enhance the GIC and GIIC up to 74% and 82%, respectively. Improved interfacial bonding and increased large fracture surfaces were obtained for the laminate incorporated with thin CNT BPs. Similar enhancement was also detected in acoustic emission energy variation for mode II fracture and auxiliary proved the reinforcing effect of the BP.
“Modern Family”
Authors: Evans Bronwynne C. , Coon David W. , Belyea Michael J.
Published: October 2015

This report extends knowledge about the informal caregiving trajectory in Mexican American (MA) families, constituting the second known empirical study of the emerging phenomenon of personal care by (MA) sons for their aging mothers, previously reported by our research team. It uses life course perspective (LCP) to compare caregiving patterns over time through case-based comparative-historical methods. “Historical” within-case analysis searches for themes, while “comparative” cross-case analysis allows exploration of themes across multiple cases, enabling examination of eight cases of caregiving MA sons who were currently providing personal care or confronting the imminent need to do so. We used the comparative-historical technique of pattern matching to determine the worth of LCP for exploration of MA family caregiving, test data-derived theoretical propositions, and function as a template for combining multiple methods. Qualitative findings were buttressed in this sub-analysis of a parent study by results from a battery of variable-oriented scales.
Hemocompatibility evaluation for peptide fragments of human serum albumin cleaved by cyanogens bromide
Authors: Wu Xiao-juan , Tang Edith Kai , Xu Chao-qun , Yuan Zhi-xiang
Published: October 2015

We have previously demonstrated that peptide fragments of human serum albumin can be developed into potential renal targeting drug carriers. However, the interactions of these peptide fragments with red blood cells and plasma components are not evaluated well and there is yet no report on the evaluation of the hemocompatibility of peptide fragments. In this study, three kinds of peptide fragments were prepared and identified by amino acid analysis, and the blood compatibility of the peptide fragments was investigated by measuring blood coagulation, platelet and complement activation and hemolysis activity. Results indicated that all the peptide fragments prepared were highly hemocompatible without causing any clot formation, red blood cell aggregation or immune response. In addition, data from the cytotoxicity assay using HeLa cells and Madin-Darby canine kidney cells suggested that these peptide fragments do not induce toxicity towards either cell lines at concentrations up to 5 mg/ml. Therefore, it can be concluded that peptide fragments exhibit good hemocompatibility with no unwanted effect on the viability of renal cells, preliminarily demonstrating that it is safe to use peptide fragments as renal targeting drug carriers.
Therapeutic OQ-45 Outcome Differences
Authors: Limb Gordon E. , Baker Courtney L. , Wood David S. , Hooley Cole
Published: October 2015

Purpose:

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine whether Native American clients seen at a University Counseling Center had different treatment outcomes than did Caucasian clients according to the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ) given at the first and final sessions.

Methods:

Participants included self-identified 21 Native American and 105 Caucasian clients who received services over the past 7 years and who had OQ-45 scores.

Results:

American Indian total scores on the OQ-45 were not that much different from Caucasian scores. As a whole, both groups showed no significant change in OQ-45 scores at the end of treatment.

Discussion:

Given the lack of research on this important group of color, these findings provide a unique comparison to a previous studies and suggest further research is needed about the effectiveness of therapeutic outcomes and practices with Native American clients.
High School to College: Transition Experiences of Young Adults With Autism
Authors: Alverson Charlotte Y. , Lindstrom Lauren E. , Hirano Kara A.
Published: October 2015

Youth with disabilities are less likely to enroll and complete postsecondary education than their nondisabled peers. Using a qualitative, cross-case design, we investigated the high school to college transition experiences of young adults diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS). Data sources included a family questionnaire, review of special education records, and multiple individual interviews ( N = 27) with young adults with AS, family members, teachers, and rehabilitation counselors. Social skills, communication, and executive functioning challenges in high school continued into postsecondary education settings. Across cases, five reoccurring themes seemed to influence the transition from high school to postsecondary education: (a) motivation to attend college, (b) high levels of disability awareness, (c) intentional family supports, (d) coordinated transition planning, and (e) clear postschool goals.
Mixed Method Social Network Analysis
Authors: Williams Trenton A. , Shepherd Dean A.
Published: October 2015

This article outlines a mixed method approach to social network analysis combining techniques of organizational history development, inductive data structuring, and content analysis to offer a novel approach for network data construction and analysis. This approach provides researchers with a number of benefits over traditional sociometric or other interpersonal methodologies including the ability to investigate networks of greater scope, broader access to diverse social actors, reduced informant bias, and increased capability for longitudinal designs. After detailing this approach, we apply the method on a sample of 143 new ventures and suggest opportunities for general application in entrepreneurship, strategic management, and organizational behavior research.
Evaluation of a modified Karnofsky score to assess physical and psychological wellbeing of cats in a hospital setting
Authors: Taffin Elien RL , Paepe Dominique , Campos Miguel , Duchateau Luc , Goris Nesya , De Roover Katrien , Daminet Sylvie
Published: October 2015

Objectives

The Karnofsky score (KS) modified for cats, a scoring system to rate health and quality of life (QOL) in cats, is used in clinical trials, but its reliability and validity are yet to be determined. The present study aims to evaluate the scientific robustness of the KS when adapted for use in a hospital setting.

Methods

A list of variables to consider during the physical examination, which informs the clinician’s score (CS) part of the KS, was added and clinicians were allowed to choose a score anywhere between 0 and 50. The Karnofsky QOL questionnaire was adapted for use in a hospital setting. F-tests with Bonferroni correction and Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to evaluate reliability and validity of the KS to assess the health and wellbeing of cats in a hospital setting. The records of 54 feline immunodeficiency virus-positive cats, which were recruited for a clinical trial and hospitalised for 6 weeks, were reviewed. Four veterinarians scored the CS, and one veterinarian and a veterinary nurse assessed the QOL score.

Results

Mean absolute difference between observers was significantly larger for the CS than for the QOL score ( P <0.001) and two veterinarians scored significantly higher than the remaining two veterinarians ( P <0.001). Inter-observer correlation ranged from 0.45–0.75 for the CS. For the QOL score, the absolute difference between observers was small, no significant difference was found between observers and a high degree of inter-observer correlation was noted (r = 0.91).

Conclusions and relevance

The results indicate low inter-observer reliability for the CS, requiring additional modifications to this part of the KS. The QOL score seems more reliable, and the questionnaire may serve as a reliable tool in the assessment of QOL in cats in a hospital setting. Consequently, further adaptation of the KS is mandatory when simultaneous assessment of both the cat’s clinical health and perceived wellbeing is required.
Feminist dilemmas and the agency of veiled Muslim women: Analysing identities and social representations
Authors: Chapman Madeleine
Published: October 2015

This article addresses dilemmas of agency for feminism through reflections on social psychological research on the role of representations in the construction of identity by Muslim women. Engaging first with Saba Mahmood’s account of religious subjectivities in Politics of Piety (2005), the author argues that feminist research requires a social conception of agency that addresses dialogical dynamics of representation and identity. Drawing on research concerning veiling and identity among Muslim women in the UK and Denmark, the author shows how a social conception of agency may be elaborated through the analysis of how competing representations of gender are negotiated in the self–other encounter. The author argues that a dialogical approach to researching identity in context defies blunt political judgement while shedding light on the intersecting socio-cultural forces and relations of power that engage processes of resistance and re-presentation.
‘What is the sex doing in the genocide?’ A feminist philosophical response
Authors: Schott Robin May
Published: October 2015

This article reviews the literature on Holocaust and genocide studies to consider the question, ‘what is the sex doing in the genocide?’ Of the three answers usually given: (1) sexual violence is like other forms of genocidal violence, (2) sexual violence is a coordinate in genocide and (3) sexual violence is integral to genocidal violence, the author argues for the third position, but takes issue with Catharine MacKinnon’s claim that sexual violence destroys women as a group, thereby destroying the ethnic, racial, religious, or national group to which women belong. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s concept of natality, the author argues that sexual violence is an attack on a fundamental condition for the possibility of the existence of human groups. When political violence is used to force biological birth in the service of death, it is a form of thanatonatality.
Visual responses: Women’s experience of sexual violence as represented in Israeli Holocaust-related cinema
Authors: Meiri Sandra
Published: October 2015

This article explores the function of Israeli narrative films’ persistent, albeit marginal, portrayal of women as victims of sexual violence during the Holocaust. While the marginalization of such characters may be attributed to the difficulty of representing sexually-related trauma/post-trauma, their portrayal attests both to the ubiquity of sexually-related crimes in the Holocaust and to its aftermath: namely, the persistence of women’s trauma. The first of the two waves of ‘retro films’ examined here evinces the importance of the visual, cinematic representation of women’s trauma. Its main function is to legitimize its disclosure through cinematic aesthetic/artistic mediation, for sexual violence was a crime committed against helpless victims. The second wave includes films made from the point of view of ‘the second generation’, and explores the topic further by dealing with the transmission of post-traumatic symptoms of women’s trauma to the second generation.
“Acting Ethnic”—Performance of ethnicity and the process of ethnicization
Authors: Grosswirth Kachtan Dana
Published: October 2015

This paper examines the process of “acting ethnic”, and demonstrates that, in certain circumstances, people act in keeping with an ethnic identity. Based on a study of two infantry brigades in the Israeli army (the IDF), the paper shows how organizational ethnic culture forms the basis of the process of “acting ethnic”. This paper highlights the tendency in certain situations to suspend nonethnic privileges by adopting an ethnic identity and in addition, to exaggerate ethnic performance. Moreover, it is argued that “acting ethnic” is a collective performance, aimed not only at belonging to the group, but also as a means of maintaining and reproducing ethnic identity and asserting a legitimate alternative to the hegemonic identity.
Karanga mai ra: Stories of Māori women as leaders
Authors: Forster Margaret Edith , Palmer Farah , Barnett Shirley
Published: October 2015

This paper takes a fresh look at Maori women and leadership through individual and collective storytelling. Stories or pūrākau about Maori women leaders involved in environmental sustainability, employment rights, and sport are used to reveal the often silenced realities of Maori women’s leadership and challenge dominant leadership discourse. Findings suggest mana wahine/the power and authority of women is a critical element of Maori women’s leadership as well as values and concepts that feature in traditional pūrākau and cultural roles for women. The holistic nature of Maori leadership was captured by considering three interrelated and fluid spheres – leadership as influence, leadership in context and the performance of leadership. These stories are a preface and we invite others to join the dynamic process of storytelling so that the plurality of Indigenous women’s leadership perspectives, experiences and performances are recognised and celebrated.
The Animator’s Body in Expanded Cinema
Authors: Smith Vicky
Published: October 2015

Building on phenomenological studies of the body and feminist structural materialist film theory and practice, this article proposes that performed methods of direct-on-film animation shape novel choreographies and produce original filmic patterns and rhythms. The author draws a parallel between Foucault’s disobedient ‘non-normative’ body and non-standardized interventions with film technology. The article analyses the innovative choreographies that arise from rotoscoping techniques, direct-on-film practices and expanded cinema performances. Focusing specifically on Free Radicals (Len Lye, 1958) and Reel Time (Annabel Nicolson, 1973), the author uses these analyses to shed light on her own performance of making films by moving in unusual ways, in time with technologies, and marking directly onto the film surface with the animated body. While engaging with structural materialist questions of film form, process and materials, this article departs from such modernist concerns to propose that the performance of filmmaking offers opportunities to explore the tenacity and vulnerability of particular bodies. The author suggests that performed filmmaking is equally about the traces of actions made on film and the unusual choreography that brings these marks into being.
The geology of the ruling class?
Authors: Cunha Daniel
Published: October 2015

Andreas Malm and Alf Hornborg argued in The Anthropocene Review that the Anthropocene narrative should be challenged, because the material resources of the Earth are actually unevenly exploited and consumed, with inequality across classes and nations. Though there is no disagreement regarding this point, it is argued here that the implied notion of control of global biogeochemical cycles by the ruling class is misplaced, and that the most fundamental concept for a critical understanding of the Anthropocene is fetishism, i.e. the Anthropocene is characterized by a lack of social (or class) control. We claim also that this theoretical discussion is of utmost political importance.
The Racial Gap in Childhood Blood Lead Levels Related to Socioeconomic Position of Residence in Metropolitan Detroit
Authors: Moody Heather , Darden Joe T. , Pigozzi Bruce Wm.
Published: October 2015

Childhood lead poisoning in the United States remains a persistent, prevalent environmental public health problem, especially for children living in central-city neighborhoods. These neighborhoods typically are racially segregated, are in proximity to current and/or legacy lead emission sources, consist of older housing, and contain disproportionately African American or black children of low-income families. This research had two aims: (1) to determine whether average blood lead levels (BLLs) in children in the Detroit metropolitan area are related to the socioeconomic characteristics of the neighborhoods where they live and (2) to determine the estimated effect residential differences in the socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods have on average BLLs in non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white children. Data on pediatric BLLs were obtained from the Michigan Department of Community Health, and racial and socioeconomic data were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2006–2010). The modified Darden-Kamel Composite Socioeconomic Index, multiple regression, and difference-of-means tests were used to determine the effect residential socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods have on average BLLs. Black segregated neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic characteristics were predictors of higher average BLLs in the children who lived there. When black and white children resided in neighborhoods of similar socioeconomic characteristics, the black-white gap in BLLs lessened. Significantly, after stratifying black and white children by age, living in the same neighborhoods of the lowest socioeconomic characteristics negated the black-white racial gap in BLLs entirely, but increasing levels of socioeconomic characteristics exacerbated the divide.
Complete genome sequences of bacteriophages P12002L and P12002S, two lytic phages that infect a marine Polaribacter strain
Authors: Kang Ilnam , Jang Hani , Cho Jang-Cheon
Published: October 2015

The bacterial genus Polaribacter is distributed widely in marine environments; however, there have been no reports of phages infecting Polaribacter strains. Here, we describe the isolation and genome sequencing of two lytic siphophages, P12002L and P12002S, that infect Polaribacter sp. strain IMCC12002. The two phages and host strain were isolated from coastal seawater of Korea. Complete genome sequences of the two phages were similar to each other and about 50 kb in length, with a G + C content of 28.9 %. The two genomes showed typical characteristics of phage genomes: a modular structure and high proportion of hypothetical proteins. The genome sequences have been deposited in GenBank under accession numbers KR136259 (P12002L) and KR136260 (P12002S).
Leptin Matures Aspects of Lung Structure and Function in the Ovine Fetus
Authors: De Blasio Miles J. , Boije Maria , Kempster Sarah L. , Smith Gordon C. S. , Charnock-Jones D. Stephen , Denyer Alice , Hughes Alexandra , Wooding F. B. Peter , Blache Dominique , Fowden Abigail L. , Forhead Alison J.
Published: October 2015

In human and ovine fetuses, glucocorticoids stimulate leptin secretion, although the extent to which leptin mediates the maturational effects of glucocorticoids on pulmonary development is unclear. This study investigated the effects of leptin administration on indices of lung structure and function before birth. Chronically catheterized singleton sheep fetuses were infused iv for 5 days with either saline or recombinant ovine leptin (0.5 mg/kg · d leptin (LEP), 0.5 LEP or 1.0 mg/kg · d, 1.0 LEP) from 125 days of gestation (term ∼145 d). Over the infusion, leptin administration increased plasma leptin, but not cortisol, concentrations. On the fifth day of infusion, 0.5 LEP reduced alveolar wall thickness and increased the volume at closing pressure of the pressure-volume deflation curve, interalveolar septal elastin content, secondary septal crest density, and the mRNA abundance of the leptin receptor (Ob-R) and surfactant protein (SP) B. Neither treatment influenced static lung compliance, maximal lung volume at 40 cmH2O, lung compartment volumes, alveolar surface area, pulmonary glycogen, protein content of the long form signaling Ob-Rb or phosphorylated signal transducers and activators of transcription-3, or mRNA levels of SP-A, C, or D, elastin, vascular endothelial growth factor-A, the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2, angiotensin-converting enzyme, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, or parathyroid hormone-related peptide. Leptin administration in the ovine fetus during late gestation promotes aspects of lung maturation, including up-regulation of SP-B.
Synthetic Design of TPEN Derivatives for Selective Extraction of Trivalent Minor Actinides against Lanthanides
Authors: Miyazaki Yuji , Suzuki Shinichi , Kobayashi Toru , Yaita Tsuyoshi , Inaba Yusuke , Takeshita Kenji , Mori Atsunori
Published: October 2015

TPEN, N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,2-ethylenediamine, recognized as a multidentate ligand with six nitrogen donors for coordination with various metal ions, is employed as an extracting agent for soft metal ions and trivalent minor actinides such as AmIII and CmIII. This review highlights the synthetic design of TPEN derivatives by introduction of peripheral substituents into the pyridine ring and modification of heteroaromatic ring structures for the purpose of improving the extraction performance.
Preparation and Imaging Study of Tumor-targeting MRI Contrast Agent Based on Fe3O4 Nanoparticles
Authors: Chen Wan’er , Han Yuxin , Qian Yu’e , Tang Jianbin , Hu Hongjie , Shen Youqing
Published: October 2015

The detection and diagnosis of early hypoxic tumor is the key for successful cancer therapy, which remains a challenge for radiologists because contrast agents could hardly reach it. Herein, a tumor-targeting MRI contrast agent was prepared by conjugating the small-molecule inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase (CA IX) that is overexpressed in hypoxic tumor, mafenide, onto the surface of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to improve the sensitivity of MRI for early tumor diagnosis. The tumor-targeting MNP (Fe3O4-SO2NH2) showed enhanced MRI contrasting performance both in vitro and in vivo in comparison with the non-targeting control, which made it a promising contrast agent for the detection and diagnosis of early hypoxic tumor.
Nickel-catalyzed Cross-coupling of Anisole Derivatives with Trimethylaluminum through the Cleavage of Carbon–Oxygen Bonds
Authors: Morioka Toshifumi , Nishizawa Akihiro , Nakamura Keisuke , Tobisu Mamoru , Chatani Naoto
Published: October 2015

Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling of methoxyarenes with trimethylaluminum is described. The use of 1,3-dicyclohexylimidazol-2-ylidene as a ligand and NaOtBu as a base promotes the methylation of anisole derivatives via the cleavage of normally unreactive aryl carbon–oxygen bonds.
Activities of the peptidyl transferase center of ribosomes lacking protein L27
Authors: Maracci Cristina , Wohlgemuth Ingo , Rodnina Marina V.
Published: October 2015

The ribosome is the molecular machine responsible for protein synthesis in all living organisms. Its catalytic core, the peptidyl transferase center (PTC), is built of rRNA, although several proteins reach close to the inner rRNA shell. In the Escherichia coli ribosome, the flexible N-terminal tail of the ribosomal protein L27 contacts the A- and P-site tRNA. Based on computer simulations of the PTC and on previous biochemical evidence, the N-terminal α-amino group of L27 was suggested to take part in the peptidyl-transfer reaction. However, the contribution of this group to catalysis has not been tested experimentally. Here we investigate the role of L27 in peptide-bond formation using fast kinetics approaches. We show that the rate of peptide-bond formation at physiological pH, both with aminoacyl-tRNA or with the substrate analog puromycin, is independent of the presence of L27; furthermore, translation of natural mRNAs is only marginally affected in the absence of L27. The pH dependence of the puromycin reaction is unaltered in the absence of L27, indicating that the N-terminal α-amine is not the ionizing group taking part in catalysis. Likewise, L27 is not required for the peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis during termination. Thus, apart from the known effect on subunit association, which most likely explains the phenotype of the deletion strains, L27 does not appear to be a key player in the core mechanism of peptide-bond formation on the ribosome.
The impact of medication formulation in a residential setting
Authors: Lee Amanda , Fishburn Kirsty , Hilton Andrea
Published: October 2015

Amanda Lee, Kirsty Fishburn and Andrea Hilton give an overview of pharmacokinetics in relation to the administration of medication. They explore how residential care staff may consider alternative formulations of medicines to help with administration
Maintaining medication safety: understanding a complex process
Authors: Nazarko Linda
Published: October 2015

Medication safety is a complex area, particularly in care homes, where patients are elderly, vulnerable and often taking multiple medications. Linda Nazarko looks at ways of improving medication management—and keeping patients as safe as possible
Implementing the Care Certificate: equality and diversity
Authors: Ashurst Adrian
Published: October 2015

In this article, Adrian Ashurst discusses the important topics of diversity and equality and looks at how these can come into play when caring for an older person. He also emphasises that care homes should take a zero tolerance approach to discrimination
Supporting your exams officer
Authors: Chima Jugjit
Published: October 2015

Despite the significance of the exams officer role within secondary schools, they often do not receive the support they should. Jugjit Chima offers some advice to school leaders
CPD that meets students' needs
Authors: Clay Bridget
Published: October 2015

How can you ensure your teachers' professional development is driven by your pupils' learning needs? Bridget Clay advises
Genetic analysis of agro-morphological traits in promising hybrids of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
Authors: GOLABADI Maryam , GOLKAR Pooran , SHAHSAVARI Mohammad Reza
Published: October 2015

The main objective underlying sunflower breeding programs is to develop high-yielding productive F1 hybrid cultivars. This study was conducted to investigate the genetic control of some agro-morphological traits of new sunflower F1 hybrids. For this purpose, fourteen inbred lines of sunflower were crossed with three male sterile inbred lines. Their hybrids (14 hybrids) were then evaluated against three control cultivars. The data thus obtained were analyzed using the nested model (North Carolina Design І) as a completely randomized block design (CRBD) with four replications. Analysis of variance showed that the hybrids were significantly different in all the traits studied, except for head and stem diameters. From among the hybrids evaluated, Cms19 × Rn1-81 was found to have the highest seed yield and oil content. Cluster analysis classified the hybrids into four different groups. Genetic analysis showed that days to maturity, seed weight, and oil content (%) were under the additive gene action. Breeding strategies based on selection could be suggested for the improvement of these traits. Head angle, head diameter, seed yield, and oil yield were under the dominance gene action; breeding based on hybridization methods is, therefore, proposed for these traits. Finally, both additive and dominance gene actions were observed to play important roles in the genetic control of plant height and stem diameter.
Simulation of herbage yield and growth components of Cock’s foot (Dactylis glomerata L.) in Jablje using the calibrated LINGRA-N model
Authors: POGAČAR Tjaša , KAJFEŽ-BOGATAJ Lučka
Published: October 2015

In the study the previously calibrated LINGRA-N model was used for a long term simulation (1964–2013) of the herbage  dry matter yield (GRASS) and growth analysis of Cock’s foot (Dactylis glomerata L.) in Jablje. Changes in the yearly  GRASS variability are reflected in the appearance of outliers in  the second half of the study period. The biggest reductions in GRASS are seen in the years 1992, 1993 and 2003. These are  the driest years according to meteorological variables (high  maximum and minimum air temp eratures, low precipitation)  and also according to the simulations, with the lowest  reduction factor for crop growth due to drought. The potential  yield (YIELD) is not linearly dependent on meteorological  variables. Some growth compone nts were compared on a daily  basis in a dry year (1993) and an average year (1994). In 1993, for instance, 53 % of photosynth etically active radiation was  intercepted, against 75 % in  1994. Seasonal development of  the actual soil moisture content was linked to the development  of the leaf area index and consequently to the mass of green  leaves, to the roots mass, to the mass of dead leaves and to  GRASS. The results highlight the need for further research, on  field and with simulations. As re gards the latter, we have to  keep in mind that they inevitably involve various  uncertainties.
Study of relationship between soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) planting spatial arrangements and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti L.) population dynamic
Authors: SALEHIAN Hamid , NAJAFIAN Maryam
Published: October 2015

The velvetleaf is an important annual weed in the Mazandaran  province, Iran. Seeds are the only way of propagation and  renewal of this weed. More  knowledge was gained regarding  soil seed bank and its seed production to improve the  management of the velvetleaf weed in the future. There is a  minimal information concerning the impact of the soybean  planting pattern on the dynamics of the velvetleaf population.  For this reason two different fiel ds have been studied with the  cooperation of the Agriculture Discipline of the Islamic Azad  University, in Qaemshahr, Iran, during 2009 and 2012. In this  study the effect of two types of soybean row spacing were  used, 50 cm-wide and 36 cm - narrow, and three emergences  of the velvetleaf weed populatio n (periods 0-10, 10-20 and 20- 30 days after soybean sowing were implemented) were  studied. Seed production, leaf area and dry matter increased in  each plant population of the velvetleaf weed in the 50-cm  soybean rows. Mortality rates we re decreased in velvetleaf’s  seedling population in the wider spaced rows. By observation  it was seen an increased producti on of seeds in the first batch  of seedlings. It appears that we must remove the first weed  emergence flushes within three to four weeks after the  soybean emergence to prevent reduced yields in the soybean  crop and further increase of the velvetleaf seed bank.
Carrot (Daucus carota L . ssp. sativus (Hoffm.) Arcang.) as source of antioxidants
Authors: BYSTRICKÁ Judita , KAVALCOVÁ Petra , MUSILOVÁ Janette , VOLLMANNOVÁ Alena , TÓTH Tomáš , LENKOVÁ Marianna
Published: October 2015

Carrot (Daucus carota L. s sp. sativus (Hoffm.) Arcang.) is a significant source of vitamins (A, B, C) and beta carotene. Further it contains vitamins B, C, E, H, folic acid and pantothenic acid. Carrot is an important source of trace elements (K, Na, Ca, Mg, P, S, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn). Consumption of carrot improves eyesight, lowers cholesterol and improves digestion. In this work we evaluated and compared content of total polyphenols, ß-caroteneand antioxidant activity in five varieties of carrot (’Jitka’, Kardila’, Katlen , Rubína’ and Koloseum) Samples of carrot were collected at full maturity stages from area of Bardejov. Samples of fresh carrot were homogenized (25 g) in 50 ml 80 % ethanol and analysed after sixteen hours. The content of the total polyphenols was determined by using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (FCR). The content of ß-carotene was determined spectrophotometricaly at 450 nm. Antioxidant activity was measured using a compound DPPH (2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) at 515.6 nm using spectrophotometer. Total polyphenols content in samples ranged from 81.25 ± 13.11 mg/kg to 113.69 ± 11.57 mg/kg and content of ß-carotenes ranged from 24.58 ± 2.38 mg/kg to 124.28 ± 3.54 mg/kg. We also evaluated and compared the antioxidant activity in selected varieties of ca rrot, which varied from 6.88 ± 0.92 % to 9.83 ± 0.62 %. Statistically si gnificant the highest value of total polyphenols was recorded in variety of Koloseum (113.69 ± 11.57 mg/kg). This variety is also character ized by the highest content of ß- carotene (124.28 ± 3.54 mg/kg) as well as the highest value of antioxidant activity (9.83 ± 0.62 %).
The effects of planting arrangement and phosphate biofertilizer on soybean under different weed interference periods
Authors: MOHAMMADI G. R. , CHATRNOUR S. , JALALI-HONARMAND S. , KAHRIZI D.
Published: October 2015

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of planting  arrangement and phosphate biofertilizer on soybean yield and  yield components under different weed interference periods at the  Agricultural Research Farm of Razi University, Kermanshah,  west Iran. The experiment was a factorial with three factors  arranged in a randomized complete block design with four  replications. The first factor wa s planting arrangement (50 and 5  cm (P1) or 25 and 10 cm (P2) for inter-row and inter-plant  spacings, respectively), the second factor was phosphate  biofertilizer (no-inoculation (I0 ) and inoculation (I1)) and the  third factor was weed treatment (full season weed-free condition  (W0), weedy condition until soybean 4-trifoliate stage (W1), weedy condition until soybean flowering stage (W2) and full  season weedy condition (W3)). Resu lts revealed that the highest  soybean yield occurred when weeds were controlled throughout  the growing season and soybean was planted at the inter-row and  inter-plant spacings of 25 and 10 cm, respectively (P2) whether  phosphate biofertilizer was used or not. For both planting  arrangements, full season weedy condition at the lack of the  biofertilizer led to the lowest soybean yield produced. Weed  biomass was not significantly affected by use of biofertilizer. The  highest weed biomass was established in plots without weed  control throughout the whole growing season and soybean was  planted in a wider row spacing and a less uniform spatial  arrangement (P1). Moreover, For W2 and W3 treatments, soybean  planted in a narrower row spacing and a more uniform spatial  arrangement (P2) produced a notable lower weed biomass, so that,  this planting arrangement reduced weed biomass by 31.8 and  31.7 % in W2 and W3, respectively as compared to the P1  planting arrangement. It can be co ncluded that soybean planting in  a more uniform spatial arrangement via a narrower row spacing  can significantly improve soybean yield and suppress weeds.  Phosphate biofertilizer had no sign ificant effect on soybean yield  when soybean was planted as the P2 and weeds were controlled  throughout the growing season
Possibilities of environmentally acceptable control methods of American grapevine leafhopper (Scaphoideus titanus Ball, 1932)
Authors: LAZNIK Žiga , TRDAN Stanislav
Published: October 2015

The American Grapevine Leafhopper (AGL) (Scaphoideus titanus Ball, 1932) is a small insect of the family leafhoppers (Cicadellidae), originally spread across North America. Specie has been introduced to Europe, where is known primarily as a vector of phytoplasma Grapevine flavescence dorée (FD), (Candidatus Phytoplasma vitis), a disease-causing grapevine yellows. AGL was first found in Slovenia in 1983. First occurrence of grapevine yellows was confirmed in Slovenia in 2005. Since no effective biological control agents are known to date, AGL populations are suppressed using insecticides during the host plant's growth period. Some researchers reported that it is in both continents (North America, Europe) abundance of natural enemies of the AGL very small. Researchers reported that some parasitoids (Drynidae: Hymenoptera and Pipunculidae: Diptera) parasitize the AGL, but the percentage of efficiency is very low (from 1.3 to 0.8 %). Among the methods of integrated pest management of AGL methods of mating disruption, thermotherapy, and cover crops are used.
Deficit irrigation principles applied to olive orchard in Slovene Istria
Authors: PODGORNIK Maja , BANDELJ Dunja
Published: October 2015

The olive tree has anatomical-morphological and physiological adaptations which enable it to cope well with dry conditions and water deficits. However, if water shortage occurs during the development phases (shoot growth, flower bud development, bloom, fruit set, cell division and enlargement and oil accumulation), which are the most susceptible to stress, it can also have a negative effect on the growth and productivity of olive trees. The Slovenian Istria is facing with increased risk of drought. Due to increased occurrence and intensity of agricultural droughts controlled deficit irrigation will become an inevitable element of agricultural practice in Slovene Istria.
Deliberate release of genetically modified plants into the environment in Slovenia
Authors: LUTHAR Zlata
Published: October 2015

Deliberate release of genetically modified higher plants (GMHPs) into the environment in Slovenia is regulated by the Law on the Management of Genetically Modified Organisms (ZRGSO) Ur. l. RS 23/2005 and 21/2010, III chapter. For each deliberate release of GMPs into the environment a license issued by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (MESP) must be acquired. The application or notification should contain a very accurate and complex description of the GMP, of the field where it will be released and of wider surroundings or environment. The application consists of Annex 2 with accessories: 1. Part A (technical data for the authorization of deliberate GMP release into the environment); 2. Part B (environmental risk assessment); 3. Application summary in Slovenian and English language) for the release of GMP into environment, which is transmitted to Brussels by MESP; 4. Extract from the Land Cadastre of the field to which the GMP will be released. The release procedure runs (till here) under the above mentioned Law, which has been in place for several years and which clearly defines that it is possible to release GMP in Slovenia. In the case of GM rice in 2011, the law applied till the site selection of the experiment. Here, the law was not sufficiently taken into account. It was prevailed by the regulation of Farmland and Forest Fund of the Republic of Slovenia and municipal decision, which was stronger than the national law and prevented the cultivation of GM rice in an area that is legally suitable for release of GMO into the environment. Rice is not grown in Slovenia and does not have wild ancestors or close relatives with whom it might mate. Nearest area of cultivation is in neighboring Italy, which is from potentially selected location in Slovenia more than 70 km away.