bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Management of Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps and Coexisting Asthma: A Systematic Review
Authors: Rix Iben , Håkansson Kåre , Larsen Christian Grønhøj , Frendø Martin , von Buchwald Christian
Published: May 2015

Background

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and asthma are strongly associated, and patients suffering from both diseases are often difficult to treat. However, no guidelines about the management of patients with CRS and coexisting asthma exist.

Objective

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the management of CRSwNP and coexisting asthma.

Methods

We systematically searched electronic databases and included clinical trials in which the clinical outcomes after medical or surgical treatment of patients with CRSwNP and asthma were assessed. The strength of the evidence for each outcome was graded on the basis of study quality and consistency in findings.

Results

We included seven trials in which the effect of montelukast, omalizumab, erythromycin, and functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) were studied in 317 adults with CRSwNP and asthma. All the interventions improved the majority of subjective and objective nasal outcomes significantly. However, few studies found significant effects on pulmonary function tests. The strength of the evidence was low overall.

Conclusion

Both FESS and medical interventions with systemic anti-inflammatory drugs improved nasal outcomes, although their efficacy in relation to the lower airways remains unclear. A low number of studies met inclusion criteria for this systematic review, which emphasizes the need for high-quality trials to explore the treatment of patients with CRSwNP and coexisting asthma.
Role of Wnt Signaling Pathway in Progression of Sinonasal Inverted Papilloma to Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Jung Yong Gi , Lee Hyun Wook , Kim Myung-Gu , Dhong Hun-Jong , Cho Kyu-Sup , Roh Hwan-Jung
Published: May 2015

Background

Sinonasal inverted papilloma (IP) is one of the most common benign tumors of the sinonasal area and malignant transformation has frequently been reported. However, the exact mechanism of the transition from benign lesion to malignancy is not known. The Wnt signaling pathway involves a network of multiple signaling glycoproteins that are known to play an important role in embryogenesis and carcinogenesis.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of the Wnt pathway and signaling proteins in malignant transformation of IP to dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods

Expression of the Wnt signaling pathway proteins, including Wnt-1, beta-catenin, cyclin D1, and Dishevelled-1 (Dvl-1), were detected by immunohistochemistry by using 3-mm tissue core microarrays that consisted of 115 cores of IP tissue. Each of the IP cores was graded as I (prominent squamous metaplasia), II (inverted pattern), III (dysplasia), or IV (squamous cell carcinoma). The expression pattern of each protein and the correlation between the expression of each target protein and IP grade were evaluated.

Results

Membranous staining of beta-catenin showed a significant positive correlation with IP grade (ρ = 0.247, p < 0.001), as did staining of cyclin D1 (ρ = 0.365, p < 0.001), which showed a nuclear pattern and staining of Dvl-1 (ρ = 0.380, p < 0.001), which showed a membranous, cytoplasmic, and nuclear pattern. For Dvl-1, a nuclear expression pattern was more frequently observed in grade III and IV IP (p = 0.036). In the case of Wnt-1, cytoplasmic expression was observed; however, it did not show a significant correlation with IP grade (ρ = 0.141, p = 0.130).

Conclusions

Wnt signaling proteins, including beta-catenin, cyclin D1, and Dvl-1, may play crucial roles in the malignant transformation of IP.
Comparative efficacy of fertilizers applications on the production of fry of Mystus gulio (Hamilton) in nursery ponds
Authors: Mou Maliha Hossain , Saha SB , Khatun MS
Published: May 2015

Efficacy of different fertilizers on the growth and survival of brackishwater catfish, Mystus gulio (Hamilton) fry in nursery ponds has been evaluated with three fertilizer treatments (T) viz., T1 - only organic (cattle dung @ 5 tons/ha), T2 - only inorganic (urea @ 50 kg/ha + TSP @ 60 kg/ha) and T3 - mixture of organic + inorganic (cattle dung @ 2.5 tons/ha + urea @ 25 kg/ha +TSP @ 30 kg/ha). After four weeks rearing, survival of fry was highest (69.35 ± 8.79%) in T1 which was significantly higher than those of T2 (46.01 ± 4.17%) and T3 (57.19 ± 6.22). But no significant difference in final length (2.70 - 2.79cm) and final weight (0.83 - 0.93 g) among three treatments was observed. Physicochemical variables of water and planktons of different treatments were recorded and discussed.Bangladesh J. Zool. 41(1): 21-27, 2013
Identification of Anti-Persister Activity against Uropathogenic Escherichia coli from a Clinical Drug Library
Authors: Niu Hongxia , Cui Peng , Shi Wanliang , Zhang Shuo , Feng Jie , Wang Yong , Sullivan David , Zhang Wenhong , Zhu Bingdong , Zhang Ying
Published: May 2015

Uropathogenic E. coli is a major cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs), but current antibiotics do not always effectively clear the persistent infection. To identify drugs that eliminate uropathogenic E. coli persisters, we screened a clinical drug library consisting of 1524 compounds using high throughput drug exposure assay in 96-well plates. Bacterial survival was assessed by growth on LB plates. We identified 14 drug candidates (tosufloxacin, colistin, sparfloxacin, moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin, enrofloxacin and sarafloxacin, octodrine, clofoctol, dibekacin, cephalosporin C, pazufloxacin, streptomycin and neomycin), which had high anti-persister activity. Among them, tosufloxacin and colistin had the highest anti-persister activity and could completely eradicate E. coli persisters in 3 days in vitro while the current UTI antibiotics failed to do so. Our findings may have implications for the development of a more effective treatment for UTIs.
Estimation of the PM2.5 Pollution Levels in Beijing Based on Nighttime Light Data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System
Authors: Li Runya , Liu Xiangnan , Li Xuqing
Published: May 2015

Nighttime light data record the artificial light on the Earth’s surface and can be used to estimate the degree of pollution associated with particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in the ground-level atmosphere. This study proposes a simple method for monitoring PM2.5 concentrations at night by using nighttime light imagery from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS). This research synthesizes remote sensing and geographic information system techniques and establishes a back propagation neural-network (BP network) model. The BP network model for nighttime light data performed well in estimating the PM2.5 pollution in Beijing. The correlation coefficient between the BP network model predictions and the corrected PM2.5 concentration was 0.975; the root mean square error was 26.26 μg/m3, with a corresponding average PM2.5 concentration of 155.07 μg/m3; and the average accuracy was 0.796. The accuracy of the results primarily depended on the method of selecting regions in the DMSP nighttime light data. This study provides an opportunity to measure the nighttime environment. Furthermore, these results can assist government agencies in determining particulate matter pollution control areas and developing and implementing environmental conservation planning.
Fault Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerant Control of Wind Turbines via a Discrete Time Controller with a Disturbance Compensator
Authors: Vidal Yolanda , Tutivén Christian , Rodellar José , Acho Leonardo
Published: May 2015

This paper develops a fault diagnosis (FD) and fault-tolerant control (FTC) of pitch actuators in wind turbines. This is accomplished by combining a disturbance compensator with a controller, both of which are formulated in the discrete time domain. The disturbance compensator has a dual purpose: to estimate the actuator fault (which is used by the FD algorithm) and to design the discrete time controller to obtain an FTC. That is, the pitch actuator faults are estimated, and then, the pitch control laws are appropriately modified to achieve an FTC with a comparable behavior to the fault-free case. The performance of the FD and FTC schemes is tested in simulations with the aero-elastic code FAST.
Allelic Variation in Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase (LoCAD) Associated with Wood Properties of Larix olgensis
Authors: Wang Yanhong , Jia Qinbin , Zhang Lei , Zhang Zhen , Zhang Hanguo
Published: May 2015

Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) catalyzes the key step in the lignin monomer biosynthesis pathway, but little is known about CADs in larch (Larix olgensis). Larch is one of the most important conifer plantation species and is used worldwide for reforestation and paper making. However, the presence of lignin is a significant barrier in the conversion of plant biomass to bioethanol. In the current study, 240 individuals from the Northeast Forest University provenance progeny trial population were evaluated, and 47 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the CAD gene. We used a candidate gene-based association mapping approach to identify CAD gene allelic variants that were associated with growth and wood property traits in L. olgensis. We found that LoCAD harbors high single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) diversity (πT = 0.00622 and θW = 0.00646). The results of an association analysis indicated that nine SNPs and six haplotypes were significantly associated with wood property and growth traits, explaining between 1.35% and 18.4% of the phenotypic variance. There were strong associations between SNP (g.590G > T) and SNP (g.1184A > T) in LoCAD. These SNPs might represent two quantitative trait nucleotides that are important for the analysis of lignin content.
Electrospun Scaffolds from Low Molecular Weight Poly(ester amide)s Based on Glycolic Acid, Adipic Acid and Odd or Even Diamines
Authors: Murase Sara , Del Valle Luís , Puiggalí Jordi
Published: May 2015

Electrospinning of regular poly(ester amide)s (PEAs) constituted by glycolic acid, adipic acid and diamines with five and six carbon atoms has been carried out. Selected PEAs were constituted by natural origin products and could be easily prepared by a polycondensation method that avoids tedious protection and deprotection steps usually required for obtaining polymers with a regular sequence. Nevertheless, the synthesis had some limitations that mainly concerned the final low/moderate molecular weight that could be attained. Therefore, it was considered interesting to evaluate if electrospun scaffolds could still be prepared taking also advantage of the capability of PEAs to establish intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Results indicated that the crucial factor was the control of polymer concentration in the electrospun solution, being necessary that this concentration was higher than 40% (w/v). The PEA with the lowest molecular weight (Mw close to 8000 g/mol) was the most appropriate to obtain electrospun samples with a circular cross-section since higher molecular sized polymers show solvent retention problems derived from the high viscosity of the electrospun solution that rendered ribbon-like morphologies after the impact of fibers into the collector. The studied PEAs were semicrystalline and biodegradable, as demonstrated by calorimetric and degradation studies. Furthermore, the new scaffolds were able to encapsulate drugs with anti-inflammatory and bacteriostatic activities like ketoprofen. The corresponding release and bactericide activity was evaluated in different media and against different bacteria. Finally, biocompatibility was demonstrated using both fibroblast and epithelial cell lines.
Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Is a Potential Therapeutic Agent for Oral Cancer
Authors: Kuo Ying-Yu , Jim Wai-Tim , Su Liang-Cheng , Chung Chi-Jung , Lin Ching-Yu , Huo Chieh , Tseng Jen-Chih , Huang Shih-Han , Lai Chih-Jen , Chen Bo-Chih , Wang Bi-Juan , Chan Tzu-Min , Lin Hui-Ping , Chang Wun-Shaing , Chang Chuang-Rung , Chuu Chih-Pin
Published: May 2015

Head and neck cancers, which affect 650,000 people and cause 350,000 deaths per year, is the sixth leading cancer by cancer incidence and eighth by cancer-related death worldwide. Oral cancer is the most common type of head and neck cancer. More than 90% of oral cancers are oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The overall five-year survival rate of OSCC patients is approximately 63%, which is due to the low response rate to current therapeutic drugs. In this review we discuss the possibility of using caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) as an alternative treatment for oral cancer. CAPE is a strong antioxidant extracted from honeybee hive propolis. Recent studies indicate that CAPE treatment can effectively suppress the proliferation, survival, and metastasis of oral cancer cells. CAPE treatment inhibits Akt signaling, cell cycle regulatory proteins, NF-κB function, as well as activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Therefore, CAPE treatment induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in oral cancer cells. According to the evidence that aberrations in the EGFR/phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling, NF-κB function, COX-2 activity, and MMPs activity are frequently found in oral cancers, and that the phosphorylation of Akt, EGFR, and COX-2 correlates to oral cancer patient survival and clinical progression, we believe that CAPE treatment will be useful for treatment of advanced oral cancer patients.
A Novel Porcine Graft for Regeneration of Bone Defects
Authors: Salamanca Eisner , Lee Wei-Fang , Lin Chin-Yi , Huang Haw-Ming , Lin Che-Tong , Feng Sheng-Wei , Chang Wei-Jen
Published: May 2015

Bone regeneration procedures require alternative graft biomaterials to those for autogenous bone. Therefore, we developed a novel porcine graft using particle sizes of 250–500 μm and 500–1000 μm in rabbit calvarial bone defects and compared the graft properties with those of commercial hydroxyapatite (HA)/beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) over eight weeks. Surgery was performed in 20 adult male New Zealand white rabbits. During a standardized surgical procedure, four calvarial critical-size defects of 5 mm diameter and 3 mm depth were prepared. The defects were filled with HA/β-TCP, 250–500 μm or 500–1000 μm porcine graft, and control defects were not filled. The animals were grouped for sacrifice at 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks post-surgery. Subsequently, sample blocks were prepared for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning and histological sectioning. Similar bone formations were observed in all three treatment groups, although the 250–500 μm porcine graft performed slightly better. Rabbit calvarial bone tissue positively responded to porcine grafts and commercial HA/β-TCP, structural analyses showed similar crystallinity and porosity of the porcine and HA/β-TCP grafts, which facilitated bone formation through osteoconduction. These porcine grafts can be considered as graft substitutes, although further development is required for clinical applications.
High-Precision Arithmetic in Mathematical Physics
Authors: Bailey David , Borwein Jonathan
Published: May 2015

For many scientific calculations, particularly those involving empirical data, IEEE 32-bit floating-point arithmetic produces results of sufficient accuracy, while for other applications IEEE 64-bit floating-point is more appropriate. But for some very demanding applications, even higher levels of precision are often required. This article discusses the challenge of high-precision computation, in the context of mathematical physics, and highlights what facilities are required to support future computation, in light of emerging developments in computer architecture.
Revisiting the Endocytosis of the M2 Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor
Authors: Ockenga Wymke , Tikkanen Ritva
Published: May 2015

The agonist-induced endocytosis of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M2 is different from that of the other members of the muscarinic receptor family. The uptake of the M2 receptor involves the adapter proteins of the β-arrestin family and the small GTPase ADP-ribosylation factor 6. However, it has remained inconclusive if M2 endocytosis is dependent on clathrin or the large GTPase dynamin. We here show by means of knocking down the clathrin heavy chain that M2 uptake upon agonist stimulation requires clathrin. The expression of various dominant-negative dynamin-2 mutants and the use of chemical inhibitors of dynamin function revealed that dynamin expression and membrane localization as such appear to be necessary for M2 endocytosis, whereas dynamin GTPase activity is not required for this process. Based on the data from the present and from previous studies, we propose that M2 endocytosis takes place by means of an atypical clathrin-mediated pathway that may involve a specific subset of clathrin-coated pits/vesicles.
Nutrient Patterns and Their Association with Socio-Demographic, Lifestyle Factors and Obesity Risk in Rural South African Adolescents
Authors: Pisa Pedro , Pedro Titilola , Kahn Kathleen , Tollman Stephen , Pettifor John , Norris Shane
Published: May 2015

The aim of this study was to identify and describe the diversity of nutrient patterns and how they associate with socio-demographic and lifestyle factors including body mass index in rural black South African adolescents. Nutrient patterns were identified from quantified food frequency questionnaires (QFFQ) in 388 rural South African adolescents between the ages of 11–15 years from the Agincourt Health and Socio-demographic Surveillance System (AHDSS). Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to 25 nutrients derived from QFFQs. Multiple linear regression and partial R2 models were fitted and computed respectively for each of the retained principal component (PC) scores on socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics including body mass index (BMI) for age Z scores. Four nutrient patterns explaining 79% of the total variance were identified: PCI (26%) was characterized by animal derived nutrients; PC2 (21%) by vitamins, fibre and vegetable oil nutrients; PC3 (19%) by both animal and plant derived nutrients (mixed diet driven nutrients); and PC4 (13%) by starch and folate. A positive and significant association was observed with BMI for age Z scores per 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in PC1 (0.13 (0.02; 0.24); p = 0.02) and PC4 (0.10 (−0.01; 0.21); p = 0.05) scores only. We confirmed variability in nutrient patterns that were significantly associated with various lifestyle factors including obesity.
Persistent Confusions about Hypothesis Testing in the Social Sciences
Authors: Thron Christopher , Miller Vincent
Published: May 2015

This paper analyzes common confusions involving basic concepts in statistical hypothesis testing. One-third of the social science statistics textbooks examined in the study contained false statements about significance level and/or p-value. We infer that a large proportion of social scientists are being miseducated about these concepts. We analyze the causes of these persistent misunderstandings, and conclude that the conventional terminology is prone to abuse because it does not clearly represent the conditional nature of probabilities and events involved. We argue that modifications in terminology, as well as the explicit introduction of conditional probability concepts and notation into the statistics curriculum in the social sciences, are necessary to prevent the persistence of these errors.
A Conceptual Framework of the Adoption and Practice of Environmental Actions in Households
Authors: Scott Anna , Oates Caroline , Young William
Published: May 2015

Securing public participation in environmental actions such as recycling, energy conservation measures and green consumerism is a means of progressing towards sustainable consumption. Participation in environmental actions (EAs) has typically been studied from the individual perspective, thus largely ignoring the social context of the household which may undermine effective behaviour change and green marketing strategies. This paper advances understanding of the adoption and practice of EAs from the household perspective by drawing together the limited and fragmented work which has examined EA participation from the household perspective, and integrating it with two relevant literatures—the household decision making literature and the literature which has examined EA participation from the individual perspective. The literatures are drawn together into a framework covering household member involvement in EA adoption and practice, the decision making process leading to EA adoption, decision making strategies and communication within the household, the maintenance of repetitive EAs, the factors influencing household member involvement including activity types and situational, household and individual characteristics, and how the individual characteristic of relative interest is shaped. We make a theoretical contribution by presenting a holistic understanding of the adoption and practice of EAs in households, which was previously lacking from the EA participation literature. By highlighting the elements of the conceptual framework that require further investigation, the authors also set out an agenda for research into EA participation from the household perspective.
A Comparative Study of Fouling and Bottom Ash from Woody Biomass Combustion in a Fixed-Bed Small-Scale Boiler and Evaluation of the Analytical Techniques Used
Authors: Febrero Lara , Granada Enrique , Patiño David , Eguía Pablo , Regueiro Araceli
Published: May 2015

In this work, fouling and bottom ash were collected from a low-power boiler after wood pellet combustion and studied using several analytical techniques to characterize and compare samples from different areas and determine the suitability of the analysis techniques employed. TGA results indicated that the fouling contained a high amount of organic matter (70%). The XRF and SEM-EDS measurements revealed that Ca and K are the main inorganic elements and exhibit clear tendency in the content of Cl that is negligible in the bottom ash and increased as it penetrated into the innermost layers of the fouling. Calcite, magnesia and silica appeared as the major crystalline phases in all the samples. However, the bottom ash was primarily comprised of calcium silicates. The KCl behaved identically to the Cl, preferably appeared in the adhered fouling samples. This salt, which has a low melting point, condenses upon contact with the low temperature tube and played a crucial role in the early stages of fouling formation. XRD was the most useful technique applied, which provided a semi-quantitative determination of the crystalline phases. FTIR was proven to be inadequate for this type of sample. The XRF and SEM-EDS, techniques yield similar results despite being entirely different.
Improving the Sustainability of Transportation: Environmental and Functional Benefits of Right Turn By-Pass Lanes at Roundabouts
Authors: Guerrieri Marco , Corriere Ferdinando , Rizzo Gianfranco , Casto Barbara , Scaccianoce Gianluca
Published: May 2015

The functional performances of conventional roundabouts (single-lane and multi-lane) and innovative roundabouts (spiral, flower, C and turbo) can be improved through right-turn bypass lanes controlled by stop, yield or free-flow signs. The article presents evaluations of the emissions of air pollutants (carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particle pollution (PM10 and PM2.5)), fuel consumption and construction, management, energetic and environmental costs in roundabouts without or with bypass lanes (controlled by stop, yield or free-flow). The suggested methodology has a general character and can be applied as a multi-parametric criterion for choosing road intersections, although, in the present paper, it has been employed only for a case study. For the aims of this research, we employed recent closed-form formulations to determine roundabout performances; moreover, we used the COPERT IV® software to estimate air emissions in nine different types of vehicles. Numerous traffic simulations were carried out. The variation in the maximum hourly traffic Qmax and annual traffic QTOT provided the appropriate domains of the examined geometric layouts, both in functional and environmental terms and with regard to generalized costs, estimated for a 10-year period. It resulted that the introduction of right-turn bypasses in all arms of conventional roundabouts with a one ring lane and one lane at the entries (single-lane roundabouts) is the most cost-effective when the flows entering the roundabout are higher than Qmax = 2000 veh/h. Moreover, free-flow bypass lanes always provide greater capacity and lower delays than stop- or yield-signaled bypasses. However, with extremely high Qmax values, stop-controlled bypasses guarantee lower fuel consumption, while those with a yield sign lower total costs.
Who Will Use Pre-Trip Traveler Information and How Will They Respond? Insights from Zhongshan Metropolitan Area, China
Authors: Zhang Yi , Yang Xiaoguang , Liu Qixing , Li Chaoyang
Published: May 2015

The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) is able to make the transportation system safer, smoother, and more sustainable. The research and practice of pre-trip traveler information (PTI), an indispensable component of ITS, is very limited in China. With data collected from Zhongshan Metropolitan Area, China, this empirical study revealed the socio-demographics of potential PTI users and feasible travel responses in daily trips under PTI. Young-and-middle-aged, influential, and motorized males were the most potential PTI users, while unemployed young females the least. Among the motorized potential users who habitually traveled by car, the high-income sub-group was least likely to shift travel modes under PTI. The younger white-collar or blue-collar had a lower propensity to shift to bicycle, but the younger blue-collar workers were more likely to shift to walking. The low income preferred to shift to bus rather than elevated light rail due to the difference of travel cost. The findings will facilitate our understanding of the market segments and effects of PTI, improve the system design and implementation strategy, and help address urban traffic and environmental issues throughout China.
Spatial and Temporal Patterns in the Seasonal Distribution of Toxic Cyanobacteria in Western Lake Erie from 2002–2014
Authors: Wynne Timothy , Stumpf Richard
Published: May 2015

Lake Erie, the world’s tenth largest freshwater lake by area, has had recurring blooms of toxic cyanobacteria for the past two decades. These blooms pose potential health risks for recreation, and impact the treatment of drinking water. Understanding the timing and distribution of the blooms may aid in planning by local communities and resources managers. Satellite data provides a means of examining spatial patterns of the blooms. Data sets from MERIS (2002–2012) and MODIS (2012–2014) were analyzed to evaluate bloom patterns and frequencies. The blooms were identified using previously published algorithms to detect cyanobacteria (~25,000 cells mL−1), as well as a variation of these algorithms to account for the saturation of the MODIS ocean color bands. Images were binned into 10-day composites to reduce cloud and mixing artifacts. The 13 years of composites were used to determine frequency of presence of both detectable cyanobacteria and high risk (>100,000 cells mL−1) blooms. The bloom season according to the satellite observations falls within June 1 and October 31. Maps show the pattern of development and areas most commonly impacted during all years (with minor and severe blooms). Frequencies during years with just severe blooms (minor bloom years were not included in the analysis) were examined in the same fashion. With the annual forecasts of bloom severity, these frequency maps can provide public water suppliers and health departments with guidance on the timing of potential risk.
Actors’ Perceptions of Issues in the Implementation of the First Round of the Water Framework Directive: Examples from the Water Management and Forestry Sectors in Southern Sweden
Authors: Keskitalo E.
Published: May 2015

The EU Water Framework Directive exerts a major impact on water management structure and aims, and water use activities in the member states. This paper reviews the perceptions of the early WFD implementation in a case study area in southern Sweden. The focus is on the perceptions of both water management and forestry actors, the latter as a potential diffuse source impact on water quality. This study highlights the considerable complexity of reorienting or rescaling governance given the complex existing systems particular to the area, the multi-interpretable early policies on implementation and the complexity of interpreting the regionally-focused WFD approach in the largely locally-focused Swedish system. While the first phase of implementation is now long past, conclusions on the complexity of reorienting systems remain relevant, particularly with regard to non-point sources.
Multivalent polyglycerol supported imidazolidin-4-one organocatalysts for enantioselective Friedel–Crafts alkylations
Authors: Pecchioli Tommaso , Muthyala Manoj Kumar , Haag Rainer , Christmann Mathias
Published: May 2015

The first immobilization of a MacMillan’s first generation organocatalyst onto dendritic support is described. A modified tyrosine-based imidazolidin-4-one was grafted to a soluble high-loading hyperbranched polyglycerol via a copper-catalyzed alkyne–azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction and readily purified by dialysis. The efficiency of differently functionalized multivalent organocatalysts4a–cwas tested in the asymmetric Friedel–Crafts alkylation ofN-methylpyrrole with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. A variety of substituted enals was investigated to explore the activity of the catalytic system which was also compared with monovalent analogues. The catalyst4bshowed excellent turnover rates and no loss of activity due to immobilization, albeit moderate enantioselectivities were observed. Moreover, easy recovery by selective precipitation allowed the reuse of the catalyst for three cycles.
Discrete multiporphyrin pseudorotaxane assemblies from di- and tetravalent porphyrin building blocks
Authors: Lohse Mirko , von Krbek Larissa K S , Radunz Sebastian , Moorthy Suresh , Schalley Christoph A , Hecht Stefan
Published: May 2015

Two pairs of divalent and tetravalent porphyrin building blocks carrying the complementary supramolecular crown ether/secondary ammonium ion binding motif have been synthesized and their derived pseudorotaxanes have been studied by a combination of NMR spectroscopy in solution and ESI mass spectrometry in the gas phase. By simple mixing of the components the formation of discrete dimeric and trimeric (metallo)porphyrin complexes predominates, in accordance to binding stoichiometry, while the amount of alternative structures can be neglected. Our results illustrate the power of multivalency to program the multicomponent self-assembly of specific entities into discrete functional nanostructures.
Collecting and Preserving Marine and Freshwater Isopoda (Crustacea: Peracarida)
Authors: Wetzer Regina
Published: May 2015

Isopoda are the most diverse Crustacea. In order to encourage the study of isopod crustaceans and their use in biodiversity studies, systematics, ecology, physiology and more, one needs to know who the isopods are and where to find them.

This is a short “how to” guide focusing on the free-living marine and freshwater isopods: where they live and how to collect and preserve them. The tools and techniques described here are simple, but invaluable in accessing the natural history of these remarkable creatures.
Integrating and visualizing primary data from prospective and legacy taxonomic literature
Authors: Miller Jeremy , Agosti Donat , Penev Lyubomir , Sautter Guido , Georgiev Teodor , Catapano Terry , Patterson David , King David , Pereira Serrano , Vos Rutger , Sierra Soraya
Published: May 2015

Specimen data in taxonomic literature are among the highest quality primary biodiversity data. Innovative cybertaxonomic journals are using workflows that maintain data structure and disseminate electronic content to aggregators and other users; such structure is lost in traditional taxonomic publishing. Legacy taxonomic literature is a vast repository of knowledge about biodiversity. Currently, access to that resource is cumbersome, especially for non-specialist data consumers. Markup is a mechanism that makes this content more accessible, and is especially suited to machine analysis. Fine-grained XML (Extensible Markup Language) markup was applied to all (37) open-access articles published in the journal Zootaxa containing treatments on spiders (Order: Araneae). The markup approach was optimized to extract primary specimen data from legacy publications. These data were combined with data from articles containing treatments on spiders published in Biodiversity Data Journal where XML structure is part of the routine publication process. A series of charts was developed to visualize the content of specimen data in XML-tagged taxonomic treatments, either singly or in aggregate. The data can be filtered by several fields (including journal, taxon, institutional collection, collecting country, collector, author, article and treatment) to query particular aspects of the data. We demonstrate here that XML markup using GoldenGATE can address the challenge presented by unstructured legacy data, can extract structured primary biodiversity data which can be aggregated with and jointly queried with data from other Darwin Core-compatible sources, and show how visualization of these data can communicate key information contained in biodiversity literature. We complement recent studies on aspects of biodiversity knowledge using XML structured data to explore 1) the time lag between species discovry and description, and 2) the prevelence of rarity in species descriptions.
Recherche psychosociale dans des communautés traditionnelles : analyse de l’expérience du programme de pré-initiation scientifique de l’université de São Paulo
Authors: Bernardo Parodi Svartman , Alessandro de Oliveira dos Santos , Alessandra B. M. Martins , Ricardo Casco , Luís Guilherme Galeão-Silva , Gustavo M. Massola
Published: May 2015

Cet article présente les résultats et les développements psychosociaux d’une recherche articulée au programme de pré-initiation scientifique à l’université de São Paulo. Le but de cette recherche, réalisée par l’Institut de psychologie, en partenariat avec deux écoles techniques de la région de la vallée du Ribeira (SP), a pour objectif de décrire les projets de tourisme à base communautaire, développés par deux communautés traditionnelles de la région : la communauté quilombola d’Ivaporunduva (communatuté des anciens quilombos ) et la communauté caiçara de Marujá (pêcheurs traditionnels). Nous concluons que le programme de pré-initiation scientifique possède un grand potentiel de renforcement des liens entre les écoles et les communautés. En outre, les recherches effectuées en partenariat avec des communautés et des écoles permettent l’élaboration d’une connaissance sur le territoire, qui peut être fondamentale pour le développement d’expériences d’enracinement, ainsi que pour le mouvement de résistance à la globalisation comme à la mondialisation.
La cartographie comme méthode : pistes pour la pratique d’une recherche-intervention
Authors: Virgínia Kastrup
Published: May 2015

L’objectif de cet article est d’indiquer quelques pistes qui précisent la spécificité de la méthode de la cartographie, dans le contexte de la recherche-intervention pratiquée au Brésil. Il s’agit d’analyser les effets d’une intervention sur quatre niveaux : chez les participants, chez les chercheurs, sur l’orientation même de la recherche et sur le terrain où elle s’insère. L’article apporte des fragments de deux recherches de terrain sur le processus de production de subjectivité et de cognition inventive. La première a été réalisée dans un atelier de lecture pour enfants pauvres en situation de violence, dans le quartier de São Domingos, de la ville de Niceroi. La seconde recherche, qui avait pour objectif d’étudier comment fonctionne l’attention chez des aveugles au cours de processus de création, a été réalisée dans un atelier de céramique de l’Institut Benjamin Constant, à Rio de Janeiro.
Le cinéma éco-apocalyptique
Authors: Neyrat Frédéric
Published: May 2015

RÉSUMÉ La vérité de l’anthropocène est la cosmophagie , c’est‑à-dire la destruction des dimensions non humaines. Le cinéma éco-apocalyptique rend compte de cette situation 1) en prophétisant un horizon anthropophage (un court-circuit de l’humanité) ; 2) en cherchant, parfois, à révéler des dehors, une altérité capable d’enrayer la machine cosmophagique.
Tendencias del bienestar social en las sociedades occidentales: la privatización y el reto del Trabajo Social
Authors: Gilbert Neil
Published: May 2015

Este artículo analiza varios aspectos claves de la evolución del panorama de los estados de bienestar modernos, las principales fuerzas sociales que impulsan este cambio, y cómo el cambio es pertinente para el futuro de la práctica del Trabajo Social. Las fuerzas sociales que impulsan el cambio son factores estructurales tales como la transición demográfica y la globalización de la economía, así como variables socio-políticas que implican una comprensión de los efectos no previstos de las políticas sociales y el aumento del valor atribuido al sector privado. Las características centrales del cambio incluyen una modificación de las políticas, que se desplazan desde la protección del trabajo hacia la promoción del trabajo, y el uso cada vez mayor del sector privado en la producción y prestación de servicios sociales. La privatización de la seguridad social y sus implicaciones para la práctica del trabajo social se examinan a la luz de los retos en la negociación de la contratación de servicios.
Transformando las rutinas organizacionales en los programas de doctorado: Una intervención para inculcar la justicia social en el curriculum de los programas de bienestar social
Authors: Shapiro Valerie B. , Hudson Kimberly D. , Moylan Carrie A. , Derr Amelia S.
Published: May 2015

En este artículo se describe el esfuerzo para infundir un marco de justicia social en un programa doctoral de trabajo social dentro de una universidad prominente de investigación de los Estados Unidos. El proyecto de investigación “Justicia Social en la Educación Doctoral” (SJDE) identificó los Objetivos de Aprendizaje de la Justicia Social (SJLOs) en una serie de categorías de la investigación científica, como la enseñanza y el servicio. Los estudiantes de doctorado respondieron a una encuesta en 2010 para determinar el grado en el que los SJLOs se facilitaban sistemáticamente en el programa de doctorado. En 2011 se revisaron los formularios que guían y dan forma a los hitos de la educación doctoral en esa institución, en un intento de crear nuevas oportunidades para la justicia social de aprendizaje. En 2013, una encuesta seguimiento a los estudiantes de doctorado dio lugar a dos conclusiones. La primera es que los estudiantes de doctorado informaron del uso de las SJLOs como guía de su educación. La segunda es que una comparación pre / post de las percepciones de los estudiantes indicó el aumento de oportunidades para el aprendizaje de la justicia social por medio de sus estudios de doctorado. En conclusión, este caso de estudio nos proporciona evidencia preliminar para la modificación de las rutinas organizativas, como un medio para ampliar la educación de la justicia social en el trabajo social.
La protección infantil frente al maltrato en los Estados Unidos
Authors: Duerr Berrick Jill
Published: May 2015

Los EE.UU. pueden reconocerse como un país industrializado occidental con un estado de bienestar residual. En él, se ha desarrollado un sistema para responder a las dificultades familiares extremas, centrado casi exclusivamente en la garantía de la seguridad y la prevención del riesgo de los niños por daños infligidos por parte de los padres u otros cuidadores. A diferencia de muchas naciones europeas, la elegibilidad para optar a la prestación de servicios para la familia está muy restringida y los servicios de prevención suelen ser de corta duración. En última instancia, se persigue garantizar la seguridad de los niños que son separados de sus padres, en este sentido, el sistema de bienestar norteamericano otorga una alta prioridad a la devolución al hogar lo antes posible, ofreciendo oportunidades alternativas de un hogar permanente para aquellos niños que no vuelven a sus familias de origen. Este artículo sugiere que un sistema familiar con elegibilidad más amplia y con servicios de prevención dedicados a una mayor cantidad de usuarios podría beneficiar a muchos más niños y familias de las que se asisten en la actualidad en los EE.UU.
Trabajo Social y desarrollo local comunitario en el siglo XXI
Authors: Pastor Seller Enrique
Published: May 2015

El artículo presenta las bases teórico-conceptuales y metodológicas que permiten impulsar cambios sostenibles y autónomos en el complejo universo relacional en España en el siglo XXI a partir de procesos metodológicos y participativos vinculados con un trabajo social con comunidades centrado en el modelo de desarrollo local estratégico, integral y centrado en el empowerment comunitario. Se presentan los resultados de una investigación orientada a caracterizar las prácticas comunitarias en el ámbito local vinculadas con el trabajo social con comunidades en España y que son presentados a modo de tipologías. El análisis de las prácticas comunitarias permite identificar las características idóneas que deben tener las experiencias de acción comunitaria en su consideración de buenas prácticas en el fomento de la convivencia local a través de la participación ciudadana.
Effects of Applying the Site Map Principle in an Online Learning Environment in Higher Education
Authors: Porta Simó Laura , Beneito-Montagut Roser , Melenchón Maldonado Javier , Marín-Amatller Antoni
Published: May 2015

Web interfaces play a very important role in teaching-learning processes in virtual environments, since this is how students carry out their activity. This paper describes a web interface for online learning based on a graphic map that orients learners, tries to reduce cognitive overload, gives access to learning resources and personalizes learning. The interface was designed to guide the learning process in accordance with Shapiro’s “site map principle”. The objective of this article is to analyze the impact of such web interface on students' satisfaction with the learning process and on their academic performance. We conducted experimental research. The experiment tested the goodness of the interface among students enrolled in a Multimedia Degree in an open university. We used the T-Test, the Chi-square Test and the Kendall correlation Test. The results showed that the interface had a positive impact on students’ satisfaction and performance. It also encouraged students to take a more proactive role in their learning activity than with the “normal” interface. These results are in keeping with the features the site map principle has shown in face-to-face environments.
A Cultural Re-mediation Model for Storytelling in Pre-school Education
Authors: Capuano Nicola , Gaeta Angelo , Gaeta Matteo , Mangione Giuseppina Rita , Pierri Anna
Published: May 2015

The use of the emotional language of stories and the amplification of the empathic driver thanks to the identification with story characters, makes the storytelling a valuable educational approach, especially for children. In accordance with embodied and situated cognition theories, manipulative storytelling proposes interactive environments where it is also possible for learners to manipulate the story through objects and tangible interfaces. In line with this vision, we propose in this paper a new model enabling the design and the execution of educational stories for children aged from 3 to 6. Stories are seen as sequences of missions: game experiences where children can interact to reach the educational objective. A re-mediation strategy, able to adapt the story on three different axis (immediacy-hypermediation, similarity-dissimilarity and aggregation-disaggregation) on the basis of assessment results, is also presented. A proof of concept based on the popular Brother Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel tale is then discussed to demonstrate the capabilities of the model in the construction and deconstruction of the building blocks of a story.
A General View of Poverty in Turkey as an Issue for Social Work in the Light of Behavioral Finance and Game Theory
Authors: Cesur-Kiliçaslan Seher , Işik Toprak
Published: May 2015

In this chapter, the authors define poverty in general terms before including statistics for a detailed, Turkey-specific discussion. Once the authors elaborate on the causes of poverty, they introduce behavioural economics and game theory, the fundamental aim of the chapter being to examine how these two theories affect perceptions of poverty and the struggle against poverty. Another issue that enters into the scope of this chapter is to what extent the poor themselves are responsible for their own poverty. On this question, game theory and behavioural economics can potentially be marshalled against the poor. However, we also argue that, by using a different approach, both theories can be interpreted in the poor's favour. We examine the double-sided nature of these two theories in detail and stress how important it is in the study of poverty to consider the disadvantageous position in which the poor find themselves.
Financial Education for Children and Youth
Authors: Tezel Zeynep
Published: May 2015

Although financial education consists of individuals of all ages, education of young people in the field of finance is more important. The young generation faces more financial risks and more complicated financial products than their parents. Besides, young people are introduced to financial services at very early ages owing to cell phones, bank accounts, credit cards. Therefore, it is important that individuals are educated in finance as early as possible.
The Role of Psychological Factors in Behavioral Finance
Authors: Kasemsap Kijpokin
Published: May 2015

This chapter introduces the role of psychological factors in behavioral finance, thus explaining the theory of behavioral finance, the application of behavioral finance theory, the empirical achievement in behavioral finance, the utilization of psychological factors in behavioral finance regarding beliefs (i.e., overconfidence, too much trading, optimism and wishful thinking, representativeness bias, conservatism bias, belief perseverance, anchoring, and availability bias) and preferences (i.e., prospect theory and ambiguity aversion). Behavioral finance is a comparatively new management field that seeks to combine behavioral and cognitive psychological theory with conventional economics and finance to provide descriptions for why people make unreasonable financial decisions. Psychological factors in behavioral finance hold out the expectation of a better understanding of financial market behavior and scope for investors to make better investment decisions. Applying psychological factors in behavioral finance will tremendously enhance financial performance and achieve strategic objectives in global finance.