bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Medicina e morale in Descartes / Medicine and ethics in Descartes
Authors: Romero Maria Vita
Published: December 2017

Descartes considera la medicina e la morale come due discipline accomunate dal conseguimento – ciascuna con mezzi e metodi propri – di un fine comune: la salute psicofisica sia come valore in sé, sia come indispensabile premessa per cogliere la felicità in questo mondo. Infatti, se l’uomo non è una “macchina animale”, ma un “composto umano” di anima e di corpo, allora bisogna riconoscere che la medicina e la morale mirano entrambe all’integrità di questo composé humain: l’una guardando al corpo unito alla mente, l’altra alla mente unita al corpo. Sulla scia degli studi condotti sulla machine animale, Descartes aveva tentato di elaborare una medicina anti-animista fondata sui princìpi della meccanica animale; ma, se è vero che tutto si spiega meccanicisticamente nell’organismo, è anche vero però che i princìpi meccanicistici non sono in grado di spiegare la totalità del composé humain, ossia dell’individuo composto di anima e corpo. Da qui la necessità di passare da una medicina basata sulla fisica pura ad una medicina basata sul composto sostanziale, e quindi dall’assoluto meccanicismo fisico al teleologismo psicofisico. Su queste premesse Descartes elabora un particolare concetto di natura su una duplice direttrice di pensiero: da un canto, egli si riallaccia a Ippocrate in merito alla natura intesa come medico delle malattie; dall’altro, apre la strada a certe suggestioni sulla medicina naturale, che invita l’uomo ad ascoltare la natura, quale fonte di rimedi ai suoi mali. ---------- Descartes considers medicine and ethics as two disciplines connected by the achievement – each with different means and methods – of a common goal: psychophysical health, both as a value in itself and as an essential condition to experience happiness in this world. Indeed, if man is not an “animal machine”, but a “human mixture” of soul and body, then it has to be recognised the medicine and ethics both target the integrity of this composé humain: one seeing the body linked to the mind, the other looking at the mind linker to the body. In line with the contribution on the machine animale, Descartes had attempted to develop an anti-animist medicine based on the principles of animal mechanics; however, if it is true that everything can be explained mechanistically in the body, it is also true that mechanistic principles cannot explain the entirety of the composé humain, i.e. the individual made of soul and body. Thus the necessity to move from a medicine purely based on physics to a medicine based on a substantial mixture; therefore, from the absolute physical mechanism to psychophysical teleology. On these conditions Descartes develops a specific concept of nature based on two ideas: on one hand, he looks at Hippocrates regarding the concept of nature seen as a healer of illness; on the other, opens the door to various intuitions of natural medicine that suggests that man should look at nature for remedies to his problems.
Funamboli tra i dati sensibili: luci e ombre della normativa sulla tutela della privacy in tema di certificazione medica di malattia e medico-legale di invalidità previdenziale e assistenziale / Tightrope walkers among medical sensitive data: positive and negative aspects of the legislation concerning the protection of privacy regarding the medical certification of illness and the medical legal aspects of social security and disability assistance
Authors: Sammicheli Michele , Scaglione Marcella
Published: December 2017

Il contributo analizza le normative inerenti la tutela della privacy nelle certificazioni di malattia, nella certificazione medica introduttiva all’ottenimento dei benefici assistenziali e previdenziale e, infine, nei verbali medico legali conclusivi che vengono utilizzati negli ambiti dell’invalidità civile e previdenziale. Scopo del lavoro, oltre quello di ripercorrere, in maniera sintetica, l’evoluzione normativa e giurisprudenziale nell’ambito della tutela della privacy nel contesto della certificazione medica di malattia e medico legale ai fini di invalidità assistenziale e previdenziale, è quello di far emergere i passi avanti compiuti nel rispetto della riservatezza del dato sensibile medico. D’altro canto, al contempo, il lavoro si prefigge l’arduo compito di porre in rilievo alcuni coni d’ombra della vigente normativa, tutt’ora irrisolti, soprattutto nel merito di quali dati sensibili debbano essere considerati necessari e sufficienti al confezionamento del giudizio (la giustificabilità nel caso di assenza alla visita di controllo fiscale; la valutazione medicolegale nel caso dei verbali di invalidità civile e previdenziale), ma non eccedenti la necessità di riservatezza del paziente. ---------- The article analyses the legislation governing the protection of privacy regarding the medical certification of illnesses, medical certification allowing for social security and welfare benefits, and finally as regards legal medical records that are drawn up by appropriate commissions or individual medical examiners in the areas of legal disability and social security. The purpose of the work, in addition to synthetically reviewing legislative and legal development in the field of privacy protection in the context of the medical certification of illness and medical examinations for the purpose of social security assistance, is to highlight the progress made regarding the confidentiality of sensitive medical data. On the other hand, at the same time, the work is also intended to illustrate some grey areas of current legislation, which are still unresolved. In particular, the issue of how to define which sensitive data should be considered necessary and sufficient in order to arrive at a judgement (communication between a family doctor and social security institutions, justification in the case of absence during a tax inspection visit, medical assessment in the case of social security reports), but without breaching patient confidentiality.
Tumour protein 53 is linked with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Sliwinska Agnieszka , Kasznicki Jacek , Kosmalski Marcin , Mikołajczyk Melania , Rogalska Aneta , Przybylowska Karolina , Majsterek Ireneusz , Drzewoski Jozef
Published: December 2017

Background & objectives:

Tumour protein p53 (TP53) is a stress sensitive transcription factor responsible for the control of cell survival and death to prevent from tumour formation. In vitro and animal studies have indicated that TP53 also responds to metabolic changes and influences metabolic pathways. This study was undertaken to determine the serum level of TP53 and its correlations with clinical and biochemical parameters in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in comparison to non-diabetic control individuals.

Methods:

An observational study was conducted between December 2009 and November 2013 to evaluate TP53 serum level using ELISA. Cases (n=225) were defined as patients who were diagnosed with T2DM. Non-diabetic controls (n=255) were matched by age and sex. Multivariable modelling using logistic regression examined associations between clinical characteristics and TP53 level or T2DM predication was performed.

Results:

Serum TP53 level was significantly higher in T2DM patients as compared to non-diabetic healthy controls (1.69 vs 2.07 ng/ml, P <0.001). In T2DM patients, the level of TP53 increased with the age, duration of diabetes and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) value. A logistic regression analysis revealed that increased serum TP53 level was significantly associated with family history of diabetes, age and WHR. Moreover, TP53, triglyceride and body mass index could be used to predict T2DM.

Interpretation & conclusions:

Our results suggest that TP53 may be linked with T2DM. The fluctuations of serum TP53 level may reflect metabolic and oxidative stress associated with chronic hyperglycaemia. Further studies need to be done to confirm these findings.
Physical comorbidity in schizophrenia & its correlates
Authors: Nishanth K.N. , Chadda R.K. , Sood M. , Biswas A. , Lakshmy R.
Published: December 2017

The presence of common physical comorbidities, their demographic and clinical correlates and impact on functioning was assessed in 100 patients with schizophrenia. The patients had a mean age of 35.12±10.7 yr with mean duration of illness of 8.3±0.58 years. Seventy per cent were detected to have a comorbid physical condition. Common conditions included hypertension (21%), diabetes mellitus (15%) and anaemia (12%). Increasing age, being female, being married, longer duration of illness and longer duration of treatment were associated with higher risk of having a comorbid physical illness. Further studies need to be done with a large sample to confirm these findings.
Evaluating KIND1 human embryonic stem cell-derived pancreatic progenitors to ameliorate streptozotocin-induced diabetes in mice
Authors: Pursani Varsha , Kapoor Sona , Metkari S.M. , Nair Prabha , Bhartiya Deepa
Published: December 2017

Background & objectives:

Diabetes is a global disease burden. Various stem cell types are being explored to serve as an alternative source of islets. This study was conducted to evaluate the ability of in-house developed human embryonic stem (hES) cells-derived pancreatic progenitors to ameliorate diabetic symptoms in mice.

Methods:

Pancreatic progenitors were packed in macro-capsules and transplanted into six male Swiss mice and four mice were taken as controls. Thirty days post-transplantation, diabetes was induced by streptozotocin treatment. Mice were then followed up for >100 days and body weight and blood glucose levels were regularly monitored.

Results:

Control mice lost weight, maintained high glucose levels and did not survive beyond 40 days, whereas transplanted group maintained body weight and four of the six mice had lowered blood glucose levels. About five-fold increase was observed in human C-peptide levels in the recipients of progenitor transplants as compared to diabetic control.

Interpretation & conclusions:

The beneficial effect of transplanted cells was not long-lasting. Further studies are required to critically evaluate and compare the potential of endogenous pluripotent stem cells and hES cells-derived progenitors before moving from bench to the bedside.
Folic acid, one-carbon metabolism & childhood cancer
Authors: Moulik Nirmalya Roy , Kumar Archana , Agrawal Suraksha
Published: December 2017

Folate has been studied in relation to many diseases, especially cancer. Although it has been postulated to exert a dual effect on development of cancer, its role remains to be clearly defined. Its effect on cancer is the result of gene-nutrient interaction between the genes in folate metabolic pathway and dietary folate availability; mutations in genes of folate metabolism have been shown to alter individual susceptibility to certain childhood cancers as well as response to cancer chemotherapy. Although mandatory fortification of food items with folate has been initiated in some countries, many countries are yet to adopt this due to concerns about undesired adverse effects of high folate levels on health, especially cancer. However, initial reports suggest that folate fortification has led to reduction in incidence of certain childhood cancers such as neuroblastoma, wilms tumour and leukaemias. Despite studies showing folate depletion during antifolate chemotherapy and higher toxicity of chemotherapy in folate-depleted individuals, folate supplementation during cancer chemotherapy is not routinely recommended. Studies investigating the precise effect of folate supplementation during chemotherapy on both short- and long-term outcomes of cancer are needed to arrive at a consensus guideline.
Telepsychiatry clinical decision support system used by non-psychiatrists in remote areas
Authors: Malhotra Savita , Chakrabarti Subho , Shah Ruchita , Sharma Minali , Sharma Kanu Priya , Malhotra Akanksha , Upadhyaya Suneet K. , Margoob Mushtaq A. , Maqbool Dar , Jassal Gopal D.
Published: December 2017

Background & objectives:

A knowledge-based, logically-linked online telepsychiatric decision support system for diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders was developed and validated. We evaluated diagnostic accuracy and reliability of the application at remote sites when used by non-psychiatrists who underwent a brief training in its use through video-conferencing.

Methods:

The study was conducted at a nodal telepsychiatry centre, and three geographically remote peripheral centres. The diagnostic tool of application had a screening followed by detailed criteria-wise diagnostic modules for 18 psychiatric disorders. A total of 100 consecutive consenting adult outpatients attending remote telepsychiatry centres were included. To assess inter-rater reliability, patients were interviewed face to face by non-specialists at remote sites using the application (active interviewer) and simultaneously on online application via video-conferencing by a passive assessor at nodal centre. Another interviewer at the nodal centre rated the patient using Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for diagnostic validation.

Results:

Screening sub-module had high sensitivity (80-100%), low positive predictive values (PPV) (0.10-0.71) but high negative predictive value (NPV) (0.97-1) for most disorders. For the diagnostic sub-modules, Cohen's kappa was >0.4 for all disorders, with kappa of 0.7-1.0 for most disorders. PPV and NPV were high for most disorders. Inter-rater agreement analysis revealed kappa >0.6 for all disorders.

Interpretation & conclusions:

Diagnostic tool showed acceptable to good validity and reliability when used by non-specialists at remote sites. Our findings show that diagnostic tool of the telepsychiatry application has potential to empower non-psychiatrist doctors and paramedics to diagnose psychiatric disorders accurately and reliably in remote sites.
A review of Indian research on co-occurring cannabis use disorders & psychiatric disorders
Authors: Singh Shalini , Balhara Yatan Pal Singh
Published: December 2017

Background & objectives:

Cannabis is a widely used illicit drug and its use is often associated with co-occurring psychiatric disorders. This systematic review was aimed to provide information on the published Indian studies on co-occurring cannabis use disorders and psychiatric disorders.

Methods:

An electronic search of available Indian literature using relevant search terms was carried out in May 2015 and 52 articles in English language published from India were included in the current review.

Results:

Studies on cannabis and associated psychotic disorders (n=16) chiefly described acute episodes with predominant positive symptoms, following cannabis use. Some studies (n=6) observed an overall increased prevalence of all psychiatric disorders and symptoms owing to cannabis use, while others (n=14) elaborated on high rates of substance use in those with psychiatric disorders. The effect of cannabis use on cognitive function was the focus of some of the Indian studies (n=7). All these studies barring one had all male subjects, and a single study described the service delivery model for those with dual diagnosis disorders in India. Most of the research used cross-sectional observational design and focussed on treatment-seeking population.

Interpretation & conclusions:

A review of Indian literature on cannabis use and its association with psychiatric disorders indicates a high co-prevalence of psychotic disorders, especially in vulnerable individuals as well as high rates of co-occurrence of other psychiatric comorbidities. However, there is limited focus on exploring the aetiological association between cannabis use and psychiatric disorders; understanding the neurobiology of this association and management-related issues.
Pinning and disorder relevance for the lattice Gaussian free field
Authors: Giacomin Giambattista , Lacoin Hubert
Published: December 2017

This paper provides a rigorous study of the localization transition for a Gaussian free field on

\mathbb Z^d

interacting with a quenched disordered substrate that acts on the interface when its height is close to zero. The substrate has the tendency to localize or repel the interface at different sites and one can show that a localization-delocalization transition takes place when varying the average pinning potential h: the free energy density is zero in the delocalized regime, that is, for

h

smaller than a threshold

h_c

, and it is positive for

h > h_c

. For

d ≥ 3

we compute

h_c

and we show that the transition happens at the same value as for the annealed model. However, we can show that the critical behavior of the quenched model differs from the one of the annealed one. While the phase transition of the annealed model is of first order, we show that the quenched free energy is bounded above by

((h–h_c)_+)2

times a positive constant, and that, for Gaussian disorder, the quadratic behavior is sharp. Therefore this provides an example in which a relevant disorder critical exponent can be made explicit: in theoretical physics disorder is said to be relevant when the disorder changes the critical behavior of a system, and while there are cases in which it is known that disorder is relevant, the exact critical behavior is typically unknown. For

d = 2

we are not able to decide whether the quenched and annealed critical points coincide, but we provide an upper bound for the difference between them.
Mathematical and Algorithmic Aspects of Data Assimilation in the Geosciences
Authors: Griewank Andreas , Reich Sebastian , Roulstone Ian , Stuart Andrew M.
Published: December 2017

The field of “Data Assimilation” has been driven by applications from the geosciences where complex mathematical models are interfaced with observational data in order to improve model forecasts. Mathematically, data assimilation is closely related to filtering and smoothing on the one hand and inverse problems and statistical inference on the other. Key challenges of data assimilation arise from the high-dimensionality of the underlying models, combined with systematic spatio-temporal model errors, pure model uncertainty quantification and relatively sparse observation networks. Advances in the field of data assimilation will require combination of a broad range of mathematical techniques from differential equations, statistics, machine learning, probability, scientific computing and mathematical modeling, together with insights from practitioners in the field. The workshop brought together a collection of scientists representing this broad spectrum of research strands.
La arquitectura de Venecia entre transformación y protección (1984-2001)
Authors: Trovò Francesco
Published: December 2017

Después de la 'trágica inundación de 1966 que mostró a los ojos de mundo la fragilidad de Venecia, el estado italiano ha financiado varias intervenciones para proteger a la ciudad y la laguna. Esta financiación se ha centrado sobre todo en las obras públicas, como oficinas institucionales, pavimentación, cauces y puentes de la ciudad histórica, pero también en las viviendas privadas, que constituyen el tejido urbano de la ciudad. El autor ha realizado un estudio de alrededor de mil intervenciones en edificios privados con financiación a fondo perdido, donde se han identificado las intervenciones mis comunes. La investigación permite una visión general de las tendencias actuales da restauración, que debe entenderse como una sección transversal de las intervenciones en Venecia desde 1984 hasta la retirada de la subvención gubernamental, interrumpida en 2003.
The importance of physiotherapy in the sexuality of patients with rheumatic diseases
Authors: Żuk Beata , Maślińska Maria
Published: December 2017

The sexuality of patients with rheumatic diseases is a significant interdisciplinary problem, requiring intensified action not only of rheumatologists, sexologists, and psychologists but also physiotherapists. The sexuality problems and motor disability in chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis, as well as other rheumatic diseases, are generally still taboo subjects, rarely discussed by physicians and physiotherapists. Lack of mobility, hormonal imbalance, fatigue, and accompanying decreased quality of life have an impact on sexual dysfunction. Meanwhile sex, as an integral part of human personality, is an essential element of human life.
Constraining fossil fuel CO2 emissions from urban area using OCO-2 observations of total column CO2
Authors: Ye Xinxin , Lauvaux Thomas , Kort Eric A. , Oda Tomohiro , Feng Sha , Lin John C. , Yang Emily , Wu Dien
Published: December 2017

Abstract. Expanding urban populations and the significant contribution of cities to global fossil-fuel CO2 (CO2ff) emissions emphasize the necessity of achieving independent and accurate quantifications of the emissions from urban area. In this paper, we assess the utility of total column dry air CO2 mole fraction (XCO2) data retrieved from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) observations to quantify CO2ff emissions from cities. Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) are implemented by forward modeling of meteorological fields and column XCO2. The impact of transport model errors on the inverse emissions estimates is examined for two “plume cities” (Riyadh, Cairo) and a “basin city” (Los Angeles metropolitan region, LA). The pseudo data experiments indicate convergence of emission uncertainties related to transport model errors with increasing amount of observations. The 1-σ uncertainty of emission estimates is constrained to approximately 15 %/5 % with about 10 pseudo tracks for plume city/basin city. The systematic wind speed biases in simulated wind fields for LA lead to overestimations in total CO2ff emission, which require data assimilation to improve high-resolution atmospheric transport. The contribution of biogenic fluxes gradients in urban and rural area of Pearl River Delta metropolitan region in China are examined by simulations with biospheric fluxes imposed by the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) from multiple terrestrial biosphere models, which show about 24 ± 21 % (1σ) and 19 ± 15 % (1σ) contributions to the total XCO2 enhancements for the two cases examined. The representations of transport model errors for the emission optimization are examined for Riyadh, Cairo and LA ¬in real cases. The determination of background XCO2 is discussed for LA by using constant and simulated background with biospheric fluxes included, demonstrating the need of careful consideration of the variations in background XCO2 for identifying concentration enhancements due to fossil fuel emissions.
Impact of long-range transport over the Atlantic Ocean on Saharan dust optical and microphysical properties
Authors: Velasco-Merino Cristian , Mateos David , Toledano Carlos , Prospero Joseph M. , Molinie Jack , Euphrasie-Clotilde Lovely , González Ramiro , Cachorro Victoria E. , Calle Abel , de Frutos Angel M.
Published: December 2017

Abstract. Mineral dust aerosol can be a major driver of aerosol climatology in regions distant from the sources. This study addresses the change of columnar aerosol properties when mineral dust arrives to the Caribbean Basin after transport from Africa over the Atlantic Ocean. We use data from NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites in five Caribbean and two West African sites to characterize changes in aerosol properties: aerosol optical depth, size distribution, single scattering albedo, and refractive indexes. After obtaining local aerosol climatology in each area, the air mass connections between West Africa and Caribbean Basin have been investigated by means of air mass back trajectories. Over the period 1996–2014 we identify 3174 connection days, on average, 167 connection days per year. Among these, 1162 pairs of data present aerosol data in Caribbean sites with corresponding aerosol observations in Western Africa sites ~5–7 days before. Of these 1162 days, 484 meet the criteria to be characterized as mineral dust outbreaks. Based on these days we observe the following changes in aerosol-related properties in transiting the Atlantic: AOD decreases about 0.16 or −30 %; the volume particle size distribution shape shows no changes; single scattering albedo, refractive indexes, and asymmetry factor remain unchanged; the difference in the effective radius in West African area with respect to Caribbean Basin is between 0 and +0.3 µm; and half of the analyzed cases present predominance of non-spherical particles in both areas.
Ozone pollution around a coastal region of South China Sea: Interaction between marine and continental air
Authors: Wang Hao , Lyu Xiaopu , Guo Hai , Wang Yu , Zou Shichun , Ling Zhenhao , Wang Xinming , Jiang Fei , Zeren Yangzong , Pan Wenzhuo , Huang Xiaobo , Shen Jin
Published: December 2017

Abstract. Marine atmosphere is usually considered to be a clean environment, while this study indicates that the near-coast waters of South China Sea (SCS) suffered from even worse air quality than coastal cities. The analyses were based on concurrent field measurements of target air pollutants and meteorological parameters conducted at a suburban site (TC) and a nearby marine site (WS) from August to November 2013. The observations showed that the levels of primary air pollutants were significantly lower at WS than those at TC, while ozone (O3) value was greater at WS. Higher O3 levels at WS were attributed to the weaker NO titration and higher O3 production rate because of stronger oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. However, O3 episodes were concurrently observed at both sites under certain meteorological conditions, such as tropical cyclones, continental anticyclones and sea-land breezes (SLBs). Driven by these synoptic systems and mesoscale recirculations, the interaction between continental and marine air masses had profoundly changed the atmospheric composition and subsequently influenced the formation and redistribution of O3 in the coastal areas. When continental air intruded into marine atmosphere, the O3 pollution was magnified over SCS, and the elevated O3 (> 100 ppbv) could overspread the sea boundary layer ~ 8 times the area of Hong Kong. In some cases, the exaggerated O3 pollution over the SCS was re-circulated to the coastal inshore by sea breeze, leading to even aggravating O3 pollution in coastal cities. The findings are applicable to similar mesoscale environments around the world where the maritime atmosphere is potentially influenced by severe continental air pollution.
Statistical atmospheric inversion of local gas emissions by coupling the tracer release technique and local-scale transport modelling: a test case with controlled methane emissions
Authors: Ars Sébastien , Broquet Grégoire , Yver Kwok Camille , Roustan Yelva , Wu Lin , Arzoumanian Emmanuel , Bousquet Philippe
Published: December 2017

Abstract. This study presents a new concept for estimating the pollutant emission rates of a site and its main facilities using a series of atmospheric measurements across the pollutant plumes. This concept combines the tracer release method, local-scale atmospheric transport modelling and a statistical atmospheric inversion approach. The conversion between the controlled emission and the measured atmospheric concentrations of the released tracer across the plume places valuable constraints on the atmospheric transport. This is used to optimise the configuration of the transport model parameters and the model uncertainty statistics in the inversion system. The emission rates of all sources are then inverted to optimise the match between the concentrations simulated with the transport model and the pollutants' measured atmospheric concentrations, accounting for the transport model uncertainty. In principle, by using atmospheric transport modelling, this concept does not strongly rely on the good colocation between the tracer and pollutant sources and can be used to monitor multiple sources within a single site, unlike the classical tracer release technique. The statistical inversion framework and the use of the tracer data for the configuration of the transport and inversion modelling systems should ensure that the transport modelling errors are correctly handled in the source estimation. The potential of this new concept is evaluated with a relatively simple practical implementation based on a Gaussian plume model and a series of inversions of controlled methane point sources using acetylene as a tracer gas. The experimental conditions are chosen so that they are suitable for the use of a Gaussian plume model to simulate the atmospheric transport. In these experiments, different configurations of methane and acetylene point source locations are tested to assess the efficiency of the method in comparison to the classic tracer release technique in coping with the distances between the different methane and acetylene sources. The results from these controlled experiments demonstrate that, when the targeted and tracer gases are not well collocated, this new approach provides a better estimate of the emission rates than the tracer release technique. As an example, the relative error between the estimated and actual emission rates is reduced from 32 % with the tracer release technique to 16 % with the combined approach in the case of a tracer located 60 m upwind of a single methane source. Further studies and more complex implementations with more advanced transport models and more advanced optimisations of their configuration will be required to generalise the applicability of the approach and strengthen its robustness.
Inter-channel uniformity of a microwave sounder in space
Authors: Burgdorf Martin , Hans Imke , Prange Marc , Lang Theresa , Buehler Stefan A.
Published: December 2017

Abstract. We analyzed intrusions of the Moon in the deep space view of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-B on the NOAA-16 satellite and found no significant discrepancies in the signals from the different sounding channels between 2001 and 2008. Earlier investigations, however, had detected biases of up to 10 K by using simultaneous nadir overpasses of NOAA-16 with other satellites. These discrepancies in the observations of Earth scenes cannot be due to non-linearity of the receiver or contamination of the deep space view without affecting the signal from the Moon as well. As major anomalies of the on-board calibration target and frequency shifts of the local oscillator were not present, either, the most obvious reason for the degrading photometric stability is radio frequency interference in combination with a strongly decreasing gain. By means of the chosen example we demonstrate the usefulness of the Moon for investigations of the performance of microwave sounders in flight.
10Be depth profiles in glacial sediments on the Swiss Plateau: deposition age, denudation and (pseudo-) inheritance
Authors: Wüthrich Lorenz , Brändli Claudio , Braucher Régis , Veit Heinz , Haghipour Negar , Terrizzano Carla , Christl Marcus , Gnägi Christian , Zech Roland
Published: December 2017

Abstract. During the Pleistocene, glaciers advanced repeatedly from the Alps onto the Swiss Plateau. Numeric age control for the last glaciation is good and thus the area is well suited to test a method which has so far not been applied to till in Switzerland. In this study, we apply in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be depth profile dating to several till deposits. Three sites lie inside the assumed Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) extent of the Rhône and Aare glaciers (Bern, Deisswil, Steinhof) and two lie outside (Niederbuchsiten, St. Urban). All sites are strongly affected by denudation, and all sites have reached steady state, i.e., the 10Be production is in equilibrium with radioactive decay and denudational losses. Deposition ages can therefore not be well constrained. Assuming constant denudation rates of 5 cm kyr−1, total denudation on the order of 100 cm for sites within the extent of the LGM and up to tens of meters for older moraines are calculated. Denudation events, for example related to periglacial conditions during the LGM, mitigate the need to invoke such massive denudation and could help to explain high 10Be concentrations at great depths, which we here dub pseudo-inheritance. This term should be used to distinguish conceptionally from true inheritance, i.e., high concentrations derived from the catchment.
From climatological to small scale applications: Simulating water isotopologues with ICON-ART-Iso (version 2.1)
Authors: Eckstein Johannes , Ruhnke Roland , Pfahl Stephan , Christner Emanuel , Dyroff Christoph , Reinert Daniel , Rieger Daniel , Schneider Matthias , Schröter Jennifer , Zahn Andreas , Braesicke Peter
Published: December 2017

Abstract. We present the new isotope enabled model ICON-ART-Iso. The physics of the global ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic (ICON) modelling framework have been extended to simulate passive moisture tracers and the stable isotopologues HDO and H218O. The extension builds on the infrastructure provided by ICON-ART, which allows a high flexibility with respect to the number of related water tracers that are simulated. The physics of isotopologue fractionation follow the model COSMOiso. First, we present a detailed description of the physics of fractionation that have been implemented in the model. The model is then evaluated by comparing with measurements in precipitation and vapor representing a range of temporal scales. A multi annual simulation is compared to observations of the isotopologues in precipitation taken from the station network GNIP (Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation). ICON-ART-Iso is able to reasonably simulate the seasonal cycles in δD and δ18O as observed at the GNIP stations. In a comparison with IASI satellite retrievals, the seasonal and daily cycles in the isotopologue content of vapor are examined for different regions in the free troposphere. On a small spatial and temporal scale, ICON-ART-Iso is used to simulate the period of two flights of the IAGOS-CARIBIC aircraft in September 2010, which sampled air in the tropopause level influenced by Hurricane Igor. The general features of this sample as well as all of tropical data available from IAGOS-CARIBIC are captured by the model. The study demonstrates that ICON-ART-Iso is a flexible tool to analyze the water cycle of ICON. It is capable of simulating tagged water as well as the isotopologues HDO and H218O.
Tsunami run-up estimation based on a hybrid numerical flume and a parameterization of real topobathymetric profiles
Authors: Aniel-Quiroga Íñigo , Quetzalcóatl Omar , González Mauricio , Guillou Louise
Published: December 2017

Abstract. Tsunami run-up is a key value to determine when calculating and assessing the tsunami hazard in a tsunami-prone area. Run-up is accurately calculated by means of numerical models, but these models require high-resolution topobathymetric data, which are not always available, and long computational times. These drawbacks restrict the application of these models to the assessment of small areas. As an alternative method, to address large areas, empirical formulae are commonly applied to estimate run-up. These formulae are based on numerical or physical experiments on idealized geometries. In this paper, a new methodology is presented to calculate tsunami hazard at large scales. This methodology determines the tsunami flooding by using a coupled model that combines a nonlinear shallow water model (2D-H) and a volume-of-fluid model (RANS 2D-V) and applies the optimal numerical scheme in each phase of the tsunami generation-propagation-inundation process. The hybrid model has been widely applied to build a tsunami run-up database (TRD). The aim of this database is to form an interpolation domain with which to estimate the tsunami run-up of new scenarios without running a numerical simulation. The TRD was generated by simulating the propagation of parameterized tsunami waves on real non-scaled profiles. A database and hybrid numerical model were validated using real and synthetic scenarios. The new methodology provides feasible estimations of the tsunami run-up; engineers and scientists can use this methodology to address tsunami hazard at large scales.
La relación pedagógica: en las fuentes de la experiencia educativa con van Manen
Authors: Ayala Carabajo Raquel
Published: December 2017

En este artículo exponemos algunos de los significados fundamentales de la pedagogía fenomenológica de Max van Manen. La pedagogía vanmaniana es poco conocida en el contexto hispanoamericano, a diferencia de lo que sucede en otros contextos geográficos; mucho menos conocida que la metodología fenomenológico-hermenéutica que ha desarrollado el autor y que es seguida en la investigación empírica en muchas y variadas ciencias. Su pedagogía, a través de esta metodología, explora y describe las estructuras esenciales de la experiencia educativa desde el punto de vista existencial o vivido. De esta forma, a lo largo de sus numerosos estudios, van Manen ofrece una profunda y singular comprensión de la vida pedagógica, básicamente, descubierta y descrita a través de sus estructuras o temas esenciales. Se expone aquí, como muestra y selección de esta riqueza de significados fenomenológicos, la naturaleza y condiciones de la relación pedagógica. Un tema que contribuye a aprehender y practicar la pedagogía como una experiencia humana profunda, rica e inefable y con exigencias éticas ineludibles
El empoderamiento del alumnado en los sMOOC
Authors: Gil Quintana Javier , Martínez Pérez Jorge
Published: December 2017

El Proyecto Europeo ECO (E-learning, Communication, Open-Data) ha contribuido en el continente a la difusión de los MOOC, provocando el desarrollo en los mismos de un modelo educativo que fomenta la participación e interacción en las redes sociales y en la plataforma del curso. La peculiaridad propia de este proyecto es el empoderamiento del alumnado, que se ha publicitado como una propuesta que ofrece la posibilidad a cualquier usuaria o usuario de crear su propio sMOOC. En este estudio analizamos este modelo de curso masivo, abierto y online, describiendo las ventajas e inconvenientes de los mismos, además de los factores formativos y motivadores que llevan al alumnado, no sólo a matricularse en determinados cursos, sino también a solicitar su propio espacio para poder crear un sMOOC. Basándonos en una metodología mixta, se ha investigado a lo largo de dos cursos consecutivos el entorno creado por el Máster Redes Sociales y Aprendizaje Digital de la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, planteándose el análisis de este nuevo modelo formativo y la posterior creación de una propuesta innovadora en el marco sMOOC. El estudio se ha efectuado dentro de los espacios utilizados como son las herramientas comunicativas de la plataforma de la asignatura, además de las interacciones recogidas en los grupos creados dentro de la red social de Facebook, las entrevistas y las anotaciones del diario de investigación, precisado por la cumplimentación de cuestionarios. Observaremos cómo el empoderamiento del alumnado está limitado a múltiples factores que impiden un desarrollo óptimo de estos cursos y valoraremos la formación como uno de los incentivos que provocan el deseo por compartir el conocimiento a través de sMOOC, provocando una mejora de la calidad educativa, otra forma de entender la educación y, sin lugar a dudas, otra forma de entender la sociedad actual.
La mirada coeducativa en la formación del profesorado
Authors: Aristizabal Pilar , Gomez-Pintado Ainhoa , Ugalde Ana Isabel , Lasarte Gema
Published: December 2017

En este artículo se presentan los resultados derivados de un proyecto de investigación subvencionado por el Ayuntamiento de Vitoria-Gasteiz cuyo propósito es realizar el diagnóstico de la presencia de la coeducación en los centros escolares del municipio. Se presentan también los resultados obtenidos sobre las necesidades formativas que percibe el profesorado y sus actitudes y propuestas ante la formación en coeducación. Para la recogida de la información se han utilizado cuestionarios y realizado grupos de discusión. La muestra de profesorado participante mediante la cumplimentación del cuestionario está formada por 421 profesores y profesoras y 49 personas pertenecientes a los equipos directivos de los centros. Para profundizar en los temas detectados en los cuestionarios, se han realizado cinco grupos de discusión, 2 con profesorado, y 3 con alumnado. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de formación percibida por la mayor parte del personal docente y muestran posturas favorables a la misma y a la sensibilización del profesorado para la igualdad. Únicamente un 7,7% de las personas encuestadas piensa que estos temas no deberían ser responsabilidad de los centros, si bien un 84,4% estiman que en los centros deberían contar con más recursos para integrar la práctica coeducativa en el quehacer diario. Los resultados concuerdan con otros obtenidos en investigaciones anteriores.
Autoridad docente y Nuevas Tecnologías: cambios, retos y oportunidades
Authors: Plaza de la Hoz Jesús
Published: December 2017

La relación pedagógica ha sido siempre objeto de estudio y reflexión. Cuando la educación trasciende el ámbito familiar y se generaliza su acceso en la escuela de masas, se vuelve problemática la conexión entre autoridad docente y valores democráticos. Con la irrupción de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) el escenario cambia de nuevo. El objetivo de este artículo es doble; por una parte, analizar la bibliografía reciente sobre las transformaciones que las tecnologías imprimen en la autoridad pedagógica; por otro se contrastan esos resultados con un estudio de campo. Se han revisado los últimos artículos sobre la relación entre autoridad docente y TIC a través de Google Scholar, Dialnet o Web of Science, primando su actualidad; el estudio cualitativo se basa en la técnica de los grupos de discusión, así como en el posterior Análisis de Datos Cualitativos Asistido por Ordenador (CAQDAS), por medio del programa Atlas.ti.7. Como resultado, las TIC, lejos de anular la autoridad del profesor la afianzan, aunque con un enfoque muy distinto al tradicional; se advierte así un proceso todavía paulatino de adaptación que modifica el sentido de la autoridad desde un carácter impositivo a uno demostrativo. Por tanto el estudio de la literatura reciente  destaca el impacto que la sociedad red y las tecnologías tienen en el quehacer docente, algo que se comprueba en el estudio de campo. Por otro lado el tamaño de la muestra y su carácter cualitativo dejan abierta la perspectiva de si las TIC reforzarán el papel de autoridad del profesor, como aquí se sugiere, o lo harán superfluo, como indican los más críticos.
Interdisciplinary Study on Cross-Cultural Poetry Reading
Authors: Zhang Yehong
Published: December 2017

This article explores the common ground and poetic elements for cross-cultural reading of literary works. As a typical literary form, poetry amply contains the characteristics of literary works and stimulates the imagination of the readers. To investigate the reading experience with poetry, an empirical study on the cross-cultural poetry reading has been conducted and carried out in China and Germany, respectively. The study adopts a psychological approach to evaluate readers' mental reaction to and involvement in classical Chinese and German poems, and combines these with the assessment of quantitative monitoring of brain function. The results from the different measurements indicate that the aesthetic imagination can trigger more aesthetic enjoyment and significantly reduce anxiety. In line with literary theories and evolutionary psychology, these empirical findings, combined with poetic analyses, indicate that the key to immediate involvement in a cross-cultural poetry reading might lie in the description, which is closely connected to the embodied experience of the readers. The results from the interdisciplinary study provide further evidence that supports the assumption of the role of the embodied mind in cross-cultural literary reading, confirming and advancing classic literary theories. These findings open new perspectives for future studies on cross-cultural poetic reading and literary imagination.
“Better That All of the Story Never Be Told”: Zelda Fitzgerald's Sister's Letters to Arthur Mizener
Authors: Bryer Jackson R.
Published: December 2017

In late June 1950, Rosalind Sayre Smith, Zelda Fitzgerald's sister, sent two letters to Arthur Mizener, after Fitzgerald's daughter “Scottie” sent her the manuscript of Mizener's forthcoming Fitzgerald biography. This article for the first time publishes extensive excerpts from Smith's letters, which offer important, first-hand commentary on, among other subjects, the Sayre family, the Fitzgeralds' wedding, Zelda Fitzgerald's ballet studies, Zelda Fitzgerald's hospitalization at Highland Hospital, and the aftermath of the Fitzgeralds' ill-fated trip to Cuba in April 1939.
Revisiting “Babylon Revisited”: A Critical Retrospective
Authors: Malmgren Carl D.
Published: December 2017

This article argues that even given all the accolades showered upon “Babylon Revisited” (1931), critics have yet to appreciate the full measure of Fitzgerald's accomplishment. What critics have passed over is Fitzgerald's narratological prowess, his admirable command of the point of view of the story. The basic issues debated by critics for nearly fifty years now are if Charlie is in fact a changed man and if he deserves to get his daughter back. This article takes a hard look at Fitzgerald's technique in order to answer these questions, to bring out nuances in the story that critics have overlooked, and to give Fitzgerald the full credit he deserves.
Jay Gatsby, Failed Intellectual: F. Scott Fitzgerald's Trope for Social Stratification
Authors: Bechtel Dianne E.
Published: December 2017

This article explores F. Scott Fitzgerald's drawing of the character Jay Gatsby in conjunction with Pierre Bourdieu's theory of the habitus. It seeks to explain why Jay Gatsby has failed at his attempt to maintain wealth, love interest, and even his life. It describes the social and economic realities that make up the conditions of class status and character behavior that lead to Gatsby's lack of survival. The article argues that the social structures and relevant practices of economic status in literature and everyday life are products of inculcated sociopolitical structures and substructures. Characters like Jay Gatsby are governed by, and sealed within, an unchanging class structure regardless of upward mobility. Much in the fashion of Bourdieu's habitus, Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby plays out his failure though the author's own unconsciously inculcated disposition. Gatsby cannot help but fail. Fitzgerald renders the class habitus through ideologically based cultural goods in the form of physical bodies and the trappings of wealth, showing these through the leitmotif of the American Dream. As such, Bourdieu's theory of the habitus and the social economy of cultural goods is deeply written in the discourse of Jay Gatsby's conflict just as surely as it reveals Fitzgerald's own struggle with class status.
Held to Account: Medieval Scribes at Sea
Authors: Tai Emily Sohmer
Published: December 2017

This article draws upon legal sources and archival records from Barcelona, Venice, and Genoa to study the experience of scribes in the medieval Mediterranean. Just as Chaucer or Dante may have feared the scribe's power to alter compositions, so, too, did scribes excite apprehension among medieval agents of commerce. The weighty responsibilities assigned to scribes presented significant temptations for illicit enrichment, as well as risks, aboard the medieval ship. The dangers of a maritime venture were compounded, for the scribe, by risks incurred as keepers of the written record.