bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Afterword
Authors: Kishore Shweta
Published: May 2020

Whilst making a significant contribution to public visual culture and narrative formation, documentary filmmakers hold the key to our understanding of independence, occupying the position of agent and subject, whose position can be understood primarily by examining responses to narrow definitions of ‘function’ that have plagued documentary film and filmmakers. Where ‘function’ carries meanings that harness images and image-makers to measurable phenomena of profit-making, institutional communication, consumption or mass persuasion, independent documentary works to challenge the teleological meaning of ‘function’ and its use as a yardstick to evaluate the value and legitimacy of cultural production and cultural producers.
Fragmentary Aesthetics: Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill in the Canadian Bush
Authors: Shaikh Fariha
Published: May 2020

Chapter Three focusses on the semi-autobiographical accounts of settlement by Susanna Moodie and her sister, Catharine Parr Traill. It argues that the sketch form as practised by Moodie in Roughing it in the Bush (1852) and by Parr Traill in The Backwoods of Canada (1836), is an attempt to counter the tall tales of success circulating in booster literature. In this way, it takes on the concerns raised in the second chapter of what form is suitable for expressing the experiences of settlement. It argues that the sketch is intimately linked to the female experience of settlement: they could be written in the small hours of the night when the day-time chores were finished and children were in bed. Sketches thus capture a sense of these snatched fragments of time and simultaneously evoke the fragmented sensibility which comes when faced with such new surroundings.
Introduction: The Problem of a Philosophical Rendering of Nature and Hegel’s Philosophy of the Real
Authors: Furlotte Wes
Published: May 2020

-The monograph begins with an historical introduction to the problem of nature in German idealism. Subsequently, the chapter outlines the holistic quality of Hegel’s thought, and the importance he repeatedly assigns to nature within his own system. It argues that if Hegel’s system is to be taken seriously then it must be reconsidered it in terms of that which contemporary scholarship has excluded, i.e. his conception of nature. The wager is that such a move allows for a critically (re-)reading of Hegel against Hegel, offering an entirely different understanding of his late philosophy. Consequently, the book proposes to (1) generate a careful reconstruction of Hegel’s conception of nature in order to (2) critically explore what such a conception of nature must mean when considered in relation to what he advances concerning the constitution of subjectivity and social freedom. This proposal establishes the coordinates for the remainder of the monograph. The introduction functions as a break with traditional Hegel scholarship that begins with his logic (an onto-logic) and then reads the remainder of his final system in terms of the abstract dictates of ‘the concept.’ This project fundamentally concerns Hegel’s Philosophy of the Real (Realphilosophie), the actuality of nature and culture.
The ‘Non-Whole’ of Hegelian Nature: Extrinsicality and the Problems of Sickness and Death
Authors: Furlotte Wes
Published: May 2020

This chapter outlines the rejection that has followed Hegel’s philosophy of nature for the last two hundred years. It stresses how, when considered at all, Hegel’s writings on nature are read to be derived from Schelling’s innovations in nature-philosophy. The consequences have been dire for Hegel’s account of nature. Either (1) scholars downplay its relevance, or; (2) they read it in terms of a ‘strong’ correspondence between nature, on the one hand, and the movements of thought, on the other. Therefore, the chapter argues, we do not know what a distinctly Hegelian reading of Hegel’s position might look like, let alone offer. Fundamentally challenging these entrenched interpretations, the chapter underlines the repeated textual evidence that allows one to read Hegel’s philosophy of nature in exactly the opposite direction. Consequently, the chapter emphasizes passages throughout the entirety of the text characterizing nature as weak, impotent (Ohnmacht), and even irrational. The chapter thereby clears the space for a distinct reading of Hegelian nature: it is reticent to the systematic dictates of conceptuality and therefore lacks the encompassing necessity demanded by thought.
The Other Hegel: The Anthropology and Spirit’s Birth from within the Bio‑Material World
Authors: Furlotte Wes
Published: May 2020

This chapter functions as a preparatory overview of Part II as a whole. First, it historically contextualizes Hegel’s speculative anthropology in terms of developments in empirical psychology and anthropology from the period; second, it emphasizes the ways in which Hegel was fascinated throughout the course of his philosophical activity by the perplexing question of how anything resembling the free self-referential activity of spirit might emerge from within the coordinates of blind material nature. Simultaneously, it emphasizes not only the significant role Hegel assigned to the results of empirical inquiry but, more importantly, the thorough-going materialism operative in his analysis of the genesis of finite subjectivity. In this sense, the chapter develops a portrait of the other Hegel: one concerned with materialism, science, embodiment, and various forms of pathology which permeate the life of subjectivity.
The Nightmare of Reason and Regression into the Night of the World
Authors: Furlotte Wes
Published: May 2020

This chapter critically reads finite subjectivity in terms of its natural, instinctual dimension. The chapter’s objective is to further substantiate the significant problem Hegel’s conception of nature poses to his project of radical freedom. Developing a sense of subjectivity’s potential for “regression”, the chapter seeks to outline how, as in the case of acute psychopathology, subjectivity’s ordering of its instinctual dimension might be undermined. Hegelian regression, therefore, is a haywire inversion where the logical superiority of spirit’s freedom is subordinated to the ontologically prior register of instinct. Extrapolating from this analysis, the chapter contends that the unconscious-instinctual depth of the subject is never entirely abandoned; this abyss (Schacht) of indeterminacy lingers within the matrices of finite spirit and has the perpetual possibility of breaking-loose to the detriment of subjectivity’s free self-actualizing activity. Consequently, a reconstruction of Hegel’s account of mental illness forcefully demonstrates how nature remains a perpetual source of trauma for finite subjectivity and, therefore, the life of spirit.
An Introduction to the Problem of Surplus Repressive Punishment
Authors: Furlotte Wes
Published: May 2020

Opening Part III, chapter nine begins historically. It situates Hegel’s political writings in relation to Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, and to a lesser degree Fichte. Paying careful attention to the Philosophy of Right’s full title, and its introduction, while also acknowledging both “metaphysical” and “non-metaphysical” readings of Hegel’s political philosophy, the chapter gestures towards Hegel’s account of “Abstract Right”, specifically the category of personhood, as a fertile point of departure for pursuing the problem of nature from within Hegel’s political philosophy.
Surplus Repressive Punishment and Spirit’s Regressive (de-)Actualisation
Authors: Furlotte Wes
Published: May 2020

This chapter begins with a provoking claim: the real problem here is not the natural dimension involved in criminality. Instead, it argues that the real threat to freedom’s social actualization is the way in which the state’s disciplinary apparatus reacts to violations of right. It shows that if criminality needs to be framed in terms of nature then so does punishment. If punishment functions to (re-)habituate transgressive persons, then one of its inherent risks is that it might operate as a brute externality, a natural force. In functioning as an external natural force, punishment actively mutilates the freedom constitutive of juridical personhood. Not only does this mutilation undermine the individual it also actively undermines spirit’s social (objective) expression as freedom because such a practice serves to (a) fragment and alienate the person and (b) the totality constituting the body politic. This threat is what the chapter calls “surplus repressive punishment.” This problem as a whole is what the chapter denotes with “spirit’s regressive (de-)actualization.” Consequently, the problem nature poses in Hegel’s system is even more complex when considered in terms of how the polis’ institutions frame, understand, and react to that very same problem.
Fragile Bodies, Cross-species Empathy and Suspended Allegories: ‘It hurt, it was painful – that’s all there is to say’
Authors: Sands Danielle
Published: May 2020

This chapter focuses on Yann Martel’s allegorical novels Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil in order to assess the possibility of articulating cross-species vulnerability and its connection to cross-species empathy, where empathy is understood as imaginative perspective-taking. Engaging with theorists such as Jacques Derrida, Carey Wolfe and Anat Pick, it argues that Martel resists the temptation to reinstate the human as master-storyteller. Instead, it identifies an ironic or deconstructive approach to storytelling in Martel’s fiction, which shuttles between critique (stories tend towards the reactionary reiteration of the familiar) and affirmation (stories promise imaginative innovation which enables ‘reworlding’). Taking seriously the possibility of nonhuman storytelling, the chapter closes by proposing ways in which alternative modes of storytelling might ground an inhuman ethics.
Posthuman Gothic
Authors: der Lippe Anya Heise-von
Published: May 2020

This chapter traces the posthuman Gothic in a number of recent examples – in film (Ex Machina (2015), Ghost in the Shell (2017)), television (Westworld(2016–), Black Mirror (2011–)), narrative fiction (Marisha Pessl's Night Film (2013) and Gemma Files’s Experimental Film (2015)) and graphic novels (The Beauty (2016–). These texts explore the many ways in which our technological entanglements tend to blur the boundaries between ‘human’ and ‘non-human’. While attempts at defining a ‘posthuman Gothic’ are relatively recent (see Bolton 2014; Heise-von der Lippe 2017), the narrative exploration of these phenomena can be traced back to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and its lasting impact on later posthuman narratives. By aestheticising the uncanniness of the automaton – the almost-but-not-quite human cyborg or the abject, biotech human-animal hybrid – posthuman Gothic texts draw attention to the many ways in which these processes can and will go wrong and highlight the instability and ultimate unsustainability of our most basic ontological category – the human.
Performing Ethics Through Film Style
Authors: Lamberti Edward
Published: May 2020

Emmanuel Levinas’s ethical philosophy has had a significant influence on film theory in recent years. This book proposes a relationship between Levinasian ethics and film style. It argues that films can convey Levinasian ethics not just through their subject matter but also through their use of style. The book brings this relationship between ethics and style into a productive dialogue with theories of performativity, such as J. L. Austin’s speech-act theory, Jacques Derrida’s notion of originary performativity and Judith Butler’s reconfiguration of performativity within the socio-political sphere. It explores Levinas’s influence on film through the study of three directorial bodies of work: those of the Dardenne brothers, Barbet Schroeder and Paul Schrader. The book focuses on a range of films, including the Dardennes’ Je Pense à Vous (1992), La Promesse (1996), Le Fils (2002) and The Kid with a Bike (2011), Schroeder’s Maîtresse (1975), Reversal of Fortune (1990), Terror’s Advocate (2007) and Our Lady of the Assassins (2000) and Schrader’s American Gigolo (1980), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), The Comfort of Strangers (1990), Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) and Adam Resurrected (2008). In doing so, it demonstrates how films can perform a Levinasian ethics through different styles.
Introduction: Jonze Between the Lines
Authors: Wilkins Kim , Moss-Wellington Wyatt
Published: May 2020

Wilkins and Moss-Wellington describe Spike Jonze’s emergence as a unique voice in American filmmaking at the turn of the millennium, analysing the way his work crosses boundaries between philosophy and genre entertainment, commercial and subversive imperatives, independent and Hollywood modes of production, short work and features. After broadly surveying Jonze’s career and articulating its importance within film studies, the ensuing chapters are introduced.
“You can be John Malkovich”: Celebrity, Absurdity, and Convention in Being John Malkovich
Authors: Wilkins Kim
Published: May 2020

Throughout Being John Malkovich, reflexive narrational strategies, diegetic absurdities, and fantastical plot points seek to disrupt the expectations and viewing practices associated with the conventions of mainstream narrative cinema—yet Jonze and Kaufman’s film does not abandon these conventions. Being John Malkovich (like all of Jonze’s films to date) is not comfortably categorized as “arthouse” or “experimental.” Rather, Jonze’s work employs the conventions of the dominant Hollywood norm in concert with eccentric plot devices and irony at various moments in order to subvert audience expectation, which results in an “offbeat” tone or aesthetic. Wilkins argues that the most absurd, or eccentric, narrative elements of Being John
Malkovich—its ironic focus on celebrity and the ludicrous Malkovich portal—are precisely the mechanisms that enable an essentially unresolvable existential conundrum to be shaped into the conventionally linear narrative structure. Yet these utterly bizarre narrative inclusions also function as diversions; they aim to distract from or make humorous the very existential concerns they narrativize.
Culture Cult: Ritual Circulation of Inalienable Knowledge and Appropriation of Cultural Knowledge (Central and NW Australia)
Authors: Glowczewski Barbara
Published: May 2020

After recalling the international context of the contemporary claims to cultural property, Glowczewski discusses the concept of inalienability which, in central and north western Australia, surrounds the ritual circulation of sacred objects and the cults of which they are a part, including rituals of colonial resistance. Afterwards she examines the elaboration of a culture centre which involved in the 1990’s the representatives of a dozen Aboriginal languages and organisations based in the coastal town of Broome; this initiative reflected an attempt to control the representation given of their cultures and to claim the reappropriation of their objects (in Museums) and knowledge in a process of cultural repatriation and political affirmation. First published in 2002.
“‘Shakespeare’ on his lips”: Dreaming of the Shakespeare Center for Radical Thought and Transformative Action
Authors: Barros Eric L. De
Published: May 2020

Rooting his pedagogy in an Orwellian commitment to exploring the relation between writing and the cultural forces that shape it, Eric L. De Barros takes up linguistic complexity itself as a pedagogical model in this chapter. De Barros sees Shakespeare’s texts as a “weapon” to use against a range of lazy habits of mind, from bardolatry to consumerist approaches to higher education. He describes how he invites students to examine their own subject positions and ethical priorities in conversation with Shakespeare’s plays; how this engagement spurs conversations about issues from racialized beauty and consent to social mobility and criminality; and finally, how students parlay these insights into practical strategies for addressing related issues in their own lives. Fusing thoughtful intertextual engagements with close reading and autobiographical student writing, De Barros seeks to develop a “personally inflected, politically responsive” Shakespeare capable of combating cultural forces that discourage potentially subversive thought and action.
Introduction
Authors: Del Lucchese Filippo
Published: May 2020

Monsters abounded in the ancient world. They proliferated on and around Phidias’s lost sculpture of Athena Parthenos, one of the most renowned cult images of ancient Greece:1 amazons and giants were depicted on her shield, which hid the snake Erichthonius, centaurs adorned her sandals; Medusa was represented on her peplos, and the Gorgoneion decorated the aegis. Finally, a Sphinx and two winged gryphons stood on her crest. Athena, endowed with skilful wisdom and warrior virtue, subjugated the monsters who had tried to subvert the Olympian order and who are shown here tamed, thus confirming her might. The Greeks praise the gods, celebrating their final victory over chaos and monstrosity....
Stoicism
Authors: Del Lucchese Filippo
Published: May 2020

Stoics contribute to the debate on monstrosity forging original intellectual tools to explain imperfection and evil in the framework of a rational cosmos providentially built and guided by a divine principle. The original position developed by Stoics lies on a nominalism that treats all generalisation and universalisation as illusory abstractions of a weak human imagination. Through nominalism, Stoics obliterate the idea of transcendency and think the multiplicity of the material world, with all its imperfections, through the unfolding of a divine rational principle. Such immanency, however, is different from the absolutely material one of atomists. Stoics order the universe according to degrees of perfection, and instead of ruling out qualitative differences (e.g. between good and evil, normal and abnormal, beauty and ugliness), they reintroduce them in a divine and providential structure, teleologically oriented. Monstrosities are thus explained with original and powerful ideas, such as the panspermia (i.e. the origin of the seed from the whole body, and more broadly from the whole genus), the vital forces informing matter, the semina rerum and, more in general, the uniqueness of every being, which Christian thought eventually transforms in the free creation of wonders by God’s omnipotence.
Tribunal Decisions
Authors: Auchie Derek P. , Carmichael Ailsa
Published: May 2020

In the course of proceedings before the tribunal, a variety of decisions will have to be made, some in relation to preliminary and procedural matters, and others of a substantive nature, whether making or refusing interim orders, or reaching a determination which will finally dispose of the proceedings. This chapter is concerned with the way in which the tribunal communicates its decisions, and the statutory and other legal rules concerned with the issuing of written reasons for such decisions.
Like other courts and tribunals, there are occasions when, rather than making a substantive order authorising particular measures in respect of a patient, it will be open to the tribunal to make orders which deal only with procedural matters. Many of the matters that come before the tribunal do not require a substantive order to be made on each occasion the case calls.
How electoral designers fail: The contextual straightjackets of reform
Authors: Bunker Kenneth
Published: May 2020

When electoral designers conduct reform, they work within given frameworks to meet certain objectives. One of the most common goals is to produce a system which outputs results in favor of the commissioners. While designers are normally able to a generate system-level impacts, they sometimes fail to secure electoral spoils for their parties. How does this happen? This article proposes the cube root law and the seat product model to identify designers’ underlying objectives and explore the contexts under which they fail to meet them. It uses data from eight legislative elections in Chile (1989-2017) to show how two different designers impacted patterns of representation and proportionality. It finds that while they both were successful in achieving system-level shifts in their desired directions, only one of them was able to benefit their commissioner. It suggests that designer that failed to produce spoils for his party was constrained by contextual straitjackets.
Development of a Low-Cost Semantic Monitoring System for Vineyards Using Autonomous Robots
Authors: Ravankar Abhijeet , A. Ravankar Ankit , Watanabe Michiko , Hoshino Yohei , Rawankar Arpit
Published: May 2020

Many tasks involved in viticulture are labor intensive. Farmers frequently monitor the vineyard to check grape conditions, damage due to infections from pests and insects, grape growth, and to estimate optimal harvest time. Such monitoring is often done manually by the farmers. Manual monitoring of large vineyards is time and labor consuming process. To this end, robots have a big potential to increase productivity in farms by automating various tasks. We propose a low-cost semantic monitoring system for vineyards using autonomous robots. The system uses inexpensive cameras, processing boards, and sensors to remotely provide timely information to the farmers on their computer and smart phone. Unlike traditional systems, the proposed system logs data ‘semantically’, which enables pin-pointed monitoring of vineyards. In other words, the farmers can monitor only specific areas of the vineyard as desired. The proposed algorithm is robust for occlusions, and intelligently logs image data based on the movement of the robot. The proposed system was tested in actual vineyards with real robots. Due to its compactness and portability, the proposed system can be used as an extension in conjunction with already existing autonomous robot systems used in vineyards. The results show that pin-pointed remote monitoring of desired areas of the vineyard is a very useful and inexpensive tool for the farmers to save a lot of time and labor.
Response of the Arthropod Community to Soil Characteristics and Management in the Franciacorta Viticultural Area (Lombardy, Italy)
Authors: Ghiglieno Isabella , Simonetto Anna , Orlando Francesca , Donna Pierluigi , Tonni Marco , Valenti Leonardo , Gilioli Gianni
Published: May 2020

Soil represents an important pool of biodiversity, hosting about a quarter of the living species on our planet. This soil richness has led to increasing interest in the structural and functional characteristics of its biodiversity. Studies of arthropod responses, in terms of abundance and taxon richness, have increased in relation to their ecological value as bioindicators of environmental change. This research was carried out over the 2014–2018 period with the aim to better understand arthropod taxa responses in vineyard soils in Franciacorta (Lombardy, Italy). To determine the biological composition in terms of arthropod taxa presence, one hundred soil samples were analysed. Environmental characteristics, such as chemical composition, soil moisture and temperature, and soil management were characterized for each soil sample. A total of 19 taxa were identified; the NMDS model analysis and the cluster analysis divided them into five groups according to their co-occurrence patterns. Each group was related to certain abiotic conditions; of these, soil moisture, temperature and organic matter were shown to be significant. A decision tree analysis showed that a longer period since conversion from conventional to organic farming lead to a higher arthropod biodiversity defined as a higher number of taxa.
Smart Farming Technology Trends: Economic and Environmental Effects, Labor Impact, and Adoption Readiness
Authors: Balafoutis Athanasios T. , Evert Frits K. Van , Fountas Spyros
Published: May 2020

Farming faces challenges that increase the adverse effects on farms’ economics, labor, and the environment. Smart farming technologies (SFTs) are expected to assist in reverting this situation. In this work, 1064 SFTs were derived from scientific papers, research projects, and industrial products. They were classified by technology readiness level (TRL), typology, and field operation, and they were assessed for their economic, environmental, and labor impact, as well as their adoption readiness from end-users. It was shown that scientific articles dealt with SFTs of lower TRL than research projects. In scientific articles, researchers investigated mostly recording technologies, while, in research projects, they focused primarily on farm management information systems and robotic/automation systems. Scouting technologies were the main SFT type in scientific papers and research projects, but variable rate application technologies were mostly located in commercial products. In scientific papers, there was limited analysis of economic, environmental, and labor impact of the SFTs under investigation, while, in research projects, these impacts were studied thoroughly. Further, in commercial SFTs, the focus was on economic impact and less on labor and environmental issues. With respect to adoption readiness, it was found that all of the factors to facilitate SFT adoption became more positive moving from SFTs in scientific papers to fully functional commercial SFTs, indicating that SFTs reach the market when most of these factors are addressed for the benefit of the farmers. This SFT analysis is expected to inform researchers on adapting their research, as well as help policy-makers adjust their strategy toward digitized agriculture adoption and farmers with the current situation and future trends of SFTs.
In Vitro Propagation Strategies of Medicinally Important Berry Crop, Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.)
Authors: Debnath Samir C. , Arigundam Usha
Published: May 2020

Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) is a health-promoting small fruit crop rich in antioxidant metabolites that helps to reduce the incidence of degenerative diseases. Being heterozygous, lingonberries cannot preserve genetic characteristics through seed propagation. Conventional vegetative propagation, although it produces true-to-type plants, is not economically viable. In vitro propagation can multiply plants much faster than conventional methods. A liquid cultures system under a bioreactor micropropagation system is of significant importance to increase the multiplication rates of in vitro-produced shoots. Enhanced vegetative growth and variation in biochemical constituents are observed in micropropagated plants. Clonal fidelity, although it may be a serious problem for commercial micropropagation, can be verified efficiently by molecular markers. The current review provides detailed and updated information on lingonberry micropropagation along with conventional methods and their effects on morphological, molecular and biochemical characteristics in micropropagated plants, filling the gap in literature.
Heat-Shock Proteins Gene Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells as an Indicator of Heat Stress in Beef Calves
Authors: Kim Won-Seob , Ghassemi Nejad Jalil , Roh Sang-Gun , Lee Hong-Gu
Published: May 2020

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of HS on HSPs gene expression in bovine PBMCs of beef calves in in vitro and in vivo models. In the in vitro experiment, blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of five beef calves (age: 174.2 ± 5.20 days, BW: 145.2 ± 5.21 kg). In the in vivo experiment, sixteen Korean native male beef calves (age: 169.6 ± 4.60 days, BW: 136.9 ± 6.23 kg) were exposed to ambient temperature for seven days (22 to 24 °C, relative humidity 60%; temperature–humidity index (THI) = 68 to 70) and subsequently to the temperature and humidity corresponding to the target THI level for 21 days (HS). For PBMC isolation, blood samples were collected every three days. In the in vitro model, the cell viability was significantly decreased in HS groups compared with the control group (p = 0.015). The expression of HSP70 (p = 0.022), HSP90 (p = 0.003) and HSPB1 (p = 0.026) genes was increased in the HS group in in vitro model. In the in vivo experiment, the HSP70 gene expression was increased after sudden exposure to HS conditions (severe THI levels; THI = 88 to 90), whereas HSP90 and HSPB1 showed no differences among the THI groups (p > 0.05). However, in the severe THI group, the HSP70 gene expression returned to normal range after six days of continuous HS. In conclusion, the HSP70 gene plays a pivotal role in protecting cells from damage and is sensitive to HS in immune cells compared with other HSP genes in in vitro and in vivo models. In addition, the in vivo models suggest that calves exhibit active physiological mechanisms of adaptation to HS after six days of continuous exposure by regulating the HSP70 gene expression.
Evaluation of Neuroprotective Effects of Quercetin against Aflatoxin B1-Intoxicated Mice
Authors: Gugliandolo Enrico , Peritore Alessio Filippo , D’Amico Ramona , Licata Patrizia , Crupi Rosalia
Published: May 2020

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a mycotoxin commonly present in feed, characterized by several toxic effects. AFB1 seems to have a neurotoxical effect that leads to memory impairment behavior. AFB1 toxicity involves the induction of the oxidative stress pathway, rising lipid peroxidation, and it decreases antioxidant enzyme levels. Hence, in our research, we wanted to evaluate the potential protective effects of quercetin 30 mg/kg in AFB1-mediated toxicity in the brain and the ameliorative effect on behavioral alterations. Oral supplementation with quercetin increased glutathione peroxidase (GSH) levels, superoxidedismutase (SOD) activity and catalase (CAT) in the brain, and it reduced lipid peroxidation in AFB1-treated mice. This antioxidant effect of quercetin in the brains of AFB1-intoxicated mice is reflected in better cognitive and spatial memory capacity, as well as a better profile of anxiety and lethargy disorders. In conclusion, our study suggests that quercetin exerts a preventive role against oxidative stress by promoting antioxidative defense systems and limiting lipid peroxidation.
Performance Modeling of Ultraviolet Atmospheric Scattering of Different Light Sources Based on Monte Carlo Method
Authors: Zhang Qiushi , Zhang Xin , Wang Lingjie , Shi Guangwei , Fu Qiang , Liu Tao
Published: May 2020

Since the atmosphere has a strong scattering effect on ultraviolet light, the transmission of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signals can be realized in the atmosphere. In previous articles, ultraviolet (UV) light atmospheric scattering has been characterized by many scattering models based on spot light sources with uniformly distributed light intensity. In order to explore the role of light sources in atmospheric transmission, this work proposed a UV light atmospheric transport model under different types of light source, including light-emitting diode (LED), laser, and ordinary light sources, based on the Monte Carlo point probability method. The simulation of the light source in the proposed model is a departure from the use of a light source with uniform intensity distribution in previous articles. The atmospheric transmission efficiency of different light sources was calculated and compared with the data of existing models. The simulation results showed that the type of light source can significantly change the shape of the received signal and the received energy density. The Monte Carlo (MC) point probability method dramatically reduced the calculation time and the number of photons. The transmission characteristics of different ultraviolet light sources in the atmosphere provide a theoretical foundation for the design of ultraviolet detection and near-ultraviolet signal communication in the future.
The Influence and Application of Slag, Fly Ash, and Limestone Flour on Compressive Strength of Concrete Based on the Concrete Compressive Strength Development over Time (CCSDOT) Model
Authors: Zheng Jian , Liu Guohua
Published: May 2020

Concrete and cement have been widely used in past decades as a result of urbanization. More and more supplementary cementitious materials are adopted in concrete because its production complements environmental conservation. The influence of slag, fly ash, limestone, etc., on compressive strength of concrete is of interest to engineers worldwide. Many previous studies were specific to certain engineering or certain experiments that could not reveal the nature of the influence of the three supplementary cementitious materials on concrete’s compressive strength. The research concerning the influence of two or more kinds of supplementary cementitious materials on concrete’s compressive strength is still unclear. Moreover, there is a lack of clarity on the optimum proportion of one or more certain cementitious materials in practical engineering or experiments. To overcome these problems, this study adopts the concrete compressive strength development over time (CCSDOT) model, which generates an explicit formula to conduct quantitative research based on extensive data. The CCSDOT model performs well in fitting the compressive strength development of concrete containing cement, slag, fly ash, and limestone flour. The results reveal the nature of the influence of the three supplementary cementitious materials on concrete’s compressive strength through the parameter analysis in the model. Two application cases are analyzed concerning the selection of the three supplementary cementitious materials and design of concrete mix proportion for practical engineering. It is concluded that the CCSDOT model and the method in this study can possibly provide guidance on both the selection of supplementary cementitious materials and the design of optimal concrete mix proportion for practical engineering. Therefore, the study is highly essential and useful.
An Object-Oriented Color Visualization Method with Controllable Separation for Hyperspectral Imagery
Authors: Liu Danfeng , Wang Liguo , Benediktsson Jón Atli
Published: May 2020

Most of the available hyperspectral image (HSI) visualization methods can be considered as data-oriented approaches. These approaches are based on global data, so it is difficult to optimize display of a specific object. Compared to data-oriented approaches, object-oriented visualization approaches show more pertinence and would be more practical. In this paper, an object-oriented hyperspectral color visualization approach with controllable separation is proposed. Using supervised information, the proposed method based on manifold dimensionality reduction methods can simultaneously display global data information, interclass information, and in-class information, and the balance between the above information can be adjusted by the separation factor. Output images are visualized after considering the results of dimensionality reduction and separability. Five kinds of manifold algorithms and four HSI data were used to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach. Experiments showed that the visualization results by this approach could make full use of supervised information. In subjective evaluations, t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (T-SNE), Laplacian eigenmaps (LE), and isometric feature mapping (ISOMAP) demonstrated a sharper detailed pixel display effect within individual classes in the output images. In addition, T-SNE and LE showed clarity of information (optimum index factor, OIF), good correlation (ρ), and improved pixel separability (δ) in objective evaluation results. For Indian Pines data, T-SNE achieved the best results in regard to both OIF and δ , which were 0.4608 and 23.83, respectively. However, compared with other methods, the average computing time of this method was also the longest (1521.48 s).
Some Aspects of the Scattering of Light and Microwaves on Non-Spherical Raindrops
Authors: Sterlyadkin Victor V.
Published: May 2020

A review of the author’s work on the study of the microphysics of rain is carried out. The effect of an anomalously high modulation of light scattered by oscillating drops of water, which consists in the formation of powerful pulses of light when illuminating an oscillating drop with continuous light and observation at scattering angles near a first-order rainbow, is described and explained. The anomalous scattering tracks obtained in the photographs provide information on the mass, average shape, mode, and amplitude of oscillations for each drop, by analogy with the Wilson camera. In field measurements, spatial selection of droplets by size was detected, when droplets of different sizes were grouped in different parts of space. The theoretical substantiation of the grouping of rain particles in space under the influence of wind gusts is carried out. It has been shown that the grouping and clustering of raindrops affects the relationship between radar reflectivity Z and rain intensity R. The influence of non-sphericity and oscillation of raindrops on the scattering of microwave radiation is studied. Polarization methods are proposed for enhancing or sharply reducing the contributions of the asphericity of raindrops to reflected radar signals.
Copper-Doped Ordered Mesoporous Bioactive Glass: A Promising Multifunctional Platform for Bone Tissue Engineering
Authors: Baino Francesco
Published: May 2020

The design and development of biomaterials with multifunctional properties is highly attractive in the context of bone tissue engineering due to the potential of providing multiple therapies and, thus, better treatment of diseases. In order to tackle this challenge, copper-doped silicate mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) were synthesized via a sol-gel route coupled with an evaporation-induced self-assembly process by using a non-ionic block co-polymer as a structure directing agent. The structure and textural properties of calcined materials were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning-transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements. In vitro bioactivity was assessed by immersion tests in simulated body fluid (SBF). Preliminary antibacterial tests using Staphylococcus aureus were also carried out. Copper-doped glasses revealed an ordered arrangement of mesopores (diameter around 5 nm) and exhibited apatite-forming ability in SBF along with promising antibacterial properties. These results suggest the potential suitability of copper-doped MBG powder for use as a multifunctional biomaterial to promote bone regeneration (bioactivity) and prevent/combat microbial infection at the implantation site, thereby promoting tissue healing.
Characterization of Chenopodin Isoforms from Quinoa Seeds and Assessment of Their Potential Anti-Inflammatory Activity in Caco-2 Cells
Authors: Capraro Jessica , De Benedetti Stefano , Di Dio Marina , Bona Elisa , Abate Ambra , Corsetto Paola Antonia , Scarafoni Alessio
Published: May 2020

Several food-derived molecules, including proteins and peptides, can show bioactivities toward the promotion of well-being and disease prevention in humans. There is still a lack of information about the potential effects on immune and inflammatory responses in mammalian cells following the ingestion of seed storage proteins. This study, for the first time, describes the potential immunomodulation capacity of chenopodin, the major protein component of quinoa seeds. After characterizing the molecular features of the purified protein, we were able to separate two different forms of chenopodin, indicated as LcC (Low charge Chenopodin, 30% of total chenopodin) and HcC (High charge Chenopodin, 70% of total chenopodin). The biological effects of LcC and HcC were investigated by measuring NF-κB activation and IL-8 expression studies in undifferentiated Caco-2 cells. Inflammation was elicited using IL-1β. The results indicate that LcC and HcC show potential anti-inflammatory activities in an intestinal cell model, and that the proteins can act differently, depending on their structural features. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms of action and the structural/functional relationships of the protein at the basis of the observed bioactivity were investigated using in silico analyses and structural predictions.
Update on Atypicalities of Central Nervous System in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Shuid Ahmad Naqib , Jayusman Putri Ayu , Shuid Nazrun , Ismail Juriza , Kamal Nor Norazlin , Naina Mohamed Isa
Published: May 2020

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous, behaviorally defined, neurodevelopmental disorder that has been modeled as a brain-based disease. The behavioral and cognitive features of ASD are associated with pervasive atypicalities in the central nervous system (CNS). To date, the exact mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of ASD still remain unknown and there is currently no cure or effective treatment for this disorder. Many publications implicated the association of ASD with inflammation, immune dysregulation, neurotransmission dysfunction, mitochondrial impairment and cell signaling dysregulation. This review attempts to highlight evidence of the major pathophysiology of ASD including abnormalities in the brain structure and function, neuroglial activation and neuroinflammation, glutamatergic neurotransmission, mitochondrial dysfunction and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway dysregulation. Molecular and cellular factors that contributed to the pathogenesis of ASD and how they may affect the development and function of CNS are compiled in this review. However, findings of published studies have been complicated by the fact that autism is a very heterogeneous disorder; hence, we addressed the limitations that led to discrepancies in the reported findings. This review emphasizes the need for future studies to control study variables such as sample size, gender, age range and intelligence quotient (IQ), all of which that could affect the study measurements. Neuroinflammation or immune dysregulation, microglial activation, genetically linked neurotransmission, mitochondrial dysfunctions and mTOR signaling pathway could be the primary targets for treating and preventing ASD. Further research is required to better understand the molecular causes and how they may contribute to the pathophysiology of ASD.
Glutamatergic Fate of Neural Progenitor Cells of Rats with Inherited Audiogenic Epilepsy
Authors: Naumova Alexandra A. , Oleynik Ekaterina A. , Chernigovskaya Elena V. , Glazova Margarita V.
Published: May 2020

Epilepsy is associated with aberrant neurogenesis in the hippocampus and may underlie the development of hereditary epilepsy. In the present study, we analyzed the differentiation fate of neural progenitor cells (NPC), which were isolated from the hippocampus of embryos of Krushinsky-Molodkina (KM) rats genetically prone to audiogenic epilepsy. NPCs from embryos of Wistar rats were used as the control. We found principal differences between Wistar and KM NPC in unstimulated controls: Wistar NPC culture contained both gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamatergic neurons; KM NPC culture was mainly represented by glutamatergic cells. The stimulation of glutamatergic differentiation of Wistar NPC resulted in a significant increase in glutamatergic cell number that was accompanied by the activation of protein kinase A. The stimulation of KM NPC led to a decrease in immature glutamatergic cell number and was associated with the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and protein kinase B/ glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (Akt/GSK3β), which indicates the activation of glutamatergic cell maturation. These results suggest genetically programmed abnormalities in KM rats that determine the glutamatergic fate of NPC and contribute to the development of audiogenic epilepsy.
Dysregulation of Redox Status in Urinary Bladder Cancer Patients
Authors: Reszka Edyta , Lesicka Monika , Wieczorek Edyta , Jabłońska Ewa , Janasik Beata , Stępnik Maciej , Konecki Tomasz , Jabłonowski Zbigniew
Published: May 2020

The alteration of redox homeostasis constitutes an important etiological feature of common human malignancies. We investigated DNA damage, selenium (Se) levels and the expression of cytoprotective genes involved in (1) the KEAP1/NRF2/ARE pathway, (2) selenoprotein synthesis, and (3) DNA methylation and histone deacetylation as putative key players in redox status dysregulation in the blood of urinary bladder cancer (UBC) patients. The study involved 122 patients and 115 control individuals. The majority of patients presented Ta and T1 stages. UBC recurrence occurred within 0.13 to 29.02 months. DNA damage and oxidative DNA damage were significantly higher in the patients compared to the controls, while plasma Se levels were significantly reduced in the cases compared to the controls. Of the 25 investigated genes, elevated expression in the peripheral blood leukocytes in patients was observed for NRF2, GCLC, MMP9 and SEP15, while down-regulation was found for KEAP1, GSR, HMOX1, NQO1, OGG1, SEPW1, DNMT1, DNMT3A and SIRT1. After Bonferroni correction, an association was found with KEAP1, OGG1, SEPW1 and DNMT1. Early recurrence was associated with the down-regulation of PRDX1 and SRXN1 at the time of diagnosis. Peripheral redox status is significantly dysregulated in the blood of UBC patients. DNA strand breaks and PRDX1 and SRXN1 expression may provide significant predictors of UBC recurrence.
Relapse-Free Survival and PD-L1 Expression in First High- and Low-Grade Relapsed Luminal, Basal and Double-Negative P53-Mutant Non-Muscular Invasive Bladder Cancer Depending on Previous Chemo- and Immunotherapy
Authors: Blinova Ekaterina , Enikeev Dmitry , Roshchin Dmitry , Samyshina Elena , Deryabina Olga , Tertychnyy Aleksander , Blinov Dmitry , Kogan Evgenia , Dudina Marina , Barakat Haydar , Merinov Dmitrij , Kachmazov Aleksandr , Serebrianyi Stanislav , Potoldykova Natalia , Perepechin Dmitrij
Published: May 2020

The goal of this study was to assess how PD-L1 expression in tissue specimens of patients with main molecular subtypes of NMIBC (luminal, basal and double-negative p53-mutant) associates with relapsed-free survival in dependence on the tumor grade and prior treatment of primary bladder cancer. PD-L1 expressions on the membrane of neoplastic and CD8+ immune cells were assessed in tumor specimens (n = 240) of primary and relapsed luminal, basal and double-negative p53-mutant NMIBC. Association between relapse-free survival and PD-L1 expression was estimated for high- and low-grade relapsed NMIBC according to previous treatment and their molecular profile, using the Kaplan–Meier method, and assessed by using the log-rank test. Potential confounders were adjusted by Cox regression models. In a group of patients who underwent only TUR without intravesical therapy, there were significant differences in relapse time between high- and low-grade tumors in basal and luminal molecular subtypes; for basal relapsed carcinoma, RFS was shorter in cases where tumors were less malignant. Both intravesical mitomycin and Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) therapy significantly extended the time of recurrence of low-grade luminal and basal bladder malignancies with no intergroup differences in double-negative NMIBC. PD-L1 expression status was associated with RFS for luminal relapsed NMIBCs in the group without previous frontline intervention, and with RFS in the group of patients with luminal relapsed bladder cancer previously utilized BCG. Obtained results may be considered as a promising approach for further clinical implementation.