bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Juan Villoro y la mala suerte. (Pre)confesiones en Los culpables
Authors: Almagro Berta Guerrero , Ortiz Aldo Fresneda
Published: March 2017

El sentimiento de culpa puede mover al silencio o a la confesión. En Los culpables, Juan Villoro recoge siete testimonios de siete personajes apesadumbrados por las circunstancias en las que se encuentran. Si confesar es condenarse, también puede convertirse en el inicio de una vía que conduzca a la salvación. La mala suerte que aglutina a los siete sujetos encuentra su razón de ser en la indecisión de los protagonistas, en los zarandeos que la vida o los demás les causan debido a su falta de dominio. Esta debilidad puede conducir a la queja, como estadio previo a la confesión, o a la vileza y posterior desvelo, para situarse así en la confesión propiamente dicha. A través del análisis y clasificación de estos relatos, se conocerán los conceptos de suerte, culpa, confesión y cambio desde la perspectiva del escritor mexicano.
Locura y transgresión en los cuentos fantásticos de Antonio de Hoyos y Vinent
Authors: Slama Mohamed Ben
Published: March 2017

El presente trabajo trata de estudiar la combinación entre lo fantástico y la locura en cuatro cuentos del escritor madrileño Antonio de Hoyos y Vinent (1884-1940), recogidos en su libro Los cascabeles de Madama Locura (1916). Pertenece a una tendencia que se puso de moda en España en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, debido a los avances en psiquiatría y la influencia de las figuras emblemáticas de la literatura fantástica en los escritores españoles, y que se intensificó con el cambio de siglo, coincidiendo con el Modernismo, que es la corriente en la que se enmarca nuestro autor. Nuestro objetivo es estudiar hasta qué punto Hoyos y Vinent siguió en estos cuentos las pautas de lo fantástico interior a través de la introspección de la mente enferma.
Relation entre l’obésité et la sécurité alimentaire des ménages, les caractéristiques des ménages et le milieu scolaire chez les enfants métis et des Premières Nations vivant hors réserve au Canada : résultats de l’Enquête auprès des peuples autochtones de 2012
Authors: Bhawra Jasmin , Cooke Martin , Guo Yanling , Wilk Piotr
Published: March 2017

Introduction

Les enfants autochtones sont deux fois plus susceptibles d’être classés comme obèses et trois fois plus susceptibles de vivre dans l’insécurité alimentaire que les autres enfants canadiens. Le but de cette étude est d’explorer la relation entre l’insécurité alimentaire et le poids chez les enfants et les jeunes métis et des Premières Nations vivant hors réserve à l'échelle du Canada.

Méthodologie

Nous avons obtenu des données sur les enfants et les jeunes de 6 à 17 ans (n = 6 900) tirées de l’Enquête auprès des peuples autochtones de 2012. Nous avons testé les relations bivariées à l’aide des tests du chi-carré de Pearson et utilisé des régressions logistiques binaires imbriquées pour examiner la relation entre l’insécurité alimentaire et le poids, en tenant compte de la dimension spatiale, des caractéristiques des ménages ainsi que de l'environnement scolaire et de facteurs culturels.

Résultats

Environ 22 % des enfants et des jeunes métis et des Premières Nations souffraient d’embonpoint et 15 % étaient classés comme obèses. Plus de 80 % des répondants ont signalé ne pas souffrir d’insécurité alimentaire, 9 % ont fait état d’une sécurité alimentaire faible et 7 % d’insécurité alimentaire grave. Les enfants et les jeunes autochtones vivant hors réserve dans des ménages à très faible sécurité alimentaire présentaient un risque accru d’embonpoint ou d’obésité, quoique ce risque accru ne se soit pas révélé indépendant du statut socioéconomique du ménage et qu'il se soit trouvé réduit en tenant compte du revenu du ménage après ajustement en fonction de la taille de ce dernier. Un environnement scolaire négatif s'est révélé également être un prédicteur important du risque d’obésité, indépendamment des facteurs démographiques, spatiaux et liés aux ménages.

Conclusion

L’insécurité alimentaire et l’obésité étaient répandues parmi les groupes autochtones étudiés, et nos résultats laissent penser que les enfants et les jeunes en situation d’insécurité alimentaire souffrent également en grande proportion d’embonpoint ou d’obésité. Cette étude renforce l’importance d’inclure les déterminants sociaux de la santé tels que le revenu, l’environnement scolaire et la dimension spatiale dans les programmes ou les politiques ciblant l’obésité infantile.
Rapport d’étape - Embonpoint et obésité chez les enfants au Canada : une évaluation globale
Authors: Rao Deepa , Kropac Erin , Do Minh , Roberts Karen , Jayaraman Gayatri
Published: March 2017

Introduction

L’obésité est un facteur de risque complexe des maladies chroniques associé à un certain nombre de déterminants socioécologiques. Ce rapport d’étape fournit un aperçu du cadre socioécologique qui guide actuellement nos efforts de suivi de l’embonpoint et de l’obésité chez les enfants. Ce cadre intègre différents facteurs de risque et de protection (facteurs sociodémographiques, liés au mode de vie, psychosociaux et en début de vie) et tient compte de l'étape de vie, des niveaux d’influence et de l'environnement au sein desquels ces facteurs jouent un rôle.

Méthodologie

Nous avons effectué des analyses univariées et bivariées fondées sur les données de l’Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes et de l’Enquête canadienne sur les mesures de la santé pour rendre compte des facteurs comportementaux, des facteurs psychosociaux et des facteurs en début de vie associés à un surplus de poids chez les enfants canadiens.

Résultats

Les estimations liées aux facteurs en début de vie (p. ex. l’allaitement), aux facteurs comportementaux (p. ex. l’activité physique) et aux facteurs psychosociaux (p. ex. le sentiment d’appartenance à la collectivité) sont présentées en fonction du groupe d’âge, du sexe, de la suffisance du revenu et du poids.

Conclusion

Cette étude, qui s’appuie sur notre publication récente sur les tendances en matière d’obésité chez les enfants au Canada et les facteurs sociodémographiques qui y sont associés, présente les facteurs de risque et de protection intégrés à notre cadre de surveillance. D'après notre analyse, une évaluation plus globale des déterminants associés au maintien d’un poids santé est nécessaire.
Rapport d’étape - Recenser les interventions axées sur l’équité visant à promouvoir un poids santé
Authors: Frankish C. James , Kwan Brenda , Gray Diane , Simpson Andrea , Jetha Nina
Published: March 2017

Introduction

Nous avons élaboré des critères de sélection pour recenser les interventions en santé populationnelle axées sur l’équité à intégrer dans le Portail canadien des pratiques exemplaires de l’Agence de la santé publique du Canada. Nous les avons appliqués à la question du « poids santé », plus précisément de la prévention de l’obésité.

Méthodologie

Nous avons effectué une revue de la littérature et obtenu des commentaires d’examinateurs externes experts du domaine sur le thème des modifications des environnements intermédiaires. Les articles devaient décrire les résultats de l’intervention pour les groupes socialement désavantagés. Nous avons inclus les articles axés sur l’équité et les populations vulnérables, les études d’intervention ou d’évaluation, les déterminants sociaux de la santé et le poids santé ou la prévention de l’obésité. Nous avons ensuite évalué la qualité des données des études sélectionnées afin de déterminer si elles pouvaient être incluses dans le Portail canadien des pratiques exemplaires comme pratiques prometteuses.

Résultats

Seul un petit nombre d'articles recensés ont répondu aux critères de sélection axés sur l’équité (26 articles publiés sur les 2 823 examinés, soit 0,9 %). Six interventions (sur 26) ont été considérées comme des pratiques prometteuses.

Conclusion

Nos critères de sélection axés sur l’équité appliqués à la prévention de l’obésité nous ont permis de repérer des études sur les environnements intermédiaires, ce qui laisse penser que ces critères sont valables pour d'autres questions de santé publique. Surtout, grâce à nos travaux, le Portail s'est enrichi de la possibilité de recherche d'interventions axées sur l’équité.
Hepatitis A outbreak among men who have sex with men (MSM) predominantly linked with the EuroPride, the Netherlands, July 2016 to February 2017
Authors: Freidl Gudrun S , Sonder Gerard JB , Bovée Lian PMJ , Friesema Ingrid HM , van Rijckevorsel Gini GC , Ruijs Wilhelmina LM , van Schie Frank , Siedenburg Evelien C , Yang Jyh-Yuan , Vennema Harry
Published: March 2017

Between July 2016 and February 2017, 48 male cases of hepatitis A were notified in the Netherlands. Of these, 17 identified as men who have sex with men (MSM). Ten of the 13 cases for whom sequencing information was available, were infected with a strain linked with the EuroPride that took place in Amsterdam in 2016. This strain is identical to a strain that has been causing a large outbreak among MSM in Taiwan.
Anti-inflammatory effects of Anredera cordifolia and Piper crocatum extracts on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophage cell line
Authors: Laksmitawati Dian Ratih , Widyastuti Anisa , Karami Nadia , Afifah Ervi , Rihibiha Dwi Davidson , Nufus Hayatun , Widowati Wahyu
Published: March 2017

In this study, the anti-inflammatory potential of Anredera cordifolia and Piper crocatum extracts on lipopolysaccharide-induced murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) was observed. Cell viability assay was performed with MTS assay. Parameters measured to determine the anti-inflammatory activity were interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, nitric oxide (NO) and IL-6. Both A. cordifolia and P. crocatum at concentration of 50 µg/mL in cell line resulted significant decrease in TNF-α level (250.3 and 242.5 pg/mL respectively). A. cordifolia showed significant decrease in IL-1β level at 50 µg/mL and IL-6 level at 10 µg/mL, whilst P. crocatum  showed significant decrease IL-1β level in three concentrations with lowest level at 50 µg/mL. A. cordifolia showed lowest decrease in NO level at 50 µg/mL but not comparable with normal cells, whilst P. crocatum showed significant decrease in NO level at 50 µg/mL. This research revealed that A. cordifolia and P. crocatum possess the anti-inflammatory potential indicated by the inhibitory activity of the inflammatory mediators including, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and NO.
L-Carnitine supplementation ameliorates serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha and matrix metalloproteinase-3 in knee osteoarthritis women
Authors: Mahdavi Reza , Kolahi Sousan , Attari Vahideh Ebrahimzadeh , Mahdavi Aida Malek
Published: March 2017

Seventy-two females with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis were included in this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study. Patients in the intervention group (n=36) received L-carnitine supplement (750 mg/day) for two months. L-Carnitine supplementation led to decrease in serum TNF-α and MMP-3 levels significantly in comparison with the baseline (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively) and placebo group (p<0.001 and p=0.03, respectively). In addition, physician’s global assessment of the severity of osteoarthritis decreased significantly in the L-carnitine group (p<0.001) and placebo group (p=0.012) after supplementation. At the end of the study, a significant difference was observed between the two groups for mean physician’s global assessment of the severity of osteoarthritis (p<0.001), adjusted for baseline values and duration of osteoarthritis. L-Carnitine supplementation has beneficial effects in reducing inflammatory biomarkers in knee osteoarthritis patients which subsequently leads to the alleviation of disease symptoms.
The Effect of Lupinus albus on Growth Performance, Body Composition and Satiety Hormones of Male Pigs Immunized against Gonadotrophin Releasing Factor
Authors: Moore Karen , Mullan Bruce , Kim Jae , Dunshea Frank
Published: March 2017

Two hundred and ninety four pigs were used with the aim to develop a dietary management strategy using Lupinus albus L. (albus lupins) to reduce the increase in feed intake and subsequent increase in carcass fatness in pigs immunized against gonadotrophin releasing factor (immunocastrates; IC males) and entire male pigs in the late finishing stage. From day (d) 0 to 28, IC males fed the control diet grew faster (p = 0.009) than entire males fed the control diet but there was no difference in growth rate between sexes for pigs fed albus lupins for 14 days pre-slaughter (Albus 14) or pigs fed albus lupins for 28 days pre-slaughter (Albus 28). From d 15 to 28, IC males receiving the Albus 14 diet grew more slowly (p < 0.001) than entire males receiving the Albus 14 diet. From d 15 to 28 (p < 0.001), IC males fed the control diet ate more feed than entire males fed the control diet, although there was no difference between sexes in feed intake of the Albus 14 and Albus 28 diet. Immunocastrates had a lower backfat when fed either Albus 14 or Albus 28 compared to the control diet, although there was no difference between diets for entire males. There was also a trend for pigs on the Albus 14 and Albus 28 diets to have a higher lean deposition (p = 0.055) and a lower fat deposition (p = 0.056) compared to the pigs on the control diet. Pigs fed the Albus 28 diet had a lower plasma ghrelin concentration compared to pigs fed the Albus 14 or the control diet (p = 0.002). Pigs fed the Albus 28 diet had a higher peptide YY concentration than those fed the control or albus 14 diet (p = 0.004). The inclusion of albus lupins at 20% in the diets of IC male pigs for either 14 or 28 days pre-slaughter was successful in reducing feed intake, body fat and backfat to similar levels of entire males. However, the growth rate of the IC male pigs was impacted more than would be desirable.
Domain Size of Phase-Separated NaxCoO2 as Investigated by X-Ray Microdiffraction
Authors: Niwa Hideharu , Shibata Takayuki , Imai Yasuhiko , Kimura Shigeru , Moritomo Yutaka
Published: March 2017

O3-NaCoO 2 is a promising cathode material for sodium ion secondary batteries (SIBs). Na x CoO 2 shows phase separation (PS) into the O3 and O ′ 3 phases in the Na concentration range of 0.89 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.99. In order to estimate the domain size (r) in the two-phase region, we performed X-ray microdiffraction (XRMD) of thin films of Na x CoO 2 at x = 0.97 and ∼1. We found that r (≈400 nm) of the O ′ 3 domain is comparable to the particle size d (=331 ± 87 nm) in the as-grown O3-NaCoO 2 film. This observation suggests that individual particles of Na x CoO 2 are single phase to minimize the strain at the O3–O ′ 3 phase boundary.
Leisure Activities and Change in Cognitive Stability: A Multivariate Approach
Authors: Mella Nathalie , Grob Emmanuelle , Döll Salomé , Ghisletta Paolo , De Ribaupierre Anik
Published: March 2017

Aging is traditionally associated with cognitive decline, attested by slower reaction times and poorer performance in various cognitive tasks, but also by an increase in intraindividual variability (IIV) in cognitive performance. Results concerning how lifestyle activities protect from cognitive decline are mixed in the literature and all focused on how it affects mean performance. However, IIV has been proven to be an index more sensitive to age differences, and very little is known about the relationships between lifestyle activities and change in IIV in aging. This longitudinal study explores the association between frequency of physical, social, intellectual, artistic, or cultural activities and age-related change in various cognitive abilities, considering both mean performance and IIV. Ninety-six participants, aged 64–93 years, underwent a battery of cognitive tasks at four measurements over a seven-year period, and filled out a lifestyle activity questionnaire. Linear multilevel models were used to analyze the associations between change in cognitive performance and five types of activities. Results showed that the practice of leisure activities was more strongly associated with IIV than with mean performance, both when considering overall level and change in performance. Relationships with IIV were dependent of the cognitive tasks considered and overall results showed protective effects of cultural, physical and intellectual activities on IIV. These results underline the need for considering IIV in the study of age-related cognitive change.
Investigation of Coating Performance of UV-Curable Hybrid Polymers Containing 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane Coated on Aluminum Substrates
Authors: Çakır Mustafa
Published: March 2017

This study describes preparation and characterization of fluorine-containing organic-inorganic hybrid coatings. The organic part consists of bisphenol-A glycerolate (1 glycerol/phenol) diacrylate resin and 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate reactive diluent. The inorganically rich part comprises trimethoxysilane-terminated urethane, 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane, 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate and sol–gel precursors that are products of hydrolysis and condensation reactions. Bisphenol-A glycerolate (1 glycerol/phenol) diacrylate resin was added to the inorganic part in predetermined amounts. The resultant mixture was utilized in the preparation of free films as well as coatings on aluminum substrates. Thermal and mechanical tests such as DSC, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile and shore D hardness tests were performed on free films. Water contact angle, gloss, Taber abrasion test, cross-cut and tubular impact tests were conducted on the coated samples. SEM examination and EDS analysis was performed on the fractured surfaces of free films. The hybrid coatings on the aluminum sheets gave rise to properties such as moderately glossed surface; low wear rate and hydrophobicity. Tensile strength of free films increased with up to 10% inorganic content in the hybrid structure and this increase was approximately three times that of the control sample. As expected; the % strain value decreased by 17.3 with the increase in inorganic content and elastic modulus values increased by a factor of approximately 6. Resistance to ketone-based solvents was proven and an increase in hardness was observed as the ratio of the inorganic part increased. Samples which contain 10% sol–gel content were observed to provide optimal properties.
e-Vocabulary and e-Learning
Authors: Fernández-Pampillón Ana-María , Pareja-Lora Antonio
Published: March 2017

A vocabulary is a linguistic resource that helps manage, query and retrieve information and/or knowledge via words. If vocabularies are built and used in electronic format, they are referred as e-vocabularies. E-vocabularies have been used in Education to help teachers and students to, amongst many issues, (1) comprehend and relate the concepts and the objects of a given knowledge domain; (2) understand and learn languages, be they specialized or not; and (3) identify, describe and query knowledge and digital educational resources. Despite its utility, it is in this field where vocabularies seem to be less systematically developed, known, studied, analyzed, compared and/or linked. For this reason, we thought it was an opportunity to edit a dedicated volume with real experiences concerning the construction, use and evaluation of electronic vocabularies relating to education, and their application to the Internet and e-learning. The result is, finally, this Special Issue with five papers that represent part of the current state-of-the-art in the construction and use of e-vocabularies and education.
Exploring FPGA‐Based Lock‐In Techniques for Brain Monitoring Applications
Authors: Giaconia Giuseppe , Greco Giuseppe , Mistretta Leonardo , Rizzo Raimondo
Published: March 2017

Functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) systems for e‐health applications usually suffer from poor signal detection, mainly due to a low end‐to‐end signal‐to‐noise ratio of the electronics chain. Lock‐in amplifiers (LIA) historically represent a powerful technique helping to improve performance in such circumstances. In this work a digital LIA system, based on a Zynq® field programmable gate array (FPGA) has been designed and implemented, in an attempt to explore if this technique might improve fNIRS system performance. More broadly, FPGA‐based solution flexibility has been investigated, with particular emphasis applied to digital filter parameters, needed in the digital LIA, and its impact on the final signal detection and noise rejection capability has been evaluated. The realized architecture was a mixed solution between VHDL hardware modules and software modules, running within a microprocessor. Experimental results have shown the goodness of the proposed solutions and comparative details among different implementations will be detailed. Finally a key aspect taken into account throughout the design was its modularity, allowing an easy increase of the input channels while avoiding the growth of the design cost of the electronics system.
Gold Nanoparticle Approach to the Selective Delivery of Gene Silencing in Cancer—The Case for Combined Delivery?
Authors: Mendes Rita , Fernandes Alexandra , Baptista Pedro
Published: March 2017

Gene therapy arises as a great promise for cancer therapeutics due to its potential to silence genes involved in tumor development. In fact, there are some pivotal gene drivers that suffer critical alterations leading to cell transformation and ultimately to tumor growth. In this vein, gene silencing has been proposed as an active tool to selectively silence these molecular triggers of cancer, thus improving treatment. However, naked nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) sequences are reported to have a short lifetime in the body, promptly degraded by circulating enzymes, which in turn speed up elimination and decrease the therapeutic potential of these drugs. The use of nanoparticles for the effective delivery of these silencers to the specific target locations has allowed researchers to overcome this issue. Particularly, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been used as attractive vehicles for the target-specific delivery of gene-silencing moieties, alone or in combination with other drugs. We shall discuss current trends in AuNP-based delivery of gene-silencing tools, considering the promising road ahead without overlooking existing concerns for their translation to clinics.
Hydrological Modelling Using a Rainfall Simulator over an Experimental Hillslope Plot
Authors: Chouksey Arpit , Lambey Vinit , Nikam Bhaskar , Aggarwal Shiv , Dutta Subashisa
Published: March 2017

Hydrological processes are complex to compute in hilly areas when compared to plain areas. The governing processes behind runoff generation on hillslopes are subsurface storm flow, saturation excess flow, overland flow, return flow and pipe storage. The simulations of the above processes in the soil matrix require detailed hillslope hydrological modelling. In the present study, a hillslope experimental plot has been designed to study the runoff generation processes on the plot scale. The setup is designed keeping in view the natural hillslope conditions prevailing in the Northwestern Himalayas, India where high intensity rainfall events occur frequently. A rainfall simulator was installed over the experimental hillslope plot to generate rainfall with an intensity of 100 mm/h, which represents the dominating rainfall intensity range in the region. Soil moisture sensors were also installed at variable depths from 100 to 1000 mm at different locations of the plot to observe the soil moisture regime. From the experimental observations it was found that once the soil is saturated, it remains at field capacity for the next 24–36 h. Such antecedent moisture conditions are most favorable for the generation of rapid stormflow from hillslopes. A dye infiltration test was performed on the undisturbed soil column to observe the macropore fraction variability over the vegetated hillslopes. The estimated macropore fractions are used as essential input for the hillslope hydrological model. The main objective of the present study was to develop and test a method for estimating runoff responses from natural rainfall over hillslopes of the Northwestern Himalayas using a portable rainfall simulator. Using the experimental data and the developed conceptual model, the overland flow and the subsurface flow through a macropore-dominated area have been estimated/analyzed. The surface and subsurface runoff estimated using the developed hillslope hydrological model compared well with the observed surface runoff for a rainfall intensity of 100 mm/h. The surface runoff hydrograph was very well predicted by the model, with correlation coefficient (R2) and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (E) as 0.95 and 0.91, respectively. The observed soil/macropore storage component was estimated with the help of water balance equation and compared with the model predicted macropore storage. The error in computing the soil/macropore storage was estimated as 0.38 mm i.e., 13%.
Analysis of Behavioural Characteristics Related to Unintentional Injury in Southeast Chinese Adolescents: Evidence from a School-Based Survey
Authors: Feng Wei , Gong Qinghai , Liu Kui , Li Hui
Published: March 2017

The purpose of this study was to explore the epidemiological features of common unintentional injury-related behaviours and to identify possible factors that lead to these unsafe behaviours among adolescents. A representative sample of 10,806 students was recruited from 77 schools by using the two-stage stratified random sampling method. All participants took a self-administered questionnaires and data were analysed to estimate the prevalence of unintentional injury-related behaviours and to identify the influential factors for these behaviours. The prevalence of unsafe swimming, jaywalking, illegal bicycling and not wearing a seat belt was 6.35%, 33.08%, 18.10% and 15.73%, respectively. The proportion of students who had two, three or four unintentional injury-related behaviours was 14.59%, 4.27% and 0.57%, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that male adolescents, living in an urban area and attending a vocational-technical school might contribute to the occurrence of four unintentional injury-related behaviours. In addition, the marital status of parents and father with a college degree or above were negatively associated with the adolescent’s behaviour of not wearing a seat belt. Considering diverse epidemiological characteristics of unintentional injury-related behaviours among adolescents, targeted interventions such as enhancing self-protection capabilities and strengthening safety consciousness by family, school and related departments should be implemented to lower the occurrence of unintentional injury-related behaviours.
Google-Earth Based Visualizations for Environmental Flows and Pollutant Dispersion in Urban Areas
Authors: Liu Daoming , Kenjeres Sasa
Published: March 2017

In the present study, we address the development and application of an efficient tool for conversion of results obtained by an integrated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational reaction dynamics (CRD) approach and their visualization in the Google Earth. We focus on results typical for environmental fluid mechanics studies at a city scale that include characteristic wind flow patterns and dispersion of reactive scalars. This is achieved by developing a code based on the Java language, which converts the typical four-dimensional structure (spatial and temporal dependency) of data results in the Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format. The visualization techniques most often used are revisited and implemented into the conversion tool. The potential of the tool is demonstrated in a case study of smog formation due to an intense traffic emission in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). It is shown that the Google Earth can provide a computationally efficient and user-friendly means of data representation. This feature can be very useful for visualization of pollution at street levels, which is of great importance for the city residents. Various meteorological and traffic emissions can be easily visualized and analyzed, providing a powerful, user-friendly tool for traffic regulations and urban climate adaptations.
Unequal Distribution of Overweight Adolescents in Immigrant-Rich Areas: Analysis of Disparities among Public and Private School Students in Shanghai, China
Authors: Shi Jianwei , Tan Duxun , Xie Huilin , Yang Beilei , Liu Rui , Yu Dehua , Lu Yuan , Mei Bing , Wang Zhaoxin
Published: March 2017

Accelerated urbanization and rising immigration to the big cities in China has resulted in education policies that produce disparate treatment of immigrant and non-immigrant students. The two types of students frequently wind up in different types of junior high schools. However, there is little research on whether disparities exist between students in public and private schools with regard to overweight. This study aims to address this gap through a comparison of the overweight status of junior high school students in public and private schools in Shanghai and explore the possible reasons for the observed differences. Students from two public and two private junior high schools were measured. In order to determine what factors might shape overweight among adolescents. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess associations between overweight and personal characteristics, birth-related factors, levels of physical activity, diet, family socioeconomic status and school environment. Students in private schools proved more likely to be overweight (15.20%, p < 0.05) than public school students (10.18%). Similarly, gender, breastfeeding, parental care and number of classes excluding physical education per day were found to be significant factors. However, private school students were also influenced by gestational age (yes/no: OR = 4.50, p < 0.001), frequency of snacks (sometimes/often: OR = 0.53, p < 0.01) and family income (¥6001–12,000/below ¥6000: OR = 3.27, p < 0.05). Time for lunch was the sole risk factor for public school students in the study (p < 0.05). To reduce the unequal distribution of overweight students between the two types of schools, interventions that consider different multiple risk factors should be implemented.
Causality between Stock Prices and Exchange Rates in Turkey: Empirical Evidence from the ARDL Bounds Test and a Combined Cointegration Approach
Authors: Türsoy Turgut
Published: March 2017

This paper investigates the interaction between stock prices and real exchange rates by applying monthly data from Turkey for the period between January 2001 and September 2016. This study uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and the Error Correction Model (ECM) in order to investigate the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables. The evidence reveals that there is a strong long-run cointegration. The robustness of the ARDL bounds test cointegration was confirmed using the newly-developed combined cointegration, which also provided the same evidence for a strong long-run relationship. The Granger causality test results indicate a long-run bidirectional causality between stock prices and real exchange rates, and also a unidirectional causality from the real exchange rates to the stock prices in the short-run. In order to analyze the validity and reliability of the test results, diagnostic tests were applied in both the short-run and long-run models.
The Analysis of Task and Data Characteristic and the Collaborative Processing Method in Real-Time Visualization Pipeline of Urban 3DGIS
Authors: Zhou Dongbo , Jiang Gang , Yu Jie , Liu Leyuan , Li Wenbo
Published: March 2017

Parallel processing in the real-time visualization of three-dimensional Geographic Information Systems (3DGIS) has tended to concentrate on algorithm levels in recent years, and most of the existing methods employ multiple threads in a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or kernel in a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to improve efficiency in the computation of the Level of Details (LODs) for three-dimensional (3D) Models and in the display of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and Digital Orthphoto Maps (DOMs). The systematic analysis of the task and data characteristics of parallelism in the real-time visualization of 3DGIS continues to fall behind the development of hardware. In this paper, the basic procedures of real-time visualization of urban 3DGIS are first reviewed, and then the real-time visualization pipeline is analyzed. Further, the pipeline is decomposed into different task stages based on the task order and the input-output dependency. Based on the analysis of task parallelism in different pipeline stages, the data parallelism characteristics in each task are summarized by studying the involved algorithms. Finally, this paper proposes a parallel co-processing mode and a collaborative strategy for real-time visualization of urban 3DGIS. It also provides a fundamental basis for developing parallel algorithms and strategies in 3DGIS.
RNase L Suppresses Androgen Receptor Signaling, Cell Migration and Matrix Metalloproteinase Activity in Prostate Cancer Cells
Authors: Dayal Shubham , Zhou Jun , Manivannan Praveen , Siddiqui Mohammad , Ahmad Omaima , Clark Matthew , Awadia Sahezeel , Garcia-Mata Rafael , Shemshedini Lirim , Malathi Krishnamurthy
Published: March 2017

The interferon antiviral pathways and prostate cancer genetics converge on a regulated endoribonuclease, RNase L. Positional cloning and linkage studies mapped Hereditary Prostate Cancer 1 (HPC1) to RNASEL. To date, there is no correlation of viral infections with prostate cancer, suggesting that RNase L may play additional roles in tumor suppression. Here, we demonstrate a role of RNase L as a suppressor of androgen receptor (AR) signaling, cell migration and matrix metalloproteinase activity. Using RNase L mutants, we show that its nucleolytic activity is dispensable for both AR signaling and migration. The most prevalent HPC1-associated mutations in RNase L, R462Q and E265X, enhance AR signaling and cell migration. RNase L negatively regulates cell migration and attachment on various extracellular matrices. We demonstrate that RNase L knockdown cells promote increased cell surface expression of integrin β1 which activates Focal Adhesion Kinase-Sarcoma (FAK-Src) pathway and Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1-guanosine triphosphatase (Rac1-GTPase) activity to increase cell migration. Activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 is significantly increased in cells where RNase L levels are ablated. We show that mutations in RNase L found in HPC patients may promote prostate cancer by increasing expression of AR-responsive genes and cell motility and identify novel roles of RNase L as a prostate cancer susceptibility gene.
Hyper-Methylated Loci Persisting from Sessile Serrated Polyps to Serrated Cancers
Authors: Andrew Angeline , Baron John , Butterly Lynn , Suriawinata Arief , Tsongalis Gregory , Robinson Christina , Amos Christopher
Published: March 2017

Although serrated polyps were historically considered to pose little risk, it is now understood that progression down the serrated pathway could account for as many as 15%–35% of colorectal cancers. The sessile serrated adenoma/polyp (SSA/P) is the most prevalent pre-invasive serrated lesion. Our objective was to identify the CpG loci that are persistently hyper-methylated during serrated carcinogenesis, from the early SSA/P lesion through the later cancer phases of neoplasia development. We queried the loci hyper-methylated in serrated cancers within our rightsided SSA/Ps from the New Hampshire Colonoscopy Registry, using the Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450 k panel to comprehensively assess the DNA methylation status. We identified CpG loci and regions consistently hyper-methylated throughout the serrated carcinogenesis spectrum, in both our SSA/P specimens and in serrated cancers. Hyper-methylated CpG loci included the known the tumor suppressor gene RET (p = 5.72 x 10−10), as well as loci in differentially methylated regions for GSG1L, MIR4493, NTNG1, MCIDAS, ZNF568, and RERG. The hyper-methylated loci that we identified help characterize the biology of SSA/P development, and could be useful as therapeutic targets, or for future identification of patients who may benefit from shorter surveillance intervals.
Newborn Screening for Krabbe Disease and Other Lysosomal Storage Disorders: Broad Lessons Learned
Authors: Orsini Joseph , Caggana Michele
Published: March 2017

Newborn screening (NBS) for Krabbe disease (KD) began in New York (NY) in August 2006. In summary, after eight years of screening there were five infants identified with early-onset Krabbe disease. Four underwent transplant, two are surviving with moderate to severe handicaps, and two died from transplant-related complications. An additional forty-six asymptomatic infants were found to be at moderate or high risk for disease. Screening for KD is both analytically and medically challenging; since screening for KD possesses both of these challenges, and many more, the lessons learned thus far could be used to predict the challenges that may be faced when screening for other lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs). This paper briefly reviews reports of NBS for LSDs from varied world programs. The challenges encountered in screening for KD in NY will be highlighted, and this experience, combined with hindsight, will inform what may be expected in the future as screening for LSDs expands.
Mandarin Chinese Verbs as Verbal Items in Uyghur Mixed Verbs
Authors: Sugar Alexander
Published: March 2017

This paper explores the pattern by which Mandarin Chinese verbs are used in Uyghur-Mandarin code-switching by native Uyghur speakers. In a number of language contact situations with similar verb mixing, foreign verbal items have been argued to be treated as nominal in the host language. However, I argue based on examples from personal communications with Uyghur speakers and my own elicitations that Mandarin verbs are still treated as a verbal category by Uyghur speakers for four reasons: (1) Mandarin verbs project their argument structure in Uyghur; (2) the Mandarin perfective aspectual particle le is uniquely included with a subset of Mandarin verbs; (3) the Uyghur verbalizing marker -la cannot attach to Mandarin verbs; and (4) the Uyghur accusative case marker -ni cannot attach to Mandarin verbs. The paper also discusses why it is not possible for Mandarin verbs to inflect with Uyghur morphology, and proposes a specific constraint on inflecting foreign verbs embedded in rich inflectional languages. The paper also poses the question of whether the availability of multiple light verbs to combine with foreign verbs correlates with the verbal status of foreign verbs in the host language.
Safeguarding against Inactivation Temperatures during Plasma Treatment of Skin: Multiphysics Model and Phase Field Method
Authors: Shahmohammadi Beni Mehrdad , Yu Kwan
Published: March 2017

One of the most appealing applications of cold plasmas is medical treatment of the skin. An important concern is the capability to safeguard the non-targeted cells against inactivation temperatures during the plasma treatment. Unfortunately, it is problematic to experimentally determine the highest transient temperatures in these cells during the plasma treatment. In the present work, a complete multiphysics model was built based on finite element analysis using phase field method coupled with heat transfer and fluid dynamics to study the discharge phenomenon of cold plasma with helium carrier gas ejected out of a tube for skin treatment. In such plasmas with carrier gas, the fractions of plasma constituents are small compared to the carrier gas, so thermofluid analysis is needed for the carrier gas as the major contributor to the fluid and heat flow. The phase field method has been used to capture the moving helium gas in air, which has enabled us to compute fluid dynamics parameters for each phase individually. In addition to computational fluid dynamic analyses, we have also considered heat transfer in the fluids and to the skin using the Fourier law of heat conduction, which led to a multiphysics system. In the present paper, various flow velocities and tube-to-target distances (TTDs) have been considered to reveal the dependence of the fluid discharge output parameters on the flow and efficiency of heat transfer to the skin and the surrounding environment. The built model is a useful tool for future development of plasma treatment devices and to safeguard the non-targeted cells against inactivation temperatures.
Effects and Mechanism of Blue Light on Monascus in Liquid Fermentation
Authors: Zhang Xiaowei , Liu Wenqing , Chen Xiying , Cai Junhui , Wang Changlu , He Weiwei
Published: March 2017

The effect of light on Monascus and the underlying mechanism have received a great deal of interest for the industrial application of Monascus pigments. In this study, we have examined the effects of blue light on the culture morphology, mycelium growth, pigments, and citrinin yield of Monascus in liquid-state and oscillation fermentation, and explored the mechanism at a physiological level. It was found that blue light affected the colony morphology, the composition (chitin content), and permeability of the Monascus mycelium cell wall in static liquid culture, which indicates blue light benefits pigments secreting from aerial mycelium to culture medium. In liquid oscillation fermentation, the yields of Monascus pigments in fermentation broth (darkness 1741 U/g, blue light 2206 U/g) and mycelium (darkness 2442 U/g, blue light 1900 U/g) cultured under blue light and darkness are different. The total pigments produced per gram of Monascus mycelium under blue light was also higher (4663 U/g) than that in darkness (4352 U/g). However, the production of citrinin (88 μg/g) under blue light was evidently lower than that in darkness (150 μg/g). According to the degradation of citrinin caused by blue light and hydrogen peroxide, it can be concluded that blue light could degrade citrinin and inhibit the catalase activity of Monascus mycelium, subsequently suppressing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, which is the active species that degrades citrinin.
Growth of Infants Fed Formula with Evolving Nutrition Composition: A Single‐Arm Non‐Inferiority Study
Authors: Spalinger Johannes , Nydegger Andreas , Belli Dominique , Furlano Raoul , Yan Jian , Tanguy Jerome , Pecquet Sophie , Destaillats Frédéric , Egli Delphine , Steenhout Philippe
Published: March 2017

The nutritional composition of human milk evolves over the course of lactation, to match the changing needs of infants. This single‐arm, non‐inferiority study evaluated growth against the WHO standards in the first year of life, in infants consecutively fed four age‐based formulas with compositions tailored to infants’ nutritional needs during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd–6th, and 7th–12th months of age. Healthy full‐term formula‐fed infants (n = 32) were enrolled at ≤14 days of age and exclusively fed study formulas from enrollment, to the age of four months. Powdered study formulas were provided in single‐serving capsules that were reconstituted using a dedicated automated preparation system, to ensure precise, hygienic preparation. The primary outcome was the weight‐for‐age z‐score (WAZ) at the age of four months (vs. non‐inferiority margin of −0.5 SD). Mean (95% CI) z‐scores for the WAZ (0.12 (−0.15, 0.39)), as well as for the length‐for‐age (0.05 (−0.19, 0.30)), weight‐for‐length (0.16 (−0.16, 0.48)), BMI‐for‐age (0.11 (−0.20, 0.43)), and head circumferencefor‐age (0.41 (0.16, 0.65)) at the age of four months, were non‐inferior. Throughout the study, anthropometric z‐scores tracked closely against the WHO standards (within ±1 SD). In sum, a fourstage, age‐based infant formula system with nutritional compositions tailored to infants’ evolving needs, supports healthy growth consistent with WHO standards, for the first year of life.
Plasmodesmata-Mediated Cell-to-Cell Communication in the Shoot Apical Meristem: How Stem Cells Talk
Authors: Kitagawa Munenori , Jackson David
Published: March 2017

Positional information is crucial for the determination of plant cell fates, and it is established based on coordinated cell-to-cell communication, which in turn is essential for plant growth and development. Plants have evolved a unique communication pathway, with tiny channels called plasmodesmata (PD) spanning the cell wall. PD interconnect most cells in the plant and generate a cytoplasmic continuum, to mediate short- and long-distance trafficking of various molecules. Cell-to-cell communication through PD plays a role in transmitting positional signals, however, the regulatory mechanisms of PD-mediated trafficking are still largely unknown. The induction and maintenance of stem cells in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) depends on PDmediated cell-to-cell communication, hence, it is an optimal model for dissecting the regulatory mechanisms of PD-mediated cell-to-cell communication and its function in specifying cell fates. In this review, we summarize recent knowledge of PD-mediated cell-to-cell communication in the SAM, and discuss mechanisms underlying molecular trafficking through PD and its role in plant development.
The Dialogue between Science and Religion: A Taxonomic Contribution
Authors: Sanda Dragos , Smarandoiu Luana , Munteanu Costea
Published: March 2017

Many present day scientists think that religion can never come to terms with science. In sharp contrast with this widespread opinion, this paper argues that, historically, scientific reasoning and religious belief joined hands in their effort to investigate and understand reality. In fact, the present-day divorce between science and religion is nothing else than the final outcome of a gradual, long-term, and deliberately assumed process of the secularization of science. However, especially during the last two decades, we have all been equally confronted with the advance of a new concern that some contemporary scientists have, namely reviewing the sphere of problems specific to the domains of investigation in which they are involved while now facing themes that are usually addressed by theological thought. The paper describes this recent development as being captured by an emerging new field of investigation within the modern scientific epistemology, Science and Religion. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is two-fold: firstly, to briefly look over the large number of typologies that have been suggested to classify various ways of relating science and religion; and secondly, to highlight the dual taxonomical nature of the contemporary science and religion dialogue.
Parameter Selection and Performance Comparison of Particle Swarm Optimization in Sensor Networks Localization
Authors: Cui Huanqing , Shu Minglei , Song Min , Wang Yinglong
Published: March 2017

Localization is a key technology in wireless sensor networks. Faced with the challenges of the sensors’ memory, computational constraints, and limited energy, particle swarm optimization has been widely applied in the localization of wireless sensor networks, demonstrating better performance than other optimization methods. In particle swarm optimization-based localization algorithms, the variants and parameters should be chosen elaborately to achieve the best performance. However, there is a lack of guidance on how to choose these variants and parameters. Further, there is no comprehensive performance comparison among particle swarm optimization algorithms. The main contribution of this paper is three-fold. First, it surveys the popular particle swarm optimization variants and particle swarm optimization-based localization algorithms for wireless sensor networks. Secondly, it presents parameter selection of nine particle swarm optimization variants and six types of swarm topologies by extensive simulations. Thirdly, it comprehensively compares the performance of these algorithms. The results show that the particle swarm optimization with constriction coefficient using ring topology outperforms other variants and swarm topologies, and it performs better than the second-order cone programming algorithm.