bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mapeamento de ERAGROSTIS PLANA NESS (Capim-Annoni) por meio de imagens orbitais
Authors: Cicconet Nelson , Alba Jose Maria Fillippini , Spironello Rosangela Lurdes , Cunha Henrique
Published: August 2015

A espécie Eragrostis plana Nees, popularmente conhecido como Capim-annoni, é uma planta originária da África, que foi introduzida no Sul do Brasil, provocando a infestação de boa parte do Pampa Gaúcho, com registros de ocorrência em outros estados brasileiros. Este trabalho objetivou identificar, através de imagens de satélites de alta resolução espacial, com suporte de levantamento no campo, a ocorrência e a intensidade da infestação por capim-annoni em um recorte do município de Santana do Livramento, RS. O capim-annoni está presente em aproximadamente 17% da área, na média das três imagens estudadas. Foram consideradas seis classes de uso da terra, cuja maior variação parece associada ao contraste inverno – verão. O método permitiu visualizar a distribuição do capim-annoni e sua dinâmica, permitindo uma avaliação eficiente da área de estudo que poderá ser estendida para toda a região.
O Espaço fora do lugar: Uma suposta Filosofia Geográfica do espaço e do lugar.
Authors: Souza Marquessuel Dantas de
Published: August 2015

O presente texto busca discutir brevemente a ideia de lugar e de espaço no âmbito da Geografia científica, em especial na Geografia Humana. Por sua vez, trás uma contribuição para uma possível filosofia geográfica no que respeita ao discurso sobre ambos os conceitos tão difundidos nos estudos geográficos. Ademais, ressalta-se que a ideia de lugar implica a ideia de sentido espacial. Ao abordar de forma simples o que são espaço e lugar, intenta-se uma reflexão epistemológica, todavia, fazendo valer a geografia humanista ou humanística como o discurso essencial para fundamentar a análise sobre o espaço que envolve o homem como um todo.
Rho-Kinase Inhibition During Early Cardiac Development Causes Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy in Mice
Authors: Ellawindy Alia , Satoh Kimio , Sunamura Shinichiro , Kikuchi Nobuhiro , Suzuki Kota , Minami Tatsuro , Ikeda Shohei , Tanaka Shinichi , Shimizu Toru , Enkhjargal Budbazar , Miyata Satoshi , Taguchi Yuhto , Handoh Tetsuya , Kobayashi Kenta , Kobayashi Kazuto , Nakayama Keiko , Miura Masahito , Shimokawa Hiroaki
Published: August 2015

Objective—

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is characterized by fibrofatty changes of the right ventricle, ventricular arrhythmias, and sudden death. Though ARVC is currently regarded as a disease of the desmosome, desmosomal gene mutations have been identified only in half of ARVC patients, suggesting the involvement of other associated mechanisms. Rho-kinase signaling is involved in the regulation of intracellular transport and organizes cytoskeletal filaments, which supports desmosomal protein complex at the myocardial cell–cell junctions. Here, we explored whether inhibition of Rho-kinase signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of ARVC.

Approach and Results—

Using 2 novel mouse models with SM22α- or αMHC-restricted overexpression of dominant-negative Rho-kinase, we show that mice with Rho-kinase inhibition in the developing heart (SM22α-restricted) spontaneously develop cardiac dilatation and dysfunction, myocardial fibrofatty changes, and ventricular arrhythmias, resulting in premature sudden death, phenotypes fulfilling the criteria of ARVC in humans. Rho-kinase inhibition in the developing heart results in the development of ARVC phenotypes in dominant-negative Rho-kinase mice through 3 mechanisms: (1) reduction of cardiac cell proliferation and ventricular wall thickness, (2) stimulation of the expression of the proadipogenic noncanonical Wnt ligand, Wnt5b, and the major adipogenic transcription factor, PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ), and inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and (3) development of desmosomal abnormalities. These mechanisms lead to the development of cardiac dilatation and dysfunction, myocardial fibrofatty changes, and ventricular arrhythmias, ultimately resulting in sudden premature death in this ARVC mouse model.

Conclusions—

This study demonstrates a novel crucial role of Rho-kinase inhibition during cardiac development in the pathogenesis of ARVC in mice.
Sex-Specific Association of Sleep Apnea Severity With Subclinical Myocardial Injury, Ventricular Hypertrophy, and Heart Failure Risk in a Community-Dwelling Cohort
Authors: Roca Gabriela Querejeta , Redline Susan , Claggett Brian , Bello Natalie , Ballantyne Christie M. , Solomon Scott D. , Shah Amil M.
Published: August 2015

Background—

Risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the development of subsequent cardiovascular (CV) complications differ by sex. We hypothesize that the relationship between OSA and high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT), cardiac structure, and CV outcomes differs by sex.

Methods and Results—

Seven hundred fifty-two men and 893 women free of CV disease participating in both the Atherosclerosis Risk in the Communities and the Sleep Heart Health Studies were included. All participants (mean age, 62.5±5.5 years) underwent polysomnography and measurement of hs-TnT. OSA severity was defined by using established clinical categories. Subjects were followed for 13.6±3.2 years for incident coronary disease, heart failure, and CV and all-cause mortality. Surviving subjects underwent echocardiography after 15.2±0.8 years. OSA was independently associated with hs-TnT among women (
P
=0.03) but not in men (
P
=0.94). Similarly, OSA was associated with incident heart failure or death in women (
P
=0.01) but not men (
P
=0.10). This association was no longer significant after adjusting for hs-TnT (
P
=0.09). Among surviving participants without an incident CV event, OSA assessed in midlife was independently associated with higher left ventricle mass index only among women (
P
=0.001).

Conclusions—

Sex-specific differences exist in the relationship between OSA and CV disease. OSA, assessed in midlife, is independently associated with higher levels of concomitantly measured hs-TnT among women but not men, in whom other comorbidities associated with OSA may play a more important role. During 13-year follow-up, OSA was associated with incident heart failure or death only among women, and, among those without an incident event, it was independently associated with left ventricular hypertrophy only in women.
Intracellular Na
+
Concentration ([Na
+
]
i
) Is Elevated in Diabetic Hearts Due to Enhanced Na
+
–Glucose Cotransport
Authors: Lambert Rebekah , Srodulski Sarah , Peng Xiaoli , Margulies Kenneth B. , Despa Florin , Despa Sanda
Published: August 2015

Background

Intracellular Na
+
concentration ([Na
+
]
i
) regulates Ca
2+
cycling, contractility, metabolism, and electrical stability of the heart. [Na
+
]
i
is elevated in heart failure, leading to arrhythmias and oxidative stress. We hypothesized that myocyte [Na
+
]
i
is also increased in type 2 diabetes (T2D) due to enhanced activity of the Na
+
–glucose cotransporter.

Methods and Results

To test this hypothesis, we used myocardial tissue from humans with T2D and a rat model of late‐onset T2D (
HIP
rat). Western blot analysis showed increased Na
+
–glucose cotransporter expression in failing hearts from T2D patients compared with nondiabetic persons (by 73±13%) and in
HIP
rat hearts versus wild‐type (
WT
) littermates (by 61±8%). [Na
+
]
i
was elevated in
HIP
rat myocytes both at rest (14.7±0.9 versus 11.4±0.7 mmol/L in
WT
) and during electrical stimulation (17.3±0.8 versus 15.0±0.7 mmol/L); however, the Na
+
/K
+
‐pump function was similar in
HIP
and
WT
cells, suggesting that higher [Na
+
]
i
is due to enhanced Na
+
entry in diabetic hearts. Indeed, Na
+
influx was significantly larger in myocytes from
HIP
versus
WT
rats (1.77±0.11 versus 1.29±0.06 mmol/L per minute). Na
+
–glucose cotransporter inhibition with phlorizin or glucose‐free solution greatly reduced Na
+
influx in
HIP
myocytes (to 1.20±0.16 mmol/L per minute), whereas it had no effect in
WT
cells. Phlorizin also significantly decreased glucose uptake in
HIP
myocytes (by 33±9%) but not in
WT
, indicating an increased reliance on the Na
+
–glucose cotransporter for glucose uptake in T2D hearts.

Conclusions

Myocyte Na
+
–glucose cotransport is enhanced in T2D, which increases Na
+
influx and causes Na
+
overload. Higher [Na
+
]
i
may contribute to arrhythmogenesis and oxidative stress in diabetic hearts.
Prognostic Significance of Premature Atrial Complexes Burden in Prediction of Long‐Term Outcome
Authors: Lin Chin‐Yu , Lin Yenn‐Jiang , Chen Yun‐Yu , Chang Shih‐Lin , Lo Li‐Wei , Chao Tze‐Fan , Chung Fa‐Po , Hu Yu‐Feng , Chong Eric , Cheng Hao‐Min , Tuan Ta‐Chuan , Liao Jo‐Nan , Chiou Chuen‐Wang , Huang Jin‐Long , Chen Shih‐Ann
Published: August 2015

Background

The prognostic significance of premature atrial complex (
PAC
) burden is not fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the burden of
PAC
s and long‐term outcome.

Methods and Results

We investigated the clinical characteristics of 5371 consecutive patients without atrial fibrillation (
AF
) or a permanent pacemaker (
PPM
) at baseline who underwent 24‐hour electrocardiography monitoring between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2004. Clinical event data were retrieved from the Bureau of National Health Insurance of Taiwan. During a mean follow‐up duration of 10±1 years, there were 1209 deaths, 1166 cardiovascular‐related hospitalizations, 3104 hospitalizations for any reason, 418 cases of new‐onset
AF
, and 132
PPM
implantations. The optimal cut‐off of
PAC
burden for predicting mortality was 76 beats per day, with a sensitivity of 63.1% and a specificity of 63.5%. In multivariate analysis, a
PAC
burden >76 beats per day was an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio: 1.384, 95%
CI
: 1.230 to 1.558), cardiovascular hospitalization (hazard ratio: 1.284, 95%
CI
: 1.137 to 1.451), new‐onset
AF
(hazard ratio: 1.757, 95%
CI
: 1.427 to 2.163), and
PPM
implantation (hazard ratio: 2.821, 95%
CI
: 1.898 to 4.192). Patients with frequent
PAC
had increased risk of mortality attributable to myocardial infarction, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. Frequent
PAC
s increased risk of
PPM
implantation owing to sick sinus syndrome, high‐degree atrioventricular block, and/or
AF
.

Conclusions

The burden of
PAC
s is independently associated with mortality, cardiovascular hospitalization, new‐onset
AF
, and
PPM
implantation in the long term.
Relationships Between Imaging Assessments and Outcomes in Solitaire With the Intention for Thrombectomy as Primary Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Albers Gregory W. , Goyal Mayank , Jahan Reza , Bonafe Alain , Diener Hans-Christoph , Levy Elad I. , Pereira Vitor M. , Cognard Christophe , Yavagal Dileep R. , Saver Jeffrey L.
Published: August 2015

Background and Purpose—

Imaging findings can predict outcomes in patients with acute stroke. Relationships between imaging findings and clinical and imaging outcomes in patients randomized to intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator–alone versus tissue-type plasminogen activator plus endovascular therapy (Solitaire device) in the Solitaire With the Intention for Thrombectomy as Primary Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke (SWIFT PRIME) study were assessed.

Methods—

We evaluated associations between imaging assessments (baseline mismatch profiles/ischemic core volumes and successful reperfusion) with imaging outcomes (27-hour infarct volume/growth) and clinical outcomes (modified Rankin Scale scores at 90 days). Imaging variables that predict favorable clinical outcomes were assessed in both univariate and multivariate models.

Results—

One hundred and ninety-five patients were included. Successful reperfusion and infarct volume (assessed at 27 hours) were powerful independent predictors of favorable clinical outcomes (modified Rankin Scale score of 0–2 at 90 days). Patients with the target mismatch profile at baseline had a higher rate of reperfusion, lesser infarct growth, smaller infarct volumes, and better clinical outcomes in the Solitaire plus tissue-type plasminogen activator (intervention) group than those in the tissue-type plasminogen activator–alone (control) group. Patients with larger mismatch volumes at baseline had a trend toward better treatment response in the intervention group than patients who had smaller (<50 mL) mismatch volumes.

Conclusions—

Patients who achieved reperfusion had substantially more favorable clinical and imaging outcomes in both the intervention and the control groups. Infarct volume at 27 hours strongly correlated with clinical outcome at 90 days in both treatment groups. SWIFT PRIME patients with the target mismatch profile had a highly favorable response to endovascular therapy on both clinical and imaging outcomes. Both reperfusion and infarct volumes at 27 hours were powerful and independent predictors of 90-day clinical outcomes.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT01657461.
When Perceiving the Supernatural Changes the Natural: Religion and Agency Detection
Authors: Ma-Kellams Christine
Published: August 2015

How does perceiving supernatural agents shape perceptions of natural agents? Despite the ongoing debate on whether supernatural attributions are functionless spillover from a hyperactive agency detector versus more evolved mechanisms that served key adaptive functions for ancestral humans, both accounts concede that one critical, defining quality of religion is that it superimposes intentional agency on natural events. Across two studies, the relationship between religious beliefs and perceptions of both agency and experience for a diverse array of agents were assessed – including ordinary individuals, supernatural beings, villains, martyrs, and celebrities. Across studies, naturalistically-occurring and experimentally-primed religious beliefs facilitated heightened perceptions of agency, but not experience, across both supernatural and natural agents. Thus, religious beliefs promote greater sensitivity to agency more generally. Implications for how this link reconciles the opposing notions of religion as an accidental by-product of agency detection vs. evolved adaptation are discussed.
Establishing Personal Identity in Reincarnation: Minds and Bodies Reconsidered
Authors: White Claire
Published: August 2015

Little is known about how the minds and bodies of reincarnated agents are represented. In three studies, participants decided which individual, out of multiple contenders, was most likely to be the reincarnation of a deceased person, based upon a single matching feature between the deceased and each of the candidates. While most participants endorsed reincarnation as entailing a new body, they reasoned that candidates with a similar physical mark (e.g., a mole) or a similar episodic autobiographical memory to the deceased, when alive, were more likely than candidates with other physical or psychological based similarities to be the reincarnation of the deceased. As predicted, by increasing the distinctiveness of a matching physical mark and an episodic autobiographical memory, while holding others constant, likelihood judgments for the candidate with the similar distinctive physical mark were significantly higher than candidates with non-distinctive physical marks, but differences between the distinct and general episodic autobiographical memory condition did not reach statistical significance. These findings support the claim that we intuitively represent reincarnated agents as psychologically determined but physically embodied, and that different assumptions underpin the use of physical and psychological features to establish identity in reincarnation contexts.
Jewishness as an Explanation for Rejection of the Word
Authors: Evener Vincent M.
Published: August 2015

The present essay challenges prior accounts of the “literary echo” to Martin Luther’s 1523 treatise, That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, which called for “friendly” theological instruction of Jews. Focusing on a dialogue between a Christian and a Jew written by Caspar Güttel, I demonstrate that Güttel was not concerned with the persuasion of Jews. Rather, writing in 1527, Güttel deployed his knowledge of the ineffectiveness of Luther’s missionary overture as part of a larger strategy casting intra-Christian resistance to the Word as “Jewish.” Moreover, the primary influence on Güttel was not That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, but Luther’s Christmas Postils. From the latter, Güttel received and propagated an image of Jews as “blind with seeing eyes”—as unable to deny truth yet paradoxically unreceptive to it. Güttel’s case underlines the necessity of looking beyond Luther’s “Jewish writings” to locate the transmission and reception of the reformer’s anti-Judaism.
Anti-Judaism and a Hermeneutic of the Flesh
Authors: Tritle Erika
Published: August 2015

This article investigates the manifestations of anti-Judaism that informed fifteenth-century debates over the religious and civic status of the conversos. Insurgents in Toledo supported the persecution of the conversos and their exclusion from public life by insisting on their continued Jewishness despite baptism. Documents such as the “Petition” and the “Sentencia-Estatuto” issued by the rebel regime, the “Appeal and Supplication” written by Marcos García de Mora, and the anonymous “Privilege,” show that the conversos’ opponents developed a hermeneutic of the flesh founded in a reading of the epistles of Paul and informed by their own particular historical context. This hermeneutic afforded the conversos’ opponents a theological basis for shutting certain baptized Christians out of Spanish society based on their carnal descent, weaving race into Christian theology. So useful a conceptual and rhetorical tool was anti-Judaism, however, that even converso defenders employed it as a weapon against their opponents.
Sporolithon yoneshigueae sp. nov. (Sporolithales, Corallinophycidae, Rhodophyta), a new rhodolith-forming coralline alga from the southwest Atlantic
Authors: Bahia Ricardo G. , Amado-Filho Gilberto M. , Maneveldt Gavin W. , Adey Walter H. , Johnson Gabriel , Jesionek Michel B. , Longo Leila L.
Published: August 2015

The aim of this study was to describe the new rhodolith-forming coralline alga species, Sporolithon yoneshigueae sp. nov., based on both morpho-anatomical and molecular data. Specimens were collected in rhodolith beds between 28 and 66 m depths in northeastern and southeastern Brazil. The new species can be distinguished from all other species of the genus Sporolithon by its wide tetrasporangial compartment pore diameter (35–43 µm) and the correspondingly large number (19–24) of rosette cells surrounding the tetrasporangial compartment pore. Phylogenies inferred from psbA and SSU markers support it as a new species within Sporolithon with interspecific genetic divergence varying from 8.86–10.94 %, and 3.67–4.63%, respectively. Observations from recent gathering and from herbarium collections show that specimens previously designated as Sporolithon mediterraneum in Brazil correspond to Sporolithon yoneshigueae.
Lacomucinaea, a new monotypic genus in Thesiaceae (Santalales)
Authors: Nickrent Daniel Lee , García Miguel Angel
Published: August 2015

A new monotypic genus from southern Africa is described based on Thesium lineatum. Lacomucinaea lineata has a number of vegetative and floral morphological features that differ from Thesium and other members of Thesiaceae. An apparently unique feature of the plant is the presence of succulent, fusiform, terete leaves that are caducous, eventually leaving a persistent petiolar stub. The stem surface shows striations formed by cortical fibers inside raised ridges. Anatomically, this type of primary phloem fiber bundle also occurs in Osyridicarpos. A molecular phylogenetic analysis using nuclear ribosomal ITS and the chloroplast trnLF spacer for representatives of all genera in Thesiaceae showed that Lacomucinaea is sister to Osyridicarpos, further supporting this relationship suggested by stem anatomy characters. Recognizing this taxon as a distinct genus results in the genus Thesium being monophyletic. A key to all genera in Thesiaceae is provided.
A new species of death adder (Acanthophis: Serpentes: Elapidae) from north-western Australia
Authors: MADDOCK SIMON T. , ELLIS RYAN J. , DOUGHTY Paul , SMITH LAWRENCE A. , WÜSTER WOLFGANG
Published: August 2015

Australian death adders (genus Acanthophis) are highly venomous snakes with conservative morphology and sit-and-wait predatory habits, with only moderate taxonomic diversity that nevertheless remains incompletely understood. Analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences and morphological characteristics of death adders in northern Australia reveal the existence of a new species from the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, which we describe as Acanthophis cryptamydros sp. nov. Although populations from the Kimberley were previously considered conspecific with Northern Territory death adders of the A. rugosus complex, our mtDNA analysis indicates that its closest relatives are desert death adders, A. pyrrhus. We found that A. cryptamydros sp. nov. is distinct in both mtDNA and nDNA analysis, and possesses multiple morphological characteristics that allow it to be distinguished from all other Acanthophis species. This study further supports the Kimberley region as an area with high endemic biodiversity.
Rediscovery of the enigmatic Stenosternus costatus Karsch (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Orphninae) from São Tomé Island
Authors: FROLOV ANDREY V. , AKHMETOVA LILIA A.
Published: August 2015

Stenosternus Karsch, 1881 is one of the least-known genera of the Orphninae scarab beetles. It was described from a single specimen of the odd-looking S. costatus Karsch, 1881, from the island of São Tomé, Gulf of Guinea, West Africa. Karsch (1881) originally placed Stenosternus in the “Copridae” but later moved it to the Orphninae (Karsch, 1887). Since then, no more findings of S. costatus have been reported. The genus was redescribed by Frolov (2013) from the holotype of S. costatus and provisionally placed in the tribe Aegidiini Paulian based on a number of putative synapomorphies (Frolov, 2012). However, the material limited to only one male specimen did not allow the author to clarify which of its unique characters might be malformations or be sex dependent.
BOOK REVIEW: The Book of Beetles. A lifesize guide to six hundred of nature’s gems (editd by Patrice Bouchard, Ivy Press, UK, 2014, 656 pages)
Authors: ČIAMPOR FEDOR JR.
Published: August 2015

Today, there are plenty of beetle books available on the market. They usually introduce readers to the biggest or smallest, strangely-shaped, or markedly-coloured beetle species. This generally proves to be fairly easy given the richness of morphological and ecological diversity within this order. Unfortunately, such treatments only capture a fraction of the world‘s Coleoptera diversity, use the same examples, and sometimes even the same pictures. That is almost all you learn about one of the biggest and most important animal groups in the world. The Book of Beetles (BoB) does not focus on any of the usual attributes, i.e., biggest size, most shining body or the longest nose. In spite of this (or maybe because of it), the BoB is exceptional.
Schuelkelia gen. n., a new eastern Palaearctic ant-like stone beetle, with synopsis of Eurasian genera of Cyrtoscydmini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae)
Authors: JAŁOSZYŃSKI PAWEŁ
Published: August 2015

Schuelkelia unicornis gen. & sp. n. is described from Yunnan, China. The new taxon belongs to a group of genera characterized by the submentum lacking lateral sutures, and is most similar to Euconnus. Among the Eurasian genera Schuelkelia can be easily identified on the basis of the broad occipital constriction, pronotum lacking antebasal pits or grooves, elytra lacking externally visible basal foveae; mesoscutellum not visible between elytral bases; long and slender but weakly elevated mesoventral intercoxal process, and other features which are described and illustrated in detail. Morphological structures of Schuelkelia are compared with those of all other Palaearctic and Oriental Cyrtoscydmini, and keys to identification of all Eurasian and separately Chinese genera of Cyrtoscydmini are given. A brief illustrated synopsis of all genera of Cyrtoscydmini known to occur in the Oriental and Palaearctic regions is given, to facilitate identifications and future studies.
Insights on the biology and ecology of the deep-water shrimp Parapontophilus occidentalis (Faxon, 1893) (Crustacea: Caridea: Crangonidae) in the eastern Pacific with notes on its morphology
Authors: HENDRICKX MICHEL E. , PAPIOL VANESA
Published: August 2015

The deep-water crangonid Parapontophilus occidentalis (Faxon, 1893) is endemic to the eastern Pacific and has been reported from Mexico to Chile, in depths of 837–4082 m. Material collected off the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula (BCP) during the TALUD XV, XVI and XVI-B cruises consists of a series of 136 specimens (M:F = 1:3.6) with 30 % of ovigerous females. The material examined was captured in depths of 1296–2093 m. Size ranged from 8.4 to 16.1 mm CL, with females being significantly larger than males. Number of eggs carried by ovigerous females ranged from 7 to 998, without a significant relationship between female size and number of eggs. Using only data of females carrying at least 100 eggs, egg mass weight varied from 0.036 to 0.181 g. Size of oval-shaped eggs also varied considerably (0.515 to 0.922 mm). Larger densities of P. occidentalis were observed between 1700 and 2100 m, where larger individuals were collected, and sex proportions differed across all depth strata. At the northern BCP, P. occidentalis was collected at dissolved oxygen concentrations from 0.76 to 1.83 ml l-1, at temperature from 2.1 to 3.4°C, and salinity from 34.54 to 34.63 kg g-1. Density of P. occidentalis was positively correlated with dissolved oxygen, salinity, and silt contribution to sediments, and negatively correlated with temperature and primary productivity five months before sampling.
Mechanisms of Tidal Oscillatory Salt Transport in a Partially Stratified Estuary
Authors: Wang Tao , Geyer W. Rockwell , Engel Patricia , Jiang Wensheng , Feng Shizuo
Published: August 2015

Tidal oscillatory salt transport, induced by the correlation between tidal variations in salinity and velocity, is an important term for the subtidal salt balance under the commonly used Eulerian method of salt transport decomposition. In this paper, its mechanisms in a partially stratified estuary are investigated with a numerical model of the Hudson estuary. During neap tides, when the estuary is strongly stratified, the tidal oscillatory salt transport is mainly due to the hydraulic response of the halocline to the longitudinal variation of topography. This mechanism does not involve vertical mixing, so it should not be regarded as oscillatory shear dispersion, but instead it should be regarded as advective transport of salt, which results from the vertical distortion of exchange flow obtained in the Eulerian decomposition by vertical fluctuations of the halocline. During spring tides, the estuary is weakly stratified, and vertical mixing plays a significant role in the tidal variation of salinity. In the spring tide regime, the tidal oscillatory salt transport is mainly due to oscillatory shear dispersion. In addition, the transient lateral circulation near large channel curvature causes the transverse tilt of the halocline. This mechanism has little effect on the cross-sectionally integrated tidal oscillatory salt transport, but it results in an apparent left–right cross-channel asymmetry of tidal oscillatory salt transport. With the isohaline framework, tidal oscillatory salt transport can be regarded as a part of the net estuarine salt transport, and the Lagrangian advective mechanism and dispersive mechanism can be distinguished.
Assessment in Performance-Based Secondary Music Classes
Authors: Pellegrino Kristen , Conway Colleen M. , Russell Joshua A.
Published: August 2015

After sharing research findings about grading and assessment practices in secondary music ensemble classes, we offer examples of commonly used assessment tools (ratings scale, checklist, rubric) for the performance ensemble. Then, we explore the various purposes of assessment in performance-based music courses: (1) to meet state, national, and school mandates; (2) to provide documentation for grades; (3) to improve individual musicianship and understanding; and (4) to improve instruction. Finally, we conclude with assessment dilemmas and questions for consideration.
Another Perspective
Authors: Abrahams Frank
Published: August 2015

In an increasingly connected world, our students are listening to and making music outside the school context. As music educators, we need to better understand the media they use and incorporate this technology in our daily teaching to enhance music literacy in our classrooms.
Cute Little Things
Authors: Holland Elise , Haslam Nick
Published: August 2015

In two studies, we examined the impact of sexualization of prepubescent girls on college students’ perceptions of girls’ mental capacity and moral standing. Previous research has shown that women depicted in sexualized and other body-focused ways are perceived as lacking mental capacities and moral standing; these perceptions reduce concern about them when they are victimized. However, no other research to date has examined whether the same effects hold for young girls. Study 1 demonstrated that college students attributed lower mental capacity and lower moral status to girls dressed in revealing attire in the same way, and to the same degree, as they viewed sexually mature women. In Study 2, we replicated this finding and found that objectifying perceptions are associated with less sympathetic responses to girls in a bullying scenario. Participants showed less care that sexually objectified girls had been harmed, less favorable attitudes towards helping them, and a greater belief that the girls were responsible for being victimized. Taken together, these findings suggest that the potentially damaging manifestations and consequences of objectification are manifest before girls reach womanhood. We suggest recommendations for reducing the sexualization of young girls. Additional online materials for this article are available to PWQ subscribers on PWQ’ s website at http://pwq.sagepub.com/supplemental
Understanding the Role of Social Factors in Farmworker Housing and Health
Authors: Marsh Ben , Milofsky Carl , Kissam Edward , Arcury Thomas A.
Published: August 2015

Differences in social advantage significantly influence health conditions and life expectancy within any population. Such factors reproduce historic class, race, and ethnic disparities in community success. Few populations in the United States face more social and economic disadvantage than farmworkers, and farmworker housing has significant potential to ameliorate or amplify the health impact of those disadvantages. Drawing on the limited direct research on farmworkers, and on additional research about poor, isolated, and immigrant societies, we propose four mechanisms through which housing can be expected to affect farmworker health: quality of social capital within farmworker communities, stress effects of poor housing situations, effects of housing on social support for healthy behaviors, and interactions among these factors, especially effects on children that can last for generations. Policy and planning definitions of “adequate” farmworker housing should take a more holistic view of housing needs to support specific social and community benefits in design decisions.
Opuntia Extract Reduces Scar Formation in Rabbit Ear Model
Authors: Fang Quan , Huang Chunlan , You Chuangang , Ma Shaolin
Published: August 2015

The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of Opuntia stricta H (Cactaceae) extract on suppression of hypertrophic scar on ventral surface wounds of rabbit ears. Full thickness skin defection was established in a rabbit ear to simulate hypertrophic scar. Opuntia extract was sprayed on the wounds in the experimental group, and normal saline was used in the control group. After the wounds healed with scar formation, the hypertrophic scar tissue was harvested on days 22, 39, and 54 for histological analysis. The expression of type I and type III collagen and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results indicated that the scar of the control group is more prominent compared with the opuntia extract group. The expression of type I collagen in the opuntia extract group was lower than the control group, while type III collagen in opuntia extract group gradually increased and exceeded control group. The expression of MMP-1 decreased in the opuntia extract group, while the control group increased over time, but the amount of MMP-1 was much higher than that in the control group on day 22. In conclusion, opuntia extract reduces hypertrophic scar formation by means of type I collagen inhibition, and increasing type III collagen and MMP-1.T he novel application of opuntia extract may lead to innovative and effective antiscarring therapies.
Upregulation of microRNA-370 facilitates the repair of amputated fingers through targeting forkhead box protein O1
Authors: Zhang Hongxing , Sun Xiaojuan , Hao Dingjun
Published: August 2015

Angiogenesis is critical to the success of digital replantation. Recent study suggests an important regulatory role of microRNA-370 (miR-370) in ischemia–reperfusion injury. However, its function in digital replantation is poorly understood. In this study, we reported that the expression of miR-370 was upregulated in replantation tissues. miR-370 mimic transfection promoted human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) proliferation by regulating the cell cycle and inhibited apoptosis. miR-370 mimic transfection also significantly increased HUVECs migration and induced the formation of capillary-like structures in HUVECs, indicated that miR-370 promoted capillary tube formation in vitro. Furthermore, forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) was identified as the functional target of miR-370 by dual-luciferase reporter assay. FOXO1 overexpression vector lacked 3′-UTR together with miR-370 mimic transfection strongly abrogated miR-370-induced cell proliferation and the formation of capillary-like structures in HUVECs. Taken together, our results revealed that the upregulation of miR-370 might facilitate the repair of amputated fingers by regulating angiogenesis through targeting FOXO1. This study provided a potential therapeutic target for the restoration of finger function after replantation.
Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation with Counseling Reduces Anemia in Adolescent Girls: A Large-Scale Effectiveness Study in Uttar Pradesh, India
Authors: Vir Sheila C. , Singh Neelam , Nigam Arun K. , Jain Ritu
Published: August 2015

Background

Weekly iron–folic acid supplementation in small-scale research trials and as administered in institutions has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing anemia in adolescent girls.

Objective

To assess the effectiveness of weekly iron–folic acid supplementation in a large-scale project in reducing the prevalence of anemia in adolescent girls.

Methods

The project provided weekly iron–folic acid tablets, family life education, and deworming tablets every 6 months to 150,700 adolescent school girls and non-schoolgirls of a total district population of 3,647,834. Consumption of the iron–folic acid tablets was supervised for schoolgirls but not for non-schoolgirls. Hemoglobin levels were assessed in a random sample of non-schoolgirls at 6 and 12 months and schoolgirls at 6 months. The effect of supplementation on the prevalence of anemia and the compliance rate were assessed over a 4-year period.

Results

In 4 years, the overall prevalence of anemia was reduced from 73.3% to 25.4%. Hemoglobin levels and anemia prevalence were influenced significantly at 6 months. No difference in the impact on hemoglobin or anemia prevalence was observed between supervised and unsupervised girls. Counseling on the positive effects of regular weekly iron–folic acid intake contributed to a high compliance rate of over 85%. The cost of implementation was US$0.36 per beneficiary per year.

Conclusions

Weekly iron–folic acid supplementation combined with monthly education sessions and deworming every 6 months is cost-effective in reducing the prevalence of anemia in adolescent girls. Appropriate counseling, irrespective of supervision, is critical for achieving positive outcomes.
The case for dosing dabigatran: how tailoring dose to patient renal function, weight and age could improve the benefit–risk ratio
Authors: Safouris Apostolos , Triantafyllou Nikos , Parissis John , Tsivgoulis Georgios
Published: August 2015

Dabigatran is increasingly being used in clinical practice for the thromboprophylaxis in atrial fibrillation as a convenient therapy that needs no drug level monitoring. However, analysis of the data of the same clinical trial that led to the adoption of dabigatran in fixed-dosing regimens has indicated a small subgroup of patients that could be either over-treated, risking bleeding, or under-treated, risking embolism. Additional post-marketing data lends support to the favorable therapeutic profile of dabigatran but at the same time raises doubts about patient characteristics such as weight, age, renal function and their pharmacokinetic effects that, in some cases, could be serious enough to expose a minority of patients to risk. We will present a clinical case of a patient with an ischemic stroke while on dabigatran that was found with low dabigatran plasma levels and we will discuss the currently available data on the effects of inherent patient characteristics on dabigatran pharmacokinetics, the clinical impact of dabigatran plasma levels on safety and efficacy as well as the possibility of improving the risk–benefit profile of this agent by tailoring the dose for selected patient groups.
Pre-hospital management of patients with chest pain and/or dyspnoea of cardiac origin. A position paper of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) of the ESC.
Authors: Beygui Farzin , Castren Maaret , Brunetti Natale Daniele , Rosell-Ortiz Fernando , Christ Michael , Zeymer Uwe , Huber Kurt , Folke Fredrik , Svensson Leif , Bueno Hector , van’t Hof Arnoud , Nikolaou Nikolaos , Nibbe Lutz , Charpentier Sandrine , Swahn Eva , Tubaro Marco , Goldstein Patrick ,   ACCA study group on pre-hospital care
Published: August 2015

Chest pain and acute dyspnoea are frequent causes of emergency medical services activation. The pre-hospital management of these conditions is heterogeneous across different regions of the world and Europe, as a consequence of the variety of emergency medical services and absence of specific practical guidelines. This position paper focuses on the practical aspects of the pre-hospital treatment on board and transfer of patients taken in charge by emergency medical services for chest pain and dyspnoea of suspected cardiac aetiology after the initial assessment and diagnostic work-up. The objective of the paper is to provide guidance, based on evidence, where available, or on experts’ opinions, for all emergency medical services’ health providers involved in the pre-hospital management of acute cardiovascular care.
A Shepherd for the Naïve
Authors: Atkinson Christopher L.
Published: August 2015

Intellectuals of the 20th century bore witness to society’s injustices. They viewed and commented on erosion of rights and humankind’s callousness to itself. For example, Huxley’s Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited illustrate with contempt a society that had renounced personal individuality and rejected freedom, choosing a drugged totalitarian state set adrift from any sense of morality. Huxley’s work is a familiar touchstone, in that it presupposed a world that seems increasingly real to us, even though a faithful portrayal of the future was hardly Huxley’s intent. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 soberly reminded the world of the wages of intolerance to divergent ideas, in envisioning a government solidifying its hold on power by banishing the spectrum of human emotion in literature and mass media. Forster’s ambitious short story “The Machine Stops” countered the naiveté of a positive equal utopia, with a world cruel in its homogenization and dependent on a deified machine for all facets of its existence. In each instance, government is an ominous, questionable character. Technology, in these texts and in today’s world, is a foundational element with muddled aims—a rich virtual society on one hand, but frightening levels of assimilation, control, and loss of interpersonal communication and privacy in the crumbling arena of the real on the other. In this article, a future technology-led existence is examined through the lenses of these fictional works.
Experimental evidence for partial Fe2+ disorder at the Y and Z sites of tourmaline: a combined EMP, SREF, MS, IR and OAS study of schorl
Authors: Bosi Ferdinando , Andreozzi Giovanni B. , Hålenius Ulf , Skogby Henrik
Published: August 2015

An experimental study of an Al-rich schorl sample from Cruzeiro mine (Minas Gerais, Brazil) was carried out using electron microprobe analysis, structural refinement and Mössbauer, infrared and optical absorption spectroscopy in order to explore the disordering of Fe2+ over the Y and Z sites of the tourmaline structure.

A structural formula was obtained by merging chemical and structural data. The cation distribution at the two non-equivalent octahedrally coordinated sites (Y and Z) was obtained by two different optimization procedures which, minimizing the residuals between observed and calculated data, converged to the formula: X(Na0.65〈0.32Ca0.02K0.01)Σ1.00Y(Fe1.652+Al1.15Fe0.063+Mn0.052+Zn0.05Ti0.044+)Σ3.00Z(Al5.52Fe0.302+Mg0.18)Σ6.00[T(Si5.87Al0.13)Σ6.00O18](BBO3)3V(OH)3W[(OH)0.34F0.28O0.38]Σ1.00.

This result shows a partial disordering of Fe2+ over the Y and Z sites which explains adequately the mean atomic number observed for the Z site (13.5±0.1). Such a disordering is also in line with the shoulder recorded in the Mössbauer spectrum (fitted by a doublet with isomer shift of 1.00 mm/s and quadrupole splitting of 1.38 mm/s) as well as with the asymmetric bands recorded in the optical absorption spectrum at ∼9000 and 14,500 cm–1 (modelled by four Gaussian bands, centred at 7677 and 9418 cm–1, and 13,154 and 14,994 cm–1, respectively).

The high degree of consistency in the results obtained using the different methods suggests that the controversy over Fe2+ order can be ascribed to the failure to detect small amounts of Fe2+ at Z (typically <<10% atoms/site) rather than a steric effect of Fe2+ on the tourmaline structure.
Stabilities of byströmite, MgSb2O6, ordoñezite, ZnSb2O6 and rosiaite, PbSb2O6, and their possible roles in limiting antimony mobility in the supergene zone
Authors: Roper Adam J. , Leverett Peter , Murphy Timothy D. , Williams Peter A.
Published: August 2015

In order to clarify the roles that secondary minerals may have in determining the extent of dispersion of Sb in the supergene environment, syntheses and stability studies of the Sb(V) oxides byströmite, MgSb2O6, ordoñezite, ZnSb2O6 and rosiaite, PbSb2O6, have been undertaken. Solubilities in aqueous HNO3 were determined at 298.2 K and the data obtained used to calculate values of Δ at the same temperature. The derived Δ(s, 298.2 K) values for MgSb2O6 (–1554.1 ±3.6 kJ mol–1), ZnSb2O6 (–1257.0 ±2.6 kJ mol–1) and PbSb2O6 (–1154.2 ±2.6 kJ mol–1) have been used in subsequent calculations to determine their relative stabilities and relationships with other secondary Sb minerals.
Corundum (sapphire) and zircon relationships, Lava Plains gem fields, NE Australia: Integrated mineralogy, geochemistry, age determination, genesis and geographical typing
Authors: Sutherland F. L. , Coenraads R. R. , Abduriyim A. , Meffre S. , Hoskin P. W. O. , Giuliani G. , Beattie R. , Wuhrer R. , Sutherland G. B.
Published: August 2015

Gem minerals at Lava Plains, northeast Queensland, offer further insights into mantle-crustal gemformation under young basalt fields. Combined mineralogy, U-Pb age determination, oxygen isotope and petrological data on megacrysts and meta-aluminosilicate xenoliths establish a geochemical evolution in sapphire, zircon formation between 5 to 2 Ma. Sapphire megacrysts with magmatic signatures (Fe/Mg ∼100–1000, Ga/Mg 3–18) grew with ∼3 Ma micro-zircons of both mantle (δ18O 4.5–5.6%) and crustal (δ18O 9.5–10.1‰) affinities. Zircon megacrysts (3±1 Ma) show mantle and crustal characteristics, but most grew at crustal temperatures (600–800°C). Xenolith studies suggest hydrous silicate melts and fluids initiated from amphibolized mantle infiltrated into kyanite+sapphire granulitic crust (800°C, 0.7 GPa). This metasomatized the sapphire (Fe/Mg ∼50–120, Ga/Mg ∼3–11), left relict metastable sillimanite-corundum-quartz and produced minerals enriched in high field strength, large ion lithophile and rare earth elements. The gem suite suggests a syenitic parentage before its basaltic transport. Geographical trace-element typing of the sapphire megacrysts against other eastern Australian sapphires suggests a phonolitic involvement.
The crystal structure of balićžunićite, Bi2O(SO4)2, a new natural bismuth oxide sulfate
Authors: Pinto Daniela , Garavelli Anna , Balić-Žunić Tonci
Published: August 2015

The crystal structure of balićžunićite, Bi2O(SO4)2, a new mineral species from the La Fossa crater of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy), was solved from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data and refined to R = 0.0507. The structure is triclinic, space group P1, with a = 6.7386(3), b = 11.1844(5), c = 14.1754(7) Å, α = 80.082(2), β = 88.462(2)°, γ = 89.517(2)°, V = 1052.01(8) Å3 and Z = 6. The crystal structure consists of six independent Bi sites, six S sites and 27 O sites of which three are oxo oxygen atoms not bonded to sulfur. Bismuth and S atoms are arranged close to a eutectic pattern parallel to the (100) plane. The planes are stacked atom on atom such that Bi always overlays S and vice versa. This structural feature is shared with the known structure of the high-temperature polymorph of the same compound, stable at T >535°C. However, the sequences of Bi and S atoms in the two structures are different and so are the arrangements of oxygen atoms. Characteristic building blocks in the structure of balićžunićite are clusters of five Bi atoms which form nearly planar trapezoidal Bi5 groups with oxo oxygens located in the centres of the three Bi3 triangles, which form the trapezoids. The trapezoidal Bi5O39+ ions are joined along [100] with SO42– groups by means of strong bismuth-sulfate oxygen bonds, forming infinite [100] rods with composition Bi5O3(SO4)5–. One sixth of the Bi atoms do not participate in trapezoids, but form, with additional SO42– groups, rows of composition BiSO4+, also parallel to [100]. [Bi5O3(SO4)5–] rods form infinite layers parallel to (010) with [BiSO4+] rows located on the irregular surface of contact between adjacent layers. Bi atoms occur in four different coordination types, all showing the stereochemical influence of the Bi3+ lone electron pair. In this respect the crystal structure of balićžunićite shows greater variability than its high-temperature polymorph which has only two types of the Bi coordination spheres present in balićžunićite.