bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Making a Difference: The History of Canada's Nurses
Authors: Strong-Boag Veronica
Published: December 2016

The history of nurses is changing both women's history and the history of Canada itself. This article offers some reflections on this subject, beginning with an examination of the insights offered in three traditional accounts of Canadian nurses and nursing, moving next to a brief overview of the contribution of recent revisionist nursing history, and finishing with a discussion of how nursing and nursing history might be integrated into a broad survey of Canadian history from the period of New France to the present. Traditional histories, most written by practitioners themselves, have regularly testified to the significance of women's contribution and the value of a women's community. More recently, revisionist historians have illuminated the class and racial/ethnic character of nursing's past and pointed to the ways that patriarchy restricted nurses' options. The results of the investigations of both traditionalists and revisionists can illuminate not only nursing history, but Canada's past as a whole.
A Guide to Historical Records in Hospitals in London, England and Ontario, Canada c. 1800–c. 1950 – Part 2: A Consolidated List of Records
Authors: Craig Barbara L
Published: December 2016

This list of records comes from a survey of 57 hospitals, 29 in London, England and 28 in Ontario, Canada which was undertaken between 1983 and 1987. Readers and users of this guide should bear in mind the following points. The list includes all records generated or received by the hospital in the course of its activities; not included are published secondary material, such as government reports or professional journals, artifacts, paintings, and records incorporated in the current files. Records are entered at either the item or the series level by title and/or type, physical format, date, and linear extent in feet. The titles were assigned to minimize local differences and to permit essentially the same records to be gathered together for comparative purposes. Standard measurements were used so that equivalency could be maintained: one bound volume and standard transfer containers were both assumed to occupy .50 of a foot; bundles of plans and drawings, whether flat or rolled, were assumed to occupy three feet; one file drawer was assumed to contain a minimum of two feet of records.
L’identité urbaine et les histoires locales publiées du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle en France
Authors: Dolan Claire
Published: December 2016

Based on a set of 24 local histories published in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this article underlines the differences between local histories published when local identity was still of importance and local histories published later in the period when royal power succeeded in integrating local identities into a national identity.

A literary genre, history in this period which focused on the local level can be divided into two categories: “Antiquities” and “Histories.” “Antiquities” emphasized specific urban features embodied in monuments (historic buildings, bridges and statutes, for example) and symbolic monuments (order of procession and lists of local personalities, for example). These “Antiquities,” especially those printed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, brought to the fore local identity and generally ignored the royal kingdom. By the seventeenth century, “Histories” or “Annals” came to dominate local history as local events recounted from the much larger royal perspective supplanted the “monument” descriptions which came to be regarded as historical curiosities. These local histories saw the merging of the history of the city and history of the kingdom.

This article which examines local histories dealing with sixteenth-century religious wars suggests ways to use local history to understand changes in urban identities. Local context and power relationships have to be thoroughly analyzed but it is also necessary to pay attention to larger trends of writing history in this period.
On the Brink of Oblivion: The Post-War Crisis of British Liberalism
Authors: Dutton David
Published: December 2016

The British Liberal party has not independently held the reins of government since 1915. For most of the three-quarters of a century which have elapsed since then it has been recognized to be in a state of decline. Nonetheless its continued viability as a force in British politics has not usually been in question. Despite its often derisory position in the House of Commons — the victim of a first-past-the-post electoral system — it has maintained a significant level of support at the ballot box. This article argues, however, that in the years immediately after World War Two the political extinction of the Liberal party was a distinct possibility. While the party struggled to establish its own distinctive identity in a changed political environment, it was the object of a succession of attempts by the Conservatives to destroy its independent existence. The latter increasingly saw the capturing of remaining Liberal votes as their only means of overcoming the new Labour majority in the country which had emerged in 1945.

As the postwar consensus developed, Liberalism found it ever more difficult to find an appropriate niche within the political spectrum. The problem was not helped by a marked difference of opinion within the rump of the parliamentary party. Some were clear that only a pact with the Conservatives could save the party from oblivion, while others argued that such a course would snuff out the essential radicalism of the Liberal tradition.

The article concludes that the decisive moment came with the refusal of the party leader, Clement Davies, to accept cabinet office under Churchill in 1951. Thereafter, with a majority Conservative government in power, the earlier need to subsume Liberalism disappeared and the party’s survival was assured, even though it would be some time before its popular support and parliamentary strength showed significant signs of revival.
“Worthy of Some Better Enemy?”: The British Estimate of the Imperial Japanese Army 1919-41, and the Fall of Singapore
Authors: Ferris John
Published: December 2016

This article examines British assessments of the characteristics and quality of the Japanese Army between 1919-41, and their effect on the British debacle in Asia during 1941-42. It concludes that the estimates made by British observers in Japan and officially accepted by the war office were far more accurate than is usually recognized. Professional British analysts not only understood their enemy but often were sentimental Japanophiles. Their reports are a valuable source on the training, tactics and preparations of the Japanese Army between the wars. This article examines the process of observation, generalization, analysis and synthesis involved in estimation and the intellectual framework and images of Japan which shaped that process. It shows that these assessments were not dominated by racist ideology. Instead, forms of ethnocentrism and ideas of “national character” were the main cause for errors by the professionals, and these errors were not substantial. This article also demonstrates that another school of thought about the Japanese Army persisted among British officers, whose views were far less accurate than those of the professionals and far more influenced by vulgar racism. This article shows how it was that by 1941 this second school came to dominate the views of the Japanese Army held by British garrisons in Asia, but not by the war office. It discusses how far miscalculations of this kind contributed to the destruction of Britain’s empire in southeast Asia.
Another Side of Chinese Eunuch History: Castration, Marriage, Adoption, and Burial
Authors: Jay Jennifer W.
Published: December 2016

Eunuchs in Chinese history existed as imperial court servants and as a political institution for over three thousand years. In this paper, I briefly review the scholarship on these men and then proceed to explore beyond the popular image of brutal eunuch politics, focusing on the eunuchs themselves as individuals and functioning members of the family and society. By looking at castration, marriage, adoption, and burial practices, I argue that the eunuchs lost their male reproductive organs during castration but remained unquestionably male in gender identity and social role while aspiring to a normal Confucian life. I offer five case studies of eunuch adoptions to demonstrate that some representative eunuch families achieved a degree of stability and continuity for several generations. The strength of the family among eunuchs debunks the myth and the rationale for the employment of eunuchs at the imperial court on the premise that eunuchs had no family ties that would jeopardize their loyalty to the emperor. Ironically, the eunuchs very much aspired to join the same mainstream Confucian society of traditional China that rejected them.
Apparitions and the Public Sphere in Seventeenth-Century France
Authors: Beam Sara
Published: December 2016

During the French constitutional crisis of the Fronde (1648-52), over five thousand different pamphlets flooded Parisian marketplaces in response to the demands of a curious and active reading public. Most of these pamphlets, collectively known as the Mazarinades, were critical of the queen and expressed their discontent in songs, burlesque poems, and imaginary dialogues. In some of these pamphlets, ghosts, emissaries from God and other supernatural beings appeared before French subjects and the queen to comment on the political crisis facing France. When the apparitions visited French commoners, in particular bourgeois men and hermits, these supernatural beings admonished the men to take an active role in opposing the queen. Borrowing conventional tropes from the theatre and exploiting a popular interest in the supernatural, the authors of the apparition pamphlets imagined a new political role for commoners in absolutist France.

Although a fully developed political public sphere did not emerge until the eighteenth century, by exploring individual psychology and the nature of political authority, the apparition Mazarinades were an important precursor of later French political discourse. Jürgen Habermas and historians of France interested in the development of the public sphere usually dismiss the Mazarinades as slander rather than serious political commentary; in doing so, they represent the emergence of the public sphere in the eighteenth century as a break with absolutism. Instead, the apparition pamphlets demonstrate that representations of private individuals as political subjects were being explored throughout the seventeenth century as well.
Mind of an Assassin: Ravaillac and the Murder of Henry IV of France
Authors: Walker Anita M. , Dickerman Edmund H.
Published: December 2016

On 14 May 1610 François Ravaillac stabbed to death Henry IV in a narrow Parisian street. From his responses to his interrogators, it is clear that Ravaillac was only confusedly aware of why he had committed this crime. Using early modern concepts of mental illness and its genesis, together with insights from others’ psychological and sociological analyses of modern assassins, this article argues from a close reading of Ravaillac’s interrogations, framed in the trajectory of his life and the context of his times, that there were motives both liminal and unconscious which drove him to symbolic parricide. Born into a bourgeois family economically ruined and emotionally fragmented by his brutal and rejecting father, Ravaillac, an unmarried social isolate, found compensation in a profound religiosity which expressed itself in visions. Rebuffed in his attempts to join an ascetic religious order because of these visionary experiences, further marginalized economically and socially by a term in prison, and unable to direct his frustration and rage at their proper targets, Ravaillac had grandiose visions, based on the earlier apocalyptic propaganda of the Catholic league. He imagined himself chosen by God to convince Henry IV to force France’s Huguenots to convert. Thwarted in his attempts to tell the king his prophetic message, Ravaillac thought Henry had rejected him. He interpreted the king’s willingness in early 1610 to go to war in the Netherlands as Henry’s decision to make war on the pope, and envisioned himself as God’s instrument in defense of the Holy Father against the evil Father of the kingdom. The assassination of Henry at once vented Ravaillac’s rage, assured him necessary expiation through torture and execution, and brought him instant and lasting notoriety as the murderer of France’s greatest king.
Henry Wilson’s Mischief: Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson’s Rise to Power 1917-18
Authors: Millman Brock
Published: December 2016

Henry Wilson rose from being, in the summer of 1917, a general who had failed to distinguish himself in the war to become the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, in the spring of 1918. He rose because he was confident that he alone amongst his fellows understood the correct path for Britain to follow if it were to avoid disaster in the war; but also because by his political intriguing he ensured that Lloyd George could not ignore him. An understanding of the process by which Wilson became C.I.G.S. is important not only because it helps us to reach a better understanding of a general important in his own right, but also because the Wilson intrigue was a crucial part of Lloyd George’s battle with the generals, and an excellent illustration of the kinds of considerations which often underlie crucial decisions in time of war.
The Rise And Fall of Markets in Southeast England
Authors: Mate Mavis
Published: December 2016

This article discusses the rise and fall of markets in southeast England — the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. A number of markets that were licensed do not appear to have actually come into being. A high density of markets in Kent supports the suggestion that the expansion of marketing resulted, in part, from landlessness and poverty. Lords frequently made more profit from stallage than they did from tolls. Revenues began to fall in the 1390s and in the mid-fifteenth century dropped even lower. Broken and wasted shops and empty market stalls became a commonplace, especially in the Weald. Markets that catered to an industrial population, as in cloth-producing areas, were more likely to survive and produced higher revenues than those that catered primarily to a rural hinterland.
Debt and the English Aristocracy
Authors: David  , Spring Eileen
Published: December 2016

This article analyses a long debate on the subject of aristocratic debt, showing that in the course of discussion ideas gained currency that are much to be questioned.

The debate originated in a thesis put forward by David Spring that English landowners were heavily indebted in the early years of the nineteenth century, and that their indebtedness subsequently was reduced through the effects of the industrial revolution and the growth of evangelical piety. Two objections have been taken to this thesis. First, F.M.L. Thompson early on sought to define the point to which debt might go and yet a family restore its fortunes without selling land. Citing the case of the marquess of Ailesbury, he provided figures which have since become gospel, figures which suggest that landowners were not heavily indebted. Second, taking a quite different tack, David Cannadine and John Habakkuk have more recently argued that the industrial revolution meant little for landed debt. Industrial development brought small increase of income to landowners, and whatever increase it did bring, was not devoted to retiring debt. Aristocratic landowners were by nature extravagant. Their debts grew from the seventeenth century onward.

The article finds both these objections to be faulty. It shows that the Ailesbury case has been misinterpreted, and that as a result an absurdly high notion has prevailed as to how far debt might safely go on a landed estate, causing much confusion to run through historians’ discussions. The article also shows, through an analysis of the strict settlement (the aristocratic marriage settlement), that landowners were essentially prudent in the management of their estates and concerned to limit debt upon them.
Internal Security in Wartime Japan (1937-45) and the Creation of Internal Insecurity
Authors: Matsumura Janice
Published: December 2016

The wartime period in Japan has been called the "Dark Valley." It is an apt description. The wartime was one of the most tragic periods in Japanese history and it remains shrouded in mystery because of the difficulty in conducting research on it. A lot of documents and correspondence which might have revealed much about conditions at the time were destroyed during the course of war. Scholars have nevertheless demonstrated that fears of a growing Communist threat were pervasive among Japan’s wartime elite of social, political and financial notables and that these fears did inspire some key figures to launch a movement to terminate the war in order to avert a possible revolution. This paper contributes to studies of the wartime "Red Scare" by examining how the internal security system itself contributed to such anxieties. It is apparent that the system was plagued by serious problems and was unable to withstand the pressures for greater vigilance caused by the war. The wartime expansion of personnel and organizations, which resulted in greater competition among organizations and the induction of less competent officers, made the internal security system even more unwieldy than it had been to start with. Efforts, moreover, against subversives did not contribute to a greater sense of internal security but proved to be seriously counterproductive. Internal security organizations such as the civil police, who were so determined to eliminate any antiwar and antigovernment movements, intentionally or unintentionally invented conspiracies and ultimately helped to promote an argument to end the war. In the end, those who advocated peace and an end to military rule, pointing to the supposedly large number of Communists who were successfully turning the people against the government, could argue that the war was hurtling the nation toward revolution.
The Petersen Portrait: The Failure of Modern Art as Monument in Fin-de-Siècle Hamburg
Authors: Kay Carolyn
Published: December 2016

In 1891 the director of the Hamburg Kunsthalle, Alfred Lichtwark, commissioned the artist Max Liebermann to paint a portrait of the city’s burgomaster, Carl Petersen. This article considers the scandal that ensued when the portrait was rejected by Petersen and his supporters in the Senate and among Hamburg’s grand bourgeoisie. What Petersen found offensive in the portrait was Liebermann’s unsentimental portrayal of a leading political figure; to Petersen and his supporters the portrait made him look common, as though he were an old worker, rather than a dignified bourgeois gentleman. The artist used the hated plein-air technique of painting — impressionist brushwork, lighter colour, lack of detail—thought to be an ugly, experimental approach to portraiture, and one that slandered the man who was the subject. Petersen wanted a formal portrait to memorialize his service to the city, capture his dignity, and make him look regal in his senatorial costume. He could not see such a pictorial tribute in Liebermann’s work. In analysing this rejection of Liebermann’s art, the author argues that Petersen’s cultural antimodernism was representative of the regressive political outlook of Hamburg’s patrician class, and thus of the liberal elite’s unwillingness to address the city’s rapidly changing social and economic character after 1871. Furthermore, the scandal over the portrait — a portrait that Lichtwark had hoped would inaugurate a new tradition of modern German portraiture — constituted a serious setback to Lichtwark’s ambitious plans for a collection of modern German art in the Kunsthalle. This specific incident, then, helps to illuminate the nature of the conflict over modernism in Imperial Germany, and highlights public resistance to modern art as monument in the 1890s.
The Utopian Mayeux: Henri de Saint-Simon meets the bossu à la mode
Authors: Menon Elizabeth K.
Published: December 2016

Monsieur Mayeux was a fictional hunchback dwarf found in visual and literary media during and after the period of the July Monarchy (1830-1848) in France. Many artists, among them Honoré Daumier, and writers, including Victor Hugo and Alfred de Musset, popularized the hunchback. Mayeux was a unique "type" capable of addressing a diverse public on several simultaneous levels. The ambiguities inherent in his physical and psychological characteristics aided individuals who "used" him to sell a product or advocate a political position. With Saint-Simonism we can witness Mayeux being used to address both sides of the same argument. Although he was an unlikely "hero," the hunchback dwarf was uniquely qualified to address topical issues of the period, including the increasing popularity of the social system of Henri de Saint- Simon. Mayeux appeared as a primary character in a series of texts and lithographic prints that commented directly or indirectly on Enfantin’s effective marketing of a reconfigured Saint-Simonist doctrine in the opening years of the July Monarchy. As an ironic choice — partly because of Enfantin’s connection of physical beauty to moral uprightness — Mayeux evoked discussion. In addition, part of Saint- Simon’s conception of God was as a harmoniser of all antitheses and the "sciences" of physiognomy and phrenology had informed the religious philosopher’s ideas as much as it had helped shape Mayeux’s physical form. Since he had a reputation in prints as being a womanize. Mayeux helped criticize the concept of love promoted by Saint-Simonists. As "everyman" representing the lower and middle classes, Mayeux would necessarily be concerned with utopian theories proposing societal changes to benefit the disenfranchised. Those critical of Enfantin took advantage of Mayeux’s personal ambiguities to expose the inconsistencies within the Saint- Simonists doctrine.
Between Rhetoric and Reality: Nationalist China’s Tibetan Agenda During the Second World War
Authors: Lin Hsiao-ting
Published: December 2016

This paper makes use of both Chinese and English primary sources to reassess China’s agendas concerning Tibet during the Second World War. Previous researches have suggested that the Japanese invasion of China proper and the emergence of a group of powers allied with China in its struggle against Japan provided Nationalist China with an opportunity to advance its claims to the “lost” border regions and restore China’s past territorial glory. Scholarly works have also argued that, being a member of the “Great Four” after Pearl Harbor, the Chinese government talked volubly about restoring China’s authority over traditional frontier peripheries. In addition, it is suggested that, with regards to Tibet in the early 1940s, Chiang Kai-sheks wartime regime in Chongqing was even prepared to resort to military force to bring the long-lasting Tibetan issue to an end. This research intends to offer a different story. Here it is suggested that efforts made by the Chinese Nationalists during wartime to assert their rights in the southwest frontier peripheries were primarily based on considerations of regime security and military strategy. These considerations were felt to be more important than the ideological contours of Chinese nationalism shaped as early as Sun Yat-sen’s era. As revealed in this paper, Chiang Kai-shek and his regime were actually taking a far more pragmatic stance towards the Tibetan issues. This paper further suggests that, as late as the early 1940s, the formulation of a definite and clear Chinese territoriality, with Tibet unconditionally included, remained a pending and unresolved issue for China.
“As a Person, I Feel I’ve Changed Pretty Immensely”: Sojourners’ Aspirations and Self-Perceived Achievements
Authors: Müller Mareike
Published: December 2016

This article explores the interplay between learners’ linguistic and personal objectives as well as evaluations of their achievements in study-abroad contexts, an area that has thus far remained widely unexplored given the prevalence of product-oriented, outcomes-based research. The study draws on the case of one Canadian student of German who studied abroad at a German university for one year. To adopt an emic perspective, the data gained from a learning history questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and e-journals were analyzed and interpreted within the framework of narrative analysis. The results show not only that learners’ sojourn objectives may be complex, dynamic, and contradictory in nature but also that they need to be examined beyond their face value, as they are entangled with learners’ negotiations of desirable subject positions and attempts to integrate their sojourn experiences, successes, and frustrations in a coherent and positive life narrative.
A Retrospective Analysis of Post-Stroke Berg Balance Scale Scores: How Should Normal and At-Risk Scores Be Interpreted?
Authors: Patterson Kara K. , Inness Elizabeth , McIlroy William E. , Mansfield Avril
Published: December 2016

Purpose: The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) is a performance-based measure of standing balance commonly used by clinicians working with individuals post-stroke. Performance on the BBS can be influenced by compensatory strategies, but measures derived from two force plates can isolate compensatory strategies and thus better indicate balance impairment. This study examined BBS scores that reflect “normal” and disordered balance with respect to dual force-plate measures of standing balance in individuals post-stroke. Methods: BBS and force-plate measures were extracted from 75 patient charts. Individuals were classified by BBS score with respect to (1) age-matched normative values and (2) values that suggested increased risk of falls. Multiple analysis of variance was used to examine the effect of group assignment on force-plate measures of standing balance. Results: Individuals with BBS scores within and below normative values did not differ in force-plate measures. Individuals with BBS scores below the falls risk cutoff loaded their affected leg less than individuals with BBS scores above the cutoff. There were no other differences in force-plate measures between these two groups. Conclusions: BBS scores indicating either normal or disordered balance function are not necessarily associated with normal or disordered quiet standing-balance control measured by two force plates. This finding suggests that the BBS may reflect a capacity for compensation rather than any underlying impairments.
The Shipwreck of Bom Jesus, AD 1533: Fugger Copper in Namibia
Authors: Hauptmann Andreas , Schneider Gabi , Bartels Christoph
Published: December 2016

In AD 1533, the Portuguese trade vessel Bom Jesus sunk off the coast of southern Namibia, near the modern town of Oranjemund. Coming from Lisbon on its way to western India, it contained a multifold load of naval equipment and commodities for trade and exchange. Amongst the excavated materials recovered from the presumed shipwreck of the Bom Jesus, of paramount importance are 1845 copper ingots, showing the trademark of the Fugger company from the Freie Reichsstadt of Augsburg, Germany. Historical accounts testify to massive copper and silver production of the Fugger-Thurzo company in the area of Neusohl in the Slovak Ore Mountains. Geochemical analyses of 60 copper ingots from the wreck show an extraordinarily homogeneous composition with appreciable concentrations of lead, silver, antimony, nickel, and arsenic indicating the smelting of fahlores. Lead was found to be added deliberately to the copper to extract silver by the Liquation Process. This technological innovation is one of the numerous hallmarks of the Renaissance period and the “Age of Discovery”. Lead isotope abundance ratios point to an origin from lead deposits in Cracow-Silesia. The ore districts of Neusohl and Cracow-Silesia were intensively connected to mining and metal production during the postmedieval period. This study forcefully shows the advantage of combined historical and natural science studies.
Deep Brain Stimulation for Alzheimer’s Disease: Ethical Challenges for Clinical Research
Authors: Siegel Andrew M. , Barrett Marna S. , Bhati Mahendra T.
Published: December 2016

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an invasive neuromodulation modality that has shown early promise as a novel treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Further clinical research is warranted on the basis of positive results from animal and human studies, as well as the inadequacy of existing treatments in reducing the enormous medical and financial costs of untreated AD. Nevertheless, unique ethical challenges require particular attention to elements of subject enrollment and informed consent. Study protocols should specify robust assessment and regular monitoring of subject decision-making capacity to consent to trial participation. Investigators should also assess for and mitigate therapeutic misconception (the phenomenon whereby a research participant conflates the goals of research with those of clinical treatment) and ensure that all prospective trial participants have adequate post-trial access to treatment and DBS device maintenance. In the following discussion, each issue is summarized and followed by recommendations for proper ethical procedure. We conclude by assimilating relevant ethical considerations into a decision-making algorithm designed to aid future clinical investigators of DBS for AD with the task of ethical subject enrollment.
Estradiol and Cognition in the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) Cohort Study
Authors: Imtiaz Bushra , Tolppanen Anna Maija , Solomon Alina , Soininen Hilkka , Kivipelto Miia
Published: December 2016

Cardiovascular Risk factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) is a Finnish population-based study. 731 cognitively normal women had self-reported hormone therapy (HT) data in 1998 as: no use, use ≤5 years, and >5 years. Information on type of HT was only available from 1995–1998 (Prescription Register). Cognition was assessed in 1998 and 2005–2008. Long-term (>5 years) HT use, especially use of estradiol alone among women having hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy, was associated with better episodic memory in 1998, but not in 2005–2008. Although a strong evidence for protective effect of estradiol on cognition was not observed in our study, improved global cognition among long-term users suggests that long-term postmenopausal HT may be beneficial for some cognitive domains.
Down Syndrome, Partial Trisomy 21, and Absence of Alzheimer’s Disease: The Role of APP
Authors: Doran Eric , Keator David , Head Elizabeth , Phelan Michael J. , Kim Ron , Totoiu Minodora , Barrio Jorge R. , Small Gary W. , Potkin Steven G. , Lott Ira T.
Published: December 2016

Overexpression of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene on chromosome 21 in Down syndrome (DS) has been linked to increased brain amyloid levels and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). An elderly man with phenotypic DS and partial trisomy of chromosome 21 (PT21) lacked triplication of APP affording an opportunity to study the role of this gene in the pathogenesis of dementia. Multidisciplinary studies between ages 66–72 years comprised neuropsychological testing, independent neurological exams, amyloid PET imaging with 11C-Pittsburgh compound-B (PiB), plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) measurements, and a brain autopsy examination. The clinical phenotype was typical for DS and his intellectual disability was mild in severity. His serial neuropsychological test scores showed less than a 3% decline as compared to high functioning individuals with DS who developed dementia wherein the scores declined 17–28% per year. No dementia was detected on neurological examinations. On PiB-PET scans, the patient with PT21 had lower PiB standard uptake values than controls with typical DS or sporadic AD. Plasma Aβ42 was lower than values for demented or non-demented adults with DS. Neuropathological findings showed only a single neuritic plaque and neurofibrillary degeneration consistent with normal aging but not AD. Taken together the findings in this rare patient with PT21 confirm the obligatory role of APP in the clinical, biochemical, and neuropathological findings of AD in DS.
The level of 24-Hydroxycholesteryl Esters is an Early Marker of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Benussi Luisa , Ghidoni Roberta , Dal Piaz Fabrizio , Binetti Giuliano , Di Iorio Giuseppe , Abrescia Paolo
Published: December 2016

Cholesterol (C) brain accumulation seems to play a role in the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. 24(S)-hydroxycholesterol (24OH-C) is the predominant metabolite of brain C and its synthesis is believed to represent a way to remove excess C from neurons. Previous studies showed that 24OH-C level is altered in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. Only one study demonstrated that 24OH-C esterification is altered in neurodegenerative diseases, i.e., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Herein we analyzed the level of 24OH-C esters (% 24OH-CE) in i) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and homologous serum of AD ( n = 13) and controls ( n = 8); ii) plasma from AD ( n = 30), controls ( n = 30), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) converting to AD ( n = 34), and stable MCI ( n = 40). The % 24OH-CE in CSF positively correlated with that in homologous serum and was lower in both CSF and blood from AD patients as compared to controls; moreover, the plasma value of % 24OH-CE was lower in MCI conv-AD than in non-converters. Kaplan Meier Survival curves revealed a significant anticipation of the disease onset in AD and MCI conv-AD subjects with the lowest % 24OH-CE values. In conclusion, the reduction of % 24OH-CE in AD and MCI conv-AD, as well as the anticipation of the disease in patients with the lowest % 24OH-CE, support a role of the cholesterol/lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase axis in AD onset/progression. Thus, targeting brain cholesterol metabolism could be a valuable strategy to prevent AD associated cognitive decline.
Investigating Simulated Driving Errors in Amnestic Single- and Multiple-Domain Mild Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Hird Megan A. , Vesely Kristin A. , Fischer Corinne E. , Graham Simon J. , Naglie Gary , Schweizer Tom A.
Published: December 2016

The areas of driving impairment characteristic of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remain unclear. This study compared the simulated driving performance of 24 individuals with MCI, including amnestic single-domain (sd-MCI, n = 11) and amnestic multiple-domain MCI (md-MCI, n = 13), and 20 age-matched controls. Individuals with MCI committed over twice as many driving errors (20.0 versus 9.9), demonstrated difficulty with lane maintenance, and committed more errors during left turns with traffic compared to healthy controls. Specifically, individuals with md-MCI demonstrated greater driving difficulty compared to healthy controls, relative to those with sd-MCI. Differentiating between different subtypes of MCI may be important when evaluating driving safety.
Conformational Response of 30S-bound IF3 to A-Site Binders Streptomycin and Kanamycin
Authors: Chulluncuy Roberto , Espiche Carlos , Nakamoto Jose , Fabbretti Attilio , Milón Pohl
Published: December 2016

Aminoglycoside antibiotics are widely used to treat infectious diseases. Among them, streptomycin and kanamycin (and derivatives) are of importance to battle multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Both drugs bind the small ribosomal subunit (30S) and inhibit protein synthesis. Genetic, structural, and biochemical studies indicate that local and long-range conformational rearrangements of the 30S subunit account for this inhibition. Here, we use intramolecular FRET between the C- and N-terminus domains of the flexible IF3 to monitor real-time perturbations of their binding sites on the 30S platform. Steady and pre-steady state binding experiments show that both aminoglycosides bring IF3 domains apart, promoting an elongated state of the factor. Binding of Initiation Factor IF1 triggers closure of IF3 bound to the 30S complex, while both aminoglycosides revert the IF1-dependent conformation. Our results uncover dynamic perturbations across the 30S subunit, from the A-site to the platform, and suggest that both aminoglycosides could interfere with prokaryotic translation initiation by modulating the interaction between IF3 domains with the 30S platform.
Characteristics and Applications of Spatiotemporally Focused Femtosecond Laser Pulses
Authors: Jing Chenrui , Wang Zhaohui , Cheng Ya
Published: December 2016

Simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing (SSTF) of femtosecond laser pulses gives rise to strong suppression of nonlinear self-focusing during the propagation of the femtosecond laser beam. In this paper, we begin with an introduction of the principle of SSTF, followed by a review of our recent experimental results on the characterization and application of the spatiotemporally focused pulses for femtosecond laser micromachining. Finally, we summarize all of the results and give a future perspective of this technique.
Operational Solution of Non-Integer Ordinary and Evolution-Type Partial Differential Equations
Authors: Zhukovsky Konstantin , Srivastava Hari
Published: December 2016

A method for the solution of linear differential equations (DE) of non-integer order and of partial differential equations (PDE) by means of inverse differential operators is proposed. The solutions of non-integer order ordinary differential equations are obtained with recourse to the integral transforms and the exponent operators. The generalized forms of Laguerre and Hermite orthogonal polynomials as members of more general Appèl polynomial family are used to find the solutions. Operational definitions of these polynomials are used in the context of the operational approach. Special functions are employed to write solutions of DE in convolution form. Some linear partial differential equations (PDE) are also explored by the operational method. The Schrödinger and the Black–Scholes-like evolution equations and solved with the help of the operational technique. Examples of the solution of DE of non-integer order and of PDE are considered with various initial functions, such as polynomial, exponential, and their combinations.
Improvement of Advanced Parkinson’s Disease Manifestations with Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus: A Single Institution Experience
Authors: Rabie Ahmed , Verhagen Metman Leo , Fakhry Mazen , Eassa Ayman , Fouad Wael , Shakal Ahmed , Slavin Konstantin
Published: December 2016

We present our experience at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN), describing our surgical technique, and reporting our clinical results, and morbidities. Twenty patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) who underwent bilateral STN-DBS were studied. Patients were assessed preoperatively and followed up for one year using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) in “on” and “off” medication and “on” and “off” stimulation conditions. At one-year follow-up, we calculated significant improvement in all the motor aspects of PD (UPDRS III) and in activities of daily living (UPDRS II) in the “off” medication state. The “off” medication UPDRS improved by 49.3%, tremors improved by 81.6%, rigidity improved by 50.0%, and bradykinesia improved by 39.3%. The “off” medication UPDRS II scores improved by 73.8%. The Levodopa equivalent daily dose was reduced by 54.1%. The UPDRS IVa score (dyskinesia) was reduced by 65.1%. The UPDRS IVb score (motor fluctuation) was reduced by 48.6%. Deep brain stimulation of the STN improves the cardinal motor manifestations of the idiopathic PD. It also improves activities of daily living, and reduces medication-induced complications.
Nature Inspired Solutions for Polymers: Will Cutinase Enzymes Make Polyesters and Polyamides Greener?
Authors: Ferrario Valerio , Pellis Alessandro , Cespugli Marco , Guebitz Georg , Gardossi Lucia
Published: December 2016

The polymer and plastic sectors are under the urge of mitigating their environmental impact. The need for novel and more benign catalysts for polyester synthesis or targeted functionalization led, in recent years, to an increasing interest towards cutinases due to their natural ability to hydrolyze ester bonds in cutin, a natural polymer. In this review, the most recent advances in the synthesis and hydrolysis of various classes of polyesters and polyamides are discussed with a critical focus on the actual perspectives of applying enzymatic technologies for practical industrial purposes. More specifically, cutinase enzymes are compared to lipases and, in particular, to lipase B from Candida antarctica, the biocatalyst most widely employed in polymer chemistry so far. Computational and bioinformatics studies suggest that the natural role of cutinases in attacking natural polymers confer some essential features for processing also synthetic polyesters and polyamides.
Application of Taxonomic Modeling to Microbiota Data Mining for Detection of Helminth Infection in Global Populations
Authors: Eshaghzadeh Torbati Mahbaneh , Mitreva Makedonka , Gopalakrishnan Vanathi
Published: December 2016

Human microbiome data from genomic sequencing technologies is fast accumulating, giving us insights into bacterial taxa that contribute to health and disease. The predictive modeling of such microbiota count data for the classification of human infection from parasitic worms, such as helminths, can help in the detection and management across global populations. Real-world datasets of microbiome experiments are typically sparse, containing hundreds of measurements for bacterial species, of which only a few are detected in the bio-specimens that are analyzed. This feature of microbiome data produces the challenge of needing more observations for accurate predictive modeling and has been dealt with previously, using different methods of feature reduction. To our knowledge, integrative methods, such as transfer learning, have not yet been explored in the microbiome domain as a way to deal with data sparsity by incorporating knowledge of different but related datasets. One way of incorporating this knowledge is by using a meaningful mapping among features of these datasets. In this paper, we claim that this mapping would exist among members of each individual cluster, grouped based on phylogenetic dependency among taxa and their association to the phenotype. We validate our claim by showing that models incorporating associations in such a grouped feature space result in no performance deterioration for the given classification task. In this paper, we test our hypothesis by using classification models that detect helminth infection in microbiota of human fecal samples obtained from Indonesia and Liberia countries. In our experiments, we first learn binary classifiers for helminth infection detection by using Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machines, Multilayer Perceptrons, and Random Forest methods. In the next step, we add taxonomic modeling by using the SMART-scan module to group the data, and learn classifiers using the same four methods, to test the validity of the achieved groupings. We observed a 6% to 23% and 7% to 26% performance improvement based on the Area Under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) Curve (AUC) and Balanced Accuracy (Bacc) measures, respectively, over 10 runs of 10-fold cross-validation. These results show that using phylogenetic dependency for grouping our microbiota data actually results in a noticeable improvement in classification performance for helminth infection detection. These promising results from this feasibility study demonstrate that methods such as SMART-scan can be utilized in the future for knowledge transfer from different but related microbiome datasets by phylogenetically-related functional mapping, to enable novel integrative biomarker discovery.
Validation of Generic Models for Variable Speed Operation Wind Turbines Following the Recent Guidelines Issued by IEC 61400-27
Authors: Honrubia-Escribano Andrés , Jiménez-Buendía Francisco , Gómez-Lázaro Emilio , Fortmann Jens
Published: December 2016

Considerable efforts are currently being made by several international working groups focused on the development of generic, also known as simplified or standard, wind turbine models for power system stability studies. In this sense, the first edition of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400-27-1, which defines generic dynamic simulation models for wind turbines, was published in February 2015. Nevertheless, the correlations of the IEC generic models with respect to specific wind turbine manufacturer models are required by the wind power industry to validate the accuracy and corresponding usability of these standard models. The present work conducts the validation of the two topologies of variable speed wind turbines that present not only the largest market share, but also the most technological advances. Specifically, the doubly-fed induction machine and the full-scale converter (FSC) topology are modeled based on the IEC 61400-27-1 guidelines. The models are simulated for a wide range of voltage dips with different characteristics and wind turbine operating conditions. The simulated response of the IEC generic model is compared to the corresponding simplified model of a wind turbine manufacturer, showing a good correlation in most cases. Validation error sources are analyzed in detail, as well. In addition, this paper reviews in detail the previous work done in this field. Results suggest that wind turbine manufacturers are able to adjust the IEC generic models to represent the behavior of their specific wind turbines for power system stability analysis.
On the Reliability of Optimization Results for Trigeneration Systems in Buildings, in the Presence of Price Uncertainties and Erroneous Load Estimation
Authors: Piacentino Antonio , Gallea Roberto , Catrini Pietro , Cardona Fabio , Panno Domenico
Published: December 2016

Cogeneration and trigeneration plants are widely recognized as promising technologies for increasing energy efficiency in buildings. However, their overall potential is scarcely exploited, due to the difficulties in achieving economic viability and the risk of investment related to uncertainties in future energy loads and prices. Several stochastic optimization models have been proposed in the literature to account for uncertainties, but these instruments share in a common reliance on user-defined probability functions for each stochastic parameter. Being such functions hard to predict, in this paper an analysis of the influence of erroneous estimation of the uncertain energy loads and prices on the optimal plant design and operation is proposed. With reference to a hotel building, a number of realistic scenarios is developed, exploring all the most frequent errors occurring in the estimation of energy loads and prices. Then, profit-oriented optimizations are performed for the examined scenarios, by means of a deterministic mixed integer linear programming algorithm. From a comparison between the achieved results, it emerges that: (i) the plant profitability is prevalently influenced by the average “spark-spread” (i.e., ratio between electricity and fuel price) and, secondarily, from the shape of the daily price profiles; (ii) the “optimal sizes” of the main components are scarcely influenced by the daily load profiles, while they are more strictly related with the average “power to heat” and “power to cooling” ratios of the building.