bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Soil warming opens the nitrogen cycle at the alpine treeline
Authors: Dawes Melissa A. , Schleppi Patrick , Hättenschwiler Stephan , Rixen Christian , Hagedorn Frank
Published: May 2016

Climate warming may alter ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling by accelerating N transformations in the soil, and changes may be especially pronounced in cold regions characterized by N‐poor ecosystems. We investigated N dynamics across the plant–soil continuum during 6 years of experimental soil warming (2007–2012; +4 °C) at a Swiss high‐elevation treeline site (Stillberg, Davos; 2180 m a.s.l.) featuring Larix decidua and Pinus uncinata. In the soil, we observed considerable increases in the pool size in the first years of warming (by >50%), but this effect declined over time. In contrast, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations in soil solutions from the organic layer increased under warming, especially in later years (maximum of +45% in 2012), suggesting enhanced DON leaching from the main rooting zone. Throughout the experimental period, foliar N concentrations showed species‐specific but small warming effects, whereas δ15N values showed a sustained increase in warmed plots that was consistent for all species analysed. The estimated total plant N pool size at the end of the study was greater (+17%) in warmed plots with Pinus but not in those containing Larix, with responses driven by trees. Irrespective of plot tree species identity, warming led to an enhanced N pool size of Vaccinium dwarf shrubs, no change in that of Empetrum hermaphroditum (dwarf shrub) and forbs, and a reduction in that of grasses, nonvascular plants, and fine roots. In combination, higher foliar δ15N values and the transient response in soil inorganic N indicate a persistent increase in plant‐available N and greater cumulative plant N uptake in warmer soils. Overall, greater N availability and increased DON concentrations suggest an opening of the N cycle with global warming, which might contribute to growth stimulation of some plant species while simultaneously leading to greater N losses from treeline ecosystems and possibly other cold biomes.
Paper points revisited: risk of cellulose fibre shedding during canal length confirmation
Authors: Brown D. W. P.
Published: May 2016

Aim

To compare the degree of fibre shedding by six brands of endodontic paper point when used for the paper point technique (PPT) of working length confirmation.

Methodology

An in vitro model simulating the clinical use of paper points in PPT was used to assess the degree of fibre shedding of six brands of size 20, .02 taper paper point. Whilst observing the artificial terminal foramen with polarized light microscopy, the number of fibres shed directly (point inserted 1 mm beyond the terminal foramen) and indirectly (point inserted to length then a gutta‐percha point inserted) was assessed. The degree of direct fibre shedding as a function of brand was analysed with Fisher's exact test and multiple pairwise comparisons. Indirect fibre shedding was analysed with Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon rank‐sum tests.

Results

All brands shed fibres both directly and indirectly, with a significant influence of brand on the proportion of fibres shed directly (P < 0.0306) and on the mean number of fibres shed indirectly (P < 0.0001). Post hoc analysis demonstrated a similar hierarchy of point integrity for both tests with Classic (UnoDent, Witham, UK) shedding significantly more than other brands and SS White (Gloucester, UK) and Antæos® (VDW, Munich, Germany) shedding the least.

Conclusion

All brands of paper point may shed cellulose fibres both directly and indirectly with a significant influence of brand on the degree of fibre shedding. Further work should be undertaken to develop biocompatible absorbent dental points.
Kikuchi–Fujimoto disease: a diagnostic dilemma
Authors: Mathew Laju M , Kapila Rajendra , Schwartz Robert A.
Published: May 2016

Kikuchi–Fujimoto disease is a benign, self‐limiting condition characterized by lymphadenopathy and fever. Its diagnosis can be challenging, as the disease must be differentiated from lymphoma and systemic lupus erythematosus. Patients can present with nonspecific cutaneous lesions. Adequate clinical and histopathologic correlation can aid in the timely diagnosis of Kikuchi's disease, thus preventing the use of unnecessary diagnostic procedures and inappropriate treatments.
Nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding influenza vaccination: an integrative review
Authors: Smith Sarah , Sim Jenny , Halcomb Elizabeth
Published: May 2016

Aims and objectives

To critically analyse the literature describing nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding influenza vaccination.

Background

Influenza is a serious illness that has significant impacts on productivity, health outcomes and healthcare costs. Despite the recommendations for nurses to be vaccinated annually against influenza, the vaccination rates remain suboptimal.

Design

Integrative literature review.

Methods

An integrative review was conducted as described by Whittemore and Knafl (2005). A search of CINAHL, Cochrane Library, ProQuest Central, ClinicalKey, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, and Informit was undertaken to identify relevant papers. Given the heterogeneity of included studies, a narrative approach was used to analyse the data.

Results

There was limited research available on this topic area, with only 10 papers identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. Five themes were identified: the relationship between knowledge and influenza vaccination, perception of risk, motivators for influenza vaccination, barriers to influenza vaccination and impact of demographics on vaccination.

Conclusions

Despite the evidence for the protective effects of influenza vaccination, rates of vaccination among nurses remain sub‐optimal. Nurses' influenza vaccination practices likely relate to their level of knowledge and perception of risk; the greater nurses' knowledge regarding influenza and influenza vaccination the higher their perception of risk and the more likely they are to be vaccinated. This also translates to the advice that they give patients with vaccinated nurses more inclined to recommend vaccination than those unvaccinated.

Relevance to clinical practice

The practices of nurses related to influenza vaccination may translate to the advice that they give their patients. Understanding the knowledge levels, practices and attitudes of nurses can assist in developing strategies to enhance education of nurses.
Low-Power and Shut-Down Condition Medium-Break Loss-of-Coolant Accident Success Criterion Analysis for a Typical Three-Loop Nuclear Power Plant
Authors: Sun Jing , Yang Changjiang
Published: May 2016

Safety equipment demands that the success criterion of useful equipment, operator-action time window, and the damage state of the reactor core can be defined by thermal-hydraulic (T-H) analysis, which makes a basic critical contribution to probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). PSA has been widely used in the safety evaluation and assessment of nuclear power plants (NPPs). A loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) cannot be controlled without timely safety intervention. Low-power and shut-down (LPSD) conditions of NPPs can be divided into several plant operating states (POSs) in PSA analysis. After the Fukushima nuclear accident, the topic of station black-out (SBO) has drawn widespread concern. However, some LPSD conditions, which result in severe consequences like SBO, have not drawn widespread attention and are thus analyzed and discussed herein. This paper analyzes a medium-break LOCA (MBLOCA) under a certain LPSD condition for a typical three-loop NPP. A simplified method of simulating and selecting operator-action time of MBLOCA for PSA is developed. The proposed method calculates the time windows for both manually opening the high head safety injection system (HHSI) and secondary depressurizing of the system to keep the core undamaged, which could support building PSA model and human reliability analysis.
Comment on “The use of Doppler ultrasonography for pre- and post-surgery monitoring of abdominal aortic aneurysm. A case report”.
Authors: Chen Hongmei , Cui Zhifei , Yan Yuanyuan , Ma Zhan , Gu Xiaole , Bi Yonghua
Published: May 2016

.
Time-dependent perturbation theory in quantum mechanics and the renormalization group
Authors: Bhattacharjee J. K. , Ray D. S.
Published: May 2016

Time-dependent perturbation theory in quantum mechanics is divergent at long times when the perturbation induces a resonance between two eigenstates of the unperturbed Hamiltonian. Divergences in perturbation theory are also common in quantum field theory and in critical phenomena. The renormalization group (RG) was designed to deal with these divergences. In the last two decades, this procedure has been extended to dynamical systems where the perturbation theory diverges in the long-time limit. In this article, we first review the connection between RG in the context of field theory and RG in the context of dynamical systems. We then show that the long-time divergence in the resonant situation in the time-dependent perturbation theory in quantum mechanics can be removed by using a RG-aided calculational scheme.
Numerical matrix method for quantum periodic potentials
Authors: Le Vot Felipe , Meléndez Juan J. , Yuste Santos B.
Published: May 2016

A numerical matrix methodology is applied to quantum problems with periodic potentials. The procedure consists essentially in replacing the true potential by an alternative one, restricted by an infinite square well, and in expressing the wave functions as finite superpositions of eigenfunctions of the infinite well. A matrix eigenvalue equation then yields the energy levels of the periodic potential within an acceptable accuracy. The methodology has been successfully used to deal with problems based on the well-known Kronig-Penney (KP) model. Besides the original model, these problems are a dimerized KP solid, a KP solid containing a surface, and a KP solid under an external field. A short list of additional problems that can be solved with this procedure is presented.
Simulating synchronization in neuronal networks
Authors: Fink Christian G.
Published: May 2016

We discuss several techniques used in simulating neuronal networks by exploring how a network's connectivity structure affects its propensity for synchronous spiking. Network connectivity is generated using the Watts-Strogatz small-world algorithm, and two key measures of network structure are described. These measures quantify structural characteristics that influence collective neuronal spiking, which is simulated using the leaky integrate-and-fire model. Simulations show that adding a small number of random connections to an otherwise lattice-like connectivity structure leads to a dramatic increase in neuronal synchronization.
Frequencies, bandwidths and magnitudes of vocal tract and surrounding tissue resonances, measured through the lips during phonation
Authors: Hanna Noel , Smith John , Wolfe Joe
Published: May 2016

The frequencies, magnitudes, and bandwidths of vocal tract resonances are all important in understanding and synthesizing speech. High precision acoustic impedance spectra of the vocal tracts of 10 subjects were measured from 10 Hz to 4.2 kHz by injecting a broadband acoustic signal through the lips. Between 300 Hz and 4 kHz the acoustic resonances R (impedance minima measured through the lips) and anti-resonances R¯ (impedance maxima) associated with the first three voice formants, have bandwidths of ∼50 to 90 Hz for men and ∼70 to 90 Hz for women. These acoustic resonances approximate those of a smooth, dry, rigid cylinder of similar dimensions, except that their bandwidths indicate higher losses in the vocal tract. The lossy, inertive load and airflow caused by opening the glottis further increase the bandwidths observed during phonation. The vocal tract walls are not rigid and measurements show an acousto-mechanical resonance R0 ∼ 20 Hz and anti-resonance R¯0∼200 Hz. These give an estimate of wall inertance consistent with an effective thickness of 1–2 cm and a wall stiffness of 2–4 kN m−1. The non-rigidity of the tract imposes a lower limit of the frequency of the first acoustic resonance fR1 and the first formant F1.
Modeling of speech localization in a multi-talker mixture using periodicity and energy-based auditory features
Authors: Josupeit Angela , Kopčo Norbert , Hohmann Volker
Published: May 2016

A recent study showed that human listeners are able to localize a short speech target simultaneously masked by four speech tokens in reverberation [Kopčo, Best, and Carlile (2010). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 127, 1450–1457]. Here, an auditory model for solving this task is introduced. The model has three processing stages: (1) extraction of the instantaneous interaural time difference (ITD) information, (2) selection of target-related ITD information (“glimpses”) using a template-matching procedure based on periodicity, spectral energy, or both, and (3) target location estimation. The model performance was compared to the human data, and to the performance of a modified model using an ideal binary mask (IBM) at stage (2). The IBM-based model performed similarly to the subjects, indicating that the binaural model is able to accurately estimate source locations. Template matching using spectral energy and using a combination of spectral energy and periodicity achieved good results, while using periodicity alone led to poor results. Particularly, the glimpses extracted from the initial portion of the signal were critical for good performance. Simulation data show that the auditory features investigated here are sufficient to explain human performance in this challenging listening condition and thus may be used in models of auditory scene analysis.
Resilience in the Face of Uncertainty: Sigma Factor B Fine-Tunes Gene Expression To Support Homeostasis in Gram-Positive Bacteria
Authors: Guldimann Claudia , Boor Kathryn J. , Wiedmann Martin , Guariglia-Oropeza Veronica
Published: May 2016

Gram-positive bacteria are ubiquitous and diverse microorganisms that can survive and sometimes even thrive in continuously changing environments. The key to such resilience is the ability of members of a population to respond and adjust to dynamic conditions in the environment. In bacteria, such responses and adjustments are mediated, at least in part, through appropriate changes in the bacterial transcriptome in response to the conditions encountered. Resilience is important for bacterial survival in diverse, complex, and rapidly changing environments and requires coordinated networks that integrate individual, mechanistic responses to environmental cues to enable overall metabolic homeostasis. In many Gram-positive bacteria, a key transcriptional regulator of the response to changing environmental conditions is the alternative sigma factor σ
B
. σ
B
has been characterized in a subset of Gram-positive bacteria, including the genera
Bacillus
,
Listeria
, and
Staphylococcus
. Recent insight from next-generation-sequencing results indicates that σ
B
-dependent regulation of gene expression contributes to resilience, i.e., the coordination of complex networks responsive to environmental changes. This review explores contributions of σ
B
to resilience in
Bacillus
,
Listeria
, and
Staphylococcus
and illustrates recently described regulatory functions of σ
B
.
Unique Microbial Phylotypes in Namib Desert Dune and Gravel Plain Fairy Circle Soils
Authors: van der Walt, Andries J. , Johnson Riegardt M. , Cowan Don A. , Seely Mary , Ramond Jean-Baptiste
Published: May 2016

Fairy circles (FCs) are barren circular patches of soil surrounded by grass species. Their origin is poorly understood. FCs feature in both the gravel plains and the dune fields of the Namib Desert. While a substantial number of hypotheses to explain the origin and/or maintenance of fairy circles have been presented, none are completely consistent with either their properties or their distribution. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that FC formation in dunes and gravel plains is due to microbial phytopathogenesis. Surface soils from five gravel plain and five dune FCs, together with control soil samples, were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing of bacterial/archaeal (16S rRNA gene) and fungal (internal transcribed spacer [ITS] region) phylogenetic markers. Our analyses showed that gravel plain and dune FC microbial communities are phylogenetically distinct and that FC communities differ from those of adjacent vegetated soils. Furthermore, various soil physicochemical properties, particularly the pH, the Ca, P, Na, and SO
4
contents, the soil particle size, and the percentage of carbon, significantly influenced the compositions of dune and gravel plain FC microbial communities, but none were found to segregate FC and vegetated soil communities. Nevertheless, 9 bacterial, 1 archaeal, and 57 fungal phylotypes were identified as FC specific, since they were present within the gravel plain and dune FC soils only, not in the vegetated soils. Some of these FC-specific phylotypes were assigned to taxa known to harbor phytopathogenic microorganisms. This suggests that these FC-specific microbial taxa may be involved in the formation and/or maintenance of Namib Desert FCs.

IMPORTANCE
Fairy circles (FCs) are mysterious barren circular patches of soil found within a grass matrix in the dune fields and gravel plains of the Namib Desert. Various hypotheses attempting to explain this phenomenon have been proposed. To date, however, none have been successful in fully explaining the etiology of FCs, particularly since gravel plain FCs have been largely ignored. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that microorganisms could be involved in the FC phenomenon through phytopathogenesis. We show that the microbial communities in FC and control vegetated soil samples were significantly different. Furthermore, we detected 67 FC-specific microbial phylotypes, i.e., phylotypes present solely in both gravel plain and dune FC soils, some of which were closely related to known phytopathogens. Our results, therefore, demonstrate that microorganisms may play a role in the formation and/or maintenance of Namib Desert FCs, possibly via phytopathogenic activities.
The state of mHealth development and use by palliative care services in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the literature
Authors: Allsop Matthew J , Powell Richard A , Namisango Eve
Published: May 2016

Background

Current coverage of palliative care services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains woefully inadequate, but harnessing mHealth could be one approach to facilitate greater service coverage and engagement with patients with life-limiting progressive disease.

Aims

A systematic literature review to identify the development and use of mHealth in palliative care services in SSA.

Methods

13 electronic databases from 1990 to 2015 were searched alongside the manual searching of journals and citation searching of included article reference lists. Articles were assessed against inclusion and exclusion criteria and study details extracted and tabulated by two researchers. Studies were plotted against a modified WHO mHealth and ICT framework to classify how they are targeting health system strengthening.

Results

Of the 1110 articles identified, 5 met the inclusion criteria, describing mHealth use in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi. Descriptive analysis has shown that existing mHealth interventions for palliative care services in SSA are limited in number and are being developed for use at the palliative treatment, guidance and coordination stage of care provision. Levels of detail about the development and structure of interventions are low.

Conclusions

mHealth interventions for palliative care in SSA are limited. This is an opportune time to explore how evidence-based mHealth interventions could form part of the evolving palliative care services in the region.
Inhibition of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Protects against Inflammation and Matrix Deposition in Kidney Tissues after Injury
Authors: Lu Hong , Bai Yongyu , Wu Lianfeng , Hong Weilong , Liang Yong , Chen Bicheng , Bai Yongheng
Published: May 2016

Background. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is an important immunoregulatory cytokine involved in inflammation, which may be one important reason resulting in matrix deposition in renal tissues after injury. However, the underlying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated.Methods and Results. We uncovered a crucial role of MIF in inflammation and collagen depositionin vivoandin vitro. In rats, ureteral obstruction induced tubular injury, matrix accumulation, and inflammatory cell infiltration. Additionally, enhanced MIF levels in the obstructed kidneys were closely related to the increasing numbers of CD68-positive macrophages. These obstruction-induced injuries can be relieved by recanalization, consequently resulting in downregulated expression of MIF and its receptor CD74. Similarly, ischemia reperfusion induced renal injury, and it was accompanied by elevated MIF levels and macrophages infiltration. In cultured tubular epithelial cells (TECs), aristolochic acid (AA) promoted matrix production and increased MIF expression, as well as the release of macrophage-related factors. Inhibition of MIF with an antagonist ISO-1 resulted in the abolishment of these genotypes in AA-treated TECs.Conclusion. MIF plays an important role in macrophage-related inflammation and matrix deposition in kidney tissues following injury. MIF as a specific inhibitor may have therapeutic potential for patients with inflammatory and fibrotic kidney diseases.
Stability and Boundedness of Solutions to Nonautonomous Parabolic Integrodifferential Equations
Authors: Gil' Michael
Published: May 2016

We consider a class of linear nonautonomous parabolic integrodifferential equations. We will assume that the coefficients are slowly varying in time. Conditions for the boundedness and stability of solutions to the considered equations are suggested. Our results are based on a combined usage of the recent norm estimates for operator functions and theory of equations on the tensor product of Hilbert spaces.
Effects of Swimming Exercise on Limbic and Motor Cortex Neurogenesis in the Kainate-Lesion Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Authors: Gorantla Vasavi R. , Sirigiri Amulya , Volkova Yulia A. , Millis Richard M.
Published: May 2016

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a common neurological disease and antiseizure medication is often inadequate for preventing apoptotic cell death. Aerobic swimming exercise (EX) augments neurogenesis in rats when initiated immediately in the postictal period. This study tests the hypothesis that aerobic exercise also augments neurogenesis over the long term. Male Wistar rats (age of 4 months) were subjected to chemical lesioning using KA and to an EX intervention consisting of a 30 d period of daily swimming for 15 min, in one experiment immediately after KA lesioning (immediate exposure) and in a second experiment after a 60 d period of normal activity (delayed exposure). Morphometric counting of neuron numbers (NN) and dendritic branch points and intersections (DDBPI) was performed in the CA1, CA3, and dentate regions of hippocampus, in basolateral nucleus of amygdala, and in several areas of motor cortex. EX increased NN and DDBPI in the normal control and the KA-lesioned rats in all four limbic and motor cortex areas studied, after both immediate and 60 d delayed exposures to exercise. These findings suggest that, after temporal lobe epileptic seizures in rats, swimming exercise may improve neural plasticity in areas of the brain involved with emotional regulation and motor coordination, even if the exercise treatment is delayed.
Verrucous Hemangioma Treated with Electrocautery
Authors: Fatani Mohammad , Al Otaibi Homaid , Mohammed Muath , Hegazy Osama
Published: May 2016

Verrucous hemangioma is a rare vascular malformation consisting of a proliferation of dilated blood vessels of different sizes that occupy the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis of the affected area shows a strong proliferative reaction that presents as a warty appearance. Here, we report the case of a 17-year-old male who presented with an asymptomatic warty growth above the lateral malleolus on the right leg, which healed after electrocautery.
Enrico Berti. Aristote – Métaphysique Epsilon. Vrin : Paris 2015
Authors: Seminara Simone Giuseppe
Published: May 2016

Review for Enrico Berti. Aristote – Métaphysique Epsilon. Vrin : Paris 2015, 239p. € 15,00 (pbk). ISBN 978-2-7116-2617-5
A Philosophical Solution to the Problem of Socrates
Authors: Rudebusch George , Turner Christopher
Published: May 2016

Socrates’ purposes, in his philosophical conversations with others, remain a puzzle. We review eleven distinct interpretive options, many of which stretch back more than a hundred years, finding all of them untenable.  We then propose an original, twelfth interpretation as the most faithful and charitable alternative.  Our discussion takes as its focus Plato’s dialogue Laches as a representative of the aporetic dialogues.
Editing Aristotle's Metaphysics: why should Harlfinger's stemma be verified?
Authors: Fazzo Silvia
Published: May 2016

The textual transmission of Aristotle’s Metaphysics is currently described by Dieter Harlfinger’s stemma codicum. It appeared in 1979 within the acts of the 1972 Symposium Aristotelicum.1 With a single exception, the stemma has been accepted by scholars without discussion, or with minor relevances only. On the other side, at least until 2009 no stemmatically-based edition of a single book of the Metaphysics appeared. Still today, no new general edition is available. We are thus still left with Jaeger’s 1957 OCT – admittedly, an editio minor, which partly depends on Ross’ 1924 critical apparatus and textual choices. But things are evolving now, as we are about to see: this crucial theory and practice – editing Aristotle’s Metaphysics –is moving today faster than it has since the 19th century. Hence the interest in promoting a broader and a more articulated discussion, by pointing out some basic desiderata, which show the need for the subject to be taken into consideration anew.
Development and Validation of an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Indicator for Mortality After Congenital Heart Surgery Harmonized With Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS‐1) Methodology
Authors: Jenkins Kathy J. , Koch Kupiec Jennifer , Owens Pamela L. , Romano Patrick S. , Geppert Jeffrey J. , Gauvreau Kimberlee
Published: May 2016

Background

The National Quality Forum previously approved a quality indicator for mortality after congenital heart surgery developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Several parameters of the validated Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS‐1) method were included, but others differed. As part of the National Quality Forum endorsement maintenance process, developers were asked to harmonize the 2 methodologies.

Methods and Results

Parameters that were identical between the 2 methods were retained. AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases (SID) 2008 were used to select optimal parameters where differences existed, with a goal to maximize model performance and face validity. Inclusion criteria were not changed and included all discharges for patients <18 years with
International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification
procedure codes for congenital heart surgery or nonspecific heart surgery combined with congenital heart disease diagnosis codes. The final model includes procedure risk group, age (0–28 days, 29–90 days, 91–364 days, 1–17 years), low birth weight (500–2499 g), other congenital anomalies (Clinical Classifications Software 217, except for 758.xx), multiple procedures, and transfer‐in status. Among 17 945 eligible cases in the SID 2008, the c statistic for model performance was 0.82. In the SID 2013 validation data set, the c statistic was 0.82. Risk‐adjusted mortality rates by center ranged from 0.9% to 4.1% (5th–95th percentile).

Conclusions

Congenital heart surgery programs can now obtain national benchmarking reports by applying AHRQ Quality Indicator software to hospital administrative data, based on the harmonized RACHS‐1 method, with high discrimination and face validity.
NLRP3 Inflammasome Expression and Activation in Human Atherosclerosis
Authors: Paramel Varghese Geena , Folkersen Lasse , Strawbridge Rona J. , Halvorsen Bente , Yndestad Arne , Ranheim Trine , Krohg‐Sørensen Kirsten , Skjelland Mona , Espevik Terje , Aukrust Pål , Lengquist Mariette , Hedin Ulf , Jansson Jan‐Håkan , Fransén Karin , Hansson Göran K. , Eriksson Per , Sirsjö Allan
Published: May 2016

Background

The
NLR
family, pyrin domain containing 3 (
NLRP
3) inflammasome is an interleukin (
IL
)‐1β and
IL
‐18 cytokine processing complex that is activated in inflammatory conditions. The role of the
NLRP
3 inflammasome in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction is not fully understood.

Methods and Results

Atherosclerotic plaques were analyzed for transcripts of the
NLRP
3 inflammasome, and for
IL
‐1β release. The Swedish First‐ever myocardial Infarction study in Ac‐county (
FIA
) cohort consisting of
DNA
from 555 myocardial infarction patients and 1016 healthy individuals was used to determine the frequency of 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (
SNP
s) from the downstream regulatory region of
NLRP
3. Expression of
NLRP
3, Apoptosis‐associated speck‐like protein containing a
CARD
(
ASC
), caspase‐1 (
CASP
1),
IL
1B, and
IL
18
mRNA
was significantly increased in atherosclerotic plaques compared to normal arteries. The expression of
NLRP
3
mRNA
was significantly higher in plaques of symptomatic patients when compared to asymptomatic ones.
CD
68‐positive macrophages were observed in the same areas of atherosclerotic lesions as
NLRP
3 and
ASC
expression. Occasionally, expression of
NLRP
3 and
ASC
was also present in smooth muscle cells. Cholesterol crystals and
ATP
induced
IL
‐1β release from lipopolysaccharide‐primed human atherosclerotic lesion plaques. The minor alleles of the variants rs4266924, rs6672995, and rs10733113 were associated with
NLRP
3
mRNA
levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells but not with the risk of myocardial infarction.

Conclusions

Our results indicate a possible role of the
NLRP
3 inflammasome and its genetic variants in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
Performance, Protest, and the Intimate-Public
Authors: Parameswaran Ameet
Published: May 2016

Maya Rao’s performance of Walk at Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union’s protest against the assault on the autonomy of the university created a space of intimate-public community. The JNUSU protest challenged the arrest of the Students’ Union president and the witch-hunt targeting members of the JNU community as “antinationals.”
Remembering Fred Ho: The Legacy of Afro Asian Futurism
Authors: Price Zachary
Published: May 2016

What is Afro Asia? What are the political and cultural connections between Black Americans and Asian Americans? What does jazz have to do with martial arts? In 1997 Fred Ho began creating a series of Afro Asian jazz martial arts performance pieces that brought together a synthesis of martial arts practitioners, dancers, and jazz artists, reflecting the legacy of the Bandung Conference of 1955.
Virulence modulation in Photorhabdus spp.
Authors: Blackburn Dana , Burk Travis J. , Adams Byron J.
Published: May 2016

Photorhabdusis a bacterium that forms a mutualistic relationship with nematodes (Heterorhabditidae) and is responsible for insect mortality during nematode infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate virulence modulation (vmo) inPhotorhabdusspp. where individual colonies exhibit different levels of virulence. Despite in-depth studies on culturingPhotorhabdusspp. and its nematode partner, little is known about ideal growth conditions prior to virulence assays. Accordingly, eightPhotorhabdusstrains with representatives from each species were grown in four media types. All strains grew best in either Luria-Bertani broth + 0.1% pyruvate or tryptic soy broth + 0.5% yeast extract. However, on agar the only media on which all strains grew well were agar plates supplemented with pyruvate. To investigate vmo, virulence of individual colonies from three species was examined. Vmo was exhibited in two out of the three tested strains. Results may aid in the design ofPhotorhabdusvirulence assays.
First record of Sonotrella Gorochov (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) from Laos, with description of a new species
Authors: LIU HAO-YU , ZHANG DONG-XIAO , SHI FU-MING
Published: May 2016

The genus Sonotrella Gorochov, 1988 is recorded to Laos for the first time. A new species is described and illustrated, S. (Sonotrella) laosensis sp. nov. (type locality: Laos). A distribution map of the species of Sonotrella (Sonotrella) and a key to the subgenera of Sonotrella worldwide are given.
The Rap1-RIAM-talin axis of integrin activation and blood cell function
Authors: Lagarrigue Frederic , Kim Chungho , Ginsberg Mark H.
Published: May 2016

Integrin adhesion receptors mediate the adhesion of blood cells, such as leukocytes, to other cells, such as endothelial cells. Integrins also are critical for anchorage of hematopoietic precursors to the extracellular matrix. Blood cells can dynamically regulate the affinities of integrins for their ligands (“activation”), an event central to their functions. Here we review recent progress in understanding the mechanisms of integrin activation with a focus on the functions of blood cells. We discuss how talin binding to the integrin β cytoplasmic domain, in conjunction with the plasma membrane, induces long-range allosteric rearrangements that lead to integrin activation. Second, we review our understanding of how signaling events, particularly those involving Rap1 small guanosine triphosphate (GTP)hydrolases, can regulate the talin–integrin interaction and resulting activation. Third, we review recent findings that highlight the role of the Rap1-GTP-interacting adapter molecule (RIAM), encoded by the APBB1IP gene, in leukocyte integrin activation and consequently in leukocyte trafficking.
miRNA-dependent target regulation: functional characterization of single-nucleotide polymorphisms identified in genome-wide association studies of Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Delay Charlotte , Grenier-Boley Benjamin , Amouyel Philippe , Dumont Julie , Lambert Jean-Charles
Published: May 2016

Background

A growing body of evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and that some disease-associated genetic variants are located within miRNA binding sites. In the present study, we sought to characterize functional polymorphisms in miRNA target sites within the loci defined in earlier genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The main objectives of this study were to (1) facilitate the identification of the gene or genes responsible for the GWAS signal within a locus of interest and (2) determine how functional polymorphisms might be involved in the AD process (e.g., by affecting miRNA-mediated variations in gene expression).

Methods

Stringent in silico analyses were developed to select potential polymorphisms susceptible to impairment of miRNA-mediated repression, and subsequent functional assays were performed in HeLa and HEK293 cells.

Results

Two polymorphisms were identified and further analyzed in vitro. The AD-associated rs7143400-T allele (located in 3′ untranslated region [3′-UTR] of FERMT2) cotransfected with miR-4504 resulted in lower protein levels relative to the rs7143400-G allele cotransfected with the same miRNA. The AD-associated rs9909-C allele in the 3′-UTR of NUP160 abolished the miR-1185-1-3p-regulated expression observed for the rs9909-G allele.

Conclusions

When considered in conjunction with the findings of previous association studies, our results suggest that decreased expression of FERMT2 might be a risk factor in the etiopathology of AD, whereas increased expression of NUP160 might protect against the disease. Our data therefore provide new insights into AD by highlighting two new proteins putatively involved in the disease process.
The Boyd-Wong idea extended
Authors: Pasicki Lech
Published: May 2016

Boyd and Wong in their celebrated paper ‘On nonlinear contractions’ assumed the comparison function to be upper semicontinuous from the right. Our requirement presented in this paper is much more general and it extends also the well-known Matkowski condition.
Paediatric burns secondary to nail adhesives: a case series
Authors: Coles Claire , Javed Muhammad Umair , Hemington Gorse Sarah , Nguyen Dai
Published: May 2016

Background

Nail adhesives are widely available beauty products that are used in the cosmetic industry and households to attach false nails. Nail adhesive burns are uncommon, and it is crucial that healthcare providers and the public are aware of its potential to cause chemical burn.

Case Presentation

Case series of accidental burns secondary to cyanoacrylate nail glue treated at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery (WCBPS) in Swansea, United Kingdom.

Conclusion

All of the burns were observed in children and occurred due to accidental spillage. Therefore, it is important for the public to be aware that nail glue is a chemical agent which should be stored safely away from the reaches of young children. The case series highlights the importance of first aid in reducing the severity of chemical burns secondary to the nail adhesives, and its early recognition and treatment are emphasised.
Cognitive Need Content of Younger Schoolchildren
Authors: Згурская  , Zgurskaya Tatyana
Published: May 2016

The article presents an analysis of the criteria and levels of formation of cognitive needs of younger schoolchildren. The components of cognitive

needs are considered, which include: the perfect representation of younger schoolchildren on the image of the pupil; cognitive value; cognitive

installation; cognitive interests. The ideal representation of younger schoolchildren on the image of the student is considered as incentives and

controls of their cognitive activity. Educational values as awareness of the value of knowledge, manifested in the understanding by the younger

children the importance of teaching for themselves and for the society. Cognitive attitude is defined as the willingness of younger schoolchildren

to educational activity, due to the behavior and the manifestation of their personal qualities (responsibility, hard work, discipline, cognitive

activity, persistence). Cognitive interest is understood as the existence of a positive relation of younger schoolchildren to the doctrine. The author

characterizes the levels of formation of cognitive needs of younger schoolchildren.
Forming Universal Educational Actions of Younger Schoolchildren
Authors: Виноградова  , Vinogradova Natalya
Published: May 2016

The article considers the conditions of the organization of process of training of younger schoolboys with a view to form a regulatory universal

educational actions as planned results of the education in elementary school. Practical suggestion for the teacher concerning creating training

situations that promotes development of planning and control is given.
Technology Lesson in Addition to Class Hours on a Topic: «Making a Folk Doll in the National Dress of the Belgorod Region» (4th Grade)
Authors: Иващенко  , Ivashchenko Elena
Published: May 2016

The article describes the content and course of extracurricular classes on technology for fourth-grade schoolchildren of the lessons series, during which the representation of schoolchildren of folk rag dolls is extended. Conducting such classes allows to expand representation of the children about the history and characteristics of the female costume (in particular, the Belgorod region), to introduce to the methods of manufacture of dolls in folk costume, to generate interest in the history and culture of their small homeland, respect for the work of its people, its crafts and various kinds of creativity.
Use of Differentiated Tasks on the Lessons of Russian Language in Primary School
Authors: Князева  , Knyazeva E.
Published: May 2016

The article considers the use of differentiated tasks during the training of younger schoolchildren on the lessons of Russian language in accordance with requirements of Federal State Educational Standards of Primary Education of second generation. The main attention is given to the development of speech culture of schoolchildren. The examples of tasks classification in accordance with the degree of complexity depending on the performance level of primary schoolchildren are given.
Nutritional management of the patient with Crohn's disease
Authors: Reilly Ian , Dibb Martyn
Published: May 2016

Active Crohn's disease (CD) often co-exists with malnutrition and requires input from the inflammatory bowel disease multidisciplinary team in order to assess, prevent and treat the complications of both malnutrition and active disease. Three forms of nutrition therapy are available: enteral nutrition, parental nutrition and diet modification. This article will discuss the arguments for and against the use of each form of nutritional management in CD patients in order to empower health professionals caring for this patient population to initiate early nutritional support upon admission to hospital.
Early twentieth-century marketing of literature: Reclam, a trendsetter?
Authors: Schröder Laura
Published: May 2016

The literary marketplace underwent considerable changes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as industrialization, new readership and wars shaped and influenced the publishing industry. The attempts made by publishers to approach this new market with cheap books and high-quality literature varied. This article examines Reclam, a German publisher, as a case study for marketing between the late nineteenth century and 1930 in order to demonstrate that there was money to be made with revolutionary ideas such as the book-automat or an export library. Reclam tried to find gaps and use movements for their own profit, which was a successful and trend-setting endeavour.
John Smith’s: Historical perspectives and historical precedence
Authors: Frost Simon , Hall Stephen
Published: May 2016

This companion piece to ‘Bespoke Bookselling for the twenty-first century: John Smith’s and current UK higher education’ (also in this issue of Book 2.0) provides a historical narrative of the bookshop chain John Smith’s. From its emergence in Glasgow in the 1750s, through its negotiation of the Net Book Agreement around 1900 and its strategies for survival and growth after the agreement’s collapse in the digital era, the article provides the only comprehensive history of this unique book retail business up to the present day. What is apparent is that its current diverse business model has a clear historical precedence. Their business involvements have included publishing, circulating libraries, library and learning material supply, creation of cultural events, transitioning from local to global and, especially, cooperation with higher education. John Smith’s is a perfect example of how bookselling was and is far more than simply the activity of selling books.
The past and futures of annotation: How reading communities drive media change
Authors: Graham Elyse
Published: May 2016

This article takes a comparative look at the annotative models and devices that readers have used historically to organize the information in texts, in order to better understand the needs that readers bring to the digital environment. Based on what we can discover about the factors that brought about major changes in models and devices of note-taking in the past, what can we learn – as we design new forms of note-taking and annotation for the digital age – about the approaches to design that seem likely to have the most lasting impact? As this tour d’horizon shows, even in the gadget-driven digital environment, social activity plays a determining role in shaping the forms that annotation tools adopt and even the definition of what a reader is and needs.
The battle of the books: An examination of Charles Goss
Authors: Burnage Christopher
Published: May 2016

This article seeks to delve more closely into the debate that took place in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century surrounding the introduction of open access shelving in London’s public libraries. Described by The Sun as ‘the battle of the books’, Charles Goss, librarian of the Bishopsgate Institute in east London, took a clear stance against open access in favour of the Cotgreave Indicator (closed access). Scholars have focused on James Duff Brown, the pioneer of open access in the United Kingdom, but it is the focus of this article to explore the thoughts and findings of Charles Goss and his opposition to a system that was eventually welcomed by every public library up and down the country, something that has direct relevance to our library circuit as it exists today.
A Real-Time, Distributed and Context-Aware System for Managing Solidarity Campaigns
Authors: Alves Ana OLIVEIRA , Dias Tiago , Silva David
Published: May 2016

We present a project implemented on the field which has two separate strands, one refers on collecting crowd sensing data through mobile apps where context is (near) automatically induced, another is related to a practical application of this method in a real time system to manage solidarity campaigns in collecting goods. Here, we cover both parts, we applied an experimental setup and obtained results and insights in a third sector institution, Caritas Diocesana of Coimbra[1], a non-profit organization part of Caritas[2]. As main contribution, we propose a distributed architecture for Mobile Crowd Sensing able not only to allow real time inventory through simultaneous campaigns but also it gives feedback to volunteers in order to instantly acquire information about which categories of goods are more needed[1] http://www.caritas.pt/site/nacional/ Portuguese Website (last visited in October 2015)[2] http://www.caritas.eu/ (last visited in October 2015)
Consensus-based Approach for Keyword Extraction from Urban Events Collections
Authors: Alves Ana OLIVEIRA , Ribeiro Bernardete
Published: May 2016

Automatic keyword extraction (AKE) from textual sources took a valuable step towards harnessing the problem of efficient scanning of large document collections. Particularly in the context of urban mobility, where the most relevant events in the city are advertised on-line, it becomes difficult to know exactly what is happening in a place.In this paper we tackle this problem by extracting a set of keywords from different kinds of textual sources, focusing on the urban events context. We propose an ensemble of automatic keyword extraction systems KEA (Key-phrase Extraction Algorithm) and KUSCO (Knowledge Unsupervised Search for instantiating Concepts on lightweight Ontologies) and Conditional Random Fields (CRF).Unlike KEA and KUSCO which are well-known tools for automatic keyword extraction, CRF needs further pre-processing. Therefore, a tool for handling AKE from the documents using CRF is developed. The architecture for the AKE ensemble system is designed and efficient integration of component applications is presented in which a consensus between such classifiers is achieved. Finally, we empirically show that our AKE ensemble system significantly succeeds on baseline sources and urban events collections.
An approach for discovering keywords from Spanish tweets using Wikipedia
Authors: Ayala Daniel , Roldán Juan C. , Ruiz David , Gallego Fernando O.
Published: May 2016

Most approaches to keywords discovery when analyzing microblogging messages (among them those from Twitter) are based on statistical and lexical information about the words that compose the text. The lack of context in the short messages can be problematic due to the low co-occurrence of words. In this paper, we present a new approach for keywords discovering from Spanish tweets based on the addition of context information using Wikipedia as a knowledge base. We present four different ways to use Wikipedia and two ways to rank the new keywords. We have tested these strategies using more than 60000 Spanish tweets, measuring performance and analyzing particularities of each strategy.