bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Experimental study on axial load transfer behavior of a coiled tubing stuck in a marine riser
Authors: Chen Yingchun , Zhang Shimin , Wang Wenming , Xiong Minghao
Published: December 2014

After years of using, the marine riser would need pigging operation to remove wax and other debris attached to its interior to recover production. Due to its low stiffness, coiled tubing would buckle when performing the marine riser pigging operation, which would make the injecting force not able to completely transfer into its end and finally damage coiled tubing and riser. Thus, in order to ensure the safety and reliability of the operation, this article reports an experimental study on this topic by building an indoor pipe-in-pipe platform. According to the experimental results, the inner pipe’s axial force transfer efficiency is always less than 1. When injecting force is less than the inner pipe’s critical helical buckling load, the inner pipe’s axial load transfer efficiency is basically the same under “unfixed boundary” and “fixed boundary” at the same force-out. When injecting force is bigger than the inner pipe’s critical helical buckling load, “unfixed boundary” would help decrease the inner pipe’s axial load transfer efficiency; when the injecting force is three times the critical helical buckling load, the inner pipe’s axial load transfer efficiency of “unfixed boundary” can be 3% smaller than that of “fixed boundary.” As the outer pipe of “unfixed boundary” would elongate, its axial load transfer would be “delay” compared with “fixed boundary,” which means injected displacement of “unfixed boundary” inner pipe would be bigger than those of “fixed boundary” at the same force-out. The research done above might provide important theoretical supports for the marine riser pigging operation.
Resilience in change: Positive perspectives on the dynamics of change in early childhood systems
Authors: Douglass Anne
Published: December 2014

Change is a central feature of the early care and education landscape today. Much of the research on educational change focuses on the negative or challenging aspects of change. This study employed a critical theory framework from the organizational sciences field, positive organizational scholarship, to offer a new way of thinking about change in the early care and education field. This article examines the positive dynamics of change and collective resilience in the implementation of a new early care and education professional development system in one US state. Data sources included 60 in-depth interviews with professional development providers and state education agency staff, meeting observations, and document review. This positive organizational scholarship lens revealed multiple positive processes, including compassion, mutual support, and participants’ ability to make sense of, adapt to, and positively contribute to change. Furthermore, results show how specific communication structures fostered relationships among participants that enabled these positive change dynamics. The article suggests ways that change efforts can be designed to intentionally enable positive change and strengthen collective resilience in the early care and education field.
Communication Partners Supporting Children With Complex Communication Needs Who Use AAC
Authors: Shire Stephanie Y. , Jones Nancy
Published: December 2014

Communication partners who efficiently use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) are essential interaction partners for children learning to communicate using AAC. This systematic review examines studies targeting interventions designed to help communication partners support children with complex communication needs who use AAC. Overall, the 13 studies of moderate methodological quality rated using published rating scales reported positive findings for partners’ skills and children’s communication. Author-reported effect sizes and calculation of improvement rate difference indicated that multiple studies demonstrated large effects that were maintained 1 to 2 months post intervention. Delivery considerations for partner training including device training, enhancing partners’ understanding of communication targets, and the timing of partner training are discussed. The importance of supporting successful interactions across learning contexts and domains of communication as well as over time is highlighted. Furthermore, implications for dyads with unique characteristics including limited experience with AAC and children who are developmentally young are examined.
Numerical investigations into the response of fabrics subjected to ballistic impact
Authors: Zhou Yi , Chen Xiaogang
Published: December 2014

The use of high-performance fibres for ballistic protection has made it possible to produce lightweight soft body armour. This provides more mobility and comfort to body armour users such as soldiers and police officers. Efforts to design more protective body armour at a reduced weight have ever continued. Ballistic impact modelling, which provides an in-depth understanding of the energy absorption mechanism of ballistic fabrics, plays an important role in designing lightweight soft body armour. This paper reports the results of numerical investigations into the stress distribution and failure mode of ballistic fabrics subjected to high-velocity impact. Finite-element (FE) models were built up and used to predict the response of ballistic fabric systems. The research confirmed that the fabric is able to absorb more impact energy with enhanced yarn–yarn friction, indicating that, if by special weaving techniques of yarn–yarn friction increase, an improvement in ballistic performance might be expected. It was also predicted from the FE simulation that yarn–yarn friction not only influence the projectile engagement time with the fabric, but also plays an important role in stress distribution on the primary and the secondary yarns. In addition, theoretical prediction from a multi-ply fabric system showed that the front layers of fabric are more likely to be broken in shear, and the rear layers of fabric tend to fail in tension. This suggested that using shear resistant materials for the front layer and tensile resistant materials for the rear layer may improve the ballistic performance of fabric panels.
Daidzein enhances intramuscular fat deposition and improves meat quality in finishing steers
Authors: Zhao Xiang-Hui , Yang Zhu-Qing , Bao Lin-Bin , Wang Can-Yu , -Zhou Shan , Gong Jian-Ming , Fu Chuan-Bian , Xu Lan-Jiao , Liu Chan-Juan , Qu Mingren
Published: December 2014

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of soy isoflavone daidzein on carcass characteristics, fat deposition, meat quality, and blood metabolites in finishing steers. Fourteen crossbred steers were used in a 120-d finishing study. These steers were stratified by weight into groups and randomly allotted by group to one of two dietary treatments: (1) control and (2) daidzein (500 mg/kg concentrate). The steers were fed a 90% concentrate diet. Supplemental daidzein did not affect slaughter weight, hot carcass weight, and dressing percentage, but tended to reduce fat proportion (not including intramuscular fat) in carcass and backfat thickness of steers. The carcass bone proportion was greater in steers fed daidzein diets than those fed control diets. Daidzein supplementation reduced pH at 24 h after slaughtered and moisture content and increased isocitrate dehydrogenase activity, fat content (16.28% and 7.94%), marbling score (5.29 and 3.36), redness ( a*), and chroma ( C*) values in longissimus muscle relative to control treatment. The concentrations of blood metabolites including glucose, blood urea nitrogen, triglyceride, total cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acid, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were all lower in steers fed daidzein diets than those fed control diets. Current results suggest that supplemental daidzein can affect lipid metabolism, increase intramuscular fat content and marbling score, and improve meat quality in finishing steers. Daidzein should be a promising feed additive for production of high-quality beef meat.
Effects of Physical Exercise on Neuroinflammation, Neuroplasticity, Neurodegeneration, and Behavior
Authors: Svensson Martina , Lexell Jan , Deierborg Tomas
Published: December 2014

Physical exercise is a cornerstone in the management of many neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and stroke. However, much of its beneficial effects on improving motor functions and cognition as well as decreasing neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are not yet well understood. The obvious limitations of studying the protective mechanisms behind exercise, for example, brain plasticity and neurodegeneration, could be overcome by generating novel animal models of neurodegenerative disorders. In this narrative review, we discuss the beneficial effects of exercise performed in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders and how the results from animal studies can be used in clinical settings. From preclinical studies, the positive effects of exercise have been related to increased levels of neurotrophic factors, elevated expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and activated microglia. It is clear that parameters influencing the effect of exercise, such as intensity, still remain to be investigated in animal studies in order to find the optimal program that can be translated into exercise interventions for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
Enduring Poststroke Motor Functional Improvements by a Well–Timed Combination of Motor Rehabilitative Training and Cortical Stimulation in Rats
Authors: O’Bryant Amber J. , Adkins DeAnna L. , Sitko Austen A. , Combs Hannah L. , Nordquist Sarah K. , Jones Theresa A.
Published: December 2014

Background. In animal stroke models, peri-infarct cortical stimulation (CS) combined with rehabilitative reach training (RT) enhances motor functional outcome and cortical reorganization, compared with RT alone. It was unknown whether the effects of CS + RT ( a) persist long after treatment, ( b) can be enhanced by forcing greater use of the paretic limb, and ( C) vary with treatment onset time. Objective. To test the endurance, time sensitivity, and the potential for augmentation by forced forelimb use of CS + RT treatment effects following ischemic stroke. Methods. Adult rats that were proficient in skilled reaching received unilateral ischemic motor cortical lesions. RT was delivered for 3 weeks alone or concurrently with 100-Hz cathodal epidural CS, delivered at 50% of movement thresholds. In study 1, this treatment was initiated at 14 days postinfarct, with some subgroups receiving an overlapping period of continuous constraint of the nonparetic forelimb to force use of the paretic limb. The function of the paretic limb was assessed weekly for 9 to 10 months posttreatment. In study 2, rats underwent CS, RT, and the combination during the chronic postinfarct period. Results. Early onset CS + RT resulted in greater functional improvements than RT alone. The CS-related gains persisted for 9 to 10 months posttreatment and were not significantly influenced by forced use of the paretic limb. When treatment onset was delayed until 3 months post-infarct, RT alone improved function, but CS + RT was no more effective than RT alone. Conclusion. CS can enhance the persistence, as well as the magnitude of RT-driven functional improvements, but its effectiveness in doing so may vary with time postinfarct.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effect of Early Upper-Limb Training on Stroke Recovery and Brain Activation
Authors: Hubbard Isobel J. , Carey Leeanne M. , Budd Timothy W. , Levi Christopher , McElduff Patrick , Hudson Steven , Bateman Grant , Parsons Mark W.
Published: December 2014

Background. Upper-limb (UL) dysfunction is experienced by up to 75% of patients poststroke. The greatest potential for functional improvement is in the first month. Following reperfusion, evidence indicates that neuroplasticity is the mechanism that supports this recovery. Objective. This preliminary study hypothesized increased activation of putative motor areas in those receiving intensive, task-specific UL training in the first month poststroke compared with those receiving standard care. Methods. This was a single-blinded, longitudinal, randomized controlled trial in adult patients with an acute, first-ever ischemic stroke; 23 participants were randomized to standard care (n = 12) or an additional 30 hours of task-specific UL training in the first month poststroke beginning week 1. Patients were assessed at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months poststroke. The primary outcome was change in brain activation as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results. When compared with the standard-care group, the intensive-training group had increased brain activation in the anterior cingulate and ipsilesional supplementary motor areas and a greater reduction in the extent of activation ( P = .02) in the contralesional cerebellum. Intensive training was associated with a smaller deviation from mean recovery at 1 month (Pr>F0 = 0.017) and 3 months (Pr>F = 0.006), indicating more consistent and predictable improvement in motor outcomes. Conclusion. Early, more-intensive, UL training was associated with greater changes in activation in putative motor (supplementary motor area and cerebellum) and attention (anterior cingulate) regions, providing support for the role of these regions and functions in early recovery poststroke.
Mediapolis, where art thou? Mediated cosmopolitanism in three media systems between 2002 and 2010
Authors: Lindell Johan
Published: December 2014

This article addresses the extent to which cosmopolitan dispositions are cultivated in news consumption, and how this relationship differs between three media systems and over time (2002–2010). It is based on a study using European Social Survey-data covering 14 European countries and over 70,000 respondents in search of a media culture that fosters cosmopolitan sensibilities among citizens – what Roger Silverstone referred to as the ‘mediapolis’. The study contributes to contemporary debates on the conditions under which cosmopolitan dispositions are cultivated since the results put into question the assumption of a ‘mediated cosmopolitanism’, existing on the level of mass mediation across various media systems. This challenge suggests that the ‘mediapolis’ is more of a normative category than an empirical one, and that the theorizing on the relationship between media and cosmopolitanism is in need of recalibration.
Comparison of endotoxin levels in cow’s milk samples derived from farms and shops
Authors: Sipka Sándor , Béres Andrea , Bertók Lóránd , Varga Tamara , Bruckner Geza
Published: December 2014

The observations on the protective effect of bacterial endotoxin in farm-derived cow’s milk on childhood asthma and allergy are contradictory. The aim of this study was to determine the endotoxin levels in ‘farm-derived whole raw’ and ‘processed shop’ sources of cow’s milk, and to test how the temperature and storing conditions might alter their endotoxin concentrations. Milk was collected from farms and shops. The level of endotoxin was measured by micro (gel-clot) Limulus amebocyte lysate test expressed as EU/ml. The concentration ranges of endotoxin were much higher and more widely scattered in the samples of whole raw farm milk than in the processed shop milk. Cold storage or heating increased the endotoxin concentrations in all samples of farm milk, but not in the processed shop milk. These results show that elevated levels of endotoxin in raw farm milk samples can occur from the cowshed or be formed during storage. In processed shop milk, storage does not cause any changes in the amount of endotoxin. Therefore, it is consistent that the handling and storage of raw milk alters the endotoxin concentrations, which may explain previous contradictory findings regarding the beneficial modulating effects on innate immunity toward allergy prevention in early childhood.
Group Organization and Communities of Practice in Translational Research
Authors: Krawczyk Victor J. , Hamilton-Bruce Monica A. , Koblar Simon A. , Crichton Jonathan
Published: December 2014

The collective lived experience of translational research teams requires further appreciation, particularly at the stages of group formation. To achieve this, we conducted a case study of a translational research team ( n = 16). Through the case description and then discussing case-based themes with community of practice theory, themes such as “Being Open” and “Working as a Group” found that this team’s mutual respect, cooperation, and their sharing of knowledge uncovered an alternative way that professionals organize themselves for translational research projects. In conjunction to this finding, our analysis showed that the team has qualities of a community of practice.
Interrogating CGPA
Authors: Jain Vivek Kumar , Bakshi Sanjeev
Published: December 2014

The system of teaching and assessment in the higher education in India is passing through a phase of transition. Many of the universities in India have adopted the semester system with credit- and grade-based evaluation of students. These systems are functionally different from the annual system of teaching and evaluation based on marks and percentage. The grade-based system of evaluation is recommended for its virtues and is accepted as a progressive step toward reforms in the higher education system. However, a critical evaluation of the new system vis-à-vis the older one is necessary. The objective of this article is to focus on some of the issues associated with the calculation of grade point average (in absolute grading), to focus on the anomalies created thereby in conversion of grade point average to percentage, and to suggest alternatives to minimize the arbitrariness so that the examinee is not penalized. The present work illustrates the problems inherent in the grading system using examples from Indian universities. Subsequently, the probable reasons for the problems are discussed. Finally, simple alternative measures are suggested to overcome the shortcomings of the grading system.
An Assessment of Emotional Reactivity to Frustration of Goal Pursuit in Euthymic Bipolar I Disorder
Authors: Edge Michael D. , Lwi Sandy J. , Johnson Sheri L.
Published: December 2014

Affective disturbance is a central feature of bipolar disorder. Many investigators have hypothesized that euthymic people with bipolar disorder might display elevated emotional reactivity, but laboratory studies of emotional reactivity have had mixed results. Drawing on theories of bipolar disorder that emphasize dysregulation of goal pursuit, we hypothesized that people with bipolar disorder might be emotionally hyperreactive to frustration of goal pursuit. Forty-seven euthymic participants with bipolar disorder and 43 control participants played a computer game for a monetary reward. To induce frustration, we programmed the game to respond inconsistently to user input during two periods. The frustration induction was successful as measured by self-report, physiological responding, and facial behavior, but contrary to the hypothesis of emotional hyperreactivity in bipolar disorder, the bipolar and control groups were equally reactive to frustration. Future studies will benefit from more specific hypotheses about how emotion might be altered in bipolar disorder.
Psychometric Evaluation of the Lower Extremity Computerized Adaptive Test, the Modified Harris Hip Score, and the Hip Outcome Score
Authors: Hung Man , Hon Shirley D. , Cheng Christine , Franklin Jeremy D. , Aoki Stephen K. , Anderson Mike B. , Kapron Ashley L. , Peters Christopher L. , Pelt Christopher E.
Published: December 2014

Background:

The applicability and validity of many patient-reported outcome measures in the high-functioning population are not well understood.

Purpose:

To compare the psychometric properties of the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), the Hip Outcome Score activities of daily living subscale (HOS-ADL) and sports (HOS-sports), and the Lower Extremity Computerized Adaptive Test (LE CAT). The hypotheses was that all instruments would perform well but that the LE CAT would show superiority psychometrically because a combination of CAT and a large item bank allows for a high degree of measurement precision.

Study Design:

Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

Data were collected from 472 advanced-age, active participants from the Huntsman World Senior Games in 2012. Validity evidences were examined through item fit, dimensionality, monotonicity, local independence, differential item functioning, person raw score to measure correlation, and instrument coverage (ie, ceiling and floor effects), and reliability evidences were examined through Cronbach alpha and person separation index.

Results:

All instruments demonstrated good item fit, unidimensionality, monotonicity, local independence, and person raw score to measure correlations. The HOS-ADL had high ceiling effects of 36.02%, and the mHHS had ceiling effects of 27.54%. The LE CAT had ceiling effects of 8.47%, and the HOS-sports had no ceiling effects. None of the instruments had any floor effects. The mHHS had a very low Cronbach alpha of 0.41 and an extremely low person separation index of 0.08. Reliabilities for the LE CAT were excellent and for the HOS-ADL and HOS-sports were good.

Conclusion:

The LE CAT showed better psychometric properties overall than the HOS-ADL, HOS-sports, and mHHS for the senior population. The mHHS demonstrated pronounced ceiling effects and poor reliabilities that should be of concern. The high ceiling effects for the HOS-ADL were also of concern. The LE CAT was superior in all psychometric aspects examined in this study. Future research should investigate the LE CAT for wider use in different populations.
Transposable elements modulate human RNA abundance and splicing via specific RNA-protein interactions
Authors: Kelley David R , Hendrickson David G , Tenen Danielle , Rinn John L
Published: December 2014

Background

Transposable elements (TEs) have significantly influenced the evolution of transcriptional regulatory networks in the human genome. Post-transcriptional regulation of human genes by TE-derived sequences has been observed in specific contexts, but has yet to be systematically and comprehensively investigated. Here, we study a collection of 75 CLIP-Seq experiments mapping the RNA binding sites for a diverse set of 51 human proteins to explore the role of TEs in post-transcriptional regulation of human mRNAs and lncRNAs via RNA-protein interactions.

Results

We detect widespread interactions between RNA binding proteins (RBPs) and many families of TE-derived sequence in the CLIP-Seq data. Further, alignment coverage peaks on specific positions of the TE consensus sequences, illuminating a diversity of TE-specific RBP binding motifs. Evidence of binding and conservation of these motifs in the nonrepetitive transcriptome suggests that TEs have generally appropriated existing sequence preferences of the RBPs. Depletion assays for numerous RBPs show that TE-derived binding sites affect transcript abundance and splicing similarly to nonrepetitive sites. However, in a few cases the effect of RBP binding depends on the specific TE family bound; for example, the ubiquitously expressed RBP HuR confers transcript stability unless bound to an Alu element.

Conclusions

Our meta-analysis suggests a widespread role for TEs in shaping RNA-protein regulatory networks in the human genome.
Evaluation of de novo transcriptome assemblies from RNA-Seq data
Authors: Li Bo , Fillmore Nathanael , Bai Yongsheng , Collins Mike , Thomson James A , Stewart Ron , Dewey Colin N
Published: December 2014

De novo RNA-Seq assembly facilitates the study of transcriptomes for species without sequenced genomes, but it is challenging to select the most accurate assembly in this context. To address this challenge, we developed a model-based score, RSEM-EVAL, for evaluating assemblies when the ground truth is unknown. We show that RSEM-EVAL correctly reflects assembly accuracy, as measured by REF-EVAL, a refined set of ground-truth-based scores that we also developed. Guided by RSEM-EVAL, we assembled the transcriptome of the regenerating axolotl limb; this assembly compares favorably to a previous assembly. A software package implementing our methods, DETONATE, is freely available at http://deweylab.biostat.wisc.edu/detonate.
Septin4_i1 Regulates Apoptosis in Hepatic Stellate Cells through Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ/Akt/B-Cell Lymphoma 2 Pathway
Authors: Zhu Dandan , Wang Jianxin , Sun Xiaolei , Chen Jinling , Duan Yinong , Pan Jing , Xu Tianhua , Qin Yongwei , He Xingxin , Huang Caiqun
Published: December 2014

Apoptosis of activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) has been verified as a potential mechanism to aid in hepatic fibrosis remission. Earlier research suggests that Septin4_i1 may sensitize hepatocellular carcinoma cells to serum starvation-induced apoptosis. Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of Septin4_i1 on HSC apoptosis and explore the associated signaling pathways. We found that Septin4_i1 can induce apoptosis in LX-2 cells and that this is accompanied by an up-regulation in cleaved-caspase-3 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) expression and a down-regulation in α-SMA expression. Over-expression of Septin4_i1 reduced phosphorylated Akt and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression but had no effect on the expression of p53 and death receptor (DR)-5. The decreased expression of Bcl-2 and the increased expression of cleaved-caspase-3 induced by Sept4_i1 could be reversed by GW501516, a PPAR-β/δ agonist that has been reported by others to enhance Akt signaling. In addition, GW9662, an antagonist of PPAR-γ, could also inhibit apoptosis in LX-2 cells induced by Sept4_i1. In conclusion, our data suggest that Sept4_i1 induces HSC apoptosis by inhibiting Akt and Bcl-2 expression and up-regulating PPAR-γ expression.
Concerning the spiritual in early modern dance: Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and Wassily Kandinsky advancing side by side
Authors: Huxley Michael , Burt Ramsay
Published: December 2014

In the decade before the outbreak of World War I, the newly emerging field of modern dance became one in which writers and visual artists, who rejected the materialism of nineteenth-century culture and society, explored ideas of the spiritual. This article gives a new historical reading to such ideas around dance in the period just before the outbreak of the Great War by focusing on two seemingly disparate figures. It considers the ways in which the musician Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, who devised the influential form Eurhythmics, and the visual artist Wassily Kandinsky, who pioneered the idea of abstraction in painting, discussed the spiritual in relation to dance and performance. It places this discussion in the broader context of its time by considering the artists and intellectuals around these two figures, with particular reference to two Englishmen, father and son, M.E. and M.T.H Sadler who travelled to Germany in the summer of 1912 to visit Kandinsky and Jaques-Dalcroze, and published the first books in English discussing their work. This new historical reading considers the role of dance in contemporary early twentieth-century discussions about the spiritual, and the range of different meanings that the term embraced during this period.
Liquid lead: Negotiating the ‘First Dance’ as a queer wedding ritual
Authors: Newman Laine Zisman
Published: December 2014

In 2012 Pat the Dog Playwright Centre held a two-day workshop for First Dance, a devised theatre and dance piece that explored the rituals of queer marriage through the protagonist, as he endeavoured to select the first dance to be performed at his wedding. Reflecting on the workshop process, this article examines the traditions of the first dance, in terms of both the appropriation of a heterosexual ritual, and the role dance has played in the queer community, as a means of designating queer space and belonging. Recognizing the ‘first dance’ as a Eurocentric, heteronormative, performative ritual, expected within a white, western wedding, the necessity and expectation of a first dance in a ‘queer’ space is interrogated. The fundamental question that is addressed is then: are members of the queer community performing the rituals of heterosexual weddings in order to gain inclusion, assimilate and conform to dominant cultural values, or are they appropriating these rituals in order to subvert them and recodify them as acts of resistance against homophobic bigotry and heterosexist cultural practices?

I am currently dramaturging a play entitled, First Dance. It is a devised piece of theatre loosely based around a gay man trying to decide what dance to perform with his partner for the first dance at his wedding. On 5–6 March 2012 I attended a development workshop for the play with Pat the Dog Theatre Creation2 in Kitchener, Ontario. The piece is being co-created by Trevor Copp and Jeff Fox, who are performing the piece, and Lisa O’Connell who is writing it alongside them. Trevor is a ballroom dancer. He is a performer and this story is very much his own. It is not a play about him and his husband, but him and his dance partner, preparing for the wedding. While the play is not based directly in real events, it is clear that he is closely connected to the subject matter.
Performing the sacred archive: Discourses on reconstruction, documentation and biblical interpretation
Authors: McMillan Christopher-Rasheem
Published: December 2014

This article explores the intersections between the dance, biblical studies and performance praxis. It articulates the possible kinds of knowledge(s) that are at the intersection between movement as a performance practice and biblical research. By looking at Adrian Howells’s work Foot Washing For The Sole (2009) as a prototype for Kinaesthetic Hermeneutics, this exploration suggests that Howells’s embodied reading of Luke 7:37–83 provides a methodology for interpreting scripture through the body. This article ultimately seeks to answer the question can the body be a site for biblical exegesis?
Responses of GLP1-secreting L-cells to cytotoxicity resemble pancreatic β-cells but not α-cells
Authors: Vasu Srividya , Moffett R Charlotte , McClenaghan Neville H , Flatt Peter R
Published: December 2014

Little is known about responses of intestinal L-cells to chemical or cytokine-mediated attack and how these compare with pancreatic β- or α-cells. Administration of streptozotocin to mice induced severe diabetes, islet lymphocytic infiltration, increased α-cell proliferation and decreased numbers of β- and L-cells.In vitro, streptozotocin and cytokines reduced cell viability with higher lethal dose 50 values for α-TC1 cells. mRNA expression ofGlut2was lower andCatwas greater in GLUTag and α-TC1 cells compared with MIN6 cells. Cytotoxins affected the transcription of genes involved in secretion in GLUTag and MIN6 cells. They are also involved in upregulation of antioxidant defence enzymes, transcription ofNfκBandNos2, and production of nitrite in all cell types. Cytotoxin-induced DNA damage and apoptosis were apparent in all cells, but α-TC1 cells were less severely affected. Thus, responses of GLP1-secreting L-cells to cytotoxicity resemble β-cells, whereas α-cells are resistant due to differences in the expression of genes involved in cytotoxicity or antioxidant defence.
Exosomes, endogenous retroviruses and toll-like receptors: pregnancy recognition in ewes
Authors: Ruiz-González Irene , Xu Jing , Wang Xiaoqiu , Burghardt Robert C , Dunlap Kathrin A , Bazer Fuller W
Published: December 2014

Conceptus–endometrial communication during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy ensures establishment of pregnancy. We hypothesized that this dialog involves exosomes, ovine endogenous jaagsiekte retroviruses (enJSRV) and toll-like receptors (TLR) which regulate the secretion of interferon tau (IFNT), the pregnancy recognition signal in ruminants. First, exosomes isolated from uterine flushings from cyclic and pregnant ewes were analyzed for exosomal content and uterine expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSC70). Then, conceptus trophectoderm cells (oTr1) treated with different doses of exosomes were analyzed for the expression of genes involved in TLR-mediated cell signaling. The results revealed that exosomes contain mRNAs for enJSRV-ENV,HSC70, interleukins, and interferon (IFN)-regulatory factors. Exosomal content of enJSRV-ENVmRNA and protein decreased from days 10 and 12 to day 16 of gestation, and uterine expression of HSC70 increased in pregnant ewes compared with cyclic ewes. The oTr1 cells proliferated and secreted IFNT in a dose-dependent manner in response to exosomes from cyclic ewes. The expression ofCD14,CD68,IRAK1,TRAF6,IRF6,andIRF7mRNAs that are key to TLR-mediated expression of type 1 IFNs was significantly influenced by day of pregnancy. This study demonstrated that exosomes are liberated into the uterine lumen during the estrous cycle and early pregnancy; however, in pregnant ewes, exosomes stimulate trophectoderm cells to proliferate and secrete IFNT coordinately with regulation of TLR-mediated cell signaling. These results support our hypothesis that free and/or exosomal enJSRV act on the trophectoderm via TLR to induce the secretion of IFNT in a manner similar to that for innate immune responses of macrophages and plasmacytoid dendritic cells to viral pathogens.
Inferring Epidemiological Dynamics with Bayesian Coalescent Inference: The Merits of Deterministic and Stochastic Models
Authors: Popinga Alex , Vaughan Tim , Stadler Tanja , Drummond Alexei J
Published: December 2014

Estimation of epidemiological and population parameters from molecular sequence data has become central to the understanding of infectious disease dynamics. Various models have been proposed to infer details of the dynamics that describe epidemic progression. These include inference approaches derived from Kingman’s coalescent theory. Here, we use recently described coalescent theory for epidemic dynamics to develop stochastic and deterministic coalescent susceptible–infected–removed (SIR) tree priors. We implement these in a Bayesian phylogenetic inference framework to permit joint estimation of SIR epidemic parameters and the sample genealogy. We assess the performance of the two coalescent models and also juxtapose results obtained with a recently published birth–death-sampling model for epidemic inference. Comparisons are made by analyzing sets of genealogies simulated under precisely known epidemiological parameters. Additionally, we analyze influenza A (H1N1) sequence data sampled in the Canterbury region of New Zealand and HIV-1 sequence data obtained from known United Kingdom infection clusters. We show that both coalescent SIR models are effective at estimating epidemiological parameters from data with large fundamental reproductive number R0 and large population size S0. Furthermore, we find that the stochastic variant generally outperforms its deterministic counterpart in terms of error, bias, and highest posterior density coverage, particularly for smaller R0 and S0. However, each of these inference models is shown to have undesirable properties in certain circumstances, especially for epidemic outbreaks with R0 close to one or with small effective susceptible populations.
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor OSG-1 Confers Functional Aging via Dysregulated Rho Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans Neurons
Authors: Duan Zhibing , Sesti Federico
Published: December 2014

Rho signaling regulates a variety of biological processes, but whether it is implicated in aging remains an open question. Here we show that a guanine nucleotide exchange factor of the Dbl family, OSG-1, confers functional aging by dysregulating Rho GTPases activities in C. elegans. Thus, gene reporter analysis revealed widespread OSG-1 expression in muscle and neurons. Loss of OSG-1 gene function was not associated with developmental defects. In contrast, suppression of OSG-1 lessened loss of function (chemotaxis) in ASE sensory neurons subjected to conditions of oxidative stress generated during natural aging, by oxidative challenges, or by genetic mutations. RNAi analysis showed that OSG-1 was specific toward activation of RHO-1 GTPase signaling. RNAi further implicated actin-binding proteins ARX-3 and ARX-5, thus the actin cytoskeleton, as one of the targets of OSG-1/RHO-1 signaling. Taken together these data suggest that OSG-1 is recruited under conditions of oxidative stress, a hallmark of aging, and contributes to promote loss of neuronal function by affecting the actin cytoskeleton via altered RHO-1 activity.
Political Scandal Tests Trust in Politicians
Authors: Isotalus Pekka , Almonkari Merja
Published: December 2014

Political scandals have been observed to be increasingly common everywhere. In April 2008, the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ilkka Kanerva, was compelled to resign because of the sensation arising from the enormous number of suggestive text messages that he had sent to a young female erotic dancer. During the scandal, the media followed this episode intensively. The present article considers what kinds of qualities for political leadership the media called for during this scandal and how these qualities were justified. The paper is based partly on quantitative but mostly on qualitative content analyses of the four most read newspapers in Finland. The results show five categories, the qualities being professional competence, personal characteristics and behaviour, trustworthiness, maintenance of relations and communication skills. The results show that the requirements imposed by the media are high, but that evaluation of professional competence is still crucial. Further, the occurrence of a scandal seems to trigger discussions on trust in politicians.
Deliberation or Self-presentation?: Young People, Politics and Social Media
Authors: Storsul Tanja
Published: December 2014

This article presents a study of how politically engaged young people use social media for political purposes. There has been a growing optimism that social media can stimulate political participation and deliberation, especially among young people. Based on focus group interviews with Norwegian teenagers, the article argues that social media have become an important platform for young people to participate in political activities. Whether the purpose is internal meetings or external mobilization, social media provide platforms for planning, reporting and communicating political activities. At the same time, politically engaged young people are hesitant about using social media for political deliberation. They are concerned about how they present themselves, and they are reluctant to stand out as highly political. One important explanation for this is that social media integrate different forms of communication and collapse social contexts. This causes teenagers to delimit controversies and try to keep political discussions to groups with more segregated audiences.
Battling Mainstream Media, Commentators and Organized Debaters: Experiences from Citizens’ Online Opinion Writing in Sweden
Authors: Larsson Sofia
Published: December 2014

This article presents the results of a qualitative interview study on citizen opinion writers who are active on a citizen media website in Sweden. The study explores the writers’ experiences of participating in the alternative and citizen media landscape online, their purposes, the benefits and finally what impedes their participation. The results paint a picture of a sole grass-roots writer who aims to reach the broad political sphere using a mix of strategies to participate, oppose the mainstream media or use the Web as a writing gym. The restrictive powers they encounter are associated with mainstream media, commentators and organized debaters. This is discussed as causing a narrower public debate, less participation and less counter-hegemonic content.
Rethinking Photojournalism: The Changing Work Practices and Professionalism of Photojournalists in the Digital Age
Authors: Mäenpää Jenni
Published: December 2014

Public service, ethics, objectivity, autonomy and immediacy are still often considered the core values of professional journalism. However, photojournalistic work has confronted historic changes since the advent of digitalization in the late 1980s. Professional photo-journalists have been caught manipulating news images, video production has become a major part of news photographers’ work, and newspapers freely publish photographs and videos taken by the general public.

The present article examines how news photographers negotiate these changes in photo-journalistic work practices, and how they define their professional ambitions in the digital age. Photojournalists’ articulations of professionalism are approached in relation to three digital innovations in photojournalism: digital photo editing, video production and user-generated images in newspapers. The empirical data consist of an online survey of and interviews with photojournalists in Finland. In the final analysis, it is suggested that the core ideals of photojournalism have to be renegotiated, because the work environment has changed drastically.
The Other Stance: Conflicting Professional Self-Images and Perceptions of the Other Profession Among Finnish PR Professionals and Journalists
Authors: Niskala Niina , Hurme Pertti
Published: December 2014

Public relations (PR) professionals and journalists act as builders of societies’ communication atmospheres, and their inter-relationships are of importance. The aim of the present study is to describe and compare PR professionals’ and journalists’ professional self-images and perceptions of the other group's profession in Finland. The study is part of the ProfCom project and makes use of the project's Finnish quantitative questionnaire data. The results indicate clear perception differences. PR professionals identify themselves with bond- and trust-building objectives, whereas journalists perceive marketing and financial goals as the main objectives of PR professionals. Journalists identify themselves with information sharing, criticism and service roles, whereas PR professionals perceive opinion sharing, advising and informing about scandals as the main objectives of journalists. In addition, the study indicates a need for further research on the underlying reasons for conflicting perceptions and the effects of the developing Internet communication arena on relationships between professionals.
The Olympic Games: The Experience of a Lifetime or Simply the Most Important Competition of an Athletic Career?
Authors: Jensen Rune Dall , Christiansen Ask Vest , Henriksen Kristoffer
Published: December 2014

As a multi-sport event that only takes place every four years and is accompanied by intense media coverage, the Olympic Games are often described by athletes as a defining moment in their careers. The objectives of the present study were: 1) to describe differences in expectations of Olympic debutants towards the Olympics and their actual experiences while they were at the Games; and 2) to describe how the athletes negotiate the balance between performing at and enjoying the experience of the Olympic Games. Further, we will discuss the athletes' stories in light of the differences between the goals and expectations of the elite sport system and those of the individual athletes. Data was collected through a qualitative interview study with a pre- and post-Olympic competition design.

Using a semi-structured interview guide, we interviewed 14 Danish Olympic debutants about their Olympic goals and expectations within a month preceding their departure for the Olympic Games and about their actual experiences within a month following their return.

Condensed narratives from two Olympic debutants represent the spectrum of the athletes' expectations and experiences: one failed in his performance but had a great experience; the other was successful and won a silver medal but was truly unhappy with her experience. The debutants emphasize balancing their desire to perform with a desire for social experiences. They also discussed the challenges posed during preparation and goal setting.

Olympic debutants are caught in a very real dilemma between the Olympics as the “most important competition of their athletic careers” and “the Olympics as the experience of a lifetime.” This dilemma is linked to a wide rift between the perspectives and goals of the sport organization and those of the athletes.
Calcifying Fibrous Tumor of the Small Bowel Mesentery in a 27-Year Old Male Patient - Case Report
Authors: Wesecki Mariusz , Radziuk DaGmara , Niemiec Szymon , Waniczek Dariusz , Lorenc Zbigniew
Published: December 2014

Calcifying fibrous tumor is a rare disease entity, usually concerning the soft tissues of the limbs, neck, trunk, or scrotum. Cases of the above-mentioned pathology have also been reported considering the pleural and peritoneal cavity, and small bowel mesentery. The essence of the disease, whose etiology and pathogenesis remains unclear, is the fibrous tissue infiltration and diffuse inflammation with focal calcifications. The study presented a case of a 27-year old male patient subjected to surgical intervention, due to an abdominal cavity tumor. The tumor was radically removed, and its character and definitive diagnosis were established postoperatively. After a seven-year follow-up period, recurrence was not observed.
The Savage Origins of Child-Centered Pedagogy, 1871–1913
Authors: Fallace Thomas
Published: December 2014

Child-centered pedagogy is at the ideological core of progressive education. The simple idea that the child rather than the teacher or textbook should be the major focus of the classroom is, perhaps, the single most enduring educational idea of the era. In this historical study, the author argues that child-centered education emerged directly from the theory of recapitulation, the idea that the development of the White child retraced the history of the human race. The theory of recapitulation was pervasive in the fields of anthropology, sociology, and psychology at the turn of the 20th century, and so early progressive educators uncritically adopted the basic tenets of the theory, which served as a major rationale for child-centered instruction. The theory was inherently ethnocentric and racist because it pointed to the West as the developmental endpoint of history, thereby depicting people of color as ontologically less developed than their White counterparts.
Unpaired Electrons as Probes of Catalytic Systems
Authors: Rhodes Christopher J.
Published: December 2014

An overview is provided of the importance of molecular species containing unpaired electrons in catalytic systems, as revealed using ESR spectroscopy. The review aims to demonstrate the considerable extent of scientific progress that has been made in this broad topic during the past few decades. Studies of catalytically active surfaces, including zeolites, are surveyed, and the detection of radical species, formed as intermediates in their reactions, using matrix isolation and spin-trapping techniques. Radical cation formation in zeolites is discussed, and the employment of muon spin rotation and relaxation techniques to study the mobility of labelled radicals in various porous and catalytic media. Among the specific types of catalytic media considered are those for photocatalysis, water splitting, degradation of environmental pollutants, hydrocarbon conversions, fuel cells and sensor devices employing graphene. The review concludes with recent developments in the study of enzymes and their reactions, using ESR-based methods.