bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comment: From the Armchair to the Toilet: McGinn’s Evolutionary Tale of Disgust
Authors: Clark Jason A.
Published: June 2014

Strohminger (2014) criticizes McGinn for his lack of attention to recent scientific findings, and for ignoring common sense. This commentary deepens both of these criticisms via an exploration of McGinn’s account of the evolution of disgust.
Tests for diagnosing subacromial impingement syndrome and rotator cuff disease
Authors: Phillips Nick
Published: June 2014

Clinical examination techniques need to allow the physician to determine the underlying pathology of a patient’s condition with confidence. This review examines the evidence for two common conditions: impingement and rotator cuff disease
Studies on the annealing and antibacterial properties of the silver-embedded aluminum/silica nanospheres
Authors: Pan Ko-Ying , Chien Chia-Hung , Pu Ying-Chih , Liu Chia-Ming , Hsu Yung-Jung , Yeh Jien-Wei , Shih Han C
Published: June 2014

Substantial silver-embedded aluminum/silica nanospheres with uniform diameter and morphology were successfully synthesized by sol-gel technique. After various annealing temperatures, the surface mechanisms of each sample were analyzed using scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The chemical durability examinations and antibacterial tests of each sample were also carried out for the confirmation of its practical usage. Based on the result of the above analyses, the silver-embedded aluminum/silica nanospheres are eligible for fabricating antibacterial utensils.
Therapeutic effect of anti-C-X-C motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10) antibody on C protein-induced myositis mouse
Authors: Kim Jinhyun , Choi Ji Yong , Park Sung-Hye , Yang Seung Hee , Park Ji Ah , Shin Kichul , Lee Eun Young , Kawachi Hiroshi , Kohsaka Hitoshi , Song Yeong Wook
Published: June 2014

Introduction

C-X-C motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10) is a chemokine that plays a critical role in the infiltration of T cells in autoimmune diseases and is reported to be expressed in muscle tissue of polymyositis. To determine the therapeutic efficacy of CXCL10 blockade, we investigated the role of CXCL10 and the effect of anti-CXCL10 antibody treatment in C protein-induced myositis (CIM), an animal model of polymyositis.

Methods

CIM was induced with human skeletal muscle C protein fragment in female C57BL/6 mice. Immunohistochemistry of CXCL10 and C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) and measurement of serum CXCL10 were performed. Cell surface markers and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in CIM lymph node cells was investigated by flow cytometry. Mice with CIM were treated with anti-CXCL10 antibody or control antibody (anti-RVG1) and the inflammation in muscle tissue was assessed.

Results

Immunohistochemistry showed increased expression of CXCL10 and CXCR3 in the inflammatory lesions of muscle in CIM. Especially, CD8+ T cells invading myofiber expressed CXCR3. Serum level of CXCL10 was increased in CIM compared to the level in normal mice (normal mouse, 14.3 ± 5.3 pg/ml vs. CIM, 368.5 ± 135.6 pg/ml, P < 0.001). CXCR3 positivity in CD8+ T cells was increased compared to that of CD4+ T cells in the lymph node cells of CIM (CXCR3+ among CD8+ T cell, 65.9 ± 2.1% vs. CXCR3+ among CD4+ T cell, 23.5 ± 4.7%, P <0.001). Moreover, IFN-γ+ cells were increased among CXCR3+CD8+ T cells compared to CXCR3–CD8+ T cells (CXCR3+CD8+ T cell, 28.0 ± 4.2% vs. CXCR3-CD8+ T cell, 9.5 ± 1.5%, P = 0.016). Migration of lymph node cells was increased in response to CXCL10 (chemotactic index was 1.91 ± 0.45). CIM mice treated with anti-CXCL10 antibody showed a lower inflammation score in muscles than those with anti-RVG1 (median, anti-CXCL10 treatment group, 0.625 vs. anti-RVG1 treatment group, 1.25, P = 0.007).

Conclusions

CXCL10/CXCR3 expression was increased in the inflammation of CIM model and its blockade suppressed inflammation in muscle.
Characterization of lung inflammation and its impact on macrophage function in aging
Authors: Canan Cynthia H , Gokhale Nandan S , Carruthers Bridget , Lafuse William P , Schlesinger Larry S , Torrelles Jordi B , Turner Joanne
Published: June 2014

Systemic inflammation that occurs with increasing age (inflammaging) is thought to contribute to the increased susceptibility of the elderly to several disease states. The elderly are at significant risk for developing pulmonary disorders and infectious diseases, but the contribution of inflammation in the pulmonary environment has received little attention. In this study, we demonstrate that the lungs of old mice have elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and a resident population of highly activated pulmonary macrophages that are refractory to further activation by IFN-γ. The impact of this inflammatory state on macrophage function was determined in vitro in response to infection with M.tb. Macrophages from the lungs of old mice secreted more proinflammatory cytokines in response to M.tb infection than similar cells from young mice and also demonstrated enhanced M.tb uptake and P-L fusion. Supplementation of mouse chow with the NSAID ibuprofen led to a reversal of lung and macrophage inflammatory signatures. These data indicate that the pulmonary environment becomes inflammatory with increasing age and that this inflammatory environment can be reversed with ibuprofen.
An analysis on the entity annotations in biological corpora
Authors: Neves Mariana
Published: June 2014

Collection of documents annotated with semantic entities and relationships are crucial resources to support development and evaluation of text mining solutions for the biomedical domain. Here I present an overview of 36 corpora and show an analysis on the semantic annotations they contain. Annotations for entity types were classified into six semantic groups and an overview on the semantic entities which can be found in each corpus is shown. Results show that while some semantic entities, such as genes, proteins and chemicals are consistently annotated in many collections, corpora available for diseases, variations and mutations are still few, in spite of their importance in the biological domain.
Positioning a proned patient with cauda equina syndrome who presents at 15 weeks gestation: a case report
Authors: Speirs Elizabeth , Wiles Matthew , Bacon Andrew , Radley Stephen
Published: June 2014

Cauda equina syndrome is a neurosurgical emergency that requires prompt intervention to prevent irreversible spinal cord paralysis. This article describes how we managed a case of an obese pregnant patient who was placed in the prone position for surgery. We discuss the evidence behind the management options and choice of operating tables available.
Twice versus three-times weekly pulmonary rehabilitation in a real-life clinical setting
Authors: Lewis Keir , Thatcher Lucy , Davies Carol-Anne , Hodgson Patricia , Llewellyn-Jones Carol , Hutchings Hayley
Published: June 2014

Aim: Our aim was to compare a less intensive but longer pulmonary rehabilitation programme (PRP) against a more intensive but shorter PRP.

Methods: We carried out an observational, cohort study in a real-life clinical setting in patients primarily with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We compared standard outcomes in patients who were receiving 18 sessions of PRP delivered twice weekly over 9 weeks (Group 1) against similar patients receiving an identical PRP delivered three times weekly over 6 weeks (Group 2). Outcome measures were the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT) and the number of hospital bed-days pre- and post-PRP.

Results: Both groups showed statistically significant and clinically important improvements post-PRP. The largest effects were seen immediately post-PRP and waned over the following 12 months. Group 1 showed a larger improvement in ISWT immediately post-PRP (Group 1, +92 m versus Group 2 +64 m (p=0.001), but there were no differences between groups at 6 (p=0.67) or 12 months (p=0.96). There were no differences in SGRQ between groups immediately post-PRP (p=0.09) or at 12 months (p=0.78). There were no differences between groups in the number of hospital days 12 months prior to PRP versus 12 months post-PRP (p=0.18).

Conclusion: Twice weekly outpatient, multidisciplinary PRP over 9 weeks is as effective as three times weekly PRP over 6 weeks.
Transient acid treatment cannot induce neonatal somatic cells to become pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Tang Mei Kuen , Lo Lok Man , Shi Wen Ting , Yao Yao , Lee Henry Siu Sum , Lee Kenneth Ka Ho
Published: June 2014

Currently, there are genetic- and chemical-based methods for producing pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells, but all of them are extremely inefficient.  However, a simple and efficient technique has recently been reported by Obokata et al (2014a, b) that creates pluripotent stem cells through acid-based treatment of somatic cells.  These cells were named stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) stem cells. This would be a major game changer in regenerative medicine if the results could be independently replicated. Hence, we isolated CD45+ splenocytes from five-day-old Oct4-GFP mice and treated the cells with acidified (pH 5.7) Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) for 25 min, using the methods described by Obokata et al 2014c. However, we found that this method did not induce the splenocytes to express the stem cell marker Oct4-GFP when observed under a confocal microscope three to six days after acid treatment. qPCR analysis also confirmed that acid treatment did not induce the splenocytes to express the stemness markers Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog.  In addition, we obtained similar results from acid-treated Oct4-GFP lung fibroblasts. In summary, we have not been able to produce STAP stem cells from neonatal splenocytes or lung fibroblasts using the acid-based treatment reported by Obokata et al (2014a, b, c).
Treatment of necrotising fasciitis using glycerol-preserved skin allografts for temporary wound coverage
Authors: Kim S.W. , Choi I.K. , Lee J.H. , Ahn S.T. , Rhie J.W.
Published: June 2014

Allografts of human skin have been used for both temporary and permanent wound coverage. They are useful as temporary bridges for the critically ill patient who is not allowed to receive definite wound coverage, or for wound bed preparation before permanent grafting. Glycerol-preserved skin allografts have several benefits including good adherence to the wound bed, water vapour transport, antimicrobial characteristics, low toxicity and antigenicity, ease of application and removal, a long shelf-life, and minimal storage requirements. We achieved lower limb salvage using a glycerol-preserved skin allograft for temporary wound coverage in the treatment of necrotising fasciitis.
Identifying common prostate problems in older men
Authors: Vlotman-Novinuk Deirde
Published: June 2014

The prostate is a small organ. However, this gland may be the source of much grief as men get older. Deidre Vlotman-Novinuk will highlight the prostate conditions that most commonly affect older men, and discuss the risk factors, signs and symptoms of these
How to … improve and develop complaints handling
Authors: Ashurst Adrian
Published: June 2014

Staff should listen to residents and relatives to ensure the care service is catering to their needs. Nursing & Residential Care’s consultant editor, Adrian Ashurst, provides tips to improve and develop the effectiveness of responding to their concerns
Introductory awareness of autistic spectrum conditions
Authors: Veselinova Claire
Published: June 2014

Claire Veselinova provides information on autistic spectrum conditions and outlines the implications of varying degrees of abilities and needs, while exploring common themes such as individuality, communication, behaviour and person-centred care
A simple guide to setting up an online shopping account
Authors: Ashurst Adrian
Published: June 2014

In this article, Adrian Ashurst discusses the benefits of online shopping for managers of care homes and how it can benefit the organisation through value for money, convenience, and providing quality products and excellent customer service
Understanding and nursing acute kidney injury: a patient care report
Authors: Whitehead Megan Angharad
Published: June 2014

An otherwise healthy cat suddenly presents with renal failure. Based on clinical examination and biochemistry/haematology results, a diagnosis of acute renal injury is reached. A discussion of this condition and its treatment follows, with a focus on nursing considerations.
Facilitators and Barriers to Physical Activity as Perceived by Older Adults With Intellectual Disability
Authors: van Schijndel-Speet Marieke , Evenhuis Heleen M. , van Wijck Ruud , van Empelen Pepijn , Echteld Michael A.
Published: June 2014

Older people with intellectual disability (ID) are characterized by low physical activity (PA) levels. PA is important for reducing health risks and maintaining adequate fitness levels for performing activities of daily living. The aim of this study was to explore preferences of older adults with ID for specific physical activities, and to gain insight into facilitators and barriers to engaging into PA. Fourteen in-depth interviews and four focus groups were undertaken, with a total of 40 older adults with mild and moderate ID included in the analysis. NVivo software was used for analysing the transcribed verbatim interviews. In total, 30 codes for facilitators and barriers were identified. Themes concerning facilitators to PA were enjoyment, support from others, social contact and friendship, reward, familiarity, and routine of activities. Themes concerning barriers to PA were health and physiological factors, lack of self-confidence, lack of skills, lack of support, transportation problems, costs, and lack of appropriate PA options and materials. The results of the present study suggest that older adults with ID may benefit from specific PA programs, adapted to their individual needs and limitations. Results can be used for developing feasible health promotion programs for older adults with ID.
‘Not a museum piece’: Exploring the ‘special’ occupational culture of religious broadcasting in Britain
Authors: Noonan Caitriona
Published: June 2014

Religion is often regarded as posing a distinct challenge to the occupational norms of cultural production and journalism due to its subjectivities and complexities. Based on research with staff involved in the production of content for BBC television and radio, this article explores the occupational context in which they work. In particular, it focuses on the experiences and strategies of the BBC’s Department of Religion and Ethics as it attempts to secure its survival as an autonomous production unit. This group of executives, producers, presenters and production staff are in many ways unique because of the professional and social role that they fulfil, most notably through the close historical and ideological ties between religion and the principles of public service.

This research finds a distinct professional identity built around a fusion of public service logic and commercialism, along with the mobilization of specialist knowledge. This allows the department to symbolically and discursively separate itself from other actors in this field as it attempts to reinforce religious broadcasting’s professional distinctiveness at a crucial time in the survival of the unit and to highlight the uniqueness of religion as a topic within cultural production.
Catharsis in inuit art: A way to heal wounds
Authors: Duchemin-Pelletier Florence
Published: June 2014

Contemporary Inuit Art is often perceived as either a romantic form of creation or a commercially aggressive industry. Yet it appears that art played more than a simple economic role in the Inuit history, and that a small percentage of the Arctic production, lesser-known to wide audiences, has been dealing with intimate as well as collective issues for the last twenty years. This article intends to reconsider the social impact of Inuit art, both at its beginnings in the 1950s and today. A selection of works by Inuit artists, who were subjected to trauma and tried to expel it through the creative process, will follow a reminder of the policies launched after the World War II by the federal government. The cathartic process itself and its intrinsic difficulties will also be considered. Art will finally be questioned as a way to untie tongues and create a dialogue towards healing.
'For You The War Is Over': An airman remembers
Authors: McCracken Lloyd C.
Published: June 2014

Lloyd C. McCracken grew up in a rural community on Canada's east coast. As a teenager, with the World War II entering its peak, he volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force as a tail gunner, a job with extreme hazards. Fifty years later, in 1992, McCracken produced this remembrance of his time in the Air Force - his training, hair-raising sorties over Germany and, especially, two years he spent as a POW in a German prisoners of war camp. This text now includes associated documents and photographs. His story reveals a human phenomenon that we nevertheless fail to understand - our uncanny ability to adjust to the inconceivable. Our ability to hold it, live in it, relay it. As his story recounts, McCracken had plenty of traumatic experiences. Yet, his descriptions of these experiences expose details without registering their effects. For readers, comprehension of the emotional happens elsewhere - above and around the words - in envisioning the effect of these experiences on McCracken and his family. Understanding is only discoverable in the text's resignation, its absences, its restraint.
Optimal capital-income taxation in a model with credit frictions
Authors: Abo-Zaid Salem
Published: June 2014

The optimality of the long-run capital-income tax rate is revisited in a simple neoclassical growth model with credit frictions. Firms pay their factors of production in advance, which requires borrowing at the beginning of the period. Borrowing, in turn, is constrained by the value of collateral that they own at the beginning of the period, leading to inefficiently low amounts of capital and labor. In this environment, the optimal capital-income tax in the steady state is non zero. Specifically, the quantitative analyses show that the capital-income tax is negative and, therefore, the distortions stemming from the credit friction are offset by subsidizing capital. However, when the government cannot distinguish between capital-income and profits, the capital-income tax is positive as the government levies the same tax rate on both sources of income. These results stand in contrast to the celebrated result of zero capital-income taxation of Judd (Judd, K. 1985. “Redistributive Taxation in a Simple Perfect Foresight Model.”
Fichtes Umbildung der transzendentalen Logik zu einer philosophischen Handlungstheorie
Authors: Irrlitz Gerd
Published: June 2014

This paper interprets Fichte’s transformation of the Enlightenment’s idea of self-consciousness into the concept of the ego as a transformation of transcendental logic into a philosophical theory of action. This transformation was of central importance for his critique of Kant as well as his rejection of both Schelling’s and Hegel’s ontologies of spirit, whose post-revolutionary determinism Fichte repudiated. Fichte developed his theory of action under the social premise of preindustrial labor, accentuating that social symmetry should be maintained against the tendency of property concentration amongst private property owners. His transformation of the concept of rationality (attained through transcendental logic) into a relational differentiation of the subject (1), its objectification (2), and the synthesis of both as an alteration between acting and suffering (3) open the path from an as yet - in terms of its presuppositions - monological concept of self-consciousness to a structural concept of action.
Die Objektivität einer Moral der sorgenden Achtung für menschliche Lebewesen
Authors: Sydow Björn
Published: June 2014

The paper starts with the intuition that morality basically consists in a caring respect for human beings: Moral subjects have to respect human beings in their individual human potential, and they have to do whatever is necessary for this potential to be realized. The main aim of the paper is to defend the claim that this understanding of morality is connected with objectivity as a formal feature of morality. I begin by considering constructivist and cooperation-based accounts of morality. Their explanation of moral objectivity is not compatible with caring respect as fundamental content of morality. (1) Thus, in order to argue for my claim I have to put this explanation of moral objectivity into question. To do so, I turn to its action theoretic background. Since this background consists in a dualistic understanding of action I sketch and argue for a non-dualistic alternative based on the notion of practical conceptual capacities. (2 & 3) This understanding of human agency leads to the conception of objectively good actions in which the subject is determined by the reality of bodily substances. (4) In the final section, I propose to conceive of human beings as a certain kind of bodily substances, namely as bearers of conceptual capacities. Consequently, moral actions can be seen as a certain type of objectively good actions. These actions correspond to what has to be done out of caring respect because this is exactly what bodily substances with conceptual capacities oblige moral subjects to do. (5)
Facile synthesis of substituted dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]thiazoles through enaminones of 4-thiazolidinones
Authors: Gautam Poonam , Chaudhary R. P.
Published: June 2014

A short two-step synthesis of substituted dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]thiazoles from 4-thiazolidinones is described. 4-Thiazolidinones are easily synthesized by the reaction of thiosemicarbazones of carbonyl compounds and chloroacetic acid. Upon treatment with Lawesson’s reagent and dimethylformamide-dimethylacetal, 5-dimethylaminomethylene-3-methylthiazolidine-4-thiones are formed, which undergo condensation with hydrazine derivatives to furnish substituted dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]thiazoles. The structure of the synthesized compounds was established by elemental analysis and analysis of spectral data.
Effects of sanding parameters on sanding force and normal force in sanding wood-based panels
Authors: Luo Bin , Li Li , Liu Hongguang , Wang Mingzhi , Xu Meijun , Xing Fangru
Published: June 2014

The proper parameters of sanding with abrasive sanding machine are significant to reduce energy consumption and to improve processing efficiency and quality. The parameters sanding speed, feed speed, and granularity have been investigated in terms of the sanding force (sF) and normal force (nF) for particle board (PB) and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). For PB, the sF and nF show decreasing trends of second power with increasing sanding speed and linear increase when feed speed increases. The sF and nF are almost constant when granularity increases from 40 to 80, but these forces show increasing trends of second power when granularity increases from 80 to 150. For MDF, the sF and nF change as trends of second power with increasing sanding speed and increase in trends of second power with increasing feed speed. The sF and nF force decrease when granularity increases from 40 to 80, but these forces present linear increasing trends when granularity increases from 80 to 150.
Investigation into Cause of High Temperature Failure of Boiler Superheater Tube
Authors: Ghosh D. , Ray S. , Roy H. , Shukla A. K.
Published: June 2014

The failure of the boiler tubes occur due to various reasons like creep, fatigue, corrosion and erosion. This paper highlights a case study of typical premature failure of a final superheater tube of 210 MW thermal power plant boiler. Visual examination, dimensional measurement, chemical analysis, oxide scale thickness measurement, microstructural examination are conducted as part of the investigations. Apart from these investigations, sulfur print, Energy Dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X ray diffraction analysis (XRD) are also conducted to ascertain the probable cause of failure of final super heater tube. Finally it has been concluded that the premature failure of the super heater tube can be attributed to the combination of localized high tube metal temperature and loss of metal from the outer surface due to high temperature corrosion. The corrective actions have also been suggested to avoid this type of failure in near future.
Environmental Security and Climate Change: A Link to Homeland Security
Authors: Butts Kent Hughes
Published: June 2014

It is time to broaden our thinking on the concept of homeland security and recognize the degree to which environmental security, and in particular climate change, affects US homeland security equities. Understanding how environmental security became a national security issue may be beneficial as the homeland security community seeks to understand the emerging issue of climate change and strategic documents linking climate change and homeland security.
Investigate the Effect of Line Width at Various Laser Sources on FWM Power in WDM System
Authors: Kaur Veerpal , Bhatia Kamaljit Singh , Kaur Amrit
Published: June 2014

In this paper, the dominating effect of four wave mixing is analysed with line width of laser source in wave length division multiplexed system. Power of FWM signal is minimum, Q factor maximum and bit error rate is minimized at optimized value of line width at all laser source power.
Sarcoidosis and pregnancy: obstetrical and neonatal outcomes in a population-based cohort of 7 million births
Authors: Hadid Vicky , Patenaude Valerie , Oddy Lisa , Abenhaim Haim A.
Published: June 2014

Objectives: Data on sarcoidosis in pregnancy is sparse and limited to a few case reports and series. Our aim is to determine the prevalence of sarcoidosis at delivery, and related maternal and newborn outcomes.

Study design: Using the United States Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) from 2003 to 2010, we conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study to compare women with and without sarcoidosis at delivery. We calculated the prevalence of sarcoidosis in pregnancy and used logistic regression analyses to estimate the associated risks of maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Results: There were 678 cases of sarcoidosis in 7,094,400 births over an 8-year period for an overall prevalence of nine and six-tenths cases per 100,000 births. Compared with controls, women with sarcoidosis were older, more likely to be African American and to report being smokers. Women with sarcoidosis were more likely to have preeclampsia odds ratio (OR) 1.62 (95% CI 1.18–2.22), eclampsia OR 5.27 (95% CI 1.69–16.40), deep vein thrombosis OR 4.92 (95% CI 1.58–15.33), pulmonary embolism OR 6.68 (95% CI 3.99–11.21), and premature delivery OR 1.73 (95% CI 1.40–2.15). There was also an increased risk of cesarean deliveries and postpartum hemorrhages. There were no cases of maternal death reported.

Conclusions: Sarcoidosis in pregnancy is a rare disease associated with an increased risk of adverse obstetrical outcomes. Women with sarcoidosis can carry out successful pregnancies, however should be made aware of the higher risk of adverse events. Given the higher risk of venous thromboembolic events, consideration should be given to thromboprophylaxis in pregnancy.
Between-seasons competitive balance in European football: review of existing and development of specially designed indices
Authors: Manasis Vasileios , Ntzoufras Ioannis
Published: June 2014

Competitive balance is a key issue for any professional sport league substantiated by its effect on demand for league games or other associated products. This work focuses on the measurement of between-seasons competitive balance, the longest time-wise dimension, which captures the relative quality of teams across seasons. The review of the existing indices examines their applicability in the context of European football. Given that domestic championships are multi-prized tournaments, as opposed to the more common North American unitary structure with a single prize, a set of specially designed indices that capture the complex structure of European football are introduced. An empirical investigation, using data from the English Premier League, further elucidates the main features of all appropriate indices by exploring their value and trend. It may be inferred that between-seasons competitive balance in England worsens through seasons mainly due to the very low ranking mobility of the top teams through seasons.
The Imprint of the Global
Authors: Mazlish Bruce
Published: June 2014

The twisted path from Modernity to Globalization has been a long one. It continues, and shall continue, so long as global society and global consciousness grow ever closer.
Overseers of Upper Egypt in the Old to Middle Kingdoms
Authors: Borvarski Edward
Published: June 2014

The first part of this article was published in the second fascicule of ZÄS 140 (2013). The present part contains the documentation that backs up the conclusions reached in Part 1.
The physiological target for LeuRS translational quality control is norvaline
Authors: Cvetesic Nevena , Palencia Andrés , Halasz Ivan , Cusack Stephen , Gruic‐Sovulj Ita
Published: June 2014

The fidelity of protein synthesis depends on the capacity of aminoacyl‐tRNA synthetases (AARSs) to couple only cognate amino acid‐tRNA pairs. If amino acid selectivity is compromised, fidelity can be ensured by an inherent AARS editing activity that hydrolyses mischarged tRNAs. Here, we show that the editing activity of Escherichia coli leucyl‐tRNA synthetase (EcLeuRS) is not required to prevent incorrect isoleucine incorporation. Rather, as shown by kinetic, structural and in vivo approaches, the prime biological function of LeuRS editing is to prevent mis‐incorporation of the non‐standard amino acid norvaline. This conclusion follows from a reassessment of the discriminatory power of LeuRS against isoleucine and the demonstration that a LeuRS editing‐deficient E. coli strain grows normally in high concentrations of isoleucine but not under oxygen deprivation conditions when norvaline accumulates to substantial levels. Thus, AARS‐based translational quality control is a key feature for bacterial adaptive response to oxygen deprivation. The non‐essential role for editing under normal bacterial growth has important implications for the development of resistance to antimicrobial agents targeting the LeuRS editing site.
Effectiveness of Anti-TNFα for Crohn Disease: Research in a Pediatric Learning Health System
Authors: Forrest Christopher B. , Crandall Wallace V. , Bailey L. Charles , Zhang Peixin , Joffe Marshall M. , Colletti Richard B. , Adler Jeremy , Baron Howard I. , Berman James , del Rosario Fernando , Grossman Andrew B. , Hoffenberg Edward J. , Israel Esther J. , Kim Sandra C. , Lightdale Jenifer R. , Margolis Peter A. , Marsolo Keith , Mehta Devendra I. , Milov David E. , Patel Ashish S. , Tung Jeanne , Kappelman Michael D.
Published: June 2014

OBJECTIVES:

ImproveCareNow (ICN) is the largest pediatric learning health system in the nation and started as a quality improvement collaborative. To test the feasibility and validity of using ICN data for clinical research, we evaluated the effectiveness of anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (anti-TNFα) agents in the management of pediatric Crohn disease (CD).

METHODS:

Data were collected in 35 pediatric gastroenterology practices (April 2007 to March 2012) and analyzed as a sequence of nonrandomized trials. Patients who had moderate to severe CD were classified as initiators or non-initiators of anti-TNFα therapy. Among 4130 patients who had pediatric CD, 603 were new users and 1211 were receiving anti-TNFα therapy on entry into ICN.

RESULTS:

During a 26-week follow-up period, rate ratios obtained from Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for patient and disease characteristics and concurrent medications, were 1.53 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20–1.96) for clinical remission and 1.74 (95% CI, 1.33–2.29) for corticosteroid-free remission. The rate ratio for corticosteroid-free remission was comparable to the estimate produced by the adult SONIC study, which was a randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of anti-TNFα therapy. The number needed to treat was 5.2 (95% CI, 3.4–11.1) for clinical remission and 5.0 (95% CI, 3.4–10.0) for corticosteroid-free remission.

CONCLUSIONS:

In routine pediatric gastroenterology practice settings, anti-TNFα therapy was effective at achieving clinical and corticosteroid-free remission for patients who had Crohn disease. Using data from the ICN learning health system for the purpose of observational research is feasible and produces valuable new knowledge.
Uso da FISH em mucosa oral para investigação de mosaicismo com linhagem 45,X: estudo com homens saudáveis e pacientes com distúrbios da diferenciação do sexo
Authors: Paulo Juliana de , Andrade Juliana Gabriel Ribeiro de , Santos Ana Paula dos , Gil-da-Silva-Lopes Vera Lúcia , Guerra-Júnior Gil , Maciel-Guerra Andréa Trevas
Published: June 2014

Objetivo: Verificar se a hibridização in situ por fluorescência (FISH) em células de mucosa oral poderia ser empregada para detectar criptomosaicismo com linhagem 45,X em pacientes 46,XY. Sujeitos e métodos: Amostra de 19 jovens saudáveis 46,XY e cinco pacientes com distúrbios da diferenciação do sexo (DDS), quatro 45,X/46,XY e um 46,XY. FISH com sondas específicas para X e Y em núcleos interfásicos de linfócitos e mucosa oral para investigar a proporção de núcleos contendo apenas o sinal do cromossomo X. Resultados: A frequência de núcleos contendo apenas o sinal do X nos dois tecidos dos homens saudáveis não diferiu (p = 0,69). Em todos os pacientes com DDS essa frequência foi significativamente maior, e também não houve diferença entre os dois tecidos (p = 0,38). Conclusões: A investigação de mosaicismo com linhagem 45,X em pacientes com DDS 46,XY ou esterilidade pode ser feita por FISH diretamente em células de mucosa oral.
Formação em saúde e micropolítica: sobre conceitos-ferramentas na prática de ensinar
Authors: Abrahão Ana Lúcia , Merhy Emerson Elias
Published: June 2014

As mudanças na formação em saúde, nas últimas décadas, têm estado na agenda da política do Estado brasileiro, no campo metodológico e pedagógico, com propostas de reestruturação dos currículos e maior aproximação com os serviços. A formação no campo da saúde é trabalhada neste artigo a partir de alguns conceitos-ferramentas, articulados a quatro tensões presentes neste campo: formação como movimento de produzir-se; formação como território do trabalho vivo; formação como experimentar e formação como criação. O propósito deste estudo consiste em ponderar as tensões apresentadas a partir dos encontros teóricos, alinhados à produção de ferramentas conceituais com potência para instalar novos modos de exercício na formação em saúde. A análise assinala o potencial criativo, exercido no micropolítico no ato da formação. Como elemento principal, amplia a experiência e a capacidade de enxergar outros ingredientes e outros territórios no agir pedagógico.
Introdução e aplicação da diluição da precisão das ambiguidades GNSS - ADOP
Authors: Monico João Francisco Galera , Rofatto Vinicius Francisco , Mendonça Marco Aurélio Moraes de
Published: June 2014

Diluição da precisão das ambiguidades GNSS, conhecida como ADOP (Ambiguity Dilution of Precision), é o tópico principal deste artigo. Basicamente, o ADOP é definido como uma medida escalar para avaliar a precisão das ambiguidades reais (float). Assim, entre as inúmeras possibilidades, a ADOP pode auxiliar na previsão do comportamento de uma linha base ou de uma rede de receptores GNSS no que diz respeito ao problema de solução das ambiguidades envolvidas, quer seja em tempo real (instantânea), ou no modo pós-processado. A vantagem de utilizar a grandeza ADOP advém da possibilidade de extrair uma expressão analítica simplificada, considerando os diversos fatores que afetam a resolução das ambiguidades. Além disso, essa grandeza traz informação a respeito da taxa de sucesso de resolução das ambiguidades. As expressões utilizadas nesse artigo levam em consideração alguns fatores, como por exemplo, informações a priori da precisão das medidas de fase da onda portadora e pseudodistância, número de estações e satélites, número de frequências disponíveis e o comportamento da atmosfera, considerando tanto a troposfera como a ionosfera. A partir dessas informações, diversos cenários são factíveis de serem estabelecidos visando analisar o impacto de cada informação particular na resolução das ambiguidades. As análises foram realizadas no contexto de algumas estações da rede GNSS-SP, uma rede GNSS estabelecida no Estado de São Paulo.
Dynamic modeling of tunnel survey spatiotemporal data
Authors: Li Xiaolong , Yang Jiansi , Guo Bingxuan , Liu Hua , Hua Jun
Published: June 2014

Currently, for tunnels, the design centerline and design cross-section with time stamps are used for dynamic three-dimensional (3D) modeling. However, this approach cannot correctly reflect some qualities of tunneling or some special cases, such as landslips. Therefore, a dynamic 3D model of a tunnel based on spatiotemporal data from survey cross-sections is proposed in this paper. This model can not only playback the excavation process but also reflect qualities of a project typically missed. In this paper, a new conceptual model for dynamic 3D modeling of tunneling survey data is introduced. Some specific solutions are proposed using key corresponding technologies for coordinate transformation of cross-sections from linear engineering coordinates to global projection coordinates, data structure of files and database, and dynamic 3D modeling. A 3D tunnel TIN model was proposed using the optimized minimum direction angle algorithm. The last section implements the construction of a survey data collection, acquisition, and dynamic simulation system, which verifies the feasibility and practicality of this modeling method.
Social media and consumer choice
Authors: Bronner Fred , de Hoog Robert
Published: June 2014

Social media are becoming increasingly important for consumer decisions. This holds true in particular for vacation decision-making, as an example of a high-involvement decision. The research focuses upon the relation between the information people search regarding aspects or properties of choice options and the types of social media used for finding it. The social media classification framework used is based on two dimensions: first, domain-specific social media versus domain-independent social media; second, large opportunities for self-disclosure versus limited or no opportunities for self-disclosure. Based on this framework, predictions are made about the relation between social media used and information sought. It was found that domain-specific social media with limited opportunities for self-disclosure, like Tripadvisor, are more frequently used for search-determined sub-decisions than for experience-determined sub-decisions. For domain-independent social media with large opportunities for self-disclosure, like Twitter and Facebook, it was found that they are used with equal frequency for both types of sub-decision. These findings are relevant for multichannel management in marketing. As regards the valence of the information obtained from different social media, we found a preponderant use of positive/mixed messages and comments, and almost no use of negative information. A practical implication of this finding is that ‘webcare’ should be focused less on complaints and more on leveraging positive aspects that are reported in social media for choices that have comparable characteristics, such as vacations. If a relatively large number of aspects play a role in a product choice process, tracking and use of positive information should be emphasised, while negative experiences should be more important for products characterised by a very limited number of relevant product choice aspects.
Knowledge and the Systematic Reader: The Past and Present of Encyclopedic Learning
Authors: Rudy Seth
Published: June 2014

Though digital media have unquestionably affected the features and functions of modern encyclopedias, such works also continue to be shaped by factors thoroughly conventional by the end of the historical Enlightenment. As William Smellie, editor of the first Encyclopædia Britannica (1768-71) wrote, “utility ought to be the principal intention of every publication. Wherever this intention does not plainly appear, neither the books nor their authors have the smallest claim to the approbation of mankind.” The “instructional designers” and “user-experience specialists” of the online Britannica are the inheritors of all those authors and editors who before and after Smellie’s time devised different plans and methods intended to maximize the utility of their works. The definition of utility and with it the nature of encyclopedic knowledge continues to change both because of and despite technological difference; if digitization has in some ways advanced the ideals of Enlightenment encyclopedias, then it has in other ways allowed for the re-inscription of certain flaws and limitations that encyclopedias like the Britannica were specifically designed to overcome. By examining not only what one might read in the encyclopedia but also the ways in which one might read it, this article demonstrates the extent to which the notion of encyclopedic utility depends on historical context.
The PST Project, Willie Herrón’s Street Mural Asco East of No West (2011) and the Mural Remix Tour: Power Relations on the Los Angeles Art Scene
Authors: Zetterman Eva
Published: June 2014

This article departs from the huge art-curating project Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945–1980, a Getty funded initiative running in Southern California from October 2011 to April 2012 with a collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions coming together to celebrate the birth of the L.A. art scene. One of the Pacific Standard Time (PST) exhibitions was Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972–1987, running from September to December 2011 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). This was the first retrospective of a conceptual performance group of Chicanos from East Los Angeles, who from the early 1970s to the mid 1980s acted out critical interventions in the politically contested urban space of Los Angles. In conjunction with the Asco retrospective at LACMA, the Getty Foundation co-sponsored a new street mural by the Chicano artist Willie Herrón, paying homage to his years in the performance group Asco. The PST exhibition program also included so-called Mural Remix Tours, taking fine art audiences from LACMA to Herrón’s place-specific new mural in City Terrace in East Los Angeles. This article analyze the inclusion in the PST project of Herrón’s site-specific mural in City Terrace and the Mural Remix Tours to East Los Angeles with regard to the power relations of fine art and critical subculture, center and periphery, the mainstream and the marginal. As a physical monument dependent on a heavy sense of the past, Herrón’s new mural, titled Asco: East of No West, transforms the physical and social environment of City Terrace, changing its public space into an official place of memory. At the same time, as an art historical monument officially added to the civic map of Los Angeles, the mural becomes a permanent reminder of the segregation patterns that still exist in the urban space of Los Angeles.
Robust and Accurate Closed-Loop Control of McKibben Artificial Muscle Contraction with a Linear Single Integral Action
Authors: Tondu Bertrand
Published: June 2014

We analyze the possibility of taking advantage of artificial muscle’s own stiffness and damping, and substituting it for a classic proportional-integral-derivative controller (PID) controller an I controller. The advantages are that there would only be one parameter to tune and no need for a dynamic model. A stability analysis is proposed from a simple phenomenological artificial muscle model. Step and sinus-wave tracking responses performed with pneumatic McKibben muscles are reported showing the practical efficiency of the method to combine accuracy and load robustness. In the particular case of the McKibben artificial muscle technology, we suggest that the dynamic performances in stability and load robustness would result from the textile nature of its braided sleeve and its internal friction which do not obey Coulomb’s third law, as verified by preliminary reported original friction experiments. Comparisons are reported between three kinds of braided sleeves made of rayon yarns, plastic, and thin metal wires, whose similar closed-loop dynamic performances are highlighted. It is also experimentally shown that a sleeve braided with thin metal wires can give high accuracy performance, in step as in tracking response. This would be due to a low static friction coefficient combined with a kinetic friction exponentially increasing with speed in accordance with hydrodynamic lubrication theory applied to textile physics.
A Bayesian Probabilistic Framework for Rain Detection
Authors: Yao Chen , Wang Ci , Hong Lijuan , Cheng Yunfei
Published: June 2014

Heavy rain deteriorates the video quality of outdoor imaging equipments. In order to improve video clearness, image-based and sensor-based methods are adopted for rain detection. In earlier literature, image-based detection methods fall into spatio-based and temporal-based categories. In this paper, we propose a new image-based method by exploring spatio-temporal united constraints in a Bayesian framework. In our framework, rain temporal motion is assumed to be Pathological Motion (PM), which is more suitable to time-varying character of rain steaks. Temporal displaced frame discontinuity and spatial Gaussian mixture model are utilized in the whole framework. Iterated expectation maximization solving method is taken for Gaussian parameters estimation. Pixels state estimation is finished by an iterated optimization method in Bayesian probability formulation. The experimental results highlight the advantage of our method in rain detection.
Sensitivity Analyses for Cross-Coupled Parameters in Automotive Powertrain Optimization
Authors: Othaganont Pongpun , Assadian Francis , Auger Daniel
Published: June 2014

When vehicle manufacturers are developing new hybrid and electric vehicles, modeling and simulation are frequently used to predict the performance of the new vehicles from an early stage in the product lifecycle. Typically, models are used to predict the range, performance and energy consumption of their future planned production vehicle; they also allow the designer to optimize a vehicle’s configuration. Another use for the models is in performing sensitivity analysis, which helps us understand which parameters have the most influence on model predictions and real-world behaviors. There are various techniques for sensitivity analysis, some are numerical, but the greatest insights are obtained analytically with sensitivity defined in terms of partial derivatives. Existing methods in the literature give us a useful, quantified measure of parameter sensitivity, a first-order effect, but they do not consider second-order effects. Second-order effects could give us additional insights: for example, a first order analysis might tell us that a limiting factor is the efficiency of the vehicle’s prime-mover; our new second order analysis will tell us how quickly the efficiency of the powertrain will become of greater significance. In this paper, we develop a method based on formal optimization mathematics for rapid second-order sensitivity analyses and illustrate these through a case study on a C-segment electric vehicle.