bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hypoglycemia but Not Hyperglycemia Is Associated with Mortality in Critically Ill Patients with Diabetes
Authors: Wernly Bernhard , Jirak Peter , Lichtenauer Michael , Franz Marcus , Kabisch Bjoern , Schulze Paul C. , Braun Kristina , Muessig Johanna , Masyuk Maryna , Paulweber Bernhard , Lauten Alexander , Hoppe Uta C. , Kelm Malte , Jung Christian
Published: December 2018

Background: Both severe hyperglycemia (> 200 mg/dL) and hypoglycemia (≤70 mg/dL) are known to be associated with increased mortality in critically ill patients. Therefore, we investigated associations of a single episode of blood glucose deviation (concentration either ≤70 mg/dL and/or > 200 mg/dL) during an intensive care unit (ICU) stay with mortality in these patients. Methods: A total of 4,986 patients (age 65 ± 15 years; 39% female; 14% type 2 diabetes [T2DM] based on medical records) admitted to a German ICU in a tertiary care hospital were investigated retrospectively. The intra-ICU and long-term mortality of patients between 4 and 7 years after their ICU submission were assessed. Results: A total 62,659 glucose measurements were analyzed. A single glucose deviation was associated with adverse outcomes compared to patients without a glucose deviation, represented by both intra-ICU mortality (22 vs. 10%; OR 2.62; 95% CI 2.23–3.09; p < 0.001) and long-term mortality (HR 2.01; 95% CI 1.81–2.24; p < 0.001). In patients suffering from T2DM hypoglycemia (30 vs. 13%; OR 2.94; 95% CI 2.28–3.80; p < 0.001) but not hyperglycemia (16 vs. 14%; OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.68–1.62; p = 0.84) was associated with mortality. Conclusion: In patients with dia­betes, hypo- but not hyperglycemia was associated with increased mortality, whereas in patients without diabetes, both hyper- and hypoglycemia were associated with adverse outcome. Blood glucose concentration might need differential approaches depending on concomitant diseases.
Effects of different anticoagulants on glycated albumin quantification
Authors: Bonetti Graziella , Di Gaetano Nicola , Paleari Renata , Ceriotti Ferruccio
Published: December 2018

Introduction: In the last 20 years glycated albumin (GA) measurement has been demonstrated to be a reliable glycation marker and recently as
the most innovative one in western countries. Glycated albumin has been already adopted by some Asian countries due to its usefulness in diabetes
screening. The aim of the present study was to investigate for the first time the effects of different anticoagulants on GA assay.
Materials and methods: From each of 60 patients a serum tube and K3EDTA, Li-Heparin and NaF-EDTA containing tubes were collected. All tubes
were from Sarstedt (Verona, Italy). Glycated albumin was measured in duplicate in each sample tube in a single analytical run with quantILab glycated
albumin (Instrumentation Laboratory SpA - A Werfen Company, Milan, Italy) on Architect c8000 analyser (Abbott SRL, Rome, Italy). Comparison
of GA% in evaluated tubes was made by paired Wilcoxon test.
Results: Median and interquartile range GA% concentrations were 15.4% (13.2 - 19.1) in serum, 15.7% (13.6 - 19.9) in K3EDTA, 15.6% (13.3 - 19.7) in
Li-heparin and 15.5% (13.1 - 19.3) in NaF-EDTA samples, respectively. Glycated albumin mean relative bias respect to serum was within desirable bias
derived from biological variation studies (± 2.9%) when K3EDTA (+ 2.8%), Li-heparin (+ 0.9%) or NaF-EDTA (+ 0.1%), were used as anticoagulants.
Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that the GA% assay is not affected by relevant interferences when K3EDTA, Li-heparin or NaF-EDTA are used
as anticoagulants, so they can be used interchangeably without a relevant impact on the clinical use of the test.
Entangled Gazes: The Polysemy of the New Great Mosque of Granada
Authors: Bush Olga
Published: December 2018

In 2003 a mosque was inaugurated in Granada, overcoming opposition voiced by neighbors, officials, and cultural institutions during two decades of heated debate. At issue was the meaning of the mosque within the contexts of local, regional, national, and global history. Current, large-scale immigration of North African Muslims stands clearly in the background. There was, however, a prior movement of conversion to Islam by young Spanish Christians in and around Granada at the end of the Franco dictatorship. These neo-Muslims conceived and built the Great Mosque of Granada, whose architectural design and decoration mobilize contested historical and cultural narratives. The mosque poses the fraught ideological issues in terms of what will be visible (or invisible) and to whom. The site of the mosque at the summit of the Albayzín hill, facing the Alhambra, has been the crux of entangled visualities. The mosque is not only an object of the gaze but also a privileged subject position for the gaze, in rivalry with the Christian gaze from the adjacent Church of San Nicolás and its mirador. The new mosque is a key to the transformation of the discourse of Spain’s relation to its Muslim past into debate about its Muslim present.
Arabesques, Unicorns, and Invisible Masters: The Art Historian’s Gaze as Symptomatic Action?
Authors: Troelenberg Eva-Maria
Published: December 2018

This essay takes two seminal texts of mid-twentieth-century Islamic art history as case studies for the methodological development of the scholarly gaze in the aftermath of the Second World War. Ernst Kühnel’s Die Arabeske (Wiesbaden, 1949) testifies to the continuity of a taxonomic history of styles, rooted in phenomenologist Sachforschung and apparently adaptable to shifting ideological paradigms. Richard Ettinghausen’s The Unicorn (Washington, 1950) stands for a neo-humanist approach. Its negotiation of aesthetic and cultural difference clearly is to be considered against the background of the experience of exile, but also of the rising tide of democratic humanism characteristic for postwar American humanities. Both examples together offer a comparative perspective on the agencies of art historical methods and their ideological and epistemological promises and pitfalls in dealing with aesthetic difference. Consequently, this essay also seeks to contribute exemplary insights into the immediate prehistory of the so-called “Global Turn” in art history.
An Illustrated Genealogy between the Ottomans and the Safavids
Authors: Taner Melis
Published: December 2018

This paper focuses on an early seventeenth-century illustrated genealogy (Museum of Ethnography Ankara, No. 8457), which is stylistically attributable to Baghdad, and is iconographically and textually pro-Safavid at a point when Baghdad was under Ottoman rule. Taking the format of the illustrated genealogy, which was widespread in the Otto­man realm from the mid-sixteenth century onwards, the Ankara manuscript adapts the Ottoman genealogical tree tradition with a particularly Safavid tenor. In its immediate visual graspability and use of the genealogy as a methodological tool to claim legitimacy, this manuscript represents contested identities in the frontier province of Baghdad.
Submarine Cables and Pipelines: The Protection of Investors Under International Law
Authors: Karavias Markos
Published: December 2018

Submarine cables and pipelines hold great significance for the global economy, as they constitute key features in energy transit and transmission of telecommunications data. Whereas the two have traditionally been treated by scholars through the lens of the international law of the sea, far less attention has been paid to the potential applicability of international investment law in this field. The present article seeks to shed light on this latter question. First, it reviews the most common treaty and contractual arrangements in place vis-à-vis submarine cables and pipelines. It then turns to international investment law with a view to examining whether investment treaties have a say on the protection of investors in the laying of submarine cables and the construction and operation of submarine pipelines. One of the more vexed questions in this respect is the territorial scope of investment law, in particular as regards the seabed beyond national jurisdiction.
An Investigation of Shanghai Dialect from the Perspective of Word Order Typology
Authors: Qian Nairong
Published: December 2018

Based on the word order universals proposed by Greenberg and Dryer, this study examines word order in a series of sentence types found in Shanghai dialect, and demonstrates that pre-verbal patients are objects and not sub-topics. Shanghai dialect is therefore a language of non-canonical SOV order.
A revision of taxonomic relation between Oenothera perangusta and O. ersteinensis (Onagraceae) based on morphometric research and statistical analyses
Authors: WOŹNIAK-CHODACKA MONIKA
Published: December 2018

The taxonomic status of Oenothera ersteinensis and O. perangusta (sect. Oenothera, subsect. Oenothera; Onagraceae) has remained unresolved. According to the representatives of the so-called American school of taxonomy both names should be assigned, as their synonyms, to two separate, widely treated species (O. biennis and O. oakesiana, respectively) whereas  European researchers consider both taxa as very similar or even as a single species. In order to establish the taxonomic relation between these taxa, detailed morphometric research and statistical analyses—principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, discriminant analysis and Wald-Wolfowitz runs test—were performed. As a background to present the differentiation between the considered taxa, analyses of European representatives of two distinct and widely distributed species, O. biennis and O. oakesiana, were also conducted. The results revealed that the highest discriminatory power have mostly qualitative features. Oenothera ersteinensis turned out to be a distinct and well-separated species belonging to the series Oenothera whereas O. perangusta is most probably only a synonym name of O. oakesiana. Moreover, it was demonstrated that all the investigated specimens labelled as O. perangusta were in fact misrecognized representatives of O. ersteinensis. The updated map of distribution of O. ersteinensis is also provided.
The lectotypification of Frullania mexicana and the description of F. clarkii sp. nov. (Frullaniaceae, Marchantiophyta)
Authors: ATWOOD JOHN J. , MAMONTOV YURIY S.
Published: December 2018

Supposed syntype specimens of Frullania mexicana comprise two morphologically distinct species. One is the authentic F. mexicana, consistent with its original description in Synopsis Hepaticarum. A lectotype is designated for that species based on a specimen in C.G. Nees von Esenbeck’s herbarium, now in STR. The other was listed by F. Stephani as ‘F. mexicana’ in Species Hepaticarum, but is not that species. Rather, it is described here as new based on a specimen deposited in Stephani’s herbarium, now in G. Frullania clarkii sp. nov. differs from F. mexicana in having involute versus more or less flat dorsal lobes; a ligulate, instead of triangular to narrowly triangular proximal portion of the lobule; broadly ovate underleaves with repand margins versus obovate underleaves with plane margins; and 4-keeled versus 8–10 keeled perianth. Its closest morphological affinities are with F. laxiflora and F. planifolia.
Canga renatae, a new genus and species of Cyphophthalmi from Brazilian Amazon caves (Opiliones: Neogoveidae)
Authors: DASILVA MARCIO BERNARDINO , PINTO-DA-ROCHA RICARDO , GIRIBET GONZALO
Published: December 2018

A new genus and species of Cyphophthalmi, Canga renatae gen. nov., sp. nov., is described in the family Neogoveidae from a system of caves in the Serra de Carajás, Pará State, Brazil. Canga can be easily distinguished from other neogoveid genera by the presence of a dentate claw on leg I, a unique character among known cyphophthalmid species, and by the free coxa II, which is fused to coxae III and IV in all the other neogoveid species except for the North American Metasiro. The new genus also differs from other Neotropical neogoveids in the lack of a dorsal crest on the chelicerae and in the lack of opisthosomal glands. The finding of a neogoveid in the Pará State greatly increases the known distribution of South American cyphophtalmids into the Eastern Brazilian Amazon forest.
Two new species of Notonyx A. Milne-Edwards, 1873 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Goneplacidae) from the Philippines and Fiji
Authors: NG PETER K. L. , CLARK PAUL F.
Published: December 2018

Two new species of goneplacid crabs assigned to Notonyx A. Milne-Edwards, 1873 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Goneplacidae) are described from the Philippines and Fiji. Notonyx sagittifer n. sp. from Philippines is superficially similar to N. latus Ng & Clark, 2008, from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia, but the carapace of the new species is proportionately less broad and the morphologies of the male first and second gonopods are significantly different. Notonyx rayneri n. sp. is closest to N. kumi Naruse & Maenosono, 2009, from Japan and Indonesia but differs markedly in its carapace proportions as well as the structures of the male first and second gonopods.
Two new yellow-legged species of the genus Hybos from Vietnam (Diptera: Empidoidea: Hybotinae)
Authors: HUO SHAN , GROOTAERT PATRICK , YANG DING
Published: December 2018

The genus Hybos (Hybotinae) is recorded from Vietnam for the first time with four species. Two species, Hybos medialis sp. nov. and H. vietnamensis sp. nov., are described as new to science while two species, H. hainanensis Yang, 2008 and H. serratus Yang et Yang, 1992, previously only known from China are recorded from Vietnam. These four species are all yellow-legged species. A key to the known species of Hybos from Vietnam is presented.
A new cicada species (Hemiptera: Cicadidae), with a key to the species of the genus Euterpnosia Matsumura, 1917 from Vietnam
Authors: THAI PHAM HONG , THINH TA HUY , YANG JENG-TZE
Published: December 2018

A new species of cicada, Euterpnosia cucphuongensis, is described from Cuc Phuong National Park in northern Vietnam. Photos of the adult, illustrations of the male genitalia, a distribution map and biological data are provided. A key to the species of Euterpnosia from Vietnam based on the male adults is also given.
Catalog of Nabidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) for the Neotropical Region
Authors: VOLPI LORENA N. , DEL CARMEN COSCARÓN MARIA
Published: December 2018

The Nabidae (Hemiptera) of the Neotropical Region are cataloged. A total of 12 genera and 83 species are listed together with their synonyms. References are given to the original descriptions and the subsequent taxonomic position, the location of types, and the geographic distribution. A comprehensive bibliography is provided.
Water mites of the genus Sperchon Kramer (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Sperchontidae) from Turkey, with description of two new species
Authors: ESEN YUNUS , PEŠIĆ VLADIMIR , ERMAN ORHAN
Published: December 2018

A survey is given of the distribution of the water mite species of the genus Sperchon Kramer (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Sperchontidae) in Turkey, based on all published data and numerous new records. Sperchon (Hispidosperchon) oezkani and S. (Sperchon) ayyildizi are described as new species; Sperchon fundamentalis Bader & Sepasgozarian, 1980 is synonymized with S. glandulosus Koenike, 1886; the first record from Turkey is given for Sperchon (Hispidosperchon) tarnogradskii Sokolow, 1927.
Four new species of Phoenicagrion von Ellenrieder, 2008 from Brazil (Odonata, Coenagrionidae)
Authors: MACHADO ANGELO B. M.
Published: December 2018

Four new species of Phoenicagrion von Ellenrieder, 2008, P.flavescens, P. ibseni, P. karaja, and P. megalobos are described and illustrated. A key is provided for the six species of the genus.
New species of the genus Neurigona (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from China
Authors: WANG MENGQING , CHEN HONGYIN , YANG DING
Published: December 2018

The following three new species of the genus Neurigona are described and illustrated: Neurigona hainana sp. nov. from Hainan province, N. sichuana sp. nov. from Sichuan province and N. yaoi sp. nov. from Neimenggu province. Neurigona zhangae Wang, Yang & Grootaert is transferred as Viridigona zhangae (Wang, Yang & Grootaert) comb. nov. An updated key to 25 known species of Neurigona from the Chinese mainland is presented.
Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Himantigera James, 1982 (Diptera: Stratiomyidae: Sarginae), including the description of two new species and a key to the known species
Authors: FACHIN DIEGO AGUILAR , HAUSER MARTIN
Published: December 2018

The Neotropical genus Himantigera James in James & McFadden, 1982, is revised. Two new species are described and illustrated—H. amauroptera nov. sp. (Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia), and H. xanthopoda nov. sp. (Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica). Three species are transferred from Himantigera to Sargus Fabricius, 1798—S. dichrous (Schiner, 1868) comb. nov., S. flavoniger Lindner, 1928 comb. rev. and S. fulvithorax (Bigot, 1879) comb. nov. One species is transferred to Microchrysa Loew, 1855—M. splendens (Schiner, 1868) comb. nov. Himantigera jamesi Lindner, 1969 syn. nov. is proposed as a junior synonym of H. superba Lindner, 1949. The type species H. silvestris McFadden, 1982, as well as H. nigrifemorata Macquart, 1847 and H. superba Lindner, are herein redescribed and illustrated. Photographs of the type specimens of these three species are provided. Two unnamed species of Himantigera (sp. A and sp. B) are also described given that they have slight differences, but because we had only one specimen of each species, we did not officially describe them. This updates the total number of extant Himantigera from eight sensu Woodley (2001) to seven species. The species Merosargus apicalis Lindner, 1935, although never referred to the genus Himantigera or Himantoloba McFadden 1970, is also transferred to the genus Sargus. A key to all species of Himantigera and a map expanding geographical distribution of the genus are also presented, with the first records of the genus for Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Revision of the genus Werneria Poche, 1903, including the descriptions of two new species from Cameroon and Gabon (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae)
Authors: RÖDEL MARK-OLIVER , SCHMITZ ANDREAS , PAUWELS OLIVIER S.G. , BÖHME WOLFGANG
Published: December 2018

We review and summarize present knowledge of the western Central African toad genus Werneria, and describe two new species. Both new species seem to be more closely related to W. mertensiana, W. tandyi and W. preussi than to W. bambutensis. Werneria submontana nov. sp., from Mt. Kupe and the Bakossi Mts., Cameroon, is unique in having a wrinkled throat skin in adults and has a unique combination of other morphological and colour characters. Werneria iboundji nov. sp. is only known from its type locality, Mt. Iboundji, and represents the first record of this genus from Gabon. It is characterized by extensive webbing of the toes, slender, almost straight body shape, truncate snout, and colour.
New species and records of Melaloncha (Udamochiras) bee-killing flies (Diptera: Phoridae)
Authors: GONZALEZ LISA , BROWN BRIAN V.
Published: December 2018

Nine new species of Neotropical Melaloncha (Udamochiras) bee-killing flies are described: M. altobenia, atribiseta, concavella and sarmientoi from Bolivia, M. ancistra from Colombia, M. corniculata and schiaffinoae from Argentina, M. cucharella from Honduras, and M. stenotes from Costa Rica. The first host information is given for M. (U.) colossia, which attacks introduced honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in northern Argentina.
ITCZ Width Controls on Hadley Cell Extent and Eddy-Driven Jet Position and Their Response to Warming
Authors: Watt-Meyer Oliver , Frierson Dargan M. W.
Published: December 2018

The impact of global warming–induced intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) narrowing onto the higher-latitude circulation is examined in the GFDL Atmospheric Model, version 2.1 (AM2.1), run over zonally symmetric aquaplanet boundary conditions. A striking reconfiguration of the deep tropical precipitation from double-peaked, off-equatorial ascent to a single peak at the equator occurs under a globally uniform +4 K sea surface temperature (SST) perturbation. This response is found to be highly sensitive to the SST profile used to force the model. By making small (≤1 K) perturbations to the surface temperature in the deep tropics, varying control simulation precipitation patterns with both single and double ITCZs are generated. Across the climatologies, narrower regions of ascent correspond to more equatorward Hadley cell edges and eddy-driven jets. Under the global warming perturbation, the experiments in which there is narrowing of the ITCZ show significantly less expansion of the Hadley cell and somewhat less poleward shift of the eddy-driven jet than those without ITCZ narrowing. With a narrower ITCZ, the ascending air has larger zonal momentum, causing more westerly upper-tropospheric subtropical wind. In turn, this implies 1) the subtropical jet will become baroclinically unstable at a lower latitude and 2) the critical (zero wind) line will shift equatorward, allowing midlatitude eddies to propagate farther equatorward. Both of these mechanisms modify the Hadley cell edge position, and the latter affects the jet position.
Global Stokes Drift Climate under the RCP8.5 Scenario
Authors: Breivik Øyvind , Carrasco Ana , Staneva Joanna , Behrens Arno , Semedo Alvaro , Bidlot Jean-Raymond , Aarnes Ole Johan
Published: December 2018

The future Stokes drift climate is investigated using a global wave climate projection (2071–2100) forced with EC-EARTH winds under the RCP8.5 scenario. The future climate run is compared against a historical run (1976–2005). The Stokes drift climate is analyzed in terms of Stokes transport and surface Stokes drift. The impact on Stokes drift from changes to the wind, wind sea, and swell climate is identified. The consequences for upper-ocean mixing and circulation are studied by investigating the turbulent Langmuir number and the Stokes depth. The historical climate run is also compared to a hindcast with ERA-Interim forcing. Systematic discrepancies due to differences in resolution and model physics are identified, but no fundamental weaknesses are uncovered that should adversely affect the future run. As the surface Stokes drift is largely dictated by high-frequency waves, it is to a great degree controlled by changes to the local wind field, whereas the Stokes transport is more sensitive to swell. Both are expected to increase in the Southern Ocean by about 15%, while the North Atlantic sees a decrease of about 10%. The Stokes depth and the turbulent Langmuir number are set to change by about ±20% and ±10%, respectively. The changes to the Stokes depth suggest a deeper impact of the Coriolis–Stokes force in the Southern Ocean and a decrease in the northern extratropics. Changes to the KPP Langmuir-enhancement factor suggests potentially increased mixing in the Southern Ocean and a reduction in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific.
Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Dutch Families Importance in Nursing Care: Nurses’ Attitudes Scale Based on the Generalized Partial Credit Model
Authors: Hagedoorn E. I. , Paans W. , Jaarsma T. , Keers J. C. , van der Schans C. P. , Luttik M. L. , Krijnen W. P.
Published: December 2018

The instrument called Families Importance in Nursing Care–Nurses’ Attitudes (FINC-NA) is used to measure nurses’ attitudes toward involving families in their nursing care. The aim of this study is to evaluate the FINC-NA scale in a population of Dutch nurses and add new psychometric information to existing knowledge about this instrument. Using a cross-sectional design, 1,211 nurses received an online application in 2015. Psychometric properties were based on polychoric correlations and the Generalized Partial Credit Model. A total of 597 (49%) nurses responded to the online application. Results confirmed a four-subscale structure. All response categories were utilized, although some ceiling effects occurred. Most items increase monotonically, and the majority of items discriminate well between different latent trait scores of nurses with some items providing more information than others. This study reports the psychometric properties of the Dutch language FINC-NA instrument. New insights into the construct and content of items enable the possibility of a more generic instrument that could be valid across several cultures.
Tensor representation of magnetostriction for all crystal classes
Authors: Federico Salvatore , Consolo Giancarlo , Valenti Giovanna
Published: December 2018

A systematic representation of the fourth-order magnetostriction tensor for all crystal classes is presented, based on the formalism proposed by Walpole ( Proc R Soc Lond Ser A 1984; 391: 149–179). This representation allows the general, unconstrained case, as well as the case in which the magnetostrictive strain is assumed to be isochoric, to be studied. The knowledge of the fourth-order magnetostriction tensor enables the stress-free magnetostrictive strain tensor as well as the scalar strain in a given direction to be calculated.
Intermittent blockade of OGFr and treatment of autoimmune disorders
Authors: Zagon Ian S , McLaughlin Patricia J
Published: December 2018

The opioid growth factor (OGF)–OGF receptor (OGFr) axis is present in normal and abnormal cells and tissues, and functions to maintain homeostatic cell replication. OGF is an inhibitory growth factor that upregulates p16 and/or p21 cyclin-dependent inhibitory kinases to slow cell replication. Blockade of this regulatory pathway can be intermittent or complete with the end result being depressed or accelerated, respectively, cell proliferation and growth. Intermittent blockade of the OGF–OGFr pathway with lose doses of naltrexone (LDN), a general opioid receptor antagonist, has been studied clinically in a number of autoimmune diseases, including fibromyalgia, Crohn’s, and multiple sclerosis (MS). Serum enkephalin levels were decreased in patients with MS relative to subjects with other neurological disorders. The intermittent blockade of OGFr by LDN results in a biofeedback mechanism that upregulates serum enkephalin levels. Clinical studies have reported that LDN is beneficial in enhancing quality of life, reducing fatigue, and increasing motor activity in humans with fibromyalgia, Crohn’s, or MS. LDN treatment is well tolerated even after several years of therapy. Preclinical investigations using experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS mediated by T and B lymphocyte activation, demonstrate that immunization alone resulted in reduced enkephalin (i.e. OGF) levels. Therapy with LDN restored serum enkephalin levels in EAE mice resulting in improved EAE behavioral scores and diminished CNS pathology. This mini-review summarizes both preclinical and clinical data and focuses on the role of serum enkephalins resulting from intermittent blockade of OGFr by LDN in autoimmune disorders.

Impact statement

This mini-review presents information on the intermittent blockade of the opioid growth factor (OGF)–OGF receptor (OGFr) axis by low-dose naltrexone (LDN), and the role of enkephalin (i.e. OGF) in autoimmune disorders, specifically multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s, and fibromyalgia. Clinical reports on subjects taking LDN have documented reduced fatigue, few side-effects, and improved overall health. Preclinical studies on mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of multiple sclerosis, revealed that immunization for EAE reduces serum OGF. Intermittent OGFr blockade with LDN restores serum enkephalin levels that correlate with reduced behavioral and pathological signs of EAE; LDN also increases enkephalin levels in naïve mice. The interplay between LDN, and the onset and treatment of autoimmune diseases, chronic pain, and other addictive behaviors requires further investigation, but highlights a central role for enkephalins and intermittent blockade of the OGF–OGFr pathway in pathogenesis and treatment of these disorders.
Strategies for integrating uncertainty in iterative geostatistical seismic inversion
Authors: Pereira Pedro , Bordignon Fernando , Azevedo Leonardo , Nunes Ruben , Soares Amílcar
Published: December 2018

Iterative geostatistical seismic inversion integrates seismic and well data to infer the spatial distribution of subsurface elastic properties. These methods provide limited assessment to the spatial uncertainty of the inverted elastic properties, overlooking alternative sources of uncertainty such as those associated with poor well-log data, upscaling, and noise within the seismic data. We have expressed uncertain well-log samples, due to bad logging reads and upscaling, in terms of local probability distribution functions (PDFs). Local PDFs are used as conditioning data to a stochastic sequential simulation algorithm, included as the model perturbation within the inversion. The problem of noisy seismic and narrow exploration of the model parameter space, particularly in the early steps of the inversion, is tackled by the introduction of a cap on local correlation coefficients (CCs) responsible for the generation of the new set of models during the next iteration. We evaluate a single geostatistical framework with application to a real case study. When compared against a conventional iterative geostatistical seismic inversion, the integration of additional sources of uncertainty increases the match between real and inverted seismic traces and the variability within the ensemble of models inverted at the last iteration. The selection of the local PDFs plays a central role in the reliability of the inverted elastic models. Avoiding high local CCs at early stages of the inversion increases convergence in terms of global correlation between synthetic and real seismic reflection data at the end of the inversion.
A Notch-regulated proliferative stem cell zone in the developing spinal cord is an ancestral vertebrate trait
Authors: Lara-Ramirez Ricardo , Pérez-González Carlos , Anselmi Chiara , Patthey Cedric , Shimeld Sebastian M.
Published: December 2018

Vertebrates have evolved the most sophisticated nervous systems we know. These differ from the nervous systems of invertebrates in several ways, including the evolution of new cell types, and the emergence and elaboration of patterning mechanisms to organise cells in time and space. Vertebrates also generally have many more cells in their central nervous systems than invertebrates, and an increase in neural cell number may have contributed to the sophisticated anatomy of the brain and spinal cord. Here we study how increased cell number evolved in the vertebrate central nervous system, investigating the regulation of cell proliferation in the lamprey spinal cord. Markers of proliferation show that a ventricular progenitor zone is found throughout the lamprey spinal cord. We show that inhibition of Notch signalling disrupts the maintenance of this zone. When Notch is blocked progenitor cells differentiate precociously, the proliferative ventricular zone is lost, and differentiation markers become expressed throughout the spinal cord. Comparison to other chordates suggests the emergence of a persistent Notch-regulated proliferative progenitor zone was a critical step for the evolution of vertebrate spinal cord complexity.
Zinc deficiency causes neural tube defects through attenuation of p53 ubiquitylation
Authors: Li Huili , Zhang Jing , Niswander Lee
Published: December 2018

Micronutrition is essential for neural tube closure, and zinc deficiency is associated with human neural tube defects. Here, we modeled zinc deficiency in mouse embryos, and used live imaging and molecular studies to determine how zinc deficiency affects neural tube closure. Embryos cultured with the zinc chelator TPEN failed to close the neural tube and showed excess apoptosis. TPEN-induced p53 protein stabilization in vivo and in neuroepithelial cell cultures and apoptosis was dependent on p53. Mechanistically, zinc deficiency resulted in disrupted interaction between p53 and the zinc-dependent E3 ubiquitin ligase Mdm2, and greatly reduced p53 ubiquitylation. Overexpression of human CHIP, a zinc-independent E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets p53, relieved TPEN-induced p53 stabilization and reduced apoptosis. Expression of p53 pro-apoptotic target genes was upregulated by zinc deficiency. Correspondingly, embryos cultured with p53 transcriptional activity inhibitor pifithrin-α could overcome TPEN-induced apoptosis and failure of neural tube closure. Our studies indicate that zinc deficiency disrupts neural tube closure through decreased p53 ubiquitylation, increased p53 stabilization and excess apoptosis.
“Um verdadeiro reino de terror nas montanhas”: o medo de uma Grécia comunista no Parlamento britânico (1944)
Authors: Silva de Souza Felipe Alexandre
Published: December 2018

Em 1944, o fim da ocupação nazista na Grécia resultou em uma tensão crescente entre a Frente de Libertação Nacional (EAM) e o governo monárquico. Em dezembro, essas duas forças entraram em choque quando a polícia abriu fogo contra manifestantes de esquerda em Atenas, dando início a um confronto que se arrefeceu provisoriamente apenas em fevereiro de 1945. Soldados britânicos que estavam presentes na Grécia agiram em defesa da monarquia. Essa intervenção foi tema de acirrados debates no Parlamento britânico. Pretendemos, analisando as discussões travadas na Câmara dos Comuns, abordar o medo de uma revolução comunista na Grécia se expressava entre os apoiadores da atuação das forças britânicas contra a EAM, com intuito de apreender algumas das dimensões da política externa inglesa na Grécia.
Racismo: uma infecção do tempo da escravidão – a permanência do racismo no pós-Abolição, os quilombolas fluminenses e o seu combate.
Authors: Juliano Filipe Romão
Published: December 2018

Este artigo traz uma análise sobre percepções e formulações das lideranças quilombolas fluminenses, e em especial os moradores do Quilombo Sacopã, sobre o racismo. Trabalhamos aqui formulações das lideranças quilombolas em conversas privadas e em exposições públicas e também feitas por agentes públicos autorizados, como servidores do INCRA e procuradores federais. Os quilombolas fluminenses situam as origens do racismo à época da escravidão e tencionam as dimensões interpessoal e institucional da discriminação na busca pelo reconhecimento identitário e territorial. O ativismo antirracista desenvolvido por tais lideranças segue dois caminhos: a denúncia do racismo institucional e a promoção de momentos de formação e educação com jovens e crianças, em acordo com a lei 10.639/2003.
Inovação e tecnologia no Brasil: desafios e insumos para o desenvolvimento de políticas públicas
Authors: Leal Carlos Ivan Simonsen , Figueiredo Paulo N.
Published: December 2018

Este documento apresenta uma breve reflexão sobre a natureza do investimento em pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D) no Brasil. Comenta certos desafios relacionados a este tema na economia brasileira e oferece alguns insumos para o desenvolvimento de políticas públicas. O investimento do Brasil em P&D tem aumentado continuamente ao longo dos últimos 15 anos comparativamente a outros países. Porém, os resultados deste esforço têm sido limitados em termos de inovação e produtividade. Por isso, este documento recomenda o aumento da eficácia dos dispêndios em P&D no Brasil.
Treatment of epilepsy – towards precision
Authors: Leach John Paul
Published: December 2018

Epilepsy was among the first disease areas to begin to apply principles of precision medicine to its treatment. This review looks at the role of investigation in ensuring the safety and effectiveness of antiepileptic drug treatment. Using sound principles, we can see that the use of genetic testing will advance treatment of epilepsy in reducing harm and adverse effects and enhancing efficacy.
Introducción especial en Derecho Privado
Authors: Cárdenas Juan Pablo , López Yira
Published: December 2018

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Características de mulheres obesas assistidas pelo Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família
Authors: Silva Sabrina Bezerra da , Souto Rafaella Queiroga , Alves Fábia Alexandra Pottes , Morais Tibério Gambarra , Araújo Gleicy Karine Nascimento de , Honorato Mikellayne Barbosa
Published: December 2018

Objetivo: descrever a eficácia do grupo de reeducação alimentar e controle de peso do Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família (NASF) no município de Santa Luzia-PB. Método: trata-se de um ensaio comunitário, realizado no período de abril a setembro de 2015. As participantes foram avaliadas por meio de uma consulta e avaliação nutricional antes e depois da realização das atividades educativas. A população é composta por 15 pacientes do sexo feminino, com Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) acima de 30Kg/m2. Temas como hábitos saudáveis e práticas de atividades físicas foram discutidos em palestras expositivas e rodas de conversas. Resultado: verificou-se redução significativa no IMC das pacientes (p=0,000), de 36,22 Kg/m² (antes da intervenção) para 32,94 Kg/m² (depois), evidenciando a importância do grupo na melhoria da qualidade de vida dos usuários. Conclusão: a redução do IMC foi satisfatória, reforçando a relevância da equipe do NASF e manutenção do grupo.
O empreendedorismo de negócios entre enfermeiros
Authors: Chagas Sabrina Cássia , Milagres Priscila Néria , Silva Mariana Cristina Rodrigues , Cavalcante Ricardo Bezerra , Oliveira Patricia Peres de , Santos Regina Consolação dos
Published: December 2018

Objetivo: caracterizar o empreendedorismo de negócios entre enfermeiros. Método: estudo de caso com abordagem quantitativa, apoiado nos conceitos de Schumpeter.  Os dados foram coletados em um município mineiro, em 2015, por meio da aplicação de um questionário validado e entrevistas semiestruturadas com 10 enfermeiros empreendedores. O tratamento dos dados foi realizado por meio da análise de conteúdo, modalidade temático-categorial e os dados relacionados ao perfil e características comportamentais com auxílio do software STATA versão 12.0. Aprovado por Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. Resultados: verificou-se que a maioria dos enfermeiros possuem empreendimentos registrados, de alta lucratividade e voltados para a assistência domiciliar. As características comportamentais: busca de informações, planejamento e monitoramento sistemático e persuasão e rede de contatos precisam ser potencializadas. Conclusão: o empreendedorismo de negócios entre os enfermeiros estudados conformou-se como uma oportunidade profissional vislumbrada a partir da necessidade de lucratividade e satisfação pessoal, o que os obrigou a deslocarem-se dos nichos tradicionais de trabalho.
The Great Recession and new class voting in Iceland
Authors: Helgason Agnar Freyr
Published: December 2018

Conventional wisdom suggests that occupational class plays a limited role in explaining vote choice in Iceland. In this paper, we argue that the death of class in Icelandic politics may be premature and that it still plays a role in structuring political preferences and party choice. While the importance of the traditional class cleavage may have declined to the point of irrelevance, we suggest that there is a new type of class voting in Iceland, containing both a vertical and a horizontal component. Furthermore, we argue that the Great Recession played a critical role in increasing the strength of class voting around this new class schema, both because of the conflict around economic issues it generated, but also because of its facilitation of the formation and success of new parties. We test our main hypotheses using multinomial logistic regression on data from the Icelandic National Election Study from 1999 to 2016 and apply a modified measure of cleavage strength, which we refer to as “Full Kappa”. Our results suggest that class voting is alive and well in Iceland and that its strength has increased following the Great Recession.
Development and implementation of a cell-based assay to discover agonists of the nuclear receptor REV-ERBα
Authors: Hering Yuliya , Berthier Alexandre , Duez Helene , Lefebvre Philippe , Deprez Benoit , Gribbon Philip , Wolf Markus , Reinshagen Jeanette , Halley Francoise , Hannemann Juliane , Böger Rainer , Staels Bart , Gul Sheraz
Published: December 2018

The nuclear receptors are transcription factors involved in the regulation of a variety of physiological processes whose activity can be modulated by binding to relevant small molecule ligands. Their dysfunction has been shown to play a role in disease states such as diabetes, cancer, inflammatory diseases, and hormonal resistance ailments, which makes them interesting targets for drug discovery. The nuclear receptor REV-ERBα is involved in regulating the circadian rhythm and metabolism. Its natural ligand is heme and there is significant interest in identifying novel synthetic modulators to serve as tools to characterize its function and to serve as drugs in treating metabolic disorders. To do so, we established a mammalian cell-based two-hybrid assay system capable of measuring the interaction between REV-ERBα and its co-repressor, nuclear co-repressor 1. This assay was validated to industry standard criteria and was used to screen a subset of the LOPAC®1280 library and 29568 compounds from a diverse compound library. Profiling of the primary hits in a panel of counter and selectivity assays confirmed that REV-ERBα activity can be modulated pharmacologically and chemical scaffolds have been identified for optimization.
Following Sextus: Demonstrative Argument in Gorgias’ Peri tou mē ontos
Authors: Giombini Stefania
Published: December 2018

The two extant versions of Gorgias’ Peri tou mē ontos (PTMO) have been preserved by an anonymous author (MXG) and by Sextus Empiricus (S.E.). Both versions have been differently interpreted by scholars who examine either the doctrine or the rhetorical-communicational dimen­sion (the first option being dominant). When comparing the PTMO with the rest of Gorgias’ works, the present paper aims to demonstrate that S.E. offers a more precise account of Gorgias’ modus argumentandi. Thus, S.E. shows the following, typical features of Gorgias’ demonstra­tive reasoning: 1) application of demonstrandum and quod erat demon­strandum, 2) continuous employment of reductio ad absurdum and 3) a refined formulation of the principle of non-contradiction (similar to the one in Pal. 25). The MXG, on the other hand, is accurate in the discussion of particular arguments (e.g. the third kephalaion), but presents an interpreter who is more interested in questioning Gorgias rather than doing justice to his thought. Hence, this article concludes that it was S.E., who had the text or at least a relatively accurate summa­ry of the PTMO.
Poglądy gospodarcze Ruchu Społeczeństwa Alternatywnego
Authors: Pluciński Przemysław
Published: December 2018

Artykuł podejmuje problematykę poglądów ekonomicznych rozwijanych w ramach Ruchu Społeczeństwa Alternatywnego, ruchu społecznego aktywnie działającego w Polsce w latach 80. i 90. XX wieku. Skupia się przede wszystkim na polemice RSA z liberalizmem oraz krytyce liberalnej transformacji ustrojowej roku 1989. Rekonstruowane tu poglądy stały się istotnym składnikiem dziedzictwa polskich, antysystemowych ruchów społecznych, jak również elementem odradzającej się sfery publicznej.
Commutable whole blood reference materials for hemoglobin A1c validated on multiple clinical analyzers
Authors: Liu Hong , Wong Lingkai , Yong Sharon , Liu Qinde , Teo Tang Lin , Lee Tong Kooi , Loh Tze Ping , Sethi Sunil Kumar , Wong Moh Sim , Cosio Shelia Marie Delos Santos , Ho Clement K.M. , Setoh Johnson Weng Sung , Lim Sok Fong Maria , Lee Grace Lay Lay , Khalid Hafash , Lim Sharine , Lam Choong-Weng , Lee Mee-Yin , Yeo Chin Pin , Chincholkar Pallavi Ravikiran , Hawkins Robert , Ng Bih-Yann
Published: December 2018

Background

The measurement of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is important for diagnosing diabetes mellitus as well as assessing glycemic control in diabetic patients. Commutable whole blood certified reference materials (CRMs) are needed in the measurement of HbA1c for method validation and/or as quality controls.

Methods

We developed three levels of hemolyzed whole blood CRMs for HbA1c. The certified values were determined using liquid chromatography-isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry method (LC-IDMS/MS) where two “signature” hexapeptides of HbA1c and hemoglobin A0 (HbA0) were used as the calibration standards. The concentrations of the hexapeptide solutions were determined by amino acid analysis by the LC-IDMS/MS method using amino acid CRMs as the calibration standards. The commutability study was conducted by measuring 25 patient specimens and the whole blood CRMs by both LC-IDMS/MS method and various routine methods using six different clinical analyzers.

Results

The certified values were determined to be 35.1±2.0, 50.3±1.9 and 65.8±2.6 mmol/mol, respectively. These CRMs showed good commutability on five of the six clinical analyzers but showed poor commutability on one of the clinical analyzers that used similar method as two other analyzers where good commutability was observed.

Conclusions

With certified target values based on metrological traceability and good commutability on most of the clinical analyzers, the developed whole blood CRMs can be used for method validation or as quality control materials in the measurement of HbA1c. The commutability study results also underscored the need of commutability testing of clinical CRMs using various clinical analyzers.
Aktuelle nukleare Gefahren und die Probleme der Rüstungskontrolle
Authors: Thränert Oliver
Published: December 2018

Kurzfassung

Atomare Gefahren wachsen als Folge der gegenwärtigen Großmächtekonkurrenz, wobei weder die USA, Russland noch China bereit sind, hinsichtlich der Kontrolle atomarer Rüstung politische Führungsverantwortung zu übernehmen. Auch die übrigen Kernwaffenmächte denken weniger an Rüstungskontrolle, sondern setzen auf die Modernisierung oder gar den Ausbau ihrer nuklearen Arsenale. Diese Bemühungen hängen immer mehr mit neuen Entwicklungen bei der Raketenabwehr oder Cyberfähigkeiten zusammen, was zusätzliche Unsicherheitsfaktoren schafft. Dieser Beitrag sucht zu erklären, warum nukleare Rüstungskontrolle nach Ende des Kalten Krieges nahezu zum Erliegen gekommen ist und argumentiert, dass dieses Konzept angesichts dieser globalen Entwicklungen wieder in den Vordergrund rücken sollte. Europa ist besonders gefordert, bezüglich strategischer Stabilität neue Denkanstöße zu erarbeiten und den Diskurs über die Neubelebung der nuklearen Rüstungskontrolle neu zu initiieren.
On eccentricity-based topological descriptors of water-soluble dendrimers
Authors: Iqbal Zahid , Ishaq Muhammad , Aslam Adnan , Gao Wei
Published: December 2018

Previous studies show that certain physical and chemical properties of chemical compounds are closely related with their molecular structure. As a theoretical basis, it provides a new way of thinking by analyzing the molecular structure of the compounds to understand their physical and chemical properties. The molecular topological indices are numerical invariants of a molecular graph and are useful to predict their bioactivity. Among these topological indices, the eccentric-connectivity index has a prominent place, because of its high degree of predictability of pharmaceutical properties. In this article, we compute the closed formulae of eccentric-connectivity–based indices and its corresponding polynomial for water-soluble perylenediimides-cored polyglycerol dendrimers. Furthermore, the edge version of eccentric-connectivity index for a new class of dendrimers is determined. The conclusions we obtained in this article illustrate the promising application prospects in the field of bioinformatics and nanomaterial engineering.
Expediente e Sumário Vol 18 n. 2
Authors: Axt Gunter
Published: December 2018

Expediente e sumário do volume 18 número 2 da revista Interfaces Brasil/Canadá, revista brasileira de estudos canadenses