bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neural control of lengthening contractions
Authors: Duchateau Jacques , Enoka Roger M.
Published: January 2016

A number of studies over the last few decades have established that the control strategy employed by the nervous system during lengthening (eccentric) differs from those used during shortening (concentric) and isometric contractions. The purpose of this review is to summarize current knowledge on the neural control of lengthening contractions. After a brief discussion of methodological issues that can confound the comparison between lengthening and shortening actions, the review provides evidence that untrained individuals are usually unable to fully activate their muscles during a maximal lengthening contraction and that motor unit activity during submaximal lengthening actions differs from that during shortening actions. Contrary to common knowledge, however, more recent studies have found that the recruitment order of motor units is similar during submaximal shortening and lengthening contractions, but that discharge rate is systematically lower during lengthening actions. Subsequently, the review examines the mechanisms responsible for the specific control of maximal and submaximal lengthening contractions as reported by recent studies on the modulation of cortical and spinal excitability. As similar modulation has been observed regardless of contraction intensity, it appears that spinal and corticospinal excitability are reduced during lengthening compared with shortening and isometric contractions. Nonetheless, the modulation observed during lengthening contractions is mainly attributable to inhibition at the spinal level.
Contribution of elastic tissues to the mechanics and energetics of muscle function during movement
Authors: Roberts Thomas J.
Published: January 2016

Muscle force production occurs within an environment of tissues that exhibit spring-like behavior, and this elasticity is a critical determinant of muscle performance during locomotion. Muscle force and power output both depend on the speed of contraction, as described by the isotonic force-velocity curve. By influencing the speed of contractile elements, elastic structures can have a profound effect on muscle force, power and work. In very rapid movements, elastic mechanisms can amplify muscle power by storing the work of muscle contraction slowly and releasing it rapidly. When energy must be dissipated rapidly, such as in landing from a jump, energy stored rapidly in elastic elements can be released more slowly to stretch muscle contractile elements, reducing the power input to muscle and possibly protecting it from damage. Elastic mechanisms identified so far rely primarily on in-series tendons, but many structures within muscles exhibit spring-like properties. Actomyosin cross-bridges, actin and myosin filaments, titin, and the connective tissue scaffolding of the extracellular matrix all have the potential to store and recover elastic energy during muscle contraction. The potential contribution of these elements can be assessed from their stiffness and estimates of the strain they undergo during muscle function. Such calculations provide boundaries for the possible roles these springs might play in locomotion, and may help to direct future studies of the uses of elastic elements in muscle.
Muscle memory and a new cellular model for muscle atrophy and hypertrophy
Authors: Gundersen Kristian
Published: January 2016

Memory is a process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. For vertebrates, the modern view has been that it occurs only in the brain. This review describes a cellular memory in skeletal muscle in which hypertrophy is ‘remembered’ such that a fibre that has previously been large, but subsequently lost its mass, can regain mass faster than naive fibres. A new cell biological model based on the literature, with the most reliable methods for identifying myonuclei, can explain this phenomenon. According to this model, previously untrained fibres recruit myonuclei from activated satellite cells before hypertrophic growth. Even if subsequently subjected to grave atrophy, the higher number of myonuclei is retained, and the myonuclei seem to be protected against the elevated apoptotic activity observed in atrophying muscle tissue. Fibres that have acquired a higher number of myonuclei grow faster when subjected to overload exercise, thus the nuclei represent a functionally important ‘memory’ of previous strength. This memory might be very long lasting in humans, as myonuclei are stable for at least 15 years and might even be permanent. However, myonuclei are harder to recruit in the elderly, and if the long-lasting muscle memory also exists in humans, one should consider early strength training as a public health advice. In addition, myonuclei are recruited during steroid use and encode a muscle memory, at least in rodents. Thus, extending the exclusion time for doping offenders should be considered.
The sarcomeric cytoskeleton: from molecules to motion
Authors: Gautel Mathias , Djinović-Carugo Kristina
Published: January 2016

Highly ordered organisation of striated muscle is the prerequisite for the fast and unidirectional development of force and motion during heart and skeletal muscle contraction. A group of proteins, summarised as the sarcomeric cytoskeleton, is essential for the ordered assembly of actin and myosin filaments into sarcomeres, by combining architectural, mechanical and signalling functions. This review discusses recent cell biological, biophysical and structural insight into the regulated assembly of sarcomeric cytoskeleton proteins and their roles in dissipating mechanical forces in order to maintain sarcomere integrity during passive extension and active contraction. α-Actinin crosslinks in the Z-disk show a pivot-and-rod structure that anchors both titin and actin filaments. In contrast, the myosin crosslinks formed by myomesin in the M-band are of a ball-and-spring type and may be crucial in providing stable yet elastic connections during active contractions, especially eccentric exercise.
Metabolic fuel kinetics in fish: swimming, hypoxia and muscle membranes
Authors: Weber Jean-Michel , Choi Kevin , Gonzalez Alex , Omlin Teye
Published: January 2016

Muscle performance depends on the supply of metabolic fuels and disposal of end-products. Using circulating metabolite concentrations to infer changes in fluxes is highly unreliable because the relationship between these parameters varies greatly with physiological state. Quantifying fuel kinetics directly is therefore crucial to the understanding of muscle metabolism. This review focuses on how carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids are provided to fish muscles during hypoxia and swimming. Both stresses force white muscle to produce lactate at higher rates than it can be processed by aerobic tissues. However, lactate accumulation is minimized because disposal is also strongly stimulated. Exogenous supply shows that trout have a much higher capacity to metabolize lactate than observed during hypoxia or intense swimming. The low density of monocarboxylate transporters and their lack of upregulation with exercise explain the phenomenon of white muscle lactate retention. This tissue operates as a quasi-closed system, where glycogen stores act as an ‘energy spring’ that alternates between explosive power release during swimming and slow recoil from lactate in situ during recovery. To cope with exogenous glucose, trout can completely suppress hepatic production and boost glucose disposal. Without these responses, glycemia would increase four times faster and reach dangerous levels. The capacity of salmonids for glucoregulation is therefore much better than presently described in the literature. Instead of albumin-bound fatty acids, fish use lipoproteins to shuttle energy from adipose tissue to working muscles during prolonged exercise. Proteins may play an important role in fueling muscle work in fish, but their exact contribution is yet to be established. The membrane pacemaker theory of metabolism accurately predicts general properties of muscle membranes such as unsaturation, but it does not explain allometric patterns of specific fatty acids. Investigations of metabolic fuel kinetics carried out in fish to date have demonstrated that these ectotherms use several unique strategies to orchestrate energy supply to working muscles and to survive hypoxia.
Skeletal muscle mass and composition during mammalian hibernation
Authors: Cotton Clark J.
Published: January 2016

Hibernation is characterized by prolonged periods of inactivity with concomitantly low nutrient intake, conditions that would typically result in muscle atrophy combined with a loss of oxidative fibers. Yet, hibernators consistently emerge from winter with very little atrophy, frequently accompanied by a slight shift in fiber ratios to more oxidative fiber types. Preservation of muscle morphology is combined with down-regulation of glycolytic pathways and increased reliance on lipid metabolism instead. Furthermore, while rates of protein synthesis are reduced during hibernation, balance is maintained by correspondingly low rates of protein degradation. Proposed mechanisms include a number of signaling pathways and transcription factors that lead to increased oxidative fiber expression, enhanced protein synthesis and reduced protein degradation, ultimately resulting in minimal loss of skeletal muscle protein and oxidative capacity. The functional significance of these outcomes is maintenance of skeletal muscle strength and fatigue resistance, which enables hibernating animals to resume active behaviors such as predator avoidance, foraging and mating immediately following terminal arousal in the spring.
Effects of hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy mutations on power output by human β-cardiac myosin
Authors: Spudich James A. , Aksel Tural , Bartholomew Sadie R. , Nag Suman , Kawana Masataka , Yu Elizabeth Choe , Sarkar Saswata S. , Sung Jongmin , Sommese Ruth F. , Sutton Shirley , Cho Carol , Adhikari Arjun S. , Taylor Rebecca , Liu Chao , Trivedi Darshan , Ruppel Kathleen M.
Published: January 2016

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most frequently occurring inherited cardiovascular disease, with a prevalence of more than one in 500 individuals worldwide. Genetically acquired dilated cardiomyopathy is a related disease that is less prevalent. Both are caused by mutations in the genes encoding the fundamental force-generating protein machinery of the cardiac muscle sarcomere, including human β-cardiac myosin, the motor protein that powers ventricular contraction. Despite numerous studies, most performed with non-human or non-cardiac myosin, there is no clear consensus about the mechanism of action of these mutations on the function of human β-cardiac myosin. We are using a recombinantly expressed human β-cardiac myosin motor domain along with conventional and new methodologies to characterize the forces and velocities of the mutant myosins compared with wild type. Our studies are extending beyond myosin interactions with pure actin filaments to include the interaction of myosin with regulated actin filaments containing tropomyosin and troponin, the roles of regulatory light chain phosphorylation on the functions of the system, and the possible roles of myosin binding protein-C and titin, important regulatory components of both cardiac and skeletal muscles.
Nebulin, a multi-functional giant
Authors: Chu Miensheng , Gregorio Carol C. , Pappas Christopher T.
Published: January 2016

Efficient muscle contraction in skeletal muscle is predicated on the regulation of actin filament lengths. In one long-standing model that was prominent for decades, the giant protein nebulin was proposed to function as a ‘molecular ruler’ to specify the lengths of the thin filaments. This theory was questioned by many observations, including experiments in which the length of nebulin was manipulated in skeletal myocytes; this approach revealed that nebulin functions to stabilize filamentous actin, allowing thin filaments to reach mature lengths. In addition, more recent data, mostly from in vivo models and identification of new interacting partners, have provided evidence that nebulin is not merely a structural protein. Nebulin plays a role in numerous cellular processes including regulation of muscle contraction, Z-disc formation, and myofibril organization and assembly.
Neural and neuroendocrine processing of a non-photic cue in an opportunistically-breeding songbird
Authors: Ernst Darcy K. , Bentley George E.
Published: January 2016

Recent studies of the onset of breeding in long-day photoperiodic breeders have focused on the roles of type 2 and 3 iodothyronine deiodinases (DIO2 and DIO3) in the conversion of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3) and subsequent activation of the reproductive axis. It has been hypothesized that an increase in DIO2 and reciprocal decrease in DIO3 causes the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus, setting off a reproductive cascade, and that this DIO mechanism for GnRH release is conserved across vertebrate taxa. We sought to test whether social cues that are known to stimulate reproductive behaviors can activate the DIO system to initiate reproduction in a non-photoperiodic bird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Isolation of males and subsequent presentation of females did not increase DIO2 or GnRH expression in the hypothalamus, nor did it decrease gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) or DIO3. Males receiving a female stimulus showed significantly higher mRNA expression and immunoreactive cell count of the immediate early gene early growth response protein 1 (EGR-1) than isolated males, indicating hypothalamic activation in response to a female. Cells immunoreactive for EGR-1 were not co-localized with those immunoreactive for GnRH. Reproductive behaviors (singing, copulation attempts, and overall activity) were significantly higher in males receiving a female stimulus. This study presents a social effect on behavior and EGR-1 expression in the hypothalamus of males in response to females, but more research is needed to determine if the DIO2 system and the GnRH system are responsive to social stimulation in this species.
The role of gp130 receptor cytokines in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis
Authors: Cron Lena , Allen Tamara , Febbraio Mark A.
Published: January 2016

It is well known that obesity is responsible, at least in part, for the increased incidence of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. Despite public education programs emphasizing lifestyle modifications to arrest this global pandemic, it is now estimated that 10–15% of the world's population are overweight or obese. As a result, new therapeutic options for the treatment of obesity-related disorders are clearly warranted. Much of the benefit of physical activity has been attributed to several mechanisms including reduced adiposity, increased cardiorespiratory fitness, reduced circulating lipids and the maintenance of muscle mass. However, the observation that the gp130 receptor cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) was released from skeletal muscle during exercise to improve metabolic homeostasis altered our understanding of the health benefits of exercise and opened avenues for research into potential novel therapeutics to treat metabolic disease. One gp130 receptor cytokine in particular, ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), a pluripotent neurocytokine, showed efficacy as a potential anti-obesogenic therapy. This review examines the potential of gp130 receptor ligands, with a focus on IL-6 and CNTF as therapeutic strategies to treat obesity-related disorders.
Gene expression and adaptive evolution of ZBED1 in the hibernating great horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)
Authors: Xiao Yanhong , Wu Yonghua , Sun Keping , Wang Hui , Jiang Tinglei , Lin Aiqing , Huang Xiaobin , Yue Xinke , Shi Limin , Feng Jiang
Published: January 2016

Mammalian hibernators experience physiological extremes, e.g. ischemia, muscle disuse, hypothermia, which are lethal to non-hibernators, implying the existence of underlying mechanisms that allow hibernators to withstand these physiological extremes. Increased cell proliferation is suggested to be such a strategy, while its molecular basis remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the expression pattern of ZBED1 (zinc finger, BED-type containing 1), a transcription factor that plays a crucial role in regulating cell proliferation, in five tissues of the great horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) during pre-hibernation, deep hibernation and post-hibernation. Moreover, we investigated the ZBED1 genetic divergence from individuals with variable hibernation phenotypes that cover all three known mtDNA lineages of the species. Expression analyses showed that ZBED1 is only over-expressed in brain and skeletal muscle, but not in the other three tissues, suggesting an increased cell proliferation in these two tissues during deep hibernation. Evolutionary analyses showed that ZBED1 sequences were clustered into two well-supported clades with each one dominated by hibernating and non-hibernating individuals, respectively. Positive selection analyses further showed some positively selected sites and a divergent selection pressure among hibernating and non-hibernating groups of R. ferrumequinum. Our results suggest that ZBED1 may be a potential candidate gene that regulates cell proliferation for hibernators to face physiological extremes during hibernation.
The role of an ancestral hyperpolarization activated cyclic nucleotide-gated K+-channel in branchial acid-base regulation in the green crab,Carcinus maenas(L.)
Authors: Fehsenfeld Sandra , Weihrauch Dirk
Published: January 2016

Numerous electrophysiological studies on branchial K+‑transport in Brachyuran crabs established an important role for potassium channels in osmoregulatory ion uptake and ammonia excretion in the gill epithelium of decapod crustaceans. However, hardly anything is known of the actual nature of these channels in crustaceans.

In the present study, the identification of a hyperpolarization activated cyclic nucleotide-gated potassium channel (HCN) in the transcriptome of the green crab Carcinus maenas and subsequent performance of quantitative real-time PCR revealed the ubiquitous expression of this channel in this species. Even though mRNA expression levels in the cerebral ganglion were found to be approximately 10‑times higher compared to all other tissues, posterior gills still expressed significant levels of HCN, indicating an important role for this transporter in branchial ion regulation.

The relatively unspecific K+-channel inhibitor Ba2+ as well as the HCN-specific blocker ZD7288 as applied in gill perfusion experiments and electrophysiological studies employing the split gill lamellae revealed the presence of at least two different K+/NH4+-transporting structures in the branchial epithelium of C. maenas. Furthermore, HCN mRNA levels in posterior gill #7 decreased significantly in response to the respiratory or metabolic acidosis that was induced by acclimation of green crabs to high environmental pCO2 and ammonia, respectively. Consequently, the present study provides first evidence for HCN‑promoted NH4+ epithelial transport to be involved in both, branchial acid-base and ammonia regulation in an invertebrate.
Temperature-dependent benefits of bacterial exposure in embryonic development of Daphnia magna resting eggs
Authors: Mushegian Alexandra A. , Burcklen Elodie , Schär Tobias M. M. , Ebert Dieter
Published: January 2016

The environments in which animals develop and evolve are profoundly shaped by bacteria, which affect animals both indirectly through their roles in biogeochemical processes and also through direct antagonistic or beneficial interactions. The outcomes of these activities can differ according to environmental context. In a series of laboratory experiments with diapausing eggs of the water flea Daphnia magna, we manipulated two environmental parameters, temperature and presence of bacteria, and examined their effect on development. At elevated temperatures (≥26 °C), resting eggs developing without live bacteria had reduced hatching success and correspondingly higher rates of severe morphological abnormalities compared to eggs with bacteria in their environment. The beneficial effect of bacteria was strongly reduced at 20 °C. Neither temperature nor presence of bacteria affected directly developing parthenogenetic eggs. The mechanistic basis of this effect of bacteria on development is unclear, but these results highlight the complex interplay of biotic and abiotic factors influencing animal development after diapause.
Effects of Classroom Acoustics on Teachers' Voices
Authors: Rantala Leena M. , Sala Eeva
Published: January 2016

The aim of the study was to research associations between classroom acoustic parameters and teachers' voice use and vocal health (N = 40). From voice samples, sound pressure level (SPL), fundamental frequency ( F0), and the tilt of spectrum slope were analysed. Information on voice symptoms was collected by means of questionnaires. Room acoustic variables were reverberation times (T60, EDT), sound attenuation (DL2) and parameters measuring how well speech is perceived (C50, D50, STI). The associations between the variables were studied for the whole group and separately for quiet and noisy classrooms.

The results showed that all the room acoustic variables measured correlated with a teacher's voice variables. Voice SPL was influential especially in the noisy classrooms and F0 in the quiet classes. A teacher's vocal health was poorer if the room acoustic variables indicated better listening conditions. The findings suggest that good listening conditions do not necessarily imply good speaking conditions in classrooms.
Oligoadenylation of 3′ decay intermediates promotes cytoplasmic mRNA degradation in Drosophila cells
Authors: Harnisch Christiane , Cuzic-Feltens Simona , Dohm Juliane C. , Götze Michael , Himmelbauer Heinz , Wahle Elmar
Published: January 2016

Post-transcriptional 3′ end addition of nucleotides is important in a variety of RNA decay pathways. We have examined the 3′ end addition of nucleotides during the decay of the Hsp70 mRNA and a corresponding reporter RNA in Drosophila S2 cells by conventional sequencing of cDNAs obtained after mRNA circularization and by deep sequencing of dedicated libraries enriched for 3′ decay intermediates along the length of the mRNA. Approximately 5%–10% of 3′ decay intermediates carried nonencoded oligo(A) tails with a mean length of 2–3 nucleotides. RNAi experiments showed that the oligoadenylated RNA fragments were intermediates of exosomal decay and the noncanonical poly(A) polymerase Trf4-1 was mainly responsible for A addition. A hot spot of A addition corresponded to an intermediate of 3′ decay that accumulated upon inhibition of decapping, and knockdown of Trf4-1 increased the abundance of this intermediate, suggesting that oligoadenylation facilitates 3′ decay. Oligoadenylated 3′ decay intermediates were found in the cytoplasmic fraction in association with ribosomes, and fluorescence microscopy revealed a cytoplasmic localization of Trf4-1. Thus, oligoadenylation enhances exosomal mRNA degradation in the cytoplasm.
Οι στάσεις των μαθητών Δευτεροβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης απέναντι στη λειτουργία των μαθητικών κοινοτήτων.
Authors: Παπαοικονόμου Αντώνης
Published: January 2016

Η εργασία αυτή παρουσιάζει μία έρευνα που έγινε το φθινόπωρο του 2014 σε έφηβους μαθητές δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης σχετικά με τις μαθητικές κοινότητες και την ικανοποίηση που νιώθουν οι μαθητές από τη λειτουργία τους στα πλαίσια του σχολείου. Παρατηρήθηκαν σημαντικές σχέσεις ανάμεσα στο φύλο των μαθητών, τον τύπο του σχολείου και την επίδοση τους και την αίσθηση που έχουν για τη λειτουργία του θεσμού. Σε γενικές γραμμές παρατηρήθηκε καλή διάθεση εκ μέρους των μαθητών για το θεσμό και τη χρησιμότητα του παρόλο που διαπιστώνονται προβλήματα στην εφαρμογή του.
Μοντέρνος Ρατσισμός και στάσεις για τη Διαπολιτισμική Εκπαίδευση: μια συγχρονική έρευνα μεταξύ πρωτοετών και τεταρτοετών φοιτητών του Τμήματος Επιστημών της Εκπαίδευσης στην Προσχολική Ηλικία του ΔΠΘ.
Authors: Σαπουντζής Αντώνης , Μαυρομμάτης Γιώργος , Ντομπρίντεν Τετιάνα , Καρούσου Αλεξάνδρα
Published: January 2016

Το άρθρο αυτό εξετάζει εαν η φοίτηση σε ένα τμήμα που η διδασκαλία της διαπολιτισμικής εκπαίδευσης έχει κεντρικό ρόλο μπορεί να επηρεάσει τα επίπεδα Μοντέρνου και Κλασσικού Ρατσισμού των φοιτητών. Συγκεκριμένα παρουσιάζει τα ευρήματα μιας συγχρονικής έρευνας που επιχειρεί να εξετάσει τις στάσεις πρωτοετών και τεταρτοετών φοιτητών του Τμήματος Επιστημών της Εκπαίδευσης στην Προσχολική Ηλικία του Δημοκριτείου Πανεπιστημίου Θράκης για τη Διαπολιτισμική εκπαίδευση, και παράλληλα να μετρήσει τα επίπεδα Μοντέρνου και Παραδοσιακού Ρατσισμού. Βασική μας υπόθεση είναι ότι η φοίτηση στο τμήμα επηρεάζει τα επίπεδα τόσο του Μοντέρνου και Παραδοσιακού ρατσισμού όσο και τις στάσεις απέναντι στη Διαπολιτισμική Εκπαίδευση. Στην έρευνα συμμετείχαν 139 φοιτητές που συμπλήρωσαν ένα ερωτηματολόγιο αυτο-αναφοράς σχετικά με το θέμα της έρευνας. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι αν και υπήρχε σημαντική διαφορά στάσεων ανάμεσα στο πρώτο και τέταρτο έτος αναφορικά με τις στάσεις απέναντι στη Διαπολιτισμική εκπαίδευση, δεν υπήρχε διαφορά στις βαθμολογίες στις κλίμακες Παραδοσιακού και Μοντέρνου ρατσισμού. Υποστηρίζεται ότι μια πιθανή εξήγηση αυτού του φαινομενικά παράδοξου ευρήματος μπορεί να είναι το γεγονός ότι το πανεπιστήμιο δεν αποτελεί τη μόνη πηγή διαμόρφωσης των απόψεων των φοιτητών. Επίσης πιθανή εξήγηση αποτελεί το γεγονός ότι οι θεωρείες Μοντέρνου Ρατσισμού αναπτύχθηκαν σε ένα διαφορετικό κοινωνικό πλαίσιο από το ελληνικό, με την αξία του εργατικού προτεσταντικού ήθους να θεωρείται κεντρική στη διαμόρφωση των στάσεων Μοντερνου Ρατσιμού, η οποία όμως δε φαίνεται να είναι συναφής στο ελληνικό κοινωνικό πλαίσιο.
Σενάριο-κλειδί και αντι-σενάριο «Προσπάθεια» και «ευκολία» στο λόγο φοιτητών και φοιτητριών για την αντιγραφή στις εξετάσεις
Authors: Benincasa Luciana
Published: January 2016

Η παρούσα εργασία ανήκει στην περιορισμένη, ακόμα, παράδοση ποιοτικής έρευνας για την αντιγραφή στο πανεπιστήμιο. Στόχος είναι να αναδειχθούν η παρουσία και η χρήση των εννοιών «κόπος» και «προσπάθεια» στο λόγο φοιτητών και φοιτητριών για την αντιγραφή στις εξετάσεις. Τα δεδομένα αποτελούνται από 17 ημι-δομημένες συνεντεύξεις με φοιτητές και φοιτήτριες από ένα ελληνικό επαρχιακό πανεπιστήμιο. Υιοθετείται μια κοινωνική-κονστρουξιονιστική προσέγγιση, που θεωρεί την ομιλία μορφή κοινωνικής δράσης. Στην ανάλυση και ερμηνεία των δεδομένων υιοθετείται μία πολιτισμική προσέγγιση βασισμένη στη συμβολική ανθρωπολογία και, ειδικότερα, στην έννοια «σενάριο-κλειδί» όπως την έχει επεξεργαστεί η Sherry Ortner. Κεντρικά σύμβολα σε μία κοινωνία, τα «σενάρια-κλειδιά συμπυκνώνουν πολιτισμικά σημαντικούς στόχους και υπαγορεύουν τις (πολιτισμικά αποδεκτές) στρατηγικές για την επίτευξή τους. Τα ευρήματα δείχνουν ότι στο λόγο των ερωτώμενων κυριαρχούν (α) ένα σενάριο που εξαίρει το στόχο της απόκτησης πτυχίου με προσωπική μελέτη και εργασία και (β) ένα «σενάριο της ευκολίας» με το οποίο δικαιολογείται η επίτευξη του ίδιου στόχου μέσα από την αντιγραφή στις εξετάσεις. Τα δυο σενάρια συνεχώς συναντιούνται στο λόγο ενός και του ίδιου ατόμου, με τρόπο που από τη σκοπιά της τυπικής λογικής θα θεωρούσαμε αντιφατικό. Στη βάση της εξέτασης και της σύγκρισης αποσπασμάτων από τις συνεντεύξεις, ακολουθούν συμπεράσματα για το πώς οι κοινωνικοί δρώντες αξιοποιούν αντιφατικά μεταξύ τους τεμάχια πολιτισμικής γνώσης.
Detecting Bribes to Foreign Authorities During Audit and Related Services
Authors: Донцова  , Dontsova Lyudmila , Артёменко  , Artemenko I.
Published: January 2016

Th e article focuses on the role of Audit organisation in competing against bribing foreign authorities during

international commercial deals through disclosing such facts and taking measures according to the Law.
Is It Necessary to Tax Dividends?
Authors: Парасоцкая  , Parasotskaya N.
Published: January 2016

Federal Law of 24.11.2014 № 366-FZ eff ective 01.01.2015 has changed taxation of individual income received

as dividends. Th e author tries to answer currently pressing questions: is it at all necessary to tax dividends and how will

these amendments to the Tax Code aff ect Russian economy?
Contemporary comics by Jewish women
Authors: Bauer Heike , Greenbaum Andrea , Lightman Sarah
Published: January 2016

‘Contemporary comics by Jewish women’ brings together essays, interviews and original artwork by or about Jewish women comics artists. In this Introduction we reflect on our own approach investment in this project, and in so doing also explain the scope and content of this special issue.
Bleeding through, drawing out: The circumscribing of Jewish women’s bodies in Leela Corman’s Unterzakhn
Authors: Scherr Rebecca
Published: January 2016

Leela Corman’s 2012 graphic novel Unterzakhn is a historical work that depicts the difficult lives of the Feinberg family, Jewish immigrants living in the tenements of New York at the turn on the twentieth century. Focusing on the lives of the Feinberg women, Corman positions their particular bodily vulnerabilities as central for understanding Jewish female embodiment more generally, especially in the context of immigration and integration. In this article, I examine two different but interrelated ways that Corman utilizes the comics form to explore vulnerability in terms of bodily identity formation: in her various methods of ‘visualizing silence’, she shows how bodily and familial trauma become imprinted and muted in the body; and through her careful deployment of drawing Jewish stereotypes, she illustrates the effects of the ‘marked’ body within the majority culture. In Unterzakhn, these artistic strategies display the highly complex internal and external dynamics of bodily life.
Contested spaces in graphic narrative: Exploring homeland through Miriam Libicki’s Jobnik!: An American Girl’s Adventures in the Israeli Army
Authors: Kavaloski Laini
Published: January 2016

‘Contested spaces in graphic narrative’ argues that spatiality in graphic narratives is conducive to restructuring fraught landscapes. Through an exploration of the contested homelands of the Israeli Palestinian conflict in Miriam Libicki’s Jobnik!: An American Girl’s Adventures in the Israeli Army (2008), this article argues that graphic narratives have a unique ability to depict geographical spaces through lines, panels and various artistic devices. Like maps, such lines and boxes on a page physically create borders and represent corresponding location as bounded; they may represent existing political divisions, or they may subvert and push state-drawn boundaries. These devices within the graphic form open up a recognition of the ways that boundaries obfuscate the multifaceted representations of identity that include multiple nationalisms, ideological discontinuities, as well as human-centred spatial connections. Graphic form, then, becomes a landscape that allows for a complex visual understanding of affective attachment to the state through possibilities of graphic, bordered texts that cut across traditional understandings of territoriality and occupation. Libicki’s status as an outsider and as a woman in the Israel Defense Forces emphasizes her position of precarity in traditional conceptions of the Biblical Jewish homeland as well as in Israel, the modern Jewish state.
Intertextuality, authenticity and Gonzo Selves in Anya Ulinich’s Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel
Authors: Brauner David
Published: January 2016

This article traces the intertextual relationships between Anya Ulinich’s graphic novel Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel, Bernard Malamud’s short story ‘The Magic Barrel’ and a number of works by Philip Roth. Through these relationships and her construction of a number of variations on what Miriam Libicki has called a ‘gonzo self’ Ulinich explores the tensions between life and art, fact and fiction, and autobiography and the novel, mediating the aesthetic imperatives of what Roth has called the ‘written world’ and the ethical obligations of the ‘unwritten world’ in order to arrive at an authentic sense of herself as an artist and writer.
Tangles: An interview with Sarah Leavitt
Authors: Bauer Heike
Published: January 2016

Sarah Leavitt is an artist, cartoonist and writer, and a member of the Creative Writing Department at the University of British Columbia. Her comics and prose works have appeared in magazines, newspapers and anthologies in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Tangles: A Story about Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me (2010) is her first book. The following interview was conducted through Skype on 19 May 2015. It discusses the book, its making, reception and translation.
Untitled
Authors: House Rachael
Published: January 2016

This comic strip examines the gendered use of the word ‘confessional’. The strip refers particularly to the ‘Graphic Details’ exhibition title and the meaning of ‘confessional’ within Jewish culture.
‘Graphic Details’
Authors: Stewart Keara
Published: January 2016

I was invited to visually document and respond to the ‘Graphic Details Symposium’ at JW3. Through my association with Laydeez do Comics, who had an evening slot at the symposium, I felt an intimate and personal connection to the subject matter and speakers. For this work, my process involved live drawing of the speakers and their slides. Also included are responses to the illustrative works associated with the event, the exhibition newspaper/catalogue and ‘Graphic Details’ text, edited by Sarah Lightman. For me, drawing them allows me to absorb a different aspect of the work. The themes that resonated with me from the symposium were those of memory and vulnerability. Responding to these themes through the fragility and immediacy of live drawing, and the nostalgia and immediacy of Polaroid photographs ties in with my drawing style of capturing a moment.
Links Between Surgical Landmarks of the Temporal Bone and Cochlear Implant Approaches
Authors: Gabriel Lostun , Elena Guşavan Diana , Ionela Genes , Alexandra Lostun , Klara Brînzaniuc
Published: January 2016

Objective: We aimed to underline the surgical importance of the distances between the landmarks of the temporal bone, important for quantifying the benefits and disadvantages of two different cochlear implant techniques.

Methods: We have gathered all data from the Radiology Department in Emergency County Hospital in Tîrgu Mureș, namely computed tomography imagistic studies in order to perform the required measurements, according to pre-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria. The time interval was 5 months.

Results: The comparison between the sets of data shows a good match for the risk/benefit ratio for the two types of technique for cochlear implantation.

Conclusions: The middle cerebral fossa approach for the electrode insertion into the cochlea is a viable and needed surgical technique as the classic approach has reached its boundaries and new challenges appear. As surgical decisions are largely based on radiology data, our work underlines the importance of solving the borderline pathology, the extreme cases and the role of surgery in improving the quality of life for every patient with cochlear implant indication.
Prevalence of Physiological, Pathological and Behavioral Risk Factors in Patients Treated with Antidiabetic Sulfonylureas
Authors: Luminita Confederat , Roxana Stefan , Sandra Constantin , Monica Hăncianu , Lenuta Profire
Published: January 2016

Diabetes mellitus is an important public health problem because of its increased incidence and its devastating complications. In addition to this, it was observed an increase in prevalence for diabetes risk factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of the pathophysiological and behavioral risk factors among patients treated with oral hypoglycemic sulfonylureas.

Material and methods: It were analyzed the observation sheets of 200 patients ambulatory treated at the “Providența” Medical Center.

Results and discussions: Most of the patients were aged over 65 years, being 48.5% women and 51.5% men. The obesity was the most frequent (88%) risk factor in patients; the majority of them were included in the “overweight” and “first- degree obesity” class (72%). Regarding associated comorbidities, hypertension was found in 77% of cases, followed by dyslipidemia. In terms of physiological and behavioral aspects, age and alcohol consumption were predominant.

Conclusions: A significant percentage of diabetic patients treated with hypoglycemic sulfonylureas present a high prevalence of the risk factors and even two or three factors associated.
Quinolone Antibacterials: Commentary and Considerations Regarding UV Spectra and Chemical Structure
Authors: Aura Rusu , Silvia Imre , Eleonora Mircia , Gabriel Hancu
Published: January 2016

Objective: Antibacterial quinolones represent an important class of pharmaceutical compounds that are widely used in therapy. Analytical methods that rely on their property to absorb light in the UV range are commonly used for their analysis. In the current study we present an interpretation of the relationship between chemical structure – UV spectra based on the comparative examination of UV spectral behavior of the eighteen quinolone derivatives and four model compounds.

Methods: Eighteen quinolone derivatives and four model compounds were selected and their UV spectra were recorded in different solvents (methanol, 0.1M HCl, 0.1M NaOH).

Results: The studied compounds show three absorption maximum values located around 210-230 nm, 270-300 nm and 315-330 nm values. A general characteristic was observed as the absorption bands exhibited both hypsochrome and bathochrome shifts, by comparison in different solvents. Most commonly we observed a slight hypsochrome shift at acidic pH (protonated form prevails) and basic pH (anionic form prevails). The structural differences are reflected in changes of UV spectra only when there are auxochrom substituents or different basic substituents are present in the quinolones structure.

Conclusions: The correlations between the chemical structure of quinolone derivatives and their UV spectra using model compounds were established. This study provides useful information that can be used successfully in various UV spectrophotometric analysis methods or in more complex analytical methods using UV detection, and also in pharmacodynamic and kinetic studies.
Efficacy of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology in Diagnosis of Salivary Gland Tumors
Authors: Alina Iacob , Anca Sin , Tibor Mezei , Simona Mocan , Alina Ormenisan , Mariana Tilinca
Published: January 2016

Introduction: Masses of the head and neck comprise a variety of benign and malignant tumors and tumor-like conditions, which may present diagnostic challenges to the surgeon and pathologist as well. Fine needle aspiration cytology is considered to be a valuable diagnostic tool used for preoperative evaluation of various masses in the head and neck region. However, its role is quite controversial for salivary gland tumour evaluation. This study was aimed to evaluate salivary gland fine-needle aspiration cytology for sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy in our medical center.

Material and method: The present study included 58 patients with different salivary gland lesions who underwent preoperative fine-needle aspiration procedure followed by surgical procedure and histological examination. The cytological findings were compared with the final histological diagnosis and concordance assessed.

Results: Of the 58 cases with salivary gland lesions, most of them involved parotid gland (72.41%), 91.38% were neoplasms and 8.62% were non-neoplastic lesions. Out of 53 neoplasms, 39 were benign and 14 were malignant salivary gland tumors. The sensitivity and a specificity of fine-needle aspiration cytology in differentiation malignancies from benign lesions was 100% and 97.73% respectively. In some situations cytological features could not provide correct tumor characterization.

Conclusions: Fine-needle aspiration cytology is a simple and reliable technique for preoperative evaluation of salivary gland tumors with a high sensitivity diagnosis of malignant tumors, but a lower tumor type characterization. Due to the minimally invasive nature of the technique, fine-needle aspiration cytology offers valuable information for planning of subsequent therapeutic management.
Engineering and integration of automation devices in I40 systems
Authors: Diedrich Christian , Riedl Matthias
Published: January 2016

The German project “Industrie 4.0” requests for new concepts which fulfill the requirements of digital based production. One of these
concepts is the industry 4.0 component (I40 component). This paper describes the architecture and application fields of I40
components. It is shown how device description technology is used to build an I40 component. This is a solid basis to integrate
automation devices in I40 systems.
Kollisionsfreie Längs- und Quertrajektorienplanung unter Berücksichtigung fahrzeugspezifischer Potenziale
Authors: Rathgeber Christian , Winkler Franz , Müller Steffen
Published: January 2016

In diesem Beitrag wird ein Planungsansatz für teil- und hochautomatisierte Fahrfunktionen
vorgestellt. Die Planungsaufgabe wird dabei von zwei Teilsystemen durchgeführt. Eine semi-globale Grobplanung gibt den Zielbereich
vor, während eine lokale Trajektorienplanung den Verlauf der Trajektorie plant. Der vorgestellte Ansatz generiert Trajektorien, die
Kollisionsfreiheit mit umliegenden Objekten gewährleisten. Gleichzeitig werden fahrdynamische Randbedingungen (wie ein begrenzter
Reibwert) oder Aktuatorbegrenzungen berücksichtigt, sodass die geplante Trajektorie von der unterlagerten Regelung umsetzbar ist. Eine
große Herausforderung in diesem Bereich stellt die Umsetzung auf Seriensteuergeräten dar, die in ihrer Rechenkapazität begrenzt sind.
Koordination vernetzter Fahrzeuge an einer Fahrbahnzusammenführung
Authors: Mosebach Andrej , Röchner Simon , Lunze Jan
Published: January 2016

In diesem Beitrag wird ein dezentraler Algorithmus zur Koordination vernetzter
Fahrzeuge an einer Fahrbahnzusammenführung entwickelt. Zur Fahrzeugführung
wird erstmals eine Kombination aus einer Abstandsregelung und einer Steuerung
mit polynomialer Trajektorienplanung verwendet. Dieser Ansatz zeichnet sich im
Gegensatz zu bisherigen Arbeiten durch einen geringen Kommunikationsaufwand
aus. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Fahrzeuge mit dem hier beschriebenen
Algorithmus Sicherheitsanforderungen einhalten. Simulationsergebnisse
illustrieren die Wirksamkeit des Algorithmus.
Racial Group Affinity and Religious Giving: Evidence from Congregation-Level Panel Data
Authors: Dimitrova-Grajzl Valentina , Grajzl Peter , Guse A. Joseph , Smith J. Taylor
Published: January 2016

Since giving to religious organizations constitutes a substantial portion of total charitable giving, an understanding of the determinants of religious giving is a vital policy concern. Drawing on a novel congregation-level panel dataset, we examine whether religious giving is driven by preferences for racial group affinity, that is, loyalty to one’s own racial group. To address endogeneity concerns, we combine a fixed effects estimation framework with an instrumental variable approach. We find robust evidence consistent with the racial group affinity motive: a decrease in the percent of whites in the local community is ceteris paribus associated with a decrease in the total giving receipts collected by predominantly white congregations. The magnitude of this effect does not vary with the extent of racial residential segregation in the community. The effect, however, is driven by the congregations in urban (as opposed to rural) communities. We offer a possible explanation for this result.
Selected Applications of Scale Spaces in Microscopic Image Analysis
Authors: Prodanov Dimiter , Konopczynski Tomasz , Trojnar Maciej
Published: January 2016

Image segmentation methods can be classified broadly into two classes: intensity-based and geometry-based. Edge detection is the base of many geometry-based segmentation approaches. Scale space theory represents a systematic treatment of the issues of spatially uncorrelated noise with its main application being the detection of edges, using multiple resolution scales, which can be used for subsequent segmentation, classification or encoding. The present paper will give an overview of some recent applications of scale spaces into problems of microscopic image analysis. Particular overviews will be given to Gaussian and alpha-scale spaces. Some applications in the analysis of biomedical images will be presented. The implementation of filters will be demonstrated.
Statistical Synthesis of Robust Signal Detection Algorithms under Conditions of Aprioristic Uncertainty
Authors: Prokopenko I. G.
Published: January 2016

The paper deals with the problem of synthesis of a robust detection algorithm for a harmonic signal on the background of correlated noise and impulse noise. The problem is solved using the empirical Bayes approach and the Tukey model of “pollution”. The efficiency of the algorithm is investigated by the Monte-Carlo method.
Multichannel Modified Covariance Estimator of a Single-Tone Frequency
Authors: Chyrka I. D. , Omelchuk I. P.
Published: January 2016

The multichannel modified covariance estimator of a single-tone signal frequency is synthesized by using the maximum likelihood method. It is shown that this estimator has an advantage over the estimator averaged by multiple conventional single-channel ones. The particular case of a complex signal is also considered.
Fusion of Images Generated by Radiometric and Active Noise SAR
Authors: Kudriashov Volodymyr V. , Garbar Artem Y. , Lukin Konstantin A. , Maslikowski Lukasz , Samczynski Piotr , Kulpa Krzysztof S.
Published: January 2016

The work is devoted to fusion of radar and radiometer images. Noise waveform SAR generates radar images of reflective objects of its field of view. A bistatic radiometer with synthetic aperture estimates the thermal radio emissions of the objects along their angular coordinates and even range. The estimated brightness temperatures of rough and smooth surfaces are different, as well as the radar responses from them. Identification of the parameters of objects surfaces may be done using results of joint processing of images generated by both sensors. The optimum and quasi-optimum criteria for fusion of the images were obtained. The latter was experimentally checked. It approves the opportunity to fuse the images for further estimation of some parameters of objects surfaces. The results obtained may be used in environmental and security applications.
Balanced line bundles on Fano varieties
Authors: Lehmann Brian , Tanimoto Sho , Tschinkel Yuri
Published: January 2016

A conjecture of Batyrev
and Manin relates arithmetic properties of varieties with
ample anticanonical class to geometric invariants. We analyze the geometry underlying these invariants using the Minimal Model Program and then apply our results to primitive Fano threefolds.