bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Folate Deficiency Could Restrain Decidual Angiogenesis in Pregnant Mice
Authors: Li Yanli , Gao Rufei , Liu Xueqing , Chen Xuemei , Liao Xinggui , Geng Yanqing , Ding Yubin , Wang Yingxiong , He Junlin
Published: August 2015

The mechanism of birth defects induced by folate deficiency was focused on mainly in fetal development. Little is known about the effect of folate deficiency on the maternal uterus, especially on decidual angiogenesis after implantation which establishes vessel networks to support embryo development. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of folate deficiency on decidual angiogenesis. Serum folate levels were measured by electrochemiluminescence. The status of decidual angiogenesis was examined by cluster designation 34 (CD34) immunohistochemistry and the expression of angiogenic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), placental growth factor (PLGF), and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) were also tested. Serum levels of homocysteine (Hcy), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL), progesterone (P4), and estradiol (E2) were detected by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The folate-deficient mice had a lower folate level and a higher Hcy level. Folate deficiency restrained decidual angiogenesis with significant abnormalities in vascular density and the enlargement and elongation of the vascular sinus. It also showed a reduction in the expressions of VEGFA, VEGFR2, and PLGF. In addition, the serum levels of P4, E2, LH, and PRL were reduced in folate-deficient mice, and the expression of progesterone receptor (PR) and estrogen receptor α (ERα) were abnormal. These results indicated that folate deficiency could impaire decidual angiogenesis and it may be related to the vasculotoxic properties of Hcy and the imbalance of the reproductive hormone.
Red Blood Cell Docosapentaenoic Acid (DPA n-3) is Inversely Associated with Triglycerides and C-reactive Protein (CRP) in Healthy Adults and Dose-Dependently Increases Following n-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation
Authors: Skulas-Ray Ann , Flock Michael , Richter Chesney , Harris William , West Sheila , Kris-Etherton Penny
Published: August 2015

The role of the long-chain omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in lipid metabolism and inflammation has been extensively studied; however, little is known about the relationship between docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5 n-3) and inflammation and triglycerides (TG). We evaluated whether n-3 DPA content of red blood cells (RBC) was associated with markers of inflammation (interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) and fasting TG prior to n-3 supplementation in two studies (Study 1: n = 115, aged 20–44 years, body mass index (BMI) 20–30 kg/m2, TG = 34–176 mg/dL; Study 2: n = 28, aged 22–65 years, BMI 24–37 kg/m2, TG = 141–339 mg/dL). We also characterized the dose-response effects of n-3 fatty acid supplementation on RBC n-3 DPA after five months of supplementation with fish oil (Study 1: 0, 300, 600, 900, and 1800 mg/day EPA + DHA) and eight weeks of prescription n-3 ethyl esters (Study 2: 0, 850, and 3400 mg/day EPA + DHA). In Study 1, RBC n-3 DPA was inversely correlated with CRP (R2 = 36%, p < 0.001) and with fasting TG (r = −0.30, p = 0.001). The latter finding was replicated in Study 2 (r = −0.33, p = 0.04). In both studies, n-3 supplementation significantly increased RBC n-3 DPA dose-dependently. Relative increases were greater for Study 1, with increases of 29%–61% vs. 14%–26% for Study 2. The associations between RBC n-3 DPA, CRP, and fasting TG may have important implications for the prevention of atherosclerosis and chronic inflammatory diseases and warrant further study.
Enantioselective Organocatalysis in Microreactors: Continuous Flow Synthesis of a (S)-Pregabalin Precursor and (S)-Warfarin
Authors: Porta Riccardo , Benaglia Maurizio , Coccia Francesca , Rossi Sergio , Puglisi Alessandra
Published: August 2015

Continuous flow processes have recently emerged as a powerful technology for performing chemical transformations since they ensure some advantages over traditional batch procedures. In this work, the use of commercially available and affordable PEEK (Polyetheretherketone) and PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) tubing as microreactors was exploited to perform organic reactions under continuous flow conditions, as an alternative to the commercial traditional glass microreactors. The wide availability of tubing with different sizes allowed quickly running small-scale preliminary screenings, in order to optimize the reaction parameters, and then to realize under the best experimental conditions a reaction scale up for preparative purposes. The gram production of some Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) such as (S)-Pregabalin and (S)-Warfarin was accomplished in short reaction time with high enantioselectivity, in an experimentally very simple procedure.
Anti-Evaporation of Black Holes in Bigravity
Authors: Katsuragawa Taishi
Published: August 2015

We review properties of solutions in bigravity theory for a specific case where two metric tensors, \(g_{\mu \nu}\) and \(f_{\mu \nu}\), satisfy proportional relation \(f_{\mu \nu}=C^{2}g_{\mu \nu}\). For this condition, we find that the solutions describing the asymptotically de Sitter space-time can be obtained and investigate the perturbation around the Schwarzschild–de Sitter solutions and corresponding anti-evaporation. We discuss the stability under special perturbations related to the anti-evaporation and the importance of the non-diagonal components of the metric in bigravity.
Influence of Policy Making in the Profitability of Forage Production Irrigated with Reclaimed Water
Authors: Palacios-Diaz María , Mendoza-Grimón Vanessa , Garcia Alberto
Published: August 2015

The limited availability of water at low prices and the current scheme for specific supply arrangements (SSA/REA), both determined at the political level, explain that the goal of being self-sufficient in terms of forage consumption is currently unattainable in the Canaries. The “PFORCA” Plan aims to counteract this reality and increase their level of self-sufficiency. The financial aid relating to the REA reduces the amount payable for the imported fodder (annual 83,000 t) versus local product, which influences the decision making by farmers. According to calculations, performed by reusing the water instead of discharging, Maralfalfa production could be competitive against imports, being financially viable with water prices in a range of 0.20–0.30 €/m3 (prices perfectly acceptable for reclaimed water with low levels of treatment, but fulfilling requirements reuse of Spanish law, RD 1620/2007). The economic contribution of forage crops could represent the creation of 640 new jobs, the enhancement of land currently abandoned, plus an increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the archipelago on more than 23 million € (M€), product of the substitution of imports by local production. Also, it would help to save the REA’s aid (6 M€).
Quality-Assurance Assessment of Learning Outcomes in Mathematics
Authors: Kadry Seifedine
Published: August 2015

Student outcomes are statements that describe the attributes; skills and abilities that students should have and be able to do by the time of graduation. For quality assurance evaluation, these outcomes must be assessed. In order to evaluate the level to which an outcome is met, it is necessary to select some courses where the outcome is covered. Course objectives must be linked to the student outcomes and define in terms of measurable performance indicators. Using just two outcomes as an example, this paper presents a systematic approach to assess directly and indirectly student learning outcomes in Mathematics through differential equation course, by define appropriate measurable performance indicators, build up assessment rubrics, collect and analyze data for possible recommendations and improvement.
A Fireworks Algorithm for Modern Web Information Retrieval with Visual Results Mining
Authors: Bouarara Hadj Ahmed , Hamou Reda Mohamed , Amine Abdelmalek , Rahmani Amine
Published: August 2015

The popularization of computers, the number of electronic documents available online /offline and the explosion of electronic communication have deeply rocked the relationship between man and information. Nowadays, we are awash in a rising tide of information where the web has impacted on almost every aspect of our life. Merely, the development of automatic tools for an efficient access to this huge amount of digital information appears as a necessity. This paper deals on the unveiling of a new web information retrieval system using fireworks algorithm (FWA-IR). It is based on a random explosion of fireworks and a set of operators (displacement, mapping, mutation, and selection). Each explosion of firework is a potential solution for the need of user (query). It generates a set of sparks (documents) with two locations (relevant and irrelevant). The authors experiments were performed on the MEDLARS dataset and using the validation measures (recall, precision, f-measure, silence, noise and accuracy) by studying the sensitive parameters of this technique (initial location number, iteration number, mutation probability, fitness function, selection method, text representation, and distance measure), aimed to show the benefit derived from using such approach compared to the results of others methods existed in literature (taboo search, simulated annealing, and naïve method). Finally, a result-mining tool was achieved for the purpose to see the outcome in graphical form (3d cub and cobweb) with more realism using the functionalities of zooming and rotation.
Oxfordian Beds of the Jurassic Fernie Group, Alberta and British Columbia
Authors: Frebold H , Reed R , Mountjoy E
Published: August 2015

The Oxfordian beds of the Jurassic upper Fernie group occur at many places in the Foothills and eastern Rocky Mountains between the International Boundary in the south and the Peace River country in the north. Their lower part (unit a) consists of glauconitic
silt or sandstone and shale (Green beds), their upper part of dark shale with rusty weathering bands and concretions (unit bl) or dark shale with sandstone bands (unit cl=lower part of Passage beds). Unit bl is the northern equivalent of unit cl which is characteristic of the south. The Green beds
are normally underlain by the lower Callovian Grey beds but locally they lie on the middle Bajocian Rock Creek member. They form an excellent horizon marker, both where they outcrop and in the subsurface. In the southern sections they are 50 to 60 feet thick. In the north (Rocky River sections) they
consist of two glauconite beds, separated from each other by 50 to 60 feet of shale with concretions. These beds contain Cardioceratids of early Oxfordian age. Unit bl and the uppermost part of unit a in the south contain Buchia concentrica (Sowerby) which indicates a late Oxfordian or early
Kimmeridgian age. In the western interior of the United States and in the southern plains of Canada the equivalent of the Oxfordian part of the Fernie group is the Swift formation. The Oxfordian beds of the Fernie group were deposited in the Logan Sea, which transgressed over parts of Western Canada
after the late Callovian period of regression. The Canadian part of the Logan Sea was probably connected with the sea in British Columbia, and through it, with the Pacific Ocean. After the time of the late Oxfordian or early Kimmeridgian the sea began to retreat in the western interior of the United
States, where the non-marine beds of the Morrison formation were deposited. During this time marine conditions still prevailed in the Canadian part of the former Logan Sea and there the final regression took place not earlier than in late Portlandian time.
Geology and structure of the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt, District of Mackenzie
Authors: Henderson J F , Brown I C
Published: August 2015

In this bulletin an attempt is made to evaluate the application of a geochemical method for locating oil and gas fields in Canada. The Innisfail and Pincher Creek fields in Alberta and the Gobles and Colchester fields in southwestern Ontario were chosen for
study. Of the numerous geochemical techniques available the author chose soil sampling from a depth of 8 feet with subsequent extraction and determination of the gaseous hydrocarbons ethane, propane, butanes, and pentanes as being the most direct and reliable prospecting procedure. Reproduction of
the sampling technique and repetition of the analytical techniques appear to be within acceptable limits. Factors that may cause erroneous results include variations in soil type and uneven topography, and the writer recommends that surveys be restricted to areas in which adverse factors contribute
minimum errors rather than to attempt to apply corrections to results obtained in unsuitable areas. The presence of deep glacial deposits at the surface and of large amounts of hydrocarbons distributed through the sediments above the oil and gas pools does not seem to have an unduly adverse effect
on the results. Geochemical anomalies appear to be associated with all the fields studied with anomaly intensity roughly proportional to productivity. Each of the "halo" and "solid" types of anomalies can be recognized. The writer concludes that the geochemical method can be a valuable addition to
the usual geological and geophysical exploration methods if used under favourable circumstances.
Late Upper Devonian -Famennian- Rhynchonellid brachiopods from western Canada
Authors: Sartenaer P
Published: August 2015

Forty-one species and subspecies of Famennian rhynchonellid brachiopods have been studied in detail from material collected in Canada. Collections were made in the U.S.A. for species and subspecies either exclusive to that country or in common with those from
Canada. Thirty-eight species and subspecies from nine genera are described: six in Trifidorostellum Sartenaer, of which two subspecies are new, T. cascadense mugodjaricum and T. uralicum fontis; three in Rugaltarostrum Sartenaer; two in Gastrodetoechia Sartenaer, of which one subspecies is new, G.
utahensis rugosa; one in Megalopterorhynchus Sartenaer; three in Eoparaphorhynchus Sartenaer; ten in Sinotectirostrum Sartenaer, of which six are new, S. medicinale deer.plum, S. mackenziei, S. saxirubrum, S. avellana, S. montosum, S. paucirugosum; two in Evanescirostrum Sartenaer, of which one is
new, E. sp. A; five in Basilicorhynchus Crickmay, of which three are new, B. basilicus interpositus, B. basilicus regalis, B. sp. A; six, all new, in Ptychomaletoechia Sartenaer, P. contractiformis, P. sulculifera, P. s.erva, P. septentrionalis, P. summa, P. finitima . Three new species have a
provisional generic assignment: "Pugnax" rara, "P." sp., "Plectorhynchella" montifelicitatis. External and internal characters are illustrated. The stratigraphic extension and geographic distribution of the described forms are indicated. A new zonal scheme is proposed for the Famennian of the Rocky
Mountains and the Northwest Territories.
Jurassic stratigraphy of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia
Authors: Cameron B E B , Tipper H W
Published: August 2015

Detailed investigations of the Jurassic rocks of the Queen Charlotte Islands have necessitated a complete revision of the stratigraphic nomenclature. The Kunga, Maude and Yakounformations are elevated to group status. One new group name, the Moresby Group, is
introduced for rocks of Late Bathonian to Early Callovian age. Eleven new formational names and ten new informal member names are proposed.
The Jurassic rocks of the Queen Charlotte Islands are mainly elastic sediments indicating a variety of depositional environments and range from deep water euxinic shale to shallow marine coarse sandstone and conglomerate. Five major transgressive cycles are recorded. One rock group is essentially
volcanic. The strata were deposited in a back-arc basin, as part of the Wrangellia allochthonous terrane.
The faunas of the Jurassic strata are dominantly ofTethyan affinities. Both the macro- and microfaunas are diverse, wellpreserved, abundant, and show great promise for effective biostratigraphic zonation.
The Sandilands and Ghost Creek formations are confirmed to be hydrocarbon source beds from which oil has migrated. Entrapment of these hydrocarbons is possible in the sandstones of the Moresby Group, or in the Cretaceous rocks beneath the Tertiary Masser volcanics. Indications are that some of the
rocks are probably present beneath the Masser in northern Graham Island, southern Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. Potential oil resources of these areas involve Mesozoic oil or escape oil of Mesozoic age into Tertiary rocks.
Microfacies of the Lower Carboniferous Banff Formation and Rundle Group, Monkman Pass map area, northeastern British Columbia
Authors: Mamet B L , Bamber E W , Macqueen R W
Published: August 2015

Middle Tournaisian to middle Visean microfossils of foraminiferal zones "pre-7" to 12 occur throughout the area in peritidal to open marine facies of the Banff Formation and Rundle Group. Foraminifers and algae belonging to 32 genera and 49 species are described
and illustrated. The following new taxa are named: "Globoendothyra"(?) paratrachida sp. nov., Skippella deboltensis sp. nov., and Spinoendothyra spinosa crassitheca subsp. nov. The microfauna of the Monkman Pass area is dominated by foraminifers typical of the North American foraminiferal realm, but
also contains cosmopolitan elements allowing direct correlations with the standard Lower Carboniferous succession of Europe. Exceptionally well preserved microfacies, straddling the Tournaisian - Visean boundary, have yielded abundant representatives of the widespread Spinoendothyra (upper
Tournaisian) and Dainella-Inflatoendothyra-Globoendothrya (lower Visean) faunas. The vertical distribution of worldwide biostratigraphic markers, within this gradational, uninterrupted fauna! succession, matches that in coeval strata of Europe and the U.S.S.R.
Additional insights on fracture patterns in the northern Anticosti Basin from satellite, aerial and bathymetric images
Authors: Brake V , Pinet N
Published: August 2015

Fractures are pervasive across the nearly flat-lying strata of the autochthonous St. Lawrence Platform of the Anticosti Basin. Satellite imagery of the eastern Mingan islands and eastern Anticosti Island exhibit a principal fracture set trending ~N105 that
is often intersected orthogonally by a ~N15 trending fracture set, in agreement with field observations. Lineaments observed on aerial images however are inconsistent with the fractures observed on satellite imagery and are considered a poor reflection of the fracture
pattern.
MINCURV: minimum curvature gridding software
Authors: Dumont R , Bardossy Z , Miles W
Published: August 2015

MINCURV GX provides a minimum curvature interpolation of randomly-spaced data or data acquired along lines. It is a Geosoft GX implementation of an original FORTRAN routine written by Régis Dumont (unpublished). The minimum curvature gridding method fits
a minimum curvature surface to input data points following the method of Briggs (1974) and Swain (1976) and fits the smoothest possible surface to the data points. The output is a Geosoft GRD format grid.
Die Christelike huwelik – ’n sosiale konstruk of ’n verbondsgegewe?
Authors: Vorster Jakobus M.
Published: August 2015

In die huweliksetiek van die postmoderne era pleit verskeie christelike teoloë vir ’n eietydse inkleding van die huwelikskonsep. As beginpunt word die standpunt oorweeg dat daar nie sprake van ’n sogenaamde ‘bybelse huwelik’ kan wees nie omdat die huwelik as instelling ’n sosiale konstruk is wat kultureel en tradisioneel bepaal word. So kan alternatiewe saamblyverhoudings deur christene in die huidige postmoderne era as geldig aanvaar word. Na die bespreking van sommige van die outeurs wat hierdie mening huldig se standpunte, pleit hierdie artikel vir die siening dat die huwelik verbondsgegewe en ’n instelling van God is. As sodanig is dit ’n instelling waar man, vrou en God verbind word in ’n interdimensionele spirituele verhouding wat uitstyg bo die patriargalisme en androsentrisme wat tradisioneelaan ’n christelike huwelik toegeskryf is. Deur te let op die skeppingsaard van die huwelik (imago dei en verbond) en die christologiese en pneumatologiese perspektief op hierdie instelling, word betoog dat dit nie maar net ’n sosiale konstruk is nie, maar dat dit ’n goddelike instelling is wat deur hoër beginsels, ontgin uit bybelse openbaring, ingerig behoort te word. As kerke die gedagte van die huwelik as ’n verbondsgegewe bedien, kan hulle bydra tot die vestiging van huwelike wat deur menswaardigheid, liefde, getrouheid en die ontwikkeling van die geestesgawes van man sowel as vrou gekenmerk word.The Christian marriage – a social construct or a covenantal relation. In the postmodern ethics of marriage several christian theologians plead for a contemporary definition of the concept of marriage. They choose as a point of departure that the concept biblical marriage cannot be accepted as valid, because marriage is a social construct determined only by tradition and culture. Alternative forms of cohabitation should also be accepted by christians as valid in the contemporary postmodern environment. Following a discussion of the works of some of these authors who hold this opinion, this article attempts to make a case for the view that marriage should regarded as an institution of God and a covenantal reality, where husband, wife and God are bonded in an interdimensional relationship that overarches the patriarchalism and androcentrism that is usually ascribed to a christian marriage. By paying attention to the creational character of marriage (imago dei and covenant) and the christological and pneumatological perspectives on this institution, the article argues that marriage cannot be seen merely as a social construct, but that it is a divine institution that should be constructed according to the higher moral principles derived from the unfolding biblical revelation. If churches minister the idea of marriage as a covenantal relation, they can contribute to the establishment of christian marriages qualified by human dignity, love, faithfulness and the development of the spiritual gifts of both husband and wife.
Determining the best approach to commercial fusion power
Authors: Zuvela Karl , Adlington Isabella , Aljunied Syed Salim , Edwards Jackson
Published: August 2015

This study sets out to determine which fusion power generator design is most suitable for centralised power production to be used commercially in communities comprising of domestic, corporate and industrial entities. We find there are currently only three main contenders in this field, those being the tokamak, the stellarator and the indirect-drive. Of these it is found that indirect-drive is too inefficient in comparison, though this is against theoretical numbers as the other systems are still under construction. We still are able to conclude that the stellarator is most likely to become the commercial power source.
The Promise of Nuclear Fusion
Authors: Kite Phillip , Richardson Alexander
Published: August 2015

This paper is a meta-study exploring the progression of nuclear fusion technology from a thermodynamic perspective. Thermodynamic parameters such as power, temperature, volume, efficiency and the fusion triple product (nTτ) were analysed in order to investigate the progress that has been achieved and the challenges that lay ahead. Nuclear fusion reactor designs, confinement systems, advantages and disadvantages are discussed herein. The findings conclude that there has been significant progress made in nuclear fusion research and development, to the point of being merely one order of magnitude away from commercial reactor conditions. It was also concluded that there is very little correlation between reactor volume and the current bench mark of fusion reactor performance, the fusion triple product.
Review of the Deployment of and Research into Generation III & IV Nuclear Fission Reactors for Power Generation
Authors: Lambert Timothy , Nghiem Xuan Hieu
Published: August 2015

Nuclear fission is one of the more popular and efficient sources of energy that has been used in the last few decades. In the setting of the ongoing worldwide debate of the energy problem, this paper will review the different types and generations of nuclear reactors, and do comparisons with other notable energy sources (biofuel and fusion). The current generations III, III+, IV of reactor (mostly pressurized water reactors), their thermal efficiency, technical (structure and configuration), lifetime, energy output and how the systems contrast are discussed. The paper was written by gathering information from UTS library online database, as well as online articles related to fission power, all sources dating from 2000s onwards. Nuclear fission power is a very dense energy source as it provides higher amount of free energy than other energy sources from the same amount of fuel. The drawback, which is the high amount of radioactive waste that accumulates over time, along with thermal efficiency are improved upon by the current and next generations of reactors.
Group Photograph of PAM Review Authors - 2014
Authors: Aitken Adam
Published: August 2015

This photograph is licensed CC BY NC ND
Van Allen Probe observations of drift-bounce resonances with Pc 4 pulsations and wave–particle interactions in the pre-midnight inner magnetosphere
Authors: Korotova G. I. , Sibeck D. G. , Tahakashi K. , Dai L. , Spence H. E. , Kletzing C. A. , Wygant J. R. , Manweiler J. W. , Moya P. S. , Hwang K.-J. , Redmon R. J.
Published: August 2015

Abstract. We present Van Allen Probe B observations of azimuthally limited, antisymmetric, poloidal Pc 4 electric and magnetic field pulsations in the pre-midnight sector of the magnetosphere from 05:40 to 06:00 UT on 1 May 2013. Oscillation periods were similar for the magnetic and electric fields and proton fluxes. The flux of energetic protons exhibited an energy-dependent response to the pulsations. Energetic proton variations were anticorrelated at medium and low energies. Although we attribute the pulsations to a drift-bounce resonance, we demonstrate that the energy-dependent response of the ion fluxes results from pulsation-associated velocities sweeping energy-dependent radial ion flux gradients back and forth past the spacecraft.
Sub-daily runoff simulations with parameters inferred at the daily time scale
Authors: Reynolds J. E. , Halldin S. , Xu C. Y. , Seibert J. , Kauffeldt A.
Published: August 2015

Abstract. Concentration times in small and medium-sized watersheds (~ 100–1000 km2) are commonly less than 24 h. Flood-forecasting models then require data at sub-daily time scales, but time-series of input and runoff data with sufficient lengths are often only available at the daily time scale, especially in developing countries. This has led to a search for time-scale relationships to infer parameter values at the time scales where they are needed from the time scales where they are available. In this study, time-scale dependencies in the HBV-light conceptual hydrological model were assessed within the generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) approach. It was hypothesised that the existence of such dependencies is a result of the numerical method or time-stepping scheme used in the models rather than a real time-scale-data dependence. Parameter values inferred showed a clear dependence on time scale when the explicit Euler method was used for modelling at the same time steps as the time scale of the input data (1–24 h). However, the dependence almost fully disappeared when the explicit Euler method was used for modelling in 1 h time steps internally irrespectively of the time scale of the input data. In other words, it was found that when an adequate time-stepping scheme was implemented, parameter sets inferred at one time scale (e.g., daily) could be used directly for runoff simulations at other time scales (e.g., 3 or 6 h) without any time scaling and this approach only resulted in a small (if any) model performance decrease, in terms of Nash–Sutcliffe and volume-error efficiencies. The overall results of this study indicated that as soon as sub-daily driving data can be secured, flood forecasting in watersheds with sub-daily concentration times is possible with model-parameter values inferred from long time series of daily data, as long as an appropriate numerical method is used.
Factors of subjective heat stress of urban citizens in contexts of everyday life
Authors: Kunz-Plapp T. , Hackenbruch J. , Schipper J. W.
Published: August 2015

Abstract. Heat waves and the consequent heat stress of urban populations have a growing relevance in urban risk management and strategies of urban adaptation to climate change. In this context, social science studies on subjective heat stress of urban citizens are a new emerging field. To contribute to the understanding of subjective heat stress and its major determinants in a daily life perspective, we conducted a questionnaire survey with 323 respondents in Karlsruhe, Germany, after a heat wave in July and August 2013. Statistical data analysis showed that heat stress is an issue permeating everyday activities. It was found that the subjective heat stress at home is lower than at work and in general. Subjective heat stress in general, at home, and at work was determined by the health impairments experienced during the heat and the feeling of being helplessly exposed to the heat. For heat stress at home, additionally characteristics of the residential building and the built environment played a role. Although the rate of implemented coping measures was rather high, coping measures showed no uniform effect for the subjective heat stress. The results furthermore show that coping with heat is performed within the scopes of action in daily life. We conclude that in terms of urban adaptation strategies, further research is needed to understand how various processes of daily social (work) life enable or limit individual coping and adaptation capacities and that communication strategies are important for building capacities to better cope with future heat waves.
Responses of atmospheric circulation to sea surface temperature anomalies in the South China Sea
Authors: Zhou M. , Wang G.
Published: August 2015

Abstract. The sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the South China Sea (SCS) and their influences on global atmospheric circulation were studied. The results of the simple atmospheric model suggested that the SCS SST anomalies can induce several barotropic wave trains from the SCS to other regions such as North America, high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere and the Mediterranean. The baroclinic stream function anomalies from the simple model showed an anticyclonic vortex pair in East Asia and southern tropical Indian Ocean and a cyclonic vortex pair in the North Pacific and the Southwest Pacific. It is suggested that the spatial pattern of SST anomalies in the SCS can affect the magnitude of stream function anomalies, although it cannot affect the spatial pattern of atmospheric circulation.
The Afterlives of Frantz Fanon and the Reconstruction of Postcolonial Studies
Authors: Shringarpure Bhakti
Published: August 2015

This essay mobilizes Fanon as a point of entry into mapping the current state of postcolonial studies, and within that, reflects on what constitutes the postcolonial canon. Over a gradual course of the eighties and nineties, there has come about a transition from the field’s founding moments in which anti-imperialism, tricontinentalism, Third World nationalism and aesthetics of realism and resistance thrived, to the current trends that show a slant toward postmodernist fragmentation, multiculturalism, issues of diaspora, metropolitan narratives as well as a proclivity toward theorizing the field itself. There are many reasons for this: the specific dynamics of the post-Cold War American culture within which these works were received; the compromised relationship between academic and commercial publishing culture, which made a jump from narratives of decolonization and neocolonialism to metropolitan multiculturalism; and the sway of postmodernism over academia as a whole, which led to a disregard for Marxist theories and, more importantly, to a neglect of realism as a mode and aesthetic in postcolonial theory. These factors have worked together to shape how the genealogy of postcolonial studies and its theory have come to be accepted as “obvious.” This has, in turn, had strong repercussions for the kind of literature and theory that have come to be celebrated and canonized within the field. The essay draws on Anthony Alessandrini's Frantz Fanon and the Future of Cultural Politics: Finding Something Different (2014) and Neil Lazarus' The Postcolonial Unconscious (2011) to offer a reconstructed genealogy of the field of postcolonial studies.
The Case for Incomprehension
Authors: Allar Neal
Published: August 2015

I argue that Glissant conceived of opacity first and foremost in his poetry and in his readings of earlier writers, from Mallarmé to Saint-John Perse to William Faulkner, whose moments of complication or incomprehensibility he found productive. By examining the literary valence of this concept of Caribbean philosophy, I claim that opacity not only protects the subject from the invasive grasp of (neo)colonial thought but also, more affirmatively, invites the reader to join the poet on equal footing in the process of sense-making. It is this kind of collective poetics, a collectivity created in opacity, that Glissant imagines in his broader world vision of Relation and the Tout-Monde.
Connecting Integrity, Respect, and Ethical Disagreement in Darwin and Dawkins
Authors: Coleman Miles C.
Published: August 2015

In public debates there are occasions on which persons might feel obligated to show disrespect in order to preserve integrity. In some public discourses (like those between evolutionists and creationists) interlocutors often show disrespect by “writing off” one another's reasons in an attempt to defend and preserve their own particular beliefs. To make better sense of the apparent discomfiture of intuitions concerning the connections between respect and integrity in such public confrontations, an “other-words orientation” to communication is proposed. The other-words orientation requires that individuals “stand for something” but in a way that respects one's opposition as the living, breathing, reason-giving entities they are. The ancient art of double argument is central to this endeavor.
Uncrossing God:
Authors: Santos Marc C.
Published: August 2015

In “Why Has Critique Run Out of Steam,” Bruno Latour wonders whether academia, particularly the humanities, can rethink its dedication to critique and cultivate an ethos that cares. I question whether Latour's commitment to enlightenment without modernity, particularly his allergy to transcendence, inhibits his ability to transform critique into care. For Latour, transcendence makes impossible the due process of his proposed collective and the corresponding practice of real world politics precisely because it dangles a truth beyond compromise. While Latour regards notions of a transcendence in terms of a beyond as a precursor to terror, Levinas finds terror in the practice of philosophy without the disequilibrium transcendence can bring. Thus, I argue that Levinas offers Latour a way to uncross God that posits the beyond as something other than ineffectually and debilitatingly distant, as something that can inspire us to care.
Habit-Forming:
Authors: Gerdes Kendall
Published: August 2015

Under the influence of a reading style that Avital Ronell has called “narcoanalysis,” this article performs a reading of addiction and humility through David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest. Exploring both addiction and humility through the vector of habit, I argue that both habits indicate the non-self-sufficiency of a subject exposed to affection from outside. But while I position addiction alongside humility, both as habits, I also argue that humility parasitizes the totalizing logic of addictive habit. Neither identical to nor simply the opposite of addiction, humility exploits addiction's structure of uncontrollable relationality. Even addiction depends on the affectability or rhetoricity of a subject always already exposed in language. Humility holds this rhetoricity open.
Factors predicting quality of life for coronary artery disease patients after percutaneous coronary intervention
Authors: Saengsiri Aem-orn , Thanasilp Sureeporn , Preechawong Sunida
Published: August 2015

Background: A clear understanding of factors affecting patients’ perception of quality of life (QOL) would be useful for improving continuous care in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.

Objective: To examine the causal relationships between cardiac self-efficacy, social support, left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), angina, dyspnea, depression, vital exhaustion, functional performance, and QOL in CAD patients experiencing postpercutaneous coronary intervention (post-PCI).

Methods: We used a research survey for causal analysis design to explore the theoretical linkage, guided by the revised Wilson and Cleary model, between QOL interest variables and patient QOL. The 303 subjects were all post-PCI CAD patients. All participants completed the following surveys: (1) a demographic data questionnaire, (2) a QOL Index (Cardiac version IV), (3) the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, (4) the Cardiac Self-efficacy Scale, (5) the Social Support Questionnaire, (6) the Rose Questionnaire for angina, (7) the Rose Dyspnea Scale, (8) the SF-36: vitality subscale, and (9) the Functional Performance Inventory Short-Form, with reliability ranging from 0.72 to 0.98. Data were analyzed using a linear structural relationship analysis.

Results: The postulated model was found to fit the empirical data and explained 54% of the variance in quality of life (χ2= 1.90, df = 3, p = 0.59, χ2/df = 0.63, root mean square error of approximation = 0.00, Goodness of Fit Index = 0.99, Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index = 0.98). Social support, depression, and vital exhaustion were found to significantly and directly affect the QOL of post-PCI CAD patients. Cardiac self-efficacy was the only variable that had an indirect effect on quality of life (β = 0.21, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Health care providers should be aware of the significant effects of social support, depression, vital exhaustion, and self-efficacy on QOL, and develop appropriate nursing interventions to improve quality of life in post-PCI CAD patients.
Long-term clinical effects of treatment by daytime ambulatory peritoneal dialysis with an individualized dialysis dose mode are comparable to traditional dialysis methods (hemodialysis or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis) for end-stage renal failure
Authors: Zhi-yong Zhang , Ming-xu Li , Yong-wu Yu , Chun-hua Zhou
Published: August 2015

Background: At present, patients with end-stage renal failure (ESRD) face the question of how to achieve adequate dialysis to maintain their survival with the best quality of life as long as possible. Therefore, the choice of suitable dialysis methods and dialysis dose is important.

Objective: To find suitable dialysis methods and an appropriate dialysis dose for patients with ESRD.

Methods: Our research compares the long-term clinical effects between the patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), daytime ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (DAPD), and hemodialysis (HD). Thirty-two patients subjected to peritoneal dialysis were selected and divided into group A (n = 16) and group B (n = 16), group A was treated by using the traditional CAPD pattern; group B was treated by using DAPD. Forty-six patients of renal failure at final stage were divided into group A (n = 23) and group B (n = 23), group A was treated by using a HD method, group B was treated by using a DAPD method.

Results: When the same dialysis dose was applied, the patients with long-term DAPD treatment can obtain satisfactory clinical therapeutic efficacy for the period of maintenance dialysis, thoroughness of dialysis, maintenance of nutritional status, blood pressure regulation, reduction in incidence rate of peritoneal infection, maintenance of relatively high activity in daily life and alleviation in depression, comparable to patients treated with traditional CAPD or HD methods.

Conclusion: The long-term clinical effects of DAPD are comparable to CAPD or HD.
Movement of the tympanic membrane causing pulsatile tinnitus
Authors: Srirompotong Supaporn , Srirompotong Somchai
Published: August 2015

Background: Movement of the tympanic membrane can be a cause of pulsatile tinnitus. There are many etiologies that cause movement of the tympanic membrane, including otogenic pneumocephalus. This is an uncommon presentation after head injury that may be missed as the diagnosis of the primary cause of the symptoms.

Objective: To report a rare case of pulsatile tinnitus because of otogenic pneumocephalus.

Methods: Case report from chart review with relevant investigations and treatment.

Results: We describe the very interesting case of a patient who presented with pulsatile tinnitus because of otogenic pneumocephalus. On examination, we found a moving tympanic membrane. A CT scan revealed pneumocephalus in the right temporoparietal region that was continuous with the adjacent mastoid air cells. There was a transverse fracture through the mastoid process. A meticulous mastoidectomy with unroofing of the epitympanum was performed with widening of the aditus ad antrum. The mastoid cavity was closed without fat obliteration. After the operation, the pulsatile tinnitus ceased completely.

Conclusion: Mastoidectomy and unroofing the epitympanum without fat obliteration is a very simple and effective option for the treatment of pulsatile tinnitus because of pneumocephalus.
Understanding the pain status of the patient: a survey of pain status and pain treatment in an orthopedic outpatient department
Authors: Wajanavisit Wiwat , Chanplakorn Pongsthorn , Kulachote Noratep , Charoenwanthanang Puttavee , Woratanarat Patarawan
Published: August 2015

Background: Pain assessments help clinicians to evaluate their patients’ symptoms. However, patients’ satisfaction with pain management is difficult to interpret and may mislead the clinician into being satisfied with inadequate pain management.

Objective: We described and explored patients’ pain status, patients’ satisfaction with their pain management, the impact of pain on sleep habit and routine activities of daily living (ADLs), and the proportion of patients who had undertreatment of pain in the Orthopaedic Outpatient Department, Ramathibodi Hospital.

Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional survey study of pain characteristics and pain management of Orthopaedic outpatients aged over 18 years in the Orthopaedics Department, Ramathibodi Hospital using two parts of a verified questionnaire.

Results: In all, 863 patients were studied. Numbers of patients with acute or chronic pain were in similar proportions and mainly diagnosed as nociceptive pain (83.7%). Most of them suffered from moderate or severe pain (42.6% vs. 39.1%). Severity of symptoms was correlated with sleep disturbance and disturbance in ADLs. However, no correlation was revealed between satisfaction with pain management and the intensity of pain and there was also no correlation between satisfaction with pain management and sleep disturbance or disturbance in ADLs. Most commonly prescribed medications were nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (58.8%). However, 93.4% of returning patients who suffered from severe pain were still treated with nonopioid analgesics.

Conclusion: Patients suffered from moderate to severe pain and had disturbances in their sleep habit and ADLs. Most of them were satisfied with previous pain management, which was usually with nonopioid analgesics including NSAIDs and muscle relaxants. This group included some patients who experienced a high intensity of pain. We recommend clinicians pay more attention to the pain intensity of individual patients and justify appropriate medication by using a step-up approach and multimodal analgesics
Clinical and microbiological characteristics of corneal ulcers in a Thai referral center
Authors: Kampitak Kosol , Suntisetsin Haruetai , Sirikul Tasanee
Published: August 2015

Background: There are regional variations in causative organisms and epidemiologic patterns of corneal ulcers. It is essential to review periodically in terms of epidemiology and the microbial keratitis profiles that occur in a specific region in order to develop a comprehensive strategy for diagnosis and management of corneal ulcers.

Objective: To review the epidemiology, predisposing factors, microbiological characteristics and visual outcomes in corneal ulcers at a referral center in Thailand.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients with clinically diagnosed corneal ulcers presenting between January 2006 and December 2010 was performed.

Results: A total of 159 patients (159 eyes) were analyzed. Ninety-one cases (57.2%) were in men. The mean age of the patients was 43.0 ± 20.0 years. The most common predisposing factor was ocular trauma found in 72 eyes (45%). Culture was grown from 123 eyes and results were positive in 52%. The most frequent causative organisms were bacteria (72%), followed by fungus (28%). The most common bacteria was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (55%) and most common fungus was Fusarium species (33%). In a comparison between fungal and bacterial groups, the latter was more likely to be associated with contact lens wear (p = 0.05). The hospitalization time for the fungal group was significantly longer than for the bacterial group (p = 0.001). The posttreatment corrected visual acuity equal to or better than 20/200 was found significantly more commonly in the bacterial group than in the fungal group (p = 0.031). While therapeutic keratoplasty was significantly higher in the fungal group than in the bacterial group (p = 0.048).

Conclusion: Fungal keratitis was more severe than bacterial keratitis resulting in longer hospitalization time, poorer visual acuity, and with more chance to have therapeutic keratoplasty.
Original article. Patterns of microglial innate immune responses elicited by amyloid β1–42and lipopolysaccharide: the similarities of the differences
Authors: Boondam Yingrak , Cheepsunthorn Poonlarp
Published: August 2015

Background: As part of their innate immune response to changes in the central nervous system environment, normally quiescent microglia become activated and increase expression of pattern recognition receptors, scavenger receptors, and production of inflammatory cytokines, proteinases, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and free radicals. These molecules have been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of several neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer disease (AD).

Objective: We compared patterns of microglial innate immune responses elicited by nonfibrillar amyloid β peptide (nfAβ1-42) to those elicited by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Methods: Murine BV-2 microglial cells were exposed to either nfAβ1-42or LPS for 12 h. Then, total RNA from each condition was isolated and expression levels of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4, scavenger receptor class A (SRMARCO) and class B (SR-BI), CD36, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 were determined by reverse transcription-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The amount of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO) in the cell-free supernatant at 24 h were determined using 10-acetyl-3,7-dihydroxyphenoxazine (Amplex Red) and Griess reagent, respectively.

Results: nfAβ1-42and LPS significantly increased expression of TLR-4, SR-MARCO, CD36, and MMP-9 and production of H2O2 and NO in BV-2 microglial cells compared with that of unstimulated cells. However, expression of SR-BI was significantly induced only when the cells were exposed to nfAβ1-42.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that pattern of microglial innate immune responses elicited by nfAβ1-42overlap with that elicited by LPS and suggest a specific role of microglial SR-BI expression in AD pathogenesis.