bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La teigneGalleria mellonellapour les études hôte-pathogène
Authors: Bismuth Hanna , Aussel Laurent , Ezraty Benjamin
Published: April 2019

L’utilisation excessive d’antibiotiques dans les domaines de la santé et de l’agriculture a provoqué l’apparition de microorganismes pathogènes résistants aux traitements généralement utilisés. En 2017, l’Organisation mondiale de la santé a publié sa première liste « d’agents pathogènes prioritaires », énumérant les douze familles de bactéries les plus menaçantes pour la santé humaine. Dans ce contexte, un nouveau modèle d’étude des interactions hôte-pathogène connaît un intérêt croissant : le stade larvaire du papillon de la ruche,Galleria mellonella. Cette larve, parfois considérée comme un nouveau « rat de laboratoire », présente de nombreux avantages pratiques et s’impose comme un hôte de choix dans certaines études de pathogénicité d’agents infectieux et pour l’identification de moyens de traitement plus efficaces. Cette synthèse présente ce modèle alternatif et décrit ses nombreuses possibilités d’utilisation.
Reaction of some rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) genotypes to different drought stress levels during germination and seedling growth stages
Authors: Channaoui Souhail , El Idrissi Imane Saghouri , Mazouz Hamid , Nabloussi Abdelghani
Published: April 2019

Drought is a major abiotic stress that affects seed germination and plant growth in arid and semi-arid regions. Rapeseed is an oilseed crop adapted to Mediterranean area; however, it is reported that it is sensitive to water stress occurring during seed germination. In this study, we investigated how seed germination and early seedling growth of six rapeseed genotypes were influenced by different water stress levels. In addition to the control (absence of drought stress), three drought levels were simulated using three osmotic potentials of polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000), −9, −10 and −11 bars. A completely randomized design with three replications was used for this experiment. Germination percentage (GP), shoot length (SL), root length (RL), shoot elongation rate (SER) and root elongation rate (RER) were determined to evaluate the genotypes response to PEG-induced drought stress. Results showed drought stress, genotype and interaction stress × genotype had a significant effect on the studied parameters. GP decreased with the increase in stress level. The genotype ‛Nap9’ was the most interesting, having the highest GP values, namely 63.33, 62.67 and 28% under the stress levels −9, −10 and −11 bars, respectively. The genotype ‛H2M-5’, which ranked second with respect to this parameter, was statistically comparable to ‛Nap9’. Also, SL, RL, SER and RER decreased with the increase in drought stress level. However, the studied genotypes reacted differently to various water stress levels. Once again, the genotype ‛H2M-5’ exhibited the highest average RL and RER under all drought levels. Particularly, for severe drought conditions (−11 bars), ‛H2M-5’ had an average RL of 1.54 cm and RER of 0.36 cm/d. Field evaluation under controlled conditions is needed to confirm findings of the present experiment. The mutant ‛H2M-5’ could be a valuable and promising germplasm for developing a performant and adapted variety to be designed for harsh environments particularly characterized by early drought coinciding with germination and seedling growth stages.
External radiation exposure rate after18F-FDG PET/CT examination
Authors: Berberoglu K.
Published: April 2019

18F fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is widely used for PET CT examinations; however, positron-emitting florin generates relatively high gamma radiation (511 keV) raising occupational as well as public safety concerns. This study aimed to measure the rate of radiation emitted from patients that underwent18FDG PET/CT examination for oncological conditions, approximately 2 hours after the procedure, before and after urination. A total of 100 patients who underwent18F-FDG PET/CT examination were included in this study. Following imaging, external radiation exposure rate was measured using proportional counter probe at 1-m distance, approximately 2 hours after the completion of imaging procedure, before and after urination. Factors effecting resulting exposure from patients were examined. The mean post-urination activity ranged between 0.2 and 6.3 μSv/h (median, 1.8 μSv/h). Presence of metastasis, tumor type and gender did not have any effect on mean post-urination activity (P>0.05 for all comparisons). Older age, greater BMI and higher administered dose were associated with higher post-urination activity (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Findings of this study showed that 2 hours after radionuclide injection, activity rate from patients is far below the recommended limits for general population and further decreases after urination. Discharging patients at 2 hours after urination would not seem to pose radiation health risk for relatives, public or other hospital staff.
„Entschleunigtes Atmen“ – Zentrales psychosomatisches
Angebot in der Ordnungstherapie
Authors: Loew Thomas H. , Leinberger Beate
Published: April 2019

Die Atmung hat Einfluss auf unseren Körper und dient letztlich dem Zweck,
Sauerstoff in benötigter Menge aufzunehmen. Aber die Atmung dient auch zu
Regulationszwecken, und wir können sie willentlich beeinflussen. Mittels des
langsamen, bewussten Atmens können Organfunktionen reguliert werden. Es fußt auf
dem Prinzip, dem Körper vorzugaukeln, er schliefe. Der Beitrag zeigt, wie das
entschleunigte Atmen erlernt werden kann, welchen klinischen Nutzen es als
ordnungstherapeutisches Element hat und gibt einen Überblick über die aktuelle
Studienlage.
Ruthenium-Catalyzed Selective Reduction of Carboxylic Esters and Carboxamides
Authors: Zhou Yongyun , Khan Ruhima , Fan Baomin , Xu Lijin
Published: April 2019

Amines and alcohols are important classes of building blocks in organic synthesis. The synthesis of these compounds has been a topic of interest. A straightforward method for their synthesis is the reduction of esters and amides to alcohols and amines, respectively. Various transition-metal catalysts have been developed for the homogeneous hydrogenation of esters and amides to alcohols and amines. In this review, an overview of the ruthenium-catalyzed selective hydrogenation of esters and amides is provided.

1 General Introduction

2 Ru-Catalyzed Reduction of Esters

3 Ru-Catalyzed Selective Reduction of Amides

4 Conclusions
O-Vinylphosphonylated Salicylaldehydes as Aldo-Vinyl Bifunctional Building Blocks for anti-3,4-Disubstituted Phosphadihydrocoumarins
Authors: Wang Qinghe , Kong Dulin , Huang Tiao , Wu Mingshu
Published: April 2019

An efficient synthetic strategy for anti-3,4-disubstituted phosphadihydrocoumarin compounds has been established by tandem aza-Michael–aldol-like annulations of tetrahydroisoquinolines with O-vinylphosphonylated salicylaldehydes as an aldo-vinyl bifunctional building block. This conversion was characterized by ‘green’ properties such as a step- and atom-economy, catalyst-free conditions, highly anti-selectivity­, and readily available starting materials.
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation in Cancer: An Update
Authors: Levi Marcel
Published: April 2019

Cancer often leads to the activation of coagulation, manifesting as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in its most extreme form. DIC is characterized by systemic intravascular coagulation activation (leading to deposition of intravascular platelets and fibrin) and simultaneous consumption of coagulation proteins and thrombocytes (which may cause bleeding complications). The clinical course of DIC in patients with malignancies is typically less intense compared with DIC complicating alternative clinical settings, including systemic inflammatory responses following infection or traumatic injury. A more slowly proceeding, less fulminant, and widespread hemostatic derangement can remain asymptomatic. Eventually, the ongoing consumption may result in low levels of platelets and coagulation factors, and bleeding complications (frequently localized at the site of the tumor or distant metastases) may be the first clinical manifestation of DIC. An alternative clinical scenario is dominated by thrombotic complications, ranging from clinically manifest vascular thrombosis to microvascular platelet plugs. The main principle of DIC management is adequate treatment of the precipitating disorder; however, there are clinical presentations that may require additional supportive strategies specifically aimed at the amelioration of the coagulopathy.
Retrosigmoid Transmeatal Approach for Resection of Acoustic Neuroma: Operative Video and Technical Nuances of Subperineural Dissection for Facial Nerve Preservation
Authors: Liu James K. , Dodson Vincent N. , Jyung Robert W.
Published: April 2019

The retrosigmoid (suboccipital) approach is the workhorse for most acoustic neuromas in the cerebellopontine angle. In this operative video atlas manuscript, the authors demonstrate the nuances of the subperineural dissection technique for microsurgical resection of an acoustic neuroma via the retrosigmoid transmeatal approach. The plane is developed by separating the perineurium of the vestibular nerve away from the tumor capsule. This perineurium provides a protective layer between the tumor capsule and the facial nerve which serves as a buffer to avoid direct dissection and potential trauma to the facial nerve. Using this technique during extracapsular tumor dissection helps to maximize the extent of tumor removal while preserving facial nerve function. A gross total resection of the tumor was achieved, and the patient exhibited normal facial nerve function (Fig. 1). In summary, the retrosigmoid transmeatal approach with the use of subperineural dissection are important strategies in the armamentarium for surgical management of acoustic neuromas with the goal of maximizing tumor removal and preserving facial nerve function (Fig. 2).

The link to the video can be found at: https://youtu.be/L3lPtSvJt60.
Current with “wrong” sign and phase transitions
Authors: Boccagna Roberto
Published: April 2019

We prove that under certain conditions, phase separation is enough to sustain a regime in which current flows along the concentration gradient, a phenomenon which is known in the literature as uphill diffusion. The model we consider here is a version of that proposed by Giacomin and Lebowitz [J. Stat. Phys. 87(1), 37–61 (1997)], which is the continuous mesoscopic limit of a 1d discrete Ising chain with a Kac potential. The magnetization profile lies in the interval [−ε−1, ε−1], ε > 0, staying in contact at the boundaries with infinite reservoirs of fixed magnetization ±μ, μ∈(m*β,1), where m*β=1−1/β, β > 1 representing the inverse temperature. At last, an external field of Heaviside-type of intensity κ > 0 is introduced. According to the axiomatic nonequilibrium theory, we derive from the mesoscopic free energy functional the corresponding stationary equation and prove the existence of a solution, which is antisymmetric with respect to the origin and discontinuous in x = 0, provided ε is small enough. When μ is metastable, the current is positive and bounded from below by a positive constant independent of κ, this meaning that both phase transition and external field contributes to uphill diffusion, which is a regime that actually survives when the external bias is removed.
Graphene nanoribbons on hexagonal boron nitride: Deposition and transport characterization
Authors: Preis Tobias , Kick Christian , Lex Andreas , Weiss Dieter , Eroms Jonathan , Narita Akimitsu , Hu Yunbin , Müllen Klaus , Watanabe Kenji , Taniguchi Takashi
Published: April 2019

Chemically synthesized “cove”-type graphene nanoribbons (cGNRs) of different widths were brought into dispersion and drop-cast onto exfoliated hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) on a Si/SiO2 chip. Using AFM, we observed that the cGNRs form ordered domains aligned along the crystallographic axes of the hBN. Using electron beam lithography and metallization, we contacted the cGNRs with NiCr/Au or Pd contacts and measured their I-V characteristics. The transport through the ribbons was dominated by the Schottky behavior of the contacts between the metal and the ribbon.
Optimal controller for mitigation of harmonics in hybrid shunt active power filter connected distribution system: An EGOANN technique
Authors: Arunsankar Ganesan , Srinath Subbaraman
Published: April 2019

One of the most important concerns in power system networks is harmonics, which is mainly developed with the huge usage of nonlinear loads and power electronic equipment. This harmonics leads to damage in the distribution system. This paper proposes an efficient hybrid approach with SHAPF for harmonic mitigation to maintain the PQ in the distribution system. An efficient hybrid approach is the joined execution of an EGOA and ANN named as EGOANN. The main aim of the proposed strategy is to improve the quality of power by mitigating the harmonics subject to the minimum THD. In the proposed approach, EGOA optimizes the dataset of fundamental and harmonic loop parameters such as Terminal voltage and DC voltage present in the SHAPF based on the load change and parameter variation of the system. In light of the accomplished dataset, ANN accurately predicts the parameters and produces optimized control signals. Finally, the proposed model is executed in the MATLAB/Simulink working platform, also includes the simulation results of a few test cases to maintain the PQ, and illustrates the superior performance of the proposed design philosophy. The simulation result shows that the harmonic distortion can be reduced to an acceptable level in response to the load change or parameter variation of the power system by the proposed EGOANN hybrid technique. Also, the proposed technique is more effective with less computation and reduces the complexity of the algorithm.
Strain evolution of SiGe-on-insulator obtained by the Ge-condensation technique
Authors: Boureau Victor , Reboh Shay , Benoit Daniel , Hÿtch Martin , Claverie Alain
Published: April 2019

Compressively strained SiGe-On-Insulator (SGOI) made by the Ge-condensation technique is used as a performance booster for ultrathin fully depleted silicon-on-insulator transistor technology. Here, we report on the evolution of the compressive strain in the SiGe film along the formation of local SGOI. For this, experimental maps of lattice strain with nanometer spatial resolution have been obtained by dark-field electron holography and compared to results from numerical models describing the mechanics of the structures. In particular, we report on unexpected strain evolutions when the top semiconductor layer is patterned to fabricate the shallow trench isolations that separate the Si nMOS from the SiGe pMOS areas. Dramatic and long-range relaxation of the compressive SiGe layers occurs, while no extended defects are formed in the crystal. The phenomenon involves relative horizontal displacements between the SiGe layer and the underlying Buried Oxide (BOX). We suggest that the Ge-enrichment of the layer close to this interface by the Ge-condensation technique modifies the SiGe/BOX interface and that strain relaxation results from the propagation of some interfacial defects from the edge to the center of the structure, driven by the shear stress at the interface.
On the spectral profile change in the Q band absorption spectra of metalloporphyrins (Mg, Zn, and Pd): A first-principles study
Authors: Pan Yafu , Li Li , Qiu Feifei , Wei Yong , Hua Weijie , Tian Guangjun
Published: April 2019

We performed a systematic study of the vibrationally resolved absorption spectra in the Q band of three metalloporphyrins (Mg, Zn, and Pd) to understand the spectral changes in this series, including both the Franck-Condon (FC) and Herzberg-Teller (HT) contributions. The ground (S0) and the lowest singlet excited (S1) states were, respectively, simulated by the static and time-dependent density functional theory, with which the Duschinsky rotation effect was considered. Different functionals and basis sets were tested and compared with experiment. Results show that the long-range corrected functional CAM-B3LYP can nicely describe the spectral fingerprints of these metalloporphyrins, while the B3LYP functional significantly underestimates the FC contributions. We found that the absorption fine structures of these molecules are mainly caused by the HT vibronic couplings. The experimentally observed enhancements to the on-site 0-0 absorption peak in the series of Mg, Zn, and Pd are nicely reproduced. Enhanced absorption intensity is caused by larger FC contributions of molecules with heavier metal ions. The structure-spectroscopy relationship was analyzed, and it was found that the smaller cavity size of the porphyrin ring can significantly enhance the oscillator strength of the S0 → S1 transition.
Simulation study on the migration of diblock copolymers in periodically patterned slits
Authors: Wang Chao , Zhou Yan-Li , Sun Li-Zhen , Chen Ying-Cai , Luo Meng-Bo
Published: April 2019

The forced migration of diblock copolymers (ANABNB) in periodically patterned slits was investigated by using Langevin dynamics simulation. The lower surface of the slit consists of stripe α and stripe β distributed in alternating sequence, while the upper one is formed only by stripe β. The interaction between block A and stripe α is strongly attractive, while all other interactions are purely repulsive. Simulation results show that the migration of the diblock copolymer is remarkably dependent on the driving force and there is a transition region at moderate driving force. The transition driving force ft, where the transition region occurs, decreases monotonously with increasing length of block B (NB) but is independent of the polymer length and the periodic length of the slit, which is interpreted from the free energy landscape of diblock copolymer migration. The results also show that periodic slits could be used to separate diblock polymers with different NB by tuning the external driving force.
Identification of genes related to the regulation of anther and pollen development in Mu-type cytoplasmic male sterile wheat (Triticum aestivum) by transcriptome analysis
Authors: Li Wei , Liu Zihan , Meng Chang , Jia Yulin , Zhang Lingli , Song Xiyue
Published: April 2019

Cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines are important tools for hybrid production but they cannot produce viable pollen. Breeding new CMS lines and studying their sterility mechanism in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) greatly facilitates the process of hybrid wheat breeding. We conducted transcriptome sequencing for a recently identified Mu-CMS line with Aegilops uniaristata Vis. cytoplasm, named U706A, and its isonuclear maintainer line (706B) at the binucleate stage, which was a critical period when abortion occurred. We found that most of the genes involved in phosphatidylinositol metabolism and pectin degradation were downregulated, as well as genes encoding the MYB21 and MYC2 transcription factors, in U706A compared with 706B. In addition, pectin contents indicated that the production of pectin has been enhanced from the binucleate stage to the trinucleate stage, owing to the downregulation of pectin-degradation-related genes in U706A at the binucleate stage, which confirmed the reliability of the sequencing results. We also discovered that the accumulation period of pectin content in U706A is abnormal compared with 706B, which may be an important reason for abortion. Some differentially expressed genes that might be related to the sterile phenotype were verified by quantitative RT-PCR. Therefore, we suggest that the downregulation of these genes possibly leads to the anther not to crack; the tapetum and microspore membrane system is less metabolised, and the abnormal pectin accumulation results in microspore nutrient deficiencies and abnormal development. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanism responsible for pollen abortion in CMS, which may facilitate hybrid wheat breeding.
Growth model interpretation of planet size distribution
Authors: Zeng Li , Jacobsen Stein B. , Sasselov Dimitar D. , Petaev Michail I. , Vanderburg Andrew , Lopez-Morales Mercedes , Perez-Mercader Juan , Mattsson Thomas R. , Li Gongjie , Heising Matthew Z. , Bonomo Aldo S. , Damasso Mario , Berger Travis A. , Cao Hao , Levi Amit , Wordsworth Robin D.
Published: April 2019

Significance

The discovery of numerous exoplanet systems containing diverse populations of planets orbiting very close to their host stars challenges the planet formation theories based on the solar system. Here, we focus on the planets with radii of 2–4 R
⊕
, whose compositions are debated. They are thought to be either gas dwarfs consisting of rocky cores embedded in H
2
-rich gas envelopes or water worlds containing significant amounts of H
2
O-dominated fluid/ice in addition to rock and gas. We argue that these planets are water worlds.
Reprogramming the microenvironment with tumor-selective angiotensin blockers enhances cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Chauhan Vikash P. , Chen Ivy X. , Tong Rong , Ng Mei Rosa , Martin John D. , Naxerova Kamila , Wu Michelle W. , Huang Peigen , Boucher Yves , Kohane Daniel S. , Langer Robert , Jain Rakesh K.
Published: April 2019

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) can either suppress or support T lymphocyte activity, suggesting that CAFs may be reprogrammable to an immunosupportive state. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) convert myofibroblast CAFs to a quiescent state, but whether ARBs can reprogram CAFs to promote T lymphocyte activity and enhance immunotherapy is unknown. Moreover, ARB doses are limited by systemic adverse effects such as hypotension due to the importance of angiotensin signaling outside tumors. To enhance the efficacy and specificity of ARBs in cancer with the goal of revealing their effects on antitumor immunity, we developed ARB nanoconjugates that preferentially accumulate and act in tumors. We created a diverse library of hundreds of acid-degradable polymers and chemically linked ARBs to the polymer most sensitive to tumor pH. These tumor microenvironment-activated ARBs (TMA-ARBs) remain intact and inactive in circulation while achieving high concentrations in tumors, wherein they break down to active ARBs. This tumor-preferential activity enhances the CAF-reprogramming effects of ARBs while eliminating blood pressure-lowering effects. Notably, TMA-ARBs alleviate immunosuppression and improve T lymphocyte activity, enabling dramatically improved responses to immune-checkpoint blockers in mice with primary as well as metastatic breast cancer.
Molecular insights into an ancient form of Paget’s disease of bone
Authors: Shaw Barry , Burrell Carla L. , Green Darrell , Navarro-Martinez Ana , Scott Daniel , Daroszewska Anna , van ’t Hof Rob , Smith Lynn , Hargrave Frank , Mistry Sharad , Bottrill Andrew , Kessler Benedikt M. , Fischer Roman , Singh Archana , Dalmay Tamas , Fraser William D. , Henneberger Kirstin , King Turi , Gonzalez Silvia , Layfield Robert
Published: April 2019

Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) is a chronic skeletal disorder that can affect one or several bones in individuals older than 55 y of age. PDB-like changes have been reported in archaeological remains as old as Roman, although accurate diagnosis and natural history of the disease is lacking. Six skeletons from a collection of 130 excavated at Norton Priory in the North West of England, which dates to medieval times, show atypical and extensive pathological changes resembling contemporary PDB affecting as many as 75% of individual skeletons. Disease prevalence in the remaining collection is high, at least 16% of adults, with age at death estimations as low as 35 y. Despite these atypical features, paleoproteomic analysis identified sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1) or p62, a protein central to the pathological milieu of PDB, as one of the few noncollagenous human sequences preserved in skeletal samples. Targeted proteomic analysis detected >60% of the ancient p62 primary sequence, with Western blotting indicating p62 abnormalities, including in dentition. Direct sequencing of ancient DNA excluded contemporary PDB-associated
SQSTM1
mutations. Our observations indicate that the ancient p62 protein is likely modified within its C-terminal ubiquitin-associated domain. Ancient miRNAs were remarkably preserved in an osteosarcoma from a skeleton with extensive disease, with miR-16 expression consistent with that reported in contemporary PDB-associated bone tumors. Our work displays the use of proteomics to inform diagnosis of ancient diseases such as atypical PDB, which has unusual features presumably potentiated by yet-unidentified environmental or genetic factors.
Defining the core essential genome of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Poulsen Bradley E. , Yang Rui , Clatworthy Anne E. , White Tiantian , Osmulski Sarah J. , Li Li , Penaranda Cristina , Lander Eric S. , Shoresh Noam , Hung Deborah T.
Published: April 2019

Genomics offered the promise of transforming antibiotic discovery by revealing many new essential genes as good targets, but the results fell short of the promise. While numerous factors contributed to the disappointing yield, one factor was that essential genes for a bacterial species were often defined based on a single or limited number of strains grown under a single or limited number of in vitro laboratory conditions. In fact, the essentiality of a gene can depend on both the genetic background and growth condition. We thus developed a strategy for more rigorously defining the core essential genome of a bacterial species by studying many pathogen strains and growth conditions. We assessed how many strains must be examined to converge on a set of core essential genes for a species. We used transposon insertion sequencing (Tn-Seq) to define essential genes in nine strains of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
on five different media and developed a statistical model,
FiTnEss
, to classify genes as essential versus nonessential across all strain–medium combinations. We defined a set of 321 core essential genes, representing 6.6% of the genome. We determined that analysis of four strains was typically sufficient in
P. aeruginosa
to converge on a set of core essential genes likely to be essential across the species across a wide range of conditions relevant to in vivo infection, and thus to represent attractive targets for novel drug discovery.
A nanoelectronics-blood-based diagnostic biomarker for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
Authors: Esfandyarpour R. , Kashi A. , Nemat-Gorgani M. , Wilhelmy J. , Davis R. W.
Published: April 2019

Significance

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disease which afflicts approximately 2 million people in the United States and many more around the globe. A combination of factors might trigger ME/CFS, and there is currently no well-established blood-based biomarker to diagnose it. Taking advantage of advancements in micro/nanofabrication, direct electrical detection of cellular and molecular properties, microfluidics, and artificial intelligence techniques, we developed a nanoelectronics blood-based assay that can potentially establish a diagnostic biomarker and a drug-screening platform for ME/CFS. Given the significance of this assay, we envision it has the potential to be widely employed in research laboratories and clinics in the future as an aid to physicians as well as to our colleagues in the ME/CFS research community.
Tumor-suppressive activity of Hnf1β in Wilms’ tumor
Authors: Liu Yamin , Kanyomse Quist , Xie Yajun
Published: April 2019

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1β (HNF1β) is a transcription factor belonging to the HNF-1 family and has been implicated in a number of cancers, but its role in Wilms’ tumor (nephroblastoma) has not been addressed. Here, we compared its expression between Wilms’ tumor patient kidney tissue and adjacent tissue based on the Oncomine database (www.oncomine.com). Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and HNF1β expression level were analyzed in Wilms’ tumor-derived G401 cells. Using a variety of mouse tissues (lung, heart, kidney, etc.), we found that HNF1β is the highest expression in the kidneys. Oncomine analysis further demonstrated that HNF1β has a lower expression in Wilms’ tumor tissue than in paracancerous tissues. Overexpression of HNF1β decreased cell proliferation and migration, but promoted cell apoptosis. Knockdown of HNF1β produced the opposite results. These results indicated that HNF1β may play important roles in kidney development and function, and its activation may negatively regulate Wilms’ tumor progression.
Martí, José
Authors: López Alfred J.
Published: April 2019

José Martí (1853–1895) is the best known of Cuba’s founding figures and was the civilian leader of the Cuban independence movement. Beyond his iconic status among Cubans and the diaspora, Martí ranks among the most important Latin Americans of the 19th century. Aside from his revolutionary legacy, Martí remains a canonical figure of 19th-century Latin American literature. As a poet he pioneered Latin American modernismo; volumes such as Ismaelillo (1882) and Versos sencillos (Simple verses, 1891) are considered masterpieces. Martí’s US crónicas (chronicles), which appeared in Latin America’s most respected newspapers of the 1880s, stand among the most important journalistic works of the Gilded Age. His other writings span several other genres, including drama and prose fiction. Martí also founded a newspaper, Patria, which served as the Cuban independence movement’s official mouthpiece. In a lifetime of exile and immigration spanning three continents and a half-dozen countries, he worked as a secondary teacher and university professor; law clerk; journalist, editor, and translator; and diplomat. Martí’s collected works fill twenty-six volumes, with previously unknown writings still emerging.

Biographers generally divide Martí’s life into three phases: childhood and adolescence in Cuba, culminating in his imprisonment and first exile (1853–1871); post-exile life in Spain, Mexico, and Guatemala (1871–1878); and after the second exile from Cuba, his mature revolutionary period in New York (1881–1895). A brief imprisonment for conspiracy ended with Martí’s first expulsion from Cuba in January 1871. He spent the next four years in Spain, where he continued to denounce Spanish imperialism and earned a law degree. He then rejoined his family in Mexico but had to flee after the rise of the dictator Porfirio Díaz in 1876. Martí then emigrated to Guatemala, where he attempted to settle with his wife Carmen Zayas Bazán, whom he married in 1877. But disagreements with President Justo Rufino Barrios again forced the couple into exile. After a failed attempt to resettle in Havana under a general amnesty following the Ten Years’ War (1868–1878) and his second expulsion from Cuba, Martí eventually landed in New York, which served as his base for building the Cuban independence movement. After several false starts, the Cuban Revolutionary Party finally launched its War of Independence in February 1895. Martí joined rebel forces on the island in April and died in battle little over a month later.

Martí’s posthumous fame spread slowly, but by the 1930s he was generally hailed as Cuba’s great “apostle” of independence. Successive Cuban governments burnished his legend, and Fidel Castro claimed Martí as the 1959 Cuban Revolution’s “intellectual author.” The mass emigration of Cubans fleeing the revolution then spread Martí’s fame to the United States and Europe; Cuban-Americans continue to identify with him as an example of the nation in exile. Though not a Latino in the contemporary sense, Martí remains a key figure in the historical formation of US Latino/a identities.
Comedy, Humor, and Asian American Representation
Authors: Hong Caroline Kyungah
Published: April 2019

Asian Americans have had and continue to have a complicated relationship with comedy and humor. On the one hand, comedy and humor have always been a vital and dynamic part of Asian American culture and history, even if they have rarely been discussed as such. On the other hand, in mainstream US culture, Asian Americans are often represented as unfunny, unless they are being mocked for being physically, socially, or culturally different. Asian Americans have thus been both objects and agents of humor, a paradox that reflects the sociocultural positioning of Asian Americans in the United States. Examples of how Asian Americans have been dehumanized and rendered abject through comedy and humor, even as they also negotiate and resist their abjection, reach as far back as the 19th century and continue through the 21st. The sheer volume of such instances—of Asian Americans both being made fun of and being funny on their own terms—demonstrates that comedy and humor are essential, not incidental, to every part of Asian American culture and history.
Budgetary Treaties and European Union Politics
Authors: Laursen Finn
Published: April 2019

In Europe, two budgetary treaties were adopted in 1970 and 1975, respectively. They changed the budgetary procedures on the founding treaties of the European Communities (EC). The main reason was the introduction of the concept of “own resources” in 1970 to replace national financial contributions. It was decided that customs duties, agricultural levies, and a certain percentage of the value-added tax (VAT) in the Member States should go to the EC budget. Since that would remove the budget control of the national parliaments, it was argued that the European Parliament should have budgetary powers. The argument was especially developed by the European Parliament. The Member States eventually accepted the argument, but with some hesitation, so in the end the Parliament got less than it demanded. The Member States focused on control and the Parliament focused on legitimacy. The Commission fought for its own prerogatives.

Apart from empowering the European Parliament, the second budgetary treaty in 1975 also created the European Court of Auditors. And prior to the signing of the treaty, the institutions (Commission, Council, and Parliament) had also agreed to introduce a conciliation procedure as a part of the budgetary process. This was done by an inter-institutional agreement outside the new treaty.

Tracing the processes of adopting the two treaties shows that there was a great deal of inter-institutional bargaining, but also inter-governmental bargaining within the Council of Ministers, where France arguably was the “laggard” in 1970, joined by Denmark in 1975, after the first enlargement in 1973. The United Kingdom, preoccupied with its renegotiation of membership and a referendum in June 1975, had a relatively low profile in the negotiations.

Scholars have debated the explanatory power of the liberal intergovernmental approach (with emphasis on the role of the Member States), contrasting it with some institutionalist approach considered better suited to explaining these treaty reforms. Leading scholars have especially applied sociological and historical institutionalism.
The Merger Treaty: Creating a Single Commission and Council of the European Communities
Authors: Laursen Finn
Published: April 2019

The Merger Treaty was the first reform of the founding treaties of the European Communities. It was signed by the Member States of the Communities in 1965 and entered into force in 1967. It created a single “executive” by merging the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC), and the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). It also formally merged the Councils (of ministers) into one. It did not merge the founding Paris and Rome Treaties, nor the three Communities as such. It was thus a relatively limited reform. The main argument used in support of the merger was one of efficiency and better coordination. The three Communities had overlapping competences, for instance in the fields of energy, transport, competition, and social policy, so it was felt that better coordination was needed. Politically the main difficulty was convincing President Charles de Gaulle of France to support the merger, advocated by the “executives” themselves, the Parliamentary Assembly, and the five Member States other than France.
Aid, Political Conditionality, and Other International Efforts to Support Democracy in Africa
Authors: Hackenesch Christine
Published: April 2019

Support for democracy, human rights, and good governance reforms in Africa has become a prominent objective in engagement by European Union (EU) institutions, EU member states, and the United States with African countries since the early 1990s. Western actors have gradually increased democracy aid, used sanctions, and developed a range of other instruments to support political reforms on the continent. Academic research has analyzed the “substance” and “content” of political reforms that Western actors seek to promote, what instruments they use, and how effective these instruments are in different political contexts. This body of work comes to mixed conclusions as to whether and under what conditions external support has contributed to democratic reforms in African countries between 1990 and 2015. Yet, evidence suggests that external democracy support has made some positive contributions and has been more effective in Africa compared to other regions. However, after a period of 25 years during which democracy support gradually became an important element in the United States’ and European cooperation with African countries, this agenda is now under considerable pressure. Domestic challenges to democracy within Europe and the United States, domestic dynamics in African countries, and the rise of China as an alternative political model make it difficult for European and other external actors to contribute to political reforms on the continent. In this new era of uncertainty, there are three main areas to which policymakers as well as academic research should pay more attention. First, more debate is needed how the contestation of democratic norms in Europe and the United States affects not only the legitimacy but also the decision-making processes on democracy support. Second, more research is needed how urbanization, demographic change and digitalization and their combined effects influence political reforms in Africa and what implications emerge for democracy support. Finally, how China’s more proactive and assertive foreign policy will affect democracy support in Africa is an area that policy-makers and researchers should follow closely.
The Horn of Africa: Regional Politics and Dynamics
Authors: Clapham Christopher
Published: April 2019

The peculiar politics of the Horn of Africa derives from the region’s exceptional pattern of state formation. At its center, Ethiopia was Africa’s sole indigenous state to remain independent through the period of colonial conquest, and also imposed its rule on areas not historically subject to it. The Somalis, most numerous of the pastoralist peoples, were unique in rejecting the colonial partition, which divided them between British and Italian Somalilands, French Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia, while formerly Italian Eritrea, incorporated into Ethiopia in the post-World War II settlement, retained a sense of separate identity that fueled a long struggle for independence. These differences, coupled with the 1974 revolution in Ethiopia, led to wars that culminated in 1991 in the independence of Eritrea, the collapse of the Somali state, and the creation in Ethiopia of a federal system based on ethnicity. Developments since that time provide a distinctive slant on the legacies of colonial rule, the impact of guerrilla warfare, the role of religion in a region divided between Christianity and Islam, the management of ethnicity, and external intervention geared to largely futile attempts at state reconstruction. The Horn continues to follow trajectories of its own, at variance from the rest of Africa.
Cuba and Integration Processes in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Oliva Campos Carlos , Prevost Gary
Published: April 2019

The uniting core of all the Cuban revolutionary government’s unfolding politics toward Latin American and Caribbean countries has been based on three foundational tenets: the staunch defense of a unified perspective that spans national to regional; the recovery of the historic principles of regional integration defended by Simón Bolívar and José Martí, and the unalterable anti-imperialist position of its international relations.

Unlike the enormous negative impacts that the demise of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and Eastern-European socialism caused Cuba, the new political and geo-economic scene of the post–Cold War turned out to be very favorable for a Cuban government that shifted to redefine its relationships with Latin America and the Caribbean. This was strengthened by the victory of progressive and leftist governments in influential countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela. The new regional circumstances have been the most propitious for the development of the integrationist vision historically supported by the Cuban Revolution.
Islam and Islamic Studies in Scandinavia
Authors: Olsson Susanne , Sorgenfrei Simon
Published: April 2019

Islam in the Scandinavian countries—Denmark, Norway, and Sweden—has a long history. There are evidences of contacts between Scandinavia and the Muslim world at least since the Middle Ages. The presence of Muslims in Scandinavia is however of a later date and more established from the 1950s, when immigrants arrived, mainly due to the needs in the labor markets; they successively established congregations and mosques, as they realized that they were to stay in their new countries. Following this period, Muslim migrants have arrived due to geopolitical factors, such as war, which have increased the number of Muslims and their presence and visibility in public space and public debate, which in turn has affected the media image of Islam and Muslims and influenced research. The research on Islam and Muslims has a long history in Scandinavia as well. With the increase of Muslim inhabitants in Scandinavian countries, scholarly interests have also related more to the present and to the study of their own Muslim populations, as well as case studies related to Islamophobia, media images, Muslims in the school systems and labor market, and specific incidents, such as the cartoon crisis and its aftermath.
The Globalization of Protest in Africa
Authors: Pommerolle Marie-Emmanuelle
Published: April 2019

Academic studies on the globalized dimension of African protests have complexified the understanding of “transnational social movements,” too often considered as the mechanical and adequate response to a newly globalized neoliberal economy. The long history of globalized protest in and about Africa, starting from the antislavery campaigns to the global justice movements, shows that these movements, often initiated outside the continent, have contributed to the “invention of Africa.” The notion of “extraversion” developed by Jean-François Bayart to explain African states’ relation to the outside world helps interrogating the material and symbolic asymmetrical relationships inside these networks but also the agency of African protesters in shaping their causes. Resources, legitimate knowledge, and audiences of protest are structurally located with Western actors, creating misunderstanding or conflicts in these globalized networks. But African activists do benefit from their internationalization, acting as a protection and a—sometimes contested—legitimation. Also, against the imposition of supposedly universal causes, African protesters have developed new concepts and narratives, especially on gender and sex rights, to assert an African way of framing these causes. Far from being completely constrained by Western agenda, funding, or audience, some local conflicts also benefit from often international ramifications born out of the development of transnational criminal economies. Lastly, reflections on the regional variations and the diffusion of protest inside the continent shows a differential density of international networks and the growing importance of social media in the globalization of protest.
Nationalism in African Politics
Authors: Dorman Sara Rich
Published: April 2019

African nationalism’s origins are found in anti-colonial protest and the artificial boundaries of post-colonial states. But it has proven a resilient force in African politics, alongside the colonially engineered states, with few border changes in the post-independence period. Despite the artificiality of the new states and nations, only a few new states emerge, with most political conflict aimed at ensuring inclusion within the state’s original boundaries. The experience of decolonization has led nationalist politics to be coalitional in form rather than ideological, bringing together diverse groups. Nation building strategies are deployed after independence to promote unity and development while depoliticizing, homogenizing, and gendering the nationalist legacy. Memorialization and iconography are deployed in this cause, but unevenly. The decades after independence are marked by single party or no-party rule in which the nationalist generations hold on to power. After the end of the cold war, when multiparty elections resumed in many states, and with the aging nationalists increasingly unable to maintain their hold on power, identity-based politics was transformed into an often violent politics of belonging, identifying some ethnic and racial groups as more fully national than others. In states that experienced liberation wars, the generation that led the struggle proved particularly resistant to handing over power, basing their claims on their nationalist credentials and seeking to discredit others. Yet generational and technological change ensured that subaltern groups, through creative and social media, as well as political movements, continued to claim, contest, and transform national imaginaries.
Human Trafficking and Religious Movements
Authors: Zimmerman Yvonne C.
Published: April 2019

The prominence of religious groups, religious motifs, and religious and theological claims in the anti-trafficking movement is useful for exploring how social movements are shaped by religious actors and claims and, in turn, use religion in the process of creating social change. The anti-trafficking movement can be situated in relation to three key previous social movements: the 18th–19th-century abolition movement that sought to abolish chattel slavery, the 19th–20th-century anti-white slavery campaigns of the social purity movement that sought to eliminate prostitution, and the late 20th-century movement that sought to address Christian persecution through promoting religious freedom. By highlighting the way that the anti-trafficking movement draws on and extends the moral claim-making of each of these social movements, these earlier movements are revealed as shaping the social movement ecology out of which the contemporary anti-trafficking movement emerges and in which it functions. Further, exploring the movement to end human trafficking in relation to these social movements suggests at least three significant ways religion matters in social movements: as a source of moral legitimacy, as a source of moral clarity, and as a cultural resource. As a source of moral authority, religion provides a source of grounding that lends credibility to movements’ moral claims by situating them in something larger than immediate interests and experiences. As a source of moral clarity, religion is a source of the moral values that animates social movements and sustains them through challenges. As a cultural resource, religious sensibilities influence how social movements perceive issues and formulate responses to them.