bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of exercise tolerance of older men practicing Nordic Walking
Authors: Michalak Edyta , Zygmańska Magdalena 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
Introduction: The aim of the study was to determine the impact of systematic individual Nordic Walking training on physical performance in older men.
Material and methods: The study included 18 men (aged 52 to 73), divided into two groups. Group I (the experimental group) underwent an 8-week Nordic Walking training, while group II (the control group) did not perform any physical activity during the analyzed period. The level of physical exercise tolerance was assessed twice: at the beginning and after eight weeks of the study period using the Finnish walking test and the 30-minute walking test. The results were analyzed with the use of Statistica 10. software.
Results: The results of the initial Finnish walking test show that the average values of the Fitness Index, time of a 2-kilometer distance coverage and HR were similar in both study groups. After 8 weeks, a statistically significant improvement in exercise tolerance was observed in the experimental group. Aerobic endurance evaluated on the basis of the Fitness Index increased (p <0.01). A reduction in time of 2 kilometer distance coverage (p <0.01) was accompanied by a reduction (p <0.05) in the level of HR. In the men qualified to the control group, all of the tested parameters remained unchanged. Within the study group, after 8. weeks of training, a significant improvement was also noted in the distance covered during the 30-minute walking test (p <0.01).
Conclusions: Regular aerobic physical activity improves exercise tolerance in older men and may contribute to improving the comfort of their living.
Analysis of factors affecting the quality of life of patients with coxarthrosis
Authors: Redlicka Justyna , Jewczak Maciej , Miller Sergiusz , Miller Elżbieta 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
Introduction: Osteoarthritis constitutes one of the main reasons fora lower quality of life among theelderly. The aim of the work was to analyse factors affecting functional skills in the group ofpatients with coxarthrosis.
Material and methods: The study was conducted on 50 patients with diagnosed coxarthrosis (M16.0). Patients were selected in purposive samplingand underwent one examination. The quality of life was assessed with the use of EQ-5D-3L instrument and 36-Item Short FormHealth Survey (SF-36). Pain intensity was evaluated with the use of the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)and the authors’ own questionnaire. The research was carried out at the Rehabilitation Ward of the 3rdMunicipal Hospital in Lodz. The results were analysed in six age groups: 50-55, 55-60, 60-65, 65-70, 70-75 and 75-80.
Results: Coxarthrosis was prevalent in the group of patients aged 75-80 (13 participants). Patients aged 50-55 subjectively assessed their quality of life at the highest level. Body mass index (BMI) did not affect the quality of life or pain intensity.
Conclusions: The quality of life of patients with coxarthrosis is related to age but it does not correlate with body mass.
Sterbende Menschen mit Demenz und ihre Angehörigen spirituell begleiten
Authors: Kotulek Maria 
Published: April 2018

ZusammenfassungImmer mehr Menschen sterben mit einer demenziellen Veränderung. Der vorliegende Beitrag nähert sich in einem ersten Schritt der Zielgruppe an und fragt, ob diese ihr eigenes Sterben wahrnehmen kann. Dem folgen Ausführungen zu Spiritualität und zur spirituellen Begleitung, bevor der Blick auf die spirituellen Bedürfnisse der Menschen mit Demenz und ihrer Angehörigen gelenkt wird. Im Rückgriff auf das bereits Erörterte werden Empfehlungen vorgestellt, die für eine spirituelle Begleitung wichtig sind. Lernmöglichkeiten für (professionell) Pflegende schließen den Beitrag ab.
Select geotechnical properties of a lime stabilized expansive soil amended with bagasse ash and coconut shell powder
Authors: James Jijo , Pandian P. Kasinatha 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
Lime stabilization has been and still is one of the most preferred methods for stabilization of expansive soils. However, in the recent times, utilization of solid waste materials in soil stabilization has gained prominence as an effective means to manage wastes generated from various sources. In this work, an attempt has been made to utilize waste materials from two sources as auxiliary additives to lime in the stabilization of an expansive soil. Bagasse ash (BA), a waste by-product from the sugar industry and Coconut shell powder (CSP), a processed waste obtained from left over coconut shells of oil extraction industry were used as auxiliary additives. An expansive soil obtained from a local field was subjected to chemical, mineral, microstructural and geotechnical characterization in the laboratory and stabilized using 3% lime. The waste materials were subjected to chemical, mineral and microstructural characterization. The stabilization process was amended with four different contents viz. 0.25%, 0.5%, 1% and 2% of BA and CSP separately and the effect of the amendment was studied on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS), plasticity, swell-shrink and microstructural characteristics of the expansive soil. The results of the study indicated that BA amendment of lime stabilization performed better than CSP in improving the UCS, plasticity, swell-shrink and microstructure of the lime stabilized expansive soil.
Improved image processing of road pavement defect by infrared thermography
Authors: Sim Jun-Gi 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
This paper intends to achieve improved image processing for the clear identification of defects in damaged road pavement structure using infrared thermography non-destructive testing (NDT). To that goal, 4 types of pavement specimen including internal defects were fabricated to exploit the results obtained by heating the specimens by natural light. The results showed that defects located down to a depth of 3 cm could be detected by infrared thermography NDT using the improved image processing method.
The building blocks of speech: spontaneity, pre-packaging and the genre structuring of university lectures
Authors: Blackwell James W. , White Peter R. R. 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
This paper considers issues related to the textual organization of university lectures and the degree to which they are comprised of conventionalized text-organizational schema or genre stagings. It utilizes a dataset of video recordings and transcripts of four social science lectures which were delivered by two lecturers at a university in Japan in 2003, and offers findings which demonstrate that lecturers draw on a range of ready-made genres of the type which have been described in the so-called Sydney school genre literature and combine these conventionalized genres into genre complexes, which appear not to be conventionally or predictably ordered. The paper also offers some insights into at least one aspect of the distinction between online (spontaneous/spoken) versus offline (prepared/written) language. Specifically, it shows that lectures, as instances of spoken, apparently extemporaneous language do, to a significant degree, rely on pre-fabricated and culturally recurrent textual arrangements which the speakers draw on as they spontaneously produce the current communicative event.
Lernen und Lernversagen
Authors: Scherner Jonas 
Published: April 2018

Vorspann
Moderne Kriege werden nicht nur auf dem Schlachtfeld, sondern auch in Fabriken und Bergwerken gewonnen. Diese Erfahrung machte die politische und militärische Führung des Deutschen Reichs zwischen 1914 und 1918, als die Seeblockade der britischen Marine Rohstoffimporte aus Übersee weitgehend unterband. Jonas Scherner geht am Beispiel der Beschaffung kriegswichtiger Metalle wie Kupfer und Zinn der Frage nach, wie Politiker, Ökonomen und Militärs im NS-Staat zwischen 1939 und 1945 mit diesem Problem umgingen, welche Lehren sie aus der Rohstoffbewirtschaftung im Ersten Weltkrieg zogen und was die „Metallmobilisierung“ über Politik und Strategie im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland verrät.
Vicious Cycle Involving Na+Channels, Glutamate Release, and NMDA Receptors Mediates Delayed Neurodegeneration through Nitric Oxide Formation
Authors: Strijbos Paul J. L. M. , Leach Michael J. , Garthwaite John 
Published: April 2018

The mechanisms by which neurons die after cerebral ischemia and related conditionsin vivoare unclear, but they are thought to involve voltage-dependent Na+channels, glutamate receptors, and nitric oxide (NO) formation because selective inhibition of each provides neuroprotection. It is not known precisely what their roles are, nor whether they interact within a single cascade or in parallel pathways. These questions were investigated using anin vitroprimary cell culture model in which striatal neurons undergo a gradual and delayed neurodegeneration after a brief (5 min) challenge with the glutamate receptor agonist NMDA. Unexpectedly, NO was generated continuously by the cultures for up to 16 hr after the NMDA exposure. Neuronal death followed the same general time course except that its start was delayed by ∼4 hr. Application of the NO synthase inhibitor nitroarginine after, but not during, the NMDA exposure inhibited NO formation and protected against delayed neuronal death. Blockade of NMDA receptors or of voltage-sensitive Na+channels [with tetrodotoxin (TTX)] during the postexposure period also inhibited both NO formation and cell death. The NMDA exposure resulted in a selective accumulation of glutamate in the culture medium during the period preceding cell death. This glutamate release could be inhibited by NMDA antagonism or by TTX, but not by nitroarginine. These data suggest that Na+channels, glutamate receptors, and NO operate interdependently and sequentially to cause neurodegeneration. At the core of the mechanism is a vicious cycle in which NMDA receptor stimulation causes activation of TTX-sensitive Na+channels, leading to glutamate release and further NMDA receptor stimulation. The output of the cycle is an enduring production of NO from neuronal sources, and this is responsible for delayed neuronal death. The same neurons, however, could be induced to undergo more rapid NMDA receptor-dependent death that required neither TTX-sensitive Na+channels nor NO.
Nature of the Retrograde Signal from Injured Nerves that Induces Interleukin-6 mRNA in Neurons
Authors: Murphy Patricia G. , Borthwick Lindsay S. , Johnston Robert S. , Kuchel George , Richardson Peter M. 
Published: April 2018

In previous studies, interleukin-6 was shown to be synthesized in approximately one-third of lumbar dorsal root ganglion neurons during the first week after nerve transection. In present studies, interleukin-6 mRNA was found to be induced also in axotomized facial motor neurons and sympathetic neurons. The nature of the signal that induces interleukin-6 mRNA in neurons after nerve injury was analyzed. Blocking of retrograde axonal transport by injection of colchicine into an otherwise normal nerve did not induce interleukin-6 mRNA in primary sensory neurons, but injection of colchicine into the nerve stump prevented induction of interleukin-6 mRNA by nerve transection. Therefore, it was concluded that interleukin-6 is induced by an injury factor arising from the nerve stump rather than by interruption of normal retrograde trophic support from target tissues or distal nerve segments. Next, injection into the nerve of a mast cell degranulating agent was shown to stimulate interleukin-6 mRNA in sensory neurons and systemic administration of mast cell stabilizing agents to mitigate the induction of interleukin-6 mRNA in sensory neurons after nerve injury. These data implicate mast cells as one possible source of the factors that lead to induction of interleukin-6 mRNA after nerve injury.In search of a possible function of inducible interelukin-6, neuronal death after nerve transection was assessed in mice with null deletion of the interleukin-6 gene. Retrograde death of neurons in the fifth lumbar dorsal root ganglion was 45% greater in knockout than in wild-type mice. Thus, endogenous interleukin-6 contributes to the survival of axotomized neurons.
Collapsin-1/Semaphorin-III/D Is Regulated Developmentally in Purkinje Cells and Collapses Pontocerebellar Mossy Fiber Neuronal Growth Cones
Authors: Rabacchi Sylvia A. , Solowska Joanna M. , Kruk Barbara , Luo Yuling , Raper Jonathan A. , Baird Douglas H. 
Published: April 2018

Most axons in the CNS innervate specific subregions or layers of their target regions and form contacts with specific types of target neurons, but the molecular basis of this process is not well understood. To determine whether collapsin-1/semaphorin-III/D, a molecule known to repel specific axons, might guide afferent axons within their cerebellar targets, we characterized its expression byin situhybridization and observed its effects on mossy and climbing fiber extension and growth cone sizein vitro. In newborn mice sema-D is expressed by cerebellar Purkinje cells in parasagittal bands located medially and in some cells of the cerebellar nuclei. Later, sema-D expression in Purkinje cells broadens such that banded expression is no longer prominent, and expression is detected in progressively more lateral regions. By postnatal day 16, expression is observed throughout the cerebellar mediolateral axis.Collapsin-1 protein, the chick ortholog of sema-D, did not inhibit the extension of neurites from explants of inferior olivary nuclei, the source of climbing fibers that innervate Purkinje cells. In contrast, when it was applied to axons extending from basilar pontine explants, a source of mossy fiber afferents of granule cells, collapsin-1 caused most pontine growth cones to collapse, as evidenced by a reduction in growth cone size of up to 59%. Moreover, 63% of pontine growth cones arrested their extension or retracted. Its effects on mossy fiber extension and its distribution suggest that sema-D prevents mossy fibers from innervating inappropriate cerebellar target regions and cell types.
Presynaptic μ and δ Opioid Receptor Modulation of GABAAIPSCs in the Rat Globus PallidusIn Vitro
Authors: Stanford Ian M. , Cooper Alison J. 
Published: April 2018

The role of enkephalin and the opioid receptors in modulating GABA release within the rat globus pallidus (GP) was investigated using whole-cell patch recordings made from visually identified neurons. Two major GP neuronal subtypes were classified on the basis of intrinsic membrane properties, action potential characteristics, the presence of the anomalous inward rectifier (Ih), and anode break depolarizations.The μ opioid receptor agonist [d-Ala2-N-Me-Phe4-Glycol5]-enkephalin (DAMGO) (1 μm) reduced GABAAreceptor-mediated IPSCs evoked by stimulation within the striatum. DAMGO also increased paired-pulse facilitation, indicative of presynaptic μ opioid receptor modulation of striatopallidal input. In contrast, the δ opioid agonistd-Pen-[d-Pen2,5]-enkephalin (DPDPE) (1 μm) was without effect.IPSCs evoked by stimulation within the GP were depressed by application of [methionine 5′]-enkephalin (met-enkephalin) (30 μm). Met-enkephalin also reduced the frequency, but not the amplitude, of miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs) and increased paired-pulse facilitation of evoked IPSCs, indicative of a presynaptic action. Both DAMGO and DPDPE reduced evoked IPSCs and the frequency, but not amplitude, of mIPSCs. However, spontaneous action potential-driven IPSCs were reduced in frequency by met-enkephalin and DAMGO, whereas DPDPE was without effect.Overall, these results indicate that presynaptic μ opioid receptors are located on striatopallidal terminals and pallidopallidal terminals of spontaneously firing GP neurons, whereas presynaptic δ opioid receptors are preferentially located on terminals of quiescent GP cells. Enkephalin, acting at both of these receptor subtypes, serves to reduce GABA release in the GP and may therefore act as an adaptive mechanism, maintaining the inhibitory function of the GP in basal ganglia circuitry.
Coding of Sound Pressure Level in the Barn Owl's Auditory Nerve
Authors: Köppl Christine , Yates Graeme 
Published: April 2018

Rate–intensity functions, i.e., the relation between discharge rate and sound pressure level, were recorded from single auditory nerve fibers in the barn owl. Differences in sound pressure level between the owl's two ears are known to be an important cue in sound localization. One objective was therefore to quantify the discharge rates of auditory nerve fibers, as a basis for higher-order processing of sound pressure level. The second aim was to investigate the rate–intensity functions for cues to the underlying cochlear mechanisms, using a model developed in mammals.Rate–intensity functions at the most sensitive frequency mostly showed a well-defined breakpoint between an initial steep segment and a progressively flattening segment. This shape has, in mammals, been convincingly traced to a compressive nonlinearity in the cochlear mechanics, which in turn is a reflection of the cochlear amplifier enhancing low-level stimuli. The similarity of the rate–intensity functions of the barn owl is thus further evidence for a similar mechanism in birds. An interesting difference from mammalian data was that this compressive nonlinearity was not shared among fibers of similar characteristic frequency, suggesting a different mechanism with a more locally differentiated operation than in mammals.In all fibers, the steepest change in discharge rate with rising sound pressure level occurred within 10–20 dB of their respective thresholds. Because the range of neural thresholds at any one characteristic frequency is small in the owl, auditory nerve fibers were collectively most sensitive for changes in sound pressure level within ∼30 dB of the best thresholds. Fibers most sensitive to high frequencies (>6–7 kHz) showed a smaller increase of rate above spontaneous discharge rate than did lower-frequency fibers.
c-fosControls the “Private Pathway” of Light-Induced Apoptosis of Retinal Photoreceptors
Authors: Wenzel Andreas , Grimm Christian , Marti Andreas , Kueng-Hitz Nicole , Hafezi Farhad , Niemeyer Günter , Remé Charlotte E. 
Published: April 2018

White light (5 klux for 2 hr) induces apoptosis of rod photoreceptors in wild-type mice (c-fos+/+) within 24 hr, whereas rods ofc-fosknock-out mice (c-fos−/−) are protected (Hafezi et al., 1997b).The range of this protection was tested by analyzing retinas ofc-fos+/+andc-fos−/−mice up to 10 d after exposure to threefold increased light intensities (15 klux for 2 hr). Inc-fos−/−mice, rods were unaffected, whereas they were destroyed inc-fos+/+mice. After light exposure, mitochondrial damage in rods was observed exclusively inc-fos+/+mice. Electroretinograms recorded 48 hr after exposure revealed a decrease of all components inc-fos+/+mice but indicated no light-induced loss of function inc-fos−/−mice. Thus, inc-fos−/−mice, light-induced apoptosis is blocked or its threshold is elevated more than threefold.Increased activity of the transcription factor activator protein-1 (AP-1) in retinas of light-exposedc-fos+/+mice indicated an acute contribution of AP-1 to apoptosis induction. AP-1 activity increased already during exposure and peaked ∼6 hr thereafter, coinciding with the appearance of major morphological signs of apoptosis. Activated AP-1 mainly consisted of c-Fos/Jun heterodimers. Inc-fos−/−mice, AP-1 activity remained unchanged, indicating that no other Jun- or Fos-family member could substitute for c-Fos. Like damaging light,N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) induced AP-1 containing c-Fos inc-fos+/+mice and did not induce AP-1 inc-fos−/−mice. In contrast to light, however, MNU induced apoptosis in rods ofc-fos−/−mice. Thus, c-Fos is essential for a specific premitochondrial “private apoptotic pathway” induced by light but not for the execution of apoptosis induced by other stimuli.
Membrane Potential and Firing Rate in Cat Primary Visual Cortex
Authors: Carandini Matteo , Ferster David 
Published: April 2018

We have investigated the relationship between membrane potential and firing rate in cat visual cortex and found that the spike threshold contributes substantially to the sharpness of orientation tuning. The half-width at half-height of the tuning of the spike responses was 23 ± 8°, compared with 38 ± 15° for the membrane potential responses. Direction selectivity was also greater in spike responses (direction index, 0.61 ± 0.35) than in membrane potential responses (0.28 ± 0.21).Threshold also increased the distinction between simple and complex cells, which is commonly based on the linearity of the spike responses to drifting sinusoidal gratings. In many simple cells, such stimuli evoked substantial elevations in the mean potential, which are nonlinear. Being subthreshold, these elevations would be hard to detect in the firing rate responses. Moreover, just as simple cells displayed various degrees of nonlinearity, complex cells displayed various degrees of linearity.We fitted the firing rates with a classic rectification model in which firing rate is zero at potentials below a threshold and grows linearly with the potential above threshold. When the model was applied to a low-pass-filtered version of the membrane potential (with spikes removed), the estimated values of threshold (−54.4 ± 1.4 mV) and linear gain (7.2 ± 0.6 spikes · sec−1 · mV−1) were similar across the population. The predicted firing rates matched the observed firing rates well and accounted for the sharpening of orientation tuning of the spike responses relative to that of the membrane potential.As it was for stimulus orientation, threshold was also independent of stimulus contrast. The rectification model accounted for the dependence of spike responses on contrast and, because of a stimulus-induced tonic hyperpolarization, for the response adaptation induced by prolonged stimulation. Because gain and threshold are unaffected by visual stimulation and by adaptation, we suggest that they are constant under all conditions.
Peripheral Odor Coding in the Rat and Frog: Quality and Intensity Specification
Authors: Duchamp-Viret Patricia , Duchamp André , Chaput Michel A. 
Published: April 2018

In mammals, two recent studies have shown recently that one odor molecule can be recognized by several molecular olfactory receptors (ORs), and a single OR can recognize multiple odor molecules. In addition, one olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) may respond to different stimuli chosen as representative of distinct odor qualities. The aim of the present study was to analyze quality and intensity coding abilities of rat single ORNs, comparing them with previous extensive data gathered in the frog to get insight into the generality of olfactory coding mechanisms over vertebrates.Response properties of 90 rat ORNs to different odors or to one odor at different concentrations were analyzed. In the rat and the frog, odor quality appears to be specified through the identity of activated ORNs.However, rat ORNs have higher response thresholds. This lower sensitivity may be interpreted as an increase in selectivity of rat ORNs for low or medium odor intensities. In these conditions, the lower proportion of activated ORNs could be counterbalanced by their number, as well as by their higher glomerular convergence ratio in the olfactory bulb. From amphibians to mammals, the olfactory system appears to use universal mechanisms based on a combinatorial-coding mode that may allow quasi-infinite possibilities of adaptation to various olfactory environments.