WorldWideScience

Sample records for narrative abstract db

  1. The use of abstract paintings and narratives to foster reflective capacity in medical educators: a multinational faculty development workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karkabi, Khaled; Wald, Hedy S; Cohen Castel, Orit

    2014-01-01

    Reflective capacity is integral to core healthcare professional practice competencies. Reflection plays a central role in teacher education as reflecting on teaching behaviours with critical analysis can potentially improve teaching practice. The humanities including narrative and the visual arts can serve as a valuable tool for fostering reflection. We conducted a multinational faculty development workshop aiming to enhance reflective capacity in medical educators by using a combination of abstract paintings and narratives. Twenty-three family physicians or physicians-in-training from 10 countries participated in the workshop. Qualitative assessment of the workshop showed that the combined use of art and narrative was well received and perceived as contributing to the reflective exercise. Participants generally felt that viewing abstract paintings had facilitated a valuable mood transformation and prepared them emotionally for the reflective writing. Our analysis found that the following themes emerged from participants’ responses: (1) narratives from different countries are similar; (2) the use of art helped access feelings; (3) viewing abstract paintings facilitated next steps; (4) writing reflective narratives promoted examination of educational challenges, compassion for self and other, and building an action plan; and (5) sharing of narrative was helpful for fostering active listening and appreciating multiple perspectives. Future research might include comparing outcomes for a group participating in arts–narrative-based workshops with those of a control group using only reflective narrative or in combination with figurative art, and implementing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of assessment. PMID:24273319

  2. Klaim-DB: A Modeling Language for Distributed Database Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, Xi; Li, Ximeng; Lluch Lafuente, Alberto

    2015-01-01

    and manipulation of structured data, with integrity and atomicity considerations. We present the formal semantics of KlaimDB and illustrate the use of the language in a scenario where the sales from different branches of a chain of department stores are aggregated from their local databases. It can be seen......We present the modelling language, Klaim-DB, for distributed database applications. Klaim-DB borrows the distributed nets of the coordination language Klaim but essentially re-incarnates the tuple spaces of Klaim as databases, and provides high-level language abstractions for the access...... that raising the abstraction level and encapsulating integrity checks (concerning the schema of tables, etc.) in the language primitives for database operations benefit the modelling task considerably....

  3. Abstract of Dynamic Range: When Game Design and Narratives Unite

    OpenAIRE

    Arsenault, Dominic

    2005-01-01

    This paper proposes a tool and methodology for measuring the degree of freedom given to a player in any resource-driven game (that is, any game in which managing resources is an integral part of the gameplay). This concept, which I call the Dynamic Range, can be used namely to evaluate a given game system’s potential for developing emergent narratives, as defined by Henry Jenkins in his publication Game Design as Narrative Architecture. While Jenkins places at the heart of the creation of nar...

  4. Anti-diabetic effect of amorphastilbol through PPARα/γ dual activation in db/db mice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Woojung; Ham, Jungyeob; Kwon, Hak Cheol [Natural Medicine Center, KIST Gangneung Institute, Gangneung 210-340 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yong Kee, E-mail: yksnbk@sookmyung.ac.kr [College of Pharmacy, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 140-742 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Su-Nam, E-mail: snkim@kist.re.kr [Natural Medicine Center, KIST Gangneung Institute, Gangneung 210-340 (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-03-01

    Highlights: ► Amorphastilbol stimulates the transcriptional activities of both PPARα and PPARγ. ► Amorphastilbol improves glucose and lipid impairment in db/db mice. ► There are no side effects, such as hepatomegaly, in amorphastilbol-treated mice. ► Amorphastilbol can be used as a potential therapeutic agent against T2DM. - Abstract: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have been considered as desirable targets for metabolic syndrome treatments, even though their specific agonists have several side effects, including body weight gain, edema, and tissue failure. The effects of amorphastilbol (APH) on glucose- and lipid metabolism were investigated with in vitro 3T3-L1 adipocyte systems and in vivo db/db mice model. APH selectively stimulates the transcriptional activities of both PPARα and PPARγ, which are able to enhance fatty acid oxidation and glucose utilization. Furthermore, APH improves glucose and lipid impairment in db/db mice. More importantly, there are no significant side effects, such as weight gain or hepatomegaly, in APH-treated animals, implying that APH do not adversely affect liver or lipid metabolism. All our data suggest that APH can be used as potential therapeutic agents against type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders, including obesity, by enhancing glucose and lipid metabolism.

  5. Anti-diabetic effect of amorphastilbol through PPARα/γ dual activation in db/db mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Woojung; Ham, Jungyeob; Kwon, Hak Cheol; Kim, Yong Kee; Kim, Su-Nam

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Amorphastilbol stimulates the transcriptional activities of both PPARα and PPARγ. ► Amorphastilbol improves glucose and lipid impairment in db/db mice. ► There are no side effects, such as hepatomegaly, in amorphastilbol-treated mice. ► Amorphastilbol can be used as a potential therapeutic agent against T2DM. - Abstract: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have been considered as desirable targets for metabolic syndrome treatments, even though their specific agonists have several side effects, including body weight gain, edema, and tissue failure. The effects of amorphastilbol (APH) on glucose- and lipid metabolism were investigated with in vitro 3T3-L1 adipocyte systems and in vivo db/db mice model. APH selectively stimulates the transcriptional activities of both PPARα and PPARγ, which are able to enhance fatty acid oxidation and glucose utilization. Furthermore, APH improves glucose and lipid impairment in db/db mice. More importantly, there are no significant side effects, such as weight gain or hepatomegaly, in APH-treated animals, implying that APH do not adversely affect liver or lipid metabolism. All our data suggest that APH can be used as potential therapeutic agents against type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders, including obesity, by enhancing glucose and lipid metabolism

  6. GigaDB: announcing the GigaScience database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sneddon Tam P

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract With the launch of GigaScience journal, here we provide insight into the accompanying database GigaDB, which allows the integration of manuscript publication with supporting data and tools. Reinforcing and upholding GigaScience’s goals to promote open-data and reproducibility of research, GigaDB also aims to provide a home, when a suitable public repository does not exist, for the supporting data or tools featured in the journal and beyond.

  7. DPP-4 inhibitor des-F-sitagliptin treatment increased insulin exocytosis from db/db mice {beta} cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagamatsu, Shinya, E-mail: shinya@ks.kyorin-u.ac.jp [Department of Biochemistry, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8611 (Japan); Ohara-Imaizumi, Mica; Nakamichi, Yoko; Aoyagi, Kyota; Nishiwaki, Chiyono [Department of Biochemistry, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8611 (Japan)

    2011-09-09

    Highlights: {yields} Anti-diabetic new drug, DPP-4 inhibitor, can affect the insulin exocytosis. {yields} DPP-4 inhibitor treatment altered syntaxin 1 expression. {yields} Treatment of db/db mice with DPP-4 inhibitor increased insulin release. -- Abstract: Incretin promotes insulin secretion acutely. Recently, orally-administered DPP-4 inhibitors represent a new class of anti-hyperglycemic agents. Indeed, inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-4), sitagliptin, has just begun to be widely used as therapeutics for type 2 diabetes. However, the effects of sitagliptin-treatment on insulin exocytosis from single {beta}-cells are yet unknown. We therefore investigated how sitagliptin-treatment in db/db mice affects insulin exocytosis by treating db/db mice with des-F-sitagliptin for 2 weeks. Perfusion studies showed that 2 weeks-sitagliptin treatment potentiated insulin secretion. We then analyzed insulin granule motion and SNARE protein, syntaxin 1, by TIRF imaging system. TIRF imaging of insulin exocytosis showed the increased number of docked insulin granules and increased fusion events from them during first-phase release. In accord with insulin exocytosis data, des-F-sitagliptin-treatment increased the number of syntaxin 1 clusters on the plasma membrane. Thus, our data demonstrated that 2-weeks des-F-sitagliptin-treatment increased the fusion events of insulin granules, probably via increased number of docked insulin granules and that of syntaxin 1 clusters.

  8. Abstract algebra

    CERN Document Server

    Garrett, Paul B

    2007-01-01

    Designed for an advanced undergraduate- or graduate-level course, Abstract Algebra provides an example-oriented, less heavily symbolic approach to abstract algebra. The text emphasizes specifics such as basic number theory, polynomials, finite fields, as well as linear and multilinear algebra. This classroom-tested, how-to manual takes a more narrative approach than the stiff formalism of many other textbooks, presenting coherent storylines to convey crucial ideas in a student-friendly, accessible manner. An unusual feature of the text is the systematic characterization of objects by universal

  9. Abstract The poor narrative techniques of Nigerian video films have ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tracie1

    objects such as the horn and a car, the smoke and fire. Symbolic signs, on .... of narrative techniques which Metz identifies as montage, camera movements, scale of ... distance that stretches from 12 feet back to the limits of sight. For example ...

  10. Narrative Style Influences Citation Frequency in Climate Change Science.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ann Hillier

    Full Text Available Peer-reviewed publications focusing on climate change are growing exponentially with the consequence that the uptake and influence of individual papers varies greatly. Here, we derive metrics of narrativity from psychology and literary theory, and use these metrics to test the hypothesis that more narrative climate change writing is more likely to be influential, using citation frequency as a proxy for influence. From a sample of 732 scientific abstracts drawn from the climate change literature, we find that articles with more narrative abstracts are cited more often. This effect is closely associated with journal identity: higher-impact journals tend to feature more narrative articles, and these articles tend to be cited more often. These results suggest that writing in a more narrative style increases the uptake and influence of articles in climate literature, and perhaps in scientific literature more broadly.

  11. Narrative Style Influences Citation Frequency in Climate Change Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillier, Ann; Kelly, Ryan P; Klinger, Terrie

    2016-01-01

    Peer-reviewed publications focusing on climate change are growing exponentially with the consequence that the uptake and influence of individual papers varies greatly. Here, we derive metrics of narrativity from psychology and literary theory, and use these metrics to test the hypothesis that more narrative climate change writing is more likely to be influential, using citation frequency as a proxy for influence. From a sample of 732 scientific abstracts drawn from the climate change literature, we find that articles with more narrative abstracts are cited more often. This effect is closely associated with journal identity: higher-impact journals tend to feature more narrative articles, and these articles tend to be cited more often. These results suggest that writing in a more narrative style increases the uptake and influence of articles in climate literature, and perhaps in scientific literature more broadly.

  12. Diet supplementation with green tea extract epigallocatechin gallate prevents progression to glucose intolerance in db/db mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ortsäter Henrik

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Green tea was suggested as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of diabetes more than 70 years ago, but the mechanisms behind its antidiabetic effect remains elusive. In this work, we address this issue by feeding a green tea extract (TEAVIGO™ with a high content of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG or the thiazolidinedione PPAR-γ agonist rosiglitazone, as positive control, to db/db mice, an animal model for diabetes. Methods Young (7 week-old db/db mice were randomized and assigned to receive diets supplemented with or without EGCG or rosiglitazone for 10 weeks. Fasting blood glucose, body weight and food intake was measured along the treatment. Glucose and insulin levels were determined during an oral glucose tolerance test after 10 weeks of treatment. Pancreata were sampled at the end of the study for blinded histomorphometric analysis. Islets were isolated and their mRNA expression analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. Results The results show that, in db/db mice, EGCG improves glucose tolerance and increases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. EGCG supplementation reduces the number of pathologically changed islets of Langerhans, increases the number and the size of islets, and heightens pancreatic endocrine area. These effects occurred in parallel with a reduction in islet endoplasmic reticulum stress markers, possibly linked to the antioxidative capacity of EGCG. Conclusions This study shows that the green tea extract EGCG markedly preserves islet structure and enhances glucose tolerance in genetically diabetic mice. Dietary supplementation with EGCG could potentially contribute to nutritional strategies for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

  13. Narrative and emotion process in psychotherapy: an empirical test of the Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System (NEPCS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boritz, Tali Z; Bryntwick, Emily; Angus, Lynne; Greenberg, Leslie S; Constantino, Michael J

    2014-01-01

    While the individual contributions of narrative and emotion processes to psychotherapy outcome have been the focus of recent interest in psychotherapy research literature, the empirical analysis of narrative and emotion integration has rarely been addressed. The Narrative-Emotion Processes Coding System (NEPCS) was developed to provide researchers with a systematic method for identifying specific narrative and emotion process markers, for application to therapy session videos. The present study examined the relationship between NEPCS-derived problem markers (same old storytelling, empty storytelling, unstoried emotion, abstract storytelling) and change markers (competing plotlines storytelling, inchoate storytelling, unexpected outcome storytelling, and discovery storytelling), and treatment outcome (recovered versus unchanged at therapy termination) and stage of therapy (early, middle, late) in brief emotion-focused (EFT), client-centred (CCT), and cognitive (CT) therapies for depression. Hierarchical linear modelling analyses demonstrated a significant Outcome effect for inchoate storytelling (p = .037) and discovery storytelling (p = .002), a Stage × Outcome effect for abstract storytelling (p = .05), and a Stage × Outcome × Treatment effect for competing plotlines storytelling (p = .001). There was also a significant Stage × Outcome effect for NEPCS problem markers (p = .007) and change markers (p = .03). The results provide preliminary support for the importance of assessing the contribution of narrative-emotion processes to efficacious treatment outcomes in EFT, CCT, and CT treatments of depression.

  14. The antidiabetic effects of a dry powder of dietary vegetable and fruit mixtures in diabetic db/db mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chung-Man Yeung

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Chung-Man Yeung1, Yi Tan1, Sidney Tam2, Liwei Lu3, King-Hung Ko3, Pai-Hao Yang1,4, Hsiang-Fu Kung4, Marie C Lin11Department of Chemistry, Open Laboratory of Chemical Biology of the Institute of Molecular Technology, 2Clinical Biochemistry Unit, 3Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; 4Centre of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, ChinaAbstract: We evaluated the antidiabetic effects of a mixed vegetable powder-formula I (MVP-FI, which is a dry powder mixture of over 65 kinds of vegetables and fruits, using the db/db type 2 diabetes mouse model. The db/db mice at 8–10 weeks of age were randomly divided into three groups: vehicle treatment, 1.575 g/kg MVP-FI treatment, and 3.15 g/kg MVP-FI treatment. During 12 days of treatment, we measured food intake and body weight changes, fasting blood glucose levels, and plasma lipid levels. Our results showed that the food intake and the body weight of MVP-FI-treated group were decreased gradually. Moreover, the fasting blood glucose level of the treated group was significantly dropped to a normal level comparable to that of the lean mice. Furthermore, we also found that the plasma triglyceride level in the treated group was dropped, whereas the high-density lipoprotein (HDL level was increased and total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio was decreased. Taken together, these results suggest that the diabetic conditions of the db/db mice have been improved after 12 days treatment with MVP-FI. The antihyperglycemic and antiobese activities of the MVP-FI, as demonstrated in the present study, may have important clinical implications for improving the management of type 2 diabetic patients.Keywords: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, db/db mice, diabetes

  15. Antidiabetic and Antiobesity Effects of Artemether in db/db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Guo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This study is designed to investigate the effect of artemether on type 2 diabetic db/db mice. The experiments consisted of three groups: normal control (NC, db/+, 1% methylcellulose, intragastric administration, diabetic control (DM, db/db, 1% methylcellulose, intragastric administration, and artemether treated (artemether, db/db, 200 mg/kg of artemether, intragastric administration. The treatment lasted for two weeks. The food intake, body weight, and fasting blood glucose of mice were measured every three days. At the start and end of the experiment, the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT and insulin tolerance test (IPITT were performed. We determined the serum insulin and glucagon levels by ELISA kits and calculated insulin resistance index (HOME-IR. HE staining was used to observe the morphologies of pancreas and liver in mice. The damage of pancreatic beta cells was evaluated by TUNEL staining and immunofluorescence. We found the following: (1 compared with the DM group, the food intake and weight increase rate of artemether group significantly reduced (P<0.05; (2 compared with pretreatment, artemether significantly reduced the fasting blood glucose levels, and the areas under the curves (AUCs of IPGTT were decreased significantly, increasing the tolerance to glucose of db/db mice. (P<0.05; (3 artemether improved hyperinsulinemia and decreased the AUCs of IPITT and HOME-IR, increasing the insulin sensitivity of db/db mice. (4 Artemether significantly ameliorated islet vacuolar degeneration and hepatic steatosis in db/db mice. (5 Artemether reduced the apoptosis of pancreatic beta cells and increased insulin secretion in db/db mice compared with DM group (P<0.05. Our results indicated that artemether significantly improved glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance and had the potential activity to prevent obesity, reduced the severity of fatty liver, and protected pancreatic beta cells, promising to treat type 2 diabetes.

  16. Camera Movement in Narrative Cinema

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jakob Isak

    2007-01-01

    section unearths what characterizes the literature on camera movement. The second section of the dissertation delineates the history of camera movement itself within narrative cinema. Several organizational principles subtending the on-screen effect of camera movement are revealed in section two...... but they are not organized into a coherent framework. This is the task that section three meets in proposing a functional taxonomy for camera movement in narrative cinema. Two presumptions subtend the taxonomy: That camera movement actively contributes to the way in which we understand the sound and images on the screen......, commentative or valuative manner. 4) Focalization: associating the movement of the camera with the viewpoints of characters or entities in the story world. 5) Reflexive: inviting spectators to engage with the artifice of camera movement. 6) Abstract: visualizing abstract ideas and concepts. In order...

  17. Impaired Muscle Regeneration in Ob/ob and Db/db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mai-Huong Nguyen

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In obesity and type 2 diabetes, efficient skeletal muscle repair following injury may be required, not only for restoring muscle structure and function, but also for maintaining exercise capacity and insulin sensitivity. The hypothesis of this study was that muscle regeneration would be impaired in ob/ob and db/db mice, which are common mouse models of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Muscle injury was produced by cardiotoxin injection, and regeneration was assessed by morphological and immunostaining techniques. Muscle regeneration was delayed in ob/ob and db/db mice, but not in a less severe model of insulin resistance – feeding a high-fat diet to wild-type mice. Angiogenesis, cell proliferation, and myoblast accumulation were also impaired in ob/ob and db/db mice, but not the high-fat diet mice. The impairments in muscle regeneration were associated with impaired macrophage accumulation; macrophages have been shown previously to be required for efficient muscle regeneration. Impaired regeneration in ob/ob and db/db mice could be due partly to the lack of leptin signaling, since leptin is expressed both in damaged muscle and in cultured muscle cells. In summary, impaired muscle regeneration in ob/ob and db/db mice was associated with reduced macrophage accumulation, angiogenesis, and myoblast activity, and could have implications for insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscle of obese and type 2 diabetic patients.

  18. DB Energie 2020. Implementation of sustainability strategy DB2020; DB Energie 2020. Die Umsetzung der Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie DB2020

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Witschke, Hans-Juergen [DB Energie GmbH, Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

    2013-06-15

    As a worldwide provider of mobility and logistics services and one of the biggest employers in Germany, Deutsche Bahn (DB) bears a special responsibility for customers, its own staff, the environment and society as a whole. In order to meet this responsibility, it has made the consistent implementation of the DB Energie 2020 sustainability concept an essential element of its business strategy. Following this line of business provides DB with good opportunities on the one hand but also carries risks and challenges on the other. (orig.)

  19. MELCOR DB Construction for the Severe Accident Analysis DB

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Y. M.; Ahn, K. I.

    2011-01-01

    The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has been constructing a severe accident analysis database (DB) under a National Nuclear R and D Program. In particular, an MAAP (commercial code being widely used in industries for integrated severe accident analysis) DB for many scenarios including a station blackout (SBO) has been completed. This paper shows the MELCOR DB construction process with examples of SBO scenarios, and the results will be used for a comparison with the MAAP DB

  20. Narrative ethics for narrative care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Clive

    2015-08-01

    Narrative permeates health care--from patients' stories taken as medical histories to the development of health policy. The narrative approach to health care has involved the move from narratives in health care as objects of study to the lens through which health care is studied and, more recently, to narrative as a form of care. In this paper, I argue that narrative care requires a move in the field of ethics--from a position where narratives are used to inform ethical decision making to one in which narrative is the form and process of ethical decision making. In other words, I argue for a narrative ethics for narrative care. The argument is relatively straightforward. If, as I argue, humans are narrative beings who make sense of themselves, others, and the world in and through narrative, we need to see our actions as both narratively based and narratively contextual and thus understanding the nature, form, and content of the narratives of which we are a part, and the process of narrativity, provides an intersubjective basis for ethical action. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Teaching Abstract Concepts: Keys to the World of Ideas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flatley, Joannis K.; Gittinger, Dennis J.

    1990-01-01

    Specific teaching strategies to help hearing-impaired secondary students comprehend abstract concepts include (1) pinpointing facts and fallacies, (2) organizing information visually, (3) categorizing ideas, and (4) reinforcing new vocabulary and concepts. Figures provide examples of strategy applications. (DB)

  2. Proteases in Plasma and Kidney of db/db Mice as Markers of Diabetes-Induced Nephropathy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadler-Olsen, E.; Winberg, J.-O.; Reinholt, F. P.; Larsen, T.; Uhlin-Hansen, L.; Jenssen, T.; Berg, E.; Kolset, S. O.

    2011-01-01

    Db/db mice are overweight, dyslipidemic and develop diabetic complications, relevant for similar complications in human type 2 diabetes. We have used db/db and db/+ control mice to investigate alterations in proteinase expression and activity in circulation and kidneys by SDS-PAGE zymography, electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and in situ zymography. Plasma from db/db mice contained larger amounts of serine proteinases compared to db/+ mice. Kidneys from the db/db mice had a significantly larger glomerular surface area and somewhat thicker glomerular basement membranes compared to the db/+ mice. Furthermore, kidney extracts from db/+ mice contained metalloproteinases with M r of approximately 92000, compatible with MMP-9, not observed in db/db mice. These results indicate that higher levels of serine proteinases in plasma may serve as potential markers for kidney changes in db/db mice, whereas a decrease in MMP-9 in the kidney may be related to the glomerular changes. PMID:22363890

  3. PlantDB – a versatile database for managing plant research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gruissem Wilhelm

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Research in plant science laboratories often involves usage of many different species, cultivars, ecotypes, mutants, alleles or transgenic lines. This creates a great challenge to keep track of the identity of experimental plants and stored samples or seeds. Results Here, we describe PlantDB – a Microsoft® Office Access database – with a user-friendly front-end for managing information relevant for experimental plants. PlantDB can hold information about plants of different species, cultivars or genetic composition. Introduction of a concise identifier system allows easy generation of pedigree trees. In addition, all information about any experimental plant – from growth conditions and dates over extracted samples such as RNA to files containing images of the plants – can be linked unequivocally. Conclusion We have been using PlantDB for several years in our laboratory and found that it greatly facilitates access to relevant information.

  4. Mastering MariaDB

    CERN Document Server

    Razzoli, Federico

    2014-01-01

    This book is intended for intermediate users who want to learn how to administrate a MariaDB server or a set of servers. It is aimed at MariaDB users, and hence working knowledge of MariaDB is a prerequisite.

  5. Portulaca oleracea Ameliorates Diabetic Vascular Inflammation and Endothelial Dysfunction in db/db Mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, An Sook; Lee, Yun Jung; Lee, So Min; Yoon, Jung Joo; Kim, Jin Sook; Kang, Dae Gill; Lee, Ho Sub

    2012-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes is associated with significantly accelerated rates of micro- and macrovascular complications such as diabetic vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. In the present study, we investigated the protective effect of the aqueous extract of Portulaca oleracea L. (AP), an edible plant used as a folk medicine, on diabetic vascular complications. The db/db mice were treated with AP (300 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for 10 weeks, and AP treatment markedly lowered blood glucose, plasma triglyceride, plasma level of LDL-cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure in diabetic db/db mice. Furthermore, AP significantly increased plasma level of HDL-cholesterol and insulin level. The impairment of ACh- and SNP-induced vascular relaxation of aortic rings were ameliorated by AP treatment in diabetic db/db mice. This study also showed that overexpression of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, E-selectin, MMP-2, and ET-1 were observed in aortic tissues of untreated db/db mice, which were significantly suppressed by treatment with AP. We also found that the insulin immunoreactivity of the pancreatic islets remarkably increased in AP treated db/db mice compared with untreated db/db mice. Taken together, AP suppresses hyperglycemia and diabetic vascular inflammation, and prevents the development of diabetic endothelial dysfunction for the development of diabetes and its vascular complications. PMID:22474522

  6. Following celebrities’ medical advice: meta-narrative analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Hoffman, Steven J; Tan, Charlie

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To synthesise what is known about how celebrities influence people’s decisions on health. Design: Meta-narrative analysis of economics, marketing, psychology, and sociology literatures. Data sources Systematic searches of electronic databases: BusinessSource Complete (1886-), Communication & Mass Media Complete (1915-), Humanities Abstracts (1984-), ProQuest Political Science (1985-), PsycINFO (1806-), PubMed (1966-), and Sociology Abstracts (1952-). Inclusion criteria Studies disc...

  7. Zinc Prevents the Development of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy in db/db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shudong Wang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM is highly prevalent in type 2 diabetes (T2DM patients. Zinc is an important essential trace metal, whose deficiency is associated with various chronic ailments, including vascular diseases. We assessed T2DM B6.BKS(D-Leprdb/J (db/db mice fed for six months on a normal diet containing three zinc levels (deficient, adequate, and supplemented, to explore the role of zinc in DCM development and progression. Cardiac function, reflected by ejection fraction, was significantly decreased, along with increased left ventricle mass and heart weight to tibial length ratio, in db/db mice. As a molecular cardiac hypertrophy marker, atrial natriuretic peptide levels were also significantly increased. Cardiac dysfunction and hypertrophy were accompanied by significantly increased fibrotic (elevated collagen accumulation as well as transforming growth factor β and connective tissue growth factor levels and inflammatory (enhanced expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1β, caspase recruitment domain family member 9, and B-cell lymphoma/leukemia 10, and activated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase responses in the heart. All these diabetic effects were exacerbated by zinc deficiency, and not affected by zinc supplementation, respectively. Mechanistically, oxidative stress and damage, mirrored by the accumulation of 3-nitrotyrosine and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, was significantly increased along with significantly decreased expression of Nrf2 and its downstream antioxidants (NQO-1 and catalase. This was also exacerbated by zinc deficiency in the db/db mouse heart. These results suggested that zinc deficiency promotes the development and progression of DCM in T2DM db/db mice. The exacerbated effects by zinc deficiency on the heart of db/db mice may be related to further suppression of Nrf2 expression and function.

  8. Det narrative og narrative undervisningsformer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2010-01-01

    I denne power point gennem grundtrækkene i den narrative vending og der kommes med eksempler på narrative undervisningsformer.......I denne power point gennem grundtrækkene i den narrative vending og der kommes med eksempler på narrative undervisningsformer....

  9. Ultrasonographic Characterization of the db/db Mouse: An Animal Model of Metabolic Abnormalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Faita

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The availability of an animal model able to reliably mirror organ damage occurring in metabolic diseases is an urgent need. These models, mostly rodents, have not been fully characterized in terms of cardiovascular, renal, and hepatic ultrasound parameters, and only sparse values can be found in literature. Aim of this paper is to provide a detailed, noninvasive description of the heart, vessels, liver, and kidneys of the db/db mouse by ultrasound imaging. Sixteen wild type and thirty-four db/db male mice (11-week-old were studied. State-of-the-art ultrasound technology was used to acquire images of cardiovascular, renal, and hepatic districts. A set of parameters describing function of the selected organs was evaluated. db/db mice are characterized by systolic and diastolic dysfunction, confirmed by strain analysis. Abdominal aortic and carotid stiffness do not seem to be increased in diabetic rodents; furthermore, they are characterized by a smaller mean diameter for both vessels. Renal microcirculation is significantly compromised, while liver steatosis is only slightly higher in db/db mice than in controls. We offer here for the first time an in vivo detailed ultrasonographic characterization of the db/db mouse, providing a useful tool for a thoughtful choice of the right rodent model for any experimental design.

  10. PhilDB: the time series database with built-in change logging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew MacDonald

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available PhilDB is an open-source time series database that supports storage of time series datasets that are dynamic; that is, it records updates to existing values in a log as they occur. PhilDB eases loading of data for the user by utilising an intelligent data write method. It preserves existing values during updates and abstracts the update complexity required to achieve logging of data value changes. It implements fast reads to make it practical to select data for analysis. Recent open-source systems have been developed to indefinitely store long-period high-resolution time series data without change logging. Unfortunately, such systems generally require a large initial installation investment before use because they are designed to operate over a cluster of servers to achieve high-performance writing of static data in real time. In essence, they have a ‘big data’ approach to storage and access. Other open-source projects for handling time series data that avoid the ‘big data’ approach are also relatively new and are complex or incomplete. None of these systems gracefully handle revision of existing data while tracking values that change. Unlike ‘big data’ solutions, PhilDB has been designed for single machine deployment on commodity hardware, reducing the barrier to deployment. PhilDB takes a unique approach to meta-data tracking; optional attribute attachment. This facilitates scaling the complexities of storing a wide variety of data. That is, it allows time series data to be loaded as time series instances with minimal initial meta-data, yet additional attributes can be created and attached to differentiate the time series instances when a wider variety of data is needed. PhilDB was written in Python, leveraging existing libraries. While some existing systems come close to meeting the needs PhilDB addresses, none cover all the needs at once. PhilDB was written to fill this gap in existing solutions. This paper explores existing time

  11. Influences of obese (ob/ob and diabetes (db/db genotype mutations on lumber vertebral radiological and morphometric indices: Skeletal deformation associated with dysregulated systemic glucometabolism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garris David R

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Both diabetes and obesity syndromes are recognized to promote lumbar vertebral instability, premature osteodegeneration, exacerbate progressive osteoporosis and increase the propensity towards vertebral degeneration, instability and deformation in humans. Methods The influences of single-gene missense mutations, expressing either diabetes (db/db or obese (ob/ob metabolic syndromes on vertebral maturation and development in C57BL/KsJ mice were evaluated by radiological and macro-morphometric analysis of the resulting variances in osteodevelopment indices relative to control parameters between 8 and 16 weeks of age (syndrome onset @ 4 weeks, and the influences of low-dose 17-B-estradiol therapy on vertebral growth expression evaluated. Results Associated with the indicative genotypic obesity and hyper-glycemic/-insulinemic states, both db/db and ob/ob mutants demonstrated a significant (P ≤ 0.05 elongation of total lumbar vertebrae column (VC regional length, and individual lumbar vertebrae (LV1-5 lengths, relative to control VC and LV parameters. In contrast, LV1-5 width indices were suppressed in db/db and ob/ob mutants relative to control LV growth rates. Between 8 and 16 weeks of age, the suppressed LV1-5 width indices were sustained in both genotype mutant groups relative to control osteomaturation rates. The severity of LV1-5 width osteosuppression correlated with the severe systemic hyperglycemic and hypertriglyceridemic conditions sustained in ob/ob and db/db mutants. Low-dose 17-B-estradiol therapy (E2-HRx: 1.0 ug/ 0.1 ml oil s.c/3.5 days, initiated at 4 weeks of age (i.e., initial onset phase of db/db and ob/ob expressions re-established control LV 1–5 width indices without influencing VC or LV lengths in db/db groups. Conclusion These data demonstrate that the abnormal systemic endometabolic states associated with the expression of db/db and ob/ob genomutation syndromes suppress LV 1–5 width osteomaturation

  12. Instant InnoDB

    CERN Document Server

    Reid, Matt

    2013-01-01

    This book is a complete reference guide, designed to provide you with answers and solutions to all the common problems you encounter within InnoDB, helping you achieve higher performance and greater stability in your InnoDB databases.The ""InnoDB Quick Reference Guide"" features content for all skill levels of MySQL administrators, developers, and engineers.

  13. Truth or meaning: Ricoeur versus Frei on biblical narrative

    OpenAIRE

    Gary L. Comstock

    1989-01-01

    Truth or meaning: Ricoeur versus Frei on biblical narrative Of the theologians and philosophers now writing on biblical narrative, Hans Frei and Paul Ricoeur are probably the most prominent. It is significant that their views converge on important issues. Both are uncomfortable with hermeneutic theories that convert the text into an abstract philosophical system, an ideal typological structure, or a mere occasion for existential decision. Frei and Ricoeur seem knit together in a common en...

  14. MongoDB high availability

    CERN Document Server

    Mehrabani, Afshin

    2014-01-01

    This book has a perfect balance of concepts and their practical implementation along with solutions to make a highly available MongoDB server with clear instructions and guidance. If you are using MongoDB in a production environment and need a solution to make a highly available MongoDB server, this book is ideal for you. Familiarity with MongoDB is expected so that you understand the content of this book.

  15. Elevated Steroid Hormone Production in the db/db Mouse Model of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Anja; Peitzsch, Mirko; Brunssen, Coy; Mittag, Jennifer; Jannasch, Annett; Frenzel, Annika; Brown, Nicholas; Weldon, Steven M; Eisenhofer, Graeme; Bornstein, Stefan R; Morawietz, Henning

    2017-01-01

    Obesity and type 2 diabetes have become a major public health problem worldwide. Steroid hormone dysfunction appears to be linked to development of obesity and type 2 diabetes and correction of steroid abnormalities may offer new approaches to therapy. We therefore analyzed plasma steroids in 15-16 week old obese and diabetic db/db mice using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Lean db/+ served as controls. Db/db mice developed obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperleptinemia, and hyperlipidemia. Hepatic triglyceride storage was increased and adiponectin and pancreatic insulin were lowered. Aldosterone, corticosterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, and progesterone were respectively increased by 3.6-, 2.9-, 3.4, and 1.7-fold in db/db mice compared to controls. Ratios of aldosterone-to-progesterone and corticosterone-to-progesterone were respectively 2.0- and 1.5-fold higher in db/db mice. Genes associated with steroidogenesis were quantified in the adrenal glands and gonadal adipose tissues. In adrenals, Cyp11b2 , Cyp11b1 , Cyp21a1 , Hsd3b1 , Cyp11a1 , and StAR were all significantly increased in db/db mice compared with db/+ controls. In adipose tissue, no Cyp11b2 or Cyp11b1 transcripts were detected and no differences in Cyp21a1 , Hsd3b1 , Cyp11a1 , or StAR expression were found between db/+ and db/db mice. In conclusion, the present study showed an elevated steroid hormone production and adrenal steroidogenesis in the db/db model of obesity and type 2 diabetes. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  16. Protective effects of astragaloside IV on db/db mice with diabetic retinopathy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuzhi Ding

    Full Text Available Diabetic retinopathy (DR is a common diabetic eye disease which is well-known as the result of microvascular retinal changes. Although the potential biological functions of astragaloside IV (AS IV have long been described in traditional system of medicine, its protective effect on DR remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the function and mechanism of AS IV on type 2 diabetic db/db mice.Db/db mice were treated with AS IV (4.5 mg/kg or 9 mg/kg or physiological saline by oral gavage for 20 weeks along with db/m mice. In each group, retinal ganglion cell (RGC function was measured by pattern electroretinogram (ERG and apoptosis was determined by Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL staining. Blood and retina aldose reductase (AR activity were quantified by chemiluminescence analysis. The expressions of phosporylated-ERK1/2, NF-κB were determined by Western blot analysis. Furthermore, the expression of related downstream proteins were quantified by Label-based Mouse Antibody Array.Administration of AS IV significantly improved the amplitude in pattern ERG and reduced the apoptosis of RGCs.in db/db mice. Furthermore, downregulation of AR activity, ERK1/2 phosphorylation, NF-κB and related cytokine were observed in AS IV treatment group.Our study indicated that AS IV, as an inhibitor of AR, could prevent the activation of ERK1/2 phosporylation and NF-kB and further relieve the RGCs disfunction in db/db mice with DR. It has provided a basis for investigating the clinical efficacy of AR inhibitors in preventing DR.

  17. Use of Abstracts, Orientations, and Codas in Narration by Language-Disordered and Nondisordered Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sleight, Christine C.; Prinz, Philip M.

    1985-01-01

    Forty language-disordered and nondisordered elementary children viewed a nonverbal film, wrote the story, and narrated it to language-disordered and nondisordered peers unfamiliar with the film. Language-disordered Ss made fewer references to the orientation clauses of props and activities than nondisordered Ss. Neither group modified their…

  18. Exendin-4 improves resistance to Listeria monocytogenes infection in diabetic db/db mice

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Hsien Yueh; Chung, Chih-Yao; Yang, Wen-Chin; Liang, Chih-Lung; Wang, Chi-Young; Chang, Chih-Yu; Chang, Cicero Lee-Tian

    2012-01-01

    The incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasing among companion animals. This disease has similar characteristics in both humans and animals. Diabetes is frequently identified as an independent risk factor for infections associated with increased mortality. In the present study, homozygous diabetic (db/db) mice were infected with Listeria (L.) monocytogenes and then treated with the anti-diabetic drug exendin-4, a glucagon-like peptide 1 analogue. In aged db/db mice, decreased CD11b+ macroph...

  19. Basalt aquifer identification, correlation and sampling activities. History of Wells DB-8, DB-9, DB-10 and DB-11

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webster, C.T.

    1979-07-01

    Research core wells have been completed to assist in the characterization of the groundwater regime of the upper confined aquifers found within the basalts of the Hanford Site. These wells were drilled on the Hanford Site for the Long-Term Transuranic Defense Waste Program. They were constructed to assure the Department of Energy that waste management operations will not provide an avenue for offsite migration of radionuclides. This second report details results of confined aquifer drilling activities. The purpose of this report is to document the drilling history of the wells by presenting as-built well construction diagrams and tables listing hole history data, coring records and bit records. Four wells were cored to a maximum depth of 1100 feet and water samples were taken from selected confined aquifers. Full depth was reached on all wells and core recovery was 94% of all formations drilled. Well DB-8 was abandoned after a well screen was destroyed while setting it in the well. Two wells, DB-9 and DB-10 were screened in the Mabton interbed and water was produced from this interval in both wells. Well DB-11 was used to explore for artesian water from the Priest Rapids flow unit on the western edge of the Hanford Site. The water was found at a depth of 1045 feet and now produces makeup water for all Hanford drilling

  20. Narratives boost entrepreneurial attitudes: Making an entrepreneurial career attractive?†

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    Abstract This article analyses the impact of narratives on entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions. To this end, a quasi‐experiment was conducted to evaluate web‐based entrepreneurial narratives. The paired‐sample tests and regression analysis use a sample of 466 people from Austria, Finland, and Greece and indicate that individuals’ perceptions of the desirability of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention are significantly different before and after exposure to entrepreneurial narratives. Furthermore, the findings indicate that perceptions of the feasibility of entrepreneurship are more strongly affected by videos than by cases. From a policy perspective, this study raises awareness that entrepreneurship is an attractive career path. PMID:29863170

  1. Efficacy of Acetylshikonin in Preventing Obesity and Hepatic Steatosis in db/db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mei-Ling Su

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Zicao (Lithospermum erythrorhizon has been used in clinics as a traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Acetylshikonin (AS is the main ingredient of Zicao, Xinjiang, China. The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-obesity and anti-nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD efficacy of AS in a model of spontaneous obese db/db mice. Mice were divided into Wild Type (WT groups and db/db groups, which received no treatment or treatment with 100 mg/kg/day clenbuterol (CL hydrochloride or 540 mg/kg/day AS by oral gavage for eight weeks. The results provided the evidence that AS prevented obesity and NAFLD including reduction in body weight, food efficiency ratio, serum triglyceride (TG and free fatty acid (FFA levels in db/db mice. Administration of AS markedly suppressed the levels of hepatic alanine aminotransferase (ALT, aspartate aminotransferase (AST and pro-inflammatory cytokines in treated groups when compared with that of db/db groups. Further investigation of the lipid synthesis-related protein using Western blotting revealed that hepatic protein expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1, fatty acid synthetase (FAS and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR were significantly downregulated by AS treatment. These findings suggest that AS exerts anti-obesity and anti-NAFLD effects through the regulation of lipid metabolism and anti-inflammatory effects.

  2. Alkannin Inhibited Hepatic Inflammation in Diabetic Db/Db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenhua Xue

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: The current study was designed to investigate the protective role of alkannin (ALK on liver injury in diabetic C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice and explore its potential mechanisms. Methods: An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT was performed. The levels of insulin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT, aspartate aminotransaminase (AST, total cholesterol (TC and triglyceride (TG were determined by commercial kits. The pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL-1β, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α were determined by ELISA. The levels of the ROCK/NF-κB pathway were determined by Western blotting. Results: The contents of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL-1β, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α were inhibited by ALK, metformin or fasudil in diabetic db/db mice. Further, Western blotting analysis showed that the expression of Rho, ROCK1, ROCK2, p-NF-κBp65, and p-IκBα was significantly reversed by ALK treatment. In human hepatic HepG2 cells, the hepatoprotective effects of ALK were further characterized. With response to palmitic acid-challenge, increased amounts of insulin, ALT, AST, TG, and TC were observed, whereas ALK pretreatment significantly inhibited their leakage in HepG2 cells without appreciable cytotoxic effects. The inflammation condition was recovered with ALK treatment as shown by changes of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α. Further, Western blotting analysis also suggested that ALK improves hepatic inflammation in a Rho-kinase pathway. Conclusion: The present study successfully investigated the role of Rho-kinase signalling in diabetic liver injury. ALK exhibited hepatoprotective effects in diabetic db/db mice, and it might act through improving hepatic inflammation through the Rho-kinase pathway.

  3. Validity of leptin receptor-deficiency (db/db) type 2 diabetes mellitus mice as a model of secondary osteoporosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Le; You, Yong-Ke; Zhu, Tracy Y.; Zheng, Li-Zhen; Huang, Xiao-Ru; Chen, Hai-Yong; Yao, Dong; Lan, Hui-Yao; Qin, Ling

    2016-06-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the validation of the leptin receptor-deficient mice model for secondary osteoporosis associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at bone micro-architectural level. Thirty three 36-week old male mice were divided into four groups: normal control (db/m) (n = 7), leptin receptor-deficient T2DM (db/db) (n = 8), human C-reactive protein (CRP) transgenic normal control (crp/db/m) (n = 7), and human CRP transgenic T2DM (crp/db/db) (n = 11). Lumber vertebrae (L5) and bilateral lower limbs were scanned by micro-CT to analyze trabecular and cortical bone quality. Right femora were used for three-point bending to analyze the mechanical properties. Trabecular bone quality at L5 was better in db/db or crp/db/db group in terms of bone mineral density (BMD), bone volume fraction, connectivity density, trabecular number and separation (all p  0.05). Maximum loading and energy yield in mechanical test were similar among groups while the elastic modulus in db/db and crp/db/db significantly lower than db/m. The leptin-receptor mice is not a proper model for secondary osteoporosis associated with T2DM.

  4. Telmisartan ameliorates insulin sensitivity by activating the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway in skeletal muscle of obese db/db mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shiota Asuka

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Telmisartan is a well-established angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker that improves insulin sensitivity in animal models of obesity and insulin resistance, as well as in humans. Telmisartan has been reported to function as a partial agonist of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR γ, which is also targeted by the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD-dependent deacetylase (SIRT1. Here, we investigated the pathways through which telmisartan acts on skeletal muscle, in vitro as well as in vivo. Methods Nine-week-old male db/db mice were fed a 60% high-fat diet, with orally administrated either vehicle (carboxymethyl-cellulose, CMC, 5 mg/kg telmisartan, or 5 mg/kg telmisartan and 1 mg/kg GW9662, a selective irreversible antagonist of PPARγ, for 5 weeks. Effects of telmisartan on Sirt1 mRNA, AMPK phosphorylation, and NAD+/NADH ratio were determined in C2C12 cultured myocytes. Results and discussion Telmisartan treatment improved insulin sensitivity in obese db/db mice fed a high-fat diet and led to reduction in the size of hypertrophic pancreatic islets in these mice. Moreover, in vitro treatment with telmisartan led to increased expression of Sirt1 mRNA in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells; the increase in Sirt1 mRNA in telmisartan-treated C2C12 myoblasts occurred concomitantly with an increase in AMPK phosphorylation, an increase in NAD+/NADH ratio, and increases in the mRNA levels of PGC1α, FATP1, ACO, and GLUT4. Conclusions Our results indicate that telmisartan acts through a PPARγ-independent pathway, but at least partially exerts its effects by acting directly on skeletal muscle AMPK/SIRT1 pathways.

  5. Scaling CouchDB

    CERN Document Server

    Holt, Bradley

    2011-01-01

    This practical guide offers a short course on scaling CouchDB to meet the capacity needs of your distributed application. Through a series of scenario-based examples, this book lets you explore several methods for creating a system that can accommodate growth and meet expected demand. In the process, you learn about several tools that can help you with replication, load balancing, clustering, and load testing and monitoring. Apply performance tips for tuning your databaseReplicate data, using Futon and CouchDB's RESTful interfaceDistribute CouchDB's workload through load balancingLearn option

  6. Perivascular adipose tissue control of insulin-induced vasoreactivity in muscle is impaired in db/db mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meijer, Rick I; Bakker, Wineke; Alta, Caro-Lynn A F

    2013-01-01

    in muscle, the underlying mechanisms, and how obesity disturbs this vasodilation. Insulin-induced vasoreactivity of resistance arteries was studied with PVAT from C57BL/6 or db/db mice. PVAT weight in muscle was higher in db/db mice compared with C57BL/6 mice. PVAT from C57BL/6 mice uncovered insulin......-induced vasodilation; this vasodilation was abrogated with PVAT from db/db mice. Blocking adiponectin abolished the vasodilator effect of insulin in the presence of C57BL/6 PVAT, and adiponectin secretion was lower in db/db PVAT. To investigate this interaction further, resistance arteries of AMPKa2(+/+) and AMPKa2......-induced vasodilation in an adiponectin-dependent manner. In conclusion, PVAT controls insulin-induced vasoreactivity in the muscle microcirculation through secretion of adiponectin and subsequent AMPKa2 signaling. PVAT from obese mice inhibits insulin-induced vasodilation, which can be restored by inhibition of JNK....

  7. XMetDB

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Spjuth, Ola; Rydberg, Patrik; Willighagen, Egon L

    2016-01-01

    Xenobiotic metabolism is an active research topic but the limited amount of openly available high-quality biotransformation data constrains predictive modeling. Current database often default to commonly available information: which enzyme metabolizes a compound, but neither experimental conditions...... nor the atoms that undergo metabolization are captured. We present XMetDB, an open access database for drugs and other xenobiotics and their respective metabolites. The database contains chemical structures of xenobiotic biotransformations with substrate atoms annotated as reaction centra...... is also available. The database is open for data deposition, and a curation scheme is in place for quality control. An extensive guide on how to enter experimental data into is available from the XMetDB wiki. XMetDB formalizes how biotransformation data should be reported, and the openly available...

  8. Narrative Aversion: Challenges for the Illness Narrative Advocate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behrendt, Kathy

    2017-02-01

    Engaging in self-narrative is often touted as a powerful antidote to the bad effects of illness. However, there are various examples of what may broadly be termed "aversion" to illness narrative. I group these into three kinds: aversion to certain types of illness narrative; aversion to illness narrative as a whole; and aversion to illness narrative as an essentially therapeutic endeavor. These aversions can throw into doubt the advantages claimed for the illness narrator, including the key benefits of repair to the damage illness does to identity and life-trajectory. Underlying these alleged benefits are two key presuppositions: that it is the whole of one's life that is narratively unified, and that one's identity is inextricably bound up with narrative. By letting go of these assumptions, illness narrative advocates can respond to the challenges of narrative aversions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. NARRATIVE STRUCTURES ACROSS TELLINGS OF THE SAME “GOOD” TEACHING EXPERIENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Ernest Mambu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This paper investigates narrative structures of the same story told three times by an advanced male EFL (i.e., English as a foreign language learner. By narrative structures in this paper, I mean the sequence of narrative, especially in the light of the Labovian tradition of narrative analysis (Labov & Waletzky, 1997; Labov, 1972; Wu, 1995, and how each narrative component (e.g., abstract, orientation, complicating action, result/resolution, evaluation, and coda is fleshed out within and across tellings. Data analysis in this paper will attempt to answer the question of the extent to which these structures in one telling are similar or different across tellings of the same “good” experiences (cf. Chafe, 1998; Polanyi, 1981; Prior, 2011. In Labov’s (1972 data, “bad” near-death experiences were elicited, and yet a “good” result is conspicuous: death was overcome. Being asked to tell his “good” story, the EFL learner concentrated on the favorable experience. This said, some hints at unfavorable experiences—typically filling in the complicating action slot, like in telling bad or embarrassing stories (as in Wu, 1995—also emerged, which make analysis of “good” experiences worthwhile in its own right. In particular, it can be hypothesized that the underlying structure of good experiences fits into the Labovian narrative structure with some nuanced variations across tellings. The findings support the hypothesis and suggest that repeated tellings of the same story provided the speaker in this study ample room to reflect on his past experience such that subsequent tellings can be more engaging than the first (or previous telling.

  10. Truth or meaning: Ricoeur versus Frei on biblical narrative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary L. Comstock

    1989-01-01

    Full Text Available Truth or meaning: Ricoeur versus Frei on biblical narrative Of the theologians and philosophers now writing on biblical narrative, Hans Frei and Paul Ricoeur are probably the most prominent. It is significant that their views converge on important issues. Both are uncomfortable with hermeneutic theories that convert the text into an abstract philosophical system, an ideal typological structure, or a mere occasion for existential decision. Frei and Ricoeur seem knit together in a common enterprise; they appear to be building a single narrative theology. I argue that the appearance of symmetry is an illusion. There is a fundamental conflict between the ‘pure narrativism’ of Frei and the ‘impure narrativism’ of Ricoeur. I give reasons for thinking that Ricoeur’s is the stronger position.

  11. Anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic effects of Sargassum yezoense in db/db mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Su-Nam; Lee, Woojung; Bae, Gyu-Un; Kim, Yong Kee

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Sargassum yezoense (SY) treatment improved glucose and lipid impairment in vivo. ► This pharmacological action is associated with PPARα/γ dual activation. ► It decreases the expression of G6Pase for gluconeogenesis in liver. ► It increases the expression of UCP3 for lipid metabolism in adipose tissue. ► There are no significant side effects such as body weight gain and hepatomegaly. -- Abstract: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have been considered to be desirable targets for metabolic syndrome, even though their specific agonists have several side effects including body weight gain, edema and tissue failure. Previously, we have reported in vitro effects of Sargassum yezoense (SY) and its ingredients, sargaquinoic acid (SQA) and sargahydroquinoic acid (SHQA), on PPARα/γ dual transcriptional activation. In this study, we describe in vivo pharmacological property of SY on metabolic disorders. SY treatment significantly improved glucose and lipid impairment in db/db mice model. More importantly, there are no significant side effects such as body weight gain and hepatomegaly in SY-treated animals, indicating little side effects of SY in liver and lipid metabolism. In addition, SY led to a decrease in the expression of G6Pase for gluconeogenesis in liver responsible for lowering blood glucose level and an increase in the expression of UCP3 in adipose tissue for the reduction of total and LDL-cholesterol level. Altogether, our data suggest that SY would be a potential therapeutic agent against type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders by ameliorating the glucose and lipid metabolism.

  12. Inhibiting the NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation with MCC950 Ameliorates Diabetic Encephalopathy in db/db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yadong Zhai

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Diabetes is associated with a high risk of developing cognitive dysfunction and neuropsychiatric disabilities, and these disease symptomsare termed diabetic encephalopathy (DEP. Inflammation is involved in the development of DEP. The cleavage and maturation of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL-1β is regulated by the NLRP3 inflammasome. Obese and type 2 diabetic db/db mice show anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and cognitive disorders associated with hippocampal inflammation. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in DEP. Results showed that expression levels of inflammasome components including NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC, and caspase-1, as well as IL-1β in the hippocampus of diabetic db/db mice were higher than those of non-diabetic db/m mice. Treatment of db/db mice with NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 ameliorated anxiety- and depression-like behaviors as well as cognitive dysfunction, and reversed increased NLRP3, ASC, and IL-1βexpression levels and caspase-1 activity in hippocampus. Moreover, MCC950 treatment significantly improved insulin sensitivity in db/db mice. These results demonstrate that inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation may prove to be a potential therapeutic approach for DEP treatment.

  13. Resistin production from adipose tissue is decreased in db/db obese mice, and is reversed by rosiglitazone.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongying Ye

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to (1 investigate the expression profiles of resistin in db/db mice and its dynamic association with metabolic parameters; and (2 evaluate the effects of Rosiglitazone on production of resistin. METHODS: Db/db mice and their lean litter mates were used for this study. Epididymal fat tissue was excised from mice of different age (from 5 to 12 weeks for ex vivo incubation. Resistin,along with adiponectin,in serum and conditioned culture medium of epididymal fat pads were measured with immunoassays. The gene expression of resistin was determined by real-time PCR. Rosiglitazone or the vehicle (PBS was administered into db/db mice by daily intra-gastric gavage. Differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes were used for in vitro evaluation. RESULTS: The secretion of resistin from the fat pads in db/db mice was significantly lower than that in lean mice (P<0.01. The mRNA expression of the resistin gene in fat tissue of db/db mice at the age of 5 weeks was decreased by 60.5% compared to lean controls (p<0.05. Serum levels of resistin were comparable between the obese and lean groups, perhaps due to the increased total fat mass in db/db mice. Correlation analysis showed that serum resistin levels were positively correlated to resistin secretion from fat pads(r = 0.844,P = 0.000, while negatively associated with the body weight (r = -0.515, P = 0.000 and fasting glucose level (r = -0.357, P = 0.002. Notably, treatment with rosiglitazone increased the serum resistin levels by 66.4%(P<0.05in db/db mice. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, Rosiglitazone (10 uM markedly enhanced the secretion of resistin by 120% (P<0.01 and its gene expression by 78.1% (P<0.05. CONCLUSION: Both resistin gene expression and its secretion from the epididymal adipose tissue were decreased in db/db obese mice, while the insulin-sensitizing drug rosiglitazone increased resistin production. Our results do not support the role of resistin as an

  14. Scaling MongoDB

    CERN Document Server

    Chodorow, Kristina

    2011-01-01

    Create a MongoDB cluster that will to grow to meet the needs of your application. With this short and concise book, you'll get guidelines for setting up and using clusters to store a large volume of data, and learn how to access the data efficiently. In the process, you'll understand how to make your application work with a distributed database system. Scaling MongoDB will help you: Set up a MongoDB cluster through shardingWork with a cluster to query and update dataOperate, monitor, and backup your clusterPlan your application to deal with outages By following the advice in this book, you'l

  15. RavenDB high performance

    CERN Document Server

    Ritchie, Brian

    2013-01-01

    RavenDB High Performance is comprehensive yet concise tutorial that developers can use to.This book is for developers & software architects who are designing systems in order to achieve high performance right from the start. A basic understanding of RavenDB is recommended, but not required. While the book focuses on advanced topics, it does not assume that the reader has a great deal of prior knowledge of working with RavenDB.

  16. ProteomicsDB.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Tobias; Samaras, Patroklos; Frejno, Martin; Gessulat, Siegfried; Barnert, Maximilian; Kienegger, Harald; Krcmar, Helmut; Schlegl, Judith; Ehrlich, Hans-Christian; Aiche, Stephan; Kuster, Bernhard; Wilhelm, Mathias

    2018-01-04

    ProteomicsDB (https://www.ProteomicsDB.org) is a protein-centric in-memory database for the exploration of large collections of quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics data. ProteomicsDB was first released in 2014 to enable the interactive exploration of the first draft of the human proteome. To date, it contains quantitative data from 78 projects totalling over 19k LC-MS/MS experiments. A standardized analysis pipeline enables comparisons between multiple datasets to facilitate the exploration of protein expression across hundreds of tissues, body fluids and cell lines. We recently extended the data model to enable the storage and integrated visualization of other quantitative omics data. This includes transcriptomics data from e.g. NCBI GEO, protein-protein interaction information from STRING, functional annotations from KEGG, drug-sensitivity/selectivity data from several public sources and reference mass spectra from the ProteomeTools project. The extended functionality transforms ProteomicsDB into a multi-purpose resource connecting quantification and meta-data for each protein. The rich user interface helps researchers to navigate all data sources in either a protein-centric or multi-protein-centric manner. Several options are available to download data manually, while our application programming interface enables accessing quantitative data systematically. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  17. Impairment of the vascular relaxation and differential expression of caveolin-1 of the aorta of diabetic +db/+db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Tze Yan; Seto, Sai Wang; Lau, Yee Man; Au, Lai Shan; Kwan, Yiu Wa; Ngai, Sai Ming; Tsui, Kwong Wing

    2006-09-28

    In this study, we compared the endothelium-dependent and -independent relaxation of the isolated thoracic aorta of control (+db/+m) and diabetic (+db/+db) (C57BL/KsJ) mice. The gene expression (mRNA and protein) level of the muscarinic M(3) receptors, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and caveolin-1 of the aorta was also evaluated. Acetylcholine caused a concentration-dependent, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl-ester (20 microM)-sensitive relaxation, with approximately 100% relaxation at 10 microM, in +db/+m mice. In +db/+db mice, the acetylcholine-induced relaxation was significantly smaller (maximum relaxation: approximately 80%). The sodium nitroprusside-mediated relaxation was slightly diminished in +db/+db mice, compared to +db/+m mice. However, there was no significant difference in the isoprenaline- and cromakalim-induced relaxation observed in both species. The mRNA and protein expression levels of caveolin-1 were significantly higher in the aorta of +db/+db mice. In contrast, there was no difference in the mRNA and protein expression levels of eNOS and muscarinic M(3) receptors between these mice. Our results demonstrate that the impairment of the acetylcholine-induced, endothelium-dependent aortic relaxation observed in +db/+db mice was probably associated with an enhanced expression of caveolin-1 mRNA and protein.

  18. Restructuring of the Gut Microbiome by Intermittent Fasting Prevents Retinopathy and Prolongs Survival in db/db Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beli, Eleni; Yan, Yuanqing; Moldovan, Leni; Vieira, Cristiano P; Gao, Ruli; Duan, Yaqian; Prasad, Ram; Bhatwadekar, Ashay; White, Fletcher A; Townsend, Steven; Chan, Luisa; Ryan, Caitlin N; Morton, Daniel; Moldovan, Emil G; Chu, Fang-I; Oudit, Gavin Y; Derendorf, Hartmut; Adorini, Luciano; Wang, Xiaoxin X; Evans-Molina, Carmella; Mirmira, Raghavendra G; Boulton, Michael E; Yoder, Mervin C; Li, Qiuhong; Levi, Moshe; Busik, Julia V; Grant, Maria B

    2018-04-30

    Intermittent fasting (IF) protects against the development of metabolic diseases and cancer, but whether it can prevent diabetic microvascular complications is not known. In db/db mice, we examined the impact of long-term IF on diabetic retinopathy (DR). Despite no change in glycated hemoglobin, db/db mice on the IF regimen displayed significantly longer survival and a reduction in DR endpoints, including acellular capillaries and leukocyte infiltration. We hypothesized that IF mediated changes in the gut microbiota would produce beneficial metabolites and prevent the development of DR. Microbiome analysis revealed increased levels of Firmicutes and decreased Bacteroidetes and Verrucomicrobia Compared to db/db mice on ad-libitum (AL) feeding, changes in the microbiome of the db/db mice on IF were associated with increases in gut mucin, goblet cell number and villi length and reductions in plasma peptidoglycan. Consistent with the known modulatory effects of Firmicutes on bile acid (BA) metabolism, measurement of BAs demonstrated a significant increase of tauroursodeoxycholate (TUDCA), a neuroprotective BA, in db/db on IF but not in db/db on AL feeding. TGR-5, the TUDCA receptor, was found in neural cells of the retina primary ganglion cells. Expression of TGR5 did not change with IF or diabetes. However, IF reduced retinal TNF-α mRNA, which is a key downstream target of TGR-5 activation. Pharmacological activation of TGR5 using INT-767 prevented DR in a second diabetic mouse model. These findings support the concept that IF prevents DR by restructuring the microbiota towards species producing TUDCA and subsequent retinal protection by TGR5 activation. © 2018 by the American Diabetes Association.

  19. RAMESES publication standards: meta-narrative reviews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wong Geoff

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Meta-narrative review is one of an emerging menu of new approaches to qualitative and mixed-method systematic review. A meta-narrative review seeks to illuminate a heterogeneous topic area by highlighting the contrasting and complementary ways in which researchers have studied the same or a similar topic. No previous publication standards exist for the reporting of meta-narrative reviews. This publication standard was developed as part of the RAMESES (Realist And MEta-narrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards project. The project's aim is to produce preliminary publication standards for meta-narrative reviews. Methods We (a collated and summarized existing literature on the principles of good practice in meta-narrative reviews; (b considered the extent to which these principles had been followed by published reviews, thereby identifying how rigor may be lost and how existing methods could be improved; (c used a three-round online Delphi method with an interdisciplinary panel of national and international experts in evidence synthesis, meta-narrative reviews, policy and/or publishing to produce and iteratively refine a draft set of methodological steps and publication standards; (d provided real-time support to ongoing meta-narrative reviews and the open-access RAMESES online discussion list so as to capture problems and questions as they arose; and (e synthesized expert input, evidence review and real-time problem analysis into a definitive set of standards. Results We identified nine published meta-narrative reviews, provided real-time support to four ongoing reviews and captured questions raised in the RAMESES discussion list. Through analysis and discussion within the project team, we summarized the published literature, and common questions and challenges into briefing materials for the Delphi panel, comprising 33 members. Within three rounds this panel had reached consensus on 20 key publication standards, with an

  20. DBA2J db/db mice are susceptible to early albuminuria and glomerulosclerosis that correlate with systemic insulin resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Østergaard, Mette V; Pinto, Vanda; Stevenson, Kirsty; Worm, Jesper; Fink, Lisbeth N; Coward, Richard J M

    2017-02-01

    Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of kidney failure in the world. To understand important mechanisms underlying this condition, and to develop new therapies, good animal models are required. In mouse models of type 1 diabetes, the DBA/2J strain has been shown to be more susceptible to develop kidney disease than other common strains. We hypothesized this would also be the case in type 2 diabetes. We studied db/db and wild-type (wt) DBA/2J mice and compared these with the db/db BLKS/J mouse, which is currently the most widely used type 2 DN model. Mice were analyzed from age 6 to 12 wk for systemic insulin resistance, albuminuria, and glomerular histopathological and ultrastructural changes. Body weight and nonfasted blood glucose were increased by 8 wk in both genders, while systemic insulin resistance commenced by 6 wk in female and 8 wk in male db/db DBA/2J mice. The urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) was closely linked to systemic insulin resistance in both sexes and was increased ~50-fold by 12 wk of age in the db/db DBA/2J cohort. Glomerulosclerosis, foot process effacement, and glomerular basement membrane thickening were observed at 12 wk of age in db/db DBA/2J mice. Compared with db/db BLKS/J mice, db/db DBA/2J mice had significantly increased levels of urinary ACR, but similar glomerular histopathological and ultrastructural changes. The db/db DBA/2J mouse is a robust model of early-stage albuminuric DN, and its levels of albuminuria correlate closely with systemic insulin resistance. This mouse model will be helpful in defining early mechanisms of DN and ultimately the development of novel therapies. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  1. Bile acid sequestration reduces plasma glucose levels in db/db mice by increasing its metabolic clearance rate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maxi Meissner

    Full Text Available AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Bile acid sequestrants (BAS reduce plasma glucose levels in type II diabetics and in murine models of diabetes but the mechanism herein is unknown. We hypothesized that sequestrant-induced changes in hepatic glucose metabolism would underlie reduced plasma glucose levels. Therefore, in vivo glucose metabolism was assessed in db/db mice on and off BAS using tracer methodology. METHODS: Lean and diabetic db/db mice were treated with 2% (wt/wt in diet Colesevelam HCl (BAS for 2 weeks. Parameters of in vivo glucose metabolism were assessed by infusing [U-(13C]-glucose, [2-(13C]-glycerol, [1-(2H]-galactose and paracetamol for 6 hours, followed by mass isotopologue distribution analysis, and related to metabolic parameters as well as gene expression patterns. RESULTS: Compared to lean mice, db/db mice displayed an almost 3-fold lower metabolic clearance rate of glucose (p = 0.0001, a ∼300% increased glucokinase flux (p = 0.001 and a ∼200% increased total hepatic glucose production rate (p = 0.0002. BAS treatment increased glucose metabolic clearance rate by ∼37% but had no effects on glucokinase flux nor total hepatic or endogenous glucose production. Strikingly, BAS-treated db/db mice displayed reduced long-chain acylcarnitine content in skeletal muscle (p = 0.0317 but not in liver (p = 0.189. Unexpectedly, BAS treatment increased hepatic FGF21 mRNA expression 2-fold in lean mice (p = 0.030 and 3-fold in db/db mice (p = 0.002. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: BAS induced plasma glucose lowering in db/db mice by increasing metabolic clearance rate of glucose in peripheral tissues, which coincided with decreased skeletal muscle long-chain acylcarnitine content.

  2. The BridgeDb framework: standardized access to gene, protein and metabolite identifier mapping services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanspers Kristina

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many complementary solutions are available for the identifier mapping problem. This creates an opportunity for bioinformatics tool developers. Tools can be made to flexibly support multiple mapping services or mapping services could be combined to get broader coverage. This approach requires an interface layer between tools and mapping services. Results Here we present BridgeDb, a software framework for gene, protein and metabolite identifier mapping. This framework provides a standardized interface layer through which bioinformatics tools can be connected to different identifier mapping services. This approach makes it easier for tool developers to support identifier mapping. Mapping services can be combined or merged to support multi-omics experiments or to integrate custom microarray annotations. BridgeDb provides its own ready-to-go mapping services, both in webservice and local database forms. However, the framework is intended for customization and adaptation to any identifier mapping service. BridgeDb has already been integrated into several bioinformatics applications. Conclusion By uncoupling bioinformatics tools from mapping services, BridgeDb improves capability and flexibility of those tools. All described software is open source and available at http://www.bridgedb.org.

  3. Curcumin restores mitochondrial functions and decreases lipid peroxidation in liver and kidneys of diabetic db/db mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María G Soto-Urquieta

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Nitrosative and oxidative stress play a key role in obesity and diabetes-related mitochondrial dysfunction. The objective was to investigate the effect of curcumin treatment on state 3 and 4 oxygen consumption, nitric oxide (NO synthesis, ATPase activity and lipid oxidation in mitochondria isolated from liver and kidneys of diabetic db/db mice. RESULTS: Hyperglycaemia increased oxygen consumption and decreased NO synthesis in liver mitochondria isolated from diabetic mice relative to the control mice. In kidney mitochondria, hyperglycaemia increased state 3 oxygen consumption and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS levels in diabetic mice relative to control mice. Interestingly, treating db/db mice with curcumin improved or restored these parameters to normal levels; also curcumin increased liver mitochondrial ATPase activity in db/db mice relative to untreated db/db mice. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that hyperglycaemia modifies oxygen consumption rate, NO synthesis and increases TBARS levels in mitochondria from the liver and kidneys of diabetic mice, whereas curcumin may have a protective role against these alterations.

  4. Resistin production from adipose tissue is decreased in db/db obese mice, and is reversed by rosiglitazone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Hongying; Zhang, Herbert J; Xu, Aimin; Hoo, Ruby L C

    2013-01-01

    This study was designed to (1) investigate the expression profiles of resistin in db/db mice and its dynamic association with metabolic parameters; and (2) evaluate the effects of Rosiglitazone on production of resistin. Db/db mice and their lean litter mates were used for this study. Epididymal fat tissue was excised from mice of different age (from 5 to 12 weeks) for ex vivo incubation. Resistin,along with adiponectin,in serum and conditioned culture medium of epididymal fat pads were measured with immunoassays. The gene expression of resistin was determined by real-time PCR. Rosiglitazone or the vehicle (PBS) was administered into db/db mice by daily intra-gastric gavage. Differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes were used for in vitro evaluation. The secretion of resistin from the fat pads in db/db mice was significantly lower than that in lean mice (Plean controls (plean groups, perhaps due to the increased total fat mass in db/db mice. Correlation analysis showed that serum resistin levels were positively correlated to resistin secretion from fat pads(r = 0.844,P = 0.000), while negatively associated with the body weight (r = -0.515, P = 0.000) and fasting glucose level (r = -0.357, P = 0.002). Notably, treatment with rosiglitazone increased the serum resistin levels by 66.4%(Pproduction. Our results do not support the role of resistin as an etiological link between obesity and diabetes.

  5. Framing Effects in Narrative and Non-Narrative Risk Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinhardt, Joseph; Shapiro, Michael A

    2015-08-01

    Narrative messages are increasingly popular in health and risk campaigns, yet gain/loss framing effects have never been tested with such messages. Three experiments examined framing in narrative messages. Experiment 1 found that only the character's decision, not framing, influenced judgments about characters in a narrative derived from a prospect theory context. Experiment 2 found that a framing effect that occurred when presented in a decision format did not occur when the same situation was presented as a narrative. Using a different story/decision context, Experiment 3 found no significant difference in preference for surgery over radiation therapy in a narrative presentation compared to a non-narrative presentation. The results suggest that health and risk campaigns cannot assume that framing effects will be the same in narrative messages and non-narrative messages. Potential reasons for these differences and suggestions for future research are discussed. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

  6. CouchDB the definitive guide

    CERN Document Server

    Anderson, J; Slater, Noah

    2010-01-01

    Three of CouchDB's creators show you how to use this document-oriented database as a standalone application framework or with high-volume, distributed applications. With its simple model for storing, processing, and accessing data, CouchDB is ideal for web applications that handle huge amounts of loosely structured data. That alone would stretch the limits of a relational database, yet CouchDB offers an open source solution that's reliable, scales easily, and responds quickly. CouchDB works with self-contained data that has loose or ad-hoc connections. It's a model that fits many real-world

  7. Anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic effects of Sargassum yezoense in db/db mice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Su-Nam, E-mail: snkim@kist.re.kr [Natural Medicine Center, KIST Gangneung Institute, Gangneung 210-340 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Woojung [Natural Medicine Center, KIST Gangneung Institute, Gangneung 210-340 (Korea, Republic of); Bae, Gyu-Un [College of Pharmacy, Sookmyung Women' s University, Seoul 140-742 (Korea, Republic of); Research Center for Cell Fate Control, Sookmyung Women' s University, Seoul 140-742 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yong Kee, E-mail: yksnbk@sookmyung.ac.kr [College of Pharmacy, Sookmyung Women' s University, Seoul 140-742 (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-08-10

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Sargassum yezoense (SY) treatment improved glucose and lipid impairment in vivo. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This pharmacological action is associated with PPAR{alpha}/{gamma} dual activation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It decreases the expression of G6Pase for gluconeogenesis in liver. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It increases the expression of UCP3 for lipid metabolism in adipose tissue. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer There are no significant side effects such as body weight gain and hepatomegaly. -- Abstract: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have been considered to be desirable targets for metabolic syndrome, even though their specific agonists have several side effects including body weight gain, edema and tissue failure. Previously, we have reported in vitro effects of Sargassum yezoense (SY) and its ingredients, sargaquinoic acid (SQA) and sargahydroquinoic acid (SHQA), on PPAR{alpha}/{gamma} dual transcriptional activation. In this study, we describe in vivo pharmacological property of SY on metabolic disorders. SY treatment significantly improved glucose and lipid impairment in db/db mice model. More importantly, there are no significant side effects such as body weight gain and hepatomegaly in SY-treated animals, indicating little side effects of SY in liver and lipid metabolism. In addition, SY led to a decrease in the expression of G6Pase for gluconeogenesis in liver responsible for lowering blood glucose level and an increase in the expression of UCP3 in adipose tissue for the reduction of total and LDL-cholesterol level. Altogether, our data suggest that SY would be a potential therapeutic agent against type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders by ameliorating the glucose and lipid metabolism.

  8. Transgressing the Non-fiction Transmedia Narrative

    OpenAIRE

    Gifreu-Castells, Arnau; Misek, Richard; Verbruggen, Erwin

    2016-01-01

    abstractOver the last years, interactive digital media have greatly affected the logics of production, exhibition and reception of non-fiction audiovisual works, leading to the emergence of a new area called ‘interactive and transmedia non-fiction’. Whilethe audiovisual non-fiction field has been partially studied, a few years ago emerged a new field focusing on interactive and transmedia non-fiction narratives, an unexplored territory that needs new theories and taxonomies to differentiate f...

  9. Getting Started with CouchDB

    CERN Document Server

    Brown, MC

    2012-01-01

    CouchDB is a new breed of database for the Internet, geared to meet the needs of today's dynamic web applications. With this concise introduction, you'll learn how CouchDB's simple model for storing, processing, and accessing data makes it ideal for the type of data and rapid response users now demand from your applications-and how easy CouchDB is to set up, deploy, maintain, and scale. The code-packed examples in this book will help you learn how to work with documents, populate a simple database, replicate data from one database to another, and a host of other tasks. Install CouchDB on Lin

  10. Narrativity and enaction: the social nature of literary narrative understanding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popova, Yanna B

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes an understanding of literary narrative as a form of social cognition and situates the study of such narratives in relation to the new comprehensive approach to human cognition, enaction. The particular form of enactive cognition that narrative understanding is proposed to depend on is that of participatory sense-making, as developed in the work of Di Paolo and De Jaegher. Currently there is no consensus as to what makes a good literary narrative, how it is understood, and why it plays such an irreplaceable role in human experience. The proposal thus identifies a gap in the existing research on narrative by describing narrative as a form of intersubjective process of sense-making between two agents, a teller and a reader. It argues that making sense of narrative literature is an interactional process of co-constructing a story-world with a narrator. Such an understanding of narrative makes a decisive break with both text-centered approaches that have dominated both structuralist and early cognitivist study of narrative, as well as pragmatic communicative ones that view narrative as a form of linguistic implicature. The interactive experience that narrative affords and necessitates at the same time, I argue, serves to highlight the active yet cooperative and communal nature of human sociality, expressed in the many forms than human beings interact in, including literary ones.

  11. Narrativity and Enaction: The Social Nature of Literary Narrative Understanding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanna B. Popova

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes an understanding of literary narrative as a form of social cognition and situates the study of such narratives in relation to the new comprehensive approach to human cognition, enaction. The particular form of enactive cognition that narrative understanding is proposed to depend on is that of participatory sense-making, as developed in the work of Di Paolo and De Jaegher. Currently there is no consensus as to what makes a good literary narrative, how it is understood, and why it plays such an irreplaceable role in human experience. The proposal thus identifies a gap in the existing research on narrative by describing narrative as a form of intersubjective process of sense-making between two agents, a teller and a reader. It argues that making sense of narrative literature is an interactional process of co-constructing a story-world with a narrator. Such an understanding of narrative makes a decisive break with both text-centered approaches that have dominated both structuralist and early cognitivist study of narrative, as well as pragmatic communicative ones that view narrative as a form of linguistic implicature. The interactive experience that narrative affords and necessitates at the same time, I argue, serves to highlight the active yet cooperative and communal nature of human sociality, expressed in the many forms than human beings interact in, including literary ones.

  12. Getting started with MariaDB

    CERN Document Server

    Bartholomew, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    A practical, hands-on, beginner-friendly guide to installing and using MariaDB.Getting Started with MariaDB is for anyone who wants to learn more about databases in general or MariaDB in particular. No prior database experience is required. It is assumed that you have basic knowledge of software installation, editing files with a text editor, and using the command line and terminal.

  13. Qing-Hua Granule induces GLP-1 secretion via bitter taste receptor in db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Junyan; Xu, Jie; Hou, Ruifang; Jin, Xin; Wang, Jingyi; Yang, Na; Yang, Li; Liu, Li; Tao, Feng; Lu, Hao

    2017-05-01

    Qing-Hua Granule (QHG), the modified formulation of a classical Chinese prescription named Gegen Qinlian Decoction, was clinically employed to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) through regulation of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). However, the potential mechanism is unknown. We investigate whether QHG induces GLP-1 secretion via activation of bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) pathway in the gastrointestinal tract of db/db mice. The db/db mice were intragastrically (i.g.) administered QHG (low/medium/high dose) once daily for 8 weeks. GLP-1 secretion was evaluated. The bitter receptor signaling pathway, which regulates GLP-1 secretion, including TAS2R5 (a subtype of TAS2R), α-gustducin (Gαgust), 1-phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate phosphodiesterase beta-2 (PLCβ2), transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 5 (TRPM5), was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The biochemical observations of ileum and pancreas tissue were detected histopathologically. Acquity Ultra Performance LCTM - Micromass ZQ 2000 (UPLC-MS) was used for the phytochemical analysis. QHG exhibited significant and dose-dependent effect on GLP-1 secretion in db/db mice, along with significant up-regulation of TAS2R5 mRNA level and activation of TAS2R pathway (p<0.05). In addition, QHG improved the histopathological structure of ileum and pancreatic tissue. Seventeen compounds were identified in QHG. In conclusion, QHG induces GLP-1 secretion in db/db mice, most likely through the bitter taste receptor pathway. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  14. MongoDB and PHP

    CERN Document Server

    Francia, Steve

    2012-01-01

    What would happen if you optimized a data store for the operations application developers actually use? You'd arrive at MongoDB, the reliable document-oriented database. With this concise guide, you'll learn how to build elegant database applications with MongoDB and PHP. Written by the Chief Solutions Architect at 10gen-the company that develops and supports this open source database-this book takes you through MongoDB basics such as queries, read-write operations, and administration, and then dives into MapReduce, sharding, and other advanced topics. Get out of the relational database rut,

  15. Fra tradizione e sperimentazione: tecniche narrative nei racconti di ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Fra tradizione e sperimentazione: tecniche narrative nei racconti di Paola Capriolo. R Wilson, V Gerrand. Abstract. Contemporary novelists have responded in different ways to the challenge of living and writing in the latter half of the twentieth century, a historical moment in which the paper and ink with which they have ...

  16. Example of Using Narratives in Teaching Programming: Roles of Variables

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Timcenko, Olga

    2007-01-01

      Abstract. This paper describes a case study of using narratives to motivate non-technology inclined children, 11-15 years old, to learn programming, using LEGO Mindstorms robots and RoboLab graphical programming language. Case study was done during 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 school years, followin...

  17. ChimerDB 3.0: an enhanced database for fusion genes from cancer transcriptome and literature data mining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Myunggyo; Lee, Kyubum; Yu, Namhee; Jang, Insu; Choi, Ikjung; Kim, Pora; Jang, Ye Eun; Kim, Byounggun; Kim, Sunkyu; Lee, Byungwook; Kang, Jaewoo; Lee, Sanghyuk

    2017-01-04

    Fusion gene is an important class of therapeutic targets and prognostic markers in cancer. ChimerDB is a comprehensive database of fusion genes encompassing analysis of deep sequencing data and manual curations. In this update, the database coverage was enhanced considerably by adding two new modules of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) RNA-Seq analysis and PubMed abstract mining. ChimerDB 3.0 is composed of three modules of ChimerKB, ChimerPub and ChimerSeq. ChimerKB represents a knowledgebase including 1066 fusion genes with manual curation that were compiled from public resources of fusion genes with experimental evidences. ChimerPub includes 2767 fusion genes obtained from text mining of PubMed abstracts. ChimerSeq module is designed to archive the fusion candidates from deep sequencing data. Importantly, we have analyzed RNA-Seq data of the TCGA project covering 4569 patients in 23 cancer types using two reliable programs of FusionScan and TopHat-Fusion. The new user interface supports diverse search options and graphic representation of fusion gene structure. ChimerDB 3.0 is available at http://ercsb.ewha.ac.kr/fusiongene/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  18. Effect of zinc nutriture on tissue zinc (Zn) in the diabetic C57BL/KsJ db/db mouse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donaldson, D.L.; Smith, C.C.; Walker, M.S.; Yunice, A.A.; Rennert, O.M.

    1986-01-01

    The genetically obese diabetic db/db mouse has been reported to have low serum (S) and femur (F) Zn concentrations. In order to examine whether this animal model is predisposed to dietary Zn deficiency, they measured tissue Zn concentrations (conc.) in db/db, heterozygous db/m, and homozygous m/m control mice fed either a zinc deficient diet (2 ppm Zn) ad libitum or a zinc adequate diet (20 ppm Zn) either ad libitum or in restricted amounts (equal to that consumed by mice on the 2 ppm Zn diet) for 12 wks. The results were analyzed by analysis of variance for a completely randomized 3X3 design. Similar clinical manifestations of Zn deficiency were seen in mice of all 3 genotypes after 8-10 weeks on 2 ppm Zn. S Zn(p=0.0001) and F Zn conc.(p=0.0001) and content(p=0.0001) of those 3 groups showed similar marked reductions. S Zn was not reduced in db/db mice fed 20 ppm Zn. F Zn conc. was mildly reduced in these mice but not to the extent observed in mice fed 2 ppm Zn. Liver (L) Zn conc. was not affected by either genotype or diet, but total L Zn(p=0.0001) was greater in db/db mice due to their larger L weight. Kidney (K) Zn conc.(p=0.0001) of db/db mice was slightly but significantly decreased, but their total K Zn content(p=0.0001) was increased due to their greater K weights. They conclude that, in spite of its having a decreased F Zn conc. and content, the db/db mouse does not appear to be particularly susceptible to dietary Zn deficiency

  19. The Cinematic Narrator: The Logic and Pragmatics of Impersonal Narration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgoyne, Robert

    1990-01-01

    Describes "impersonal narration," an approach that defends the concept of the cinematic narrator as a logical and pragmatic necessity. Compares this approach with existing theories of the cinematic narrator, addressing disagreements in the field of film narrative theory. (MM)

  20. The role of dimensions of narrative engagement in narrative persuasion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Graaf, A.M.; Hoeken, J.A.L.; Sanders, J.M.; Beentjes, J.W.J.

    2009-01-01

    Several models of narrative persuasion posit that a reader's phenomenological experience of a narrative plays a mediating role in the persuasive effects of the narrative. Because the narrative reading experience is multi-dimensional, this experiment investigates which dimensions of this experience -

  1. The emotional impact of loss narratives: event severity and narrative perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habermas, Tilmann; Diel, Verena

    2010-06-01

    Out of the complex influences of event, narrative and listener characteristics on narrative emotions, this paper focuses on event severity, narrative perspectives, mood, and dispositions for emotion regulation and empathy. Event severity and perspective representation were systematically varied in sad autobiographical narratives to study their influence on quantity and quality of readers' emotional response. Each of three stories were manipulated to contain elaborated perspectives, only the past protagonists' perspective (dramatic narration), and very little perspectives at all (impersonal narration). We predicted that event severity influences the quantity of emotional response, while degree of perspective representation influences plausibility and whether emotional responses are sympathetic or interactional, that is, directed against the narrator. Hypotheses were confirmed except for plausibility, and perspective representation had an effect only on anger against and dislike of the narrator. In a second study, impersonal narration evoked anger at and negative evaluations of the narrator which were related to blaming the narrator for showing too little emotional involvement. The generalizability of findings across emotions and implications for sharing of emotions in everyday and clinical settings are discussed.

  2. The role of dimensions of narrative engagement in narrative persuasion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Graaf, A. de; Hoeken, J.A.L.; Sanders, J.M.; Beentjes, J.W.J.

    2009-01-01

    Several models of narrative persuasion posit that a reader's phenomenological experience of a narrative plays a mediating role in the persuasive effects of the narrative. Because the narrative reading experience is multi-dimensional, this experiment investigates which dimensions of this experience –

  3. Narrative interviewing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Claire; Kirkpatrick, Susan

    2016-06-01

    Introduction Narrative interviews place the people being interviewed at the heart of a research study. They are a means of collecting people's own stories about their experiences of health and illness. Narrative interviews can help researchers to better understand people's experiences and behaviours. Narratives may come closer to representing the context and integrity of people's lives than more quantitative means of research. Methodology Researchers using narrative interview techniques do not set out with a fixed agenda, rather they tend to let the interviewee control the direction, content and pace of the interview. The paper describes the interview process and the suggested approach to analysis of narrative interviews, We draw on the example from a study that used series of narrative interviews about people's experiences of taking antidepressants. Limitations Some people may find it particularly challenging to tell their story to a researcher in this way rather than be asked a series of questions like in a television or radio interview. Narrative research like all qualitative research does not set out to be generalisable and may only involve a small set of interviews.

  4. Teacher Narratives and Student Engagement: Testing Narrative Engagement Theory in Drug Prevention Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller-Day, Michelle; Hecht, Michael L.; Krieger, Janice L.; Pettigrew, Jonathan; Shin, YoungJu; Graham, John

    2015-01-01

    Testing narrative engagement theory, this study examines student engagement and teachers’ spontaneous narratives told in a narrative-based drug prevention curriculum. The study describes the extent to which teachers share their own narratives in a narrative-based curriculum, identifies dominant narrative elements, forms and functions, and assesses the relationships among teacher narratives, overall lesson narrative quality, and student engagement. One hundred videotaped lessons of the keepin’ it REAL drug prevention curriculum were coded and the results supported the claim that increased narrative quality of a prevention lesson would be associated with increased student engagement. The quality of narrativity, however, varied widely. Implications of these results for narrative-based prevention interventions and narrative pedagogy are discussed. PMID:26690668

  5. Reading and Study Skills and Instruction: Secondary: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," July through December 1981 (Vol. 42 Nos. 1 through 6).

    Science.gov (United States)

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The ten titles deal with the following topics: (1) an inductive method for teaching three skills necessary for reading narrative fiction; (2) the use of reading strategies in secondary level content area classrooms; (3) seventh grade…

  6. A collaborative narrative inquiry: Two teacher educators learning about narrative inquiry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barkhuizen, Gary

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available With its capacity to unharness the power of narrative to promote meaning-making of lived experience, narrative inquiry is developing as a credible approach to research in several areas in the field of language teaching (Johnson, 2006. This article tells the story of two narrative researchers working in language teacher education who engaged in a collaborative narrative inquiry as both participants and inquirers, in order to learn more about narrative inquiry. The ‘bounded’ nature of their inquiry design provided a feasible way for them to explore their focus of research (i.e. their learning about narrative inquiry, and led them, through an iterative and reflexive process of analysing their narrative data, to formulate what they believe are essential ingredients of principled narrative inquiry work. Four narrative inquiry variables became the scaffolding which enabled them to answer their research questions, and are offered here as a heuristic for teaching practitioners, whether they be teachers, teacher educators or researchers, to guide them in narrative inquiries into their own work.

  7. Narrative approaches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stelter, Reinhard

    2012-01-01

    Narrative coaching is representative of the new wave – or third generation – of coaching practice . The theory and practice of narrative coaching takes into account the social and cultural conditions of late modern society, and must be seen as intertwined with them. Some initial conceptualizations...... of narrative coaching were developed by David Drake (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) in the USA and Australia, by Ho Law in the UK (Law, 2007a + b; Law & Stelter, 2009) and by Reinhard Stelter (2007, 2009, 2012, in preparation; Stelter & Law, 2010) in Denmark. In the following chapter the aim is to present coaching...... as a narrative-collaborative practice, an approach that is based on phenomenology, social constructionism and narrative theory. Seeing narrative coaching as a collaborative practice also leads to reflecting on the relationship between coach and coachee(s) in a new way, where both parts contribute to the dialogue...

  8. Nye narrative gleder?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bondebjerg, Ib

    2008-01-01

    Anmeldelse af Anne Mangen: New Narrative Pleasures? A Cognitive-Phenomenological Study of the Experience of Reading Digital Narrative Fictions.......Anmeldelse af Anne Mangen: New Narrative Pleasures? A Cognitive-Phenomenological Study of the Experience of Reading Digital Narrative Fictions....

  9. The effective fraction isolated from Radix Astragali alleviates glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia in db/db diabetic mice through its anti-inflammatory activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hoo Ruby LC

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Macrophage infiltration in adipose tissue together with the aberrant production of pro-inflammatory cytokines has been identified as the key link between obesity and its related metabolic disorders. This study aims to isolate bioactive ingredients from the traditional Chinese herb Radix Astragali (Huangqi that alleviate obesity-induced metabolic damage through inhibiting inflammation. Methods Active fraction (Rx that inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine production was identified from Radix Astragali by repeated bioactivity-guided high-throughput screening. Major constituents in Rx were identified by column chromatography followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC and mass-spectrometry. Anti-diabetic activity of Rx was evaluated in db/db mice. Results Treatment with Rx, which included calycosin-7-β-D-glucoside (0.9%, ononin (1.2%, calycosin (4.53% and formononetin (1.1%, significantly reduced the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 in human THP-1 macrophages and lipopolysaccharide (LPS-induced activation of NF-κB in mouse RAW-Blue macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. Chronic administration of Rx in db/db obese mice markedly decreased the levels of both fed and fasting glucose, reduced serum triglyceride, and also alleviated insulin resistance and glucose intolerance when compared to vehicle-treated controls. The mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cell markers CD68 and F4/80, and cytokines MCP-1, TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly reduced in epididymal adipose tissue while the alternatively activated macrophage marker arginase I was markedly increased in the Rx-treated mice. Conclusion These findings suggest that suppression of the inflammation pathways in macrophages represents a valid strategy for high-throughput screening of lead compounds with anti-diabetic and insulin sensitizing properties, and further support the etiological role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of

  10. Narrative and embodiment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Køster, Allan

    2016-01-01

    Recent work on the relation between narrative and selfhood has emphasized embodiment as an indispensable foundation for selfhood. This has occasioned an interesting debate on the relation between embodiment and narrative. In this paper, I attempt to mediate the range of conflicting intuitions......) strictly is or is not; rather, we need to see narrative as an attribute admitting of degrees. I suggest that the relation between narrative and embodiment should be seen along these lines, proposing three levels of the narrativity of embodied experiencing: 1) the unnarratable, 2) the narratable and 3...

  11. AFM-based detection of glycocalyx degradation and endothelial stiffening in the db/db mouse model of diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Targosz-Korecka, Marta; Jaglarz, Magdalena; Malek-Zietek, Katarzyna E; Gregorius, Aleksandra; Zakrzewska, Agnieszka; Sitek, Barbara; Rajfur, Zenon; Chlopicki, Stefan; Szymonski, Marek

    2017-11-21

    Degradation of the glycocalyx and stiffening of endothelium are important pathophysiological components of endothelial dysfunction. However, to our knowledge, these events have not been investigated in tandem in experimental diabetes. Here, the mechanical properties of the glycocalyx and endothelium in ex vivo mouse aorta were determined simultaneously in indentation experiments with an atomic force microscope (AFM) for diabetic db/db and control db/+ mice at ages of 11-19 weeks. To analyze highly heterogeneous aorta samples, we developed a tailored classification procedure of indentation data based on a bi-layer brush model supplemented with Hertz model for quantification of nanomechanics of endothelial regions with and without the glycocalyx surface. In db/db mice, marked endothelial stiffening and reduced glycocalyx coverage were present already in 11-week-old mice and persisted in older animals. In contrast, reduction of the effective glycocalyx length was progressive and was most pronounced in 19-week-old db/db mice. The reduction of the glycocalyx length correlated with an increasing level of glycated haemoglobin and decreased endothelial NO production. In conclusion, AFM nanoindentation analysis revealed that stiffening of endothelial cells and diminished glycocalyx coverage occurred in early diabetes and were followed by the reduction of the glycocalyx length that correlated with diabetes progression.

  12. Animation with concurrent narration versus narration in physical education lesson

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioannou Panagiotis

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of two different teaching methods on students' comprehension during Physical Education lesson: narration versus animation with concurrent narration, during teaching shot put event. Thirty primary school children (boys and girls volunteered to participate in this study. In experiment students listened (narration and viewed (animation with narration the presentation of two shot putting styles. A problem-solving and a retention test were used to evaluate students' comprehension. Results showed that students' comprehension was better when shot putting styles were presented through a mixed model (animation and narration group than a single (narration. The animation with concurrent narration group performed better than the narration group, in problem-solving (M = 4.91, SD = 1.36 and in retention test (M = 5.98, SD = 1.28 t(28 = 1.89 p<0.01. An instructional implication is that pictures with words is more effective way of teaching when they occur continuingly in time, than only words during Physical Education lesson.

  13. Self-defining memories, scripts, and the life story: narrative identity in personality and psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer, Jefferson A; Blagov, Pavel; Berry, Meredith; Oost, Kathryn M

    2013-12-01

    An integrative model of narrative identity builds on a dual memory system that draws on episodic memory and a long-term self to generate autobiographical memories. Autobiographical memories related to critical goals in a lifetime period lead to life-story memories, which in turn become self-defining memories when linked to an individual's enduring concerns. Self-defining memories that share repetitive emotion-outcome sequences yield narrative scripts, abstracted templates that filter cognitive-affective processing. The life story is the individual's overarching narrative that provides unity and purpose over the life course. Healthy narrative identity combines memory specificity with adaptive meaning-making to achieve insight and well-being, as demonstrated through a literature review of personality and clinical research, as well as new findings from our own research program. A clinical case study drawing on this narrative identity model is also presented with implications for treatment and research. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Sharing mutants and experimental information prepublication using FgMutantDb (https://scabusa.org/FgMutantDb).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Thomas T; Basenko, Evelina; Harb, Omar; Brown, Neil A; Urban, Martin; Hammond-Kosack, Kim E; Bregitzer, Phil P

    2018-06-01

    There is no comprehensive storage for generated mutants of Fusarium graminearum or data associated with these mutants. Instead, researchers relied on several independent and non-integrated databases. FgMutantDb was designed as a simple spreadsheet that is accessible globally on the web that will function as a centralized source of information on F. graminearum mutants. FgMutantDb aids in the maintenance and sharing of mutants within a research community. It will serve also as a platform for disseminating prepublication results as well as negative results that often go unreported. Additionally, the highly curated information on mutants in FgMutantDb will be shared with other databases (FungiDB, Ensembl, PhytoPath, and PHI-base) through updating reports. Here we describe the creation and potential usefulness of FgMutantDb to the F. graminearum research community, and provide a tutorial on its use. This type of database could be easily emulated for other fungal species. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  15. Religious narrative

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geertz, Armin W.

    2013-01-01

    Denne artikel er en introduktion til et temanummer i religionslærernes tidsskrift i USA. Den er et udtræk af mit kapitel "Religious Narrative, Cognition and Culture: Approaches and Definitions" udgivet i Religious Narrative, Cognition and Culture: Image and Word in the mind of Narrative, redigeret...

  16. Tangshen formula attenuates hepatic steatosis by inhibiting hepatic lipogenesis and augmenting fatty acid oxidation in db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Qin; Zhang, Haojun; Zhao, Tingting; Zhang, Weiku; Yan, Meihua; Dong, Xi; Li, Ping

    2016-12-01

    Tangshen formula (TSF), a well-prescribed traditional Chinese formula, has been used in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. However, whether TSF ameliorates dyslipidemia and liver injury associated with diabetes remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of TSF on lipid profiles and hepatic steatosis in db/db mice. For this purpose, 8‑week-old db/db mice were treated with TSF or saline for 12 weeks via gavage and db/m mice were used as controls. Body weight and blood glucose levels were monitored weekly and bi-weekly, respectively. Blood samples were obtained for the analysis of lipids and enzymes related to hepatic function, and liver tissues were analyzed by histology, immunohistochemistry and molecular examination. The results revealed that TSF markedly reduced body weight, liver index [liver/body weight (LW/BW)] and improved lipid profiles, hepatic function and steatosis in db/db mice. TSF induced the phosphoralation of AMP-activated protein kinase and inhibited the activity of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 together with the inhibition of the expression of genes involved in de novo lipogenesis (DNL) and gluconeogenesis, such as fatty acid synthase (FAS), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), glucose-6-phosphatase (G6pc) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 (Pck1). Additionally, the silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1 (Sirt1)/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα)/malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MLYCD) cascade was potently activated by TSF in the liver and skeletal muscle of db/db mice, which led to enhanced fatty acid oxidation. These findings demonstrated that TSF attenuated hepatic fat accumulation and steatosis in db/db mice by inhibiting lipogenesis and augmenting fatty acid oxidation.

  17. RAId_DbS: mass-spectrometry based peptide identification web server with knowledge integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ogurtsov Aleksey Y

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Existing scientific literature is a rich source of biological information such as disease markers. Integration of this information with data analysis may help researchers to identify possible controversies and to form useful hypotheses for further validations. In the context of proteomics studies, individualized proteomics era may be approached through consideration of amino acid substitutions/modifications as well as information from disease studies. Integration of such information with peptide searches facilitates speedy, dynamic information retrieval that may significantly benefit clinical laboratory studies. Description We have integrated from various sources annotated single amino acid polymorphisms, post-translational modifications, and their documented disease associations (if they exist into one enhanced database per organism. We have also augmented our peptide identification software RAId_DbS to take into account this information while analyzing a tandem mass spectrum. In principle, one may choose to respect or ignore the correlation of amino acid polymorphisms/modifications within each protein. The former leads to targeted searches and avoids scoring of unnecessary polymorphism/modification combinations; the latter explores possible polymorphisms in a controlled fashion. To facilitate new discoveries, RAId_DbS also allows users to conduct searches permitting novel polymorphisms as well as to search a knowledge database created by the users. Conclusion We have finished constructing enhanced databases for 17 organisms. The web link to RAId_DbS and the enhanced databases is http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBResearch/qmbp/RAId_DbS/index.html. The relevant databases and binaries of RAId_DbS for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X are available for download from the same web page.

  18. Study on the Related Teaching of "Narrative Creation" and "Narrative Reading" : Making use of "the method of narrative" as a common element

    OpenAIRE

    Mitoh, Yasuhiro

    2014-01-01

    This study has explored the related teaching of "narrative creation" and "narrative reading". For this study, I hypothesized as follows. There is "the method of narrative" in "narrative creation" and "narrative reading" as a common element. By this related teaching that used "the method of narrative" as a common element, children’s ability of "narrative creation" and "narrative reading" will increase. As a result of this study, the following conclusions were obtained. Children surely make use...

  19. Improved cerebral energetics and ketone body metabolism in db/db mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jens V; Christensen, Sofie K; Nissen, Jakob D

    2017-01-01

    It is becoming evident that type 2 diabetes mellitus is affecting brain energy metabolism. The importance of alternative substrates for the brain in type 2 diabetes mellitus is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ketone bodies are relevant candidates to compensate...... metabolism in type 2 diabetes mellitus. The increased hippocampal ketone body utilization and improved mitochondrial function in db/db mice, may act as adaptive mechanisms in order to maintain cerebral energetics during hampered glucose metabolism....

  20. MongoDB the definitive guide

    CERN Document Server

    Chodorow, Kristina

    2010-01-01

    How does MongoDB help you manage a huMONGOus amount of data collected through your web application? With this authoritative introduction, you'll learn the many advantages of using document-oriented databases, and discover why MongoDB is a reliable, high-performance system that allows for almost infinite horizontal scalability. Written by engineers from 10gen, the company that develops and supports this open source database, MongoDB: The Definitive Guide provides guidance for database developers, advanced configuration for system administrators, and an overview of the concepts and use cases f

  1. Visual narrative structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Neil

    2013-04-01

    Narratives are an integral part of human expression. In the graphic form, they range from cave paintings to Egyptian hieroglyphics, from the Bayeux Tapestry to modern day comic books (Kunzle, 1973; McCloud, 1993). Yet not much research has addressed the structure and comprehension of narrative images, for example, how do people create meaning out of sequential images? This piece helps fill the gap by presenting a theory of Narrative Grammar. We describe the basic narrative categories and their relationship to a canonical narrative arc, followed by a discussion of complex structures that extend beyond the canonical schema. This demands that the canonical arc be reconsidered as a generative schema whereby any narrative category can be expanded into a node in a tree structure. Narrative "pacing" is interpreted as a reflection of various patterns of this embedding: conjunction, left-branching trees, center-embedded constituencies, and others. Following this, diagnostic methods are proposed for testing narrative categories and constituency. Finally, we outline the applicability of this theory beyond sequential images, such as to film and verbal discourse, and compare this theory with previous approaches to narrative and discourse. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  2. The db/db mouse: a useful model for the study of diabetic retinal neurodegeneration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Bogdanov

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: To characterize the sequential events that are taking place in retinal neurodegeneration in a murine model of spontaneous type 2 diabetes (db/db mouse. METHODS: C57BLKsJ-db/db mice were used as spontaneous type 2 diabetic animal model, and C57BLKsJ-db/+ mice served as the control group. To assess the chronological sequence of the abnormalities the analysis was performed at different ages (8, 16 and 24 weeks. The retinas were evaluated in terms of morphological and functional abnormalities [electroretinography (ERG]. Histological markers of neurodegeneration (glial activation and apoptosis were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. In addition glutamate levels and glutamate/aspartate transporter (GLAST expression were assessed. Furthermore, to define gene expression changes associated with early diabetic retinopathy a transcriptome analyses was performed at 8 week. Furthermore, an additional interventional study to lower blood glucose levels was performed. RESULTS: Glial activation was higher in diabetic than in non diabetic mice in all the stages (p<0.01. In addition, a progressive loss of ganglion cells and a significant reduction of neuroretinal thickness were also observed in diabetic mice. All these histological hallmarks of neurodegeneration were less pronounced at week 8 than at week 16 and 24. Significant ERG abnormalities were present in diabetic mice at weeks 16 and 24 but not at week 8. Moreover, we observed a progressive accumulation of glutamate in diabetic mice associated with an early downregulation of GLAST. Morphological and ERG abnormalities were abrogated by lowering blood glucose levels. Finally, a dysregulation of several genes related to neurotransmission and oxidative stress such as UCP2 were found at week 8. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that db/db mouse reproduce the features of the neurodegenerative process that occurs in the human diabetic eye. Therefore, it seems an appropriate model for investigating the

  3. An aqueous extract of Portulaca oleracea ameliorates diabetic nephropathy through suppression of renal fibrosis and inflammation in diabetic db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, An Sook; Lee, Yun Jung; Lee, So Min; Yoon, Jung Joo; Kim, Jin Sook; Kang, Dae Gill; Lee, Ho Sub

    2012-01-01

    Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most common microvascular complications of diabetes and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. In the present study, we investigated the renoprotective effect of the aqueous extract of Portulaca oleracea (AP) on diabetic nephropathy accelerated by renal fibrosis and inflammation in type 2 diabetic db/db mice. The mice were treated with AP (300 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for ten weeks to examine the long-term effects on diabetic nephropathy and renal dysfunction. We found that AP treatment markedly lowered blood glucose to 412 ± 11.4 mg/dl and plasma creatinine level to 2.3 ± 0.8 mg/dl compared to db/db mice (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, respectively). This study also showed that treatment with AP significantly decreased water intake and urine volume in diabetic db/db mice (p < 0.05). In immunohistological study, the renal expression of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), advanced glycation end products (AGE), and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 markedly increased in the renal cortex of untreated db/db mice (p < 0.01). In contrast, AP treatment significantly reduced these expressions to 50 ± 2.1%, 48 ± 2.8%, 61 ± 1.1%, respectively (p < 0.01). Furthermore, NF-κB p65 activation in renal tissues markedly increased in untreated db/db mice, which was significantly suppressed by AP treatment. Taken together, these findings suggest that AP attenuates diabetic nephropathy through inhibition of renal fibrosis and inflammation in db/db mice.

  4. Novel small-molecule AMPK activator orally exerts beneficial effects on diabetic db/db mice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Yuan-Yuan; Yu, Li-Fang; Zhang, Li-Na; Qiu, Bei-Ying; Su, Ming-Bo; Wu, Fang; Chen, Da-Kai; Pang, Tao; Gu, Min; Zhang, Wei; Ma, Wei-Ping; Jiang, Hao-Wen; Li, Jing-Ya, E-mail: jyli@mail.shcnc.ac.cn; Nan, Fa-Jun, E-mail: fjnan@mail.shcnc.ac.cn; Li, Jia, E-mail: jli@mail.shcnc.ac.cn

    2013-12-01

    AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a pivotal guardian of whole-body energy metabolism, has become an attractive therapeutic target for metabolic syndrome. Previously, using a homogeneous scintillation proximity assay, we identified the small-molecule AMPK activator C24 from an optimization based on the original allosteric activator PT1. In this paper, the AMPK activation mechanism of C24 and its potential beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism on db/db mice were investigated. C24 allosterically stimulated inactive AMPK α subunit truncations and activated AMPK heterotrimers by antagonizing autoinhibition. In primary hepatocytes, C24 increased the phosphorylation of AMPK downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase dose-dependently without changing intracellular AMP/ATP ratio, indicating its allosteric activation in cells. Through activating AMPK, C24 decreased glucose output by down-regulating mRNA levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) in primary hepatocytes. C24 also decreased the triglyceride and cholesterol contents in HepG2 cells. Due to its improved bioavailability, chronic oral treatment with multiple doses of C24 significantly reduced blood glucose and lipid levels in plasma, and improved the glucose tolerance of diabetic db/db mice. The hepatic transcriptional levels of PEPCK and G6Pase were reduced. These results demonstrate that this orally effective activator of AMPK represents a novel approach to the treatment of metabolic syndrome. - Highlights: • C24 activates AMPK through antagonizing autoinhibition within α subunit. • C24 activates AMPK in hepatocytes and decreases glucose output via AMPK. • C24 exerts beneficial effects on diabetic db/db mice. • C24 represents a novel therapeutic for treatment of metabolic syndrome.

  5. Novel small-molecule AMPK activator orally exerts beneficial effects on diabetic db/db mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yuan-Yuan; Yu, Li-Fang; Zhang, Li-Na; Qiu, Bei-Ying; Su, Ming-Bo; Wu, Fang; Chen, Da-Kai; Pang, Tao; Gu, Min; Zhang, Wei; Ma, Wei-Ping; Jiang, Hao-Wen; Li, Jing-Ya; Nan, Fa-Jun; Li, Jia

    2013-01-01

    AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a pivotal guardian of whole-body energy metabolism, has become an attractive therapeutic target for metabolic syndrome. Previously, using a homogeneous scintillation proximity assay, we identified the small-molecule AMPK activator C24 from an optimization based on the original allosteric activator PT1. In this paper, the AMPK activation mechanism of C24 and its potential beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism on db/db mice were investigated. C24 allosterically stimulated inactive AMPK α subunit truncations and activated AMPK heterotrimers by antagonizing autoinhibition. In primary hepatocytes, C24 increased the phosphorylation of AMPK downstream target acetyl-CoA carboxylase dose-dependently without changing intracellular AMP/ATP ratio, indicating its allosteric activation in cells. Through activating AMPK, C24 decreased glucose output by down-regulating mRNA levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) in primary hepatocytes. C24 also decreased the triglyceride and cholesterol contents in HepG2 cells. Due to its improved bioavailability, chronic oral treatment with multiple doses of C24 significantly reduced blood glucose and lipid levels in plasma, and improved the glucose tolerance of diabetic db/db mice. The hepatic transcriptional levels of PEPCK and G6Pase were reduced. These results demonstrate that this orally effective activator of AMPK represents a novel approach to the treatment of metabolic syndrome. - Highlights: • C24 activates AMPK through antagonizing autoinhibition within α subunit. • C24 activates AMPK in hepatocytes and decreases glucose output via AMPK. • C24 exerts beneficial effects on diabetic db/db mice. • C24 represents a novel therapeutic for treatment of metabolic syndrome

  6. "Response to Comments": Finding the Narrative in Narrative Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coulter, Cathy A.

    2009-01-01

    The author responds to comments by Barone (2009), Clandinin and Murphy (2009), and M. W. Smith (2009) on "The Construction Zone: Literary Elements in Narrative Research" (Coulter & M. L. Smith, 2009). She clarifies issues regarding point of view, authorial surplus, narrative coherence, and the relational qualities of narrative research. She…

  7. dbSNP

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — dbSNP is a database of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and multiple small-scale variations that include insertions/deletions, microsatellites, and...

  8. TransAtlasDB: an integrated database connecting expression data, metadata and variants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adetunji, Modupeore O; Lamont, Susan J; Schmidt, Carl J

    2018-01-01

    Abstract High-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNAseq) is the universally applied method for target-free transcript identification and gene expression quantification, generating huge amounts of data. The constraint of accessing such data and interpreting results can be a major impediment in postulating suitable hypothesis, thus an innovative storage solution that addresses these limitations, such as hard disk storage requirements, efficiency and reproducibility are paramount. By offering a uniform data storage and retrieval mechanism, various data can be compared and easily investigated. We present a sophisticated system, TransAtlasDB, which incorporates a hybrid architecture of both relational and NoSQL databases for fast and efficient data storage, processing and querying of large datasets from transcript expression analysis with corresponding metadata, as well as gene-associated variants (such as SNPs) and their predicted gene effects. TransAtlasDB provides the data model of accurate storage of the large amount of data derived from RNAseq analysis and also methods of interacting with the database, either via the command-line data management workflows, written in Perl, with useful functionalities that simplifies the complexity of data storage and possibly manipulation of the massive amounts of data generated from RNAseq analysis or through the web interface. The database application is currently modeled to handle analyses data from agricultural species, and will be expanded to include more species groups. Overall TransAtlasDB aims to serve as an accessible repository for the large complex results data files derived from RNAseq gene expression profiling and variant analysis. Database URL: https://modupeore.github.io/TransAtlasDB/ PMID:29688361

  9. GiSAO.db: a database for ageing research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grillari Johannes

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Age-related gene expression patterns of Homo sapiens as well as of model organisms such as Mus musculus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster are a basis for understanding the genetic mechanisms of ageing. For an effective analysis and interpretation of expression profiles it is necessary to store and manage huge amounts of data in an organized way, so that these data can be accessed and processed easily. Description GiSAO.db (Genes involved in senescence, apoptosis and oxidative stress database is a web-based database system for storing and retrieving ageing-related experimental data. Expression data of genes and miRNAs, annotation data like gene identifiers and GO terms, orthologs data and data of follow-up experiments are stored in the database. A user-friendly web application provides access to the stored data. KEGG pathways were incorporated and links to external databases augment the information in GiSAO.db. Search functions facilitate retrieval of data which can also be exported for further processing. Conclusions We have developed a centralized database that is very well suited for the management of data for ageing research. The database can be accessed at https://gisao.genome.tugraz.at and all the stored data can be viewed with a guest account.

  10. Narrative means to manage responsibility in life narratives across adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Silveira, Cybèle; Habermas, Tilmann

    2011-01-01

    Adolescence is a passage from dependence to adult responsibility. Alongside identity development, social-cognitive development, and the ability to construct a life story, adolescents become increasingly aware of both their potential responsibility in an expanded sphere of life and of complex, contextual influences on their lives. This was partially tested in a cross-sectional study, both in terms of linguistic means and content expressed in life narratives. Indicators were defined for narrative agency, grading of responsibility, serendipity, and turning points, and tested for age differences in relative frequencies in 102 life narratives from age groups of 8, 12, 16, and 20 years, balanced for gender. Narrative grading of responsibility, serendipity, and turning points increased throughout adolescence. The relative frequency of narrative agency, in contrast, remained constant across age groups. Results are interpreted in the context of adolescent development of narrative identity.

  11. Narrative udvidelser

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skøtt, Bo

    2015-01-01

    Dette pilotstudies ambition er at undersøge, hvordan og hvorfor narrative elementer lejlighedsvist aktiveres af aktører i deres kontakt med bibliotekarer i folkebiblioteker. Ved hjælp af en kulturanalytisk tilgang studeres forskellige aktørers narrative udvidelser af referenceinterviewet. Teoretisk....... Pilotstudiet bekræfter de 2 indledende antagelser: 1) at nogle aktører anvender narrative udvidelser, fordi de vælger at betone den mellemmenneskelige relation mellem aktør og bibliotekar, som om det var enhver anden social relation og derved ignorerer andre, mere repræsentative dele af bibliotekarernes...... funktioner. Og 2) at nogle aktører anvender narrative udvidelser i bestræbelserne på at legitimere egne sociale positioner og identitetsdannelse gennem kritisk refleksion over bibliotekarernes og folkebibliotekets institutionelle position og magt. Gennem den narrative udvidelse formår disse aktører...

  12. Tangshen Formula Attenuates Diabetic Nephropathy by Promoting ABCA1-Mediated Renal Cholesterol Efflux in db/db Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Peng; Peng, Liang; Zhang, Haojun; Tang, Patrick Ming-Kuen; Zhao, Tingting; Yan, Meihua; Zhao, Hailing; Huang, Xiaoru; Lan, Huiyao; Li, Ping

    2018-01-01

    The commonly prescribed Tangshen Formula (TSF) is a traditional Chinese formulation that has been shown to reduce plasma lipid metabolism and proteinuria and improve the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in patients with diabetic kidney disease. This study investigated the underlying mechanism whereby TSF regulates renal lipid accumulation and ameliorates diabetic renal injuries in spontaneous diabetic db/db mice and in vitro in sodium palmitate (PA)-stimulated and Abca1-SiRNA-transfected mouse tubular epithelial cells (mTECs). The results revealed that TSF treatment significantly ameliorated the renal injuries by lowering urinary albumin excretion and improving renal tissue injuries in diabetic (db/db) mice. Interestingly, the treatment with TSF also resulted in decreased cholesterol levels in the renal tissues of db/db mice, which was associated with increased expression of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α), the Liver X receptors (LXR), and ATP-binding cassette subfamily A member 1 (ABCA1), suggesting that TSF might attenuate diabetic kidney injury via a mechanism associated with improving cholesterol efflux in the diabetic kidney. This was investigated in vitro in mTECs, and the results showed that TSF reduced the PA-stimulated cholesterol accumulation in mTECs. Mechanistically, the addition of TSF was capable of reversing PA-induced downregulation of PGC-1α, LXR, and ABCA1 expression and cholesterol accumulation in mTECs, suggesting that TSF might act the protection via the PGC-1α-LXR-ABCA1 pathway to improve the cholesterol efflux in the renal tissues of db/db mice. This was further confirmed by silencing ABCA1 to block the promotive effect of TSF on cholesterol efflux in vitro . In conclusion, TSF might ameliorate diabetic kidney injuries by promoting ABCA1-mediated renal cholesterol efflux.

  13. ToxRefDB - Release user-friendly web-based tool for mining ToxRefDB

    Science.gov (United States)

    The updated URL link is for a table of NCCT ToxCast public datasets. The next to last row of the table has the link for the US EPA ToxCast ToxRefDB Data Release October 2014. ToxRefDB provides detailed chemical toxicity data in a publically accessible searchable format. ToxRefD...

  14. Dicty_cDB: SLJ310 [Dicty_cDB

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 5' similar to Arabidopsis thaliana sequence At1g48030 lipoamide dehydrogenase precursor see http://mips... At1g48030 lipoamide dehydrogenase precursor see http://mips.gsf.de/proj/thal/db/index.html, mRNA sequence.

  15. Narrative teorier

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bank, Mads

    2014-01-01

    kapitlet omhandler Narrative psykologiske teorier i et personlighedspsykologisk og socio-kulturelt perspektiv.......kapitlet omhandler Narrative psykologiske teorier i et personlighedspsykologisk og socio-kulturelt perspektiv....

  16. Analysis of neuron–astrocyte metabolic cooperation in the brain of db/db mice with cognitive decline using 13C NMR spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Hong; Zheng, Yongquan; Wang, Dan; Cai, Aimin; Lin, Qiuting; Zhao, Liangcai; Chen, Minjiang; Deng, Mingjie; Ye, Xinjian

    2016-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes has been linked to cognitive impairment, but its potential metabolic mechanism is still unclear. The present study aimed to explore neuron–astrocyte metabolic cooperation in the brain of diabetic (db/db, BKS.Cg-m+/+ Leprdb/J) mice with cognitive decline using 13C NMR technique in combination with intravenous [2-13C]-acetate and [3-13C]-lactate infusions. We found that the 13C-enrichment from [2-13C]-acetate into tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate, succinate, was significantly decreased in db/db mice with cognitive decline compared with wild-type (WT, C57BLKS/J) mice, while an opposite result was obtained after [3-13C]-lactate infusion. Relative to WT mice, db/db mice with cognitive decline had significantly lower 13C labeling percentages in neurotransmitters including glutamine, glutamate, and γ-aminobutyric acid after [2-13C]-acetate infusion. However, [3-13C]-lactate resulted in increased 13C-enrichments in neurotransmitters in db/db mice with cognitive decline. This may indicate that the disturbance of neurotransmitter metabolism occurred during the development of cognitive decline. In addition, a reduction in 13C-labeling of lactate and an increase in gluconeogenesis were found from both labeled infusions in db/db mice with cognitive decline. Therefore, our results suggest that the development of cognitive decline in type 2 diabetes may be implicated to an unbalanced metabolism in neuron–astrocyte cooperation and an enhancement of gluconeogenesis. PMID:26762505

  17. Analysis of neuron-astrocyte metabolic cooperation in the brain of db/db mice with cognitive decline using 13C NMR spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Hong; Zheng, Yongquan; Wang, Dan; Cai, Aimin; Lin, Qiuting; Zhao, Liangcai; Chen, Minjiang; Deng, Mingjie; Ye, Xinjian; Gao, Hongchang

    2017-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes has been linked to cognitive impairment, but its potential metabolic mechanism is still unclear. The present study aimed to explore neuron-astrocyte metabolic cooperation in the brain of diabetic (db/db, BKS.Cg-m +/+ Leprdb/J) mice with cognitive decline using 13 C NMR technique in combination with intravenous [2- 13 C]-acetate and [3- 13 C]-lactate infusions. We found that the 13 C-enrichment from [2- 13 C]-acetate into tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate, succinate, was significantly decreased in db/db mice with cognitive decline compared with wild-type (WT, C57BLKS/J) mice, while an opposite result was obtained after [3- 13 C]-lactate infusion. Relative to WT mice, db/db mice with cognitive decline had significantly lower 13 C labeling percentages in neurotransmitters including glutamine, glutamate, and γ-aminobutyric acid after [2- 13 C]-acetate infusion. However, [3- 13 C]-lactate resulted in increased 13 C-enrichments in neurotransmitters in db/db mice with cognitive decline. This may indicate that the disturbance of neurotransmitter metabolism occurred during the development of cognitive decline. In addition, a reduction in 13 C-labeling of lactate and an increase in gluconeogenesis were found from both labeled infusions in db/db mice with cognitive decline. Therefore, our results suggest that the development of cognitive decline in type 2 diabetes may be implicated to an unbalanced metabolism in neuron-astrocyte cooperation and an enhancement of gluconeogenesis. © The Author(s) 2016.

  18. Formulate, Formalize and Run! How Narrative Theories shape and are shaped by Interactive Digital Narrative

    OpenAIRE

    Szilas, Nicolas

    2016-01-01

    What are the links between narrative theories and computing? Narrative works are countless in the digital world: narrative hypertext and hypermedia, interactive fiction, video games, blogs, location-based narrative, etc. They not only form new analytical objects for narrative theories, but also may extend existing narrative theories. One specific type of digital narratives, AI-based Interactive Digital Narrative (IDN), plays a special role in this landscape because it makes use of narrative t...

  19. Getting started with LevelDB

    CERN Document Server

    Dent, Andy

    2013-01-01

    The book is a concise guide for using LevelDB. It explains database concepts and the use of C++, ranging from the basics all the way to high level topics in an easy to follow, step-by-step format.The book is meant for developers who want an embedded database for their applications. Experienced programmers can pick up on the sophisticated data mapping patterns and tuning tips.Getting Started with LevelDB requires a minimal background in programming in C++ or Objective-C for OS/X or iOS and familiarity with XCode. Therefore it teaches enough C++ to use LevelDB without presuming any C++ knowledge

  20. MannDB – A microbial database of automated protein sequence analyses and evidence integration for protein characterization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuczmarski Thomas A

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background MannDB was created to meet a need for rapid, comprehensive automated protein sequence analyses to support selection of proteins suitable as targets for driving the development of reagents for pathogen or protein toxin detection. Because a large number of open-source tools were needed, it was necessary to produce a software system to scale the computations for whole-proteome analysis. Thus, we built a fully automated system for executing software tools and for storage, integration, and display of automated protein sequence analysis and annotation data. Description MannDB is a relational database that organizes data resulting from fully automated, high-throughput protein-sequence analyses using open-source tools. Types of analyses provided include predictions of cleavage, chemical properties, classification, features, functional assignment, post-translational modifications, motifs, antigenicity, and secondary structure. Proteomes (lists of hypothetical and known proteins are downloaded and parsed from Genbank and then inserted into MannDB, and annotations from SwissProt are downloaded when identifiers are found in the Genbank entry or when identical sequences are identified. Currently 36 open-source tools are run against MannDB protein sequences either on local systems or by means of batch submission to external servers. In addition, BLAST against protein entries in MvirDB, our database of microbial virulence factors, is performed. A web client browser enables viewing of computational results and downloaded annotations, and a query tool enables structured and free-text search capabilities. When available, links to external databases, including MvirDB, are provided. MannDB contains whole-proteome analyses for at least one representative organism from each category of biological threat organism listed by APHIS, CDC, HHS, NIAID, USDA, USFDA, and WHO. Conclusion MannDB comprises a large number of genomes and comprehensive protein

  1. Why might you use narrative methodology? A story about narrative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lynn McAlpine

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Narrative is one of many qualitative methodologies that can be brought to bear in collecting and analysing data and reporting results, though it is not as frequently used as say in case studies. This article provides a window into its use, from the perspective of a researcher who has used it consistently over the past decade to examine early career researcher experience – doctoral students, and those who have completed their degrees and are advancing their careers. This experience has contributed to a robust understanding of the potential of narrative, as well as its limitations. This paper first lays out the broad landscape of narrative research and then makes transparent the thinking, processes and procedures involved in the ten-year narrative study including the potential for creativity that narrative invites. The goal is to engage other researchers to consider exploring the use of narrative – if it aligns with their epistemological stance.

  2. Losing the Plot: Narrative, Counter-Narrative and Violent Extremism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Glazzard

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Counter-terrorist practitioners and policy makers appear to be very interested in narrative. They often describe the worldview of violent Islamist groups and movements as the ‘jihadi narrative’, while their efforts to confront terrorist propaganda are usually labelled as ‘counter-narrative’ or ‘alternative narrative’. However, while the counter-narrative approach has gained widespread acceptance in governments, think-tanks and civil society organisations, it is built on very shaky theoretical and empirical foundations. Some valuable theoretical contributions to the study of violent extremist narrative have been made by psychologists in particular, but there is one discipline which is conspicuous by its absence from the field: literary studies. This paper makes a case for the value of studying violent extremist narratives as narratives in the literary sense. By employing the tools and techniques of literary criticism, violent extremist communication can be revealed as not only potentially persuasive, but also creative and aesthetically appealing: terrorists inspire their followers, they don’t merely persuade them. Understanding the creative sources of this inspiration is vital if counter-narrative is to succeed in presenting an alternative to the propaganda of violent extremist groups.

  3. dbVar

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — dbVar is a database of genomic structural variation. It accepts data from all species and includes clinical data. It can accept diverse types of events, including...

  4. Flow cytometry analysis reveals different activation profiles of thrombin- or TRAP-stimulated platelets in db/db mice. The regulatory role of PAR-3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kassassir, Hassan; Siewiera, Karolina; Talar, Marcin; Przygodzki, Tomasz; Watala, Cezary

    2017-06-01

    Recent studies have shown that it may be the concentration of thrombin, which is discriminative in determining of the mechanism of platelet activation via protease activated receptors (PARs). Whether the observed phenomenon of differentiated responses of mouse platelets to various thrombin concentrations in non-diabetic db/+ and diabetic db/db mice depends upon the concerted action of various PARs, remains to be established. We found elevated reactivity of platelets, as well as the enhanced PAR-3 expression in response to both the used concentrations of AYPGKF in db/db mice, as compared to db/+ heterozygotes. At low concentration of thrombin platelets from diabetic mice demonstrated hyperreactivity, reflected by higher expression of PAR-3. For higher thrombin concentration, blood platelets from db/db mice appeared hyporeactive, compared to db/+ animals, while no significant differences in PAR-3 expression were observed between diabetic and non-diabetic mice. The novel and previously unreported finding resulting from our study is that the increased expression of PAR-3 in response to either TRAP for PAR-4 or low thrombin (when PAR-4 is not the efficient thrombin receptor) may be one of the key events contributing to higher reactivity of platelets in db/db mice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. GenderMedDB: an interactive database of sex and gender-specific medical literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oertelt-Prigione, Sabine; Gohlke, Björn-Oliver; Dunkel, Mathias; Preissner, Robert; Regitz-Zagrosek, Vera

    2014-01-01

    Searches for sex and gender-specific publications are complicated by the absence of a specific algorithm within search engines and by the lack of adequate archives to collect the retrieved results. We previously addressed this issue by initiating the first systematic archive of medical literature containing sex and/or gender-specific analyses. This initial collection has now been greatly enlarged and re-organized as a free user-friendly database with multiple functions: GenderMedDB (http://gendermeddb.charite.de). GenderMedDB retrieves the included publications from the PubMed database. Manuscripts containing sex and/or gender-specific analysis are continuously screened and the relevant findings organized systematically into disciplines and diseases. Publications are furthermore classified by research type, subject and participant numbers. More than 11,000 abstracts are currently included in the database, after screening more than 40,000 publications. The main functions of the database include searches by publication data or content analysis based on pre-defined classifications. In addition, registrants are enabled to upload relevant publications, access descriptive publication statistics and interact in an open user forum. Overall, GenderMedDB offers the advantages of a discipline-specific search engine as well as the functions of a participative tool for the gender medicine community.

  6. cuticleDB: a relational database of Arthropod cuticular proteins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Willis Judith H

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The insect exoskeleton or cuticle is a bi-partite composite of proteins and chitin that provides protective, skeletal and structural functions. Little information is available about the molecular structure of this important complex that exhibits a helicoidal architecture. Scores of sequences of cuticular proteins have been obtained from direct protein sequencing, from cDNAs, and from genomic analyses. Most of these cuticular protein sequences contain motifs found only in arthropod proteins. Description cuticleDB is a relational database containing all structural proteins of Arthropod cuticle identified to date. Many come from direct sequencing of proteins isolated from cuticle and from sequences from cDNAs that share common features with these authentic cuticular proteins. It also includes proteins from the Drosophila melanogaster and the Anopheles gambiae genomes, that have been predicted to be cuticular proteins, based on a Pfam motif (PF00379 responsible for chitin binding in Arthropod cuticle. The total number of the database entries is 445: 370 derive from insects, 60 from Crustacea and 15 from Chelicerata. The database can be accessed from our web server at http://bioinformatics.biol.uoa.gr/cuticleDB. Conclusions CuticleDB was primarily designed to contain correct and full annotation of cuticular protein data. The database will be of help to future genome annotators. Users will be able to test hypotheses for the existence of known and also of yet unknown motifs in cuticular proteins. An analysis of motifs may contribute to understanding how proteins contribute to the physical properties of cuticle as well as to the precise nature of their interaction with chitin.

  7. Narrative and Institutional Economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vyacheslav V. Volchik

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This article addresses a range of questions associated with the occurrence of a new field of study – narrative economics, which is considered in the context of modern institutionalism. Pioneering works of R. Shiller, G. Akerlof and D. Snower spotlighted the importance of analyzing narratives and narrative influence when studying economic processes. In this paper, a qualitative study of narratives is seen through the prism of an answer to the question: «How do prescribed narratives influence institutions and change them? ». Narratives have much in common with institutions since very often, explicitly or implicitly, they contain value judgements about social interactions or normative aspects shaping behavioral patterns. The identification of dominating narratives enables us to understand better how institutions influence economic (social action. Repeated interactions among social actors are structured through understanding and learning the rules. Understanding of social rules comes from the language – we articulate and perceive the rules drawing on common narratives. Narratives and institutions are helpful when actors gain knowledge about various forms of social communication. Digital technologies, mass media and social networking sites facilitate the spread of narratives, values and beliefs; this process is characterized by increasing returns. Studying narratives and institutions is crucial for modern economic theory because it helps to improve qualitative and quantitative methods of analyzing empirical evidence and enables researchers to understand complex economic processes.

  8. Night-time restricted feeding normalises clock genes and Pai-1 gene expression in the db/db mouse liver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudo, T; Akiyama, M; Kuriyama, K; Sudo, M; Moriya, T; Shibata, S

    2004-08-01

    An increase in PAI-1 activity is thought to be a key factor underlying myocardial infarction. Mouse Pai-1 (mPai-1) activity shows a daily rhythm in vivo, and its transcription seems to be controlled not only by clock genes but also by humoral factors such as insulin and triglycerides. Thus, we investigated daily clock genes and mPai-1 mRNA expression in the liver of db/db mice exhibiting high levels of glucose, insulin and triglycerides. Locomotor activity was measured using an infrared detection system. RT-PCR or in situ hybridisation methods were applied to measure gene expression. Humoral factors were measured using measurement kits. The db/ db mice showed attenuated locomotor activity rhythms. The rhythmic expression of mPer2 mRNA was severely diminished and the phase of mBmal1 oscillation was advanced in the db/db mouse liver, whereas mPai-1 mRNA was highly and constitutively expressed. Night-time restricted feeding led to a recovery not only from the diminished locomotor activity, but also from the diminished Per2 and advanced mBmal1 mRNA rhythms. Expression of mPai-1 mRNA in db/db mice was reduced to levels far below normal. Pioglitazone treatment slightly normalised glucose and insulin levels, with a slight reduction in mPai-1 gene expression. We demonstrated that Type 2 diabetes impairs the oscillation of the peripheral oscillator. Night-time restricted feeding rather than pioglitazone injection led to a recovery from the diminished locomotor activity, and altered oscillation of the peripheral clock and mPai-1 mRNA rhythm. Thus, we conclude that scheduled restricted food intake may be a useful form of treatment for diabetes.

  9. GC/TOFMS analysis of metabolites in serum and urine reveals metabolic perturbation of TCA cycle in db/db mice involved in diabetic nephropathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mengjie; Wang, Xufang; Aa, Jiye; Qin, Weisong; Zha, Weibin; Ge, Yongchun; Liu, Linsheng; Zheng, Tian; Cao, Bei; Shi, Jian; Zhao, Chunyan; Wang, Xinwen; Yu, Xiaoyi; Wang, Guangji; Liu, Zhihong

    2013-06-01

    Early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) is difficult although it is of crucial importance to prevent its development. To probe potential markers and the underlying mechanism of DN, an animal model of DN, the db/db mice, was used and serum and urine metabolites were profiled using gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Metabolic patterns were evaluated based on serum and urine data. Principal component analysis of the data revealed an obvious metabonomic difference between db/db mice and controls, and db/db mice showed distinctly different metabolic patterns during the progression from diabetes to early, medium, and later DN. The identified metabolites discriminating between db/db mice and controls suggested that db/db mice have perturbations in the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA, citrate, malate, succinate, and aconitate), lipid metabolism, glycolysis, and amino acid turnover. The db/db mice were characterized by acidic urine, high TCA intermediates in serum at week 6 and a sharp decline thereafter, and gradual elevation of free fatty acids in the serum. The sharp drop of serum TCA intermediates from week 6 to 8 indicated the downregulated glycolysis and insulin resistance. However, urinary TCA intermediates did not decrease in parallel with those in the serum from week 6 to 10, and an increased portion of TCA intermediates in the serum was excreted into the urine at 8, 10, and 12 wk than at 6 wk, indicating kidney dysfunction occurred. The relative abundances of TCA intermediates in urine relative to those in serum were suggested as an index of renal damage.

  10. Getting started with OrientDB

    CERN Document Server

    Tesoriero, Claudio

    2013-01-01

    A standard tutorial aimed at making you an OrientDB expert, through the use of practical examples, explained in a step-by-step format.Getting Started with OrientDB 1.3.0 is great for database designers, developers, and systems engineers. It is assumed that you are familiar with NoSQL concepts, Java, and networking principles.

  11. Overactivity of Liver-Related Neurons in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus: Electrophysiological Findings in db/db Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Hong; Molinas, Adrien J R; Miyata, Kayoko; Qiao, Xin; Zsombok, Andrea

    2017-11-15

    Preautonomic neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus play a large role in the regulation of hepatic functions via the autonomic nervous system. Activation of hepatic sympathetic nerves increases glucose and lipid metabolism and contributes to the elevated hepatic glucose production observed in the type 2 diabetic condition. This augmented sympathetic output could originate from altered activity of liver-related PVN neurons. Remarkably, despite the importance of the brain-liver pathway, the cellular properties of liver-related neurons are not known. In this study, we provide the first evidence of overall activity of liver-related PVN neurons. Liver-related PVN neurons were identified with a retrograde, trans-synaptic, viral tracer in male lean and db/db mice and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were conducted. In db/db mice, the majority of liver-related PVN neurons fired spontaneously; whereas, in lean mice the majority of liver-related PVN neurons were silent, indicating that liver-related PVN neurons are more active in db/db mice. Persistent, tonic inhibition was identified in liver-related PVN neurons; although, the magnitude of tonic inhibitory control was not different between lean and db/db mice. In addition, our study revealed that the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1-dependent increase of excitatory neurotransmission was reduced in liver-related PVN neurons of db/db mice. These findings demonstrate plasticity of liver-related PVN neurons and a shift toward excitation in a diabetic mouse model. Our study suggests altered autonomic circuits at the level of the PVN, which can contribute to autonomic dysfunction and dysregulation of neural control of hepatic functions including glucose metabolism. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A growing body of evidence suggests the importance of the autonomic control in the regulation of hepatic metabolism, which plays a major role in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus

  12. Listeners as co-narrators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bavelas, J B; Coates, L; Johnson, T

    2000-12-01

    A collaborative theory of narrative story-telling was tested in two experiments that examined what listeners do and their effect on the narrator. In 63 unacquainted dyads (81 women and 45 men), a narrator told his or her own close-call story. The listeners made 2 different kinds of listener responses: Generic responses included nodding and vocalizations such as "mhm." Specific responses, such as wincing or exclaiming, were tightly connected to (and served to illustrate) what the narrator was saying at the moment. In experimental conditions that distracted listeners from the narrative content, listeners made fewer responses, especially specific ones, and the narrators also told their stories significantly less well, particularly at what should have been the dramatic ending. Thus, listeners were co-narrators both through their own specific responses, which helped illustrate the story, and in their apparent effect on the narrator's performance. The results demonstrate the importance of moment-by-moment collaboration in face-to-face dialogue.

  13. Whose Hearts and Minds? Narratives and Counter-Narratives of Salafi Jihadism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dina Al Raffie

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Since the advent of the Global War on Terror, the world has witnessed the continuation of terrorist activity under the banner of Salafi Jihad. With military action proving insufficient to defeat the propagators of the ideology, attention has turned to the ideology itself. Understanding the narratives that constitute this ideology and the systems in place that help propagate it is crucial to defeating it. Analysis brings to light elements that arguably constitute a Jihadist master narrative as well as support structures that help perpetuate key underlying messages of this master narrative. Successful counter-narratives should focus on rolling back and containing Jihadist narratives whilst simultaneously highlighting the values and attitudes of democratic, free societies

  14. Scalable Earth-observation Analytics for Geoscientists: Spacetime Extensions to the Array Database SciDB

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appel, Marius; Lahn, Florian; Pebesma, Edzer; Buytaert, Wouter; Moulds, Simon

    2016-04-01

    Today's amount of freely available data requires scientists to spend large parts of their work on data management. This is especially true in environmental sciences when working with large remote sensing datasets, such as obtained from earth-observation satellites like the Sentinel fleet. Many frameworks like SpatialHadoop or Apache Spark address the scalability but target programmers rather than data analysts, and are not dedicated to imagery or array data. In this work, we use the open-source data management and analytics system SciDB to bring large earth-observation datasets closer to analysts. Its underlying data representation as multidimensional arrays fits naturally to earth-observation datasets, distributes storage and computational load over multiple instances by multidimensional chunking, and also enables efficient time-series based analyses, which is usually difficult using file- or tile-based approaches. Existing interfaces to R and Python furthermore allow for scalable analytics with relatively little learning effort. However, interfacing SciDB and file-based earth-observation datasets that come as tiled temporal snapshots requires a lot of manual bookkeeping during ingestion, and SciDB natively only supports loading data from CSV-like and custom binary formatted files, which currently limits its practical use in earth-observation analytics. To make it easier to work with large multi-temporal datasets in SciDB, we developed software tools that enrich SciDB with earth observation metadata and allow working with commonly used file formats: (i) the SciDB extension library scidb4geo simplifies working with spatiotemporal arrays by adding relevant metadata to the database and (ii) the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL) driver implementation scidb4gdal allows to ingest and export remote sensing imagery from and to a large number of file formats. Using added metadata on temporal resolution and coverage, the GDAL driver supports time-based ingestion of

  15. Modeling Narrative Discourse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elson, David K.

    2012-01-01

    This thesis describes new approaches to the formal modeling of narrative discourse. Although narratives of all kinds are ubiquitous in daily life, contemporary text processing techniques typically do not leverage the aspects that separate narrative from expository discourse. We describe two approaches to the problem. The first approach considers…

  16. CoBaltDB: Complete bacterial and archaeal orfeomes subcellular localization database and associated resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucchetti-Miganeh Céline

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The functions of proteins are strongly related to their localization in cell compartments (for example the cytoplasm or membranes but the experimental determination of the sub-cellular localization of proteomes is laborious and expensive. A fast and low-cost alternative approach is in silico prediction, based on features of the protein primary sequences. However, biologists are confronted with a very large number of computational tools that use different methods that address various localization features with diverse specificities and sensitivities. As a result, exploiting these computer resources to predict protein localization accurately involves querying all tools and comparing every prediction output; this is a painstaking task. Therefore, we developed a comprehensive database, called CoBaltDB, that gathers all prediction outputs concerning complete prokaryotic proteomes. Description The current version of CoBaltDB integrates the results of 43 localization predictors for 784 complete bacterial and archaeal proteomes (2.548.292 proteins in total. CoBaltDB supplies a simple user-friendly interface for retrieving and exploring relevant information about predicted features (such as signal peptide cleavage sites and transmembrane segments. Data are organized into three work-sets ("specialized tools", "meta-tools" and "additional tools". The database can be queried using the organism name, a locus tag or a list of locus tags and may be browsed using numerous graphical and text displays. Conclusions With its new functionalities, CoBaltDB is a novel powerful platform that provides easy access to the results of multiple localization tools and support for predicting prokaryotic protein localizations with higher confidence than previously possible. CoBaltDB is available at http://www.umr6026.univ-rennes1.fr/english/home/research/basic/software/cobalten.

  17. Pitavastatin suppresses diethylnitrosamine-induced liver preneoplasms in male C57BL/KsJ-db/db obese mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimizu, Masahito; Tanaka, Takuji; Moriwaki, Hisataka; Yasuda, Yoichi; Sakai, Hiroyasu; Kubota, Masaya; Terakura, Daishi; Baba, Atsushi; Ohno, Tomohiko; Kochi, Takahiro; Tsurumi, Hisashi

    2011-01-01

    Obesity and related metabolic abnormalities, including inflammation and lipid accumulation in the liver, play a role in liver carcinogenesis. Adipocytokine imbalances, such as decreased serum adiponectin levels, are also involved in obesity-related liver tumorigenesis. In the present study, we examined the effects of pitavastatin - a drug used for the treatment of hyperlipidemia - on the development of diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced liver preneoplastic lesions in C57BL/KsJ-db/db (db/db) obese mice. Male db/db mice were administered tap water containing 40 ppm DEN for 2 weeks and were subsequently fed a diet containing 1 ppm or 10 ppm pitavastatin for 14 weeks. At sacrifice, feeding with 10 ppm pitavastatin significantly inhibited the development of hepatic premalignant lesions, foci of cellular alteration, as compared to that in the untreated group by inducing apoptosis, but inhibiting cell proliferation. Pitavastatin improved liver steatosis and activated the AMPK-α protein in the liver. It also decreased free fatty acid and aminotransferases levels, while increasing adiponectin levels in the serum. The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and the expression of TNF-α and interleukin-6 mRNAs in the liver were decreased by pitavastatin treatment, suggesting attenuation of the chronic inflammation induced by excess fat deposition. Pitavastatin is effective in inhibiting the early phase of obesity-related liver tumorigenesis and, therefore, may be useful in the chemoprevention of liver cancer in obese individuals

  18. PolySac3DB: an annotated data base of 3 dimensional structures of polysaccharides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarkar Anita

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Polysaccharides are ubiquitously present in the living world. Their structural versatility makes them important and interesting components in numerous biological and technological processes ranging from structural stabilization to a variety of immunologically important molecular recognition events. The knowledge of polysaccharide three-dimensional (3D structure is important in studying carbohydrate-mediated host-pathogen interactions, interactions with other bio-macromolecules, drug design and vaccine development as well as material science applications or production of bio-ethanol. Description PolySac3DB is an annotated database that contains the 3D structural information of 157 polysaccharide entries that have been collected from an extensive screening of scientific literature. They have been systematically organized using standard names in the field of carbohydrate research into 18 categories representing polysaccharide families. Structure-related information includes the saccharides making up the repeat unit(s and their glycosidic linkages, the expanded 3D representation of the repeat unit, unit cell dimensions and space group, helix type, diffraction diagram(s (when applicable, experimental and/or simulation methods used for structure description, link to the abstract of the publication, reference and the atomic coordinate files for visualization and download. The database is accompanied by a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI. It features interactive displays of polysaccharide structures and customized search options for beginners and experts, respectively. The site also serves as an information portal for polysaccharide structure determination techniques. The web-interface also references external links where other carbohydrate-related resources are available. Conclusion PolySac3DB is established to maintain information on the detailed 3D structures of polysaccharides. All the data and features are available

  19. Dysregulation of the unfolded protein response in db/db mice with diet induced steatohepatitis

    OpenAIRE

    Rinella, Mary E.; Siddiqui, M. Shaddab; Gardikiotes, Konstantina; Gottstein, Jeanne; Elias, Marc; Green, Richard M.

    2011-01-01

    In humans with non-alcoholic fatty liver, diabetes is associated with more advanced disease. We have previously shown that diabetic db/db mice are highly susceptible to methionine choline deficient diet (MCD) induced hepatic injury. Since activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) is an important adaptive cellular mechanism in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, we hypothesized that dysregulation of the UPR may partially explain how diabetes could promote liver injury.

  20. Narrative serious game mechanics (NSGM) - insights into the narrative-pedagogical mechanism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lim, T.; Louchart, S.; Suttie, N.; Baalsrud Hauge, J.; Stanescu, I.A.; Ortiz, I.M.; Moreno-Ger, P.; Bellotti, F.; Brandao Carvalho, M.; Earp, J.; Ott, M.; Arnab, S.; Berta, R.; Göbel, S.; Wiemeyer, J.

    2014-01-01

    Narratives are used to construct and deconstruct the time and space of events. In games, as in real life, narratives add layers of meaning and engage players by enhancing or clarifying content. From an educational perspective, narratives are a semiotic conduit for evoking critical thinking skills

  1. Novel anti-diabetic effect of SCM-198 via inhibiting the hepatic NF-κB pathway in db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Hui; Xin, Hong; Liu, Xinhua; Xu, Yajun; Wen, Danyi; Zhang, Yahua; Zhu, Yi Zhun

    2012-04-01

    There are reports of early evidence that suggest the involvement of chronic low-grade inflammation in the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes. Thus, substances that have effects in reducing inflammation could be potential drugs for Type 2 diabetes. Leonurine (4-guanidino-n-butyl syringate; SCM-198) is an alkaloid in HL (Herba leonuri), which was reported to possess anti-inflammatory properties. We hypothesize that SCM-198 may have beneficial effects on Type 2 diabetes. In the present study, we attempted to test this hypothesis by evaluating the anti-diabetic effect of SCM-198 and the possible underlying mechanisms of its effects in db/db mice. SCM-198 (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg of body weight), pioglitazone (50 mg/kg of body weight, as a positive control) or 1% CMC-Na (sodium carboxymethylcellulose) were administered to the db/db or db/m mice once daily for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, SCM-198 (200 mg/kg of body weight) treatment significantly reduced the fasting blood glucose level and increased the plasma insulin concentration in the db/db mice, meanwhile it significantly lowered the plasma TAG (triacylglycerol) concentration and increased the HDL (high-density lipoprotein)-cholesterol concentration. Moreover, the dysregulated transcription of the hepatic glucose metabolic enzymes, including GK (glucokinase), G6Pase (glucose-6-phosphatase) and PEPCK (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase), was recovered by an Akt-dependent pathway. The pro-inflammatory mediators {such as TNFα (tumour necrosis factor α), IL (interleukin)-6, IL-1β, degradation of IκB [inhibitor of NF-κB (nuclear factor-κB)] α and thereafter activation of NF-κB} were reversed by SCM-198 treatment in the db/db mice. The present study provides first evidence that SCM-198 exhibits anti-inflammatory activity and has an ameliorating effect on diabetic symptoms via inhibiting of NF-κB/IKK (IκB kinase) pathway. Consequently, we suggest that SCM-198 may be a prospective agent for prevention and

  2. Narrative theory: II. Self-generated and experimenter-provided negative income shock narratives increase delay discounting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellis, Alexandra M; Snider, Sarah E; Bickel, Warren K

    2018-04-01

    Reading experimenter-provided narratives of negative income shock has been previously demonstrated to increase impulsivity, as measured by discounting of delayed rewards. We hypothesized that writing these narratives would potentiate their effects of negative income shock on decision-making more than simply reading them. In the current study, 193 cigarette-smoking individuals from Amazon Mechanical Turk were assigned to either read an experimenter-provided narrative or self-generate a narrative describing either the negative income shock of job loss or a neutral condition of job transfer. Individuals then completed a task of delay discounting and measures of affective response to narratives, as well as rating various narrative qualities such as personal relevance and vividness. Consistent with past research, narratives of negative income shock increased delay discounting compared to control narratives. No significant differences existed in delay discounting after self-generating compared to reading experimenter-provided narratives. Positive affect was lower and negative affect was higher in response to narratives of job loss, but affect measures did not differ based on whether narratives were experimenter-provided or self-generated. All narratives were rated as equally realistic, but self-generated narratives (whether negative or neutral) were rated as more vivid and relevant than experimenter-provided narratives. These results indicate that the content of negative income shock narratives, regardless of source, consistently drives short-term choices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Narrating psychological distress

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zinken, Jörg; Blakemore, Caroline; Zinken, Katarzyna

    2011-01-01

    Psychological research has emphasized the importance of narrative for a person's sense of self. Building a coherent narrative of past events is one objective of psychotherapy. However, in guided self-help therapy the patient has to develop this narrative autonomously. Identifying patients......' narrative skills in relation to psychological distress could provide useful information about their suitability for self-help. The aim of this study was to explore whether the syntactic integration of clauses into narrative in texts written by prospective psychotherapy patients was related to mild...... to moderate psychological distress. Cross-clausal syntax of texts by 97 people who had contacted a primary care mental health service was analyzed. Severity of symptoms associated with mental health difficulties was assessed by a standardized scale (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation outcome measure...

  4. Pluronic L-81 ameliorates diabetic symptoms in db/db mice through transcriptional regulation of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein

    Science.gov (United States)

    Au, Wo-Shing; Lu, Li-Wei; Tam, Sidney; Ko, Otis King Hung; Chow, Billy KC; He, Ming-Liang; Ng, Samuel S; Yeung, Chung-Man; Liu, Ching-Chiu; Kung, Hsiang-Fu; Lin, Marie C

    2009-01-01

    AIM: To test whether oral L-81 treatment could improve the condition of mice with diabetes and to investigate how L-81 regulates microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) activity in the liver. METHODS: Genetically diabetic (db/db) mice were fed on chow supplemented with or without L-81 for 4 wk. The body weight, plasma glucose level, plasma lipid profile, and adipocyte volume of the db/db mice were assessed after treatment. Toxicity of L-81 was also evaluated. To understand the molecular mechanism, HepG2 cells were treated with L-81 and the effects on apolipoprotein B (apoB) secretion and mRNA level of the MTP gene were assessed. RESULTS: Treatment of db/db mice with L-81 significantly reduced and nearly normalized their body weight, hyperphagia and polydipsia. L-81 also markedly decreased the fasting plasma glucose level, improved glucose tolerance, and attenuated the elevated levels of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride. At the effective dosage, little toxicity was observed. Treatment of HepG2 cells with L-81 not only inhibited apoB secretion, but also significantly decreased the mRNA level of the MTP gene. Similar to the action of insulin, L-81 exerted its effect on the MTP promoter. CONCLUSION: L-81 represents a promising candidate in the development of a selective insulin-mimetic molecule and an anti-diabetic agent. PMID:19554651

  5. Dapagliflozin Aggravates Renal Injury via Promoting Gluconeogenesis in db/db Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Yingli; He, Jinzhao; Wang, Liang; Su, Limin; Lei, Lei; Huang, Wei; Geng, Xiaoqiang; Zhang, Shun; Meng, Xiaolu; Zhou, Hong; Yang, Baoxue

    2018-01-01

    A sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor dapagliflozin is widely used for lowering blood glucose and its usage is limited in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with moderate renal impairment. As its effect on kidney function is discrepant and complicated, the aim of this study is to determine the effect of dapagliflozin on the progression of diabetic nephropathy and related mechanisms. Twelve-week-old male C57BL/6 wild-type and db/db mice were treated with vehicle or 1 mg/kg dapagliflozin for 12 weeks. Body weight, blood glucose, insulin tolerance, glucose tolerance, pyruvate tolerance and 24-hour urine were measured every 4 weeks. At 24 weeks of age, renal function was evaluated by blood urea nitrogen level, creatinine clearance, urine output, urinary albumin excretion, Periodic Acid-Schiff staining, Masson's trichrome staining and electron microscopy. Changes in insulin signaling and gluconeogenic key regulatory enzymes were detected using Western blot analysis. Dapagliflozin did not alleviate but instead aggravated diabetic nephropathy manifesting as increased levels of microalbuminuria, blood urea nitrogen, and glomerular and tubular damage in db/db mice. Despite adequate glycemic control by dapagliflozin, urinary glucose excretion increased after administration before 24 weeks of age and was likely associated with renal impairment. Increased urinary glucose excretion was mainly derived from the disturbance of glucose homeostasis with elevated hepatic and renal gluconeogenesis induced by dapagliflozin. Although it had no effect on insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, dapagliflozin further induced the expression of gluconeogenic key rate-limiting enzymes through increasing the expression levels of FoxO1 in the kidney and liver. These experimental results indicate that dapagliflozin aggravates diabetes mellitus-induced kidney injury, mostly through increasing gluconeogenesis. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

  6. Narrative work? What on earth?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Woudenberg; L. Bobbink; E. Geurts; M. Pelzer; H. Degen-Nijeboer

    2013-01-01

    This book is about narrative methods and narrative research. The word narrativity derives from the Latin word narrare, which means ‘to tell’. Narratives are present everywhere. They come in the form of fairy tales, drama, drawings, art, history, biography, myths and legends. Narratives can be found

  7. Narrative Means to Preventative Ends: A Narrative Engagement Framework for Designing Prevention Interventions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller-Day, Michelle; Hecht, Michael L.

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes a Narrative Engagement Framework (NEF) for guiding communication-based prevention efforts. This framework suggests that personal narratives have distinctive capabilities in prevention. The paper discusses the concept of narrative, links narrative to prevention, and discusses the central role of youth in developing narrative interventions. As illustration, the authors describe how the NEF is applied in the keepin’ it REAL adolescent drug prevention curriculum, pose theoretical directions, and offer suggestions for future work in prevention communication. PMID:23980613

  8. CerealsDB 2.0: an integrated resource for plant breeders and scientists

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilkinson Paul A

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Food security is an issue that has come under renewed scrutiny amidst concerns that substantial yield increases in cereal crops are required to feed the world’s booming population. Wheat is of fundamental importance in this regard being one of the three most important crops for both human consumption and livestock feed; however, increase in crop yields have not kept pace with the demands of a growing world population. In order to address this issue, plant breeders require new molecular tools to help them identify genes for important agronomic traits that can be introduced into elite varieties. Studies of the genome using next-generation sequencing enable the identification of molecular markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms that may be used by breeders to identify and follow genes when breeding new varieties. The development and application of next-generation sequencing technologies has made the characterisation of SNP markers in wheat relatively cheap and straightforward. There is a growing need for the widespread dissemination of this information to plant breeders. Description CerealsDB is an online resource containing a range of genomic datasets for wheat (Triticum aestivum that will assist plant breeders and scientists to select the most appropriate markers for marker assisted selection. CerealsDB includes a database which currently contains in excess of 100,000 putative varietal SNPs, of which several thousand have been experimentally validated. In addition, CerealsDB contains databases for DArT markers and EST sequences, and links to a draft genome sequence for the wheat variety Chinese Spring. Conclusion CerealsDB is an open access website that is rapidly becoming an invaluable resource within the wheat research and plant breeding communities.

  9. Does narrative perspective influence readers’ perspective-taking? An empirical study on free indirect discourse, psycho-narration and first-person narration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susanna Salem

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available It is often assumed that narrating a story from the protagonist’s perspective increases the readers’ inclination to take over this perspective. In a questionnaire study, we examined to which degree different textual modes of narration (a increase the degree to which the reader can generally relate to the protagonist (what we will call 'relatedness', (b make the reader prone to imagine the scene from the 'spatial point-of-view 'of the protagonist, and (c enhance the psychological perspective-taking of the reader, measured as 'identification 'with the protagonist. We employed two different types of texts—one literary and one non-literary—and tested them in four different modes of narration: free indirect discourse, psycho-narration, first-person narration and external focalization. In terms of the 'relatedness 'between the reader and protagonist and 'spatial perspective-taking 'the largest differences (descriptively occurred between external focalization and psycho-narration ('p'& .05 for 'relatedness', 'p'& .05 for 'spatial perspective-taking' and between external focalization and first-person narration ('p'& .05 for 'relatedness', for 'spatial perspective-taking p'& .1. 'Identification', measured with items from a questionnaire on reading experience (Appel et al. 2002, was highest for first-person narration. Here, the difference between first-person narration and external focalization turned out significant only after including dispositional empathy, thematic interest for the text and attention during reading as covariates. Results for the other two perspective-taking measures were unaffected by the inclusion of the same covariates. In conclusion, our data show that first-person and psycho-narration increased the tendency to take over the perspective of the protagonist, but FID did not.   This article is part of the special collection: Perspective Taking

  10. Oligonol, a low-molecular-weight polyphenol derived from lychee fruit, attenuates diabetes-induced renal damage through the advanced glycation end product-related pathway in db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Chan Hum; Yokozawa, Takako; Noh, Jeong Sook

    2014-08-01

    This study was conducted to examine whether oligonol, a low-molecular-weight polyphenol derived from lychee fruit, has an ameliorative effect on diabetes-induced alterations, such as advanced glycation end product (AGE) formation or apoptosis in the kidneys of db/db mice with type 2 diabetes. Oligonol [10 or 20 mg/(kg body weight · d), orally] was administered every day for 8 wk to prediabetic db/db mice, and its effect was compared with vehicle-treated db/db and normal control mice (m/m). The administration of oligonol decreased the elevated renal glucose concentrations and reactive oxygen species in db/db mice (P factor-α (P related variables, representing renoprotective effects against the development of diabetic complications in db/db mice with type 2 diabetes. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

  11. Narrative reflective practice in medical education for residents: composing shifting identities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean Clandinin

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Jean Clandinin1, Marie Thérèse Cave2, Andrew Cave21Center for Research for Teacher Education and Development, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; 2Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaAbstract: As researchers note, medical educators need to create situations to work with physicians in training to help them attend to the development of their professional identities. While there is a call for such changes to be included in medical education, educational approaches that facilitate attention to the development of medical students' professional identities, that is, who they are and who they are becoming as physicians, are still under development. One pedagogical strategy involves narrative reflective practice as a way to develop physician identity. Using this approach, medical residents first write narrative accounts of their experiences with patients in what are called "parallel charts". They then engage in a collaborative narrative inquiry within a sustained inquiry group of other residents and two researcher/facilitators (one physician, one narrative researcher. Preliminary studies of this approach are underway. Drawing on the experiences of one medical resident in one such inquiry group, we show how this pedagogical strategy enables attending to physician identity making.Keywords: physician identity formation, residency

  12. Comparative Study of Temporal Aspects of Data Collection Using Remote Database vs. Abstract Database in WSN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abderrahmen BELFKIH

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The real-time aspect is an important factor for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN applications, which demand a timely data delivery, to reflect the current state of the environment. However, most existing works in the field of sensor networks are only interested in data processing and energy consumption, to improve the lifetime of WSN. Extensive researches have been done on data processing in WSN. Some works have been interested in improving data collection methods, and others have focused on various query processing techniques. In recent years, the query processing using abstract database technology like Cougar and TinyDB has shown efficient results in many researches. This paper presents a study of timing properties through two data processing techniques for WSN. The first is based on a warehousing approach, in which data are collected and stored on a remote database. The second is based on query processing using an abstract database like TinyDB. This study has allowed us to identify some factors which enhance the respect of temporal constraints.

  13. Narration and Escalation. An Empirical Study of Conflict Narratives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evelyn Gius

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the methodology and the outcomes of an empirical study of conflict narratives. The narratological analysis deployed narratological catego­ries in the structuralist tradition based on Genette and was conducted with the help of the text annotation tool CATMA. The analysis aimed at covering as many narratological phenomena as possible by establishing 14 fields of narrato­logical phenomena that were annotated in a corpus of 39 factual narratives about situations at the workplace with and without conflicts. The evaluation of approximately 28,000 annotations brought to light a series of interrelations be­tween narratological phenomena and the presence or absence of conflicts in the narratives. Additionally, this approach led to the identification of some over­sights of narrative theory by detecting hitherto unnoticed interrelations among narratological concepts.

  14. Quantifying narrative ability in autism spectrum disorder: a computational linguistic analysis of narrative coherence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Losh, Molly; Gordon, Peter C

    2014-12-01

    Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by serious difficulties with the social use of language, along with impaired social functioning and ritualistic/repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association in Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5, 5th edn. American Psychiatric Association, Arlington, 2013). While substantial heterogeneity exists in symptom expression, impairments in language discourse skills, including narrative (or storytelling), are universally observed in autism (Tager-Flusberg et al. in Handbook on autism and pervasive developmental disorders, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York, pp 335-364, 2005). This study applied a computational linguistic tool, Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), to objectively characterize narrative performance in high-functioning individuals with autism and typically-developing controls, across two different narrative contexts that differ in the interpersonal and cognitive demands placed on the narrator. Results indicated that high-functioning individuals with autism produced narratives comparable in semantic content to those produced by controls when narrating from a picture book, but produced narratives diminished in semantic quality in a more demanding narrative recall task. This pattern is similar to that detected from analyses of hand-coded picture book narratives in prior research, and extends findings to an additional narrative context that proves particularly challenging for individuals with autism. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of LSA as a quantitative, objective, and efficient measure of narrative ability.

  15. MiR-138 promotes smooth muscle cells proliferation and migration in db/db mice through down-regulation of SIRT1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Juan [Department of Gynecology, Changzhou Maternity and Children Health Hospital, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003 (China); Li, Li; Yun, Hui-fang [Department of Anesthesiology, Changzhou No. 2 People' s Hospital, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003 (China); Han, Ye-shan, E-mail: yeshanhan123@163.com [Department of Anesthesiology, Changzhou No. 2 People' s Hospital, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003 (China)

    2015-08-07

    Background: Diabetic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) exhibit significantly increased rates of proliferation and migration, which was the most common pathological change in atherosclerosis. In addition, the study about the role for miRNAs in the regulation of VSMC proliferation is just beginning to emerge and additional miRNAs involved in VSMC proliferation modulation should be identified. Methods: The expression of miR-138 and SIRT1 were examined in SMCs separated from db/db mice and in SMC lines C-12511 exposed to high glucose with qRT-PCR and western blot. The regulation of miR-138 on the expression of SMCs was detected with luciferase report assay. VSMCs proliferation and migration assays were performed to examine the effect of miR-138 inhibitor on VSMCs proliferation and migration. Results: We discovered that higher mRNA level of miR-138 and reduced expression of SIRT1 were observed in SMCs separated from db/db mice and in SMC lines C-12511. Moreover, luciferase report assay showed that the activity of SIRT1 3′-UTR was highly increased by miR-138 inhibitor and reduced by miR-138 mimic. In addition, we examined that the up-regulation of NF-κB induced by high glucose in SMCs was reversed by resveratrol and miR-138 inhibitor. MTT and migration assays showed that miR-138 inhibitor attenuated the proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells. Conclusion: In this study, we revealed that miR-138 might promote proliferation and migration of SMC in db/db mice through suppressing the expression of SIRT1. - Highlights: • Higher mRNA level of miR-138 was observed in SMCs from db/db mice. • The mRNA and protein level of SIRT1 in SMCs from db/db mice were greatly reduced. • miR-138 could regulate the expression of SIRT1 in SMCs. • SIRT1 overexpression reversed the up-regulation of acetylized p65 and NF-κB induced by high glucose. • MiR-138 inhibitor reversed VSMCs proliferation and migration induced by high glucose.

  16. Are specific emotions narrated differently?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habermas, Tilmann; Meier, Michaela; Mukhtar, Barbara

    2009-12-01

    Two studies test the assertion that anger, sadness, fear, pride, and happiness are typically narrated in different ways. Everyday events eliciting these 5 emotions were narrated by young women (Study 1) and 5- and 8-year-old girls (Study 2). Negative narratives were expected to engender more effort to process the event, be longer, more grammatically complex, more often have a complication section, and use more specific emotion labels than global evaluations. Narratives of Hogan's (2003) juncture emotions anger and fear were expected to focus more on action and to contain more core narrative sections of orientation, complication, and resolution than narratives of the outcome emotions sadness and happiness. Hypotheses were confirmed for adults except for syntactic complexity, whereas children showed only some of these differences. Hogan's theory that juncture emotions are restricted to the complication section was not confirmed. Finally, in adults, indirect speech was more frequent in anger narratives and internal monologue in fear narratives. It is concluded that different emotions should be studied in how they are narrated, and that narratives should be analyzed according to qualitatively different emotions.

  17. Systemic therapy and attachment narratives: Attachment Narrative Therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dallos, Rudi; Vetere, Arlene

    2014-10-01

    This article outlines an integration of attachment theory with narrative theory and systemic theory and practice: Attachment Narrative Therapy (ANT). This integration offers a more powerful explanatory formulation of the development and maintenance of human distress in relationships, families and communities, and gives direction to psychotherapeutic intervention. © The Author(s) 2014.

  18. CANGS DB: a stand-alone web-based database tool for processing, managing and analyzing 454 data in biodiversity studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schlötterer Christian

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Next generation sequencing (NGS is widely used in metagenomic and transcriptomic analyses in biodiversity. The ease of data generation provided by NGS platforms has allowed researchers to perform these analyses on their particular study systems. In particular the 454 platform has become the preferred choice for PCR amplicon based biodiversity surveys because it generates the longest sequence reads. Nevertheless, the handling and organization of massive amounts of sequencing data poses a major problem for the research community, particularly when multiple researchers are involved in data acquisition and analysis. An integrated and user-friendly tool, which performs quality control, read trimming, PCR primer removal, and data organization is desperately needed, therefore, to make data interpretation fast and manageable. Findings We developed CANGS DB (Cleaning and Analyzing Next Generation Sequences DataBase a flexible, stand alone and user-friendly integrated database tool. CANGS DB is specifically designed to organize and manage the massive amount of sequencing data arising from various NGS projects. CANGS DB also provides an intuitive user interface for sequence trimming and quality control, taxonomy analysis and rarefaction analysis. Our database tool can be easily adapted to handle multiple sequencing projects in parallel with different sample information, amplicon sizes, primer sequences, and quality thresholds, which makes this software especially useful for non-bioinformaticians. Furthermore, CANGS DB is especially suited for projects where multiple users need to access the data. CANGS DB is available at http://code.google.com/p/cangsdb/. Conclusion CANGS DB provides a simple and user-friendly solution to process, store and analyze 454 sequencing data. Being a local database that is accessible through a user-friendly interface, CANGS DB provides the perfect tool for collaborative amplicon based biodiversity surveys

  19. Narrator-in-Chief

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herron, Mark A.

    . The use of narratives of and by presidents in the White House can be seen as an essential part of the ceremonial role of the presidency. This use of narratives in epideictic speech has increased with modern day interests in the domestic life of the president, and the use of visual mass media......The dissertation Narrator-in-Chief: The Narrative Rhetoric of Barack Obama seeks to show how the concept of “narrative” can be used in rhetorical criticism of presidential speeches, particularly when considering the speeches and the biographical text, Dreams from My Father (1995), of Barack Obama...... as a communication platform for the president. While this has been described as a negative development (Stuckey, 1991; Salmon, 2010) this dissertation argues that narrative rhetoric should not be seen only as a negative part of political rhetoric, but also as a possibly vital way to educate the audience on issues...

  20. What are narratives good for?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beatty, John

    2016-08-01

    Narratives may be easy to come by, but not everything is worth narrating. What merits a narrative? Here, I follow the lead of narratologists and literary theorists, and focus on one particular proposal concerning the elements of a story that make it narrative-worthy. These elements correspond to features of the natural world addressed by the historical sciences, where narratives figure so prominently. What matters is contingency. Narratives are especially good for representing contingency and accounting for contingent outcomes. This will be squared with a common view that narratives leave no room for chance. On the contrary, I will argue, tracing one path through a maze of alternative possibilities, and alluding to those possibilities along the way, is what a narrative does particularly well. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Modeling biochemical transformation processes and information processing with Narrator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Palfreyman Niall M

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Software tools that model and simulate the dynamics of biological processes and systems are becoming increasingly important. Some of these tools offer sophisticated graphical user interfaces (GUIs, which greatly enhance their acceptance by users. Such GUIs are based on symbolic or graphical notations used to describe, interact and communicate the developed models. Typically, these graphical notations are geared towards conventional biochemical pathway diagrams. They permit the user to represent the transport and transformation of chemical species and to define inhibitory and stimulatory dependencies. A critical weakness of existing tools is their lack of supporting an integrative representation of transport, transformation as well as biological information processing. Results Narrator is a software tool facilitating the development and simulation of biological systems as Co-dependence models. The Co-dependence Methodology complements the representation of species transport and transformation together with an explicit mechanism to express biological information processing. Thus, Co-dependence models explicitly capture, for instance, signal processing structures and the influence of exogenous factors or events affecting certain parts of a biological system or process. This combined set of features provides the system biologist with a powerful tool to describe and explore the dynamics of life phenomena. Narrator's GUI is based on an expressive graphical notation which forms an integral part of the Co-dependence Methodology. Behind the user-friendly GUI, Narrator hides a flexible feature which makes it relatively easy to map models defined via the graphical notation to mathematical formalisms and languages such as ordinary differential equations, the Systems Biology Markup Language or Gillespie's direct method. This powerful feature facilitates reuse, interoperability and conceptual model development. Conclusion Narrator is a

  2. FungiDB: An Integrated Bioinformatic Resource for Fungi and Oomycetes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evelina Y. Basenko

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available FungiDB (fungidb.org is a free online resource for data mining and functional genomics analysis for fungal and oomycete species. FungiDB is part of the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genomics Database Resource (EuPathDB, eupathdb.org platform that integrates genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and phenotypic datasets, and other types of data for pathogenic and nonpathogenic, free-living and parasitic organisms. FungiDB is one of the largest EuPathDB databases containing nearly 100 genomes obtained from GenBank, Aspergillus Genome Database (AspGD, The Broad Institute, Joint Genome Institute (JGI, Ensembl, and other sources. FungiDB offers a user-friendly web interface with embedded bioinformatics tools that support custom in silico experiments that leverage FungiDB-integrated data. In addition, a Galaxy-based workspace enables users to generate custom pipelines for large-scale data analysis (e.g., RNA-Seq, variant calling, etc.. This review provides an introduction to the FungiDB resources and focuses on available features, tools, and queries and how they can be used to mine data across a diverse range of integrated FungiDB datasets and records.

  3. GIS-facilitated spatial narratives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller-Jensen, Lasse; Jeppesen, Henrik; Kofie, Richard Y.

    2008-01-01

    on the thematically and narrative linking of a set of locations within an area. A spatial narrative that describes the - largely unsuccessful - history of Danish plantations on the Gold Coast (1788-1850) is implemented through the Google Earth client. This client is seen both as a type of media in itself for ‘home......-based' exploration of sites related to the narrative and as a tool that facilitates the design of spatial narratives before implementation within portable GIS devices. The Google Earth-based visualization of the spatial narrative is created by a Python script that outputs a web-accessible KML format file. The KML...

  4. Protective effects of SGLT2 inhibitor luseogliflozin on pancreatic β-cells in obese type 2 diabetic db/db mice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okauchi, Seizo, E-mail: okauchi@med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp; Shimoda, Masashi; Obata, Atsushi; Kimura, Tomohiko; Hirukawa, Hidenori; Kohara, Kenji; Mune, Tomoatsu; Kaku, Kohei; Kaneto, Hideaki

    2016-02-12

    It is well known that Sodium-Glucose Co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, new hypoglycemic agents, improve glycemic control by increasing urine glucose excretion, but it remained unclear how they exert protective effects on pancreatic β-cells. In this study, we examined the effects of SGLT2 inhibitor luseogliflozin on β-cell function and mass using obese type 2 diabetic db/db mice. Ten-week-old male diabetic db/db mice were treated with luseogliflozin 0.0025% or 0.01% in chow (Luse 0.0025% or Luse 0.01%) or vehicle (control) for 4 weeks. Urinary glucose excretion was increased in Luse groups (0.0025% and 0.01%) compared to control mice 3 days after the intervention. Fasting blood glucose levels were significantly lower in mice treated with Luse compared to control mice. Fasting serum insulin concentrations were significantly higher in mice treated with Luse compared to control mice. Triglyceride levels tended to be lower in Luse groups compared to control mice. In immunohistochemical study using pancreas tissues, β-cell mass was larger in Luse groups compared to control group which was due to the increase of β-cell proliferation and decrease of β-cell apoptosis. Furthermore, in gene analysis using isolated islets, insulin 1, insulin 2, MafA, PDX-1 and GLUT2 gene expression levels were significantly higher in Luse groups compared to control group. In contrast, expression levels of fibrosis-related gene such as TGFβ, fibronectin, collagen I and collagen III were significantly lower in Luse groups. In conclusion, SGLT2 inhibitor luseogliflozin ameliorates glycemic control and thus exerts protective effects on pancreatic β-cell mass and function. - Highlights: • SGLT2 inhibitor luseogliflozin ameliorates glycemic control in db/db mice. • Luseogliflozin increases β-cell proliferation and decreases β-cell apoptosis. • Luseogliflozin preserves various β-cell-specific gene expression. • Luseogliflozin decreases various fibrosis-related factors in db/db

  5. Protective effects of SGLT2 inhibitor luseogliflozin on pancreatic β-cells in obese type 2 diabetic db/db mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okauchi, Seizo; Shimoda, Masashi; Obata, Atsushi; Kimura, Tomohiko; Hirukawa, Hidenori; Kohara, Kenji; Mune, Tomoatsu; Kaku, Kohei; Kaneto, Hideaki

    2016-01-01

    It is well known that Sodium-Glucose Co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, new hypoglycemic agents, improve glycemic control by increasing urine glucose excretion, but it remained unclear how they exert protective effects on pancreatic β-cells. In this study, we examined the effects of SGLT2 inhibitor luseogliflozin on β-cell function and mass using obese type 2 diabetic db/db mice. Ten-week-old male diabetic db/db mice were treated with luseogliflozin 0.0025% or 0.01% in chow (Luse 0.0025% or Luse 0.01%) or vehicle (control) for 4 weeks. Urinary glucose excretion was increased in Luse groups (0.0025% and 0.01%) compared to control mice 3 days after the intervention. Fasting blood glucose levels were significantly lower in mice treated with Luse compared to control mice. Fasting serum insulin concentrations were significantly higher in mice treated with Luse compared to control mice. Triglyceride levels tended to be lower in Luse groups compared to control mice. In immunohistochemical study using pancreas tissues, β-cell mass was larger in Luse groups compared to control group which was due to the increase of β-cell proliferation and decrease of β-cell apoptosis. Furthermore, in gene analysis using isolated islets, insulin 1, insulin 2, MafA, PDX-1 and GLUT2 gene expression levels were significantly higher in Luse groups compared to control group. In contrast, expression levels of fibrosis-related gene such as TGFβ, fibronectin, collagen I and collagen III were significantly lower in Luse groups. In conclusion, SGLT2 inhibitor luseogliflozin ameliorates glycemic control and thus exerts protective effects on pancreatic β-cell mass and function. - Highlights: • SGLT2 inhibitor luseogliflozin ameliorates glycemic control in db/db mice. • Luseogliflozin increases β-cell proliferation and decreases β-cell apoptosis. • Luseogliflozin preserves various β-cell-specific gene expression. • Luseogliflozin decreases various fibrosis-related factors in db/db

  6. Methods of Cinematic Narrative in Today’s Ghazal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsen Mohammadi fesharaki

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract With Highlighted presence of video m edia in society, its impact on other branches of art and poetry is seen more than before. At the beginning of being familiar with movie in Iran's traditional society, the subject was somehow a taboo and there was no trace of its influence on literature. Due to their poets' worldview, Nimaian poetry and subsequently blank verse reconciled with cinema earlier than classical poetry , but after Iran revolution and deep transformations resulting from war, Ghazal considered cinema and methods of narrative in cinema with a new look. This process is clearly evident in the lyric poets of the post- revolution.  Narrative  "In the simplest sense, narrative is a story that occurs during time and the narrator is one who narrates the story" (Khalil, 1383: p 107. Better expressed, "The story is what is said and narration is how to say it" (Afkhami, 1382: p 59. One of the main concerns of Nima is entering narrative element as an effective actor in poetry, but perhaps as intensely as contemporary poets of Ghazal have noticed to this Nima's advice, today his followers do not.   Narrative in Persian poetry   Narratives form a large part of Persian literature . Narrative poem dates back to the first versified epics . In Persian , narrative poetry is often versified in the form of couplet-poem and in two meter of Motaghareb and Hazaj as follows :   1 - " national epic narratives   2 - historical narratives   3 - love and public narratives   4 - allegorical or moral narratives "( Dad, 13 80: narrative poetry entry   Characteristics of narrative Ghazal   1- The first outcome of narrative Ghazal is the strength of its vertical axis . This artistically makes Ghazal a systematic and coherent structure in which verse or hemistich is no more a semantic unit , but all parts of poem carries the burden of meaning of the poem , so verses can no longer move or change .   2-Translatability is the other results of narrative

  7. Discourse on Narrative Research: The Construction Zone--Literary Elements in Narrative Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coulter, Cathy A.; Smith, Mary Lee

    2009-01-01

    Narrative research has become part of the landscape of education inquiry, yet its theory and practice are still debated and evolving. This article addresses the construction of narratives using literary elements common to nonfiction and fiction writings. The authors discuss these elements and use four narratives to illustrate them. They address…

  8. Abstract – IT Robert Lepage: anatomia di un regista

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giulio Boato

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract – ITRobert Lepage è uno dei registi più rilevanti del panorama teatrale internazionale contemporaneo. L’articolo cerca di fornire una sintetica analisi della poetica del regista soffermandosi in particolar modo sulle nozioni di “montaggio” e di “immagine” al fine di definire il rapporto tra tecnologia e linguaggio in teatro. L’analisi di due spettacoli di Lepage presentati in occasione del Napoli Teatro Festival Italia(edizioni 2010 e 2011 alimenta la riflessione teorica che si snoda seguendo una metafora anatomica:analizzare separatamente (sezionando come il chirurgo le varie componenti narrative e formali del modus operandi lepagiano permette di comprendere più agevolmente l’architettura organica dell’insieme Abstract – FR Robert Lepage est un des metteurs en scène les plus remarqués de la scène théâtrale internationale contemporaine. L’article cherche à fournir une analyse synthétique de l’art poétique du metteur en scèneen se concentrant en particulier sur les notions de « montage » et « image » afin d’en définir le rapportentre technologie et langage au théâtre. L’analyse de deux spectacles de Lepage présentés pendant leNapoli Teatro Festival Italia (éditions 2010 et 2011 alimente la réflexion théorique qui se développeselon une métaphore anatomique : à la manière d'un chirurgien disséquant un corps, on analyseraséparément les différentes composantes narratives et formelles utilisées par Lepage afin de comprendreplus facilement l’architecture organique de l’ensemble. Abstract – EN Robert Lepage is one of the most significant directors on the international and contemporary theatrescene. The article tries to provide a synthetic analysis of the director’s work: focusing on the notions of “editing” and “image”, it defines the relation between technology and language in theatre. The analysis oftwo pieces of theatre presented at the Napoli Teatro Festival Italia

  9. Access of vehicles to DB netz infrastructure; Zugang von Fahrzeugen zur DB-Netz-Infrastruktur

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Resch, U. [DB Systemtechnik, Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Ruch, M. [DB Energie GmbH, Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

    2003-05-01

    For line access it is necessary to take into account and observe the requirements of the infrastructure. The requirements and certifications for the power supply system and pantograph-overhead contact line interaction are described in the DB guidelines 810.0241 and 810.0242. (orig.) [German] Fuer den Netzzugang muessen die Anforderungen der Infrastruktur beachtet und eingehalten werden. Die Anforderungen und die erforderlichen Nachweise fuer den Bereich Energieversorgung und Zusammenwirken von Stromabnehmer und Oberleitung sind in den Richtlinien 810.0241 und 810.0242 der DB enthalten. (orig.)

  10. Mechanical Vibration Mitigates the Decrease of Bone Quantity and Bone Quality of Leptin Receptor-Deficient Db/Db Mice by Promoting Bone Formation and Inhibiting Bone Resorption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jing, Da; Luo, Erping; Cai, Jing; Tong, Shichao; Zhai, Mingming; Shen, Guanghao; Wang, Xin; Luo, Zhuojing

    2016-09-01

    Leptin, a major hormonal product of adipocytes, is involved in regulating appetite and energy metabolism. Substantial studies have revealed the anabolic actions of leptin on skeletons and bone cells both in vivo and in vitro. Growing evidence has substantiated that leptin receptor-deficient db/db mice exhibit decreased bone mass and impaired bone microstructure despite several conflicting results previously reported. We herein systematically investigated bone microarchitecture, mechanical strength, bone turnover and its potential molecular mechanisms in db/db mice. More importantly, we also explored an effective approach for increasing bone mass in leptin receptor-deficient animals in an easy and noninvasive manner. Our results show that deterioration of trabecular and cortical bone microarchitecture and decreases of skeletal mechanical strength-including maximum load, yield load, stiffness, energy, tissue-level modulus and hardness-in db/db mice were significantly ameliorated by 12-week, whole-body vibration (WBV) with 0.5 g, 45 Hz via micro-computed tomography (μCT), three-point bending, and nanoindentation examinations. Serum biochemical analysis shows that WBV significantly decreased serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b) and CTx-1 levels and also mitigated the reduction of serum osteocalcin (OCN) in db/db mice. Bone histomorphometric analysis confirmed that decreased bone formation-lower mineral apposition rate, bone formation rate, and osteoblast numbers in cancellous bone-in db/db mice were suppressed by WBV. Real-time PCR assays show that WBV mitigated the reductions of tibial alkaline phosphatase (ALP), OCN, Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), type I collagen (COL1), BMP2, Wnt3a, Lrp6, and β-catenin mRNA expression, and prevented the increases of tibial sclerostin (SOST), RANK, RANKL, RANL/osteoprotegerin (OPG) gene levels in db/db mice. Our results show that WBV promoted bone quantity and quality in db/db mice with obvious

  11. Reversibility of β-Cell-Specific Transcript Factors Expression by Long-Term Caloric Restriction in db/db Mouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunjun Sheng

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Type 2 diabetes (T2D is characterized by β-cell dedifferentiation, but underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of the current study was to explore the mechanisms of β-cell dedifferentiation with and without long-term control of calorie intake. We used a diabetes mouse model (db/db to analyze the changes in the expression levels of β-cell-specific transcription factors (TFs and functional factors with long-term caloric restriction (CR. Our results showed that chronic euglycemia was maintained in the db/db mice with long-term CR intervention, and β-cell dedifferentiation was significantly reduced. The expression of Glut2, Pdx1, and Nkx6.1 was reversed, while MafA expression was significantly increased with long-term CR. GLP-1 pathway was reactivated with long-term CR. Our work showed that the course of β-cell dedifferentiation can intervene by long-term control of calorie intake. Key β-cell-specific TFs and functional factors play important roles in maintaining β-cell differentiation. Targeting these factors could optimize T2D therapies.

  12. Evaluation on the use of animated narrative video in teaching narrative text

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soe’oed Rahmat

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In the 21st century, our life is strongly affected by the information technology. Educational technology has been rapidly improved by the development of audiovisual tools. Teachers may choose a number of different types of resources for teaching purposes, including videos and movies. Therefore, this study is aimed at evaluating animated narrative videos from YouTube for the teaching narrative text and identifying potential factors which influence the quality of educational videos. The videos were examined by using assessment rubric to see the quality and suitability of animated narrative videos which might be used in the teaching narrative text. The rubric was adapted from Prince Edward Island (PEI Department of Education: Evaluation and Selection of Learning Resources. It consists of four criteria, content, structure, instructional design, and technical design In addition, the study presents critical awareness of how these aspects can be interpreted to measure animated narrative videos and at the same time the engagement of the teachers in exploring animated narrative videos used in classroom.

  13. Circles Disturbed The Interplay of Mathematics and Narrative

    CERN Document Server

    Doxiadis, Apostolos

    2012-01-01

    Circles Disturbed brings together important thinkers in mathematics, history, and philosophy to explore the relationship between mathematics and narrative. The book's title recalls the last words of the great Greek mathematician Archimedes before he was slain by a Roman soldier--"Don't disturb my circles"--words that seem to refer to two radically different concerns: that of the practical person living in the concrete world of reality, and that of the theoretician lost in a world of abstraction. Stories and theorems are, in a sense, the natural languages of these two worlds--stories represent

  14. Narrative House: A Metaphor For Narrative Therapy: Tribute To ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article is a tribute to Michael White, co-founder of narrative therapy, who passed away on 5 April 2008. Michael White and David Epston founded a substantial and ground-breaking psychological movement based on narrative therapy. Michael touched with dignity and changed for the better the lives of thousands.

  15. Cinematic narratives of Sonderkommando: Son of saul or narrating the victim, perpetrator, trauma and death

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daković Nevena

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to map out - by analysing the film Son of Saul, but also by its comparison with two other films dealing with the topic, Himmelkommando and The Grey Zone, the narrative mechanism that satisfies the complex ethical and aesthetical demands imposed by the theme of Sonderkommando as the particular episode of the Holocaust. The key element of the narrative structure is the construction of the Levi’s “dead and drowned” witness who “resurrected” through the narrative intervention becomes the only reliable and credible narrator of the historical trauma. The prerequisite for his emergence is the narration and representation of the death which makes but also solves the traumatised - understood as multiple, fragmented, opposed - identities of the members of the special squad. Their entangled identity involves the simultaneous presence of a victim, perpetrator, witness and the authentic narrator of the trauma of the death camp. The death of the perpetrator is the condition sina qua non for the emergence of the figure of the victim-witness narrator but also for making of narrative which overcomes the initial trauma of the Holocaust. The detailed analysis of the film Son of Saul confirms and identifies these narratives as the modernist narration of the post-traumatic film.

  16. Beyond the Investment Narrative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moss, Peter

    2013-01-01

    The current policy interest in early childhood education and care is driven by an investment narrative, a story of quality and high returns emerging from a dominant neoliberal political economy. This short note expresses deep reservations about this narrative, and hints at another narrative that foregrounds democracy, experimentation and…

  17. Project Narrative

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Driscoll, Mary C. [St. Bonaventure University, St Bonaventure, NY(United States)

    2012-07-12

    The Project Narrative describes how the funds from the DOE grant were used to purchase equipment for the biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics departments. The Narrative also describes how the equipment is being used. There is also a list of the positive outcomes as a result of having the equipment that was purchased with the DOE grant.

  18. Do Live versus Audio-Recorded Narrative Stimuli Influence Young Children's Narrative Comprehension and Retell Quality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk Grace

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The primary aim of the present study was to examine whether different ways of presenting narrative stimuli (i.e., live narrative stimuli versus audio-recorded narrative stimuli) influence children's performances on narrative comprehension and oral-retell quality. Method: Children in kindergarten (n = 54), second grade (n = 74), and fourth…

  19. Drama and Imagination: A Cognitive Theory of Drama's Effect on Narrative Comprehension and Narrative Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mages, Wendy K.

    2006-01-01

    This article proposes a cognitive theory of how drama affects two aspects of language development: narrative comprehension and narrative production. It is a theoretical model that explicitly posits the role of the imagination in drama's potential to enhance the development of both narrative comprehension and narrative production. (Contains 2…

  20. Politics of love: narrative structures, intertextuality and social agency in the narratives of parents with disabled children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanisch, Halvor

    2013-11-01

    Recent research has highlighted how parental narratives can be important in the resistance against disabling processes. This article contains analyses of enabling language in narratives published by Scandinavian disability rights organizations. First, drawing on the work of Fisher and Goodley, I point out that the material constitute a threefold: normality narratives, resistance narratives, and narratives that demonstrate an appreciation of the present and the child's individual alterity. Second, I demonstrate that the last narrative draws on Romanticism rather than linguistic resources from disability culture. Third, I show that these narratives are hyperboles - texts that strengthen and emphasise the valuation to the point where the narrative structure transcends narrative consistency. Fourth, drawing on the work of Kristeva, I argue that this form of narration constitutes an intimate politics of love. © 2013 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2013 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Molecular signatures database (MSigDB) 3.0.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liberzon, Arthur; Subramanian, Aravind; Pinchback, Reid; Thorvaldsdóttir, Helga; Tamayo, Pablo; Mesirov, Jill P

    2011-06-15

    Well-annotated gene sets representing the universe of the biological processes are critical for meaningful and insightful interpretation of large-scale genomic data. The Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB) is one of the most widely used repositories of such sets. We report the availability of a new version of the database, MSigDB 3.0, with over 6700 gene sets, a complete revision of the collection of canonical pathways and experimental signatures from publications, enhanced annotations and upgrades to the web site. MSigDB is freely available for non-commercial use at http://www.broadinstitute.org/msigdb.

  2. Narrative, Preaching, and Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finney, Mark David

    2017-01-01

    This dissertation focuses on the place of narrative in the transformational encounter that can take place between hearers of sermons and God. Chapter 1 surveys the history and development of contemporary scholarship related to narrative preaching. It argues that most homileticians consider narrative either as a way of structuring sermons, or as a…

  3. H2DB: a heritability database across multiple species by annotating trait-associated genomic loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaminuma, Eli; Fujisawa, Takatomo; Tanizawa, Yasuhiro; Sakamoto, Naoko; Kurata, Nori; Shimizu, Tokurou; Nakamura, Yasukazu

    2013-01-01

    H2DB (http://tga.nig.ac.jp/h2db/), an annotation database of genetic heritability estimates for humans and other species, has been developed as a knowledge database to connect trait-associated genomic loci. Heritability estimates have been investigated for individual species, particularly in human twin studies and plant/animal breeding studies. However, there appears to be no comprehensive heritability database for both humans and other species. Here, we introduce an annotation database for genetic heritabilities of various species that was annotated by manually curating online public resources in PUBMED abstracts and journal contents. The proposed heritability database contains attribute information for trait descriptions, experimental conditions, trait-associated genomic loci and broad- and narrow-sense heritability specifications. Annotated trait-associated genomic loci, for which most are single-nucleotide polymorphisms derived from genome-wide association studies, may be valuable resources for experimental scientists. In addition, we assigned phenotype ontologies to the annotated traits for the purposes of discussing heritability distributions based on phenotypic classifications.

  4. Sammelrezension: Unreliable Narration

    OpenAIRE

    Orth, Dominik

    2009-01-01

    Eva Laass: Broken Taboos, Subjective Truths. Forms and Functions of Unreliable Narration in Contemporary American Cinema. A Contribution to Film NarratologyVolker Ferenz: Don’t believe his lies. The unreliable narrator in contemporary American cinema

  5. Why Narrating Changes Memory: A Contribution to an Integrative Model of Memory and Narrative Processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smorti, Andrea; Fioretti, Chiara

    2016-06-01

    This paper aims to reflect on the relation between autobiographical memory (ME) and autobiographical narrative (NA), examining studies on the effects of narrating on the narrator and showing how studying these relations can make more comprehensible both memory's and narrating's way of working. Studies that address explicitly on ME and NA are scarce and touch this issue indirectly. Authors consider different trends of studies of ME and NA: congruency vs incongruency hypotheses on retrieving, the way of organizing memories according to gist or verbatim format and their role in organizing positive and negative emotional experiences, the social roots of ME and NA, the rules of conversation based on narrating. Analysis of investigations leads the Authors to point out three basic results of their research. Firstly, NA transforms ME because it narrativizes memories according to a narrative format. This means that memories, when are narrated, are transformed in stories (verbal language) and socialised. Secondly, the narrativization process is determined by the act of telling something within a communicative situation. Thus, relational situation of narrating act, by modifying the story, modifies also memories. The Authors propose the RE.NA.ME model (RElation, NArration, MEmory) to understand and study ME and NA. Finally, this study claims that ME and NA refer to two different types of processes having a wide area of overlapping. This is due to common social, developmental and cultural roots that make NA to include part of ME (narrative of memory) and ME to include part of NA (memory of personal events that have been narrated).

  6. Forensic historiography: narratives and science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drukteinis, Albert M

    2014-01-01

    Psychiatrists function, in part, as historians who rely on patient narratives to help them understand presenting mental disorders and explain their causes. Forensic psychiatrists have been skeptical of using narratives, raising concerns about their lack of objectivity and potential for bias. They also have criticized narratives as being more performative than scientific. Recent authors, however, have pointed out that narratives may be helpful in forming forensic opinions and supporting oral testimony, while stressing that their use must be consistent with the ethics espoused by forensic psychiatry. This article reviews the role of narratives in understanding human events and the ubiquitous presence of narratives in the judicial process. It delves into the inescapability of using explicit or implicit narratives in the course of forensic practice, as well as how they may be meaningfully incorporated into evaluations and find expression alongside scientific principles. © 2014 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

  7. Personal history, beyond narrative

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Køster, Allan

    2017-01-01

    on a distinction between history and narrative, I outline an account of historical becoming through a process of sedimentation and a rich notion of what I call historical selfhood on an embodied level. Five embodied existentials are suggested, sketching a preliminary understanding of how selves are concretely......Narrative theories currently dominate our understanding of how selfhood is constituted and concretely individuated throughout personal history. Despite this success, the narrative perspective has recently been exposed to a range of critiques. Whilst these critiques have been effective in pointing...... out the shortcomings of narrative theories of selfhood, they have been less willing and able to suggest alternative ways of understanding personal history. In this article, I assess the criticisms and argue that an adequate phenomenology of personal history must also go beyond narrative. Drawing...

  8. StarDB: a large-scale DBMS for strings

    KAUST Repository

    Sahli, Majed

    2015-08-01

    Strings and applications using them are proliferating in science and business. Currently, strings are stored in file systems and processed using ad-hoc procedural code. Existing techniques are not flexible and cannot efficiently handle complex queries or large datasets. In this paper, we demonstrate StarDB, a distributed database system for analytics on strings. StarDB hides data and system complexities and allows users to focus on analytics. It uses a comprehensive set of parallel string operations and provides a declarative query language to solve complex queries. StarDB automatically tunes itself and runs with over 90% efficiency on supercomputers, public clouds, clusters, and workstations. We test StarDB using real datasets that are 2 orders of magnitude larger than the datasets reported by previous works.

  9. Testimony in Narrative Educational Research: A Qualitative Interview, Narrative Analysis and Epistemological Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopher, Justin

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to assess issues that arise in the context of epistemological claims in narrative educational research by means of narrative analysis and epistemological evaluation. The research questions which guided the study were: 1) To what extent is epistemology considered by narrative educational researchers?; 2) What issues do…

  10. Narrative research in psychotherapy: a critical review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avdi, Evrinomy; Georgaca, Eugenie

    2007-09-01

    This paper is a review of studies which utilise the notion of narrative to analyse psychotherapy. Its purpose is to systematically present this diverse field of research, to highlight common themes and divergences between different strands and to further the development and integration of narrative research in psychotherapy. The paper reviews studies which employ an applied textual analysis of narratives produced in the context of psychotherapy. Criteria for inclusion of studies are, firstly, the analysis of therapeutic and therapy-related texts and, secondly, the adoption of a narrative psychological perspective. The studies were examined on the basis of the notion of narrative they employ and the aspects of client narratives they focus on, and were grouped accordingly in the review. The majority of the studies reviewed assume a constructivist approach to narrative, adopt a representational view of language, focus primarily on client micro-narratives and relate to cognitive-constructivist and process-experiential psychotherapeutic approaches. A smaller group of studies assume a social constructionist approach to narrative and a functional view of language, focus on micro-narratives, highlight the interactional and wider social aspects of narrative and relate to postmodern trends in psychotherapy. The range of conceptualisations of narrative in the studies reviewed, from a representational psychological view to a constructionist social view, reflects tensions within narrative psychology itself. Moreover, two trends can be discerned in the field reviewed, narrative analysis of therapy, which draws from narrative theory and utilises the analytic approaches of narrative research to study psychotherapy, and analyses of narrative in therapy, which study client narratives using non-narrative qualitative methods. Finally, the paper highlights the need for integration of this diverse field of research and urges for the development of narrative studies of psychotherapy

  11. Plant DB link - PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available List Contact us PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods ...e Site Policy | Contact Us Plant DB link - PGDBj Registered plant list, Marker list, QTL list, Plant DB link & Genome analysis methods | LSDB Archive ...

  12. Narrating Global Order and Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew Levinger

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This thematic issue addresses how strategic narratives affect international order. Strategic narratives are conceived of as stories with a political purpose or narratives used by political actors to affect the behavior of others. The articles in this issue address two significant areas important to the study of international relations: how strategic narratives support or undermine alliances, and how they affect norm formation and contestation. Within a post-Cold War world and in the midst of a changing media environment, strategic narratives affect how the world and its complex issues are understood. This special issue speaks to the difficulties associated with creating creative and committed international cooperation by noting how strategic narratives are working to shape the Post-Cold War international context.

  13. Organizational Remembering as Narrative

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Musacchio Adorisio, Anna Linda

    2014-01-01

    This article focuses on organizational remembering in banking. To provide an alternative to the repository image of memory in organization, organizational remembering is conceptualized as narrative, where narrative represents a way to organize the selection and interpretation of the past....... The narrative perspective deals with both the experiential and contextual nature of remembering by addressing concerns raised by critiques of organizational memory studies, namely, the subjective experience of remembering and the social and historical context in which remembering takes place. Antenarrative...... the narrative perspective reveals ruptures and ambiguities that characterize organizational remembering that would remain hidden in the organizational memory studies approach....

  14. NGSmethDB 2017: enhanced methylomes and differential methylation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebrón, Ricardo; Gómez-Martín, Cristina; Carpena, Pedro; Bernaola-Galván, Pedro; Barturen, Guillermo; Hackenberg, Michael; Oliver, José L.

    2017-01-01

    The 2017 update of NGSmethDB stores whole genome methylomes generated from short-read data sets obtained by bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) technology. To generate high-quality methylomes, stringent quality controls were integrated with third-part software, adding also a two-step mapping process to exploit the advantages of the new genome assembly models. The samples were all profiled under constant parameter settings, thus enabling comparative downstream analyses. Besides a significant increase in the number of samples, NGSmethDB now includes two additional data-types, which are a valuable resource for the discovery of methylation epigenetic biomarkers: (i) differentially methylated single-cytosines; and (ii) methylation segments (i.e. genome regions of homogeneous methylation). The NGSmethDB back-end is now based on MongoDB, a NoSQL hierarchical database using JSON-formatted documents and dynamic schemas, thus accelerating sample comparative analyses. Besides conventional database dumps, track hubs were implemented, which improved database access, visualization in genome browsers and comparative analyses to third-part annotations. In addition, the database can be also accessed through a RESTful API. Lastly, a Python client and a multiplatform virtual machine allow for program-driven access from user desktop. This way, private methylation data can be compared to NGSmethDB without the need to upload them to public servers. Database website: http://bioinfo2.ugr.es/NGSmethDB. PMID:27794041

  15. Narrative Making and Remaking in the Early Years: Prelude to the Personal Narrative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Peggy J.; Chen, Eva Chian-Hui; Olivarez, Megan

    2014-01-01

    Although very young children are unable to formulate a personal narrative of the life course, their everyday lives are steeped in narratives. Drawing on ethnographic studies in diverse sociocultural worlds, we argue that the early years of life form a vital preamble to the personal narrative. In this phase of life, the universal predisposition to…

  16. Narrative self-appropriation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Køster, Allan

    2017-01-01

    is profoundly saturated by an alienness regarding the person’s own affects and responses. However, the balance of familiarity and alienness is not static, but can be cultivated through e.g. psychotherapy. Following this line of thought, I present the idea that narrativising experiences can play an important...... role in processes of appropriating such embodied self-alienness. Importantly, the notion of narrative used is that of a scalar conception of narrativity as a variable quality of experience that comes in degrees. From this perspective, narrative appropriation is a process of gradually attributing...

  17. Comparing MongoDB to SQL Server, Replicated

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    K. Azizi

    2014-01-01

    htmlabstractParker et al [1] studied the performance difference between MongoDB and Microsoft SQL Server on basis of a number of insert, update and select scenarios. As the result of their study, they conclude that MongoDB has got a better performance when it comes to insert, update and simple

  18. Marie-Laure Ryan. Kenneth Foote, and Maoz Azaryahu. Narrating Space / Spatializing Narrative : Where Narrative Theory and Geography Meet.

    OpenAIRE

    Harding, Wendy

    2017-01-01

    In the wake of Gerard Genette’s Figures I-III, (1967-70) and Paul Ricoeur’s Temps et Récit (1983-85), narratologists have been very much concerned with questions of time. The aim of Narrating Space / Spatializing Narrative : Where Narrative Theory and Geography Meet is to reorient the discipline by studying the ways in which “space can intersect with narrative” (1). To pursue this project, Marie-Laure Ryan, a literary specialist, has joined forces with two geographers, Kenneth Foote and Maoz ...

  19. [Narratives in the study of mental health care practices: contributions of the perspectives of Paul Ricoeur, Walter Benjamin and of medical anthropology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onocko-Campos, Rosana Teresa; Palombini, Analice de Lima; Leal, Erotildes; de Serpa, Octavio Domont; Baccari, Ivana Oliveira Preto; Ferrer, Ana Luiza; Diaz, Alberto Giovanello; Xavier, Maria Angélica Zamora

    2013-10-01

    Narratives are ever more frequent in qualitative studies seeking to interpret experiences and the different viewpoints of individuals in a given context. Starting from this concept, the tradition that addresses narrative is reexamined, including the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur, the historical perspective of Walter Benjamin and the field of medical anthropology grounded in phenomenology. In Ricoeur, with hermeneutics as a variation derived from phenomenology, narrative is linked to temporality. In Benjamin, narrative comprised of bits and pieces, always inconclusive, emerges in spite of the official stories. If Ricoeur retrieves tradition from Gadamer as a fundamental component for the construction of the world of a text that makes imitation of life possible, Benjamin, faced with the collapse of tradition, suggests the invention of narrative forms outside the traditional canons, making it possible to hark to the past in order to change the present. Assumptions of medical anthropology are also presented, as they consider narrative a dimension of life and not its abstraction, namely an embodied and situated narrative. Lastly, three distinct research projects in mental health that use narrative linked to the theoretical concepts cited with their differences and similarities are presented.

  20. SilkDB: a knowledgebase for silkworm biology and genomics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Jing; Xia, Qingyou; He, Ximiao

    2005-01-01

    The Silkworm Knowledgebase (SilkDB) is a web-based repository for the curation, integration and study of silkworm genetic and genomic data. With the recent accomplishment of a approximately 6X draft genome sequence of the domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori), SilkDB provides an integrated representati....... SilkDB is publicly accessible at http://silkworm.genomics.org.cn. Udgivelsesdato: 2005-Jan-1...

  1. TEXT DEIXIS IN NARRATIVE SEQUENCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josep Rivera

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available This study looks at demonstrative descriptions, regarding them as text-deictic procedures which contribute to weave discourse reference. Text deixis is thought of as a metaphorical referential device which maps the ground of utterance onto the text itself. Demonstrative expressions with textual antecedent-triggers, considered as the most important text-deictic units, are identified in a narrative corpus consisting of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and its translation into Catalan. Some linguistic and discourse variables related to DemNPs are analysed to characterise adequately text deixis. It is shown that this referential device is usually combined with abstract nouns, thus categorising and encapsulating (non-nominal complex discourse entities as nouns, while performing a referential cohesive function by means of the text deixis + general noun type of lexical cohesion.

  2. Narrative accounting disclosures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aerts, Walter; Clubb, C.; Imam, S.

    2015-01-01

    Narrative accounting disclosures are an integral part of the corporate financial reporting package. They are deemed to provide a view of the company “through the eyes of management”. The narratives represent management's construal of corporate events and are largely discretionary. Research in

  3. Narrative Fortresses: Crisis Narratives and Conflict in the Conservation of Mount Gorongosa, Mozambique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christy Schuetze

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A single narrative about the Gorongosa Restoration Project (GRP in Mozambique circulates widely in the popular media. This story characterises the project as an innovative intervention into an ecological crisis situation. The narrative hails the project′s aim to use profits from tourism to address the goals of both human development and conservation of biodiversity, and portrays the park project as widely embraced by long-term residents. This representation helps the project attract broad acclaim, donor funding, and socially conscious visitors, yet it obscures the early emergence of unified opposition to the project′s interventions among long-term residents of Gorongosa Mountain. This article draws on ethnographic research conducted on Gorongosa Mountain between 2006 and 2008 to examine the project′s early activities there. I examine two crisis narratives that led to entrenched conflict between park-based actors and mountain residents. Focusing on the emergence and solidification of divergent narratives-narrative fortresses-about the extension of the park′s activities to Gorongosa Mountain offers insight into the powerful role of crisis narratives in producing and maintaining conflict, leading to outcomes counter to the desires of conservationists. Ultimately, the article points to ways in which narratives of environmental crisis work against aspirations of partnership and collaboration with resident populations in conservation and development schemes.

  4. The End of a Noble Narrative?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manners, Ian James; Murray, Philomena

    2016-01-01

    the construction and application of an analytical framework drawing on different theoretical perspectives. This framework is then applied to six European integration narratives to demonstrate the value of a narrative approach. The article concludes that narrative analysis provides a means of understanding both EU......, the Nobel Prize and the search for a ‘new narrative for Europe’ demonstrate that the processes of European integration are always narrated as sense-making activities – stories people tell to make sense of their reality. This article argues in favour of a narrative approach to European integration through...

  5. Theoretical perspectives on narrative inquiry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emden, C

    1998-04-01

    Narrative inquiry is gaining momentum in the field of nursing. As a research approach it does not have any single heritage of methodology and its practitioners draw upon diverse sources of influence. Central to all narrative inquiry however, is attention to the potential of stories to give meaning to people's lives, and the treatment of data as stories. This is the first of two papers on the topic and addresses the theoretical influences upon a particular narrative inquiry into nursing scholars and scholarship. The second paper, Conducting a narrative analysis, describes the actual narrative analysis as it was conducted in this same study. Together, the papers provide sufficient detail for others wishing to pursue a similar approach to do so, or to develop the ideas and procedures according to their own way of thinking. Within this first theoretical paper, perspectives from Jerome Bruner (1987) and Wade Roof (1993) are outlined. These relate especially to the notion of stories as 'imaginative constructions' and as 'cultural narratives' and as such, highlight the profound importance of stories as being individually and culturally meaningful. As well, perspectives on narrative inquiry from nursing literature are highlighted. Narrative inquiry in this instance lies within the broader context of phenomenology.

  6. Narratives and Accounts: "Post-Crisis" Narration in Annual Company Reports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winchester, Jules; Williams, Simon

    2014-01-01

    This paper aims to provide Business English and EAP practitioners with a rationale for including the analysis of narrative elements in business addresses in their language teaching in order to encourage critical thinking in learners. By studying these elements, and the rhetorical function of the narrative in particular, students can become more…

  7. The dynamics of unreliable narration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Per Krogh

    2017-01-01

    Per Krogh Hansen brings attention to one of the most discussed narratological concepts in recent years, the ‘unreliable narrator’. In the article »The Dynamics of Unreliable Narration«, Hansen is considering to what extent the question of authorial control or intention is relevant when analysing...... and interpreting unreliable narrators. In the first part of the article, he questions this claimed essentiality of an authorial agent from three different angles: One concerning the border between diegetic and extradiegetic issues. Another with specific focus on unreliable simultaneous narration (first person......, present tense). And a third with attention paid to the role of unreliable narrators in factual narratives. In the article, he proposes a model for describing the different dynamic roles the authorial agent, as well as the empirical reader, plays in different forms of unreliable narration. Here, terms like...

  8. NGSmethDB 2017: enhanced methylomes and differential methylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebrón, Ricardo; Gómez-Martín, Cristina; Carpena, Pedro; Bernaola-Galván, Pedro; Barturen, Guillermo; Hackenberg, Michael; Oliver, José L

    2017-01-04

    The 2017 update of NGSmethDB stores whole genome methylomes generated from short-read data sets obtained by bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) technology. To generate high-quality methylomes, stringent quality controls were integrated with third-part software, adding also a two-step mapping process to exploit the advantages of the new genome assembly models. The samples were all profiled under constant parameter settings, thus enabling comparative downstream analyses. Besides a significant increase in the number of samples, NGSmethDB now includes two additional data-types, which are a valuable resource for the discovery of methylation epigenetic biomarkers: (i) differentially methylated single-cytosines; and (ii) methylation segments (i.e. genome regions of homogeneous methylation). The NGSmethDB back-end is now based on MongoDB, a NoSQL hierarchical database using JSON-formatted documents and dynamic schemas, thus accelerating sample comparative analyses. Besides conventional database dumps, track hubs were implemented, which improved database access, visualization in genome browsers and comparative analyses to third-part annotations. In addition, the database can be also accessed through a RESTful API. Lastly, a Python client and a multiplatform virtual machine allow for program-driven access from user desktop. This way, private methylation data can be compared to NGSmethDB without the need to upload them to public servers. Database website: http://bioinfo2.ugr.es/NGSmethDB. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  9. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, vildagliptin, inhibits pancreatic beta cell apoptosis in association with its effects suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress in db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yan-ju; Guo, Xin; Li, Chun-jun; Li, Dai-qing; Zhang, Jie; Yang, Yiping; Kong, Yan; Guo, Hang; Liu, De-min; Chen, Li-ming

    2015-02-01

    Vildagliptin promotes beta cell survival by inhibiting cell apoptosis. It has been suggested that chronic ER (endoplasmic reticulum) stress triggers beta cell apoptosis. The objective of the study is to explore whether the pro-survival effect of vildagliptin is associated with attenuation of endoplasmic reticulum stress in islets of db/db mice. Vildagliptin was orally administered to db/db mice for 6 weeks, followed by evaluation of beta cell apoptosis by caspase3 activity and TUNEL staining method. Endoplasmic reticulum stress markers were determined with quantitative RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and immunoblot analysis. After 6 weeks of treatment, vildagliptin treatment increased plasma active GLP-1 levels (22.63±1.19 vs. 11.69±0.44, Pvildagliptin treatment down-regulated several genes related to endoplasmic reticulum stress including TRIB3 (tribbles homolog 3) (15.9±0.4 vs. 33.3±1.7, ×10⁻³, PVildagliptin promoted beta cell survival in db/db mice in association with down-regulating markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress including TRIB3, ATF-4 as well as CHOP. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Teaching about Narrative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Gill

    1978-01-01

    Raises issues involved in the study and teaching of narrative, with reference to both literature and film. Considers the function of realism in narrative fiction and the teaching of theory and practice of those writers and filmmakers who have challenged the realist text by alternative strategies. (JMF)

  11. Real-Time processing of Big Data with ScyllaDB

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva; Martinez Pedreira, Miguel

    2018-01-01

    ScyllaDB: achieving 1 million operations/sec with stable and consistent real time latencies This talk will present ScyllaDB, a highly available Real-time Big Data Database that can achieve high throughput without compromising latencies or availability. ScyllaDB is API-compatible with Apache Cassandra but employs a different internal architecture to make sure that operational capacity is increased while the maintenance burden is reduced. It provides everything that a new-world database must provide: horizontal (infinite) scaling, no single point of failure, high availability and excellent performance, while keeping a sensible amount of operational efforts. Some of the key points that make ScyllaDB very efficient are its fully asynchronous operations and the smart integration with the kernel and hardware. You will learn about what makes ScyllaDB special in the crowded space of NoSQL solutions and how it can be used to power a wide variety of workloads: from real time bidding to the experiment data from the ALI...

  12. Experiential narrative in game environments

    OpenAIRE

    Calleja, Gordon; Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) 2009 Conference

    2009-01-01

    This paper explores the contentious notion of experiential narrative and proposes the first step in a narrative framework for game environment. It argues for a shift in emphasis from story-telling, the dominant mode of narrative in literature and cinema, to story generation. To this effect the paper forwards a perspective on experiential narrative that is grounded in the specific qualities of the game. This avoids the over-generalization that tends to accompany discussions of experiential nar...

  13. Thickening Thin Narratives: A Feminist Narrative Conceptualization of Male Anorexia Nervosa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David King

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to conceptualize a feminist narrative approach to male anorexia nervosa (MAN. Both narrative and feminist theories have been utilized to enrich the discourse of AN among women. An unintended result of this primary focus on women’s experiences has been a limited focus on the experiences of men with AN. This article will explore a contemporary social discourse on masculinity, why some men utilize AN as a means of attaining the ideals put forth through such discourse, and how a feminist narrative approach can be applied to working with men struggling with AN.

  14. Chemotherapy of second stage human African trypanosomiasis: comparison between the parenteral diamidine DB829 and its oral prodrug DB868 in vervet monkeys.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John K Thuita

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness ranks among the most neglected tropical diseases based on limited availability of drugs that are safe and efficacious, particularly against the second stage (central nervous system [CNS] of infection. In response to this largely unmet need for new treatments, the Consortium for Parasitic Drug Development developed novel parenteral diamidines and corresponding oral prodrugs that have shown cure of a murine model of second stage HAT. As a rationale for selection of one of these compounds for further development, the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of intramuscular (IM active diamidine 2,5-bis(5-amidino-2-pyridylfuran (DB829; CPD-0802 and oral prodrug2,5-bis[5-(N-methoxyamidino-2-pyridyl]furan (DB868 were compared in the vervet monkey model of second stage HAT. Treatment was initiated 28 days post-infection of monkeys with T. b. rhodesiense KETRI 2537. Results showed that IM DB829 at 5 mg/kg/day for 5 consecutive days, 5 mg/kg/day every other day for 5 doses, or 2.5 mg/kg/day for 5 consecutive days cured all monkeys (5/5. Oral DB868 was less successful, with no cures (0/2 at 3 mg/kg/day for 10 days and cure rates of 1/4 at 10 mg/kg/day for 10 days and 20 mg/kg/day for 10 days; in total, only 2/10 monkeys were cured with DB868 dose regimens. The geometric mean plasma Cmax of IM DB829 at 5 mg/kg following the last of 5 doses was 25-fold greater than that after 10 daily oral doses of DB868 at 20 mg/kg. These data suggest that the active diamidine DB829, administered IM, should be considered for further development as a potential new treatment for second stage HAT.

  15. PRISMA/DB: A Parallel Main-Memory Relational DBMS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Apers, Peter M.G.; Flokstra, Jan; van den Berg, Carel A.; Grefen, P.W.P.J.; Wilschut, A.N.; Kersten, Martin L.; van den Berg, C.A.

    1992-01-01

    PRISMA/DB, a full-fledged parallel, main memory relational database management system (DBMS) is described. PRISMA/DB's high performance is obtained by the use of parallelism for query processing and main memory storage of the entire database. A flexible architecture for experimenting with

  16. Children's Cognitive and Affective Responses About a Narrative Versus a Non-Narrative Cartoon Designed for an Active Videogame.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes Davies, Vanessa; Mafra, Rafaella; Beltran, Alicia; Baranowski, Thomas; Lu, Amy Shirong

    2016-04-01

    This article presents the results of interviews conducted with children regarding their cognitive and affective responses toward a narrative and a non-narrative cartoon. The findings will be used to further explore the role of a narrative in motivating continued active videogame play. Twenty children (8-11 years old of mixed gender) watched two cartoons (narrative and non-narrative) and were subsequently interviewed. A thematic matrix was used to analyze the interviews. The narrative cartoon (n = 11) was only slightly preferred compared with the non-narrative one (n = 9), with little difference among the participants. The theme categories identified during the analyses were plot, characters, and suggestions. The fight scenes were mentioned by the children as a likeable aspect of the narrative cartoon. In the non-narrative cartoon, the vast majority (n = 17) liked the information about physical activity that was provided. The children enjoyed the appearance and personalities of the characters in both cartoons. A discrepancy in the data about the fight scenes (narrative cartoon) and characters (both cartoons) was found among the female participants (i.e., some girls did not like the fight and thought the characters were too aggressive). However, most of the children wanted to see more action in the story, an increase in the number of fight scenes (narrative cartoon), or more information about exercise and examples of exercises they could do (non-narrative cartoon). They also suggested adding a game to the non-narrative cartoon, including more characters, and improving the animation in both cartoons. The children preferred the narrative cartoon because of the story and the fight. Some gender differences were found, which further studies should investigate.

  17. High-fat, carbohydrate-free diet markedly aggravates obesity but prevents beta-cell loss and diabetes in the obese, diabetes-susceptible db/db strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirhashemi, Farshad; Kluth, Oliver; Scherneck, Stephan; Vogel, Heike; Kluge, Reinhart; Schurmann, Annette; Joost, Hans-Georg; Neschen, Susanne

    2008-01-01

    We have previously reported that a high-fat, carbohydrate-free diet prevents diabetes and beta-cell destruction in the New Zealand Obese (NZO) mouse strain. Here we investigated the effect of diets with and without carbohydrates on obesity and development of beta-cell failure in a second mouse model of type 2 diabetes, the db/db mouse. When kept on a carbohydrate-containing standard (SD; with (w/w) 5.1, 58.3, and 17.6% fat, carbohydrates and protein, respectively) or high-fat diet (HFD; 14.6, 46.7 and 17.1%), db/db mice developed severe diabetes (blood glucose >20 mmol/l, weight loss, polydipsia and polyurea) associated with a selective loss of pancreatic beta-cells, reduced GLUT2 expression in the remaining beta-cells, and reduced plasma insulin levels. In contrast, db/db mice kept on a high-fat, carbohydrate-free diet (CFD; with 30.2 and 26.4% (w/w) fat or protein) did not develop diabetes and exhibited near-normal, hyperplastic islets in spite of a morbid obesity (fat content >60%) associated with hyperinsulinaemia. These data indicate that in genetically different mouse models of obesity-associated diabetes, obesity and dietary fat are not sufficient, and dietary carbohydrates are required, for beta-cell destruction.

  18. Consistency and stability of narrative coherence: An examination of personal narrative as a domain of adult personality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waters, Theodore E A; Köber, Christin; Raby, K Lee; Habermas, Tilmann; Fivush, Robyn

    2018-03-02

    Narrative theories of personality assume that individual differences in coherence reflect consistent and stable differences in narrative style rather than situational and event-specific differences (e.g., McAdams & McLean, 2013). However, this assumption has received only modest empirical attention. Therefore, we present two studies testing the theoretical assumption of a consistent and stable coherent narrative style. Study 1 focused on the two most traumatic and most positive life events of 224 undergraduates. These event-specific narratives were coded for three coherence dimensions: theme, context, and chronology (NaCCs; Reese et al., 2011). Study 2 focused on two life narratives told 4 years apart by 98 adults, which were coded for thematic, causal, and temporal coherence (Köber, Schmiedek, & Habermas, 2015). Confirmatory factor analysis in both studies revealed that individual differences in the coherence ratings were best explained by a model including both narrative style and event-/narration-specific latent variables. The ways in which we tell autobiographical narratives reflect a stable feature of individual differences. Further, they suggest that this stable element of personality is necessary, but not sufficient, in accounting for specific event and life narrative coherence. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. L1-L2 Transfer in the Narrative Styles of Chinese EFL Learners' Written Personal Narratives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, I-Ru; Chou, Yi-Chun

    2016-01-01

    Most of the research on second language (L2) narratives has focused on whether or how L2 learners carry their L1 narrative styles into L2 narration; few studies have explored whether L2 learners' knowledge of the L2 also in turn affects their L1 narrative performance. The present study attempted to probe the issue of cultural transfer in narrative…

  20. Discovering Event Structure in Continuous Narrative Perception and Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldassano, Christopher; Chen, Janice; Zadbood, Asieh; Pillow, Jonathan W; Hasson, Uri; Norman, Kenneth A

    2017-08-02

    During realistic, continuous perception, humans automatically segment experiences into discrete events. Using a novel model of cortical event dynamics, we investigate how cortical structures generate event representations during narrative perception and how these events are stored to and retrieved from memory. Our data-driven approach allows us to detect event boundaries as shifts between stable patterns of brain activity without relying on stimulus annotations and reveals a nested hierarchy from short events in sensory regions to long events in high-order areas (including angular gyrus and posterior medial cortex), which represent abstract, multimodal situation models. High-order event boundaries are coupled to increases in hippocampal activity, which predict pattern reinstatement during later free recall. These areas also show evidence of anticipatory reinstatement as subjects listen to a familiar narrative. Based on these results, we propose that brain activity is naturally structured into nested events, which form the basis of long-term memory representations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Disparate phospho-Smad2 levels in advanced type 2 diabetes patients with diabetic nephropathy and early experimental db/db mouse model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Lise Høj; Fog-Tonnesen, Morten; Nielsen Fink, Lisbeth

    2017-01-01

    Uncontrolled activation of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) family members is hypothesized to participate in type 2 diabetes (T2D) dependent diabetic nephropathy (DN). We evaluated and compared downstream activation of the Smad2-signaling pathway in kidney samples from T2D patients...... to kidneys from the T2D model of leptin receptor deficient db/db mouse. Furthermore, expression of TGF-β family members was evaluated to elucidate molecular mechanisms in the mouse model. Kidney samples from patients with advanced stages of DN showed elevated pSmad2 staining whereas db/db mouse kidneys...... surprisingly showed a decrease in pSmad2 in the tubular compartment. Structurally, kidney tissue showed dilated tubules and expanded glomeruli, but no clear fibrotic pattern was found in the diabetic mice. Selective TGF-β family members were up-regulated at the mRNA level. Antagonists of bone morphogenetic...

  2. Do Live versus Audio-Recorded Narrative Stimuli Influence Young Children's Narrative Comprehension and Retell Quality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Suk Grace

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The primary aim of the present study was to examine whether different ways of presenting narrative stimuli (i.e., live narrative stimuli versus audio-recorded narrative stimuli) influence children's performances on narrative comprehension and oral-retell quality. Method: Children in kindergarten (n = 54), second grade (n = 74), and fourth…

  3. Criminal Narrative Experience: Relating Emotions to Offence Narrative Roles During Crime Commission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ioannou, Maria; Canter, David; Youngs, Donna

    2017-10-01

    A neglected area of research within criminality has been that of the experience of the offence for the offender. The present study investigates the emotions and narrative roles that are experienced by an offender while committing a broad range of crimes and proposes a model of criminal narrative experience (CNE). Hypotheses were derived from the circumplex of emotions, Frye, narrative theory, and its link with investigative psychology. The analysis was based on 120 cases. Convicted for a variety of crimes, incarcerated criminals were interviewed and the data were subjected to smallest space analysis (SSA). Four themes of CNE were identified: Elated Hero, Calm Professional, Distressed Revenger, and Depressed Victim in line with the recent theoretical framework posited for narrative offence roles. The theoretical implications for understanding crime on the basis of the CNE as well as practical implications are discussed.

  4. Adeno-associated virus-mediated expression of myostatin propeptide improves the growth of skeletal muscle and attenuates hyperglycemia in db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, J G; Shen, G F; Li, J; Qiao, C; Xiao, B; Yan, H; Wang, D W; Xiao, X

    2017-03-01

    Inhibition of myostatin, a negative growth modulator for muscle, can functionally enhance muscle mass and improve glucose and fat metabolism in myostatin propeptide (MPRO) transgenic mice. This study was to investigate whether myostatin inhibition by adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene delivery of MPRO could improve muscle mass and achieve therapeutic effects on glucose regulation and lipid metabolism in the db/db mice and the mechanisms involved in that process. Eight-week-old male db/db mice were administered saline, AAV-GFP and AAV-MPRO/Fc vectors and monitored random blood glucose levels and body weight for 36 weeks. Body weight gain was not different during follow-up among the groups, but AAV-MPRO/Fc vectors resulted high level of MPRO in the blood companied by an increase in skeletal muscle mass and muscle hypertrophy. In addition, AAV-MPRO/Fc-treated db/db mice showed significantly lower blood glucose and insulin levels and significantly increased glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity compared with the control groups (P<0.05). Moreover, these mice exhibited lower triglyceride (TG) and free fatty acid (FFA) content in the skeletal muscle, although no difference was observed in fat pad weights and serum TG and FFA levels. Finally, AAV-MPRO/Fc-treated mice had enhanced insulin signaling in the skeletal muscle. These data suggest that AAV-mediated MPRO therapy may provide an important clue for potential clinical applications to prevent type II diabetes, and these studies confirm that MPRO is a therapeutic target for type II diabetes.

  5. Do narrative engagement and recipients’ thoughts explain the impact of an entertainment-education narrative on discouraging binge drinking?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Leeuwen, L.; van den Putte, B.; Renes, R.J.; Leeuwis, C.

    2017-01-01

    Previous research suggests that narrative engagement (NE) in entertainment-education (E-E) narratives reduces counterarguing, thereby leading to E-E impact on behavior. It is, however, unclear how different NE processes (narrative understanding, attentional focus, emotional engagement, narrative

  6. Narrative medicine and decision-making capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahr, Greg

    2015-06-01

    The author proposes a new model for the assessment of decision-making capacity based on the principles of narrative medicine. The narrative method proposed by the author addresses the hidden power realtionships implicit in the current model of capacity assessment. Sample cases are reviewed using the traditional model in comparison with the narrative model. Narrative medicine provides an effective model for the assessment of decision-making capacity. Deficiencies in the traditional model capacity assessment can be effectively addressed using narrative strategies. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. ProOpDB: Prokaryotic Operon DataBase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taboada, Blanca; Ciria, Ricardo; Martinez-Guerrero, Cristian E; Merino, Enrique

    2012-01-01

    The Prokaryotic Operon DataBase (ProOpDB, http://operons.ibt.unam.mx/OperonPredictor) constitutes one of the most precise and complete repositories of operon predictions now available. Using our novel and highly accurate operon identification algorithm, we have predicted the operon structures of more than 1200 prokaryotic genomes. ProOpDB offers diverse alternatives by which a set of operon predictions can be retrieved including: (i) organism name, (ii) metabolic pathways, as defined by the KEGG database, (iii) gene orthology, as defined by the COG database, (iv) conserved protein domains, as defined by the Pfam database, (v) reference gene and (vi) reference operon, among others. In order to limit the operon output to non-redundant organisms, ProOpDB offers an efficient method to select the most representative organisms based on a precompiled phylogenetic distances matrix. In addition, the ProOpDB operon predictions are used directly as the input data of our Gene Context Tool to visualize their genomic context and retrieve the sequence of their corresponding 5' regulatory regions, as well as the nucleotide or amino acid sequences of their genes.

  8. DB2 11 the ultimate database for cloud, analytics, and mobile

    CERN Document Server

    Campbell, John; Jones, Gareth; Parekh, Surekha; Yothers, Jay

    2014-01-01

    Building on the prior book ""DB2 11: The Database for Big Data and Analytics,"" published in 2013, this book is written particularly for new and existing DB2 for z/OS customers and users who want to learn as much as they can about the new software version before migrating their organizations to DB2 11 for z/OS. The book begins with a technical overview of DB2 11 features and explains how the new functions in DB2 11 can help enterprise customers address the challenges they face with the explosion of data and information. There has been rapid growth in the variety, volume, and velocity of dat

  9. An Introduction to the DB Relational Database Management System

    OpenAIRE

    Ward, J.R.

    1982-01-01

    This paper is an introductory guide to using the Db programs to maintain and query a relational database on the UNIX operating system. In the past decade. increasing interest has been shown in the development of relational database management systems. Db is an attempt to incorporate a flexible and powerful relational database system within the user environment presented by the UNIX operating system. The family of Db programs is useful for maintaining a database of information that i...

  10. Potential mechanisms linking probiotics to diabetes: a narrative review of the literature

    OpenAIRE

    Miraghajani, Maryam; Dehsoukhteh, Somayeh Shahraki; Rafie, Nahid; Hamedani, Sahar Golpour; Sabihi, Sima; Ghiasvand, Reza

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Some studies have suggested a wide range of possible mechanisms through which probiotics may play a role in diabetes prevention and treatment. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We conducted this study to review the potential mechanisms suggested for the effect of probiotics in diabetes. DESIGN AND SETTING: Narrative review conducted at the Food Security Research Center of Isfahan. METHODS: A search in the electronic databases ME...

  11. Theorising Narrative in Business History

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mordhorst, Mads; Schwarzkopf, Stefan

    2017-01-01

    ’ of the 1970s. It then compares the different conceptualisations of narrative analysis that have emerged in historical research and in management and organisational studies. Finally, this introduction points out various ways in which business history can become enriched if its practitioners become more aware......This article, and the special issue that it introduces, encourages business historians to reflect on the narrative nature of the work they produce. The articles provides an overview of how and why narratives came to occupy such a prominent status during the linguistic and narrative ‘turns...

  12. Scientific Data Bases at Scale and SciDB

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2013-01-01

    Abstract: As a general rule, scientists have shunned relational data management systems (RDBMS), choosing instead to “roll their own” on top of file system technology.  We first discuss why file systems are a poor choice for science data storage, especially as data volumes become large and scalability becomes important.   Then, we continue with the reasons why RDBMSs work poorly on most science applications.  These include a data model “impedance mismatch” and missing features. We discuss array DBMSs, and why they are a much better choice for science applications, and use SciDB as an exemplar of this new class of DBMSs.   Most science applications require a mix of data management and complex analytics.  In most cases, the analytics entail a sequence of linear algebra computations.  We discuss the possible ways of integrating a DBMS with statistical calculations, and conclude with the mechanism being used by S...

  13. Calcium dobesilate prevents the oxidative stress and inflammation induced by diabetes in the retina of db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogdanov, Patricia; Solà-Adell, Cristina; Hernández, Cristina; García-Ramírez, Marta; Sampedro, Joel; Simó-Servat, Olga; Valeri, Marta; Pasquali, Christian; Simó, Rafael

    2017-10-01

    Calcium dobesilate (CaD) is beneficial in early stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR), but its mechanisms of action remains to be elucidated. The aim was to investigate the effect of CaD on proinflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress. db/db mice were randomly assigned to daily oral treatment with CaD (200mg/kg/day) or vehicle for 15days. Biomarkers of oxidative stress (dihydroethidium, malondialdehyde), NF-κB, and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, MCP-1) were examined in the retina by immunohistochemical analysis. Cultures of human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) were used for complementary experiments. CaD significantly reduced the biomarkers of oxidative stress in the retina of db/db mice. In addition, CaD prevented the increase of NF-κB, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and MCP-1 induced by diabetes. CaD inhibited the activation of NF-kβ induced by IL-1β by preventing IKKB-α phosphorylation in HRECs and reduced the upregulation of IL-6 and IL-18 induced by TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner. Our results suggest that antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects are crucial in accounting for the effectiveness of CaD for treating DR. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Visual Narrative Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Neil

    2013-01-01

    Narratives are an integral part of human expression. In the graphic form, they range from cave paintings to Egyptian hieroglyphics, from the Bayeux Tapestry to modern day comic books (Kunzle, 1973; McCloud, 1993). Yet not much research has addressed the structure and comprehension of narrative images, for example, how do people create meaning out…

  15. IBM DB2 97 Advanced Administration Cookbook

    CERN Document Server

    Neagu, Adrian

    2012-01-01

    This cookbook has recipes written in a simple, easy to understand format, with lots of screenshots and insightful tips and hints. If you are a DB2 Database Administrator who wants to understand and get hands on with the underlying aspects of database administration, then this book is for you. This book assumes that you have a basic understanding of DB2 database concepts.

  16. A Narrative Lens for Financial Communication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Musacchio Adorisio, Anna Linda

    2015-01-01

    In this paper I will discuss the possibility offered by the “linguistic turn” for narrative research in the realm of financial communication. I will propose three categories by which a narrative interpretive approach can be applied to financial communication: narrative-as-artifacts, narrative......-as-practice and narrative-as-method. Such a constitutive communication approach challenges a mechanistic and functionalist view of communication as a tool to represent social realities in favor of an interpretive view that could remain sensitive to the production and reproduction of meaning by the actors involved....

  17. Narrative konstruktioner

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristiansen, Claus Krogholm

    The dissertation deals with narrative as a cognitive structure - as a way of handling experience in the modern world. The question is: What is man when he is not created in god's image. Some recent scandinavian novels are analysed as examples.......The dissertation deals with narrative as a cognitive structure - as a way of handling experience in the modern world. The question is: What is man when he is not created in god's image. Some recent scandinavian novels are analysed as examples....

  18. Levels of narrative analysis in health psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, M

    2000-05-01

    The past 10-15 years have seen a rapid increase in the study of narrative across all the social sciences. It is sometimes assumed that narrative has the same meaning irrespective of the context in which it is expressed. This article considers different levels of narrative analysis within health psychology. Specifically, it considers the character of health and illness narratives as a function of the personal, interpersonal, positional and societal levels of analysis. At the personal level of analysis narratives are portrayed as expressions of the lived experience of the narrator. At the interpersonal level of analysis the narrative is one that is co-created in dialogue. At the positional level of analysis the analysis considers the differences in social position between the narrator and the listener. The societal level of analysis is concerned with the socially shared stories that are characteristic of certain communities or societies. The challenge is to articulate the connections between these different levels of narrative analysis and to develop strategies to promote emancipatory narratives.

  19. Quantitative GC-MS assay of citric acid from humans and db/db mice blood serum to assist the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Haoxue; Yu, Xiaoyi; Sun, Runbin; Yang, Na; He, Jun; Tao, Mingxue; Gu, Huilin; Yan, Caixia; Aa, Jiye; Wang, Guangji

    2018-03-01

    The early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) is rather challenging. Our previous study suggested that citric acid is a potential marker for the early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy in db/db mice. For the first time, in this study, a surrogate analyte of 13 C 6 -citric acid was employed to generate calibration curves for the quantitative measurement of the endogenous citric acid in the sera of db/db mice and diabetic nephropathy patients by GC/MS after the analytes were extracted, methoximated and trimethylsilylated. The constant response factor of 13 C 6 -citric acid versus citric acid over the linear range indicated the identical ionization efficiency of these two compounds. The full validation assessments suggested that the method is sensitive, specific, reliable, reproducible and has acceptable parameters. Statistical analysis revealed cut-off citric acid concentrations of 29.24 μg/mL with a 95% confidence interval between 32.75 and 39.16 μg/mL in the diabetic nephropathy patients and 16.74 and 22.57 μg/mL in the normal controls. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves indicated accuracies of over 90% for the diagnoses of early diabetic nephropathy in both humans and db/db mice, which suggests that the serum citric acid level is potentially a biomarker that could assist in the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Serotonin- and Dopamine-Related Gene Expression in db/db Mice Islets and in MIN6 β-Cells Treated with Palmitate and Oleate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. R. Cataldo

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available High circulating nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs concentration, often reported in diabetes, leads to impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS through not yet well-defined mechanisms. Serotonin and dopamine might contribute to NEFA-dependent β-cell dysfunction, since extracellular signal of these monoamines decreases GSIS. Moreover, palmitate-treated β-cells may enhance the expression of the serotonin receptor Htr2c, affecting insulin secretion. Additionally, the expression of monoamine-oxidase type B (Maob seems to be lower in islets from humans and mice with diabetes compared to nondiabetic islets, which may lead to increased monoamine concentrations. We assessed the expression of serotonin- and dopamine-related genes in islets from db/db and wild-type (WT mice. In addition, the effect of palmitate and oleate on the expression of such genes, 5HT content, and GSIS in MIN6 β-cell was determined. Lower Maob expression was found in islets from db/db versus WT mice and in MIN6 β-cells in response to palmitate and oleate treatment compared to vehicle. Reduced 5HT content and impaired GSIS in response to palmitate (−25%; p<0.0001 and oleate (−43%; p<0.0001 were detected in MIN6 β-cells. In conclusion, known defects of GSIS in islets from db/db mice and MIN6 β-cells treated with NEFAs are accompanied by reduced Maob expression and reduced 5HT content.

  1. INTERRACIAL VIOLENCE AND RACIALIZED NARRATIVES: DISCOVERING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin D. Barnes, University of Connecticut-School of Law, Estados Unidos

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This article question the underlying assumptions and, therefore, potential effectiveness of Anthony Alfieri's recent essay, "Defending Racial Violence. Alfieri's proposal, in the form of an enforceable rule, would likely wind up on a collision course with principles underlying the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The article demonstrates the level of confusion that develops from rules that too easily or arbitrarily frustrate the legitimate interests of attorneys and clients in pursuing the best criminal defense. It also recommends providing carefully constructed, simulated exercises for classroom dialogue in ethics courses as a viable, alternative method for introducing a race - conscious ethic to young lawyers that does not run afoul of basic constitutional freedoms. The article disagrees with Alfieri's conclusion that "defense lawyers find scarce opportunity to contest the dominant narratives embedded in laws, institutional practices, and legal relations, even when those narratives inscribe negative racial stereotypes." The article concludes that the history and evolution of the entire system of criminal justice in this country dictates greater reliance upon mainstream prescriptions of neutrality rather than race-conscious rules and affirm that on questions concerning injury to black America's social identity, critics like Alfieri usually fail to consider just how broad the range of race-based assumptions are that ground representations of moral agency. Keywords: Racialized narratives. Criminal justice system. Race relations in the United States.

  2. Identity as a narrative of autobiography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luba Jakubowska

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available This article is a proposal of identity research through its process and narrative character. As a starting point I present a definition of identity understood as the whole life process of finding identification. Next I present my own model of auto/biography-narrative research inspired by hermeneutic and phenomenological traditions of thinking about experiencing reality. I treat auto/biography-narrative research as a means of exploratory conduct, based on the narrator’s biography data, also considering the researcher’s autobiographical thought. In the final part of the article I focus on showing the narrative structure of identity and autobiography. I emphasise this relation in definitions qualifying autobiography as written life narration and identity as a narration of autobiography.

  3. SoyDB: a knowledge database of soybean transcription factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valliyodan Babu

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Transcription factors play the crucial rule of regulating gene expression and influence almost all biological processes. Systematically identifying and annotating transcription factors can greatly aid further understanding their functions and mechanisms. In this article, we present SoyDB, a user friendly database containing comprehensive knowledge of soybean transcription factors. Description The soybean genome was recently sequenced by the Department of Energy-Joint Genome Institute (DOE-JGI and is publicly available. Mining of this sequence identified 5,671 soybean genes as putative transcription factors. These genes were comprehensively annotated as an aid to the soybean research community. We developed SoyDB - a knowledge database for all the transcription factors in the soybean genome. The database contains protein sequences, predicted tertiary structures, putative DNA binding sites, domains, homologous templates in the Protein Data Bank (PDB, protein family classifications, multiple sequence alignments, consensus protein sequence motifs, web logo of each family, and web links to the soybean transcription factor database PlantTFDB, known EST sequences, and other general protein databases including Swiss-Prot, Gene Ontology, KEGG, EMBL, TAIR, InterPro, SMART, PROSITE, NCBI, and Pfam. The database can be accessed via an interactive and convenient web server, which supports full-text search, PSI-BLAST sequence search, database browsing by protein family, and automatic classification of a new protein sequence into one of 64 annotated transcription factor families by hidden Markov models. Conclusions A comprehensive soybean transcription factor database was constructed and made publicly accessible at http://casp.rnet.missouri.edu/soydb/.

  4. Constructing and Reconstructing Narrative Identity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriele Lucius-Hoene

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available The research work done by the author investigates a phenomenological field—the subjective experience of chronic illness and disability—by means of a specific research instrument, the autobiographical narrative interview. It focuses on the concept of narrative identity and its empirical substrate in the scientifically generated texts. Narrative identity is regarded as a situated, pragmatic, autoepistemic and interactive activity drawing on culturally transmitted narrative conventions which is performed within the research context. We have been working with a systematic analytic approach which covers interactive and contextual aspects of the interview situation as well as rhetoric and positioning strategies in the act of telling. Other research questions concern the concept of "narrative coping" and the comparison of partner's narratives on problems of illness and disability, especially on scrutinizing aspects of identity and alterity (self and other in the texts. This work can be understood as combining aspects of the research domains of narratology, identity and coping on the background of a qualitative methodology. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0002189

  5. Human Papilloma Virus and oral cancer: Narrative review of the literature.

    OpenAIRE

    Alejandra Fernández; Maureen Marshall; Alfredo Esguep

    2014-01-01

    ABSTRACT The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is now more common sexually transmitted diseases, with an incidence of 5.5 million worldwide, with 85% of the carrier of this virus adult population. Their oncogenic potential and increased oral lesions associated with oral HPV infection have led us to make a narrative of the literature on the role of HPV in oral cancer, especially types 16 and 18. Here we refer to the possible routes of infection, oncogenic mechanisms, both benign and potent...

  6. Valuing narrative in the care of older people: a framework of narrative practice for older adult residential care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckley, Catherine; McCormack, Brendan; Ryan, Assumpta

    2014-09-01

    To report on the development of a framework of narrative practice, in residential care settings for older people. Residential care settings for older people provide care for people who are no longer able to live in their own home. To date, the impact and structure of nursing practice on care provision in these settings has proved difficult to conceptualise within a specific nursing theory framework. A hermeneutic approach incorporating narrative methods was used. Forty-six narrative interviews with older people in residential care were secondary-analysed for key themes through a three-stage process: by the first author, four focus groups of 12 clinical nurse managers and two independent experts. Themes were also derived from a focus group of eight residents who explored person-centredness and narrative. Finally, the combined findings were used to derive a single set of themes. The secondary data analysis process led to the development of a framework of narrative practice for the care of older people in residential settings. The framework is influenced by narrative enquiry, person-centred practice and practice development. It has four pillars, prerequisites, care processes, care environment and narrative aspects of care. To operationalise the framework of narrative practice, three narrative elements, narrative knowing, narrative being and narrative doing, need to be considered. Working with the foundational pillars and the narrative elements would enable staff to 'work in a storied way' and provide person-centred outcomes and a narrative informed philosophy of care for older adults in residential care. This framework provides nurses with a template that confirms the identity of the older person taking account of their biography. The framework outlines an approach that provides staff with a template on how to provide person-centred care in a narrative way. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Current psychological therapeutic approaches for gambling disorder with psychiatric comorbidities: A narrative review

    OpenAIRE

    Echeburúa, Enrique; Amor, Pedro J.; Gómez, Montserrat

    2017-01-01

    Abstract: Background: Although the presence of a gambling disorder (GD) together with another mental disorder poses special treatment challenges, such as relapses, severe outcomes for patients and families, and increased number of hospitalizations, there are only a few critical reviews in the literature. Objective: To review empirical evidence of psychological approaches to cope specifically with these dual disorders. Method: A narrative review of the relevant bibliography on this topic wa...

  8. Narrative Realities and Optimal Entropy

    OpenAIRE

    Jones, Derek

    2017-01-01

    This talk will focus on cognitive processes between conscious and subconscious awareness in order to present a slightly different definition of narrative. Rather than simply accepting that narrative is a conscious selection of stories subject to bias, I will argue that biases are the primary structure of narrative and that their success is explained in painfully simple terms.

  9. Transfusion of CXCR4-primed endothelial progenitor cells reduces cerebral ischemic damage and promotes repair in db/db diabetic mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ji Chen

    Full Text Available This study investigated the role of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α/CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4 axis in brain and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs, and explored the efficacy of CXCR4 primed EPCs in treating ischemic stroke in diabetes. The db/db diabetic and db/+ mice were used in this study. Levels of plasma SDF-1α and circulating CD34+CXCR4+ cells were measured. Brain SDF-1α and CXCR4 expression were quantified at basal and after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO. In in vitro study, EPCs were transfected with adenovirus carrying null (Ad-null or CXCR4 (Ad-CXCR4 followed with high glucose (HG treatment for 4 days. For pathway block experiments, cells were pre-incubated with PI3K inhibitor or nitric oxide synthase (NOS inhibitor for two hours. The CXCR4 expression, function and apoptosis of EPCs were determined. The p-Akt/Akt and p-eNOS/eNOS expression in EPCs were also measured. In in vivo study, EPCs transfected with Ad-null or Ad-CXCR4 were infused into mice via tail vein. On day 2 and 7, the cerebral blood flow, neurologic deficit score, infarct volume, cerebral microvascular density, angiogenesis and neurogenesis were determined. We found: 1 The levels of plasma SDF-1α and circulating CD34+CXCR4+ cells were decreased in db/db mice; 2 The basal level of SDF-1α and MCAO-induced up-regulation of SDF-1α/CXCR4 axis were reduced in the brain of db/db mice; 3 Ad-CXCR4 transfection increased CXCR4 expression in EPCs and enhanced EPC colonic forming capacity; 4 Ad-CXCR4 transfection prevented EPCs from HG-induced dysfunction (migration and tube formation and apoptosis via activation of PI3K/Akt/eNOS signal pathway; 4 Ad-CXCR4 transfection enhanced the efficacy of EPC infusion in attenuating infarct volume and promoting angiogenesis and neurogenesis. Our data suggest that Ad-CXCR4 primed EPCs have better therapeutic effects for ischemia stroke in diabetes than unmodified EPCs do.

  10. From a Narrative of Suffering towards a Narrative of Growth: Norwegian History Textbooks in the Inter-War Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovland, Brit Marie

    2013-01-01

    The article discusses changes and revisions of the Norwegian official Grand Narrative, as portrayed in primary school history textbooks. The selected corpus of textbooks of 1885-1940 shows narrative and historiographical changes supporting a hypothesis of a development from a "Narrative of Suffering" towards a "Narrative of…

  11. The effects of narrative versus non-narrative information in school health education about alcohol drinking for low educated adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zebregs, Simon; van den Putte, Bas; de Graaf, Anneke; Lammers, Jeroen; Neijens, Peter

    2015-10-23

    Traditionally most health education materials are written in an expository non-narrative format. Scholars have argued that the effectiveness of materials may increase when these texts are replaced by narrative texts, and that the non-narrative texts should be replaced by narrative texts. However, no previous studies have tested these claims in the context of school health education for low educated adolescents. This study aims to do so for an existing preventive health education intervention about alcohol for low educated adolescents. Based on the empirical findings of previous studies, it is expected that the claims about narratives being more effective than non-narrative texts are not true for effects on knowledge. Instead non-narrative texts are expected to have a stronger impact on this outcome variable. For attitude towards alcohol and intention to drink alcohol the claims are expected to be true, because participants are expected to be less aware of the persuasive intent of the narrative texts, which would make them less resistant. As a result, narrative texts are expected to have a stronger effect on attitude and intention. This study compares the effects on knowledge, attitude towards alcohol, and intention to drink alcohol of both information formats in a two-condition (non-narrative vs. narrative information) experiment with repeated measures (pre-measurement, immediate post-measurement, and delayed post-measurement). The experiment was conducted amongst 296 students of the two lowest levels of the Dutch secondary education system. The results showed immediate effects on knowledge and attitude towards alcohol, which did not differ between conditions and school levels. These effects did not persist over time. There were no effects on intention to drink alcohol. It is concluded non-narrative and narrative information are equally effective in the context of school health education, suggesting the claims that scholars have made about the superior effects of

  12. The Extract of Litsea japonica Reduced the Development of Diabetic Nephropathy via the Inhibition of Advanced Glycation End Products Accumulation in db/db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eunjin Sohn

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Increasing evidence indicates that advanced glycation end products (AGEs contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of L. japonica extract (LJE against renal damage in the db/db mouse. LJE (100 or 250 mg/kg per day was given to diabetic mice for 12 weeks. Body weight, blood glucose levels, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c levels, and proteinuria were examined. In in vitro assay of the inhibition of AGE formation, immunohistochemical analysis of podocyte loss and AGE accumulations were performed. In 20-week-old db/db mice, severe hyperglycemia developed, and proteinuria was significantly increased. Diabetes induced markedly morphological alterations to the renal glomerular cells. AGE accumulations and podocyte loss were detected in renal glomeruli. LJE treatment significantly reduced proteinuria and AGE accumulations in diabetic mice. Moreover, the loss of nephrin, an important slit diaphragm component in the kidneys, was restored by LJE treatment. Our studies suggest that LJE might be beneficial for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. The ability of LJE to attenuate proteinuria and podocyte dysfunction may be mediated by the inhibition of AGE accumulation in the context of diabetic nephropathy in db/db mice.

  13. Narrative Competence and the Enhancement of Literacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen Dobson

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available This essay argues for narrative competence as an underlying skill neglected in educational policy makers’ calls for enhanced literacy through improved reading, writing, numeracy and working with digital technology. This argument is presented in three parts. First, a genealogy of the narrative is presented by looking at understandings of narratives with respect to changes in technology and socio-cultural relations. Three technological forms of the narrative are examined: the oral, written and image based narrative. Second, revisiting Bernstein, narrative competency is connected to pedagogic practice. The focus is upon code recognition and the rhythm of narrative in a classroom context. Third, a proposal is made to develop narrative competence as a research programme capable of exploring literacy in an age of open learning. The core assertion of this essay is that when narrative is understood in a multi-directional, multi-voiced and multi-punctual sense, opportunities are created for a pedagogic practice that is in tune with the demands placed upon youth and their relationship to changing technologies. This makes the exploration of connections between narrative competence, pedagogic practice and technology the central focus of this essay.

  14. RegaDB: Community-driven data management and analysis for infectious diseases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Libin, P.; Beheydt, G.; Deforche, K.; Imbrechts, S.; Ferreira, F.; Van Laethem, K.; Theys, K.; Carvalho, A.P.; Cavaco-Silva, J.; Lapadula, G.; Torti, C.; Assel, M.; Wesner, S.; Snoeck, J.; Ruelle, J.; de Bel, A.; Lacor, P.; de Munter, P.; van Wijngaerden, E.; Zazzi, M.; Kaiser, R.; Ayouba, A.; Peeters, M.; de Oliveira, T.; Alcantara, L.C.J.; Grossman, Z.; Sloot, P.; Otelea, D.; Paraschiv, S.; Boucher, C.; Camacho, R.J.; Vandamme, A.-M.

    2013-01-01

    RegaDB is a free and open source data management and analysis environment for infectious diseases. RegaDB allows clinicians to store, manage and analyze patient data, including viral genetic sequences. Moreover, RegaDB provides researchers with a mechanism to collect data in a uniform format and

  15. The relationship between oral and written narratives: A three-year longitudinal study of narrative cohesion, coherence, and structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto, Giuliana; Tarchi, Christian; Bigozzi, Lucia

    2015-12-01

    The relationship between oral language and the writing process at early acquisition stages and the ways the former can enhance or limit the latter has not been researched extensively. The predictive relationship between kindergarten oral narrative competence and the first- and second-grade written narrative competence was explored in a 3-year longitudinal study. Among the first and second graders, the relationship between orthographic competence and narrative competence in written productions was also analysed. One hundred and nine Italian children participated in this study. Kindergarteners produced an oral narrative, whereas the first and second graders produced a written narrative. The oral and written narratives were analysed in terms of cohesion, coherence, and structure. The first-grade orthographic competence was assessed via a dictation task. Multiple linear regression and mediational analyses were performed. Kindergarten oral narrative competence affected the first- and second-grade written narrative competence via a mediational effect of orthographic competence. The results suggest the importance of practicing oral narrative competence in kindergarten and first grade and the value of composition quality independent of orthographic text accuracy. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  16. Narrative of a drug user's daughter: impact on family daily routine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lúcia Margarete dos Reis

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective: To understand the repercussions of coexisting with the drug use in a family based on the daughter's narrative of a woman who is a multiple drugs user. Method: A case study with a family accessed in 2014, through the records of a Poison Control Center in the North of Paraná. It was used a semi-structured interview and field journal, and resources of thematic oral history to apprehend the story, from the question "How is/was for you and your family to live with a mother who is a drug user?” Results: The daughter's memories emphasized repercussions in the family context: long-term of living with drug abuse; absence or transience of the motherly figure, with rupture processes for homeless situation; cycle of parental disruption/forgiveness and continued presence and fatherly support. Final considerations: The narrative indicated a family that could be added to the process of rehabilitation and social reintegration of the female drug user.

  17. Sensory Narratives: Capturing Embodiment in Narratives of Movement, Sport, Leisure and Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Lisa; Emerald, Elke

    2016-01-01

    Narrative research has been employed by many researchers in the field of physical culture (including movement, play, dance, sport, leisure, physical pursuits, physical activity, physical education and health). From our storied worlds, narrative research reveals complex embodied and emplaced social phenomena within this field. However, there are…

  18. Engaging Personas and Narrative Scenarios

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Lene

    2004-01-01

    design ideas. The concept of engaging personas and narrative scenario explores personas in the light of what what it is to identify with and have empathy with a character. The concept of narrative scenarios views the narrative as aid for exploration of design ideas. Both concepts incorporate...... a distinktion between creating, writing and reading. Keywords: personas, scenarios, user-centered design, HCI...

  19. DB2 9 for Linux, Unix, and Windows database administration certification study guide

    CERN Document Server

    Sanders, Roger E

    2007-01-01

    In DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows Database Administration Certification Study Guide, Roger E. Sanders-one of the world's leading DB2 authors and an active participant in the development of IBM's DB2 certification exams-covers everything a reader needs to know to pass the DB2 9 UDB DBA Certification Test (731).This comprehensive study guide steps you through all of the topics that are covered on the test, including server management, data placement, database access, analyzing DB2 activity, DB2 utilities, high availability, security, and much more. Each chapter contains an extensive set of p

  20. The Role of the Narrator in Narrative Inquiry in Education: Construction and Co-Construction in Two Case Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bignold, Wendy; Su, Feng

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores narratives as an effective means of capturing multiple identities of research participants in complex social environments in education research. In doing so, it explores the role of the narrator in two case studies in two modes of narrative inquiry. Both studies present narratives of young people, focusing on multiple…

  1. Narrating Peoplehood amidst Diversity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Böss, Michael

    In Narrating Peoplehood amidst Diversity, 16 internationally renowned scholars reflect on the nature and history of peoplehood and discuss how narratives inform national identities, public culture and academic historiography. The book is a timely contribution to the ongoing debate on belonging...

  2. Narratives of being 'a good teacher'

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, Kari Kragh Blume

    Narratives of being ‘a good teacher’: everyday life, morality and teachers’ narratives in a Kenyan village This paper explores how Kenyan school teachers narrate and practise professional work in their everyday lives in an educational context shaped by global and local narratives of education...... or her ideas about the world, which is used to organise experiences (Høyen, 2016). The study also draws on everyday life learning (Schütz, 1973; Heller, 1984) and the social anthropology of morality (Kleinman, 1992) to explore how teachers’ narrative learning comprises processes that are not only...... in western Kenya provided a framework for observing how teachers’ narratives as professionals became mediated through sociocultural forces and everyday life in school, at home and during their spare time. Empirically, the study explores four school teachers and their unique and diverse understandings of what...

  3. Narrating personality change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lodi-Smith, Jennifer; Geise, Aaron C; Roberts, Brent W; Robins, Richard W

    2009-03-01

    The present research investigated the longitudinal relations between personality traits and narratives. Specifically, the authors examined how individual differences in 170 college students' narratives of personality change (a) were predicted by personality traits at the beginning of college, (b) related to actual changes and perceived changes in personality traits during college, and (c) related to changes in emotional health during college. Individual differences in narratives of personality trait change told in the 4th year of college fell into 2 dimensions: affective processing, characterized by positive emotions, and exploratory processing, characterized by meaning making and causal processing. Conscientious, open, and extraverted freshmen told exploratory stories of change as seniors. Emotionally healthy freshmen told stories of change that were high in positive affect. Both positive affective and exploratory stories corresponded to change in emotional stability and conscientiousness during college above and beyond the effects of perceived changes in these traits. In addition, both positive affective and exploratory narratives corresponded to increases in emotional health during college independent of the effects of changes in personality traits. These findings improve our understanding of how individuals conceptualize their changing identity over time.

  4. 7 CFR 3402.13 - National need narrative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false National need narrative. 3402.13 Section 3402.13... narrative. HEP will determine the composition of the narrative for each competition, including page limits.... Detailed instructions for preparing the narrative will be published in the solicitation. ...

  5. InterProScan Result: DB674426 [KAIKOcDNA[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available DB674426 DB674426_4_ORF1 4B0C8A5F848582EF PFAM PF04683 Proteasom_Rpn13 NA ? IPR006773 unintegrated Cellular... Component: nucleus (GO:0005634)|Cellular Component: cytoplasm (GO:0005737) ...

  6. MariaDB cookbook

    CERN Document Server

    Bartholomew, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    A practical cookbook, filled with advanced recipes , and plenty of code and commands used for illustration,which will make your learning curve easy and quick.This book is for anyone who wants to learn more about databases in general or MariaDB in particular. Some familiarity with SQL databases is assumed, but the recipes are approachable to almost anyone with basic database skills.

  7. Long-term treatment with the sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, dapagliflozin, ameliorates glucose homeostasis and diabetic nephropathy in db/db mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naoto Terami

    Full Text Available Inhibition of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2 has been reported as a new therapeutic strategy for treating diabetes. However, the effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on the kidney is unknown. In addition, whether SGLT2 inhibitors have an anti-inflammatory or antioxidative stress effect is still unclear. In this study, to resolve these issues, we evaluated the effects of the SGLT2 inhibitor, dapagliflozin, using a mouse model of type 2 diabetes and cultured proximal tubular epithelial (mProx24 cells. Male db/db mice were administered 0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg of dapagliflozin for 12 weeks. Body weight, blood pressure, blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c, albuminuria and creatinine clearance were measured. Mesangial matrix accumulation and interstitial fibrosis in the kidney and pancreatic β-cell mass were evaluated by histological analysis. Furthermore, gene expression of inflammatory mediators, such as osteopontin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and transforming growth factor-β, was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR. In addition, oxidative stress was evaluated by dihydroethidium and NADPH oxidase 4 staining. Administration of 0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg of dapagliflozin ameliorated hyperglycemia, β-cell damage and albuminuria in db/db mice. Serum creatinine, creatinine clearance and blood pressure were not affected by administration of dapagliflozin, but glomerular mesangial expansion and interstitial fibrosis were suppressed in a dose-dependent manner. Dapagliflozin treatment markedly decreased macrophage infiltration and the gene expression of inflammation and oxidative stress in the kidney of db/db mice. Moreover, dapagliflozin suppressed the high-glucose-induced gene expression of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress in cultured mProx24 cells. These data suggest that dapagliflozin ameliorates diabetic nephropathy by improving hyperglycemia along with inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress.

  8. What about narrative dentistry?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergnes, Jean-Noel; Apelian, Nareg; Bedos, Christophe

    2015-06-01

    Narrative medicine strives toward a humanized form of medicine in which empathy and the ability to listen are developed with the same emphasis as scientific rigor. We hypothesize that the adoption of narrative medicine in dentistry would be an excellent method to cultivate the philosophy behind the emerging clinical concept of patient-centered dentistry. Reading literary works, reflective writing, and creative writing would sensitize practitioners to the daily lives of people, human uniqueness, and alterity. Narrative dentistry could lead to more empathic and self-aware practices, and improve dental professionals' observational abilities by making them more perceptive and more attentive to image, metaphor, and meaning. The introduction of narrative dentistry would enrich the clinical clerkship of dentists by bringing the often-missing humanities to the dental professional, academic, and scientific environment. Copyright © 2015 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Reading Philemon as therapeutic narrative | Jordaan | HTS ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article analysed the different narratives implied in Philemon by utilising the narrative therapeutic approach, as developed by Epston and White (1990). A dominant narrative (the harsh treatment of slaves in the early Christian environment) and a challenging narrative (a more humane conduct of slaves) were clearly ...

  10. A PPARγ, NF-κB and AMPK-dependent mechanism may be involved in the beneficial effects of curcumin in the diabetic db/db mice liver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez-Flores, Lizbeth M; López-Briones, Sergio; Macías-Cervantes, Maciste H; Ramírez-Emiliano, Joel; Pérez-Vázquez, Victoriano

    2014-06-18

    Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family which has been used to treat biliary disorders, anorexia, cough, rheumatism, cancer, sinusitis, hepatic disorders, hyperglycemia, obesity, and diabetes in both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Suggested mechanisms of action include the modulation of signal transduction cascades and effects on gene expression, however they remain to be elucidated. In this study, the expression of some proteins responsible for transcription factors, inflammation, and metabolic control were evaluated by western blot in 15-week-old db/db mice livers treated with curcumin 0.75% mixed in their diet for 8 weeks. In addition, nitrosative stress was evaluated. Curcumin increased the expression of AMPK and PPARγ, and diminished NF-κB protein in db/db mice. However, it did not modify the expression of PGC-1α or SIRT1. Nitrosative stress present in db/db mice livers was determined by a unique nitrotyrosylated protein band (75 kDa) and was not reverted with curcumin. In conclusion, curcumin regulates the expression of AMPK, PPARγ, and NF-κB; suggesting a beneficial effect for treatment of T2DM complications. In order to observe best beneficial effects it is desirable to administer curcumin in the earlier states of T2DM.

  11. A PPARγ, NF-κB and AMPK-Dependent Mechanism May Be Involved in the Beneficial Effects of Curcumin in the Diabetic db/db Mice Liver

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lizbeth M. Jiménez-Flores

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Turmeric (Curcuma longa is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family which has been used to treat biliary disorders, anorexia, cough, rheumatism, cancer, sinusitis, hepatic disorders, hyperglycemia, obesity, and diabetes in both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Suggested mechanisms of action include the modulation of signal transduction cascades and effects on gene expression, however they remain to be elucidated. In this study, the expression of some proteins responsible for transcription factors, inflammation, and metabolic control were evaluated by western blot in 15-week-old db/db mice livers treated with curcumin 0.75% mixed in their diet for 8 weeks. In addition, nitrosative stress was evaluated. Curcumin increased the expression of AMPK and PPARγ, and diminished NF-κB protein in db/db mice. However, it did not modify the expression of PGC-1α or SIRT1. Nitrosative stress present in db/db mice livers was determined by a unique nitrotyrosylated protein band (75 kDa and was not reverted with curcumin. In conclusion, curcumin regulates the expression of AMPK, PPARγ, and NF-κB; suggesting a beneficial effect for treatment of T2DM complications. In order to observe best beneficial effects it is desirable to administer curcumin in the earlier states of T2DM.

  12. Methods of Cinematic Narrative in Today’s Ghazal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsen Mohammadi fesharaki

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available  Abstract With Highlighted presence of video m edia in society, its impact on other branches of art and poetry is seen more than before. At the beginning of being familiar with movie in Iran's traditional society, the subject was somehow a taboo and there was no trace of its influence on literature. Due to their poets' worldview, Nimaian poetry and subsequently blank verse reconciled with cinema earlier than classical poetry , but after Iran revolution and deep transformations resulting from war, Ghazal considered cinema and methods of narrative in cinema with a new look. This process is clearly evident in the lyric poets of the post- revolution.  Narrative  "In the simplest sense, narrative is a story that occurs during time and the narrator is one who narrates the story" (Khalil, 1383: p 107. Better expressed, "The story is what is said and narration is how to say it" (Afkhami, 1382: p 59. One of the main concerns of Nima is entering narrative element as an effective actor in poetry, but perhaps as intensely as contemporary poets of Ghazal have noticed to this Nima's advice, today his followers do not.   Narrative in Persian poetry   Narratives form a large part of Persian literature . Narrative poem dates back to the first versified epics . In Persian , narrative poetry is often versified in the form of couplet-poem and in two meter of Motaghareb and Hazaj as follows :   1 - " national epic narratives   2 - historical narratives   3 - love and public narratives   4 - allegorical or moral narratives "( Dad, 13 80: narrative poetry entry   Characteristics of narrative Ghazal   1- The first outcome of narrative Ghazal is the strength of its vertical axis . This artistically makes Ghazal a systematic and coherent structure in which verse or hemistich is no more a semantic unit , but all parts of poem carries the burden of meaning of the poem , so verses can no longer move or change .   2

  13. Narration in the marketing communications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdelena Zubiel-Kasprowicz

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the different types of narratives in marketing communications. Presented essence of thesignr in the narrative, the power of myth, power of archetype and consistency of monomith in marketing. It is discussed on the advertising message perceived through the prism of commercial semiotics. The strength of the narrative is presented in the context of storytelling. The paper also presents a case study of marketing communications.

  14. Master Narratives of Ukrainian Political Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles McGrath

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available As fighting between Russian backed rebels and government forces is taking place in eastern Ukraine, it is all the more apparent the existing political divide that exists in the country. The complex history of being subjugated by surrounding countries and major resettlements of Ukrainians is testing the country in a major way. Historically, emphasis on understanding the Soviet Union was focused on the Soviet perspective — the Soviet narratives, and most recently on reemerging Russia. As a result, little attention is placed on Ukraine’s history. In order to understand the Ukrainian identity, it’s necessary to know the narratives that encompass Ukraine’s history. As freedom and liberty exemplifies American identity and ideology, the history of Ukraine also contains a system of stories that support Ukrainian culture. This paper, the first chapter of my dissertation, details the sources I’ve used to develop my methodology for understanding and analyzing narratives. As I began my research I soon realized the complexity of narratives leading me to explore the elements contained in narratives such as story, plot, character, archetypes, and the Hero’s Journey or Monomyth. I will explain how I understand the meaning of narrative and master narrative, supported by relevant sources, and conclude with the methodology I will use for analysis of the master narratives that envelope the major historical events of Ukraine

  15. QuartetS-DB: a large-scale orthology database for prokaryotes and eukaryotes inferred by evolutionary evidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Chenggang

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The concept of orthology is key to decoding evolutionary relationships among genes across different species using comparative genomics. QuartetS is a recently reported algorithm for large-scale orthology detection. Based on the well-established evolutionary principle that gene duplication events discriminate paralogous from orthologous genes, QuartetS has been shown to improve orthology detection accuracy while maintaining computational efficiency. Description QuartetS-DB is a new orthology database constructed using the QuartetS algorithm. The database provides orthology predictions among 1621 complete genomes (1365 bacterial, 92 archaeal, and 164 eukaryotic, covering more than seven million proteins and four million pairwise orthologs. It is a major source of orthologous groups, containing more than 300,000 groups of orthologous proteins and 236,000 corresponding gene trees. The database also provides over 500,000 groups of inparalogs. In addition to its size, a distinguishing feature of QuartetS-DB is the ability to allow users to select a cutoff value that modulates the balance between prediction accuracy and coverage of the retrieved pairwise orthologs. The database is accessible at https://applications.bioanalysis.org/quartetsdb. Conclusions QuartetS-DB is one of the largest orthology resources available to date. Because its orthology predictions are underpinned by evolutionary evidence obtained from sequenced genomes, we expect its accuracy to continue to increase in future releases as the genomes of additional species are sequenced.

  16. Magnolia officinalis Extract Contains Potent Inhibitors against PTP1B and Attenuates Hyperglycemia in db/db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Sun

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B is an established therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM and obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory activity of Magnolia officinalis extract (ME on PTP1B and its anti-T2DM effects. Inhibition assays and inhibition kinetics of ME were performed in vitro. 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes were stimulated with ME to explore its bioavailability in cell level. The in vivo studies were performed on db/db mice to probe its anti-T2DM effects. In the present study, ME inhibited PTP1B in a reversible competitive manner and displayed good selectivity against PTPs in vitro. Furthermore, ME enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation levels of cellular proteins, especially the insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylations of insulin receptor β-subunit (IRβ and ERK1/2 in a dose-dependent manner in stimulated 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes. Meanwhile, ME enhanced insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation. More importantly, there was a significant decrease in fasting plasma glucose level of db/db diabetic mice treated orally with 0.5 g/kg ME for 4 weeks. These findings indicated that improvement of insulin sensitivity and hypoglycemic effects of ME may be attributed to the inhibition of PTP1B. Thereby, we pioneered the inhibitory potential of ME targeted on PTP1B as anti-T2DM drug discovery.

  17. AOP-DB Frontend: A user interface for the Adverse Outcome Pathways Database.

    Science.gov (United States)

    The EPA Adverse Outcome Pathway Database (AOP-DB) is a database resource that aggregates association relationships between AOPs, genes, chemicals, diseases, pathways, species orthology information, ontologies. The AOP-DB frontend is a simple yet powerful AOP-DB user interface in...

  18. Design, Implementation and Applications of 3d Web-Services in DB4GEO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breunig, M.; Kuper, P. V.; Dittrich, A.; Wild, P.; Butwilowski, E.; Al-Doori, M.

    2013-09-01

    The object-oriented database architecture DB4GeO was originally designed to support sub-surface applications in the geo-sciences. This is reflected in DB4GeO's geometric data model as well as in its import and export functions. Initially, these functions were designed for communication with 3D geological modeling and visualization tools such as GOCAD or MeshLab. However, it soon became clear that DB4GeO was suitable for a much wider range of applications. Therefore it is natural to move away from a standalone solution and to open the access to DB4GeO data by standardized OGC web-services. Though REST and OGC services seem incompatible at first sight, the implementation in DB4GeO shows that OGC-based implementation of web-services may use parts of the DB4GeO-REST implementation. Starting with initial solutions in the history of DB4GeO, this paper will introduce the design, adaptation (i.e. model transformation), and first steps in the implementation of OGC Web Feature (WFS) and Web Processing Services (WPS), as new interfaces to DB4GeO data and operations. Among its capabilities, DB4GeO can provide data in different data formats like GML, GOCAD, or DB3D XML through a WFS, as well as its ability to run operations like a 3D-to-2D service, or mesh-simplification (Progressive Meshes) through a WPS. We then demonstrate, an Android-based mobile 3D augmented reality viewer for DB4GeO that uses the Web Feature Service to visualize 3D geo-database query results. Finally, we explore future research work considering DB4GeO in the framework of the research group "Computer-Aided Collaborative Subway Track Planning in Multi-Scale 3D City and Building Models".

  19. Impaired Hippocampal Glutamate and Glutamine Metabolism in the db/db Mouse Model of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jens Velde; Nissen, Jakob Dahl; Christensen, Sofie Kjellerup

    2017-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease, and changes in brain energy metabolism have been suggested as a causative mechanism. The aim of this study was to investigate the cerebral metabolism of the important amino acids glutamate and glutamine...... significantly reduced 13C labeling in glutamate, glutamine, GABA, citrate, and aspartate from metabolism of [U-13C]glutamate. Additionally, reduced 13C labeling were observed in GABA, citrate, and aspartate from [U-13C]glutamine metabolism in hippocampal slices of db/db mice when compared to controls. None...

  20. High-speed electro-optic switch with -80 dB crosstalk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, J. J.; Su, W. H.; Xu, J. Y.; Grove, C. H.

    1992-01-01

    Special device modeling, design and layout, and precision processing controls were employed to fabricate new balanced-bridge 2x2 and 4x4 switches on X-cut, Y-propagation LiNbO3 substrate using Ti indiffused optical waveguides. The best of these devices achieved extinction ratio and crosstalk isolation of better than 93 dB electrically (46.5 dB optically). The new switches demonstrate good reproducibility with electrical crosstalk less than -80 dB.

  1. DB 3.0: From plant phosphorylation sites to protein networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Qiuming; Ge, Huangyi; Wu, Shangquan; Zhang, Ning; Chen, Wei; Xu, Chunhui; Gao, Jianjiong; Thelen, Jay J; Xu, Dong

    2014-01-01

    In the past few years, the Plant Protein Phosphorylation Database (P(3)DB, http://p3db.org) has become one of the most significant in vivo data resources for studying plant phosphoproteomics. We have substantially updated P(3)DB with respect to format, new datasets and analytic tools. In the P(3)DB 3.0, there are altogether 47 923 phosphosites in 16 477 phosphoproteins curated across nine plant organisms from 32 studies, which have met our multiple quality standards for acquisition of in vivo phosphorylation site data. Centralized by these phosphorylation data, multiple related data and annotations are provided, including protein-protein interaction (PPI), gene ontology, protein tertiary structures, orthologous sequences, kinase/phosphatase classification and Kinase Client Assay (KiC Assay) data--all of which provides context for the phosphorylation event. In addition, P(3)DB 3.0 incorporates multiple network viewers for the above features, such as PPI network, kinase-substrate network, phosphatase-substrate network, and domain co-occurrence network to help study phosphorylation from a systems point of view. Furthermore, the new P(3)DB reflects a community-based design through which users can share datasets and automate data depository processes for publication purposes. Each of these new features supports the goal of making P(3)DB a comprehensive, systematic and interactive platform for phosphoproteomics research.

  2. Narrative Counseling for Professional School Counselors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nafziger, Jacinta; DeKruyf, Lorraine

    2013-01-01

    This article introduces narrative counseling concepts and techniques for professional school counselors. The authors provide a case study of narrative school counseling with an elementary student struggling with selective mutism. Examples also demonstrate how a narrative approach could be used at elementary, middle, and high school levels within…

  3. Narrative Processes across Childhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulvaney, Matthew Keefe

    2011-01-01

    According to the narrative perspective on personality development, personality is constructed largely by interpreting and representing experience in story format (scripts) over the course of the lifespan. The focus of this paper is to describe briefly the narrative perspective on personality development during childhood and adolescence, to discuss…

  4. Moving Picture, Lying Image: Unreliable Cinematic Narratives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Csönge Tamás

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available By coining the term “unreliable narrator” Wayne Booth hypothesized another agent in his model besides the author, the implicit author, to explain the double coding of narratives where a distorted view of reality and the exposure of this distortion are presented simultaneously. The article deals with the applicability of the concept in visual narratives. Since unreliability is traditionally considered to be intertwined with first person narratives, it works through subjective mediators. According to scholarly literature on the subject, the narrator has to be strongly characterized, or in other words, anthropomorphized. In the case of film, the main problem is that the narrator is either missing or the narration cannot be attributed entirely to them. There is a medial rupture where the apparatus mediates the story instead of a character’s oral or written discourse. The present paper focuses on some important but overlooked questions about the nature of cinematic storytelling through a re-examination of |the lying flashback in Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright. Can a character-narrator control the images the viewer sees? How can the filmic image still be unreliable without having an anthropomorphic narrator? How useful is the term focalization when we are dealing with embedded character-narratives in film?

  5. Narratives about illness and medication: a neglected theme/new methodology within pharmacy practice research. Part II: medication narratives in practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Kath; Bissell, Paul; Morecroft, Charles

    2007-08-01

    Part 2 of this paper aims to provide a methodological framework for the study of medication narratives, including a semi-structured interview guide and suggested method of analysis, in an attempt to aid the development of narrative scholarship within pharmacy practice research. Examples of medication narratives are provided to illustrate their diversity and usefulness. The framework is derived from the work of other researchers and adapted for our specific purpose. It comes from social psychology, narrative psychology, narrative anthropology, sociology and critical theory and fits within the social constructionist paradigm. The suggested methods of analysis could broadly be described as narrative analysis and discourse analysis. Examples of medication narratives are chosen from a variety of sources and brief interpretations are presented by way of illustration. Narrative analysis, a neglected area of research in pharmacy practice, has the potential to provide new understanding about how people relate to their medicines, how pharmacists are engaged in producing narratives and the importance of narrative in the education of students. IMPACT OF THE ARTICLE: This article aims to have the following impact on pharmacy practice research: Innovative approach to researching and conceptualising the use of medicines. Introduction of a new theoretical perspective and methodology. Incorporation of social science research methods into pharmacy practice research. Development of narrative scholarship within pharmacy.

  6. Gender Differences in Adolescents' Autobiographical Narratives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fivush, Robyn; Bohanek, Jennifer G.; Zaman, Widaad; Grapin, Sally

    2012-01-01

    In this study, the authors examined gender differences in narratives of positive and negative life experiences during middle adolescence, a critical period for the development of identity and a life narrative (Habermas & Bluck, 2000; McAdams, 2001). Examining a wider variety of narrative meaning-making devices than previous research, they found…

  7. Effect of Long-Term Dietary Arginyl-Fructose (AF on Hyperglycemia and HbA1c in Diabetic db/db Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwang-Hyoung Lee

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available We have previously reported that Amadori compounds exert anti-diabetic effects by lowering sucrose-induced hyperglycemia in normal Sprague-Dawley rats. In the present study we extended our recent findings to evaluate whether α-glucosidase inhibitor arginyl-fructose (AF lowers blood glucose level in diabetic db/db mice, a genetic model for type 2 diabetes. The db/db mice were randomly assigned to high-carbohydrate diets (66.1% corn starch with and without AF (4% in the diet for 6 weeks. Changes in body weight, blood glucose level, and food intake were measured daily for 42 days. Dietary supplementation of AF resulted in a significant decrease of blood glucose level (p < 0.001 and body weight (p < 0.001. The level of HbA1c, a better indicator of plasma glucose concentration over prolonged periods of time, was also significantly decreased for 6-week period (p < 0.001. Dietary treatment of acarbose® (0.04% in diet, a positive control, also significantly alleviated the level of blood glucose, HbA1c, and body weight. These results indicate that AF Maillard reaction product improves postprandial hyperglycemia by suppressing glucose absorption as well as decreasing HbA1c level.

  8. Reduced sulfation of chondroitin sulfate but not heparan sulfate in kidneys of diabetic db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reine, Trine M; Grøndahl, Frøy; Jenssen, Trond G; Hadler-Olsen, Elin; Prydz, Kristian; Kolset, Svein O

    2013-08-01

    Heparan sulfate proteoglycans are hypothesized to contribute to the filtration barrier in kidney glomeruli and the glycocalyx of endothelial cells. To investigate potential changes in proteoglycans in diabetic kidney, we isolated glycosaminoglycans from kidney cortex from healthy db/+ and diabetic db/db mice. Disaccharide analysis of chondroitin sulfate revealed a significant decrease in the 4-O-sulfated disaccharides (D0a4) from 65% to 40%, whereas 6-O-sulfated disaccharides (D0a6) were reduced from 11% to 6%, with a corresponding increase in unsulfated disaccharides. In contrast, no structural differences were observed in heparan sulfate. Furthermore, no difference was found in the molar amount of glycosaminoglycans, or in the ratio of hyaluronan/heparan sulfate/chondroitin sulfate. Immunohistochemical staining for the heparan sulfate proteoglycan perlecan was similar in both types of material but reduced staining of 4-O-sulfated chondroitin and dermatan was observed in kidney sections from diabetic mice. In support of this, using qRT-PCR, a 53.5% decrease in the expression level of Chst-11 (chondroitin 4-O sulfotransferase) was demonstrated in diabetic kidney. These results suggest that changes in the sulfation of chondroitin need to be addressed in future studies on proteoglycans and kidney function in diabetes.

  9. Narrative, history and self

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Køster, Allan

    There is a strong tradition in psychology and philosophy, claiming that the self is a narrative construction. The paper examines this idea and concludes that the narrative self is not a viable theoretical construct, but that we should opt for an adjacent idea of a historical self. The aim is to e...

  10. Data Container Study for Handling array-based data using Hive, Spark, MongoDB, SciDB and Rasdaman

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, M.; Hu, F.; Yang, J.; Yu, M.; Yang, C. P.

    2017-12-01

    Geoscience communities have come up with various big data storage solutions, such as Rasdaman and Hive, to address the grand challenges for massive Earth observation data management and processing. To examine the readiness of current solutions in supporting big Earth observation, we propose to investigate and compare four popular data container solutions, including Rasdaman, Hive, Spark, SciDB and MongoDB. Using different types of spatial and non-spatial queries, datasets stored in common scientific data formats (e.g., NetCDF and HDF), and two applications (i.e. dust storm simulation data mining and MERRA data analytics), we systematically compare and evaluate the feature and performance of these four data containers in terms of data discover and access. The computing resources (e.g. CPU, memory, hard drive, network) consumed while performing various queries and operations are monitored and recorded for the performance evaluation. The initial results show that 1) the popular data container clusters are able to handle large volume of data, but their performances vary in different situations. Meanwhile, there is a trade-off between data preprocessing, disk saving, query-time saving, and resource consuming. 2) ClimateSpark, MongoDB and SciDB perform the best among all the containers in all the queries tests, and Hive performs the worst. 3) These studied data containers can be applied on other array-based datasets, such as high resolution remote sensing data and model simulation data. 4) Rasdaman clustering configuration is more complex than the others. A comprehensive report will detail the experimental results, and compare their pros and cons regarding system performance, ease of use, accessibility, scalability, compatibility, and flexibility.

  11. Narratives as an educational tool : a review of 'A Scientific Romance'

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hughes, J.; Andrey, J. [Waterloo Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Geography

    2000-06-01

    This paper examined how the use of narratives can be used as a tool for educating the public on climate change with particular reference to Ronald Wright's 1997 novel entitled A Scientific Romance. The novel develops climate change as a central theme in the development plot and has received excellent reviews from literary critics in Canada, Great Britain and the United States. This paper reviewed the novel using criteria from both cognitive psychology and climatology. Cognitive theory claims that human beings think, perceive, understand and make choices according to narrative structures. This evaluation compared Wright's depiction of future climate change with scientific projections. Wright provides great detail regarding climatic conditions of the Great London-Thames Estuary region of Southern England in the years 2500-2501. The climatic variables used in the evaluation consist of surface temperature, sea level rise, precipitation and wind speed. This evaluation determined that Wright's narrative depiction of London's future climate is much more extreme than what scientists project. It was concluded that Wright's tightly woven narrative takes an abstract issue and successfully transforms it into something interesting and provides a detailed depiction of a plausible future climate and its implications for society. However, two minor weaknesses were found to exist. First, there is little reference to the major cause of climate change, and secondly, the climate scenario depicted in the novel is more consistent with the runaway greenhouse theory than with scientists' projections. It was cautioned that narratives must be used carefully and responsibly otherwise, the magnitude of portrayed changes may create a sense of disbelief or helplessness on the part of the public. 27 refs., 1 tab.

  12. Clause complexes as the basis for construing the narrative point of view in translation context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adail Sebastião RODRIGUES-JÚNIOR

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT This article briefly discusses the role of expansions for construing the characters’ identities and personality traits in Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and its translation, made by João do Rio, and adaptations, made by Clarice Lispector and Claudia Lopes, into Brazilian Portuguese. The discursive configuration or narrative axis that unveils the narrative point of view is the central linguistic realization of the discussion. The paper also problematizes the concept of omission and rewriting in the literary translation context, asserting that these kinds of (retextualizations may create negative cultural impacts on the target-text reader. The discussion is informed by the principles of systemic-functional grammar and its contributions to literary translation, especially the concepts of projection and clause complex.

  13. Living with a pituitary tumour: a narrative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simpson, Jane; Heath, James; Wall, Gemma

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed to synthesise the illness narratives of individuals living with a pituitary tumour. Eight adults with a pituitary tumour were recruited from an endocrinology service in the north-west of England. A narrative methodology was adopted which investigated elements of the individual narratives such as metaphor and structure but which also aimed to produce a joint account of experience in this particular illness context by extracting themes across the stories; these are presented as part of a chronological narrative. However, the resulting group story was also analysed in terms of different types of narrative plots. The group narrative started from the recognition of symptoms and then diagnosis though treatment to post-treatment and future plans. In terms of narrative plots, one notable element of the joint narrative was the flow between the culturally dominant restitution narrative, where participants focused on treatment and recovery and the chaos narrative when recovery did not seem possible. The findings contain many elements consistent with previous research; however, the use of a celebrity figure to communicate about the illness experience and a perception that objects or individuals should not be taken at face value emerged as more novel findings.

  14. Narrative as resource for the display of self and identity: The narrative construction of an oppositional identity*

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alba Lucy Guerrero

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Narrative is a system of understanding that we use to construct and express meaning in our daily lives. The stories we narrate are not justresources for the development and presentation of the individual self; they allow us to see how identity is constructed within social and culturalworlds (Bruner, 1990. Schools and communities play a powerful role in shaping students identities; the ways in which stories are told and theidentities they create are influenced by the environment in which they take place. In this paper, by using excerpts from a conversation I hadwith a High School student in an urban school in Bogotá, I will discuss how narrative analysis can be used to understand the way studentsconstruct their identities within their schools and communities. First, I will present the theoretical contexts linking narrative with self-construction.Next, I will discuss the methodological implications in the process of collecting and representing experiences highlighting the possibilities ofnarrative to make visible the construction of identities. Then pieces of a narrative told in a research interview will be analyzed illustrating differentapproaches of narrative analysis. The paper will conclude with a section that outlines the implications of using narrative in educational research.

  15. Narrativity in Teaching Materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Jens Aage

    2010-01-01

    Analyse af narrative strukturer i nordiske læremidler om historie- og nordiske læreres forståelse og brug af læremidlerne i undervisningen......Analyse af narrative strukturer i nordiske læremidler om historie- og nordiske læreres forståelse og brug af læremidlerne i undervisningen...

  16. Narrative History and Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamura, Eileen H.

    2011-01-01

    While narrative history has been the prevailing mode in historical scholarship, its preeminence has not gone unquestioned. In the 1980s, the role of narrative in historical writing was "the subject of extraordinarily intense debate." The historical backdrop of this debate can be traced to the preceding two decades, when four groups of thinkers…

  17. An Education in Narratives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Shaun

    2014-01-01

    I argue for a broad education in narratives as a way to address several problems found in moral psychology and social cognition. First, an education in narratives will address a common problem of narrowness or lack of diversity, shared by virtue ethics and the simulation theory of social cognition. Secondly, it also solves the "starting…

  18. Narrative journalism as complementary inquiry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jørgen Jeppesen

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Narrative journalism is a method to craft stories worth reading about real people. In this article, we explore the ability of that communicative power to produce insights complementary to those obtainable through traditional qualitative and quantitative research methods. With examples from a study of journalistic narrative as patient involvement in professional rehabilitation, interview data transcribed as stories are analyzed for qualities of heterogeneity, sensibility, transparency, and reflexivity. Building on sociological theories of thinking with stories, writing as inquiry, and public journalism as ethnography, we suggest that narrative journalism as a common practice might unfold dimensions of subjective otherness of the self. Aspiring to unite writing in both transparently confrontational and empathetically dialogic ways, the narrative journalistic method holds a potential to expose dynamics of power within the interview.

  19. CIG-DB: the database for human or mouse immunoglobulin and T cell receptor genes available for cancer studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Furue Motoki

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Immunoglobulin (IG or antibody and the T-cell receptor (TR are pivotal proteins in the immune system of higher organisms. In cancer immunotherapy, the immune responses mediated by tumor-epitope-binding IG or TR play important roles in anticancer effects. Although there are public databases specific for immunological genes, their contents have not been associated with clinical studies. Therefore, we developed an integrated database of IG/TR data reported in cancer studies (the Cancer-related Immunological Gene Database [CIG-DB]. Description This database is designed as a platform to explore public human and murine IG/TR genes sequenced in cancer studies. A total of 38,308 annotation entries for IG/TR proteins were collected from GenBank/DDBJ/EMBL and the Protein Data Bank, and 2,740 non-redundant corresponding MEDLINE references were appended. Next, we filtered the MEDLINE texts by MeSH terms, titles, and abstracts containing keywords related to cancer. After we performed a manual check, we classified the protein entries into two groups: 611 on cancer therapy (Group I and 1,470 on hematological tumors (Group II. Thus, a total of 2,081 cancer-related IG and TR entries were tabularized. To effectively classify future entries, we developed a computational method based on text mining and canonical discriminant analysis by parsing MeSH/title/abstract words. We performed a leave-one-out cross validation for the method, which showed high accuracy rates: 94.6% for IG references and 94.7% for TR references. We also collected 920 epitope sequences bound with IG/TR. The CIG-DB is equipped with search engines for amino acid sequences and MEDLINE references, sequence analysis tools, and a 3D viewer. This database is accessible without charge or registration at http://www.scchr-cigdb.jp/, and the search results are freely downloadable. Conclusions The CIG-DB serves as a bridge between immunological gene data and cancer studies, presenting

  20. The Intergenerational Congruence of Mothers' and Preschoolers' Narrative Affective Content and Narrative Coherence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sher-Censor, Efrat; Grey, Izabela; Yates, Tuppett M.

    2013-01-01

    Intergenerational congruence of mothers' and preschoolers' narratives about the mother-child relationship was examined in a sample of 198 Hispanic (59.1%), Black (19.2%), and White (21.7%) mothers and their preschool child. Mothers' narratives were obtained with the Five Minute Speech Sample and were coded for negative and positive affective…

  1. Storybridging : Four steps for constructing effective health narratives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boeijinga, A.; Hoeken, Hans; Sanders, José

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To develop a practical step-by-step approach to constructing narrative health interventions in response to the mixed results and wide diversity of narratives used in health-related narrative persuasion research. Method: Development work was guided by essential narrative characteristics as

  2. Børns narrative kompetencer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krenzen, Anette Elisabeth

    Rapporten er en del af kandidatspeciale, der empirisk undersøger børns narrative kompetencer i skolestarten på Egumsvejens skole i Fredericia samt tilknyttede børneinstitutioner.......Rapporten er en del af kandidatspeciale, der empirisk undersøger børns narrative kompetencer i skolestarten på Egumsvejens skole i Fredericia samt tilknyttede børneinstitutioner....

  3. ZiBuPiYin recipe protects db/db mice from diabetes-associated cognitive decline through improving multiple pathological changes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Chen

    Full Text Available Multiple organ systems, including the brain, which undergoes changes that may increase the risk of cognitive decline, are adversely affected by diabetes mellitus (DM. Here, we demonstrate that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM db/db mice exhibited hippocampus-dependent memory impairment, which might associate with a reduction in dendritic spine density in the pyramidal neurons of brain, Aβ1-42 deposition in the prefrontal cortex (PFC and hippocampus, and a decreased expression of neurostructural proteins including microtubule-associated protein (MAP2, a marker of dendrites, and postsynaptic density 95 (PSD95, a marker of excitatory synapses. To investigate the effects of the ZiBuPiYin recipe (ZBPYR, a traditional Chinese medicine recipe, on diabetes-related cognitive decline (DACD, db/db mice received daily administration of ZBPYR over an experimental period of 6 weeks. We then confirmed that ZBPYR rescued learning and memory performance impairments, reversed dendritic spine loss, reduced Aβ1-42 deposition and restored the expression levels of MAP2 and PSD95. The present study also revealed that ZBPYR strengthened brain leptin and insulin signaling and inhibited GSK3β overactivity, which may be the potential mechanism or underlying targets of ZBPYR. These findings conclude that ZBPYR prevents DACD, most likely by improving dendritic spine density and attenuating brain leptin and insulin signaling pathway injury. Our findings provide further evidence for the effects of ZBPYR on DACD.

  4. A 60-dB linear VGA with novel exponential gain approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Jiaye; Tan Xi; Wang Junyu; Tang Zhangwen; Min Hao

    2009-01-01

    A CMOS variable gain amplifier (VGA) that adopts a novel exponential gain approximation is presented. No additional exponential gain control circuit is required in the proposed VGA used in a direct conversion receiver. A wide gain control voltage from 0.4 to 1.8 V and a high linearity performance are achieved. The three-stage VGA with automatic gain control (AGC) and DC offset cancellation (DCOC) is fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS technology and shows a linear gain range of more than 58-dB with a linearity error less than ±1 dB. The 3-dB bandwidth is over 8 MHz at all gain settings. The measured input-referred third intercept point (IIP3) of the proposed VGA varies from -18.1 to 13.5 dBm, and the measured noise figure varies from 27 to 65 dB at a frequency of 1 MHz. The dynamic range of the closed-loop AGC exceeds 56 dB, where the output signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) reaches 20 dB. The whole circuit, occupying 0.3 mm 2 of chip area, dissipates less than 3.7 mA from a 1.8-V supply.

  5. Narrative research on mental health recovery: two sister paradigms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spector-Mersel, Gabriela; Knaifel, Evgeny

    2017-06-24

    Despite the breadth of narrative studies on individuals with severe mental illness, the suitability of narrative inquiry to exploring mental health recovery (MHR) has not been examined. (1) Examining the appropriateness of narrative inquiry to studying MHR; (2) assessing the extent to which narrative studies on MHR conform to the unique features of narrative research, as a distinctive form of qualitative inquiry. Review of empirical, theoretical and methodological literature on recovery and narrative inquiry. Considering the perspectives of recovery and narrative as paradigms, the similarity between their ontology and epistemology is shown, evident in 10 common emphases: meaning, identity, change and development, agency, holism, culture, uniqueness, context, language and giving voice. The resemblance between these "sister" paradigms makes narrative methodology especially fruitful for accessing the experiences of individuals in recovery. Reviewing narrative studies on MHR suggests that, currently, narrative research's uniqueness, centered on the holistic principle, is blurred on the philosophical, methodological and textual levels. Well-established narrative research has major implications for practice and policy in recovery-oriented mental health care. The narrative inquiry paradigm offers a possible path to enhancing the distinctive virtues of this research, realizing its potential in understanding and promoting MHR.

  6. The cognitive import of the narrative schema

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bundgaard, Peer

    2007-01-01

    schema within continental semiotics, and through an interpretation of Heider & Simmel’s study on apparent behavior it establishes the cognitive import of the narrative schema and its origin in visual perception; finally it gives examples of the meaning organizing import of the narrative schema.......This paper aims at establishing the origin of the narrative schema in the perception of intentional movements. The distinction between mechanical and intentional movements is vital for human beings, and the narrative schema, which is underpinned by this distinction, is therefore a basic cognitive...... principle of intelligibility. This is the reason why the narrative schema is by no means confined to the domain of the literary work of art. It is rather a major principle for the combination of partial significations in many other domains. The paper explores the role traditionally assigned to the narrative...

  7. Narratives about labour market transitions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cort, Pia; Thomsen, Rie

    2014-01-01

    on flexicurity and its implications for labour market transitions, little attention has been paid to the views and experiences of the individuals concerned. The aim of this article is to connect the grand narrative with individual narratives about labour market transitions in the Danish flexicurity system....... On the basis of narrative interviews with skilled workers, this article explores how labour market transitions are experienced by the individual and the role played by national support structures in the individual narratives. The article shows how, for the individual, a transition may prove to be a valuable...... learning experience during which radical career decisions are taken, and how support structures may work to the detriment of such learning and of the principles behind flexicurity. The article points to a reconceptualisation of transitions as important learning opportunities during which (more) adequate...

  8. Mood and narrative entwinement: some implications for educational practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conroy, Sherrill A; Dobson, Stephen

    2005-09-01

    Moods are one way of existentially reading the authenticity of people and are entwined within any narrative. Attunement between narrative and its mood is crucial for understanding the implicit message of the narrator. Sometimes, a master narrative is interrupted by counternarratives, so that narrative recognition becomes problematic. People can disguise their existential state when narrating, but the mood discloses it nonetheless. The authors explore the relationship between mood and narrative, and how the two are connected with how a person acts authentically or inauthentically. They provide selected empirical examples of narratives from medical students to support their argument. The educational relevance of their discussion comprises the final section. Educators in any educational program must first reflect on, then make explicit the manner in which narrative and mood are used to communicate knowledge.

  9. Waiting narratives of lung transplant candidates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yelle, Maria T; Stevens, Patricia E; Lanuza, Dorothy M

    2013-01-01

    Before 2005, time accrued on the lung transplant waiting list counted towards who was next in line for a donor lung. Then in 2005 the lung allocation scoring system was implemented, which meant the higher the illness severity scores, the higher the priority on the transplant list. Little is known of the lung transplant candidates who were listed before 2005 and were caught in the transition when the lung allocation scoring system was implemented. A narrative analysis was conducted to explore the illness narratives of seven lung transplant candidates between 2006 and 2007. Arthur Kleinman's concept of illness narratives was used as a conceptual framework for this study to give voice to the illness narratives of lung transplant candidates. Results of this study illustrate that lung transplant candidates expressed a need to tell their personal story of waiting and to be heard. Recommendation from this study calls for healthcare providers to create the time to enable illness narratives of the suffering of waiting to be told. Narrative skills of listening to stories of emotional suffering would enhance how healthcare providers could attend to patients' stories and hear what is most meaningful in their lives.

  10. Waiting Narratives of Lung Transplant Candidates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria T. Yelle

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Before 2005, time accrued on the lung transplant waiting list counted towards who was next in line for a donor lung. Then in 2005 the lung allocation scoring system was implemented, which meant the higher the illness severity scores, the higher the priority on the transplant list. Little is known of the lung transplant candidates who were listed before 2005 and were caught in the transition when the lung allocation scoring system was implemented. A narrative analysis was conducted to explore the illness narratives of seven lung transplant candidates between 2006 and 2007. Arthur Kleinman’s concept of illness narratives was used as a conceptual framework for this study to give voice to the illness narratives of lung transplant candidates. Results of this study illustrate that lung transplant candidates expressed a need to tell their personal story of waiting and to be heard. Recommendation from this study calls for healthcare providers to create the time to enable illness narratives of the suffering of waiting to be told. Narrative skills of listening to stories of emotional suffering would enhance how healthcare providers could attend to patients’ stories and hear what is most meaningful in their lives.

  11. Open and scalable analytics of large Earth observation datasets: From scenes to multidimensional arrays using SciDB and GDAL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appel, Marius; Lahn, Florian; Buytaert, Wouter; Pebesma, Edzer

    2018-04-01

    Earth observation (EO) datasets are commonly provided as collection of scenes, where individual scenes represent a temporal snapshot and cover a particular region on the Earth's surface. Using these data in complex spatiotemporal modeling becomes difficult as soon as data volumes exceed a certain capacity or analyses include many scenes, which may spatially overlap and may have been recorded at different dates. In order to facilitate analytics on large EO datasets, we combine and extend the geospatial data abstraction library (GDAL) and the array-based data management and analytics system SciDB. We present an approach to automatically convert collections of scenes to multidimensional arrays and use SciDB to scale computationally intensive analytics. We evaluate the approach in three study cases on national scale land use change monitoring with Landsat imagery, global empirical orthogonal function analysis of daily precipitation, and combining historical climate model projections with satellite-based observations. Results indicate that the approach can be used to represent various EO datasets and that analyses in SciDB scale well with available computational resources. To simplify analyses of higher-dimensional datasets as from climate model output, however, a generalization of the GDAL data model might be needed. All parts of this work have been implemented as open-source software and we discuss how this may facilitate open and reproducible EO analyses.

  12. HTT-DB: horizontally transferred transposable elements database.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dotto, Bruno Reis; Carvalho, Evelise Leis; Silva, Alexandre Freitas; Duarte Silva, Luiz Fernando; Pinto, Paulo Marcos; Ortiz, Mauro Freitas; Wallau, Gabriel Luz

    2015-09-01

    Horizontal transfer of transposable (HTT) elements among eukaryotes was discovered in the mid-1980s. As then, >300 new cases have been described. New findings about HTT are revealing the evolutionary impact of this phenomenon on host genomes. In order to provide an up to date, interactive and expandable database for such events, we developed the HTT-DB database. HTT-DB allows easy access to most of HTT cases reported along with rich information about each case. Moreover, it allows the user to generate tables and graphs based on searches using Transposable elements and/or host species classification and export them in several formats. This database is freely available on the web at http://lpa.saogabriel.unipampa.edu.br:8080/httdatabase. HTT-DB was developed based on Java and MySQL with all major browsers supported. Tools and software packages used are free for personal or non-profit projects. bdotto82@gmail.com or gabriel.wallau@gmail.com. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. A Review of the Colloquium «Narrative, Media and Cognition» — a Cartography of the Borders of Narrative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Guilhermina Castro

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We present an overview and discussion of the Colloquium «Narrative, Media and Cognition», which took place at Porto's Centre of Catholic University of Portugal in July of 2015, under the organization of the Research Centre for Science and Technology of the Arts (CITAR. Several scholars of different areas presented research about the uses and advances in narrative study and practice in a broad range of areas, giving some important insights about the latest developments in Narrative Studies, Ontology of Narrative and the uses of Narrative in Art, Cinema, Performance, Journalism, Marketing and Literature, among other fields. After briefly describing the main points of each presentation in the Colloquium we try to draw some conclusions and possibilities raised by the Colloquium and take a glimpse of future paths that the use of Narrative can end up taking.

  14. Reading to learn experimental practice: The role of text and firsthand experience in the acquisition of an abstract science principle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richmond, Erica Kesin

    2008-10-01

    From the onset of schooling, texts are used as important educational tools. In the primary years, they are integral to learning how to decode and develop fluency. In the later elementary years, they are often essential to the acquisition of academic content. Unfortunately, many children experience difficulties with this process, which is due in large part to their unfamiliarity with the genre of academic texts. The articles presented in this dissertation share an underlying theme of how to develop children's ability to comprehend and learn from academic, and specifically, non-narrative texts. The first article reviews research on the development of non-narrative discourse to elucidate the linguistic precursors to non-narrative text comprehension. The second and third articles draw from an empirical study that investigated the best way to integrate text, manipulation, and first-hand experience for children's acquisition and application of an abstract scientific principle. The scientific principle introduced in the study was the Control of Variables Strategy (CVS), a fundamental idea underlying scientific reasoning and a strategy for designing unconfounded experiments. Eight grade 4 classes participated in the study (N = 129), in one of three conditions: (a) read procedural text and manipulate experimental materials, (b) listen to procedural text and manipulate experimental materials, or (c) read procedural text with no opportunity to manipulate experimental materials. Findings from the study indicate that children who had the opportunity to read and manipulate materials were most effective at applying the strategy to designing and justifying unconfounded experiments, and evaluating written and physical experimental designs; however, there was no effect of instructional condition on a written assessment of evaluating familiar and unfamiliar experimental designs one week after the intervention. These results suggest that the acquisition and application of an abstract

  15. dbCAN2: a meta server for automated carbohydrate-active enzyme annotation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Han; Yohe, Tanner; Huang, Le

    2018-01-01

    of plant and plant-associated microbial genomes and metagenomes being sequenced, there is an urgent need of automatic tools for genomic data mining of CAZymes. We developed the dbCAN web server in 2012 to provide a public service for automated CAZyme annotation for newly sequenced genomes. Here, dbCAN2...... (http://cys.bios.niu.edu/dbCAN2) is presented as an updated meta server, which integrates three state-of-the-art tools for CAZome (all CAZymes of a genome) annotation: (i) HMMER search against the dbCAN HMM (hidden Markov model) database; (ii) DIAMOND search against the CAZy pre-annotated CAZyme...

  16. HBVRegDB: Annotation, comparison, detection and visualization of regulatory elements in hepatitis B virus sequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Firth Andrew E

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The many Hepadnaviridae sequences available have widely varied functional annotation. The genomes are very compact (~3.2 kb but contain multiple layers of functional regulatory elements in addition to coding regions. Key regions are subject to purifying selection, as mutations in these regions will produce non-functional viruses. Results These genomic sequences have been organized into a structured database to facilitate research at the molecular level. HBVRegDB is a comparative genomic analysis tool with an integrated underlying sequence database. The database contains genomic sequence data from representative viruses. In addition to INSDC and RefSeq annotation, HBVRegDB also contains expert and systematically calculated annotations (e.g. promoters and comparative genome analysis results (e.g. blastn, tblastx. It also contains analyses based on curated HBV alignments. Information about conserved regions – including primary conservation (e.g. CDS-Plotcon and RNA secondary structure predictions (e.g. Alidot – is integrated into the database. A large amount of data is graphically presented using the GBrowse (Generic Genome Browser adapted for analysis of viral genomes. Flexible query access is provided based on any annotated genomic feature. Novel regulatory motifs can be found by analysing the annotated sequences. Conclusion HBVRegDB serves as a knowledge database and as a comparative genomic analysis tool for molecular biologists investigating HBV. It is publicly available and complementary to other viral and HBV focused datasets and tools http://hbvregdb.otago.ac.nz. The availability of multiple and highly annotated sequences of viral genomes in one database combined with comparative analysis tools facilitates detection of novel genomic elements.

  17. RoboDB: an application of Semantic Web Technologies to robotics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Juarez, Alex; Hu, J.; Feijs, L.M.G.

    2011-01-01

    RoboDB is a knowledge acquisition system that gathers information about robots. RoboDB uses Semantic Web technologies and tools to help the user in creating semantic descriptions of robot embodiments and their capabilities, as well as in building an ontology of robotics projects, research

  18. Exploring the New Narrative of Internet News

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ya-Hui Chen

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper demonstrates that digital tools provide opportunities for new storytelling techniques. To take full advantage of the new media resources and to establish an innovative news narrative structure, the existing research limit and the relationship between narrative and the media were examined. This paper progresses from a discussion on the narrative structure to how the plot of a story is influenced by its discourse, and then to how different media characteristics can change the structure and voice of the involved narrative. A new narrative structure that can be used to explore the hypertext and interactivity of Internet news is described. Finally, this paper discusses the cultivation of news storytelling in the digital age.

  19. Narratives of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders: focus on eating behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristiane P. Lázaro

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective To investigate the eating behavior of individuals with autism through their mothers’ narratives. Methods The study of narratives was used to report on the narrators’ experiences. Data on the eating habits of individuals with autism were collected using semi-structured interviews held individually with the mothers. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and codified using the NVivo software program. Results Eighteen mothers of boys/young men with autism participated in the study. Analysis yielded three major categories: eating patterns, the family's attitudes to the child's eating habits, and food-related behavior. Conclusion Results show that autism-related factors may affect the child's food choices. Environmental factors, particularly the parents’ behavior, may also play a decisive role, both in reinforcing the child's food choices and in encouraging a healthier and more diversified diet. Professionals should instruct parents regarding their decisive role in reinforcing or discouraging inappropriate mealtime behavior in children with autism.

  20. Clone DB: an integrated NCBI resource for clone-associated data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Valerie A.; Chen, Hsiu-Chuan; Clausen, Cliff; Meric, Peter A.; Zhou, Zhigang; Bouk, Nathan; Husain, Nora; Maglott, Donna R.; Church, Deanna M.

    2013-01-01

    The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Clone DB (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/clone/) is an integrated resource providing information about and facilitating access to clones, which serve as valuable research reagents in many fields, including genome sequencing and variation analysis. Clone DB represents an expansion and replacement of the former NCBI Clone Registry and has records for genomic and cell-based libraries and clones representing more than 100 different eukaryotic taxa. Records provide details of library construction, associated sequences, map positions and information about resource distribution. Clone DB is indexed in the NCBI Entrez system and can be queried by fields that include organism, clone name, gene name and sequence identifier. Whenever possible, genomic clones are mapped to reference assemblies and their map positions provided in clone records. Clones mapping to specific genomic regions can also be searched for using the NCBI Clone Finder tool, which accepts queries based on sequence coordinates or features such as gene or transcript names. Clone DB makes reports of library, clone and placement data on its FTP site available for download. With Clone DB, users now have available to them a centralized resource that provides them with the tools they will need to make use of these important research reagents. PMID:23193260

  1. Adolescents' Intergenerational Narratives across Cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reese, Elaine; Fivush, Robyn; Merrill, Natalie; Wang, Qi; McAnally, Helena

    2017-01-01

    Adolescents' intergenerational narratives--the stories they tell about their mothers' and fathers' early experiences--are an important component of their identities (Fivush & Merrill, 2016; Merrill & Fivush, 2016). This study explored adolescents' intergenerational narratives across cultures. Adolescents aged 12 to 21 from 3 cultural…

  2. Understanding personal narratives: an approach to practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaydos, H Lea

    2005-02-01

    This paper explores the need for and nature of personal narratives and their relevance to nursing practice. It proposes that the co-creative aesthetic process can be used to understand and co-create personal narratives through an emphasis on self-defining memories and metaphor. Many authors in nursing and other human sciences have recognized the need for and importance of personal narrative, its relationship to aesthetic knowing and its value in qualitative research and in practice. The role of memory and metaphor in the creation of meaning in personal narratives, however, has not been sufficiently explored in nursing literature. The nature of personal narrative is explored, focusing on the way meaning is created from self-defining memories using metaphor. Then, the importance of personal narratives in nursing practice is considered, followed by discussion about how meaning in personal narratives may be co-created between clients and nurses using an aesthetic process developed by the author. The co-creative aesthetic process is an example of nursing as art and can be used to co-create personal narratives in practice. The experience of co-creating a self story with a nurse can be healing, as the self story is heard by a caring person, memories are understood in new ways, and the self story is both confirmed and recreated.

  3. DB2 10.1 fundamentals certification study guide

    CERN Document Server

    Sanders, Roger E

    2014-01-01

    Beginning with an explanation of the certification process and working through fundamental exam objectives, this guide gives test-takers all they need to know to pass IBM's DB2 10.1 Fundamentals certification exam (Exam 610). All the subjects covered on the exam are included: planning, security, data concurrency, working with databases and database objects, working with data using SQL and XQuery, working with DB2 tables, views, and indexes-and more. The book concludes with an

  4. A Return to Methodological Commitment: Reflections on Narrative Inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caine, Vera; Estefan, Andrew; Clandinin, D. Jean

    2013-01-01

    In the 25 years since narrative inquiry emerged as a social science research methodology, it has been rapidly taken up in the social sciences. In what is sometimes called a "narrative revolution," researchers with diverse understandings have co-opted the concept of narrative inquiry and used narrative inquiry or narrative research to…

  5. Hybrid Fictionality and Vicarious Narrative Experience

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hatavara, Mari Annukka; Mildorf, Jarmila

    2017-01-01

    This article discusses the recent trends in Fictionality Studies and argues for a point of view focusing more on the narrative dimension of fictionality than on the fictive story content. With the analysis of two case studies, where a non-fictional third person narrator represents the experience...... with other minds travel between fictional and nonfictional narratives, and between stories artistically designed and those occurring in conversational or documentary environments....

  6. Memorable Audiovisual Narratives Synchronize Sensory and Supramodal Neural Responses

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Our brains integrate information across sensory modalities to generate perceptual experiences and form memories. However, it is difficult to determine the conditions under which multisensory stimulation will benefit or hinder the retrieval of everyday experiences. We hypothesized that the determining factor is the reliability of information processing during stimulus presentation, which can be measured through intersubject correlation of stimulus-evoked activity. We therefore presented biographical auditory narratives and visual animations to 72 human subjects visually, auditorily, or combined, while neural activity was recorded using electroencephalography. Memory for the narrated information, contained in the auditory stream, was tested 3 weeks later. While the visual stimulus alone led to no meaningful retrieval, this related stimulus improved memory when it was combined with the story, even when it was temporally incongruent with the audio. Further, individuals with better subsequent memory elicited neural responses during encoding that were more correlated with their peers. Surprisingly, portions of this predictive synchronized activity were present regardless of the sensory modality of the stimulus. These data suggest that the strength of sensory and supramodal activity is predictive of memory performance after 3 weeks, and that neural synchrony may explain the mnemonic benefit of the functionally uninformative visual context observed for these real-world stimuli. PMID:27844062

  7. Narrative competence in Spanish-speaking adults with Williams syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diez-Itza, Eliseo; Martínez, Verónica; Antón, Aránzazu

    2016-08-01

    Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder associated with intellectual disability and characterised by displaying an atypical neuropsychological profile, with peaks and valleys, where language skills seem better preserved than non-verbal intelligence. This study researches the narrative competence of nine Spanish-speaking adults with WS. Oral narratives were elicited from a silent film, and narrative coherence was analysed as a function of sequential order of the events narrated at three structure levels, while narrative cohesion was assessed through the frequency of use and type of discourse markers. WS subjects were able to remember a significant proportion of the events from the film, but coherence of narratives, i.e., sequential order of events, was more impaired. Consistently with their linguistic abilities, cohesion of narratives was better preserved, as they used discourse markers to introduce a high proportion of events. Construction of mental models of the narratives may be constrained in WS by non-verbal cognitive abilities, but narrative competence is also determined by textual pragmatic abilities to organize discourse, which should be addressed by specific intervention in narrative competence.

  8. Aging and the segmentation of narrative film.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurby, Christopher A; Asiala, Lillian K E; Mills, Steven R

    2014-01-01

    The perception of event structure in continuous activity is important for everyday comprehension. Although the segmentation of experience into events is a normal concomitant of perceptual processing, previous research has shown age differences in the ability to perceive structure in naturalistic activity, such as a movie of someone washing a car. However, past research has also shown that older adults have a preserved ability to comprehend events in narrative text, which suggests that narrative may improve the event processing of older adults. This study tested whether there are age differences in event segmentation at the intersection of continuous activity and narrative: narrative film. Younger and older adults watched and segmented a narrative film, The Red Balloon, into coarse and fine events. Changes in situational features, such as changes in characters, goals, and objects predicted segmentation. Analyses revealed little age-difference in segmentation behavior. This suggests the possibility that narrative structure supports event understanding for older adults.

  9. Narrative Cognition in Interactive Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bruni, Luis Emilio; Baceviciute, Sarune; Arief, Mohammed

    2014-01-01

    In this article we explore some of the methodological problems related to characterizing cognitive aspects of involvement with interactive narratives using well known EEG/ERP techniques. To exemplify this, we construct an experimental EEG-ERP set-up with an interactive narrative that considers th...

  10. DB-PABP: a database of polyanion-binding proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Jianwen; Dong, Yinghua; Salamat-Miller, Nazila; Middaugh, C Russell

    2008-01-01

    The interactions between polyanions (PAs) and polyanion-binding proteins (PABPs) have been found to play significant roles in many essential biological processes including intracellular organization, transport and protein folding. Furthermore, many neurodegenerative disease-related proteins are PABPs. Thus, a better understanding of PA/PABP interactions may not only enhance our understandings of biological systems but also provide new clues to these deadly diseases. The literature in this field is widely scattered, suggesting the need for a comprehensive and searchable database of PABPs. The DB-PABP is a comprehensive, manually curated and searchable database of experimentally characterized PABPs. It is freely available and can be accessed online at http://pabp.bcf.ku.edu/DB_PABP/. The DB-PABP was implemented as a MySQL relational database. An interactive web interface was created using Java Server Pages (JSP). The search page of the database is organized into a main search form and a section for utilities. The main search form enables custom searches via four menus: protein names, polyanion names, the source species of the proteins and the methods used to discover the interactions. Available utilities include a commonality matrix, a function of listing PABPs by the number of interacting polyanions and a string search for author surnames. The DB-PABP is maintained at the University of Kansas. We encourage users to provide feedback and submit new data and references.

  11. Properties of the Narrative Scoring Scheme Using Narrative Retells in Young School-Age Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heilmann, John; Miller, Jon F.; Nockerts, Ann; Dunaway, Claudia

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the clinical utility of the narrative scoring scheme (NSS) as an index of narrative macrostructure for young school-age children. Method: Oral retells of a wordless picture book were elicited from 129 typically developing children, ages 5-7. A series of correlations and hierarchical regression equations were completed using…

  12. Peripherally administered baclofen reduced food intake and body weight in db/db as well as diet-induced obese mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Ikuko; Arima, Hiroshi; Ozaki, Noriyuki; Ozaki, Nobuaki; Watanabe, Minemori; Goto, Motomitsu; Shimizu, Hiroshi; Hayashi, Masayuki; Banno, Ryouichi; Nagasaki, Hiroshi; Oiso, Yutaka

    2007-10-16

    Peripheral administration of baclofen significantly reduced food intake and body weight increase in both diabetic (db/db) and diet-induced obese mice for 5 weeks, whereas it had no significant effects on energy balance in their lean control mice. Despite the decreased body weight, neuropeptide Y expression in the arcuate nucleus was significantly decreased, whereas pro-opiomelanocortin expression was significantly increased by baclofen treatment. These data demonstrate that the inhibitory effects of baclofen on body weight in the obese mice were mediated via the arcuate nucleus at least partially, and suggest that GABA(B) agonists could be a new therapeutic reagent for obesity.

  13. Setswana Oral Narrative Performance | Nhlekisana | Marang ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH. AFRICAN ... This paper argues that the Setswana storytelling session is a highly participatory event. The paper ... Keywords: performance, storytelling, narrator, audience, narrative, Setswana ...

  14. The method of narration in "Woman in the Dunes"

    OpenAIRE

    徐, 洪

    2005-01-01

    The main things which have been focused on so far in the narration of this work are those relating to the blurring of the viewpoints of the narrator and the main character. However, it can be argued that the real strength in the narration of this work is found when the narrator narrates at a distance from the main character. This is revealed in 3 characteristics of narration. By using a literary construction which brings a concord between paradoxical conjunctions like the adverb "muron"(=of c...

  15. Transformasi Skema Basis Data Relasional Menjadi Model Data Berorientasi Dokumen pada MongoDB

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Gede Winaya

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available MongoDB is a database that uses document-oriented data storage models. In fact, to  migrate from a relational database to NoSQL databases such as MongoDB is not an easy matter especially if the data are extremely complex. Based on the documentation that has been done by several global companies related to the use of MongoDB, it can be concluded that the process of migration from RDBMS to MongoDB require quite a long time. One process that takes quite a lot is transformation of relational database schema into a document-oriented data model on MongoDB.             This research discusses the development transformation system of relational database schema to the document oriented data model in MongoDB. The process of transformation is done by utilizing the structure and relationships between tables in the scheme as the main parameters of the modeling algorithm. In the process of the modeling documents, it necessary to adjustments the specifications of MongoDB document that formed document model can be implemented in MongoDB.             Document models are formed from transformation process can be a single document, embedded document, referenced document or combination of these. Document models are formed depending on the type, rules, and the value of the relationships cardinality between tables in the relational database schema.

  16. MonetDB: Two Decades of Research in Column-oriented Database Architectures

    OpenAIRE

    Idreos, Stratos; Groffen, Fabian; Nes, Niels; Manegold, Stefan; Mullender, Sjoerd; Kersten, Martin

    2012-01-01

    textabstractMonetDB is a state-of-the-art open-source column-store database management system targeting applications in need for analytics over large collections of data. MonetDB is actively used nowadays in health care, in telecommunications as well as in scientific databases and in data management research, accumulating on average more than 10,000 downloads on a monthly basis. This paper gives a brief overview of the MonetDB technology as it developed over the past two decades and the main r...

  17. MAT-DB - A database for nuclear energy related materials data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Over, H.H.

    2009-01-01

    The web-enabled materials database (Mat-DB) of JRC-IE has a long-term history in storing materials test data resulting from European and international research projects. The database structure and the user-guidance has bee permanently updated improved and optimized. The database is implemented in the secure ODIN portal: https://odin.jrc.ec.europa.eu of JRC-IE. This architecture guarantees fast access to confidential and public data and documentation which are stored in an inter-related document management database (DoMa). It is a part of JRC's nuclear knowledge management. Mat-DB hosts the whole pool of IAEA surveillance data of reactor pressure vessel materials from different nuclear power plants of the member states. Mat-DB contains also thousands of European GEN IV reactor systems related R and D materials data which are an important basis for the evaluating and extrapolating design data for candidate materials and setting up design rules covering high temperature exposure, irradiation and corrosion. Those data and rules would match also fusion related components. Mat-DB covers thermo-mechanical and thermo-physical properties data of engineering alloys at low, elevated and high temperatures for base materials and joints, including irradiated materials for nuclear fission and fusion applications, thermal barrier coated materials for gas turbines and properties of corroded materials. The corrosion part refers to weight gain/loss data of high temperature exposed engineering alloys and ceramic materials. For each test type the database structure reflects international test standards and recommendations. Mat-DB features an extensive library of evaluation programs for web-enabled assessment of uniaxial creep, fatigue, crack growth and high temperature corrosion properties. Evaluations can be performed after data retrieval or independently of Mat-DB by transferring other materials data in a given format to the programs. The fast evaluation processes help the user to

  18. The cognitive import of the narrative schema

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bundgaard, Peer

    2007-01-01

    principle of intelligibility. This is the reason why the narrative schema is by no means confined to the domain of the literary work of art. It is rather a major principle for the combination of partial significations in many other domains. The paper explores the role traditionally assigned to the narrative...... schema within continental semiotics, and through an interpretation of Heider & Simmel’s study on apparent behavior it establishes the cognitive import of the narrative schema and its origin in visual perception; finally it gives examples of the meaning organizing import of the narrative schema....

  19. MonetDB/X100 - A DBMS in the CPU cache

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Zukowski (Marcin); P.A. Boncz (Peter); N.J. Nes (Niels); S. Héman (Sándor)

    2005-01-01

    textabstractX100 is a new execution engine for the MonetDB system, that improves execution speed and overcomes its main memory limitation. It introduces the concept of in-cache vectorized processing that strikes a balance between the existing column-at-a-time MIL execution primitives of MonetDB and

  20. The limits of narrative: provocations for the medical humanities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, Angela

    2011-12-01

    This paper aims to (re)ignite debate about the role of narrative in the medical humanities. It begins with a critical review of the ways in which narrative has been mobilised by humanities and social science scholars to understand the experience of health and illness. I highlight seven dangers or blind spots in the dominant medical humanities approach to narrative, including the frequently unexamined assumption that all human beings are 'naturally narrative'. I then explore this assumption further through an analysis of philosopher Galen Strawson's influential article 'Against Narrativity'. Strawson rejects the descriptive claim that "human beings typically see or live or experience their lives as a narrative" and the normative claim that "a richly Narrative outlook is essential to a well-lived life, to true or full personhood". His work has been taken up across a range of disciplines, but its implications in the context of health and illness have not yet been sufficiently discussed. This article argues that 'Against Narrativity' can and should stimulate robust debate within the medical humanities regarding the limits of narrative, and concludes by discussing a range of possibilities for venturing 'beyond narrative'.

  1. A narrative analysis of helplessness in depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanheule, Stijn; Hauser, Stuart T

    2008-12-01

    The transcripts of semistructured clinical interviews with forty psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents were subjected to narrative analysis in an effort to map the logic of their explanations as they spontaneously talked about helplessness experiences, and to determine how helplessness is embedded in broader story lines. Three types of narrative composition were discerned, and are discussed by means of excerpts from the interviews. In a first and predominant type of narrative, a disturbing confrontation with another is pivotal: the other's intentions are obscure; this frightens the narrator, who does not know what to do. Helplessness arises as a direct result of not knowing how to manage the "unbearable riddle" of the other's intentions. In the second, more marginal type of narrative, helplessness is embedded in an account of emptiness and boredom. The protagonist relates enduring experiences of emptiness due to loss and the suffering consequent on it. In the third, also more marginal type of narrative, helplessness is framed in a context of failure: the protagonist adheres to strict standards, feels he or she has fallen short, and concludes that he or she is a failure. Only the first type of narrative is significantly related to the psychiatric diagnoses of mood disorder and major depression.

  2. [Narrative-based medicine and clinical knowledge].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Seiji

    2006-01-01

    Narrative Based Medicine (NBM) can be defined as follows; a) It views the patient's illness as an unfolding story within the wider story of the patient's life and life-world; b) It acknowledges the patient as the narrator of the story and the subject of the tale; c) It recognizes that all medical theories, hypothesis and pathophysiologies as socially constructed narratives and accepts the coexistence of multiple different narratives; d) It regards the emergence of new stories from dialogue and discourse between patients and healthcare professionals as part of the treatment. Because psychiatry is the only area of specialist medicine where talking and listening are explicitly understood to be therapeutic, NBM can be adopted an effective perspective and method in psychiatry.

  3. Analysis of neuron–astrocyte metabolic cooperation in the brain of db/db mice with cognitive decline using 13C NMR spectroscopy

    OpenAIRE

    Zheng, Hong; Zheng, Yongquan; Wang, Dan; Cai, Aimin; Lin, Qiuting; Zhao, Liangcai; Chen, Minjiang; Deng, Mingjie; Ye, Xinjian; Gao, Hongchang

    2016-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes has been linked to cognitive impairment, but its potential metabolic mechanism is still unclear. The present study aimed to explore neuron–astrocyte metabolic cooperation in the brain of diabetic (db/db, BKS.Cg-m+/+ Leprdb/J) mice with cognitive decline using 13C NMR technique in combination with intravenous [2-13C]-acetate and [3-13C]-lactate infusions. We found that the 13C-enrichment from [2-13C]-acetate into tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate, succinate, was significant...

  4. The Scope and Autonomy of Personal Narrative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingraham, Chris

    2017-01-01

    The work of Carol Berkenkotter and others who have expanded the realm of personal narrative studies over the past several decades would not have been possible without the pioneering efforts of those who first brought the study of narrative to nonliterary discourses. By revisiting what personal narratives were to these pioneers-working outward from…

  5. Bompiani, 1996. The narrator, Tommaso, informs th

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    available to him, but it is interrupted by yet another unforeseen event: an earthquake which buries him alive in the sotterraneo where he lives. The story, and with it, the manuscript Tommaso has been composing, ends with the death of the narrator: a triple ending, where writing, narration and narrato coincide. The narrator is ...

  6. Voice and Narrative in L1 Writing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krogh, Ellen; Piekut, Anke

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates issues of voice and narrative in L1 writing. Three branches of research are initial-ly discussed: research on narratives as resources for identity work, research on writer identity and voice as an essential aspect of identity, and research on Bildung in L1 writing. Subsequ...... training of voice and narratives as a resource for academic writing, and that the Bildung potential of L1 writing may be tied to this issue.......This paper investigates issues of voice and narrative in L1 writing. Three branches of research are initial-ly discussed: research on narratives as resources for identity work, research on writer identity and voice as an essential aspect of identity, and research on Bildung in L1 writing...... in lower secondary L1, she found that her previous writing strategies were not rewarded in upper secondary school. In the second empiri-cal study, two upper-secondary exam papers are investigated, with a focus on their approaches to exam genres and their use of narrative resources to address issues...

  7. Perspective taking in children's narratives about jealousy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldrich, Naomi J; Tenenbaum, Harriet R; Brooks, Patricia J; Harrison, Karine; Sines, Jennie

    2011-03-01

    This study explored relationships between perspective-taking, emotion understanding, and children's narrative abilities. Younger (23 5-/6-year-olds) and older (24 7-/8-year-olds) children generated fictional narratives, using a wordless picture book, about a frog experiencing jealousy. Children's emotion understanding was assessed through a standardized test of emotion comprehension and their ability to convey the jealousy theme of the story. Perspective-taking ability was assessed with respect to children's use of narrative evaluation (i.e., narrative coherence, mental state language, supplementary evaluative speech, use of subjective language, and placement of emotion expression). Older children scored higher than younger children on emotion comprehension and on understanding the story's complex emotional theme, including the ability to identify a rival. They were more advanced in perspective-taking abilities, and selectively used emotion expressions to highlight story episodes. Subjective perspective taking and narrative coherence were predictive of children's elaboration of the jealousy theme. Use of supplementary evaluative speech, in turn, was predictive of both subjective perspective taking and narrative coherence. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

  8. Same but Different: Space, Time and Narrative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bansel, Peter

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, I give an account of the ways in which narratives and identities change over space and time. I give an account of a mobile and changing human subject, one who does not simply express or represent her- or himself through narrative, but is constructed and reconstructed through narrative. I draw on Paul Ricoeur's concepts of "narrative…

  9. Narrative inquiry: a relational research methodology for medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clandinin, D Jean; Cave, Marie T; Berendonk, Charlotte

    2017-01-01

    Narrative research, an inclusive term for a range of methodologies, has rapidly become part of medical education scholarship. In this paper we identify narrative inquiry as a particular theoretical and methodological framework within narrative research and outline its characteristics. We briefly summarise how narrative research has been used in studying medical learners' identity making in medical education. We then turn to the uses of narrative inquiry in studying medical learners' professional identity making. With the turn to narrative inquiry, the shift is to thinking with stories instead of about stories. We highlight four challenges in engaging in narrative inquiry in medical education and point toward promising future research and practice possibilities. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

  10. Émotions et compréhension de narrations littéraires : des rapports si intrinsèquement liés

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie Roch-Veiras

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available En s’appuyant sur des recherches pluridisciplinaires effectuées en psychologie cognitive, en didactique de la littérature et en sciences du langage, cet article traite des émotions que les éléments d’un texte suscitent chez un lecteur apprenant une langue étrangère. Les émotions faisant partie du processus de compréhension, la finalité est qu’à partir d’une approche par les émotions de la compréhension des narrations littéraires, les apprenants acquièrent une compétence émotionnelle. About emotions and understanding of literary narratives Abstract: Based on multidisciplinary research conducted in cognitive psychology, teaching of literature and language sciences, this article studies the emotions that a text evokes in a learner in the process of understanding a foreign language. Emotions being part of the process of understanding, the aim is that, from an approach via the emotions of literary narratives, students acquire emotional skills.

  11. Frequency and determinants of residents' narrative feedback on the teaching performance of faculty: narratives in numbers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Leeuw, Renée M.; Overeem, Karlijn; Arah, Onyebuchi A.; Heineman, Maas Jan; Lombarts, Kiki M. J. M. H.

    2013-01-01

    Physicians involved in residency training often receive feedback from residents on their teaching. Research shows that learners value narrative feedback, but knowledge of the frequency and determinants of narrative feedback in teaching performance evaluation is lacking. This study aims to

  12. Winning the Battle but Losing the War? Narrative and Counter-Narratives Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Leuprecht

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Since 9/11, intelligence and security services have become particularly concerned about radical ideologies and have looked for ways on how to counter them. One of the strategies has been to develop a counter-narrative. Some authors, including those of this article, are concerned that, in the marketplace of ideas, the West is losing market-share.[1] Communication failures with the Muslim world were cited in a report by a U.S. Department of Defence Advisory Committee as early as 2004.[2] The puzzle this article explores is why, having recognized the problem early on, the data suggest that further ground has since been lost. We posit the problem as having to shift the discourse from one focusing on a single counter-narrative to one of tailoring communications to target specific audiences. The article traces methodological and empirical shortcomings that are at the root of the problem and builds on these findings to develop a model to strategize about counter-narratives.

  13. Cosmopolitan Narratives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bondebjerg, Ib

    universal dimensions of human life and cultural differences in a more and more mediatized global media culture. How do individuals and groups imagine each other in this new, global media culture, in what Appadurai (1996) has called a new post-national political world with an emerging diasporic public sphere......Cosmopolitan Narratives: Documentary Perspectives on Afghanistan Cosmopolitanism is a concept discussed in relation to globalization in contemporary societies by sociologists, anthropologists and media scholars (Beck 2006, Delanty 2006, Appadurai 1996). The concept indicates the dialectic between...... close others in our everyday life. But the media play an increasingly strong and important role in developing a cosmopolitan imaginary through narratives that bring us closer to the various distant, global others. Through migration those earlier distant others are also more and more mixed in our daily...

  14. Methodological Pluralism and Narrative Inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michie, Michael

    2013-01-01

    This paper considers how the integral theory model of Nancy Davis and Laurie Callihan might be enacted using a different qualitative methodology, in this case the narrative methodology. The focus of narrative research is shown to be on "what meaning is being made" rather than "what is happening here" (quadrant 2 rather than…

  15. Characterizing donation behavior from psychophysiological indices of narrative experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelly Anne Correa

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Research on narrative persuasion has yet to investigate whether this process influences behavior. The current study explored whether: 1 a narrative could persuade participants to donate to a charity, a prosocial, behavioral decision; 2 psychophysiological metrics can delineate the differences between donation/non-donation behaviors; and 3 donation behavior can be correlated with measures of psychophysiology, self-reported reactions to the narrative, and intrinsic characteristics. Participants (n = 49 completed personality/disposition questionnaires, viewed one of two versions of a narrative while EEG and ECG were recorded, completed a questionnaire regarding their reactions to the narrative, and were given an opportunity to donate to a charity related to the themes of the narrative. Results showed that 1 34.7% of participants donated; 2 psychophysiological metrics successfully delineated between donation behaviors and the effects of narrative version; and 3 psychophysiology and reactions to the narrative were better able to explain the variance (88% and 65%, respectively in the amount donated than all 3 metrics combined as well as any metric alone. These findings demonstrate the promise of narrative persuasion for influencing prosocial, behavioral decisions. Our results also illustrate the utility of the previously stated metrics for understanding and possibly even manipulating behaviors resulting from narrative persuasion.

  16. The Analysis of Narrative structure of Bad Az Payan novel by Fariba Vafi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teymoor Malmir

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Feriba Vafi is a hard working novelist of our time. Her first novel was ‘My bird’ has been worried to alleviate the plight of women in the society. In her last novel by the name of ‘bad az payan’ she deals with women issue continuously. But to intensify the effective ness of the story in the community and proper to time condition besides the choice of subject, she has used plot, signs and particular way of telling narrative. In this paper based on the account of Todorov analyzes we study the thematic link, plot and the way of telling narrative. The actions and reactions of characters in the novel ‘bad az payan’ represent an attempt, consciously or unconsciously, more or less, to recover and to reconstruct women’s identity. The plot reflectively addresses the social and partly the familial problems of the community of women. In this novel, the journey leitmotif serves to portray a departure to independence, knowledge and a better life; yet the problems persist and the journey continues, a journey which is associated with solitude and disorderliness. Notwithstanding, the journey is an ‘evasion, as the journey of the characters of the novel is represented as an evasion, in one way or another. Men and women set out the journey hoping to find a better situation, leaving a self-made bitter situation. The narration of Shahrzad in ‘hezar-o yek shab’ has dramatically influenced this novel in terms of such elements of narration as the use of subplots, multiple narrators, which serve to highlight narration as opposed to verbose ‘story-telling’ with which men identify women. That is to say, the type of narration invoked by women is distinct from that of men; this distinction, on the one hand, represents an old style which has bolstered the retention and survival of women, on the other, it represents a mockery towards the masculine world. It, therefore, implies that the reason why women have adopted a narrative discourse is

  17. Update History of This Database - dbQSNP | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available switchLanguage; BLAST Search Image Search Home About Archive Update History Data ...List Contact us dbQSNP Update History of This Database Date Update contents 2017/02/16 dbQSNP English archiv...e Description Download License Update History of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us Update History of This Database - dbQSNP | LSDB Archive ... ...e site is opened. 2002/10/23 dbQSNP (http://qsnp.gen.kyushu-u.ac.jp/) is opened. About This Database Databas

  18. Drug side effect extraction from clinical narratives of psychiatry and psychology patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sohn, Sunghwan; Kocher, Jean-Pierre A; Chute, Christopher G; Savova, Guergana K

    2011-12-01

    To extract physician-asserted drug side effects from electronic medical record clinical narratives. Pattern matching rules were manually developed through examining keywords and expression patterns of side effects to discover an individual side effect and causative drug relationship. A combination of machine learning (C4.5) using side effect keyword features and pattern matching rules was used to extract sentences that contain side effect and causative drug pairs, enabling the system to discover most side effect occurrences. Our system was implemented as a module within the clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System. The system was tested in the domain of psychiatry and psychology. The rule-based system extracting side effects and causative drugs produced an F score of 0.80 (0.55 excluding allergy section). The hybrid system identifying side effect sentences had an F score of 0.75 (0.56 excluding allergy section) but covered more side effect and causative drug pairs than individual side effect extraction. The rule-based system was able to identify most side effects expressed by clear indication words. More sophisticated semantic processing is required to handle complex side effect descriptions in the narrative. We demonstrated that our system can be trained to identify sentences with complex side effect descriptions that can be submitted to a human expert for further abstraction. Our system was able to extract most physician-asserted drug side effects. It can be used in either an automated mode for side effect extraction or semi-automated mode to identify side effect sentences that can significantly simplify abstraction by a human expert.

  19. HIVsirDB: a database of HIV inhibiting siRNAs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atul Tyagi

    Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV is responsible for millions of deaths every year. The current treatment involves the use of multiple antiretroviral agents that may harm patients due to their toxic nature. RNA interference (RNAi is a potent candidate for the future treatment of HIV, uses short interfering RNA (siRNA/shRNA for silencing HIV genes. In this study, attempts have been made to create a database HIVsirDB of siRNAs responsible for silencing HIV genes.HIVsirDB is a manually curated database of HIV inhibiting siRNAs that provides comprehensive information about each siRNA or shRNA. Information was collected and compiled from literature and public resources. This database contains around 750 siRNAs that includes 75 partially complementary siRNAs differing by one or more bases with the target sites and over 100 escape mutant sequences. HIVsirDB structure contains sixteen fields including siRNA sequence, HIV strain, targeted genome region, efficacy and conservation of target sequences. In order to facilitate user, many tools have been integrated in this database that includes; i siRNAmap for mapping siRNAs on target sequence, ii HIVsirblast for BLAST search against database, iii siRNAalign for aligning siRNAs.HIVsirDB is a freely accessible database of siRNAs which can silence or degrade HIV genes. It covers 26 types of HIV strains and 28 cell types. This database will be very useful for developing models for predicting efficacy of HIV inhibiting siRNAs. In summary this is a useful resource for researchers working in the field of siRNA based HIV therapy. HIVsirDB database is accessible at http://crdd.osdd.net/raghava/hivsir/.

  20. The Development of the TPR-DB as Grounded Theory Method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carl, Michael; Schaeffer, Moritz

    2018-01-01

    and refine the emerging concepts and categories and to validate the developing theories, the TPR-DB has been extended with further translation studies in different languages and translation modes. In this respect, it shares many features with Grounded Theory Method. This method was discovered in 1967...... and used in qualitative research in social science ad many other research areas. We analyze the TPR-DB development as a Grounded Theory Method....... on quantitative assessment of well-defined research questions on cognitive processes in human translation production, the integration of the data into the TPR-DB allowed for broader qualitative and exploratory research which has led to new codes, categories and research themes. In a constant effort to develop...

  1. Narrative self-constitution and vulnerability to co-authoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, Doug

    2016-02-01

    All people are vulnerable to having their self-concepts shaped by others. This article investigates that vulnerability using a theory of narrative self-constitution. According to narrative self-constitution, people depend on others to develop and maintain skills of self-narration and they are vulnerable to having the content of their self-narratives co-authored by others. This theoretical framework highlights how vulnerability to co-authoring is essential to developing a self-narrative and, thus, the possibility of autonomy. However, this vulnerability equally entails that co-authors can undermine autonomy by contributing disvalued content to the agent's self-narrative and undermining her authorial skills. I illustrate these processes with the first-hand reports of several women who survived sexual abuse as children. Their narratives of survival and healing reveal the challenges involved in (re)developing the skills required to manage vulnerability to co-authoring and how others can help in this process. Finally, I discuss some of the implications of co-authoring for the healthcare professional and the therapeutic relationship.

  2. Narrative and natural history in the eighteenth century.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrall, Mary

    2017-04-01

    In the eighteenth century, natural histories of animals incorporated narratives about animal behaviour and narratives of discovery and experimentation. Naturalists used first-person accounts to link the stories of their scientific investigations to the stories of the animal lives they were studying. Understanding nature depended on narratives that shifted back and forth in any given text between animal and human, and between individual cases and generalizations about species. This paper explores the uses of narrative through examples from the work of René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur and Abraham Trembley. In all cases, narrative took the genre of natural history well beyond straightforward description and classification. Prose accounts of insect actions and mechanisms worked in tandem with visual narratives embedded in the accompanying illustrations, where artists developed strategies for representing sequences of minute changes over time. By throwing into relief the narrative sections of natural histories, the examples considered here expose the role played by these tales of encounters with the insect world in the making of natural historical knowledge. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Mutinous Fiction: Narrative and Illustrative Metalepsis in Three Postmodern Picturebooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pantaleo, Sylvia

    2010-01-01

    Narrative embedding is a common narrative structural device. Genette (1980, 1988) distinguished among various diegetic levels to explain the discrete narrative levels in embedded narratives and he defined metalepsis as the deliberate disturbing or breaking of narrative boundaries. Metalepsis, described by Malina (2002) as a mutinous narrative…

  4. Ontology of postmodern theory of story and narration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksić Slađana M.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A story is one of the forms of human communication, and one of the oldest ways of understanding the world and exchanging knowledge. The story is told through words, images and movement, and therefore the phenomenon of narration cannot be limited to verbal expression only. One can narrate about real or imaginary events in order to convey a message, provide knowledge or entertainment, and also to create an art form as well as achieve aesthetic communication. The process by means of which the inner world is built within a literary work is certainly the story or narrative. Modern theory of narration enumerates a number of forms of narration indifferent media: in folklore and art, oral or written linguistic narrative form, in pantomime, picture, vitrage, and film. This paper discusses various contemporary narratological ideas.

  5. Differential Proteomic Analysis of the Pancreas of Diabetic db/db Mice Reveals the Proteins Involved in the Development of Complications of Diabetes Mellitus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoriano Pérez-Vázquez

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemia and insulin-resistance. Diabetes results from pancreatic inability to secrete the insulin needed to overcome this resistance. We analyzed the protein profile from the pancreas of ten-week old diabetic db/db and wild type mice through proteomics. Pancreatic proteins were separated in two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE and significant changes in db/db mice respect to wild type mice were observed in 27 proteins. Twenty five proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI time-of-flight (TOF and their interactions were analyzed using search tool for the retrieval of interacting genes/proteins (STRING and database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID. Some of these proteins were Pancreatic α-amylase, Cytochrome b5, Lithostathine-1, Lithostathine-2, Chymotrypsinogen B, Peroxiredoxin-4, Aspartyl aminopeptidase, Endoplasmin, and others, which are involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins, as well as in oxidative stress, and inflammation. Remarkably, these are mostly endoplasmic reticulum proteins related to peptidase activity, i.e., they are involved in proteolysis, glucose catabolism and in the tumor necrosis factor-mediated signaling pathway. These results suggest mechanisms for insulin resistance, and the chronic inflammatory state observed in diabetes.

  6. PharmDB-K: Integrated Bio-Pharmacological Network Database for Traditional Korean Medicine.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ji-Hyun Lee

    Full Text Available Despite the growing attention given to Traditional Medicine (TM worldwide, there is no well-known, publicly available, integrated bio-pharmacological Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM database for researchers in drug discovery. In this study, we have constructed PharmDB-K, which offers comprehensive information relating to TKM-associated drugs (compound, disease indication, and protein relationships. To explore the underlying molecular interaction of TKM, we integrated fourteen different databases, six Pharmacopoeias, and literature, and established a massive bio-pharmacological network for TKM and experimentally validated some cases predicted from the PharmDB-K analyses. Currently, PharmDB-K contains information about 262 TKMs, 7,815 drugs, 3,721 diseases, 32,373 proteins, and 1,887 side effects. One of the unique sets of information in PharmDB-K includes 400 indicator compounds used for standardization of herbal medicine. Furthermore, we are operating PharmDB-K via phExplorer (a network visualization software and BioMart (a data federation framework for convenient search and analysis of the TKM network. Database URL: http://pharmdb-k.org, http://biomart.i-pharm.org.

  7. Narrative environments and the capacity of disability narratives to motivate leisure-time physical activity among individuals with spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perrier, Marie-Josée; Smith, Brett M; Latimer-Cheung, Amy E

    2013-01-01

    Few individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) engage in the recommended amount of leisure time physical activity (LTPA). Yet little is known about how, and why, active individuals engage in specific types of LTPA. This study explored how a unique narrative environment and disability narratives motivated individuals with SCI to engage in LTPA. Fourteen individuals with SCI from a physical activity program participated in approximately hour-long interviews. Interviews were then subjected to a narrative analysis. Individuals who used a restitution narrative (n = 6) were motivated to engage in functional LTPA because of the desire to maintain the body and restore the past self. The individual who used the chaos narrative (n = 1) preferred solitary LTPA as exposure to others with SCI was a constant reminder of the lost, pre-injury self. Individuals who used a quest narrative (n = 7) explored LTPA options that fit with their interests; these individuals were open to new types of LTPA, such as sport and outdoor recreation. The plot of three disability narratives can all motivate the pursuit of LTPA; however, not all types of LTPA are seen as equal. LTPA interventions can be enhanced through the lessons learned from this unique type of environment. Despite individuals' views about their disability, they can still be motivated to engage in routine LTPA. Different theoretical determinants, such as health or social benefits, hold different relevance for LTPA among individuals with differing disability narratives. The environment provided by practitioners can therefore elicit some stories of SCI while stifling others. Open narrative environment will attract individuals to listen and maintain involvement in LTPA.

  8. Dicty_cDB: Contig-U04605-1 [Dicty_cDB

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available . 46 2.2 1 ( DB766622 ) Apis mellifera head cDNA, RIKEN full-length enric... 46 2.2 1 ( FG291142 ) 1108793330728 New World... Screwworm Egg 9261 ESTs C... 46 2.2 1 ( FG290464 ) 1108793321772 New World... Screwworm Egg 9261 ESTs C... 46 2.2 1 ( FG288754 ) 1108793276247 New World Screwworm Egg 9261 ESTs ...C... 46 2.2 1 ( FG285961 ) 1108770710727 New World Screwworm Egg 9261 ESTs C... 46 2.2 1 ( CT030663 ) Mouse ..._142_D08_3APR2008_058 BN18DYSC Brassic... 44 8.7 1 ( FG286796 ) 1108770726415 New World

  9. Narrative Identity of Adolescents and Family Functioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cierpka Anna

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents research conducted within the narrative psychology paradigm. Its main purpose was to explore the relationships between features of adolescents’ identity narratives and their assessments of family functioning and themselves as family members. The choice of subject was motivated by current reports on identity formation difficulties in adolescence. Adolescents’ narratives were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis. Associations between specific aspects of self-narratives and participants’ perceptions of how their families functioned and how they functioned in the family system were evaluated. The results confirm the hypothesized relationships between the features of adolescents’ narratives and evaluations of their families and self-assessments of their own functioning in those families. Multi-thematic, content-rich and positively evaluated self-narratives are associated with positive assessments of selected aspects of family functioning and adolescents’ own functioning within the family. The following aspects of family assessment are significant: affective expression, level of emotional involvement in the family, level of control, family role performance and communication. Important factors in the self-assessment were: sense of competence in family role performance, assessment of one’s communication, behavior control and affective expression.

  10. Narrative in young children’s digital art-making

    OpenAIRE

    Sakr, Mona; Connelly, Vince; Wild, Mary

    2016-01-01

    Digital technologies have material and social properties that have the potential to create new opportunities for children’s expressive arts practices. The presence and development of oral narratives in young children’s visual art-making on paper has been noted in previous research, but little is known about the narratives children create when they engage in digital art-making. How do young children construct narratives during digital art-making? How do the features of these narratives relate ...

  11. Den narrative tilgang

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bo, Inger Glavind

    2016-01-01

    I kapitlet gennemgås en socialkonstruktivistisk forståelse af narrativer. I kapitlet vil jeg gennemgå centrale teoretiske pointer, der samlet set er grundlæggende for en social konstruktivistisk forståelse af narrativer for herved at udfolde forståelsen af den narrative tilgang og desuden...... tydeliggøre, hvordan tilgangen er forbundet med en særlig forståelse af identitetsskabelse. Der er tale om pointer der almindeligvis forbindes med ”små fortællinger” i form af længere identitetsfortællinger og narrative interviews. Kapitlet gennemgår således centrale inspirationskilder og teoretiske pointer...

  12. AtomDB Progress Report: Atomic data and new models for X-ray spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Randall K.; Foster, Adam; Brickhouse, Nancy S.; Stancil, Phillip C.; Cumbee, Renata; Mullen, Patrick Dean; AtomDB Team

    2018-06-01

    The AtomDB project collects atomic data from both theoretical and observational/experimental sources, providing both a convenient interface (http://www.atomdb.org/Webguide/webguide.php) as well as providing input to spectral models for many types of astrophysical X-ray plasmas. We have released several updates to AtomDB in response to the Hitomi data, including new data for the Fe K complex, and have expanded the range of models available in AtomDB to include the Kronos charge exchange models from Mullen at al. (2016, ApJS, 224, 2). Combined with the previous AtomDB charge exchange model (http://www.atomdb.org/CX/), these data enable a velocity-dependent model for X-ray and EUV charge exchange spectra. We also present a new Kappa-distribution spectral model, enabling plasmas with non-Maxwellian electron distributions to be modeled with AtomDB. Tools are provided within pyAtomDB to explore and exploit these new plasma models. This presentation will review these enhancements and describe plans for the new few years of database and code development in preparation for XARM, Athena, and (hopefully) Arcus.

  13. Writing autobiographical narratives increases political conservatism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammers, J.; Proulx, T.

    2013-01-01

    Two experiments show that writing chronological autobiographical narratives increases political conservatism, defined as an ideology of resistance to social change. When writing chronological autobiographical narratives, we hypothesized that people would re-experience the events of their life in a

  14. Child, parent, and parent-child emotion narratives: implications for developmental psychopathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppenheim, David

    2006-01-01

    Studies using narratives with children and parents offer ways to study affective meaning-making processes that are central in many theories of developmental psychopathology. This paper reviews theory regarding affective meaning making, and argues that narratives are particularly suited to examine such processes. The review of narrative studies and methods is organized into three sections according to the focus on child, parent, and parent-child narratives. Within each focus three levels of analysis are considered: (a) narrative organization and coherence, (b) narrative content, and (c) the behavior/interactions of the narrator(s). The implications of this research for developmental psychopathology and clinical work are discussed with an emphasis on parent-child jointly constructed narratives as the meeting point of individual child and parent narratives.

  15. The Narrative Aspect of Scenario Building

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Lauge Baungaard

    2008-01-01

    The application of narrative scenarios in engineering or socio-technical systems provides an important link between general ideas and specification of technical system requirements. The chapter explores how the narrative approach can enrich the scenario 'skeleton. In addition, criteria are sugges...

  16. The quality and diagnostic value of open narratives in verbal autopsy: a mixed-methods analysis of partnered interviews from Malawi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. King

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Verbal autopsy (VA, the process of interviewing a deceased’s family or caregiver about signs and symptoms leading up to death, employs tools that ask a series of closed questions and can include an open narrative where respondents give an unprompted account of events preceding death. The extent to which an individual interviewer, who generally does not interpret the data, affects the quality of this data, and therefore the assigned cause of death, is poorly documented. We aimed to examine inter-interviewer reliability of open narrative and closed question data gathered during VA interviews. Methods During the introduction of VA data collection, as part of a larger study in Mchinji district, Malawi, we conducted partner interviews whereby two interviewers independently recorded open narrative and closed questions during the same interview. Closed questions were collected using a smartphone application (mobile-InterVA and open narratives using pen and paper. We used mixed methods of analysis to evaluate the differences between recorded responses to open narratives and closed questions, causes of death assigned, and additional information gathered by open narrative. Results Eighteen partner interviews were conducted, with complete data for 11 pairs. Comparing closed questions between interviewers, the median number of differences was 1 (IQR: 0.5–3.5 of an average 65 answered; mean inter-interviewer concordance was 92 % (IQR: 92–99 %. Discrepancies in open narratives were summarized in five categories: demographics, history and care-seeking, diagnoses and symptoms, treatment and cultural. Most discrepancies were seen in the reporting of diagnoses and symptoms (e.g., malaria diagnosis; only one pair demonstrated no clear differences. The average number of clinical symptoms reported was 9 in open narratives and 20 in the closed questions. Open narratives contained additional information on health seeking and social issues

  17. Career Paths in Educational Leadership: Examining Principals' Narratives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parylo, Oksana; Zepeda, Sally J.; Bengtson, Ed

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative study analyzes the career path narratives of active principals. Structural narrative analysis was supplemented with sociolinguistic theory and thematic narrative analysis to discern the similarities and differences, as well as the patterns in the language used by participating principals. Thematic analysis found four major themes…

  18. Personal Narratives, Well-Being, and Gender in Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohanek, Jennifer G.; Fivush, Robyn

    2010-01-01

    Relations between narratives, especially the inclusion of internal state language within narratives, and well-being have been found in adults. However, research with adolescents has been sparse and the findings inconsistent. We examined gender differences in adolescents' personal autobiographical narratives as well as relations between internal…

  19. Narrative Construction, Social Perceptions, and the Situation Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costabile, Kristi A

    2016-05-01

    The present investigation examined how three salient features of narrative thinking (situation model construction, linguistic concreteness, and perspective-taking) influenced the social inference process. Results of four experiments indicated that compared with those given other objectives, perceivers given narrative objectives were: (a) more likely to make situation rather than trait attributions for observed behaviors (Experiment 1), (b) less likely to make implicit trait inferences (Experiment 2), and (c) less likely to rely on behavior valence when making evaluative judgments (Experiment 4). Linguistic analyses indicated that narrative construction consistently entailed the creation of situation models of events and linguistic concreteness, but only situation model creation mediated the relationship between narrative and inferences. Experiment 3 confirmed the mediating role of situation models: Perceivers with narrative objectives made trait inferences only when behaviors were inconsistent with contextual information. The role of these core narrative features on social perceptions is discussed. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  20. Extension agents and conflict narratives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bond, Jennifer Lauren

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This work investigated the narratives of development extensionists in relation to natural resource conflict, in order to understand the competing discourses surrounding the wicked problems of natural resource management in Laikipia County, Kenya. Methodology: Q methodology was used...... to elicit the conflict narratives present among extension professionals. A concourse of 221 statements were devised from interviews and group discussions with key informants and a final sample of 49 statements was used for the sorting. Thirteen Q-sorts were undertaken with among rural extension...... professionals from government, non-government, faith-based and private organizations. Findings: Four factors were elicited from the data, labelled—A: ‘Improved Leadership’; B: ‘Resource-centred conflict’; C: ‘Improved Governance’; and D: ‘Improved Management’. Practical Implications: Narratives of neo...

  1. Narrative Inquiry With Activity Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa C. Yamagata-Lynch

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this article is to introduce activity systems as a methodological tool in narrative inquiry to gain a holistic understanding of socially shared experiences from an examination of documents. The research question was how can qualitative researchers use activity systems as a tool for engaging in narrative inquiry of socially shared experiences to uncover new meanings by constructing a story? In this article, we share a sample analysis of our experience relying on documents and media as a form of narrative to begin to understand the socially shared human activity associated with net neutrality and its potential impact on U.S. residents. We end this article with reflections of lessons learned from our activity systems guided story construction process.

  2. Narrative Absence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaur, Ravinder

    2008-01-01

    examples of successful refugee resettlement and national self-assertion. Within the master narrative of Partition migration history, however, the experiences of forced movement and resettlement suffered by the ‘Untouchables' are obscured. Popular accounts of violence, forced movement and suffering...

  3. Ortholog - MicrobeDB.jp | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available List Contact us MicrobeDB.jp Ortholog Data detail Data name Ortholog DOI 10.18908/lsdba.nbdc01181-010.V002 V...814 triples - About This Database Database Description Download License Update History of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us Ortholog - MicrobeDB.jp | LSDB Archive ...

  4. MonetDB: Two Decades of Research in Column-oriented Database Architectures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S. Idreos (Stratos); F.E. Groffen (Fabian); N.J. Nes (Niels); S. Manegold (Stefan); K.S. Mullender (Sjoerd); M.L. Kersten (Martin)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractMonetDB is a state-of-the-art open-source column-store database management system targeting applications in need for analytics over large collections of data. MonetDB is actively used nowadays in health care, in telecommunications as well as in scientific databases and in data management

  5. MonetDB: Two Decades of Research in Column-oriented Database Architectures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Idreos, S.; Groffen, F.; Nes, N.; Manegold, S.; Mullender, S.; Kersten, M.

    2012-01-01

    MonetDB is a state-of-the-art open-source column-store database management system targeting applications in need for analytics over large collections of data. MonetDB is actively used nowadays in health care, in telecommunications as well as in scientific databases and in data management research,

  6. 50 tips and tricks for MongoDB developers

    CERN Document Server

    Chodorow, Kristina

    2011-01-01

    Getting started with MongoDB is easy, but once you begin building applications with it, you'll face some complex issues. What are the tradeoffs between normalized and denormalized data? How do you handle replica set failure and failover? This collection of MongoDB tips, tricks, and hacks helps you resolve issues with everything from application design and implementation to data safety and monitoring. You get specific guidance in five topic areas directly from engineers at 10gen, the company that develops and supports this open source database: Application Design Tips: What to keep in mind wh

  7. Development of degradation D/B system for the containment building of NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, M. S.; Song, Y. C.; Yim, J. H.; Kim, D. K.; Lee, J. S.

    2001-01-01

    The Degradation D/B System is developed for digitalizing the history of the Containment building of nuclear power plant. It have 6 D/B which are consist of General, Design drawing, Material, Construction, ISI·SIT·ILRT D/B. For efficient operation of the system, utilities are also developed such as the aging and repair data management program for concrete and steel structures, the data search engine with various options helping users find what they want, and the data exchange program restoring and updating input data

  8. 7 CFR 3402.14 - Budget and budget narrative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Budget and budget narrative. 3402.14 Section 3402.14... GRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE FELLOWSHIP GRANTS PROGRAM Preparation of an Application § 3402.14 Budget and budget narrative. Applicants must prepare the Budget, Form CSREES-2004, and a budget narrative...

  9. Narrative intelligence and pedagogical success in english

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pishghadam, Reza

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study intends to investigate the relationship between English as a Foreign Language (EFL teachers’ narrative intelligence and their pedagogical success. Eighty EFL teachers along with 673 EFL learners participated in this study. Narrative Intelligence Scale (NIS and the Characteristics of the Successful Teachers Questionnaire (CSTQ were utilized to gather data in this study. The results revealed that there exists a significant association between EFL teachers’ pedagogical success and their narrative intelligence. Moreover, Genre-ation, among the subscales of narrative intelligence, was found to be the best predictor of teacher success. Finally, the results were discussed and pedagogical implications were provided in the context of language learning and teaching

  10. The IRPVM-DB database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davies, L.M.; Gillemot, F.; Yanko, L.; Lyssakov, V.

    1997-01-01

    The IRPVM-DB (International Reactor Pressure Vessel Material Database) initiated by the IAEA IWG LMNPP is going to collect the available surveillance and research data world-wide on RPV material ageing. This paper presents the purpose of the database; it summarizes the type and the relationship of data included; it gives information about the data access and protection; and finally, it summarizes the state of art of the database. (author). 1 ref., 2 figs

  11. The IRPVM-DB database

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davies, L M [Davies Consultants, Oxford (United Kingdom); Gillemot, F [Atomic Energy Research Inst., Budapest (Hungary); Yanko, L [Minatom (Russian Federation); Lyssakov, V [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

    1997-09-01

    The IRPVM-DB (International Reactor Pressure Vessel Material Database) initiated by the IAEA IWG LMNPP is going to collect the available surveillance and research data world-wide on RPV material ageing. This paper presents the purpose of the database; it summarizes the type and the relationship of data included; it gives information about the data access and protection; and finally, it summarizes the state of art of the database. (author). 1 ref., 2 figs.

  12. Poetics of Narrative in Antoine Volodine’s Novels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoriya Chub

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Antoine Volodine is reputed for inventing new forms in the French literature at the turn of XX–XXI centuries. Our study is dedicated to Volodine’s narrative structure, i.e. the stratification of narrative instances, the depersonalization of narrator and characters, the metanarrativization of story. Antoine Volodine creates a fictional world of uncertain characters floating between life and death and telling their stories in polyphonic voices. First, our study revealed the lack of demarcation between “I” and “we” and the blend of narrative levels created by ambivalent voices merging into a single “post-exotic horn”. Second, we discovered that metatextual comments and narrative figures of “mise en abyme” and metalepsis help to “alienate” the text and dramatize the relations between the author and readers. As a result, a specific “textual fiction” is being created to embody philosophical problems in Volodine’s meta-utopic novels. Finally, the research determined a set of poetical dominants typical for Volodine’s novels: the interference of homo- and heterodiegetic narrator instances, the uncertain nature of narrators and characters, the polyphonic character of voices as well as metatextual and transgressive structures. It was concluded that the revealed poetical dominants are not only a part of the literary game, but a specific way to represent the speech act. Antoine Volodine’s multilevel narrators share common mental pictures that show the experience of defeat, marginalization and imprisonment. The specific narrative structure helps the writer to create the effect of ambiguity and vagueness, adds a bit of doubt in the act of perception of his novels, updates the metaphysical perspective of the postmodern anti-utopia.

  13. DB2 9 for zOS Database Administration Certification Study Guide

    CERN Document Server

    Lawson, Susan

    2008-01-01

    In order to become an IBM Certified Database Administrator - DB2 9 DBA for z/OS, you must pass two exams: DB2 9 Fundamentals Exam (Exam 730), and DB2 9 Database Administrator for z/OS (Exam 732)-the primary focus focus of this book. Written by two members of the team who participated in the actual writing of the exam, this specialized study guide covers every topic that you will need to know to pass Exam 732, including database design and implementation, operation and recovery, security and auditing, performance, as well as installation and migration/upgrade. But that is only the beginning.

  14. Intentionality and Narrativity in Phenomenological Psychological ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Christopher R Stones

    2014-10-02

    Oct 2, 2014 ... ... analysis. Likewise, it is argued that Ricoeur's work on narrativity and narrative ... method of Husserl's static phenomenological analysis .... the possibility of description in a qualitative research ... theoretical perspective, assumption, hypothesis, and so on” .... every case the noetic constitution of the object is.

  15. Metabolite signal identification in accurate mass metabolomics data with MZedDB, an interactive m/z annotation tool utilising predicted ionisation behaviour 'rules'

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Snowdon Stuart

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Metabolomics experiments using Mass Spectrometry (MS technology measure the mass to charge ratio (m/z and intensity of ionised molecules in crude extracts of complex biological samples to generate high dimensional metabolite 'fingerprint' or metabolite 'profile' data. High resolution MS instruments perform routinely with a mass accuracy of Results Metabolite 'structures' harvested from publicly accessible databases were converted into a common format to generate a comprehensive archive in MZedDB. 'Rules' were derived from chemical information that allowed MZedDB to generate a list of adducts and neutral loss fragments putatively able to form for each structure and calculate, on the fly, the exact molecular weight of every potential ionisation product to provide targets for annotation searches based on accurate mass. We demonstrate that data matrices representing populations of ionisation products generated from different biological matrices contain a large proportion (sometimes > 50% of molecular isotopes, salt adducts and neutral loss fragments. Correlation analysis of ESI-MS data features confirmed the predicted relationships of m/z signals. An integrated isotope enumerator in MZedDB allowed verification of exact isotopic pattern distributions to corroborate experimental data. Conclusion We conclude that although ultra-high accurate mass instruments provide major insight into the chemical diversity of biological extracts, the facile annotation of a large proportion of signals is not possible by simple, automated query of current databases using computed molecular formulae. Parameterising MZedDB to take into account predicted ionisation behaviour and the biological source of any sample improves greatly both the frequency and accuracy of potential annotation 'hits' in ESI-MS data.

  16. Narrative Accounting Practices in Indonesia Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inten Meutia

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to reveal creative accounting practices in the form of narrative accounting occuring in companies in Indonesia. Using content analysis, this research analyzed the management discussion and analysis section in the annual report on the group of companies whose performance had increased and declined in several companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. This research finds that the narrative accounting practices are applied in these companies. The four methods of accounting narratives are found in both groups of companies. There are stressing the positive and downplaying the negative, baffling the readers, differential reporting, and attribution.

  17. CerealsDB 3.0: expansion of resources and data integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, Paul A; Winfield, Mark O; Barker, Gary L A; Tyrrell, Simon; Bian, Xingdong; Allen, Alexandra M; Burridge, Amanda; Coghill, Jane A; Waterfall, Christy; Caccamo, Mario; Davey, Robert P; Edwards, Keith J

    2016-06-24

    The increase in human populations around the world has put pressure on resources, and as a consequence food security has become an important challenge for the 21st century. Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the most important crops in human and livestock diets, and the development of wheat varieties that produce higher yields, combined with increased resistance to pests and resilience to changes in climate, has meant that wheat breeding has become an important focus of scientific research. In an attempt to facilitate these improvements in wheat, plant breeders have employed molecular tools to help them identify genes for important agronomic traits that can be bred into new varieties. Modern molecular techniques have ensured that the rapid and inexpensive characterisation of SNP markers and their validation with modern genotyping methods has produced a valuable resource that can be used in marker assisted selection. CerealsDB was created as a means of quickly disseminating this information to breeders and researchers around the globe. CerealsDB version 3.0 is an online resource that contains a wide range of genomic datasets for wheat that will assist plant breeders and scientists to select the most appropriate markers for use in marker assisted selection. CerealsDB includes a database which currently contains in excess of a million putative varietal SNPs, of which several hundreds of thousands have been experimentally validated. In addition, CerealsDB also contains new data on functional SNPs predicted to have a major effect on protein function and we have constructed a web service to encourage data integration and high-throughput programmatic access. CerealsDB is an open access website that hosts information on SNPs that are considered useful for both plant breeders and research scientists. The recent inclusion of web services designed to federate genomic data resources allows the information on CerealsDB to be more fully integrated with the WheatIS network and

  18. Moving Picture, Lying Image: Unreliable Cinematic Narratives

    OpenAIRE

    Csönge Tamás

    2015-01-01

    By coining the term “unreliable narrator” Wayne Booth hypothesized another agent in his model besides the author, the implicit author, to explain the double coding of narratives where a distorted view of reality and the exposure of this distortion are presented simultaneously. The article deals with the applicability of the concept in visual narratives. Since unreliability is traditionally considered to be intertwined with first person narratives, it works through subjective mediators. Accord...

  19. Narrative transportation and product involvement : how narrativity factors are used to enchance transportive experience in advertising for high vs. low involvement products

    OpenAIRE

    Phusapan, Panida

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines and presents how narrativity factors are used to enhance consumers‟ transportive experience when advertising for high and low involvement products. It specifically looks at processing experiences among Thai online consumers when viewing TV commercials available on a YouTube channel. The paper brings the theory of product involvement into a field of narrative transportation. Results show that narrativity factors should be used with the right balance across all narrativity l...

  20. Attachment Narratives in Refugee Children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    De Haene, L.; Dalgård, Nina Thorup; Montgomery, E.

    2013-01-01

    J Trauma Stress. 2013 Jun;26(3):413-7. doi: 10.1002/jts.21820. Attachment narratives in refugee children: interrater reliability and qualitative analysis in pilot findings from a two-site study.......J Trauma Stress. 2013 Jun;26(3):413-7. doi: 10.1002/jts.21820. Attachment narratives in refugee children: interrater reliability and qualitative analysis in pilot findings from a two-site study....

  1. Flux Density through Guides with Microstructured Twisted Clad DB Medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Baqir

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the study of flux density through a newly proposed twisted clad guide containing DB medium. The inner core and the outer clad sections are usual dielectrics, and the introduced twisted windings at the core-clad interface are treated under DB boundary conditions. The pitch angle of twist is supposed to greatly contribute towards the control over the dispersion characteristics of the guide. The eigenvalue equation for the guiding structure is deduced, and the analytical investigations are made to explore the propagation patterns of flux densities corresponding to the sustained low-order hybrid modes under the situation of varying pitch angles. The emphasis has been put on the effects due to the DB twisted pitch on the propagation of energy flux density through the guide.

  2. A Narratable Self as Addressed by Human Rights

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adami, Rebecca

    2017-01-01

    The paper extends the critique in earlier research of human rights as exclusive of otherness and difference by introducing the work of Adriana Cavarero (2000) on a "narratable self." Hence, the formation of human rights is thus about the relations between different narratable selves, not just Western ones. A narrative learning, drawing…

  3. Dicty_cDB: Contig-U16487-1 [Dicty_cDB

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 2 ( DW406563 ) EST000984 Trichophyton rubrum cDNA library Tricho... 72 1e-17 4 ( FL496835 ) Mg_Nor01_07E06 Nor01 Myti... stress library Fra... 101 6e-18 3 ( DB668091 ) Saccharomyces cerevisiae mRNA, clon...isia annua normalized leaf... 62 2e-15 4 ( DW680253 ) EST003734 Trichophyton rubrum cDNA library 0 Tric... 7...R946874 ) EST1138413 Aquilegia cDNA library Aquilegia formo... 66 5e-10 2 ( FC787763 ) CBGC17953.fwd CBGC Lotti...:VS... 293 9e-75 1 ( DT758323 ) EST1192172 Aquilegia cDNA library Aquilegia formo

  4. Download - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available e Description Download License Update History of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us Download - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive ... ...List Contact us PGDBj - Ortholog DB Download First of all, please read the license of this database. Data na...switchLanguage; BLAST Search Image Search Home About Archive Update History Data

  5. The speed of the narrative of the story of Sa'di's Golestan based theory of Gérard Genette

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omid Vahdanifar

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Today, because of the importance of narrative style in literature, science of "narratology" has great importance in the narrative, and the issue of "Time" has found a special place. "Time" and "speed" in the narrative are the two issues which are closely related to each other and always effective in narration of narrative works. Since "time" has found its great value for modern man, new knowledge, "narratology", like all areas of human knowledge, has given time particular importance. The speed of the story in a literary work is to display, actions and events occurred during what period of time and how much of the story is devoted to. Sa'di's Golestan anecdotes as one of the most successful ancient Persian literature and the Persian poet Sa'di, one of the most discussed story writers, represent other literary values. In this study the issue of "rapid narrative" as a factor contributing to the popularity and persistence of this effect has been studied. For this purpose, 81 pieces of Golestan, which has a narrative structure (with two elements: dialogue and action fiction and also have more of a coherent plot, selected on the basis of Gerard Genette's theory of narratology, to do a descriptive analysis and to reflect the increase and decrease of speed of the narrative on topics such as: the selection and elimination, the Parish, frequency, description, dialogue, adding episode, theorist, writer, intellectual expression, revealing the imaginative and emotional time, Hadith breath, Quote, use of metaphor, decelerating and comparing the characters of the story, will be discussed. The result of this study showed that the pace of the narrative in the story of Sa'di's Golestan is "sluggish" and due to the volume of the stories, use of the maximum of rapidly reducing factors is considered good and causes this literary work to be more lasting. It also has a great impact on making the young novelists focus on the importance of the narrative in the

  6. The architecture of visual narrative comprehension: the interaction of narrative structure and page layout in understanding comics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Neil

    2014-01-01

    How do people make sense of the sequential images in visual narratives like comics? A growing literature of recent research has suggested that this comprehension involves the interaction of multiple systems: The creation of meaning across sequential images relies on a "narrative grammar" that packages conceptual information into categorical roles organized in hierarchic constituents. These images are encapsulated into panels arranged in the layout of a physical page. Finally, how panels frame information can impact both the narrative structure and page layout. Altogether, these systems operate in parallel to construct the Gestalt whole of comprehension of this visual language found in comics.

  7. AOP-DB Frontend: A user interface for the Adverse Outcome Pathways Database

    Science.gov (United States)

    The EPA Adverse Outcome Pathway Database (AOP-DB) is a database resource that aggregates association relationships between AOPs, genes, chemicals, diseases, pathways, species orthology information, ontologies. The AOP-DB frontend is a simple yet powerful user interface in the for...

  8. Joint study on activation of international nuclear information use through implementation INIS DB server with IAEA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, H. C.; Yi, J. H.; Kim, T. W.; Chun, Y. C.; Yoo, A. N.

    2003-03-01

    In order to install the INIS DB host site in Korea, the Korea INIS national center has cooperated with KAERI and organizations concerned, contacted the INIS secretariat participated in the consultative meeting of INIS liaison officers, and strengthened the relationship with Asian and Oceanian countries. And KAERI staff and a maintenance engineer participated training seminar on INIS DB installation and maintenance. The Korea national center obtained the INIS DB server code and data by international cooperation activity. Based these code and data, hardware and software for INIS DB server are purchased. INIS DB server system was installed the software and INIS database(2,347,302) was constructed. In 2003 INIS host DB site started to provide web service in Korea. Also It enables the users in the member countries in Asia as well as domestic users to get quick information. It will also bring the active use of the domestic INIS DB and the increase of the productivity of domestic research activities

  9. Protocol - realist and meta-narrative evidence synthesis: Evolving Standards (RAMESES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Westhorp Gill

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is growing interest in theory-driven, qualitative and mixed-method approaches to systematic review as an alternative to (or to extend and supplement conventional Cochrane-style reviews. These approaches offer the potential to expand the knowledge base in policy-relevant areas - for example by explaining the success, failure or mixed fortunes of complex interventions. However, the quality of such reviews can be difficult to assess. This study aims to produce methodological guidance, publication standards and training resources for those seeking to use the realist and/or meta-narrative approach to systematic review. Methods/design We will: [a] collate and summarise existing literature on the principles of good practice in realist and meta-narrative systematic review; [b] consider the extent to which these principles have been followed by published and in-progress reviews, thereby identifying how rigour may be lost and how existing methods could be improved; [c] using an online Delphi method with an interdisciplinary panel of experts from academia and policy, produce a draft set of methodological steps and publication standards; [d] produce training materials with learning outcomes linked to these steps; [e] pilot these standards and training materials prospectively on real reviews-in-progress, capturing methodological and other challenges as they arise; [f] synthesise expert input, evidence review and real-time problem analysis into more definitive guidance and standards; [g] disseminate outputs to audiences in academia and policy. The outputs of the study will be threefold: 1. Quality standards and methodological guidance for realist and meta-narrative reviews for use by researchers, research sponsors, students and supervisors 2. A 'RAMESES' (Realist and Meta-review Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards statement (comparable to CONSORT or PRISMA of publication standards for such reviews, published in an open

  10. A Narrative Criticism of Lifestyle Reality Programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Travis Loof

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This article seeks to understand and explain the relationship between lifestyle reality television programs and consumers. Specifically, this article outlines this relationship from a critical narrative perspective by interrogating two common story structures within lifestyle reality programming. By analyzing these narratives, conclusions are drawn about the role of story in consumer behavior. Additionally, this article argues that through the combination of the rhetorical situation of the housing collapse and narrative storytelling, consumers are taught how to perceive and interact when considering the purchase of a house. Finally, this article synthesizes Social Cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986 in conjunction with Narrative theory (Fisher, 1984 to explore how rhetorical criticism can use social science to better understand lived, mediated, experience.

  11. DB2 9 for Linux, Unix, and Windows database administration upgrade certification study guide

    CERN Document Server

    Sanders, Roger E

    2007-01-01

    Written by one of the world's leading DB2 authors who is an active participant in the development of the DB2 certification exams, this resource covers everything a database adminstrator needs to know to pass the DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows Database Administration Certification Upgrade exam (Exam 736). This comprehensive study guide discusses all exam topics: server management, data placement, XML concepts, analyzing activity, high availability, database security, and much more. Each chapter contains an extensive set of practice questions along with carefully explained answers. Both information-technology professionals who have experience as database administrators and have a current DBA certification on version 8 of DB2 and individuals who would like to learn the new features of DB2 9 will benefit from the information in this reference guide.

  12. Landscapes of Memories: Visual and Spatial Dimensions of Hajja's Narrative of Self

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karin Willemse

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available In this article, the focus is on how to represent narratives of self well. This dilemma concerns the specific narrative of self of Hajja, a market woman who lived in the provincial town of Kebkabiya, North Darfur, Sudan. The challenge of "responsible representation" in relation to her narrative concerns the question of how to represent a narrative that does not follow the expected structure of such a narrative. By considering the narrative as a performance of identities in the discursive and material context of narration, the author points out that a narrative is part and parcel of its context of narration. A representation of that narrative should therefore include elements of this context. Not only the discursive and verbal, but also the visual, spatial, and ultimately the temporal dimensions of the context allow us to understand narratives as enactments of self in a specific context. This consideration ties into the current debate on the nature of narrative. Narratives should not only be understood in terms of the what and how, but also in relation to the where and when of their narration. Narratives constitute spaces that allow the narrator a temporal moment of closure, of constructing oneself as a unified, coherent, bounded self in a specific place at a specific time.

  13. Maternal Depression, Family Functioning, and Child Outcomes: A Narrative Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickstein, Susan; St. Andre, Martin; Sameroff, Arnold; Seifer, Ronald; Schiller, Masha

    1999-01-01

    Investigated differences in family narratives between mothers with and those without current depressive symptoms as an indicator of family functioning. Found that Family Narrative Consortium measures of narrative coherence distinguished level of symptom severity. Found that more coherent narratives were associated with marital satisfaction,…

  14. From Abstract Art to Abstracted Artists

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romi Mikulinsky

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available What lineage connects early abstract films and machine-generated YouTube videos? Hans Richter’s famous piece Rhythmus 21 is considered to be the first abstract film in the experimental tradition. The Webdriver Torso YouTube channel is composed of hundreds of thousands of machine-generated test patterns designed to check frequency signals on YouTube. This article discusses geometric abstraction vis-à-vis new vision, conceptual art and algorithmic art. It argues that the Webdriver Torso is an artistic marvel indicative of a form we call mathematical abstraction, which is art performed by computers and, quite possibly, for computers.

  15. Gender Issues and the Slave Narratives: "Incidents in the Life" and "Narrative of the Life" Compared.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeGout, Yasmin Y.

    The differences between early African American narratives written by women and those written by men can be seen in a comparison of Harriet A. Jacobs's "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself" and Frederick Douglass's "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave." A comparison of these works…

  16. Peak Oil and the Everyday Complexity of Human Progress Narratives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John C. Pruit

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The “big” story of human progress has polarizing tendencies featuring the binary options of progress or decline. I consider human progress narratives in the context of everyday life. Analysis of the “little” stories from two narrative environments focusing on peak oil offers a more complex picture of the meaning and contours of the narrative. I consider the impact of differential blog site commitments to peak oil perspectives and identify five narrative types culled from two narrative dimensions. I argue that the lived experience complicates human progress narratives, which is no longer an either/or proposition.

  17. Deconstruction of conservative cinematic narratives on women's ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Deconstruction of conservative cinematic narratives on women's identity: an urging ... of regular but infamous dictates of culture and gender themes in film narratives. ... film criticism, women filmmakers, manipulation, Stereotype, deconstruction ...

  18. Eukaryotic Pathogen Database Resources (EuPathDB)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — EuPathDB Bioinformatics Resource Center for Biodefense and Emerging/Re-emerging Infectious Diseases is a portal for accessing genomic-scale datasets associated with...

  19. PlantNATsDB: a comprehensive database of plant natural antisense transcripts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Dijun; Yuan, Chunhui; Zhang, Jian; Zhang, Zhao; Bai, Lin; Meng, Yijun; Chen, Ling-Ling; Chen, Ming

    2012-01-01

    Natural antisense transcripts (NATs), as one type of regulatory RNAs, occur prevalently in plant genomes and play significant roles in physiological and pathological processes. Although their important biological functions have been reported widely, a comprehensive database is lacking up to now. Consequently, we constructed a plant NAT database (PlantNATsDB) involving approximately 2 million NAT pairs in 69 plant species. GO annotation and high-throughput small RNA sequencing data currently available were integrated to investigate the biological function of NATs. PlantNATsDB provides various user-friendly web interfaces to facilitate the presentation of NATs and an integrated, graphical network browser to display the complex networks formed by different NATs. Moreover, a 'Gene Set Analysis' module based on GO annotation was designed to dig out the statistical significantly overrepresented GO categories from the specific NAT network. PlantNATsDB is currently the most comprehensive resource of NATs in the plant kingdom, which can serve as a reference database to investigate the regulatory function of NATs. The PlantNATsDB is freely available at http://bis.zju.edu.cn/pnatdb/.

  20. The Impact of Narrative-Based Learning in Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marunda-Piki, Chipo J.

    2018-01-01

    Narrative and story play a central role in cognitive and cultural development of children. In this article, I explore a narrative-centred pedagogy used to address the teaching and learning concerns of my pupils from Helena infant school, Zimbabwe. I document how, as a novice teacher, I deployed narrative learning in my teaching of English as a…

  1. Narrating Identity: the Employment of Mythological and Literary Narratives in Identity Formation Among the Hijras of India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer Ung Loh

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This article explores how the hijras and kinnars of India use mythological narratives in identity-formation. In contemporary India, the hijras are a minority group who are ostracised from mainstream society as a result of their non-heteronormative gender performances and anatomical presentations. Hijras suffer discrimination and marginalisation in their daily lives, forming their own social groups outside of natal families and kinship structures. Mythological and literary narratives play a significant role in explaining and legitimising behavioural patterns, ritual practices, and anatomical forms that are specific to hijras, and alleviating some of the stigma surrounding this identity. In this article, I focus on certain narratives that hijras employ in making sense of and giving meaning to their lives, including mythological stories concerning people of ambiguous gender and myths associated with Bahuchara Mata. I argue that these ontological narratives serve to bring hijra identity into being and play a crucial role in constructing and authenticating hijra identity in modern India.

  2. "Forbidden Narratives": Exploring the Use of Student Narratives of Self in a Graduate Sport Sociology Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liberti, Rita

    2004-01-01

    This essay highlights three graduate student papers in an effort to explore the use of a relatively new methodology in the social sciences known as narratives of self. The seminar, in which the student papers were written, was formulated on the tenets of critical pedagogy and cultural studies. This paper positions the use of narratives of self…

  3. Getting Started with GEO, CouchDB, and Nodejs

    CERN Document Server

    Thompson, Mick

    2011-01-01

    Today's mobile devices have GPS and standard APIs to give you access to coordinates-but what can you do with that data? With this concise book, application developers learn how to work with location data quickly and easily, using Node.js, CouchDB, and other open source tools and libraries. Node.js makes it simple to run event code on the Web, and the CouchDB document-oriented database lets you store location data and perform complex queries on it quickly. You'll learn how to get started with these tools, and then use them together to build an example project called MapChat, using HTML and Ja

  4. Narrative pedagogy and simulation: future directions for nursing education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Mike

    2011-05-01

    Narrative pedagogy has been developed over the last decade in nursing as a means of complementing a conventional content and competency driven pedagogy. It focuses attention on the human experience of health care by deriving shared meanings from interpretation of stories. This allows students to explore the different perspectives of those involved. The emotional experiences of participants can be understood, conventional wisdom challenged and new knowledge emerge as students work together to construct their learning. Individual stories are embedded within the narrative and teachers have successfully used literature and film as narratives to help them explore the meaning of health care with students. Modern technology has opened up a new range of electronic narratives such as virtual simulation. These are considered and rejected as devices for a health care narrative due to their dehumanized and unrealistic nature. However it is argued that a multimedia online simulation of a typical neighbourhood can achieve the goal of providing a suitable narrative. Human actors replace avatars and real world settings replace gaming environments as the stories of people in this community are related and used to support narrative pedagogy. An example of such a narrative developed jointly in the UK and Canada is discussed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The Limits of Narrative: Provocations for the Medical Humanities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, Angela

    2014-01-01

    This paper aims to (re)ignite debate about the role of narrative in the medical humanities. It begins with a critical review of the ways in which narrative has been mobilised by humanities and social science scholars to understand the experience of health and illness. I highlight seven dangers or blind spots in the dominant medical humanities approach to narrative, including the frequently unexamined assumption that all human beings are “naturally narrative.” I then explore this assumption further through an analysis of philosopher Galen Strawson’s influential article “Against Narrativity.” Strawson rejects the descriptive claim that “human beings typically see or live or experience their lives as a narrative” and the normative claim that “a richly Narrative outlook is essential to a well-lived life, to true or full personhood.” His work has been taken up across a range of disciplines but its implications in the context of health and illness have not yet been sufficiently discussed. This article argues that “Against Narrativity” can and should stimulate robust debate within the medical humanities regarding the limits of narrative, and concludes by discussing a range of possibilities for venturing “beyond narrative.” PMID:22038696

  6. Annotating temporal information in clinical narratives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Weiyi; Rumshisky, Anna; Uzuner, Ozlem

    2013-12-01

    Temporal information in clinical narratives plays an important role in patients' diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. In order to represent narrative information accurately, medical natural language processing (MLP) systems need to correctly identify and interpret temporal information. To promote research in this area, the Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) project developed a temporally annotated corpus of clinical narratives. This corpus contains 310 de-identified discharge summaries, with annotations of clinical events, temporal expressions and temporal relations. This paper describes the process followed for the development of this corpus and discusses annotation guideline development, annotation methodology, and corpus quality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. "What Is Our Story?" Philip Morris's Changing Corporate Narrative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDaniel, Patricia A; Malone, Ruth E

    2015-10-01

    We sought to learn how employees reacted to changes in the corporate narrative of Philip Morris Companies (PMC) in the late 1990s and early 2000s. We analyzed archival internal tobacco industry documents about PMC's creation of a new corporate story. In response to litigation and public opprobrium, PMC replaced its market success-oriented corporate narrative with a new one centered on responsibility. Although management sought to downplay inconsistencies between the old and new narratives, some employees reportedly had difficulty reconciling them, concerned that the responsibility focus might affect company profitability. However, others embraced the new narrative, suggesting radical ideas to prevent youth smoking. These ideas were not adopted. PMC's new narrative was unconvincing to many of its employees, who perceived it either as a threat to the company's continued profits or as incongruous with what they had previously been told. As it had done with the public, PMC misled its employees in explaining a narrative repositioning that would help the company continue business as usual. Moving toward a tobacco endgame will require ongoing discursive and symbolic efforts to disrupt this narrative.

  8. Metrics for Electronic-Nursing-Record-Based Narratives: Cross-sectional Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kidong; Jeong, Suyeon; Lee, Kyogu; Park, Hyeoun-Ae; Min, Yul Ha; Lee, Joo Yun; Kim, Yekyung; Yoo, Sooyoung; Doh, Gippeum

    2016-01-01

    Summary Objectives We aimed to determine the characteristics of quantitative metrics for nursing narratives documented in electronic nursing records and their association with hospital admission traits and diagnoses in a large data set not limited to specific patient events or hypotheses. Methods We collected 135,406,873 electronic, structured coded nursing narratives from 231,494 hospital admissions of patients discharged between 2008 and 2012 at a tertiary teaching institution that routinely uses an electronic health records system. The standardized number of nursing narratives (i.e., the total number of nursing narratives divided by the length of the hospital stay) was suggested to integrate the frequency and quantity of nursing documentation. Results The standardized number of nursing narratives was higher for patients aged 70 years (median = 30.2 narratives/day, interquartile range [IQR] = 24.0–39.4 narratives/day), long (8 days) hospital stays (median = 34.6 narratives/day, IQR = 27.2–43.5 narratives/day), and hospital deaths (median = 59.1 narratives/day, IQR = 47.0–74.8 narratives/day). The standardized number of narratives was higher in “pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium” (median = 46.5, IQR = 39.0–54.7) and “diseases of the circulatory system” admissions (median = 35.7, IQR = 29.0–43.4). Conclusions Diverse hospital admissions can be consistently described with nursing-document-derived metrics for similar hospital admissions and diagnoses. Some areas of hospital admissions may have consistently increasing volumes of nursing documentation across years. Usability of electronic nursing document metrics for evaluating healthcare requires multiple aspects of hospital admissions to be considered. PMID:27901174

  9. The Narrative Quality of Game Mechanics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Bjarke Alexander; Schoenau-Fog, Henrik

    2016-01-01

    This paper will introduce and discuss a new model for understanding the relation between narrative and games, by looking at the narrative quality of game mechanics. First, a review of the terms ”Narrative” and ”Game Mechanics” is made, and defined in this context, before a literature review, base...

  10. Enabling narrative pedagogy: inviting, waiting, and letting be.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ironside, Pamela M

    2014-01-01

    This article describes how teachers enable Narrative Pedagogy in their courses by explicating the Concernful Practice Inviting: Waiting and Letting Be. Narrative Pedagogy, a research-based, phenomenological approach to teaching and learning, extends conventional pedagogies and offers nursing faculty an alternative way of transforming their schools and courses. Using hermeneutic phenomenology, interview data collected over a 10-year period were analyzed by coding practical examples of teachers' efforts to enact Narrative Pedagogy. When Narrative Pedagogy is enacted, teachers and students focus on thinking and learning together about nursing phenomena and seek new understandings about how they may provide care in the myriad situations they encounter. Although the Concernful Practices co-occur, explicating inviting experiences can assist new teachers, and those seeking to extend their pedagogical literacy, by providing new understandings of how Narrative Pedagogy can be enacted.

  11. Narrative interviews: an important resource in qualitative research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muylaert, Camila Junqueira; Sarubbi, Vicente; Gallo, Paulo Rogério; Neto, Modesto Leite Rolim

    2014-12-01

    Objetives This methodological study explain and emphasize the extent and fertility of the narrative interview in qualitative research. Methods To describe the narrative method within the qualitative research. Results The qualitative research method is characterized by addressing issues related to the singularities of the field and individuals investigated, being the narrative interviews a powerful method for use by researchers who aggregate it. They allow the deepening of research, the combination of life stories with socio-historical contexts, making the understanding of the senses that produce changes in the beliefs and values that motivate and justify the actions of possible informants. Conclusion The use of narrative is an advantageous investigative resource in qualitative research, in which the narrative is a traditional form of communication whose purpose is to serve content from which the subjective experiences can be transmitted.

  12. Narrative coaching

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stelter, Reinhard

    2010-01-01

    is presented to give a concrete example of this narrative, community psychological oriented intervention, a process which helps people to develop a sense of personal or cultural identity and an understanding of their doing as being in correspondence with their values and intentions. The overarching focus...

  13. Integrating Journalism Into Health Promotion: Creating and Disseminating Community Narratives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Louis D; Berryhill, Joseph C; Jones, Eric C

    2018-06-01

    Media coverage of mental health and other social issues often relies on episodic narratives that suggest individualistic causes and solutions, while reinforcing negative stereotypes. Community narratives can provide empowering alternatives, serving as media advocacy tools used to shape the policy debate on a social issue. This article provides health promotion researchers and practitioners with guidance on how to develop and disseminate community narratives to broaden awareness of social issues and build support for particular programs and policy solutions. To exemplify the community narrative development process and highlight important considerations, this article examines a narrative from a mental health consumer-run organization. In the narrative, people with mental health problems help one another while operating a nonprofit organization, thereby countering stigmatizing media portrayals of people with mental illness as dangerous and incompetent. The community narrative frame supports the use of consumer-run organizations, which are not well-known and receive little funding despite evidence of effectiveness. The article concludes by reviewing challenges to disseminating community narratives, such as creating a product of interest to media outlets, and potential solutions, such as engaging media representatives through community health partnerships and using social media to draw attention to the narratives.

  14. The role of narrative medicine in pregnancy after liver transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donzelli, Gianpaolo; Paddeu, Erika Maria; D'Alessandro, Francesca; Nanni Costa, Alessandro

    2015-01-01

    Narrative medicine allows professionals from all fields of medical sciences to understand the patient's total experience of illness, and meet his/her needs in an empathetic environment. Narrative medicine helps spread holistic knowledge of a multitude of complex clinical conditions, including transplantation. To underline the role of narrative medicine in women who become pregnant after a liver transplant by using their narrations of this very special experience. We describe our study with narration and listening to the stories of three women expecting their first child after a liver transplant, by analysing the structure and role of narration in the context of relationships between patients and caregivers. The narrations were transcribed verbatim with the main plot analysed in order to address all the aspects of this rare clinical condition and the transition to parenthood. The women narrated this experience in three phases: transplantation, pregnancy and delivery, and post-partum. They described all phases of pregnancy as stressful but satisfying, whereas the fact of becoming a mother was perceived as a victory both as a woman and as a transplant patient. Our results suggest that narrative medicine represents a significant professional tool for caring for transplant patients during pregnancy.

  15. A MongoDB-Based Management of Planar Spatial Data with a Flattened R-Tree

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Longgang Xiang

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses how to manage planar spatial data using MongoDB, a popular NoSQL database characterized as a document-oriented, rich query language and high availability. The core idea is to flatten a hierarchical R-tree structure into a tabular MongoDB collection, during which R-tree nodes are represented as collection documents and R-tree pointers are expressed as document identifiers. By following this strategy, a storage schema to support R-tree-based create, read, update, and delete (CRUD operations is designed and a module to manage planar spatial data by consuming and maintaining flattened R-tree structure is developed. The R-tree module is then seamlessly integrated into MongoDB, so that users could manipulate planar spatial data with existing command interfaces oriented to geodetic spatial data. The experimental evaluation, using real-world datasets with diverse coverage, types, and sizes, shows that planar spatial data can be effectively managed by MongoDB with our flattened R-tree and, therefore, the application extent of MongoDB will be greatly enlarged. Our work resulted in a MongoDB branch with R-tree support, which has been released on GitHub for open access.

  16. Taxon (Viridiplantae) - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us Taxon (Viridiplantae) - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive ... ...List Contact us PGDBj - Ortholog DB Taxon (Viridiplantae) Data detail Data name Taxon (Viridiplantae) DOI 10...switchLanguage; BLAST Search Image Search Home About Archive Update History Data

  17. Taxon (Cyanobacteria) - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us Taxon (Cyanobacteria) - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive ... ...List Contact us PGDBj - Ortholog DB Taxon (Cyanobacteria) Data detail Data name Taxon (Cyanobacteria) DOI 10...switchLanguage; BLAST Search Image Search Home About Archive Update History Data

  18. Evaluating Musical Foreshadowing of Videogame Narrative Experiences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scirea, Marco; Cheong, Yun-Gyung; Nelson, Mark

    2014-01-01

    undergraduate and graduate students participated in the study. Statistical analyses suggest that the use of musical cues for narrative foreshadowing induces a better perceived consistency between music and game narrative. Surprisingly, false foreshadowing was found to enhance the player's enjoyment.......We experiment with mood-expressing, procedurally generated music for narrative foreshadowing in videogames, investigating the relationship between music and the player's experience of narrative events in a game. We designed and conducted a user study in which the game's music expresses true...... foreshadowing in some trials (e.g. foreboding music before a negative event) and false foreshadowing in others (e.g. happy music that does not lead to a positive event). We observed players playing the game, recorded analytics data, and had them complete a survey upon completion of the gameplay. Thirty...

  19. Green tea extract with polyethylene glycol-3350 reduces body weight and improves glucose tolerance in db/db and high-fat diet mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jae-Hyung; Choi, Yoon Jung; Kim, Yong Woon; Kim, Sang Pyo; Cho, Ho-Chan; Ahn, Shinbyoung; Bae, Ki-Cheor; Im, Seung-Soon; Bae, Jae-Hoon; Song, Dae-Kyu

    2013-08-01

    Green tea extract (GTE) is regarded to be effective against obesity and type 2 diabetes, but definitive evidences have not been proven. Based on the assumption that the gallated catechins (GCs) in GTE attenuate intestinal glucose and lipid absorption, while enhancing insulin resistance when GCs are present in the circulation through inhibiting cellular glucose uptake in various tissues, this study attempted to block the intestinal absorption of GCs and prolong their residence time in the lumen. We then observed whether GTE containing the nonabsorbable GCs could ameliorate body weight (BW) gain and glucose intolerance in db/db and high-fat diet mice. Inhibition of the intestinal absorption of GCs was accomplished by co-administering the nontoxic polymer polyethylene glycol-3350 (PEG). C57BLKS/J db/db and high-fat diet C57BL/6 mice were treated for 4 weeks with drugs as follows: GTE, PEG, GTE+PEG, voglibose, or pioglitazone. GTE mixed with meals did not have any ameliorating effects on BW gain and glucose intolerance. However, the administration of GTE plus PEG significantly reduced BW gain, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance, without affecting food intake and appetite. The effect was comparable to the effects of an α-glucosidase inhibitor and a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ/α agonist. These results indicate that prolonging the action of GCs of GTE in the intestinal lumen and blocking their entry into the circulation may allow GTE to be used as a prevention and treatment for both obesity and obesity-induced type 2 diabetes.

  20. The narrative approach to personalisation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conlan, Owen; Staikopoulos, Athanasios; Hampson, Cormac; Lawless, Séamus; O'keeffe, Ian

    2013-06-01

    This article describes the narrative approach to personalisation. This novel approach to the generation of personalised adaptive hypermedia experiences employs runtime reconciliation between a personalisation strategy and a number of contextual models (e.g. user and domain). The approach also advocates the late binding of suitable content and services to the generated personalised pathway resulting in an interactive composition that comprises services as well as content. This article provides a detailed definition of the narrative approach to personalisation and showcases the approach through the examination of two use-cases: the personalised digital educational games developed by the ELEKTRA and 80Days projects; and the personalised learning activities realised as part of the AMAS project. These use-cases highlight the general applicability of the narrative approach and how it has been applied to create a diverse range of real-world systems.

  1. Narratives of Friendship and Self in Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azmitia, Margarita; Ittel, Angela; Radmacher, Kimberley

    2005-01-01

    Gender and self-esteem provide lenses through which early and late adolescents construct their narratives of ideal and actual friendships. These narratives provide a unique window into the dynamics of adolescents' friendships during school transitions.

  2. License - Plabrain DB | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available switchLanguage; BLAST Search Image Search Home About Archive Update History Data List Contact us Plabrain... Alike 2.1 Japan . If you use data from this database, please be sure attribute this database as follows: Plabrain...of this database (http://dbarchive.lifesciencedb.jp/english/en/plabrain-db/desc.html) in the article or pape...se Description Download License Update History of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us License - Plabrain DB | LSDB Archive ...

  3. The end of a noble narrative?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manners, Ian James; Murray, Philomena

    2015-01-01

    of the forerunner to the current EU we ask if this noble narrative of war and peace, which is at the heart of European integration, at an end. We argue that this principled account is likely to remain just one of several narratives of European integration, but with its reputation somewhat tarnished. Fresh...

  4. Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlstrom, Michael F

    2014-09-16

    Although storytelling often has negative connotations within science, narrative formats of communication should not be disregarded when communicating science to nonexpert audiences. Narratives offer increased comprehension, interest, and engagement. Nonexperts get most of their science information from mass media content, which is itself already biased toward narrative formats. Narratives are also intrinsically persuasive, which offers science communicators tactics for persuading otherwise resistant audiences, although such use also raises ethical considerations. Future intersections of narrative research with ongoing discussions in science communication are introduced.

  5. Reading Intervention to Improve Narrative Production, Narrative Comprehension, and Motivation and Interest of Children with Hearing Loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pakulski, Lori A.; Kaderavek, Joan N.

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effects of a reading intervention on narrative production, narrative comprehension, and reading motivation interest in children with hearing loss. Seven school children between the ages of 9 and 11 were paired with younger "reading buddies" (without hearing loss). The children with hearing loss read storybooks to…

  6. Anti-liver-kidney microsome antibody type 1 recognizes human cytochrome P450 db1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gueguen, M; Yamamoto, A M; Bernard, O; Alvarez, F

    1989-03-15

    Anti-liver-kidney microsome antibody type 1 (LKM1), present in the sera of a group of children with autoimmune hepatitis, was recently shown to recognize a 50 kDa protein identified as rat liver cytochromes P450 db1 and db2. High homology between these two members of the rat P450 IID subfamily and human P450 db1 suggested that anti-LKM1 antibody is directed against this human protein. To test this hypothesis, a human liver cDNA expression library in phage lambda GT-11 was screened using rat P450 db1 cDNA as a probe. Two human cDNA clones were found to be identical to human P450 db1 by restriction mapping. Immunoblot analysis using as antigen, the purified fusion protein from one of the human cDNA clones showed that only anti-LKM1 with anti-50 kDa reactivity recognized the fusion protein. This fusion protein was further used to develop an ELISA test that was shown to be specific for sera of children with this disease. These results: 1) identify the human liver antigen recognized by anti-LKM1 auto-antibodies as cytochrome P450 db1, 2) allow to speculate that mutation on the human P450 db1 gene could alter its expression in the hepatocyte and make it auto-antigenic, 3) provide a simple and specific diagnostic test for this disease.

  7. Balanced PIN-TIA photoreceiver with integrated 3 dB fiber coupler for distributed fiber optic sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, Shubhashish; Rajagopalan, Sruti; Lemke, Shaun; Joshi, Abhay

    2014-06-01

    We report a balanced PIN-TIA photoreceiver integrated with a 3 dB fiber coupler for distributed fiber optic sensors. This detector demonstrates -3 dB bandwidth >15 GHz and coupled conversion gain >65 V/W per photodiode through either input port of the 3 dB coupler, and can be operated at local oscillator power of +17 dBm. The combined common mode rejection of the balanced photoreceiver and the integrated 3 dB coupler is >20 dB. We also present measurement results with various optical stimuli, namely impulses, sinusoids, and pseudo-random sequences, which are relevant for time domain reflectometry, frequency domain reflectometry, and code correlation sensors, respectively.

  8. Emohawk: Searching for a "Good" Emergent Narrative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brom, Cyril; Bída, Michal; Gemrot, Jakub; Kadlec, Rudolf; Plch, Tomáš

    We report on the progress we have achieved in development of Emohawk, a 3D virtual reality application with an emergent narrative for teaching high-school students and undergraduates the basics of virtual characters control, emotion modelling, and narrative generation. Besides, we present a new methodology, used in Emohawk, for purposeful authoring of emergent narratives of Façade's complexity. The methodology is based on massive automatic search for stories that are appealing to the audience whilst forbidding the unappealing ones during the design phase.

  9. A tale of two hands: Children's early gesture use in narrative production predicts later narrative structure in speech

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demir, Özlem Ece; Levine, Susan C.; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2014-01-01

    Speakers of all ages spontaneously gesture as they talk. These gestures predict children's milestones in vocabulary and sentence structure. We ask whether gesture serves a similar role in the development of narrative skill. Children were asked to retell a story conveyed in a wordless cartoon at age 5 and then again at 6, 7, and 8. Children's narrative structure in speech improved across these ages. At age 5, many of the children expressed a character's viewpoint in gesture, and these children were more likely to tell better-structured stories at the later ages than children who did not produce character-viewpoint gestures at age 5. In contrast, framing narratives from a character's perspective in speech at age 5 did not predict later narrative structure in speech. Gesture thus continues to act as a harbinger of change even as it assumes new roles in relation to discourse. PMID:25088361

  10. Preliminary Investigation of Transmedia Narratives and the Process of Narrative Brand Expansion: Transmedia Adaptation in Picturebooks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Chai Lai

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Transmedia narrators can use the intermediacy of images and text as a foundation to develop story networks. These narrators can also use various forms of technology to recreate a variety of aesthetic responses in readers. In this study, we analyzed the narrative strategies of adaptation in examples of transmedia adaptation among winners of international picture book awards. In artistic terms, the horizons of expectation of adapters, the readers of fiction, and the inviting structures extended from intermediacy play key roles in aesthetic communication. How adapters use the materials of intermediacy as filler or to expand on negative speculation also influences the relaying process. In this study, we clarified that in addition to considering aesthetic judgments, adaptation must also adhere to the economy of aesthetics.

  11. Towards a pragmatics of non-fictional narrative truth: Gricean and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper focuses on a particular kind of truth that falls within this category, namely non-fictional narrative truth. “Narrative truth” is defined as a judgement of verisimilitude accorded to the meaning of a narrative as a whole. This narrative meaning is neither rationally nor empirically verifiable, but rather arrived at by a ...

  12. Media Narratives and Possibilities for Teachers' Embodied Concepts of Self

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townsend, Jane S.; Ryan, Patrick A.

    2012-01-01

    Non-print media of radio, television, and film tell narratives about the image and practice of teachers, but how might these media narratives shape conceptions of teachers as well as teachers' conceptions of themselves? What elements of the media narratives do we incorporate and reject in the narratives that we construct about their professional…

  13. Credibility judgments of narratives: language, plausibility, and absorption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nahari, Galit; Glicksohn, Joseph; Nachson, Israel

    2010-01-01

    Two experiments were conducted in order to find out whether textual features of narratives differentially affect credibility judgments made by judges having different levels of absorption (a disposition associated with rich visual imagination). Participants in both experiments were exposed to a textual narrative and requested to judge whether the narrator actually experienced the event he described in his story. In Experiment 1, the narrative varied in terms of language (literal, figurative) and plausibility (ordinary, anomalous). In Experiment 2, the narrative varied in terms of language only. The participants' perceptions of the plausibility of the story described and the extent to which they were absorbed in reading were measured. The data from both experiments together suggest that the groups applied entirely different criteria in credibility judgments. For high-absorption individuals, their credibility judgment depends on the degree to which the text can be assimilated into their own vivid imagination, whereas for low-absorption individuals it depends mainly on plausibility. That is, high-absorption individuals applied an experiential mental set while judging the credibility of the narrator, whereas low-absorption individuals applied an instrumental mental set. Possible cognitive mechanisms and implications for credibility judgments are discussed.

  14. Literary Aesthetics in the Narration of Dagara Folktales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Kyiileyang

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Dagara folktales, like other African folktales, are embedded with various literary aesthetic features related to structure, language and performance. This paper examines major literary aesthetics found in Dagara folktales. The methodology used is based on the collection, analysis and interpretation of selected Dagara folktales gathered through fieldwork. The focus of the paper is on the structure and the language of Dagara folktales. The argument of this paper is grounded on the Structuralist Theory as seen in Gerard Genette’s Narrative Discourse which offers the basic constituents and techniques of narrative. Genette proposes various categories of narrative which cover Time, Mood and Voice. Genette’s narrative structure suggests that the various categories and subcategories emphasise that the narrative is a complex structure in which the narratee is largely present in the various strata of the structure. Genette is concerned with the macro-text of the recit, that is, the ordering of events in the narrative. The study revealed that there are similarities and differences in the structure and the language of Dagara folktales in relation to other African folktales. Keywords: Dagara People, Folktale, Literary Aesthetics, Performance, Structuralist Theory

  15. CERN Computing Colloquium | Scientific Databases at Scale and SciDB | 27 May

    CERN Multimedia

    2013-01-01

    by Dr. Michael Stonebraker (MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge MA, USA) Monday 27 May 2013 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at CERN ( 222-R-001 - Filtration Plant ) Abstract: As a general rule, scientists have shunned relational data management systems (RDBMS), choosing instead to “roll their own” on top of file system technology.  We first discuss why file systems are a poor choice for science data storage, especially as data volumes become large and scalability becomes important. Then, we continue with the reasons why RDBMSs work poorly on most science applications.  These include a data model “impedance mismatch” and missing features. We discuss array DBMSs, and why they are a much better choice for science applications, and use SciDB as an exemplar of this new class of DBMSs. Most science applications require a mix of data management and complex analytics.  In most cases, the analytics entail a sequence of linear a...

  16. A narrative method for consciousness research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José-Luis eDíaz

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Some types of first person narrations of mental processes that constitute phenomenological parliaments and texts, such as internal monologue statements, epitomize the best expressions and representations of human consciousness available and therefore may be used to model phenomenological streams of consciousness. The type of autonomous monologue in which an author or narrator declares actual mental processes in a think aloud manner seems particularly suitable for modeling streams of consciousness. A narrative method to extract and depict conscious processes, operations, contents, and states from an acceptable phenomenological text would require three subsequent steps: operational criteria for producing and/or selecting a phenomenological text, a system for detecting text items that are indicative of conscious contents and processes, and a procedure for representing such items in formal dynamic system devices such as Petri nets. The requirements and restrictions of each of these steps are presented, analyzed, and applied to phenomenological texts in the following manner: (1 The relevance of introspective language and narrative analyses to consciousness research and the idea that specific narratives are of paramount interest for such investigation is justified; (2 Some of the obstacles and constraints to attain plausible consciousness inferences from narrative texts and the methodological requirements to extract and depict items relevant to consciousness contents and operations from a suitable phenomenological text are examined; (3 A preliminary exercise of the proposed method is used to analyze and chart a classical interior monologue excerpted from James Joyce’s Ulysses, a masterpiece of the stream-of-consciousness literary technique and, finally, an inter-subjective evaluation for inter-observer agreement of mental attributions of another phenomenological text (an excerpt from the Intimate Journal of Miguel de Unamuno is presented using some

  17. A narrative method for consciousness research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz, José-Luis

    2013-01-01

    Some types of first-person narrations of mental processes that constitute phenomenological accounts and texts, such as internal monolog statements, epitomize the best expressions and representations of human consciousness available and therefore may be used to model phenomenological streams of consciousness. The type of autonomous monolog in which an author or narrator declares actual mental processes in a think aloud manner seems particularly suitable for modeling streams of consciousness. A narrative method to extract and depict conscious processes, operations, contents, and states from an acceptable phenomenological text would require three subsequent steps: operational criteria for producing and/or selecting a phenomenological text, a system for detecting text items that are indicative of conscious contents and processes, and a procedure for representing such items in formal dynamic system devices such as Petri nets. The requirements and restrictions of each of these steps are presented, analyzed, and applied to phenomenological texts in the following manner: (1) the relevance of introspective language and narrative analyses to consciousness research and the idea that specific narratives are of paramount interest for such investigation is justified; (2) some of the obstacles and constraints to attain plausible consciousness inferences from narrative texts and the methodological requirements to extract and depict items relevant to consciousness contents and operations from a suitable phenomenological text are examined; (3) a preliminary exercise of the proposed method is used to analyze and chart a classical interior monolog excerpted from James Joyce's Ulysses, a masterpiece of the stream-of-consciousness literary technique and, finally, (4) an inter-subjective evaluation for inter-observer agreement of mental attributions of another phenomenological text (an excerpt from the Intimate Journal of Miguel de Unamuno) is presented using some mathematical tools.

  18. A narrative method for consciousness research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz, José-Luis

    2013-01-01

    Some types of first-person narrations of mental processes that constitute phenomenological accounts and texts, such as internal monolog statements, epitomize the best expressions and representations of human consciousness available and therefore may be used to model phenomenological streams of consciousness. The type of autonomous monolog in which an author or narrator declares actual mental processes in a think aloud manner seems particularly suitable for modeling streams of consciousness. A narrative method to extract and depict conscious processes, operations, contents, and states from an acceptable phenomenological text would require three subsequent steps: operational criteria for producing and/or selecting a phenomenological text, a system for detecting text items that are indicative of conscious contents and processes, and a procedure for representing such items in formal dynamic system devices such as Petri nets. The requirements and restrictions of each of these steps are presented, analyzed, and applied to phenomenological texts in the following manner: (1) the relevance of introspective language and narrative analyses to consciousness research and the idea that specific narratives are of paramount interest for such investigation is justified; (2) some of the obstacles and constraints to attain plausible consciousness inferences from narrative texts and the methodological requirements to extract and depict items relevant to consciousness contents and operations from a suitable phenomenological text are examined; (3) a preliminary exercise of the proposed method is used to analyze and chart a classical interior monolog excerpted from James Joyce’s Ulysses, a masterpiece of the stream-of-consciousness literary technique and, finally, (4) an inter-subjective evaluation for inter-observer agreement of mental attributions of another phenomenological text (an excerpt from the Intimate Journal of Miguel de Unamuno) is presented using some mathematical tools

  19. Narrative Language in Traumatic Brain Injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marini, Andrea; Galetto, Valentina; Zampieri, Elisa; Vorano, Lorenza; Zettin, Marina; Carlomagno, Sergio

    2011-01-01

    Persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often show impaired linguistic and/or narrative abilities. The present study aimed to document the features of narrative discourse impairment in a group of adults with TBI. 14 severe TBI non-aphasic speakers (GCS less than 8) in the phase of neurological stability and 14 neurologically intact participants…

  20. The Narrative Labyrinth of Violent Dying

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rynearson, E. K.

    2005-01-01

    This essay outlines the dynamics of retelling the violent death of a loved one and the narrative "dilemma" of vulnerable family members fixated on retelling. To counter this fixation, the author presents a mythic retelling of violent death (the Myth of Theseus) as narrative basis for developing a restorative retelling. The essay begins by…

  1. Dicty_cDB: Contig-U16414-1 [Dicty_cDB

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available ( CB282081 ) BT0047 Blomia tropicalis cDNA library Blomia trop... 52 9e-19 4 ( EX370580 ) GQ03219.B7_O07 GQ032 - Shoot ti...on of useful proteins deri... 72 1e-29 5 ( DR930447 ) EST1121986 Aquilegia cDNA library...63 ) EST1191412 Aquilegia cDNA library Aquilegia formo... 88 5e-26 2 ( DB657321 ) Saccharomyces cere... 64 1e-21 4 ( DT739515 ) EST1173364 Aquilegia cDNA library Aquilegia formo... 70 1e-21 3 ( CF609239 ) INFIO01_000017 Grape Inflore... ( DT733254 ) EST1167104 Aquilegia cDNA library Aquilegia formo... 68 8e-21 5 ( FF717444 ) XABT35772.fwd Gateway compati

  2. Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlstrom, Michael F.

    2014-01-01

    Although storytelling often has negative connotations within science, narrative formats of communication should not be disregarded when communicating science to nonexpert audiences. Narratives offer increased comprehension, interest, and engagement. Nonexperts get most of their science information from mass media content, which is itself already biased toward narrative formats. Narratives are also intrinsically persuasive, which offers science communicators tactics for persuading otherwise resistant audiences, although such use also raises ethical considerations. Future intersections of narrative research with ongoing discussions in science communication are introduced. PMID:25225368

  3. Narrative health psychology: Once more unto the breach: editorial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sools, Anna Maria; Murray, Michael; Westerhof, Gerben Johan

    2015-01-01

    In this editorial, we position narrative health psychology as a variety of narrative psychology, a form of qualitative research in health psychology, and a psychological perspective that falls under the interdisciplinary term narrative health research. The aim of this positioning is to explore what

  4. Meir Sternberg, Telling in Time II: Chronology, Theleology, Narrativity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franco Passalacqua

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The central section of Telling in Time II directs the attention to the consequences coming from the meeting between time and narrative considered in the first part of this essay: rhetorical strategies, narratives effects, teleological dynamic of surprise are all questions that belong to the pragmatic dimension of Sternberg’s critical perspective. The first chapters concern these narratives effects that took part in the critical debate since Aristotle and they are developed beginning from theoretical premises (pragmatical and teleological that enable to examine them from a renew point of view: if the Aristotelian concept of «discovery» (anagnorisis and «reversal» (peripeteia went in the modern narrative theorizations without facing any alteration, keeping their anchorage to the narrated world and not to the narrative modalities, Telling in Time II on the contrary, suggest to consider them in relation of their «communicative functioning» and in the so-called Proteus Principle. In the last chapters of the essay, Sternberg, after having explained such theoretical setting, takes these narrative dynamics – with the addition of “curiosity” and “surprise” – as constant element of the narrative genre, placing them at the base of the relations between the teleological level and the representative one that constitutes the central point of Sternberg’s critical purpose.

  5. HippDB: a database of readily targeted helical protein-protein interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergey, Christina M; Watkins, Andrew M; Arora, Paramjit S

    2013-11-01

    HippDB catalogs every protein-protein interaction whose structure is available in the Protein Data Bank and which exhibits one or more helices at the interface. The Web site accepts queries on variables such as helix length and sequence, and it provides computational alanine scanning and change in solvent-accessible surface area values for every interfacial residue. HippDB is intended to serve as a starting point for structure-based small molecule and peptidomimetic drug development. HippDB is freely available on the web at http://www.nyu.edu/projects/arora/hippdb. The Web site is implemented in PHP, MySQL and Apache. Source code freely available for download at http://code.google.com/p/helidb, implemented in Perl and supported on Linux. arora@nyu.edu.

  6. Core story creation: analysing narratives to construct stories for learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petty, Julia; Jarvis, Joy; Thomas, Rebecca

    2018-03-16

    Educational research uses narrative enquiry to gain and interpret people's experiences. Narrative analysis is used to organise and make sense of acquired narrative. 'Core story creation' is a way of managing raw data obtained from narrative interviews to construct stories for learning. To explain how core story creation can be used to construct stories from raw narratives obtained by interviewing parents about their neonatal experiences and then use these stories to educate learners. Core story creation involves reconfiguration of raw narratives. Reconfiguration includes listening to and rereading transcribed narratives, identifying elements of 'emplotment' and reordering these to form a constructed story. Thematic analysis is then performed on the story to draw out learning themes informed by the participants. Core story creation using emplotment is a strategy of narrative reconfiguration that produces stories which can be used to develop resources relating to person-centred education about the patient experience. Stories constructed from raw narratives in the context of constructivism can provide a medium or an 'end product' for use in learning resource development. This can then contribute to educating students or health professionals about patients' experiences. ©2018 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

  7. The Immoralist and the Rhetoric of First-Person Narration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John T. Booker

    1977-09-01

    Full Text Available Gide's The Immoralist , a short first-person novel written at the beginning of the century, has long been seen as an early example of the unreliable narrator. More recently, critical attention has focused on the tensions set up in the work between the carefully drawn formal structure of the narrative and the claim of Michel, the narrator, to tell his story in a direct and simple manner. Of more general interest, however, is the way Michel's narration provides insight into important developments that have taken place in the first-person novel itself in the twentieth century. Cast initially in a very traditional mold, Michel's story breaks down progressively as it moves from events of a more distant past to those much closer in time to his moment of narration. This breakdown of Michel's narrative seems to presage the movement in the first- person novel in France away from the relation of a story as traditionally conceived and towards the increasing importance accorded the present of narration itself. In that sense, The Immoralist is a key, pivotal work in the long line of short first-person works of fiction in France.

  8. The political implications of epigenetics Emerging narratives and ideologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robison, Shea K

    2016-01-01

    Epigenetics, which is just beginning to attract public attention and policy discussion, challenges conventional understanding of gene-environment interaction and intergenerational inheritance and perhaps much more besides. Does epigenetics challenge modern political ideologies? I analyzed the narratives of obesity and epigenetics recently published in the more liberal New York Times and the more conservative Wall Street Journal. For the years 2010 through 2014, 50 articles on obesity and 29 articles on epigenetics were identified, and elements in their causal narratives were quantitatively analyzed using a well described narrative policy framework. The narratives on obesity aligned with the two newspapers' reputed ideologies. However, the narratives on epigenetics aligned with neither ideology but freely mixed liberal and conservative elements. This small study may serve as a starting point for broader studies of epigenetics as it comes to affect political ideologies and, in turn, public policies. The narrative mix reported here could yet prove vulnerable to ideological capture, or, more optimistically, could portend the emergence of a "third-way" narrative using epigenetics to question atomistic individualism and allowing for less divisiveness in public-health domains such as obesity.

  9. Red balloon: approaching dreams as self-narratives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Androutsopoulou, Athena

    2011-10-01

    In this article, dreams are seen as stories within a self-narrative. Dream stories, like all other stories, are told in an effort to make sense of experiences. Here, dream content is linked to current concerns, some aspects of which are not given voice in waking. Dreams depict restricting themes but also openings in self-narratives. Several examples are provided of how dreams can be linked to early, middle, and late therapy phases associated with recognizing, challenging, revising, and maintaining a revising stance. It is further suggested that dream stories can be used to trace, facilitate, and evaluate the process of reconstructing self-narratives. Finally, a number of therapeutic interventions are briefly presented to facilitate the work of narrative-informed family therapists working with individuals, families, and groups. © 2011 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

  10. GenMapDB: a database of mapped human BAC clones

    OpenAIRE

    Morley, Michael; Arcaro, Melissa; Burdick, Joshua; Yonescu, Raluca; Reid, Thomas; Kirsch, Ilan R.; Cheung, Vivian G.

    2001-01-01

    GenMapDB (http://genomics.med.upenn.edu/genmapdb) is a repository of human bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones mapped by our laboratory to sequence-tagged site markers. Currently, GenMapDB contains over 3000 mapped clones that span 19 chromosomes, chromosomes 2, 4, 5, 9–22, X and Y. This database provides positional information about human BAC clones from the RPCI-11 human male BAC library. It also contains restriction fragment analysis data and end sequen...

  11. Interactive digital narrative history, theory and practice

    CERN Document Server

    Koenitz, Hartmut; Haahr, Mads; Sezen, Digdem; Sezen, Tonguç Ibrahim

    2015-01-01

    The book is concerned with narrative in digital media that changes according to user input-Interactive Digital Narrative (IDN). It provides a broad overview of current issues and future directions in this multi-disciplinary field that includes humanities-based and computational perspectives. It assembles the voices of leading researchers and practitioners like Janet Murray, Marie-Laure Ryan, Scott Rettberg and Martin Rieser. In three sections, it covers history, theoretical perspectives and varieties of practice including narrative game design, with a special focus on changes in the power rela

  12. Understanding and Communicating through Narratives

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-17

    mechanisms associated with storytelling .2 This is in contrast to the actual use of narrative terminology used in U.S. military lexicon, which connotes a...A spoken or written account of connected events, a Story; (2) The narrated part of literary work, as distinct from dialogue; and (3) the practice or...difficult task as emotional scenes of violence and destruction move quickly from mobile phones to the news media.5 Although application of the story form

  13. A Narrative Theory of Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aarseth, Espen

    2012-01-01

    In this article I present a narrative theory of games, building on standard narra-tology, as a solution to the conundrum that has haunted computer game studies from the start: How to approach software that combines games and stories?......In this article I present a narrative theory of games, building on standard narra-tology, as a solution to the conundrum that has haunted computer game studies from the start: How to approach software that combines games and stories?...

  14. The Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System 2.0: A multi-methodological approach to identifying and assessing narrative-emotion process markers in psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angus, Lynne E; Boritz, Tali; Bryntwick, Emily; Carpenter, Naomi; Macaulay, Christianne; Khattra, Jasmine

    2017-05-01

    Recent studies suggest that it is not simply the expression of emotion or emotional arousal in session that is important, but rather it is the reflective processing of emergent, adaptive emotions, arising in the context of personal storytelling and/or Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) interventions, that is associated with change. To enhance narrative-emotion integration specifically in EFT, Angus and Greenberg originally identified a set of eight clinically derived narrative-emotion integration markers were originally identified for the implementation of process-guiding therapeutic responses. Further evaluation and testing by the Angus Narrative-Emotion Marker Lab resulted in the identification of 10 empirically validated Narrative-Emotion Process (N-EP) markers that are included in the Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System Version 2.0 (NEPCS 2.0). Based on empirical research findings, individual markers are clustered into Problem (e.g., stuckness in repetitive story patterns, over-controlled or dysregulated emotion, lack of reflectivity), Transition (e.g., reflective, access to adaptive emotions and new emotional plotlines, heightened narrative and emotion integration), and Change (e.g., new story outcomes and self-narrative discovery, and co-construction and re-conceptualization) subgroups. To date, research using the NEPCS 2.0 has investigated the proportion and pattern of narrative-emotion markers in Emotion-Focused, Client-Centered, and Cognitive Therapy for Major Depression, Motivational Interviewing plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and EFT for Complex Trauma. Results have consistently identified significantly higher proportions of N-EP Transition and Change markers, and productive shifts, in mid- and late phase sessions, for clients who achieved recovery by treatment termination. Recovery is consistently associated with client storytelling that is emotionally engaged, reflective, and evidencing new story outcomes and self-narrative

  15. WholeCellSimDB: a hybrid relational/HDF database for whole-cell model predictions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karr, Jonathan R; Phillips, Nolan C; Covert, Markus W

    2014-01-01

    Mechanistic 'whole-cell' models are needed to develop a complete understanding of cell physiology. However, extracting biological insights from whole-cell models requires running and analyzing large numbers of simulations. We developed WholeCellSimDB, a database for organizing whole-cell simulations. WholeCellSimDB was designed to enable researchers to search simulation metadata to identify simulations for further analysis, and quickly slice and aggregate simulation results data. In addition, WholeCellSimDB enables users to share simulations with the broader research community. The database uses a hybrid relational/hierarchical data format architecture to efficiently store and retrieve both simulation setup metadata and results data. WholeCellSimDB provides a graphical Web-based interface to search, browse, plot and export simulations; a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Web service to retrieve data for Web-based visualizations; a command-line interface to deposit simulations; and a Python API to retrieve data for advanced analysis. Overall, we believe WholeCellSimDB will help researchers use whole-cell models to advance basic biological science and bioengineering. http://www.wholecellsimdb.org SOURCE CODE REPOSITORY: URL: http://github.com/CovertLab/WholeCellSimDB. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

  16. Degradation of 2,4-DB in Argentinean agricultural soils with high humic matter content.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuadrado, Virginia; Merini, Luciano J; Flocco, Cecilia G; Giulietti, Ana M

    2008-01-01

    The dissipation of 4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) butyric acid (2,4-DB) in high-humic-matter-containing soils from agricultural fields of the Argentinean Humid Pampa region was studied, employing soil microcosms under different experimental conditions. The added herbicide was dissipated almost completely by soils with and without history of herbicide use by day 28. At 500 ppm, both soils showed the same degradation rates; but at 5-ppm concentration, the chronically exposed soil demonstrated a faster degradation of the herbicide. 2,4-DB addition produced increases in herbicide-degrading bacteria of three and 1.5 orders of magnitude in soils with and without history of herbicide use, respectively, in microcosms with 5 ppm. At 500-ppm concentration, the increase in 2,4-DB degraders was five orders of magnitude after 14 days, independent of the history of herbicide use. No differences were observed in either 2,4-DB degradation rates or in degrader bacteria numbers in the presence and absence of alfalfa plants, in spite of some differential characteristics in patterns of 2,4-DB metabolite accumulation. The main factor affecting 2,4-DB degradation rate would be the history of herbicide use, as a consequence of the adaptation of the indigenous microflora to the presence of herbicides in the field.

  17. A Crude 1-DNJ Extract from Home Made Bombyx Batryticatus Inhibits Diabetic Cardiomyopathy-Associated Fibrosis in db/db Mice and Reduces Protein N-Glycosylation Levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing Zhao

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The traditional Chinese drug Bombyx Batryticatus (BB, which is also named the white stiff silkworm, has been widely used in Chinese clinics for thousands of years. It is famous for its antispasmodic and blood circulation-promoting effects. Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, interstitial cell hyperplasia, and myocardial fibrosis are closely related to the N-glycosylation of key proteins. To examine the alterations of N-glycosylation that occur in diabetic myocardium during the early stage of the disease, and to clarify the therapeutic effect of 1-Deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ extracted from BB, we used the db/db (diabetic mouse model and an approach based on hydrophilic chromatography solid-phase extraction integrated with an liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (LC-MS identification strategy to perform a site-specific N-glycosylation analysis of left ventricular cardiomyocyte proteins. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs, hydroxyproline, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF, and other serum biochemical indicators were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA. In addition, the α-1,6-fucosylation of N-glycans was profiled with lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA lectin blots and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC-labelled lectin affinity histochemistry. The results indicated that 1-DNJ administration obviously downregulated myocardium protein N-glycosylation in db/db mice. The expression levels of serum indicators and fibrosis-related cytokines were reduced significantly by 1-DNJ in a dose-dependent manner. The glycan α-1,6-fucosylation level of the db/db mouse myocardium was elevated, and the intervention effect of 1-DNJ administration on N-glycan α-1,6-fucosylation was significant. To verify this result, the well-known transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β/Smad2/3 pathway was selected, and core α-1,6-fucosylated TGF-β receptor II (TGFR-βII was analysed semi-quantitatively with western blotting. The result supported the conclusions obtained

  18. Antibodies against human cytochrome P-450db1 in autoimmune hepatitis type II.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zanger, U M; Hauri, H P; Loeper, J; Homberg, J C; Meyer, U A

    1988-11-01

    In a subgroup of children with chronic active hepatitis, circulating autoantibodies occur that bind to liver and kidney endoplasmic reticulum (anti-liver/kidney microsome antibody type I or anti-LKM1). Anti-LKM1 titers follow the severity of the disease and the presence of these antibodies serves as a diagnostic marker for this autoimmune hepatitis type II. We demonstrate that anti-LKM1 IgGs specifically inhibit the hydroxylation of bufuralol in human liver microsomes. Using two assay systems with different selectivity for the two cytochrome P-450 isozymes catalyzing bufuralol metabolism in human liver, we show that anti-LKM1 exclusively recognizes cytochrome P-450db1. Immunopurification of the LKM1 antigen from solubilized human liver microsomes resulted in an electrophoretically homogenous protein that had the same molecular mass (50 kDa) as purified P-450db1 and an identical N-terminal amino acid sequence. Recognition of both purified P-450db1 and the immunoisolated protein on western blots by several monoclonal antibodies confirmed the identity of the LKM1 antigen with cytochrome P-450db1. Cytochrome P-450db1 has been identified as the target of a common genetic polymorphism of drug oxidation. However, the relationship between the polymorphic cytochrome P-450db1 and the appearance of anti-LKM1 autoantibodies as well as their role in the pathogenesis of chronic active hepatitis remains speculative.

  19. Spoken Narrative Assessment: A Supplementary Measure of Children's Creativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Miranda Kit-Yi; So, Wing Chee

    2016-01-01

    This study developed a spoken narrative (i.e., storytelling) assessment as a supplementary measure of children's creativity. Both spoken and gestural contents of children's spoken narratives were coded to assess their verbal and nonverbal creativity. The psychometric properties of the coding system for the spoken narrative assessment were…

  20. Oral Narratives in Monolingual and Bilingual Preschoolers with SLI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezzonico, Stefano; Chen, Xi; Cleave, Patricia L.; Greenberg, Janice; Hipfner-Boucher, Kathleen; Johnson, Carla J.; Milburn, Trelani; Pelletier, Janette; Weitzman, Elaine; Girolametto, Luigi

    2015-01-01

    Background: The body of literature on narratives of bilingual children with and without specific language impairment (SLI) is growing. However, little is known about the narrative abilities of bilingual preschool children with SLI and their patterns of growth. Aims: To determine the similarities and differences in narrative abilities between…

  1. Protein (Viridiplantae) - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available ase Description Download License Update History of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us Protein (Viridiplantae) - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive ... ...List Contact us PGDBj - Ortholog DB Protein (Viridiplantae) Data detail Data name Protein (Viridiplantae) DO...switchLanguage; BLAST Search Image Search Home About Archive Update History Data

  2. NARRATIVE KNOWINGNarrative and Storytelling Resources in Art Therapy

    OpenAIRE

    Harpaz, Ruth

    2014-01-01

    International audience; As professor Amia Lieblich has said, "People are story tellers by nature" (Lieblich et al., 1988). Storytelling technique is well-founded in narrative theory, phenomenology, psychoanalytic theory, trauma studies and aesthetics. Both my own research and my Art Therapy practice have been enriched by the use of narrative and storytelling as therapy interventions. Storytelling ability emanates from narrative knowledge. Notably, it is reframed as the patient's ability to us...

  3. Using culture and psychology to counter the Taliban's violent narratives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aggarwal, Neil Krishan

    2017-08-01

    Scholars, politicians, and policy-makers have increasingly pointed to the role of narratives in recruiting militants and justifying violence, highlighting the need for counter-narratives that promote peace. However, few have offered concrete guidelines on how to construct counter-narratives. This exploratory study uses prototype theory from social psychology to analyse Taliban narratives written in Arabic on the historical figure Maḥmūd of Ghaznī (971-1030), who is portrayed as a figure worthy of emulation. Key themes emerge from the Taliban's narratives: potential ingroup members are defined as Sunni Muslims who are committed to jihad; deviant Muslims must become Sunnis; non-Muslims must be converted and humiliated; and Taliban leaders should emulate Maḥmūd of Ghaznī's attributes. Contrasting the Taliban's narratives of Maḥmūd of Ghaznī with the historical record reveals themes that are culled empirically around which counter-narratives could be constructed.

  4. Illness narratives in cancer: CAM and spiritual practices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulrich, Anita; Evron, Lotte; Ostenfeld-Rosenthal, Ann

    2011-01-01

    Objectives: In this paper,we investigate Danish cancer patients’ narratives on spiritual beliefs and practices and the relationship these practices may have to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Design: Narrative inquiry is used to uncover how spiritual beliefs and practices may......, religious and spiritual issues were not extensively unfolded in participants’ illness narratives. However, these issues were significantly elaborated on in narratives by four female participants. Conclusion: We propose that for some cancer patients CAM may function, not only or primarily as a treatment...... for cancer related symptoms and side effects, but as a spiritual practice as well. For some individuals this may be true to an even higher extent than in established religious institutions....

  5. Shifting the balance: the contemporary narrative of obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shugart, Helene A

    2011-01-01

    In this essay, I assess the narrative of obesity as articulated in representative contemporary mainstream media fare--namely, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Biggest Loser, and Big Medicine. I contend that the emergent narrative of obesity across these programs signals a shift from the historically received narrative in light of its intersection with the concurrent culturally resonant narratives of addiction and self-actualization. In particular, the proposed "problem" and "solution" to obesity, both historically attributed to personal responsibility, appear to be shifting in favor of cultural explanations that describe obesity as symptomatic of and secondary to broader issues related to community, emotionality, and agency. This suggests novel cultural understandings, practices, and policies regarding the mounting "obesity epidemic."

  6. Narrative skills in two languages of Mandarin-English bilingual children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Ying; Bedore, Lisa M; Sheng, Li; Peña, Elizabeth D

    2018-03-08

    Narrative skills between Mandarin and English in Mandarin-English (ME) bilingual children were compared, exploring cross-linguistic interactions of these skills, and influences of age and current language experience (input and output) on narrative performance. Macrostructure and microstructure in elicited narratives from 21 ME bilingual children were analysed. Language experience was collected by parent report and entered as a covariate. Repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to compare the two languages. Children demonstrated better narrative performance in English than Mandarin, with a larger cross-linguistic difference in microstructure than macrostructure. Significant cross-linguistic correlations were only found in children with high Mandarin vocabulary. Age, associated with length of English exposure, only significantly correlated with narrative performance in English. Output had stronger correlations with narrative skills than input. Macrostructure may be less variable across languages than microstructure. Children may need to reach a threshold of vocabulary for cross-linguistic interactions of narrative skills to occur. The effect of age in English may be related to increased cumulative English experience. Children may experience a plateau in Mandarin due to insufficient Mandarin exposure. Stronger correlations between output and narrative skills may be attributed to the expressive nature of both.

  7. The union of narrative and executive function: Different but complementary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret eFriend

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Oral narrative production develops dramatically from 3 to 5 years of age, and is a key factor in a child’s ability to communicate about the world. Concomitant with this are developments in executive function (EF. For example, executive attention and behavioral inhibition show marked development beginning around 4 years of age. Both EF and oral narrative abilities have important implications for academic success, but the relationship between them is not well understood. The present paper utilizes a cross-lagged design to assess convergent and predictive relations between EF and narrative ability. As a collateral measure, we collected a Language Sample during 10 minutes of free play. Language Sample did not share significant variance with Narrative Production, thus general language growth from Wave 1 to Wave 2 cannot account for the predictive relations between EF and Narrative. Our findings suggest that although EF and Narrative ability appear independent at each wave, they nevertheless support each other over developmental time. Specifically, the ability to maintain focus at 4 years supports subsequent narrative ability and narrative ability at 4 years supports subsequent facility and speed in learning and implementing new rules.  

  8. Archetypal Narratives in Career Counselling: A Chaos Theory Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pryor, Robert G. L.; Bright, Jim E. H.

    2008-01-01

    This paper seeks to extend previous work on narrative career counselling by considering the role of plot within clients' narratives. Seven archetypal narratives derived from the work of Booker (2004) are introduced that represent systems of meaning to provide insight into how individuals interpret their experience. These plots can be understood…

  9. The Relationship between Oral and Written Narratives: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study of Narrative Cohesion, Coherence, and Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto, Giuliana; Tarchi, Christian; Bigozzi, Lucia

    2015-01-01

    Background: The relationship between oral language and the writing process at early acquisition stages and the ways the former can enhance or limit the latter has not been researched extensively. Aims: The predictive relationship between kindergarten oral narrative competence and the first- and second-grade written narrative competence was…

  10. Narrative learning through life: Kenyan teachers' life-stories and narrative learning, and what this means for their relation to the teaching profession

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, Kari Kragh Blume

    2015-01-01

    This article explores four Kenyan primary school teachers’ life-stories and narrative learning through living and telling stories about their lives from 2000 to 2011, and what this means for their relation to the teaching profession. Evidence suggests that narrative learning manifests as altered...... professionalism ‘in’ and ‘through’ the stories teachers tell about their lives and depends on ruptures in lived life, followed by periods of transition in life-stories. Teachers also learned narratively by recounting their life-stories. Thus, narrative learning is an important learning site and a resource...... for professional development in addition to pre-service teacher education....

  11. Multiple legitimacy narratives and planned organizational change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Landau, Dana; Drori, Israel; Terjesen, Siri

    2014-01-01

    This article explores the cultural narratives through which members of organizations define legitimacy during prolonged periods of change. We view legitimacy work as a cultural practice and interpretive process that takes the form of organizational narratives. We show how the shifting configurations

  12. Reflections on Narrative Approaches to Moral Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lourenco, Orlando

    1996-01-01

    Compares narrative approaches to Kohlberg's theory of moral development along five dimensions: values relevance, legitimacy, universality, rationality, and commensurability. Argues that, contrary to Kohlberg's theory, narrative approaches may lead to contradiction in epistemology, nihilism in moral choices, and opportunism in relationships.…

  13. Fermentation of purple Jerusalem artichoke extract to improve the α-glucosidase inhibitory effect in vitro and ameliorate blood glucose in db/db mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhiqiang; Hwang, Seung Hwan; Lee, Sun Youb; Lim, Soon Sung

    2016-06-01

    Jerusalem artichoke has inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and decreases fasting serum glucose levels, which may be related to its fructan content. The biological activity of fructan can be influenced by the degree of polymerization. Thus, in this study, the inhibitory effects of original and fermented purple Jerusalem artichoke (PJA) on α-glucosidase were compared in vitro. Additionally, the anti-diabetes effect of Lactobacillus plantarum-fermented PJA (LJA) was studied in a non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus animal model (C57BIKsJ db/db). The water extract of PJA was fermented by L. plantarum, and two strains of Bacillus subtilis to compare their anti-α-glucosidase activities in vitro by α-glucosidase assays. The anti-diabetes effect of LJA was studied in a non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus animal model (C57BIKsJ db/db) for seven weeks. During the experiment, food intake, body weight, and fasting blood glucose were measured every week. At the end of the treatment period, several diabetic parameters and the intestinal α-glucosidase activity were measured. The LJA showed the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in vitro. In the in vivo study, it resulted in a significantly lower blood glucose concentration than the control. Serum insulin and HDL cholesterol levels were significantly higher and the concentrations of triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids, and total cholesterol were significant lower in mice treated with LJA after seven weeks. In addition, the intestinal α-glucosidase activity was partially inhibited. These results suggested that LJA regulates blood glucose and has potential use as a dietary supplement.

  14. The contribution of nurses to incident disclosure: a narrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Reema; Birks, Yvonne; Hall, Jill; Bosanquet, Kate; Harden, Melissa; Iedema, Rick

    2014-02-01

    To explore (a) how nurses feel about disclosing patient safety incidents to patients, (b) the current contribution that nurses make to the process of disclosing patient safety incidents to patients and (c) the barriers that nurses report as inhibiting their involvement in disclosure. A systematic search process was used to identify and select all relevant material. Heterogeneity in study design of the included articles prohibited a meta-analysis and findings were therefore synthesised in a narrative review. A range of text words, synonyms and subject headings were developed in conjunction with the York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination and used to undertake a systematic search of electronic databases (MEDLINE; EMBASE; CENTRAL; PsycINFO; Health Management and Information Consortium; CINAHL; ASSIA; Science Citation Index; Social Science Citation Index; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects; Health Technology Assessment Database; Health Systems Evidence; PASCAL; LILACS). Retrieval of studies was restricted to those published after 1980. Further data sources were: websites, grey literature, research in progress databases, hand-searching of relevant journals and author contact. The title and abstract of each citation was independently screened by two reviewers and disagreements resolved by consensus or consultation with a third person. Full text articles retrieved were further screened against the inclusion and exclusion criteria then checked by a second reviewer (YB). Relevant data were extracted and findings were synthesised in a narrative empirical synthesis. The systematic search and selection process identified 15 publications which included 11 unique studies that emerged from a range of locations. Findings suggest that nurses currently support both physicians and patients through incident disclosure, but may be ill-prepared to disclose incidents independently. Barriers to nurse involvement included a lack of

  15. RefDB: The Reference Database for CMS Monte Carlo Production

    CERN Document Server

    Lefébure, V

    2003-01-01

    RefDB is the CMS Monte Carlo Reference Database. It is used for recording and managing all details of physics simulation, reconstruction and analysis requests, for coordinating task assignments to world-wide distributed Regional Centers, Grid-enabled or not, and trace their progress rate. RefDB is also the central database that the workflow-planner contacts in order to get task instructions. It is automatically and asynchronously updated with book-keeping run summaries. Finally it is the end-user interface to data catalogues.

  16. Protein (Cyanobacteria) - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available ut This Database Database Description Download License Update History of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us Protein (Cyanobacteria) - PGDBj - Ortholog DB | LSDB Archive ... ...List Contact us PGDBj - Ortholog DB Protein (Cyanobacteria) Data detail Data name Protein (Cyanobacteria) DO...switchLanguage; BLAST Search Image Search Home About Archive Update History Data

  17. Narrative Transparency: Adopting a Rhetorical Stance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arnould, Eric; Press, Melea

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we look at how alternative marketing organisations communicate transparency in a climate of generalised risk and scepticism. We contrast the traditional numeric approach to transparency, which involves auditing and third-party certifications; with an alternative approach that we call...... narrative transparency. Central to narrative transparency is an emphasis on stake-holder dialogue and an invitation to stake-holders to play the role of auditor. This article illustrates how alternative marketing organisations engage in rhetorical tactics central to a narrative approach, to communicate...... transparency to their stakeholders. These rhetorical tactics include persona, allegory, consumer sovereignty and enlightenment. Community supported agriculture programmes from across the United States are the context for this study. Findings enrich discussions about best practices for transparency...

  18. Lithuanian narrative language at preschool age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingrida Balčiūnienė

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the main linguistic indications of Lithuanian preschoolers’ narratives. The analysis is based on experimental data of 24 typically developing monolingual Lithuanian children (6–7 years of age from middle-class families, attending a state kindergarten in Kaunas (Lithuania. During the experiment, the children were asked to tell a story according to the Cat Story (Hickmann 1993 picture sequence. The stories were recorded, transcribed and annotated for an automatic analysis using CHILDES software. During the analysis, the syntactic complexity, lexical diversity, and general productivity (MLUw and type/token ratio of the narratives were investigated. The results indicated the main microstructural tendencies of Lithuanian narrative language at preschool age.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5128/ERYa8.02

  19. Who speaks? Who looks? Who feels? Point of view in autobiographical narratives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habermas, Tilmann

    2006-04-01

    In this paper, the author aims to substantiate Freud's claim that neurotic illness creates gaps in autobiographical narratives in terms of the narrator's stating and inducing perspectives. He sketches out the role of narrative perspective and the joint taking of a shared perspective by analyst and patient in psychoanalytic therapy. He introduces four ways of representing perspectives in narratives. Three degrees of narrative distortion are exemplified by three excerpts from life narratives and explored in terms of narrative perspective representation. The most comprehensive perspective representation is achieved in the first example by explicitly stating the present perspective of the narrator as well as the past perspective of the story's protagonist by use of mental verbs. In the second narrative, exclusive use of linguistic forms for inducing the protagonist's perspective both overwhelms the narrator and gives the listener an incomplete picture of what happened. Inconsistent motives, denial of responsibility and omission of detail render the third narrative even more difficult to follow. The author discusses the clinical significance of this exploratory analysis of perspectives in narratives in terms of claiming responsibility for one's past action and of level of defence mechanisms, and by highlighting the emotional impact on listeners, which the author suggests is the stronger the more perspectives are left out. He discusses analogies to countertransference. The analysis of narrative perspectives offers an approach for systematic research in psychoanalytic practice.

  20. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatman, Seymour

    The purpose of this book is to provide a reasoned account of narrative structure, the elements of storytelling, and their combination and articulation. As explained in the introductory chapter, the "what" of narrative is the story, its events (actions, happenings) and existents (characters and settings); the "way" of narrative is discourse, or…