56 research outputs found

    Term Mediation in Modern Scientific Research on Translation

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    The article is devoted to the definitional analysis of the term mediation in the scientific communication of translation researchers and the rational grounds for introducing a new word into the terminological system of the translation science branch of scientific knowledge. Research methods: information search of modern foreign and domestic scientific studies on the keywords mediation and mediatsiya, definitional and contextual analysis of the specified pair of terms in scientific research on translation in Russian, English and French. The authors raise the issue of a certain confusion in the use of the term to refer to various kinds of intermediary activity. It turns out that in the field of translation, mediation is most often understood as a process of acting as an intermediary and is a type of social interaction between different interlocutors with the help of an interpreter. As a result of the study, it is found that the introduction of the term mediation into scientific communication is determined by the need to designate a special kind of cultural mediation, in which the translator plays a more active role, bringing him closer to the mediator as a intermediary in controversial and conflict situations. The relevance of the use of the term here is connected with the problems of intercultural and sociocultural mediation in migration processes

    Prostaglandin E2 affects differently the release of inflammatory mediators from resident macrophages by LPS and muramyl tripeptides.

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    LPS and MTP-PE (liposome-encapsulated N-acetyl-muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutaminyl-L-alanine-2-:[1',2'dipalmitoyl -sni-glycero-3-(hydroxy-phosphoryl-oxyl)] etylamide) induce in liver macrophages a synthesis and release of TNF-alpha, nitric oxide and prostanoids. Both agents induce an expression of mRNA's encoding TNF-alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, and of corresponding proteins. LPS and MTP-PE induce a rapid activation of the extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) isoenzymes-1 and -2. Inhibition of map kinase isoenzymes leads to a decreased release of TNF-alpha, nitric oxide and prostaglandin (PG) E2 after both agents. The transcription factors NF-kappaB and AP-1 are strongly activated by LPS within 30 minutes. MTP-PE induces a weak activation of both transcription factors only after 5 hours. Inhibition of NF-kappaB inhibits the LPS- but not the MTP-PE-induced release of TNF-alpha, nitric oxide and PGE2. PGE2 release after LPS is higher than after MTP-PE. Exogenously added PGE2 inhibits the activation of map kinase and TNF-alpha release by LPS, but not by MTP-PE. Release of nitric oxide after LPS and MTP-PE is enhanced after prior addition of PGE2. PGD2 is without any effect. MTP-PE, but not LPS, induces a cytotoxicity of Kupffer cells against P815 tumor target cells. The MTP-PE-induced cytotoxicity is reduced by TNF-alpha neutralizing antibodies, indicating the involvement of TNF-alpha. Thus our results suggest that the different potencies of LPS and MTP-PE as immunomodulators probably result from different actions on Kupffer cells, resulting in differences in the amounts and kinetics of released TNF-alpha and PGE2, and that PGE2 plays an important regulatory role in the action of LPS, but not in the actions of MTP-PE

    Puntos de inflexión en los gradientes de composición de las comunidades de plantas acuáticas de diferentes continentes

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    Unravelling patterns and mechanisms of biogeographical transitions is crucial if we are to understand compositional gradients at large spatial extents, but no studies have thus far examined breakpoints in community composition of freshwater plants across continents. Using a dataset of almost 500 observations of lake plant community composition from six continents, we examined, for the first time, if such breakpoints in geographical space exist for freshwater plants and how well a suite of ecological factors (including climatic and local environmental variables) can explain transitions in community composition from the subtropics to the poles. Our combination of multivariate regression tree (MRT) analysis and k-means partitioning suggests that the most abrupt breakpoint exists between temperate to boreal regions on the one hand and freshwater plant communities harbouring mainly subtropical or Mediterranean assemblages on the other. The spatially structured variation in current climatic conditions is the most likely candidate for controlling these latitudinal patterns, although one cannot rule out joint effects of eco-evolutionary constraints in the harsher high-latitude environments and post-glacial migration lags after Pleistocene Ice Ages. Overall, our study supports the foundations of global regionalisation for freshwater plants and anticipates further biogeographical research on freshwater plant communities once datasets have been harmonised for conducting large-scale spatial analyses.publishedVersio

    Puntos de inflexión en los gradientes de composición de las comunidades de plantas acuáticas de diferentes continentes

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    Sección: SIBECOL-AIL Meeting in Aveiro-2022[EN] Unravelling patterns and mechanisms of biogeographical transitions is crucial if we are to understand compositional gradients at large spatial extents, but no studies have thus far examined breakpoints in community composition of freshwater plants across continents. Using a dataset of almost 500 observations of lake plant community composition from six continents, we examined, for the first time, if such breakpoints in geographical space exist for freshwater plants and how well a suite of ecological factors (including climatic and local environmental variables) can explain transitions in community composition from the subtropics to the poles. Our combination of multivariate regression tree (MRT) analysis and k-means partitioning suggests that the most abrupt breakpoint exists between temperate to boreal regions on the one hand and freshwater plant communities harbouring mainly subtropical or Mediterranean assemblages on the other. The spatially structured variation in current climatic conditions is the most likely candidate for controlling these latitudinal patterns, although one cannot rule out joint effects of eco-evolutionary constraints in the harsher high-latitude environments and post-glacial migration lags after Pleistocene Ice Ages. Overall, our study supports the foundations of global regionalisation for freshwater plants and anticipates further biogeographical research on freshwater plant communities once datasets have been harmonised for conducting large-scale spatial analyses[ES] Desentrañar los patrones y mecanismos que subyacen a las transiciones biogeográficas es un requisito fundamental a la hora de comprender los gradientes de composición de las comunidades ecológicas a grandes extensiones espaciales, si bien ningún estudio ha examinado explícitamente estos puntos de inflexión para comunidades de plantas acuáticas de diferentes continentes. Utilizando una completa base de datos que condensa un total de casi 500 observaciones individuales sobre las comunidades florísticas lacustres de seis continentes, este trabajo pretende delinear las transiciones biogeográficas en plantas acuáticas a escala global, así como valorar el papel que desempeñan diversos mecanismos ecológicos (a saber, las condiciones climáticas y las características locales del hábitat) sobre estos puntos de inflexión en el espacio geográfico comprendido entre las latitudes subtropicales y los polos. Nuestros resultados obtenidos mediante la ejecución simultánea de árboles de regresión multivariante (MRT) y algoritmos de agrupación por k-medias demuestran la existencia de un punto de inflexión entre las regiones templadas y boreales y los lagos localizados en las bandas subtropicales y en las inmediaciones del Mediterráneo. La estructura espacial que subyace a la distribución de los condicionantes climáticos en nuestro planeta parece ser el principal mecanismo de control de dichas transiciones biogeográficas, si bien estos patrones latitudinales también podrían explicarse en base a constricciones eco-evolutivas en las regiones más septentrionales y a la colonización diferencial de los territorios norteños antaño cubiertos por el hielo durante el Último Máximo Glacial. En síntesis, nuestro estudio proporciona una base teórica preliminar para futuras investigaciones encaminadas a delimitar las unidades geográficas de los principales componentes de la flora acuática contemporánea y también anticipa un creciente interés por los estudios de carácter fitogeográfico en las aguas continentales, si bien los análisis venideros deberán prestar especial atención a la armonización de datos biológicos potencialmente heterogéneos en naturaleza y con orígenes disparesSIJGG was funded by the European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR (grant no. AG325). Academy of Finland supported JH, JGG (grant no. 331957), and JA (grant no. 322652). CFL appreciates financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (grant no. CL2017- 84176R). BAL was supported by National Research, Development, and Innovation Office (grant no. NKFIH, OTKA FK127939) and by the Bolyai János Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. SK was supportedby NWO Vidi (grant no. 203098). LR was funded by MESRSI (Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation of Morocco) as part of the BiodivRestore Program (RESPOND Project) and by the Tour du Valat Foundation. Sampling of the Brazilian coastal lakes was financed by NWO (grant no. W84-549), the National Geographic Society (grant no. 7864-5), and CNPq (grants no. 480122, 490409, 311427

    Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Iran

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    BACKGROUND: Estimates of the annual prevalence for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) were consistent across the international sites range, 1.9% – 2.5%. The nine population surveys, which used Diagnostic Interview Schedule, estimated a six-month prevalence of OCD ranging from 0.7% to 2.1%. This study performed in order to determine the prevalence of OCD in a population-based study among Iranian adults aged 18 and older and to study the association of them with factors such as sex, marital status, education, type of occupation and residential area. METHODS: A cross-sectional nationwide epidemiological study of the Iranian population aged 18 and older was designed to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and their association with the above mentioned factors. 25180 individuals were selected and interviewed through a randomized systematic and cluster sampling method from all Iranian households. Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) criteria were used in diagnosis of OCD. 250 clinical psychologists interviewed the selected subjects face to face at their homes. RESULTS: The prevalence of OCD in Iran is 1.8% (0.7% and 2.8% in males and females; respectively). 50.3% of the survey sample were men, 49.9% women, 29.1% single, 67.45% married, 0.4% separated or divorced, 2.5% widow/widower and 4% undetermined. All of the above-mentioned factors were examined in the univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Although the data did not fit the models well, but in univariate models, sex, the category "single" of marital status, age, the categories "business" and "housewife" and residential areas showed significant effect adjusting for the factors, but the models didn't fit the data properly. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that the prevalence of OCD is not rare in the community of Iran and is within the range of other countries. Similar to prior studies in other communities, OCD is more common in females than males

    Simultaneous assessment of acidogenesis-mitigation and specific bacterial growth-inhibition by dentifrices

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    Dentifrices can augment oral hygiene by inactivating bacteria and at sub-lethal concentrations may affect bacterial metabolism, potentially inhibiting acidogenesis, the main cause of caries. Reported herein is the development of a rapid method to simultaneously measure group-specific bactericidal and acidogenesis-mitigation effects of dentifrices on oral bacteria. Saliva was incubated aerobically and anaerobically in Tryptone Soya Broth, Wilkins-Chalgren Broth with mucin, or artificial saliva and was exposed to dentifrices containing triclosan/copolymer (TD); sodium fluoride (FD); stannous fluoride and zinc lactate (SFD1); or stannous fluoride, zinc lactate and stannous chloride (SFD2). Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined turbidometrically whilst group-specific minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were assessed using growth media and conditions selective for total aerobes, total anaerobes, streptococci and Gram-negative anaerobes. Minimum acid neutralization concentration (MNC) was defined as the lowest concentration of dentifrice at which acidification was inhibited. Differences between MIC and MNC were calculated and normalized with respect to MIC to derive the combined inhibitory and neutralizing capacity (CINC), a cumulative measure of acidogenesis-mitigation and growth inhibition. The overall rank order for growth inhibition potency (MIC) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was: TD> SFD2> SFD1> FD. Acidogenesis-mitigation (MNC) was ordered; TD> FD> SFD2> SFD1. CINC was ordered TD> FD> SFD2> SFD1 aerobically and TD> FD> SFD1> SFD2 anaerobically. With respect to group-specific bactericidal activity, TD generally exhibited the greatest potency, particularly against total aerobes, total anaerobes and streptococci. This approach enables the rapid simultaneous evaluation of acidity mitigation, growth inhibition and specific antimicrobial activity by dentifrices

    Connectivity and zebra mussel invasion offer short‐term buffering of eutrophication impacts on floodplain lake landscape biodiversity

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    Aim To investigate if connectivity and zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) occurrence can mitigate effects of eutrophication in a lowland lake landscape. Location Upper Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, UK. Methods Data on environment, macrophytes and invertebrates were assembled for three basins of a large central lake and its satellite floodplain lakes via field surveys and palaeolimnological analyses. Space–time interaction analyses of palaeoecological data were compared pre‐1950 and post‐1950. Multivariate analyses examined how connectivity, environment and zebra mussels influenced contemporary lake communities, and explain their divergence from historical communities in the past. Results Pre‐1950, we found high community variation across sites and low within‐lake variation in macrophytes, but progressive eutrophication accentuated within‐lake community variation after 1950. Partitioning analysis showed larger effects of connectivity than nutrient enrichment on contemporary macrophyte composition, while local effects structured invertebrate communities. Three clusters of lakes were revealed according to variation in macrophyte composition, isolation from the central lake and nutrient enrichment: Group 1– the central lake and six nearby lakes were meso‐eutrophic (TP = 66.7 ± 47.6 μg/L; TN = 0.79 ± 0.41 mg/L) and had the highest zebra mussel abundances and organismal biodiversity; Group 2– Eight eutrophic (TP = 112±36.6 μg/L; TN = 1.25 ± 0.5 mg/L) and connected lakes; Group 3– Seven isolated and hypertrophic (TP = 163.2 ± 101.5 μg/L; TN = 1.55 ± 0.3 mg/L) lakes. Pre‐1950 palaeolimnological data for macrophytes and invertebrates for 5 lakes and a basin in the central lake most resembled extant lake communities of Group 1. However, palaeo‐records revealed that macrophytes and invertebrates subsequently converged towards those of Groups 2 and 3. Main conclusions Our study reveals that the central “mother” lake acts as a hub for preserving biodiversity via shared hydrological connectivity with satellite lakes and high zebra mussel abundances. These may buffer the impoverishing effects of eutrophication and sustain unexpectedly high biodiversity in the short term. Such protective buffering, however, cannot be relied upon indefinitely to conserve biodiversity

    Defining Chlorophyll-a Reference Conditions in European Lakes

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    The concept of “reference conditions” describes the benchmark against which current conditions are compared when assessing the status of water bodies. In this paper we focus on the establishment of reference conditions for European lakes according to a phytoplankton biomass indicator—the concentration of chlorophyll-a. A mostly spatial approach (selection of existing lakes with no or minor human impact) was used to set the reference conditions for chlorophyll-a values, supplemented by historical data, paleolimnological investigations and modelling. The work resulted in definition of reference conditions and the boundary between “high” and “good” status for 15 main lake types and five ecoregions of Europe: Alpine, Atlantic, Central/Baltic, Mediterranean, and Northern. Additionally, empirical models were developed for estimating site-specific reference chlorophyll-a concentrations from a set of potential predictor variables. The results were recently formulated into the EU legislation, marking the first attempt in international water policy to move from chemical quality standards to ecological quality targets
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