Book Reviews

Hablar de felicidad y bienestar después de que grandes filósofos hayan llenado páginas y aplicar estos conceptos al espacio biblioteca, que por tradición tiene unas connotaciones muy estrictas, es una responsabilidad que puede parecer presuntuosa. Primero se fundamenta que el concepto de biblioteca actual ha cambiado y tiene que adecuarse a las necesidades sociales haciendo uso de los avances tecnológicos y entendiendo la especialización como vía de apoyo a los estudios, la investigación y la innovación; hay que elegir los servicios que se tienen que mantener y valorar las novedades para buscar elementos que favorezcan la finalidad. Además, se analizan una serie de técnicas de apoyo que se relacionan con la percepción sensorial y se buscan los argumentos teóricos para avalar la práctica que ya se está experimentando en diferentes ámbitos e instituciones. Se evalúan los colores, el sonido, el aroma y lo que se refiere a ambientación. Después se determina qué conceptos de felicidad y bienestar se persiguen en el presente para poder desarrollar la Propuesta sobre el espacio más allá de valores subjetivos, como el confort, ambientes agradables, etc., y así se argumenta la elección con los elementos objetivos necesarios y la finalidad que cumplen para satisfacer a los usuarios. A partir del Estado del Arte se plantea que la reordenación de espacios y la incorporación de elementos sencillos de aporte sensorial sobre la actual biblioteca de la EPSEB favorecerán su uso y proporcionarán a la comunidad universitaria bienestar y felicidad. Se contrasta la hipótesis con expertos bibliotecarios y con profesionales e instituciones que utilizan las técnicas de apoyo sensorial para obtener beneficios en salud y aprendizaje. Así, se corrobora que los colores o la música se están utilizando con finalidades terapéuticas en instituciones de prestigio como la Fundación Guttman (Badalona), quienes, además, están diseñando en Barcelona un edificio robotizado que tiene como objetivo principal proporcionar bienestar. También la aromatología cuenta con escuelas superiores certificadas que demuestran la importancia de los olores y el paisajismo interior se abre camino en empresas de arquitectura para determinar una vertiente que ayude a mejorar la vida de los seres humanos. Finalmente la Propuesta se ha desarrollado sobre la infraestructura actual, desde la objetividad, con la aplicación de técnicas de apoyo beneficiosas para la salud y el aprendizaje que fortalecen la felicidad y el bienestar. Se presenta la imagen de la nueva biblioteca de la EPSEB en 3D y se pretende que sea el escaparate de esta facultad para mostrar que en ella se investiga, se innova, se expone y se aplica. Además los fundamentos teóricos y prácticos se pueden hacer extensibles a otras bibliotecas universitarias o escolares, por similitud, y tener en cuenta en las bibliotecas generales a las que también se hace referencia

Book reviews

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Neuroactive steroids in depression and anxiety disorders: Clinical studies

Certain neuroactive steroids modulate ligand-gated ion channels via non-genomic mechanisms. Especially 3 alpha-reduced pregnane steroids are potent positive allosteric modulators of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptor. During major depression, there is a disequilibrium of 3 alpha-reduced neuroactive steroids, which is corrected by clinically effective pharmacological treatment. To investigate whether these alterations are a general principle of successful antidepressant treatment, we studied the impact of nonpharmacological treatment options on neuroactive steroid concentrations during major depression. Neither partial sleep deprivation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, nor electroconvulsive therapy affected neuroactive steroid levels irrespectively of the response to these treatments. These studies suggest that the changes in neuroactive steroid concentrations observed after antidepressant pharmacotherapy more likely reflect distinct pharmacological properties of antidepressants rather than the clinical response. In patients with panic disorder, changes in neuroactive steroid composition have been observed opposite to those seen in depression. However, during experimentally induced panic induction either with cholecystokinine-tetrapeptide or sodium lactate, there was a pronounced decline in the concentrations of 3 alpha-reduced neuroactive steroids in patients with panic disorder, which might result in a decreased GABAergic tone. In contrast, no changes in neuroactive steroid concentrations could be observed in healthy controls with the exception of 3 alpha,5 alpha-tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone. The modulation of GABA(A) receptors by neuroactive steroids might contribute to the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety disorders and might offer new targets for the development of novel anxiolytic compounds. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Portland\u27s Changing Landscape

Occasional Papers in Geography Publication No. 4 What is the nature and character of Portland? What are the conditions, changes and developments that have made it what it is? How does Portland compare with other places? What makes it unique? These are some of the question pursued in this volume. This book contains thirteen chapters discussing various facets of Portland\u27s environmental, economy, and character. It is an up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of dynamics and change in the landscape. An overview is provided of Portland as a city and place to live, as well as its functional significance on a national and international basis. Two threads are woven through the tapestry of these essays. One is that Portland is a big city but with many attributes of a small town. The other is the closeness and accessibility of city and nature. The challenge is how to nurture and maintain both - to have our cake and eat it too. The evidence is clear that most American cities have not been able to achieve this. Only the future can tell how Portland will fare. The authors are all professional geographers or work in closely related fields. All have been involved with the Portland scene for a number of years and are uniquely qualified to write about these topics. While each approaches problems from his or her own perspective, the net result is a summing up, a taking stock of where we have been and where we are going. When considered as a whole the book should provide a better view than we have had of the nature and character of this special place.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/geog_occasionalpaper/1000/thumbnail.jp

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

A Rigidity-Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity: A Case for Linear Cationic α-Helical Peptide HP(2–20) and Its Four Analogues

Linear cationic α-helical antimicrobial peptides are referred to as one of the most likely substitutes for common antibiotics, due to their relatively simple structures (≤40 residues) and various antimicrobial activities against a wide range of pathogens. Of those, HP(2–20) was isolated from Helicobacter pylori ribosomal protein. To reveal a mechanical determinant that may mediate the antimicrobial activities, we examined the mechanical properties and structural stabilities of HP(2–20) and its four analogues of same chain length by steered molecular dynamics simulation. The results indicated the following: the resistance of H-bonds to the tensile extension mediated the early extensive stage; with the loss of H-bonds, the tensile force was dispensed to prompt the conformational phase transition; and Young's moduli (N/m2) of the peptides were about 4∼8×109. These mechanical features were sensitive to the variation of the residue compositions. Furthermore, we found that the antimicrobial activity is rigidity-enhanced, that is, a harder peptide has stronger antimicrobial activity. It suggests that the molecular spring constant may be used to seek a new structure-activity relationship for different α-helical peptide groups. This exciting result was reasonably explained by a possible mechanical mechanism that regulates both the membrane pore formation and the peptide insertion

Waveforms of molecular oscillations reveal circadian timekeeping mechanisms

Circadian clocks play a pivotal role in orchestrating numerous physiological and developmental events. Waveform shapes of the oscillations of protein abundances can be informative about the underlying biochemical processes of circadian clocks. We derive a mathematical framework where waveforms do reveal hidden biochemical mechanisms of circadian timekeeping. We find that the cost of synthesizing proteins with particular waveforms can be substantially reduced by rhythmic protein half-lives over time, as supported by previous plant and mammalian data, as well as our own seedling experiment. We also find that previously-enigmatic, cyclic expression of positive arm components within the mammalian and insect clocks allows both a broad range of peak time differences between protein waveforms and the symmetries of the waveforms about the peak times. Such various peak-time differences may facilitate tissue-specific or developmental stage-specific multicellular processes. Our waveform-guided approach can be extended to various biological oscillators, including cell-cycle and synthetic genetic oscillators.Comment: Supplementary material is available at the journal websit