Search filters: mapping the literature using a novel form of content analysis.

Background: Search filters are combinations of words and phrases designed to retrieve an optimal set of records on a particular topic (subject filters) or study design (methodological filters). Information specialists are increasingly turning to reusable filters to focus their searches. However, the extent of the academic literature on search filters is unknown. We provide a broad overview to the academic literature on search filters.
Objectives: To map the academic literature on search filters from 2004 to 2015 using a novel form of content analysis.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search for literature between 2004 and 2015 across eight databases using a subjectively derived search strategy. We identified key words from titles, grouped them into categories, and examined their frequency and co-occurrences.
Results: The majority of records were housed in Embase (n = 178) and MEDLINE (n = 154). Over the last decade, both databases appeared to exhibit a bimodal distribution with the number of publications on search filters rising until 2006, before dipping in 2007, and steadily increasing until 2012. Few articles appeared in social science databases over the same time frame (e.g. Social Services Abstracts, n = 3).
Unsurprisingly, the term ‘search’ appeared in most titles, and quite often, was used as a noun adjunct for the word 'filter' and ‘strategy’. Across the papers, the purpose of searches as a means of 'identifying' information and gathering ‘evidence’ from 'databases' emerged quite strongly. Other terms relating to the methodological assessment of search filters, such as precision and validation, also appeared albeit less frequently.
Conclusions: Our findings show surprising commonality across the papers with regard to the literature on search filters. Much of the literature seems to be focused on developing search filters to identify and retrieve information, as opposed to testing or validating such filters. Furthermore, the literature is mostly housed in health-related databases, namely MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Embase, implying that it is medically driven. Relatively few papers focus on the use of search filters in the social sciences.

Reframing the Favela, Remapping the City: Territorial Embeddedness and (Trans)locality in “Framing Content” on Brazilian Favela Blogs

In recent years, the internet has become a key site for the portrayal of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. This article examines blogging by favela residents and argues that digital culture constitutes a vital, and as yet not systematically explored, arena of research on the representation of Rio de Janeiro and its favelas. Based on ethnographically inspired research carried out in 2009–2010, this article examines two examples of blog ‘framing content’ (a sidebar and a static page) encountered during fieldwork, which functioned to establish a concrete link between the posts on the blogs in question, their authors, and a named favela, even when the posts were not explicitly about that favela. At the same time, the framing content also made visible, and affirmed, the translocal connections between that favela, other favelas, and the city as a whole. These illustrative examples from a wider study show how favela bloggers are engaged in resignifying and remapping the relationships between different empirical scales of locality (and associated identities) in Rio de Janeiro, demonstrating the contribution an interdisciplinary approach to the digital texts and practices of favela residents can make to an understanding of the contemporary city and its representational conundrums, from the perspective of ‘ordinary practitioners’.

Volumetric Carbon Content Calculations: A Geostatistical and Compositional Approach

This study applies spatial statistical techniques including cokriging to integrate airborne geophysical (radiometric) data with ground-based measurements of peat depth and soil organic carbon (SOC) to monitor change in peat cover for carbon stock calculations. The research is part of the EU funded Tellus Border project and is supported by the INTERREG IVA development programme of the European Regional Development Fund, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The premise is that saturated peat attenuates the radiometric signal from underlying soils and rocks. Contemporaneous ground-based measurements were collected to corroborate mapped estimates and develop a statistical model for volumetric carbon content (VCC) to 0.5 metres. Field measurements included ground penetrating radar, gamma ray spectrometry and a soil sampling methodology which measured bulk density and soil moisture to determine VCC. One aim of the study was to explore whether airborne radiometric survey data can be used to establish VCC across a region. To account for the footprint of airborne radiometric data, five cores were obtained at each soil sampling location: one at the centre of the ground radiometric equivalent sample location and one at each of the four corners 20 metres apart. This soil sampling strategy replicated the methodology deployed for the Tellus Border geochemistry survey. Two key issues will be discussed from this work. The first addresses the integration of different sampling supports for airborne and ground measured data and the second discusses the compositional nature of the VOC data.

A definition of literary literacy: a content analysis of literature syllabuses and interviews with Portuguese lecturers of literature

The aim of this paper is to present a definition of literary literacy in the context of majors in languages, literatures and cultures, in Portugal. A definition of literary literacy was deduced from a content analysis of primary data sources and from the theoretical underpinnings of the transactional theory of reading. The primary data sources are fourteen Portuguese and English literature syllabuses from four Portuguese universities (Lisboa, Nova, Coimbra and Porto) and twelve interviews with Portuguese university lecturers of literature. Based on the findings of a content analysis of both syllabuses and interviews, from the lecturers‘ point of view, a literary literate student doing a major in languages, literatures and cultures must, above all, be able to contextualize literary texts and their authors both historically and culturally, must be able to present an interpretation as a coherent text, and must be able to do and organize bibliographical research.

NAA and STS effects on bract survival time, carbohydrate content, respiration rate and carbohydrate balance of potted Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd

The aims of this work were to deepen the knowledge on the physiology of bract abscission in Bougainvillea spectabilis ‘Killie Campbell’ plants, in what relates to respiration and carbon balance. Using the effects induced by Silver Thiosulphate (STS) and/or Naphtalene Acetic Acid (NAA, at high concentration: 500 mg.l-1) on bract abscission under interior conditions, the relationship between bract survival time (longevity) and, respiration rate or carbohydrate levels, was investigated. Treatments that included NAA were the ones that reduced significantly bract abscission. Unexpectedly, the higher the levels of bract soluble and total carbohydrates, measured at day 10 postproduction (PP), the higher the abscission of bracts. These results show, for the first time, that abscission can positively correlate with non structural carbohydrates levels in the organ that abscise. Bract respiration rate was significantly affected by treatment and postproduction day (PP). Treatments that had higher bract respiration rates (WATER and STS) also had higher levels of non structural carbohydrates in the bracts. Bract respiration rate decreased from day 10 to day 17 PP by approximately 50% (on average of all treatments) and was negatively correlated with bract survival time. In the carbon balance per gram of bract dry weight, the treatments WATER and STS, showed the largest decrease in the content of total carbohydrates and had the highest consumption of carbohydrates through respiration. So, these were the bracts that needed to import a higher amount of carbohydrates per gram of bract dry weight. In the carbon balance for the whole mass of bracts and adjacent stems in an average plant, the treatments WATER and STS continued to allow for the largest decreases in total carbohydrate during postproduction. However, and contradicting the results per gram of bract dry weight, the highest total consumption of carbohydrates by respiration was obtained for the NAA and STS+NAA treatments. It makes sense that bracts that last longer have lower individual carbon consumption while, at the plant level, the increased number of remaining bracts causes a higher overall expenditure. Respiration rate has been used as an indicator of flower longevity, this correlation is here extended for the flower+bract system. Plants that had higher bract respiration rates, most probably, had a higher flow of carbohydrates through the bracts (and flowers), which, in the end, was sensed as a higher carbohydrate level.

Antioxidant properties and phenol content of Portulaca oleracea L. leaf, stems and flowers infusions: health benefits

Dissertação de mest., Ciências Biomédicas, Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, Univ. do Algarve, 2011

Improved extraction of arabinoxylans from rye bran and production of health beneficial oligosaccharides

Dissertação de mest., Engenharia Biológica, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Univ. do Algarve, 2011

On the solvation in lipid bilayers measured by pyrene fluorescence: thermal and molecular composition influence on equivalent polarity in lipidic mixtures

Phosphatidylcholine (PC), sphingomyelin (SM) and cholesterol (CHOL) are major constituents of mammalian cell membranes. DPPC/CHOL and DPPC/DMPC are well-known binary mixtures. POPC/CHOL, DOPC/CHOL, egg-SM/CHOL, egg-SM/POPC and egg-SM/DOPC are less studied, but also important for the comprehension of the POPC/egg-SM/CHOL mixtures. These provide complex media for which polarity is hard to access. It is mainly determined by the water penetrating the bilayer (unevenly distributed creating a polarity gradient), though the influence of the dipoles from phospholipids (e.g. –PO, –CO, –OH) and the double bond in the steroid ring of CHOL cannot be neglected. CHOL derivatives are an interesting tool to verify the influence of the double bonds in the polarization of its surroundings. Pyrene fluorescence was used to access an equivalent polarity (associated to the dielectric constant) near the lipid/water interface of lipid bilayers. POPC/CHOL and DOPC/CHOL have similar thermal behavior and variation with CHOL content, though for lower CHOL content the equivalent polarity is higher for the DOPC/CHOL mixtures. The studies with DPPC and DMPC showed that pyrene does not seem to have a marked preference for either ordered or disordered phases. For DPPC/CHOL and egg-SM/CHOL the highlight goes to the behavior of the mixtures at higher CHOL amounts, where there is a substantial change in the thermal behavior and polarity values especially for the egg-SM/CHOL mixture. Egg-SM/POPC and egg-SM/DOPC show different behavior depending on which phospholipid has a higher molar proportion. The ternary mixtures analyzed do not exhibit significant differences, though there is the indication of the existence of a more ordered environment at lower temperatures and a less ordered environment for higher temperatures. The presence of 7DHC or DCHOL in egg-SM bilayers showed a tendency for the same behavior detected upon mixing higher amounts of CHOL.

Efficient content pushing in IEEE 802.11p vehicular environments

Vehicular networking is a new field that is expected to be widely adopted in the near future. One of the key applications inherent to this novel communications paradigm is content delivery to on-board users. In this paper we focus specifically on broadcast-based content delivery. We propose a content delivery scheme that is optimized for performance in order to improve the maximum amount of data than can be delivered, while also reducing delivery time to a minimum. With this goal our study combines both analytical and simulation results to determine the optimal packet size for content delivery so as to achieve the maximum throughput possible at different distances, and considering both static and mobile receivers. Experimental results show that our optimizations provide efficient delivery of multimedia contents for distances up to 200 meters when relying on IEEE 802.lip based broadcasting. Copyright © 2010 ACM.

Variation of the Group 5 Grass Pollen Allergen Content of Airborne Pollen in Relation to Geographical Location and Time in Season

Allergies to grass pollen are the number one cause of outdoor hay fever. The human immune system reacts with symptoms to allergens from pollen. Objective: We investigated the natural variability in release of the major group 5 allergen from grass pollen across Europe. Methods: Airborne pollen and allergens were simultaneously collected daily with a volumetric spore trap and a high-volume cascade impactor at 10 sites across Europe for 3 consecutive years. Group 5 allergen was determined with a Phl p 5 specific ELISA in two fractions of ambient air: Particulate Matter (PM) >10μm and 10μm>PM>2.5μm. Mediator release by ambient air was determined in FcεR1-humanized basophils. Origin of pollen was modeled and condensed to pollen potency maps. Results: On average grass pollen released 2.3 pg Phl p 5/pollen. Allergen release per pollen (potency) varied substantially, ranging from 0 to 9 pg Phl p 5/pollen (5 to 95% percentile). The main variation was locally day-to-day. Average potency maps across Europe varied between years. Mediator release from basophilic granulocytes correlated better with allergen/m3 (r2=0.80, p<0.001) than with pollen/m3 (r2=0.61, p<0.001). In addition, pollen released different amounts of allergen in the nonpollen bearing fraction of ambient air depending on humidity. Conclusion: Across Europe, the same amount of pollen released substantially different amounts of group 5 grass pollen allergen. This variation in allergen release is on top of variations in pollen counts. Molecular aerobiology, i.e. determining allergen in ambient air, may be a valuable addition to pollen counting.

Determination of the Change in Anthropogenic Carbon Content in the Kuroshio Extension over the past 20 years using the C* Method

Senior thesis written for Oceanography 445

Growing biofuel outdoors in Seattle: effects of natural light level and temperature on marine microalgal culture density and lipid content in contained natural exposure systems

Senior thesis written for Oceanography 445

The relation between content providers and distributors: Lessons from the regulation of television distribution in the United Kingdom

Using the United Kingdom (UK) as a case study, this article analyses the growing commercial and regulatory significance of broadcaster-distributor relations within the contemporary television industry. The first part of the article argues that despite important changes in broadcast delivery technology, more recently shaped by the growth of the Internet, and the associated growth of options of receiving television content, the traditional delivery platforms (digital terrestrial, satellite and cable) remain by far the preferred choice for viewers in Britain. At the same time, public service broadcasters continue to be the biggest investors in domestic original non-sport content and account for over half of all television viewing. The strength of PSBs in content and their growing reliance on commercial proprietary subscription platforms (cable and satellite) and gradually on the Internet presents challenges in the nexus between broadcasters and distributors. The article focuses on the debate over retransmission fees between PSBs and Sky, and on the question of whether Sky should be required to offer some of its premium content to rival pay-TV platforms. These two examples highlight the impact regulatory intervention can have on the balance of power between broadcasters and distributors. The article concludes that such debates concerning the commercial relations between content providers and distributors will remain pivotal and become more heated given that similar issues are raised in the Internet environment.

Cholesterol 24S-Hydroxylase overexpression inhibits the liver X receptor (LXR) pathway by activating small guanosine triphosphate-binding proteins (sGTPases) in neuronal cells

The neuronal-specific cholesterol 24S-hydroxylase (CYP46A1) is important for brain cholesterol elimination. Cyp46a1 null mice exhibit severe deficiencies in learning and hippocampal long-term potentiation, suggested to be caused by a decrease in isoprenoid intermediates of the mevalonate pathway. Conversely, transgenic mice overexpressing CYP46A1 show an improved cognitive function. These results raised the question of whether CYP46A1 expression can modulate the activity of proteins that are crucial for neuronal function, namely of isoprenylated small guanosine triphosphate-binding proteins (sGTPases). Our results show that CYP46A1 overexpression in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and in primary cultures of rat cortical neurons leads to an increase in 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase activity and to an overall increase in membrane levels of RhoA, Rac1, Cdc42 and Rab8. This increase is accompanied by a specific increase in RhoA activation. Interestingly, treatment with lovastatin or a geranylgeranyltransferase-I inhibitor abolished the CYP46A1 effect. The CYP46A1-mediated increase in sGTPases membrane abundance was confirmed in vivo, in membrane fractions obtained from transgenic mice overexpressing this enzyme. Moreover, CYP46A1 overexpression leads to a decrease in the liver X receptor (LXR) transcriptional activity and in the mRNA levels of ATP-binding cassette transporter 1, sub-family A, member 1 and apolipoprotein E. This effect was abolished by inhibition of prenylation or by co-transfection of a RhoA dominant-negative mutant. Our results suggest a novel regulatory axis in neurons; under conditions of membrane cholesterol reduction by increased CYP46A1 expression, neurons increase isoprenoid synthesis and sGTPase prenylation. This leads to a reduction in LXR activity, and consequently to a decrease in the expression of LXR target genes.

How new online communication tools and the availability of content influence the audiences and the creative process

We live in a changing world. At an impressive speed, every day new technological resources appear. We increasingly use the Internet to obtain and share information, and new online communication tools are emerging. Each of them encompasses new potential and creates new audiences. In recent years, we witnessed the emergence of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media platforms. They have provided us with an even greater interactivity between sender and receiver, as well as generated a new sense of community. At the same time we also see the availability of content like it never happened before. We are increasingly sharing texts, videos, photos, etc. This poster intends to explore the potential of using these new online communication tools in the cultural sphere to create new audiences, to develop of a new kind of community, to provide information as well as different ways of building organizations’ memory. The transience of performing arts is accompanied by the need to counter that transience by means of documentation. This desire to ‘save’ events reaches its expression with the information archive of the different production moments as well as the opportunity to record the event and present it through, for instance, digital platforms. In this poster we intend to answer the following questions: which online communication tools are being used to engage audiences in the cultural sphere (specifically between theater companies in Lisbon)? Is there a new relationship with the public? Are online communication tools creating a new kind of community? What changes are these tools introducing in the creative process? In what way the availability of content and its archive contribute to the organization memory? Among several references, we will approach the two-way communication model that James E. Grunig & Todd T. Hunt (1984) already presented and the concept of mass self-communication of Manuel Castells (2010). Castells also tells us that we have moved from traditional media to a system of communication networks. For Scott Kirsner (2010), we have entered an era of digital creativity, where artists have the tools to do what they imagined and the public no longer wants to just consume cultural goods, but instead to have a voice and participate. The creativity process is now depending on the public choice as they wander through the screen. It is the receiver who owns an object which can be exchanged. Virtual reality has encouraged the receiver to abandon its position of passive observer and to become a participant agent, which implies a challenge to organizations: inventing new forms of interfaces. Therefore, we intend to find new and effective online tools that can be used by cultural organizations; the best way to manage them; to show how organizations can create a community with the public and how the availability of online content and its archive can contribute to the organizations’ memory.