bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of wound fluid biomarkers to determine healing in adults with venous leg ulcers: A prospective study
Authors: Stacey Michael C. , Phillips Steven A. , Farrokhyar Forough , Swaine Jillian M.
Published: April 2019

Clinical practice guidelines recommend using repeated wound surface area measurements to determine if a chronic ulcer is healing. This results in delays in determining the healing status. This study aimed to evaluate whether any of a panel of biomarkers can determine the healing status of chronic venous leg ulcers. Forty‐two patients with chronic venous leg ulcers had their wound measured and wound fluid collected at weekly time points for 13 weeks. Wound fluid was analyzed using multiplex enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay to determine the concentration of biomarkers in the wound fluid at each weekly time point. Healing status was determined by examining the change in wound size at the previous and subsequent weeks. Predictive accuracy with 95% confidence intervals (CI) is reported. Of 42 patients, 105 evaluable weekly time points were obtained, with 32 classified as healing, 27 as nonhealing, and 46 as indeterminate. Thirteen biomarkers significantly differed between healing and nonhealing wounds (p < 0.1) and were included in a multivariate logistic regression model. Granulocyte macrophage‐colony stimulating factor (p < 0.001) and matrix metalloprotease‐13 (p = 0.004) were the best predictors of wound healing. Receiver operating characteristic curves indicated 92% accuracy (95% CI: 85%,100%) for granulocyte macrophage‐colony stimulating factor, and 78% accuracy (95% CI: 65%,90%) for matrix metalloprotease‐13 in discriminating between healing and nonhealing wounds. This study found that two biomarkers from wound fluid can predict healing status in chronic venous leg ulcers. These findings may lead to the ability to determine the future trajectory of a wound and the ability to modify treatment accordingly.
Relationship of Depression Scores and Ranges in Women Who Suffer From Fibromyalgia by Age Distribution: A Case‐Control Study
Authors: Palomo‐López Patricia , Becerro‐de‐Bengoa‐Vallejo Ricardo , Elena‐Losa‐Iglesias Marta , López‐López Daniel , Rodríguez‐Sanz David , Cáceres‐León Macarena , Calvo‐Lobo César
Published: April 2019

Background

Fibromyalgia may be defined as a chronic widespread pain condition that generates a functional impairment with various symptoms, such as depression.

Purpose

The main aim of this research was to compare the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores and depression ranges in women who suffered from fibromyalgia with respect to healthy controls, overall and by age distributions.

Methods

A case–control observational study was performed. Two hundred women with a mean age of 58.61 ± 15.65 years old were recruited. The women were divided into case (women with fibromyalgia) and control (healthy women) groups. The BDI scores and depression ranges were collected.

Results

The depression ranges and BDI scores mean ± SD showed statistically significant differences (p < .001) between participants with fibromyalgia (19.30 ± 11.21 points; moderate depression) and healthy controls (6.37 ± 5.35 points; no depression). Regarding the age distributions, statistically significant differences were shown between fibromyalgia and control groups for adults (p < .001; 19.06 ± 6.55 vs. 4.69 ± 4.48 points) and older adults (p = .001; 20.25 ± 13.79 vs. 7.63 ± 5.47 points), respectively. ANOVA of the BDI scores with two factors and interaction (fibromyalgia presence and age distribution) determined no interaction between the two factors (p = .534) and statistically significant differences of BDI scores for fibromyalgia presence (p < .001; R2 = 35.50%), but not for age distribution (p = .144).

Linking Evidence to Action

Measurable differences in higher BDI scores and depression ranges were shown in women who suffered from fibromyalgia with respect to healthy controls, regardless of age distribution. Greater probabilities (odds ratio = 15.88) of suffering from some level of depression (according to BDI scores) were found in women with fibromyalgia in comparison with healthy women. Although these findings did not seem to be influenced by age distribution, interventions targeting depression in practice, research, policy, management, or education must equally include adult and older adult women who suffer from fibromyalgia.
To the knowledge of oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) of the Comoro lslands
Authors: Ermilov Sergey G. , Mary Nathalie J.
Published: April 2019

The present study is based on oribatid mite material collected from Mayotte island (Сomoro Islands, Ethiopian region) in 2011–2016. A new species of the genus Uracrobates (Oribatida, Mochlozetidae) is described; Uracrobates (Uracrobates) mayottensis sp. nov. differs from all species of the nominative subgenus by having a rounded rostrum (versus bidentate or pointed). An updated generic diagnosis and an identification key to the known subgenera and species of Uracrobates are presented. A list of all oribatid mite taxa of the Comoro Islands, including 41 species, 30 genera and 19 families, is provided. Thе genus Phauloppia and the species Edwardzetes novazealandicus are recorded in the Ethiopian region for the first time.
Geomorphic change and biogeomorphic feedbacks in a dryland river: The Little Colorado River, Arizona, USA
Authors: Dean D.J. , Topping D.J.
Published: April 2019

The Little Colorado River in Arizona, United States, has undergone substantial geomorphic change since the late 1800s and early 1900s, consisting of sediment accumulation following an earlier period of likely widespread sediment evacuation. We analyzed hydrologic and geomorphic data at different spatial and temporal scales to determine the primary mechanisms responsible for these changes, and to provide context for periods of sediment evacuation and accumulation in other rivers.

Peak-flow magnitude has progressively declined since the 1920s despite the occurrence of four alternating periods of high and low total annual flow. Largely coincident with this hydrologic change, the channel has narrowed between 72% and 88% in some reaches since the 1930s, with increases in sinuosity in wide alluvial valleys causing ∼21%–32% reductions in channel slope. Dense stands of vegetation colonized, and thus stabilized, the newly deposited floodplains. Although large, long-duration floods caused some channel widening, these floods have been too infrequent to offset the progressive narrowing. Channel narrowing, increases in sinuosity, decreases in slope, and increases in vegetative roughness appear to have caused biogeomorphic feedbacks, thereby exacerbating sediment deposition, disrupting flood conveyance, and contributing to decreases in peak-flow magnitude and in sediment transport. The progressive increase in water development in parts of the basin has also likely contributed to progressive declines in peak flow. These results show that biogeomorphic feedback processes combined with human water development may be as important as, if not more important than, changes in climate in driving hydrologic, geomorphic, and sediment-load change in dryland river environments.
Geology of a Neoarchean suture: Evidence from the Zunhua ophiolitic mélange of the Eastern Hebei Province, North China Craton
Authors: Wang Junpeng , Li Xiawen , Ning Wenbin , Kusky Timothy , Wang Lu , Polat Ali , Deng Hao
Published: April 2019

Mélanges characterize Phanerozoic convergent plate boundaries, but have rarely been reported from Archean orogens. In this paper, we document a Neoarchean ophiolitic mélange in the Eastern Hebei Province of the North China Craton. The Zunhua ophiolitic mélange is composed of a structural mixture of metapelites, ortho- and para-gneisses, and magnetite-quartzite mixed with exotic tectonic mafic blocks of metabasalts, metagabbroic rocks, and metadiabases, along with ultramafic blocks of serpentinized peridotites and podiform chromitites. The Zunhua ophiolitic mélange shows typical “block in matrix” structures. All units of the mélange have been intruded by granitic dikes and quartz veins that clearly cross-cut the foliation of blocks and matrix of the mélange. Laser-ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry zircon U-Pb dating of detrital zircons from the meta-sedimentary mélange matrix and intruding granitic dikes constrains the formation time of the Zunhua mélange to be between 2.52 and 2.46 Ga. Metamorphic rims on zircons from meta-sedimentary mélange matrix have ages of 2467 ± 27 Ma, confirming metamorphism of the mélange occurred at ca. 2.47 Ga. High-precision (scale 1:20 and 1:50) litho-structural mapping, along with detailed structural observations along several transects documents the internal fabrics and kinematics of the mélange, revealing a northwest to southeast directed transportation. The asymmetric structures in the mélange with folding and faulting events in the Zunhua mélange record kinematic information and are similar to the tectonic style of an accretionary wedge. Field relationships and geochemical analysis of various mafic blocks show that these blocks formed in an arc-related subduction tectonic environment. We suggest that the Zunhua mélange marks the suture zone of a Neoarchean arc-continent collisional event in the Central Orogenic Belt of the North China Craton. Combined with our previous studies, we demonstrate that a ca. 2.5 Ga tectonic suture exists between an arc/accretionary prism terrane in the Central Orogenic Belt and the Eastern Block of the North China Craton. We correlate this segment of the suture with other similar zones along strike, for >1000 km, including sections of the ca. 2.5 Ga in Dengfeng greenstone belt in the southern margin of the Central Orogenic Belt, and the ca. 2.5 Ga Zanhuang ophiolitic mélange in the center of the orogen. These relationships demonstrate that tectonic processes in the late Archean included subduction/accretion at convergent margins, and the horizontal movement of plates, in a style similar to modern-day accretionary convergent margins.
Surgical case of subacute headache in a young Latin American woman
Authors: Di Bonaventura Rina , D’Alessandris Quintino Giorgio , Lauretti Liverana
Published: April 2019

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the most common helmintic disease affecting the central nervous system and a major cause of adult-onset epilepsy in the developing world.1We describe a case of intraventricular NCC associated with hydrocephalus in a 28-year-old woman, Peruvian native, admitted to the emergency department for subacute headache and nausea. The cranial CT scan done showed asymmetric enlargement of the lateral ventricles which on cranial MRI was revealed to be due to an intraventricular cyst. An intraventricular endoscope was used to remove the cyst at the foramina of Monro, and therefore treat the obstructive hydrocephalus. NCC—a known cause of hydrocephalus in many Latin American countries—should be among the differential diagnosis in a patient with history of travel or residency in these countries. Treatment of choice for obstructive hydrocephalus caused by NCC is cyst removal with neuroendoscopy.
Predictive models for short-term and long-term improvement in women under physiotherapy for chronic disabling neck pain: a longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Bohman Tony , Bottai Matteo , Björklund Martin
Published: April 2019

Objectives

To develop predictive models for short-term and long-term clinically important improvement in women with non-specific chronic disabling neck pain during the clinical course of physiotherapy.

Design

Longitudinal cohort study based on data from a randomised controlled trial evaluating short-term and long-term effects on sensorimotor function over 11 weeks of physiotherapy.

Participants and settings

Eighty-nine women aged 31–65 years with non-specific chronic disabling neck pain from Gävle, Sweden.

Measures

The outcome, clinically important improvement, was measured with the Patient Global Impression of Change Scale (PGICS) and the Neck Disability Index (NDI), assessed by self-administered questionnaires at 3, 9 and 15 months from the start of the interventions (baseline). Twelve baseline prognostic factors were considered in the analyses. The predictive models were built using random-effects logistic regression. The predictive ability of the models was measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Internal validity was assessed with cross-validation using the bootstrap resampling technique.

Results

Factors included in the final PGICS model were neck disability and age, and in the NDI model, neck disability, depression and catastrophising. In both models, the odds for short-term and long-term improvement increased with higher baseline neck disability, while the odds decreased with increasing age (PGICS model), and with increasing level of depression (NDI model). In the NDI model, higher baseline levels of catastrophising indicated increased odds for short-term improvement and decreased odds for long-term improvement. Both models showed acceptable predictive validity with an AUC of 0.64 (95% CI 0.55 to 0.73) and 0.67 (95% CI 0.59 to 0.75), respectively.

Conclusion

Age, neck disability and psychological factors seem to be important predictors of improvement, and may inform clinical decisions about physiotherapy in women with chronic neck pain. Before using the developed predictive models in clinical practice, however, they should be validated in other populations and tested in clinical settings.
Drug use at the end of life in older adults
Authors: Chuang Hsien-Yeh , Wen Yu-Wen , Chen Liang-Kung , Hsiao Fei-Yuan
Published: April 2019

Objective

To investigate symptom-relief and comorbid drug uses at the end of life for older people with different dying trajectories (cancer, organ failure, frailty and sudden death) in Taiwan.

Methods

In a retrospective observational study of older people aged 65 years and older who died in hospitals between 2008 and 2012, we used NHIRD to measure numbers, incremental changes and determinants of symptom-relief and comorbid drug use in the last month of outpatient care and last hospitalisation before death.

Results

We included 59 407 older adults (cancer 37%, organ failure 26%, frailty 35% and sudden death 2%) who died in hospitals for this study. In the last hospitalisation before death, individuals who died of cancer received greatest number of symptom-relief drugs (mean: 4.65, [SD 2.77]) and increased most the average change in the number of symptom-relief drug use (+1.60; SD 3.36). However, individuals who died of organ failure received the highest number of comorbid drugs (mean 2.88, [SD 1.95]) and also increased most the average change in the number of comorbid drug use (+0.17; SD 2.28) at last hospitalisation. Different dying trajectories were key determinants of receiving symptom-relief and comorbid drugs in our study.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that the drug use of older adults at the end of life in the cancer group is different from that in the organ failure and frailty groups. Policymakers and health professionals should consider the different strategies to optimise drug use for older people with different dying trajectories near their end of life.
Left ventricular vortex formation time in elite athletes: novel predictor of myocardial performance
Authors: Poh Kian Keong , Ngiam Nicholas , Wood Malissa J
Published: April 2019

Background

Efficient transportation of blood through the left ventricle (LV) during diastole depends on vortex formation. Vortex formation time (VFT) can be measured by echocardiography as a dimensionless index. As elite athletes have supranormal diastolic LV function, we aim to assess resting and post-exercise VFT in these athletes and hypothesised that VFT may predict myocardial performance immediately post-exercise.

Method

Subjects were world class speedskaters training for the Winter Olympic Games. Echocardiographic measurements were obtained before and immediately after 3000 m of racing. VFT was computed as 4×(1−β)/π×α³×left ventricle ejection fraction where β is the fraction of diastolic stroke volume contributed by atrial contraction, α is the biplane end diastolic volume (EDV)1/3 divided by mitral annular diameter during early diastole.

Results

Baseline VFT was 2.6±0.7 (n=24, age 22±3 years, 67% males). Post-exercise, heart rates increased (64±10 vs 89±12 beats/min, p<0.01); however, VFT was unchanged (2.9±1.0, p>0.05). VFT at rest correlated modestly with post-exertion early diastolic mitral in-flow velocity (E; r=0.59, p=0.01), tissue Doppler-derived early mitral annular velocity (E′; septal and lateral, both r=0.59, p=0.01) and systolic annular velocity (S′; septal: r=0.46, p=0.02 and lateral: r=0.48, p=0.02) but not late diastolic mitral in-flow velocity (A; r=0.06, p>0.05) or annular velocity (A′; septal: r=0.34, p=NS and lateral: r=0.35, p>0.05).

Conclusion

There was no significant difference between VFT at rest and immediately post-exercise. However, VFT at rest correlated with immediate post-exercise augmented systolic and early diastolic tissue Doppler indicators of myocardial performance in elite athletes.
Pain and depression are associated with both physical and mental fatigue independently of comorbidities and medications in primary Sjögren’s syndrome
Authors: Hackett Kate L , Davies Kristen , Tarn Jessica , Bragg Rebecca , Hargreaves Ben , Miyamoto Samira , McMeekin Peter , Mitchell Sheryl , Bowman Simon , Price Elizabeth J , Pease Colin , Emery Paul , Andrews Jacqueline , Lanyon Peter , Hunter John , Gupta Monica , Bombardieri Michele , Sutcliffe Nurhan , Pitzalis Costantino , McLaren John , Cooper Annie , Regan Marian , Giles Ian , Isenberg David , Vadivelu Saravan , Coady David , Dasgupta Bhaskar , McHugh Neil , Young-Min Steven , Moots Robert , Gendi Nagui , Akil Mohammed , Griffiths Bridget , Lendrem Dennis W , Ng Wan-Fai
Published: April 2019

Objectives

To report on fatigue in patients from the United Kingdom primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) registry identifying factors associated with fatigue and robust to assignable causes such as comorbidities and medications associated with drowsiness.

Methods

From our cohort (n = 608), we identified those with comorbidities associated with fatigue, and those taking medications associated with drowsiness. We constructed dummy variables, permitting the contribution of these potentially assignable causes of fatigue to be assessed. Using multiple regression analysis, we modelled the relationship between Profile of Fatigue and Discomfort physical and mental fatigue scores and potentially related variables.

Results

Pain, depression and daytime sleepiness scores were closely associated with both physical and mental fatigue (all p ≤ 0.0001). In addition, dryness was strongly associated with physical fatigue (p ≤ 0.0001). These effects were observed even after adjustment for comorbidities associated with fatigue or medications associated with drowsiness.

Conclusions

These findings support further research and clinical interventions targeting pain, dryness, depression and sleep to improve fatigue in patients with pSS.

This finding is robust to both the effect of other comorbidities associated with fatigue and medications associated with drowsiness.
Reduction in morbidity and mortality of dairy calves from an injectable trace mineral supplement
Authors: Bates Andrew , Wells Matt , Laven Richard Anthony , Simpson Meg
Published: April 2019

The effect of a multimineral preparation on the health and growth of spring born, dairy calves was investigated on four New Zealand pastoral farms. Calves were randomly allocated injections within 24 hours of birth, 35 days and 70 days after birth. Injections contained 40 mg zinc, 10 mg manganese, 5 mg selenium, 15 mg copper and 5 mg chromium per ml (Multimin+Se+ Cu+Cr Cattle, Virbac South Africa) at 1 ml/50 kg body weight. Morbidity, mortality from natural challenge and growth rates were recorded for 140 days. There were no differences in morbidity and mortality within 48 hours of birth for treated calves compared with controls, P=0.192. Morbidity and mortality were highest at 3–35 days (7.5 per cent [95 per cent CI 5.00 to 9.99] treated calves sick and 15.6 per cent [95 per cent CI 12.48 to 18.73] controls sick, P<0.001). For this period, mortality was lower at 4.4 per cent (95 per cent CI 2.49 to 6.41) treated calves and 10.4 per cent (95 per cent CI 7.78 to 13.03) controls, P<0.001. Allowing for potential confounders, the adjusted OR of treated calves scouring between 3 and 35 days was 0.44 (95 per cent CI 0.24 to 0.82, P=0.009). Allowing for potential confounders, from 0 to 140 days a second model predicted treatment approximately halved the probability of morbidity and mortality (P<0.001). There was no difference in the daily rate of gain (0.67 kg/day [95 per cent CI 0.66 to 0.67] for treated calves).
Chronic kidney disease in cats attending primary care practice in the UK: a VetCompassTM study
Authors: Conroy Megan , Brodbelt David C , O'Neill Dan , Chang Yu‐Mei , Elliott Jonathan
Published: April 2019

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a frequent diagnosis in cats attending primary care practice and the most frequent cause of death in cats aged over five years, yet there is limited published research for CKD in cats attending primary care practice. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of CKD and investigate risk factors for diagnosis and survival of cats diagnosed with CKD in UK primary care practices. The study included cats attending VetCompassTM practices from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013. A nested case‐control and cohort study were undertaken. From 353,448 cats attending 244 clinics, the prevalence of CKD was estimated as 1.2 per cent (95 per cent CI 1.1 per cent to 1.3 per cent). Most cats with CKD had clinical signs at diagnosis (66.6 per cent). Few cats underwent investigations or monitoring of serum creatinine (32.6 per cent), urine protein:creatinine ratio (14.9 per cent) or blood pressure measurement (25.6 per cent). A proprietary renal diet was the most frequently prescribed management (63.8 per cent). Median survival time following diagnosis was 388 days (IQR 88–1042 days). This study provides generalisable evidence from the wider cat population to aid veterinarians in improved diagnosis and management of CKD that can benefit the health and welfare of cats with CKD in the UK.
Bimodal Approach of a Frequency-Up-Conversion Piezoelectric Energy Harvester
Authors: Wang Fengxia , Abedini Amin , Alghamdi Turki , Onsorynezhad Saeed
Published: April 2019

This paper developed an analytical model for a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) composed of a piezoelectric bimorph and a stopper as shown in Fig. 1, which was subjected to a harmonic excitation. Frequency-up-conversion, which has proved to improve the energy harvesting efficiency, was achieved due to the mechanical impact between the piezoelectric bimorph and the stopper. The piezoelectric bimorph was modeled as Euler–Bernoulli beam. A bi-modal approach was adopted to animate the beam stopper reaction. When the tip of the bimorph is free for motion, a cantilever beam function is adopted, while the tip encounters a stop, a clamped-pinned beam function is used to model the bimorph. The periodic solutions and their corresponding output voltage and power were obtained. With the same initial conditions and base excitations, the output energies of transient vibrations are compared for two cases: (1) without impact between the piezoelectric beam and the stopper; (2) with impact by reducing the gap distance between the piezoelectric beam and the stopper. With the purpose of maximizing the output power, from the steady-state analytical solutions, we studied the optimum gap between the piezoelectric beam and the stopper when the base excitations are fixed and initial conditions are set to zero.
Geometric description of Schrödinger equation in Finsler and Funk geometry
Authors: Bashir Asma , Koch Benjamin , Wasay Muhammad Abdul
Published: April 2019

For a system of [Formula: see text] non-relativistic spinless bosons, we show by using a set of suitable matching conditions that the quantum equations in the pilot-wave limit can be translated into a geometric language for a Finslerian manifold. We further link these equations to Euclidean time-like relative Funk geometry and show that the two different metrics in both of these geometric frameworks lead to the same coupling.
Synthesis of MgAl LDH/Acidified g-C3N4 Heterojunction Photocatalyst for Improved Tetracycline Hydrochloride Degradation Activity
Authors: Li Xinyao , Xue Jinjuan , Ma Shuaishuai , Xu Peng , Huang Chengjuan , Wang Mingxin
Published: April 2019

A novel heterojunction photocatalyst consisting of three-dimensional (3D) flower-like MgAl LDH and acidified g-C3N4 (CN-H) was first developed by a simple facile coating method. The obtained MgAl LDH/CN-H samples were thoroughly characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyzer. The detailed results demonstrated that g-C3N4 could transform from a generally two-dimensional layered structure into special cavity-like structure after acid treatment. CN-H increased specific surface to expose more active reaction sites in comparison to pristine g-C3N4. MgAl LDH and CN-H with matched band gaps were tightly bonded to form heterojunction structure by strong electrostatic intercalation. The combination could obviously boost the separation of photogenerated carriers. The as-prepared MgAl LDH/CN-H exhibited high photocatalytic performance in the degrading on typical antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TC[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]HCl), of which degradation rate was 6.5 and even 22 times higher than that of MgAl LDH and pristine g-C3N4, respectively. The synthesis of MgAl LDH/CN-H heterojunction photocatalyst could have some positive suggestions for the rational construction of new photocatalysts and also has great application prospect in the degradation of environmental pollutants.
Targeted metabolomics analysis of maternal-placental-fetal metabolism in pregnant swine reveals links in fetal bile acid homeostasis and sulfation capacity
Authors: Wang Peng , Zhong Heju , Song Yumo , Yuan Peiqiang , Li Yunxia , Lin Sen , Zhang Xiaoling , Li Jian , Che Lianqiang , Feng Bin , Lin Yan , Xu Shengyu , Zhuo Yong , Tian Gang , Chen Daiwen , Wu De , Burrin Douglas G. , Fang Zhengfeng
Published: April 2019

Cholestasis of pregnancy endangers fetal and neonatal survival, yet systematic knowledge of the cause and effect of disrupted bile acid (BA) homeostasis in pregnancy is limited. Here we show that gestation stage-associated BA dysregulation in swine correlated with fetal death resulting from compromised capacity for BA secretion and increased alternative systemic efflux. The balance of BA input and output in the developing uterus suggested little uptake and metabolism of maternal BA by the placenta-fetus unit, implying a protection role of placenta in preventing maternal BA transported into the fetus. We showed that the maternal origin of BA accounted for the increase in placental total BA, leading to dysregulated expression of genes involved in BA transport and potentially impaired transplacental export of fetus-derived BA. Correspondingly, the secondary BA, mainly derived from the mother, gradually decreased in the fetus. Finally, we identified that sulfation rather than glucuronidation played pivotal roles in maintaining BA homeostasis of the developing fetus. These novel and systemic findings contribute to a whole picture of BA metabolism in pregnancy and provide new insights into mechanisms responsible for maternal and fetal BA homeostasis.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY We used a swine model to demonstrate the potentially impaired transplacental bile acid (BA) export, immaturity of fetal hepatic excretory function, and elevated BA synthesis in the developing fetus. Under these conditions, we have further identified that BA sulfation plays a pivotal role in regulation of fetal BA homeostasis, which appears to depend on the balance of BA synthesis and sulfation capacity. These novel findings have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism of BA homeostasis regulation in the developing fetus.
Preterm birth disrupts the development of feeding and breathing coordination
Authors: Mayerl Christopher J. , Gould Francois D. H. , Bond Laura E. , Stricklen Bethany M. , Buddington Randal K. , German Rebecca Z.
Published: April 2019

All mammals must breathe and breathe continuously from birth. Similarly, all mammals, including infants, have high functional demands for feeding. However, the pathway that food takes through the pharynx interrupts respiration. The coordination between swallowing and breathing is therefore critical for all infant mammals. Clinically, this coordination differs between term and preterm infants. However, the neurological mechanisms underlying this coordination and how it matures as infants grow are poorly understood. Here, we integrate high-resolution data from multiple physiologic processes across a longitudinal time frame to study suck-swallow-breathe dynamics in a preterm animal model, the infant pig. In doing so, we test the hypothesis that preterm birth will have an impact on some, but not all, behaviors associated with suck-swallow-breath performance. We hypothesize that coordination will be disrupted, reflecting incomplete connections in the brainstem. We found that preterm pigs became rhythmic and mature in sucking and swallowing behaviors, suggesting substantial postnatal maturation in the coordination of these behaviors. However, their ability to coordinate swallowing and breathing never developed. These results have implications for the nature of clinical care of human infants, as well as for how feeding processes develop in mammals. Clinically, they provide a foundation for developing interventions for preterm infants. Additionally, these results suggest that the lack of coordination between swallowing and breathing may be a significant factor in determining the minimum gestation time across mammals.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Preterm infants face a variety of challenges associated with safe feeding, but obtaining high-resolution longitudinal data to understand these challenges in humans is challenging. We used a pig model to acquire high-speed videofluoroscopic and respiratory inductance plethysmograph data throughout the nursing period to show that preterm birth does not have substantial impacts on the ability of infants to perform isolated behaviors. However, it does decrease the ability of preterm infants to coordinate among behaviors during feeding.
Apolipoprotein A-I Protects Against Pregnancy-Induced Insulin Resistance in Rats
Authors: Wu Ben J. , Sun Yidan , Ong Kwok-Leung , Li Yue , Tang Shudi , Barter Philip J. , Rye Kerry-Anne
Published: April 2019

Objective—

Insulin resistance and inflammation in pregnancy are risk factors for gestational diabetes mellitus. Increased plasma HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and apo (apolipoprotein) A-I levels have been reported to improve glucose metabolism and inhibit inflammation in animals and humans. This study asks whether increasing plasma apoA-I levels improves insulin sensitivity and reduces inflammation in insulin-resistant pregnant rats.

Approach and Results—

Insulin-resistant pregnant rats received intravenous infusions of lipid-free apoA-I (8 mg/kg) or saline on days 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 of pregnancy. The rats were then subjected to a euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp. Glucose uptake was increased in white and brown adipose tissue by 57±13% and 32±10%, respectively (
P
<0.05 for both), and in quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscle by 35±9.7% and 47±14%, respectively (
P
<0.05 for both), in the apoA-I–treated pregnant rats relative to saline-infused pregnant rats. The pregnant rats that were treated with apoA-I also had reduced plasma TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-α) levels by 57±8.4%, plasma IL (interleukin)-6 levels by 67±9.5%, and adipose tissue macrophage content by 54±8.2% (
P
<0.05 for all) relative to the saline-treated pregnant rats.

Conclusions—

These studies establish that apoA-I protects against pregnancy-induced insulin resistance in rats by increasing insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle and inhibiting inflammation. This identifies apoA-I as a potential target for preventing pregnancy-induced insulin resistance and reducing the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus.
Abnormal DNA Methylation Induced by Hyperglycemia Reduces CXCR4 Gene Expression in CD34
+
Stem Cells
Authors: Vigorelli Vera , Resta Jessica , Bianchessi Valentina , Lauri Andrea , Bassetti Beatrice , Agrifoglio Marco , Pesce Maurizio , Polvani Gianluca , Bonalumi Giorgia , Cavallotti Laura , Alamanni Francesco , Genovese Stefano , Pompilio Giulio , Vinci Maria Cristina
Published: April 2019

Background

CD
34
+
stem/progenitor cells are involved in vascular homeostasis and in neovascularization of ischemic tissues. The number of circulating
CD
34
+
stem cells is a predictive biomarker of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic patients. Here, we provide evidence that hyperglycemia can be “memorized” by the stem cells through epigenetic changes that contribute to onset and maintenance of their dysfunction in diabetes mellitus.

Methods and Results

Cord‐blood–derived
CD
34
+
stem cells exposed to high glucose displayed increased reactive oxygen species production, overexpression of p66
shc
gene, and downregulation of antioxidant genes catalase and manganese superoxide dismutase when compared with normoglycemic cells. This altered oxidative state was associated with impaired migration ability toward stromal‐cell–derived factor 1 alpha and reduced protein and
mRNA
expression of the C‐X‐C chemokine receptor type 4 (
CXCR
4) receptor. The methylation analysis by bisulfite Sanger sequencing of the
CXCR
4 promoter revealed a significant increase in
DNA
methylation density in high‐glucose
CD
34
+
stem cells that negatively correlated with
mRNA
expression (Pearson
r
=−0.76;
P
=0.004). Consistently, we found, by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, a more transcriptionally inactive chromatin conformation and reduced
RNA
polymerase
II
engagement on the
CXCR
4 promoter. Notably, alteration of
CXCR
4
DNA
methylation, as well as transcriptional and functional defects, persisted in high‐glucose
CD
34
+
stem cells despite recovery in normoglycemic conditions. Importantly, such an epigenetic modification was thoroughly confirmed in bone marrow
CD
34
+
stem cells isolated from sternal biopsies of diabetic patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery.

Conclusions

CD
34
+
stem cells “memorize” the hyperglycemic environment in the form of epigenetic modifications that collude to alter
CXCR
4 receptor expression and migration.
Engaging Cardiology Providers in Quality Measurement
Authors: Heidenreich Paul , Sandhu Alex , Schofield Richard
Published: April 2019

See Article
Segal et al
Screening and Treatment for Osteoporosis After Stroke
Authors: Kapoor Eshita , Austin Peter C. , Alibhai Shabbir M.H. , Cheung Angela M. , Cram Peter , Casaubon Leanne K. , Fang Jiming , Porter Joan , Smith Eric E. , Prager Marla , Kapral Moira K.
Published: April 2019

Background and Purpose—

Stroke is a risk factor for subsequent osteoporosis and fractures. We sought to understand current rates and predictors of screening and treatment for bone loss after stroke.

Methods—

Using the Ontario Stroke Registry from July 1, 2003 to March 31, 2013, we identified patients ≥65 years who were seen in the emergency department or hospitalized with stroke at 11 regional stroke centers in Ontario, Canada and discharged alive. We calculated the cumulative incidence of (1) screening with bone mineral density testing and (2) treatment with medications for fracture prevention, within 1 year after the index stroke, accounting for the competing risk of death. We then used cause-specific hazard models to estimate the effect of various covariates on the cause-specific hazard of bone mineral density testing and osteoporosis pharmacotherapy.

Results—

In the sample of 16 581 patients, 5.1% overall and 2.9% of those without prior testing underwent screening bone mineral density testing, and 15.5% overall and 3.2% of those not previously on treatment were prescribed medications for fracture prevention within 1 year after stroke. Results were similar in all subgroups of patients. Female sex, prestroke osteoporosis, and poststroke falls and fractures were associated with increased rates of osteoporosis pharmacotherapy.

Conclusions—

Patients with recent stroke are infrequently screened and treated for osteoporosis, which may increase the risk of fractures. Future work should focus on identifying and treating patients who are at increased risk of fractures after stroke.
The Protective Buddha: On the Cosmological Logic of Paritta
Authors: Shulman Eviatar
Published: April 2019

Paritta — ritual chanting — is a central institution in Theravāda Buddhism, with deep roots in all historical forms of Buddhism in Asia. Nevertheless, no study provides a convincing framework for how the protective potency of the Buddha and his words is understood. Earlier strands of scholarship highlighted the psychological aspects of ritual chanting that were thought to have a positive effect on participants. Later scholars emphasized the role of paritta in the training of monks. These studies do not explain “how paritta works,” that is, for example, why, according to the views encapsulated in the texts themselves, bringing the Buddha to mind can act against demons or change reality. This article offers a close reading of the central texts of the genre in order to conceptualize the metaphysical understanding they employ. It thus provides insights regarding the unique ontological position and cosmological function of the Buddha according to the texts.
Public Diplomacy and Hostile Nations
Authors: Wiseman Geoffrey
Published: April 2019

This article considers public diplomacy’s future through the prism of public diplomacy between hostile nations. It first sketches democracies’ past and present use of public diplomacy in hostile relations with non-democracies. It then discusses five particular challenges for democracies in their future thinking about the public diplomacy–hostile nations’ nexus. These challenges are: accounting for public diplomacy’s theoretical significance in hostile relations; deciding between isolating or engaging adversaries; avoiding the stigma of propaganda; managing democratic expectations; and settling on an appropriate role for governments. Democratic countries’ responses to these challenges will impact public diplomacy’s future, notably regarding its effectiveness in relation to hostile nations. The article concludes that public diplomacy is not a panacea for easing hostile bilateral relations. However, it is one of many elements that a judicious government can use — drawing on four ideal-type variants of public diplomacy — in order to improve relations with an adversarial state.
Adapting Public Diplomacy to the Populist Challenge
Authors: Cooper Andrew F.
Published: April 2019

Public diplomacy has been externally directed via a strategy of assertive reputation-building. In an era of insurgent populism, this model faces strong backlash, driven by the image of public diplomacy being disconnected from domestic publics. Under these conditions, an opportunistic set of ascendant political leaders — even those located at the international system’s core — have considerable incentive to diminish ‘their’ own diplomats as part of a wider campaign to stigmatize the traditional establishment. While more attention needs to be directed to the causes of this disconnection between diplomats and public, this article highlights a number of key ingredients in a menu of adaptation to the populist challenge. Above all, the focus of engagement in public diplomacy should be broadened to include domestic as well as foreign audiences. Disruption, it must be emphasized, does not mean the end of public diplomacy. Rather, public diplomacy must take a domestic turn.
Dommel
Authors: Pijnenburg W. J. J.
Published: April 2019

The etymology of the name of the river Dommel in the Netherlands causes some serious difficulties. In fact it has up to now been seen as an unsolved problem. A new close examination of the oldest attestations, like Dudmala (AD 704), has resulted in a new analysis, viz. *dūd-mal-a in which dūd- means ‘folk’, mal- means ‘dingplaats’ and -a is the appellative for ‘water’ < *aχwa-: ‘running water near to a dingplaats’. The two first elements find their parallel in the German place name Detmold, traditionally considered as going back to Germanic *Þeud-maχla – 1263 detmalle, 783 theodmalli.
Reconceptualizing the Social: East Central Europe and the New Sociocultural History
Authors: Iordachi Constantin
Published: April 2019

This introductory essay reviews recent debates on social history, with a focus on the revival of this field of studies in post-communist East Central Europe and its potential impact on rejuvenating approaches to the social history of Europe. The first part of the essay provides a brief overview of the emergence of social history as a reaction to the dominant political history of the nineteenth century and its crystallization in different national schools, and highlights recent responses to the poststructuralist and postmodern critiques of “the social.” The second part focuses on traditions of social history research in East Central Europe, taking Poland and Romania as main examples. The third part summarizes the main claims of the articles included in this issue and evaluates their implications for future research. It is argued that, at first glance, post-communist historiography in East Central Europe provides the picture of a discipline in transformation, still struggling to break up with the past and to rebuild its institutional framework, catching up with recent trends and redefining its role in continental and global historiography. The recent attempts to invigorate research in traditional fields of social history might seem largely obsolete, not only out of tune with international developments but also futile reiterations of vistas that have been for long experimented with and superseded in Western Europe. At closer scrutiny, however, historiography in East Central Europe appears—unequal and variegated as it is—as a laboratory for historical innovation and a field of experimentation, and interaction of scholars from various disciplines and scholarly traditions, in which old and new trends amalgamate in peculiar ways. It is suggested that the tendency to reconceptualize the “social” that we currently witness in humanities and social sciences worldwide could be not only reinforced but also cross-fertilized by the “social turn” in East Central Europe, potentially leading to novel approaches.
The Joy of Everyday Life: Microhistory and the History of Everyday Life in the Socialist Dictatorships
Authors: Apor Péter
Published: April 2019

In the last two decades, historians have faced difficult methodological challenges in exploring former party archives in East Central Europe and in reconstructing the political history of communist regimes. A remarkable answer to this challenge has been provided by a new generation of historians who turned their attention to the social history of socialist dictatorships in East Central Europe, and took a peculiar interest in the “small,” the “mundane” and the “insignificant” of everyday life under communism. Their laborious research has focused not on high politics, but on local communities. Their works deconstructed the life-styles, living conditions, fashion and dressing, leisure, tourism and consumption, sexual habits and childcare of ordinary people. The current study provides a historiographic overview of the major thematic and methodological orientations of the history of the everyday life in socialist dictatorships. It focuses on two distinct but overlapping directions of research: the analysis of the daily habitual organization of communist societies; and the communist authorities’ attempt at a micro-politics of everyday life. The study argues that, while the new social history of the socialist dictatorships has greatly added to our understanding of significant aspects of the social and political structure of these countries, it has also constructed a representation of everyday life as essentially impertinent to power. In doing so, it ignored the capacity of habitual social and cultural behavior in producing techniques of control and discipline.
Brilliant or Bad: The Gendered Social Construction of Exceptionalism in Early Adolescence
Authors: Musto Michela
Published: April 2019

From kindergarten through college, students perceive boys as more intelligent than girls, yet few sociological studies have identified how school processes shape students’ gender status beliefs. Drawing on 2.5 years of longitudinal ethnography and 196 interviews conducted at a racially diverse, public middle school in Los Angeles, this article demonstrates how educators’ differential regulation of boys’ rule-breaking by course level contributed to gender-based differences in students’ perceptions of intelligence. In higher-level courses—where affluent, White, and Asian American students were overrepresented—educators tolerated 6th-grade boys’ rule-breaking, such that boys challenged girls’ opinions and monopolized classroom conversations. By 8th grade, students perceived higher-level boys as more exceptionally intelligent than girls. However, in lower-level courses—where non-affluent Latinx students were overrepresented—educators penalized 6th-grade boys’ rule-breaking, such that boys disengaged from classroom conversations. By 8th grade, lower-level students perceived girls as smarter than boys, but not exceptional. This article also demonstrates how race intersected with gender when shaping students’ perceptions of intelligence, with students associating the most superlatives with affluent White boys’ capabilities. Through this analysis, I develop a new theoretical understanding of how school processes contribute to the gendered social construction of exceptionalism and reproduce social inequalities in early adolescence.
Law and literature in comparative perspectives: Tracing Shylock’s case from Italian novelle to American courtrooms
Authors: Apolloni Jessica
Published: April 2019

Recent work on law’s connection to literature has shown the immense overlap in narrative structuring, power dynamics, and social prejudices inherent to both literary and legal texts. Yet law-literature studies have often relied on nationalistic boundaries, overlooking the intense interchange of legal and literary ideas circulating across spatial and temporal divides. This article studies Italian novelle from a comparative perspective to uncover how concepts of law, justice, and authority circulate in literary texts across diverse geographies and legal systems. I specifically trace Shylock’s case, from its origins in the Italian novelle genre to the utilizations of The Merchant of Venice in American legal training and courtrooms. This case study illustrates the power of literature to synthesize diverse legal environments, influence popular understandings of law, and provide a comparative perspective of justice to both legal scholars and public audiences.