bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regulation of inflammation and fibrosis by macrophages in lymphedema
Authors: Ghanta Swapna , Cuzzone Daniel A. , Torrisi Jeremy S. , Albano Nicholas J. , Joseph Walter J. , Savetsky Ira L. , Gardenier Jason C. , Chang David , Zampell Jamie C. , Mehrara Babak J.
Published: February 2015

Lymphedema, a common complication of cancer treatment, is characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, and adipose deposition. We have previously shown that macrophage infiltration is increased in mouse models of lymphedema. Because macrophages are regulators of lymphangiogenesis and fibrosis, this study aimed to determine the role of these cells in lymphedema using depletion experiments. Matched biopsy specimens of normal and lymphedema tissues were obtained from patients with unilateral upper extremity breast cancer-related lymphedema, and macrophage accumulation was assessed using immunohistochemistry. In addition, we used a mouse tail model of lymphedema to quantify macrophage accumulation and analyze outcomes of conditional macrophage depletion. Histological analysis of clinical lymphedema biopsies revealed significantly increased macrophage infiltration. Similarly, in the mouse tail model, lymphatic injury increased the number of macrophages and favored M2 differentiation. Chronic macrophage depletion using lethally irradiated wild-type mice reconstituted with CD11b-diphtheria toxin receptor mouse bone marrow did not decrease swelling, adipose deposition, or overall inflammation. Macrophage depletion after lymphedema had become established significantly increased fibrosis and accumulation of CD4+ cells and promoted Th2 differentiation while decreasing lymphatic transport capacity and VEGF-C expression. Our findings suggest that macrophages home to lymphedematous tissues and differentiate into the M2 phenotype. In addition, our findings suggest that macrophages have an antifibrotic role in lymphedema and either directly or indirectly regulate CD4+ cell accumulation and Th2 differentiation. Finally, our findings suggest that lymphedema-associated macrophages are a major source of VEGF-C and that impaired macrophage responses after lymphatic injury result in decreased lymphatic function.
Agent-based computational model investigates muscle-specific responses to disuse-induced atrophy
Authors: Martin Kyle S. , Blemker Silvia S. , Peirce Shayn M.
Published: February 2015

Skeletal muscle is highly responsive to use. In particular, muscle atrophy attributable to decreased activity is a common problem among the elderly and injured/immobile. However, each muscle does not respond the same way. We developed an agent-based model that generates a tissue-level skeletal muscle response to disuse/immobilization. The model incorporates tissue-specific muscle fiber architecture parameters and simulates changes in muscle fiber size as a result of disuse-induced atrophy that are consistent with published experiments. We created simulations of 49 forelimb and hindlimb muscles of the rat by incorporating eight fiber-type and size parameters to explore how these parameters, which vary widely across muscles, influence sensitivity to disuse-induced atrophy. Of the 49 muscles modeled, the soleus exhibited the greatest atrophy after 14 days of simulated immobilization (51% decrease in fiber size), whereas the extensor digitorum communis atrophied the least (32%). Analysis of these simulations revealed that both fiber-type distribution and fiber-size distribution influence the sensitivity to disuse atrophy even though no single tissue architecture parameter correlated with atrophy rate. Additionally, software agents representing fibroblasts were incorporated into the model to investigate cellular interactions during atrophy. Sensitivity analyses revealed that fibroblast agents have the potential to affect disuse-induced atrophy, albeit with a lesser effect than fiber type and size. In particular, muscle atrophy elevated slightly with increased initial fibroblast population and increased production of TNF-α. Overall, the agent-based model provides a novel framework for investigating both tissue adaptations and cellular interactions in skeletal muscle during atrophy.
High-Mobility Group Box 1 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression through miR-21–Mediated Matrix Metalloproteinase Activity
Authors: Chen Man , Liu Yao , Varley Patrick , Chang Ying , He Xing-xing , Huang Hai , Tang Daolin , Lotze Michael T. , Lin Jusheng , Tsung Allan
Published: February 2015

Liver inflammation plays a critical role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) etiology. Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMP), such as high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), and dysregulated miRNAs involved in inflammatory disease states, such as miR-21, may participate in the link between inflammation and cancer. We sought to determine the role of HMGB1 signaling in HCC tumor progression. We first document the concordant expression increase of HMGB1 and miR-21 in HCC cell lines and primary HCC tumor samples and subsequently show that HMGB1 stimulation results in overexpression of miR-21. These changes were found to be dependent on the IL6/STAT3 signaling axis. Invasion and migration of HCC cells in vitro were inhibited by both STAT3 and miR-21 antagonists, suggesting a role for this pathway in HCC tumor progression. We verified that HMGB1-induced expression of miR-21 in HCC provides a posttranscriptional repression of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors RECK and TIMP3, which are known to impact HCC progression and metastases. Finally, we found that inhibition of miR-21 in murine HMGB1-overexpressing HCC xenografts led to reduced tumor MMP activity through released repression of the miR-21 targets RECK and TIMP3, which ultimately impeded tumor progression. The prototypical DAMP, HMGB1, is released during liver inflammation and provides a favorable environment for HCC growth. HMGB1 signaling increases miR-21 expression to mediate the enhanced activity of MMPs through RECK and TIMP3. These findings provide a novel mechanism for HMGB1-mediated HCC progression through the IL6/Stat3-miR-21 axis. Cancer Res; 75(8); 1645–56. ©2015 AACR.
Breast Cancer–Specific miR Signature Unique to Extracellular Vesicles Includes “microRNA-like” tRNA Fragments
Authors: Guzman Nicole , Agarwal Kitty , Asthagiri Dilip , Yu Lianbo , Saji Motoyasu , Ringel Matthew D. , Paulaitis Michael E.
Published: February 2015

Extracellular vesicles (EV), including exosomes and shed vesicles, have been implicated in intercellular communication; however, their biomarker potential is less clear. Therefore, EVs derived from MCF7 and MCF10A cells were analyzed to identify unique miRNA (miR) profiles that distinguish their origin. One characteristic common to the miR profiles of MCF7 EVs and their parent cells is the high abundance of miR-21, let-7a, miR-100, and miR-125b, and low levels of miR-205. A second characteristic is the high abundance of “miRNA-like” tRNA fragments, which is unique to the MCF7 EVs, and is not found in comparing the cellular profiles. In addition, correlations were examined in the MCF7 cellular expression levels of these five miRs and two tRNA-derived miRNAs, miR-720 and miR-1274b, and compared with the correlations in MCF7 EV levels. Interestingly, correlations in the cellular expression of miR-125b, miR-100, and let-7a are mirrored in the EVs. In contrast, correlations in tRNA-derived miRNA levels are found only in the EVs. The findings suggest that EV miR clusters can be defined based on functional miR interactions related to correlated cellular expression levels or physical miR interactions, for example, aggregation due to comparable binding affinities to common targets.

Implications: These results point to using high levels of tRNA-derived small RNA fragments in combination with known miR signatures of tumors to distinguish tumor-derived EVs in circulation from EVs derived from other cell sources. Such biomarkers would be unique to the EVs where high abundances of tRNA fragments are amplified with respect to their cellular levels. Mol Cancer Res; 13(5); 891–901. ©2015 AACR.
Menopause Is a Determinant of Breast Adipose Inflammation
Authors: Iyengar Neil M. , Morris Patrick G. , Zhou Xi Kathy , Gucalp Ayca , Giri Dilip , Harbus Michael D. , Falcone Domenick J. , Krasne Margaret D. , Vahdat Linda T. , Subbaramaiah Kotha , Morrow Monica , Hudis Clifford A. , Dannenberg Andrew J.
Published: February 2015

Chronic inflammation is recognized as a risk factor for the development of several malignancies. Local white adipose tissue (WAT) inflammation, defined by the presence of dead or dying adipocytes encircled by macrophages that form crown-like structures (CLS), occurs in the breasts (CLS-B) of most overweight and obese women. Previously, we showed that the presence of CLS-B is associated with elevated tissue levels of proinflammatory mediators and aromatase, the rate-limiting enzyme for estrogen biosynthesis. The associated increased levels of aromatase in the breast provide a plausible mechanistic link between WAT inflammation and estrogen-dependent breast cancers. Thus, breast WAT inflammation could be relevant for explaining the high incidence of estrogen-dependent tumors with aging despite diminished circulating estrogen levels after menopause. To explore this possibility, we determined whether menopause in addition to body mass index (BMI) is associated with breast WAT inflammation among 237 prospectively enrolled women. The presence of CLS-B and its severity (CLS-B/cm2) as indicators of WAT inflammation correlated with menopausal status (P = 0.008 and P < 0.001) and BMI (P < 0.001 for both). In multivariable analyses adjusted for BMI, the postmenopausal state was independently associated with the presence (P = 0.03) and severity of breast WAT inflammation (P = 0.01). Mean adipocyte size increased in association with CLS-B (P < 0.001). Our findings demonstrate that breast WAT inflammation, which is associated with elevated aromatase levels, is increased in association with the postmenopausal state independent of BMI. Breast WAT inflammation, a process that can potentially be targeted, may help to explain the high incidence of estrogen-dependent tumors in postmenopausal women. Cancer Prev Res; 8(5); 349–58. ©2015 AACR.
MicroRNA-22 Regulates Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation From Stem Cells by Targeting Methyl CpG–Binding Protein 2
Authors: Zhao Hanqing , Wen Guanmei , Huang Yuan , Yu Xiaotian , Chen Qishan , Afzal Tayyab Adeel , Luong Le Anh , Zhu Jianhua , Ye Shu , Zhang Li , Xiao Qingzhong
Published: February 2015

Objective—

In this study, we attempted to uncover the functional impact of microRNA-22 (miR-22) and its target gene in smooth muscle cell (SMC) differentiation and delineate the molecular mechanism involved.

Approach and Results—

miR-22 was found to be significantly upregulated during SMC differentiation from embryonic stem cells and adventitia stem/progenitor cells. Enforced expression of miR-22 by its mimic, while knockdown of miR-22 by its antagomiR, promotes or inhibits SMC differentiation from embryonic stem cells and adventitia stem/progenitor cells, respectively. Expectedly, miR-22 overexpression in stem cells promoted SMC differentiation in vivo. Methyl CpG–binding protein 2 (MECP2) was predicted as one of the top targets of miR-22. Interestingly, the gene expression levels of MECP2 were significantly decreased during SMC differentiation, and MECP2 was dramatically decreased in miR-22 overexpressing cells but significantly increased when miR-22 was knockdown in the differentiating stem cells. Importantly, luciferase assay showed that miR-22 substantially inhibited wild-type, but not mutant MECP2-3′ untranslated region-luciferase activity. In addition, modulation of MECP2 expression levels affects multiple SMC-specific gene expression in differentiated embryonic stem cells. Mechanistically, our data showed that MECP2 could transcriptionally repress SMC gene expression through modulating various SMC transcription factors, as well as several proven SMC differentiation regulators. Evidence also revealed that enrichment of H3K9 trimethylation around the promoter regions of the SMC differentiation regulators genes were significantly increased by MECP2 overexpression. Finally, miR-22 was upregulated by platelet-derived growth factor-BB and transforming growth factor-β through a transcriptional mechanism during SMC differentiation.

Conclusions—

miR-22 plays an important role in SMC differentiation, and epigenetic regulation through MECP2 is required for miR-22 mediated SMC differentiation.
Measurement of Perihematomal Edema in Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Authors: Urday Sebastian , Beslow Lauren A. , Goldstein David W. , Vashkevich Anastasia , Ayres Alison M. , Battey Thomas W.K. , Selim Magdy H. , Kimberly W. Taylor , Rosand Jonathan , Sheth Kevin N.
Published: February 2015

Background and Purpose—

Perihematomal edema (PHE) is a marker of secondary injury in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). PHE measurement on computed tomography (CT) is challenging, and the principles used to detect PHE have not been described fully. We developed a systematic approach for CT-based measurement of PHE.

Methods—

Two independent raters measured PHE volumes on baseline and 24-hour post-ICH CT scans of 20 primary supratentorial ICH subjects. Boundaries were outlined with an edge-detection tool and adjusted after inspection of the 3 orthogonal planes. PHE was delineated with the additional principle that it should be (a) more hypodense than the corresponding area in the contralateral hemisphere and (b) most hypodense immediately surrounding the hemorrhage. We examined intra- and interrater reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots for interrater consistency. CT-based PHE was also compared using magnetic resonance imaging–based PHE detection for 18 subjects.

Results—

Median PHE volumes were 22.7 cc at baseline and 20.4 cc at 24 hours post-ICH. There were no statistically significant differences in PHE measurements between raters. Interrater and intrarater reliability for PHE were excellent. At baseline and 24 hours, interrater intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.98 (0.96–1.00) and 0.98 (0.97–1.00); intrarater intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.99 (0.99–1.00) and 0.99 (0.98–1.00). Bland–Altman analysis showed the bias for PHE measurements at baseline and 24 hours, −0.5 cc (SD, 5.4) and −3.2 cc (SD, 5.0), was acceptably small. PHE volumes determined by CT and magnetic resonance imaging were similar (23.9±16.9 cc versus 23.9±16.0 cc,
R
2
= 0.98,
P
<0.0001).

Conclusions—

Our method measures PHE with excellent reliability at baseline and 24 hours post-ICH.
“Talents Committed to Your Care”: Reading and Writing Radical Abolitionism in Antebellum America
Authors: Kelley Mary
Published: February 2015

Through an analysis of words and images as they moved through material production, circulation, and reception, the essay explores the literary and pictorial practices of African American women who, at sites ranging from oral to scribal to print, forged discursive communities engaged in social and moral reform, especially radical abolitionism.
A (Neo)Gricean Account of Irony: An Answer to Relevance Theory
Authors: Garmendia Joana
Published: February 2015

Wilson and Sperber purport to reveal several problems in Grice’s approach to irony and propose the echoic account for explaining ironic communication. In this article, I claim that some of the criticisms Wilson and Sperber level at Grice’s view are not well founded, whereas others can be addressed from a (neo)Gricean approach. I also note certain weaknesses in the echoic account. Finally, I propose the Asif-Theory, which is based on Critical Pragmatics and is Gricean in spirit, for explaining irony from a pragmatic perspective. This theory develops (and corrects) Grice’s ideas on irony, but it also accommodates powerful aspects of the echoic account and articulates a full-fledged theory for explaining ironic communication.
Evolution of Tsunami-Induced Internal Acoustic–Gravity Waves
Authors: Wei Chen , Bühler Oliver , Tabak Esteban G.
Published: February 2015

The authors present an idealized theoretical and numerical study of tsunami-induced internal waves in the atmosphere. These are gravity waves modified by acoustic effects that can propagate rapidly from the ocean surface up to the ionosphere, where they are well known to leave a detectable fingerprint in airglow patterns and other remote sensing observables. Accurate modeling of the wave propagation is a prerequisite for being able to detect and decode this transient observational fingerprint by remote sensing methods. The authors study this problem by formulating the initial-value problem for linear waves forced by an idealized tsunami at the lower boundary and then employing a semianalytic Fourier–Laplace method to solve it. This approach allows them to compute the detailed time evolution of the waves while ensuring that the correct radiation condition in the vertical is satisfied at all times, a nontrivial matter for these transient waves.

The authors also compare the predictions of an anelastic model with that of a fully compressible model in order to discern the importance of acoustic effects. The findings demonstrate that back-reflection at the tropopause is a significant factor for the structure of these waves and that the earliest observable signal in the ionosphere is, in fact, a fast acoustic precursor wave generated by the nearly impulsive formation of the tsunami itself.
Coupling of South and East Asian Monsoon Precipitation in July–August*
Authors: Day Jesse A. , Fung Inez , Risi Camille
Published: February 2015

The concept of the “Asian monsoon” masks the existence of two separate summer rainfall régimes: convective storms over India, Bangladesh, and Nepal (the South Asian monsoon) and frontal rainfall over China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula (the East Asian monsoon). In addition, the Himalayas and other orography, including the Arakan Mountains, Ghats, and Yunnan Plateau, create smaller precipitation domains with abrupt boundaries. A mode of continental precipitation variability is identified that spans both South and East Asia during July and August. Point-to-point correlations and EOF analysis with Asian Precipitation–Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Toward Evaluation of the Water Resources (APHRODITE), a 57-yr rain gauge record, show that a dipole between the Himalayan foothills (+) and the “monsoon zone” (central India, −) dominates July–August interannual variability in South Asia, and is also associated in East Asia with a tripole between the Yangtze corridor (+) and northern and southern China (−). July–August storm tracks, as shown by lag–lead correlation of rainfall, remain mostly constant between years and do not explain this mode. Instead, it is proposed that interannual change in the strength of moisture transport from the Bay of Bengal to the Yangtze corridor across the northern Yunnan Plateau induces widespread precipitation anomalies. Abundant moisture transport along this route requires both cyclonic monsoon circulation over India and a sufficiently warm Bay of Bengal, which coincide only in July and August. Preliminary results from the LMDZ version 5 (LMDZ5) model, run with a zoomed grid over Asia and circulation nudged toward the ECMWF reanalysis, support this hypothesis. Improved understanding of this coupling may help to project twenty-first-century precipitation changes in East and South Asia, home to over three billion people.
Behind the Framing Scenes
Authors: Ihlen Øyvind , Figenschou Tine Ustad , Larsen Anna Grøndahl
Published: February 2015

Internationally, the issue of irregular immigration is highly contested and actors promote different frames in the news. In this article, we analyze the strategizing that goes on behind the scenes among nongovernmental organizations and public immigration authorities. Many studies have documented how strategic actors take advantage of mainstream news media conventions, but there is a dearth of research on how these frame sponsors critically reflect on their strategies. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews, we analyze the dilemmas and challenges the actors face in adapting their communication strategies to the news media. The immigration authorities are systematic and professional in their media work, with easy access to leading media. Faced with the news media’s emphasis on dramatic individual stories, however, they struggle to find a media strategy that balances efficient communication with bureaucratic regulations and values. The NGOs, on the other hand, have the opportunity to exploit media conventions and pitch emotional, individual stories to journalists. Still, for both type of actors, the challenge is to expand the media interest beyond such stories to foster a systemic debate on immigration policy.
Quality of Austrian and Dutch falls-prevention information: A comparative descriptive study
Authors: Schoberer Daniela , Mijnarends Donja M , Fliedner Monica , Halfens Ruud JG , Lohrmann Christa
Published: February 2015

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the quality of written patient information material available in Austrian and Dutch hospitals and nursing homes pertaining to falls prevention.

Design:

Comparative descriptive study design

Setting:

Hospitals and nursing homes in Austria and the Netherlands.

Method:

Written patient information material ( n = 77) was independently evaluated by two assessors using the 36-item Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) scale with regard to content, structure and identification data. EQIP global scores were calculated and country- and institution-specific (hospitals and nursing homes) differences were analysed.

Results:

The written patient information material available in Dutch hospitals had a significantly higher EQIP mean score than that in Austrian hospitals ( p < .0001). The difference in EQIP global score between the countries was not significant for the written patient information material in nursing homes ( p = .479). Sub-scale analyses indicated that Dutch institutions reached significantly higher mean values in the global scores for content and structure than Austrian ones ( p < .05).

Conclusion:

Although Dutch written patient information material pertaining to falls prevention was of higher quality than that in Austria, both countries suffered from shortcomings, especially with regard to content and identification data. Authors of written patient information material face a great challenge in taking consumer involvement and evidence-based criteria into account.
An Examination of the Influence of Ethnic Identity and Parental Attachment on the Body Esteem of Black Sorority Women
Authors: Baugh Eboni J. , Barnes Alexis
Published: February 2015

The primary goal of the current study was to explore the influence of ethnic identification and parental attachment on the body esteem of Black women who were members of a Black sorority. To date, there has been no published research examining determinants of body image in this population of Black women. The authors hypothesized that ethnic identity and attachment to mother would predict body esteem in this population. One hundred twelve women ( M age 39.3) were surveyed, and hierarchical regression analysis revealed that attachment to mother was a significant predictor of body esteem, especially with regard to physical condition and weight control. The findings from the current study suggest that the mother-daughter relationship remains influential in the development of positive body esteem over the life span.
Behavioral Functioning among Mexican-origin Children
Authors: Landale Nancy S. , Hardie Jessica Halliday , Oropesa R. S. , Hillemeier Marianne M.
Published: February 2015

Using data on 2,535 children included in the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, we investigate how the legal status of immigrant parents shapes their children’s behavioral functioning. Variation in internalizing and externalizing problems among Mexican youth with undocumented mothers, documented or naturalized citizen mothers, and U.S.-born mothers is analyzed using a comparative framework that contrasts their experience with that of other ethnoracial groups. Our findings reinforce the importance of differentiating children of immigrants by parental legal status in studying health and well-being. Children of undocumented Mexican migrants have significantly higher risks of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than their counterparts with documented or naturalized citizen mothers. Regression results are inconsistent with simple explanations that emphasize group differences in socioeconomic status, maternal mental health, or family routines.
Gendered Contexts
Authors: Nowotny Kathryn M. , Peterson Rachel L. , Boardman Jason D.
Published: February 2015

We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (13,186 respondents in 30 states) to develop a unique state-level measure of the gendered context in order to examine the influence of gender normative attitudes and behaviors on state rates of suicidal ideation and individual-level suicidal ideation for female and male youth (ages 13 to 22). The findings demonstrate the negative consequences for youth, especially females who report feminine-typical traits, who live in contexts defined by restrictive gender norms at both the ecological and individual levels. This study points to the importance of fatalistic suicide for female youth and suggests possible mechanisms to explain this association.
Preparation of bamboo-hat-shaped deposition of a poly(ethylene terephthalate) fiber web by melt-electrospinning
Authors: Wang Hong , Xu Yang , Wei Qufu
Published: February 2015

Melt-electrospinning is an efficient and environmentally friendly technique for producing nano/micro fibers. In the present work, the electric field distribution was analyzed by the use of ANSYS software; four poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) melt-electrospun fiber films were prepared within different times; bamboo-hat-shaped deposition on the plating collector was discovered and an enlarged longitudinal sectional view was exhibited for the appearance changes of four films after a series of exact external dimension measurements of fiber films. Due to bulging distribution of the electric field and accumulated charges in the film, fibers with a diameter range from 3 to 7 um were produced in different spinning times and the deposition of PET fibers was bulging out. The surface morphology and structure of PET fibers produced in four consecutive 15-minute periods were investigated by scanning electron microscopy; it was found that fibers become thinner with the expansion of the deposition circle. In addition, porous and self-bonded structures in fiber films appeared late in the spinning process. The differential scanning calorimetry measurement reveals that PET fibers become crystallized and the degree of crystallinity increases with the increase of whipping radius; the melting temperature improves slightly and, by contrast, the cooling crystal temperature of various fiber films decrease late in the spinning process. The technique of melt-electrospinning to fabricate bamboo-hat-shaped fiber films is quite conducive for further researches to achieve three-dimensional structural material in a particular shape.
Toward a prison theology of California’s ecclesia incarcerate
Authors: Sexton Jason S.
Published: February 2015

The State of California has been a trendsetter in radical forms of penal policy and mass-incarceration in Western societies. As such California’s prison state and its governance structures demand careful scrutiny. These governance structures are both formal and informal, manifesting different power structures at play within the system. Any proper theological account of such phenomena needs to reckon not only with these extant structures but also with the incarcerate ecclesia, the prison church. The present article aims to highlight the reality of this community within the California prison settings (with relevance to other penal contexts), a community that is locally supernaturally constituted, inter-racial, spatially transcendent and transformational, displaying the power of the gospel among its participants. In this way, the incarcerated church subversively fulfils the aims of the other formal and informal governance structures, both sanctioned by the State and manifest in prison gangs.
Who are we? Remembering and forgetting in the reparation of communal identity
Authors: Pryor Adam
Published: February 2015

This article offers a review of Kierkegaard’s inverse dialectic of forgiveness. It interprets his use of remembering and forgetting in the inverse dialectic as an ethical axiom, shifting the dialectic into an interpersonal register by invoking his concept of the upbuilding quality of love. It concludes with three insights into how this inverse dialectic might be useful within a congregation struggling with the reparation of communal identity in the wake of denominational votes concerning gay and lesbian ordination.
Deaf uplines and downlines
Authors: Friedner Michele
Published: February 2015

This article analyses how the structure of multi-level marketing, through the production of the categories of uplines and downlines, fractures deaf sociality in urban India. Hierarchies have always existed as part of a deaf moral economy in which deaf people share news and information, teach each other sign language and help each other to develop. However, the intermingling of moral and financial economies as a result of post-liberalisation political and economic changes has led to divisive fractures. More generally, this article uses the example of deaf sociality to examine how the neoliberal category of ‘community’ can be disharmonious and produced through tensions and negotiations. In addition, deaf social, moral and economic practices point to the potential and actual coerciveness of sociality. As a study of disharmonious socialities, this ethnographic account offers an analysis of what happens when community becomes a springboard for accessing multiple forms of value.
Ego, balance and sophistication
Authors: Sancho David
Published: February 2015

This article examines the relationship between private schooling and the middle classes in urban India. It complicates the argument that private schools have become spaces in which young people come to see themselves less as representatives of one ethnic or caste community and more as indices of their own family’s economic standing and as members of a class group. I argue that a closer look at the way in which students experience and narrativise private schooling reveals a much less straightforward process. Schools, I argue, are mobilised by youth as flexible tools in complex and competing strategies to construct a middle social space for themselves. The article seeks to address the lack of research on the complex and severely contested processes of transformation of the selves implicated in strategies of urban educational opportunities.
How People Evaluate Online Reviews
Authors: DeAndrea David C. , Van Der Heide Brandon , Vendemia Megan A. , Vang Mao H.
Published: February 2015

The ability viewers have to contribute information to websites (i.e., user-generated content) is a defining feature of the participatory web. Building on warranting theory, this study examined how viewers’ evaluations of a target are more or less likely to be influenced by user-generated content. The results indicate that the more a target is perceived to be able to control the dissemination of user-generated reviews online, the less credence people place in those reviews when forming impressions of the target. In addition, the less people are confident that user-generated reviews are truly produced by third-party reviewers, the less people trust those reviews. The results provide novel support for warranting theory by illustrating how the warranting value of user-generated information can vary and thus differentially affect viewers’ evaluations of a target. The implications of the study’s results for warranting theory, online impression management, e-commerce, and future research are discussed.
Collective Memory and the Language of Human Rights
Authors: Sutton Barbara
Published: February 2015

The democratization that followed the last military dictatorship in Argentina (1976–1983) has been influenced by human rights organizations’ relentless work to bring about truth and justice regarding the consequences of state terrorism and to keep the memory of that period alive. These efforts frame the discursive context in which human rights violations, including torture, are interpreted in contemporary Argentina. Argentine interviewees from across the political spectrum condemn torture, but the language and frames they use and the narratives surrounding political events vary. These accounts expose the conflicted terrain of memory making and the ambivalences and contradictions that permeate the construction of a torture-rejecting culture.

La democratización que vino después de la última dictadura militar en la Argentina (1976–1983) ha sido influenciada por el trabajo incesante de las organizaciones de derechos humanos para lograr que se establezca la verdad y se haga justicia sobre las consecuencias del terrorismo de estado y para mantener la memoria sobre ese periodo viva. Estos esfuerzos enmarcan el contexto discursivo a través del cual las violaciones de los derechos humanos, entre ellas la tortura, son interpretadas en la Argentina contemporánea. Las personas entrevistadas en Argentina, quienes atraviesan el espectro político, condenan la tortura. Sin embargo, el lenguaje y los esquemas que usan y las narrativas sobre los acontecimientos políticos varían. Estos relatos exponen el terreno conflictivo de la construcción de la memoria y las ambivalencias y contradicciones que permean la construcción de una cultura de rechazo hacia la tortura.
Place-based, Spatially Blind, or Both? Challenges in Estimating the Impacts of Modern Development Policies
Authors: Varga Attila
Published: February 2015

Two modern approaches to development policy have recently evolved and disputed with each other, namely, the space-neutral and the place-based approaches. Perhaps the most notable conceptual development common in these modern approaches is a strong awareness of the key role of geography in policies targeting aggregate economic growth. Thus, it became clear in the new policy thinking that the impact of countries’ structural policies largely depends not only on the specific instruments (e.g., human capital development, infrastructure investments, and small- and medium-sized enterprises support) but also on the concrete patterns in which these instruments are deployed geographically. It is suggested in this article that macroeconomic models that integrate geography could usefully help policy makers in their choice among different complex geography-instrument mixes. I survey the most important modeling challenges raised by the two modern economic development approaches. To illustrate how economic models can respond to these challenges, I briefly introduce the Geographic Macro and Regional (GMR)–Europe model. To complete the illustration with a practical example, an impact analysis of a space-neutral–place-based policy mix implemented in regions of the European Union (EU) is presented. It is found that promoting research excellence in leading agglomerations combined with human capital development in the rest of the regions in Europe could result in a sustained positive gross domestic product impact of EU Framework Programs at the aggregate EU level. Nevertheless, it is also important to emphasize that the aggregate impact masks marked regional differences.
Brain science and early years policy: Hopeful ethos or ‘cruel optimism’?
Authors: Edwards Rosalind , Gillies Val , Horsley Nicola
Published: February 2015

Ideas that the quality of parental nurturing and attachment in the first years of a child’s life is formative, hard-wiring their brains for success or failure, are reflected in policy reports from across the political spectrum and in targeted services delivering early intervention. In this article we draw on our research into ‘Brain science and early intervention’, using reviews of key policy literature and interviews with influential advocates of early intervention and with early years practitioners, to critically assess the ramifications and implications of these claims. Rather than upholding the ‘hopeful ethos’ proffered by advocates of the progressive nature of brain science and early intervention, we show that brain claims are justifying gendered, raced and social inequalities, positioning poor mothers as architects of their children’s deprivation.
Shale gas and regional economic development: Enhancing local economic impact
Authors: Whyman Philip B
Published: February 2015

The expansion of shale gas extraction has been supported by the UK national government because of predicted economic benefits. However, what is largely missing from this analysis is an estimation of local and regional economic impact. This paper seeks to contribute to the deliberations of local stakeholders by outlining current estimates of local multiplier effects and indicating where policy initiatives could be targeted to maximise local economy benefit. This advocates a reorientation of public policy support for the shale gas industry to focus upon the development of educational partnerships, enhancing skills development and attracting inward investment through spillover effects, thereby enhancing local economic impact.
Advance Care Planning in palliative care: A qualitative investigation into the perspective of Paediatric Intensive Care Unit staff
Authors: Mitchell Sarah , Dale Jeremy
Published: February 2015

Background:

The majority of children and young people who die in the United Kingdom have pre-existing life-limiting illness. Currently, most such deaths occur in hospital, most frequently within the intensive care environment.

Aim:

To explore the experiences of senior medical and nursing staff regarding the challenges associated with Advance Care Planning in relation to children and young people with life-limiting illnesses in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit environment and opportunities for improvement.

Design:

Qualitative one-to-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Paediatric Intensive Care Unit consultants and senior nurses, to gain rich, contextual data. Thematic content analysis was carried out.

Setting/participants:

UK tertiary referral centre Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. Eight Paediatric Intensive Care Unit consultants and six senior nurses participated.

Findings:

Four main themes emerged: recognition of an illness as ‘life-limiting’; Advance Care Planning as a multi-disciplinary, structured process; the value of Advance Care Planning and adverse consequences of inadequate Advance Care Planning. Potential benefits of Advance Care Planning include providing the opportunity to make decisions regarding end-of-life care in a timely fashion and in partnership with patients, where possible, and their families. Barriers to the process include the recognition of the life-limiting nature of an illness and gaining consensus of medical opinion. Organisational improvements towards earlier recognition of life-limiting illness and subsequent Advance Care Planning were recommended, including education and training, as well as the need for wider societal debate.

Conclusions:

Advance Care Planning for children and young people with life-limiting conditions has the potential to improve care for patients and their families, providing the opportunity to make decisions based on clear information at an appropriate time, and avoid potentially harmful intensive clinical interventions at the end of life.
Bullies on trial
Authors: Pettalia Jennifer , Pozzulo Joanna
Published: February 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine mock jurors’ decisions when faced with a case involving a bully charged with the suicide death of a victim. Mock jurors read a fictional trial transcript detailing the final months of the victim’s life, in which the 16-year-old victim was repeatedly bullied by the 18-year-old defendant. Manipulations included: sex of the victim and defendant (i.e. both were female or both were male), nature of the bullying (i.e. directly threatening to kill the victim or indirectly telling the victim to kill himself), and the medium used by the bully (i.e. no bullying occurred online or some bullying occurred with the use of the internet). Most mock jurors were in favor of convicting the defendant, particularly when both parties were male and the defendant was accused of repeatedly telling the victim to kill himself both on- and offline. Over 80 percent of the mock jurors stated that they would like to see bullies incur criminal charges. Approximately 50 percent indicated that they felt a charge as severe as manslaughter was warranted in cases where the victim commits suicide.
A Winkler solution for the axisymmetric Hertzian contact problem with wear and finite element method comparison
Authors: Menga Nicola , Ciavarella Michele
Published: February 2015

Contact problems with wear are often modelled according to the Reye–Archard law that applies locally to the wearing parts. In the transient regime, for geometries where the contact area cannot be assumed to be constant, a simple solution is possible when using the Winkler simplifying assumption. Here, we obtain such a solution in the axisymmetric contact problem, for an initially Hertzian geometry. Also, we explore the possibility to improve the solution by assuming that the Winkler constant adapts to the changing size of the contact. The correction is relevant in intermediate regimes before the solution tends to a ‘rigid’ asymptotic regime, independent of the elastic modulus. Comparison with a full finite element method simulation shows that the error in either contact area or peak pressure tends to be reduced from the initial error intrinsic in the Winkler assumption; however, the improvement remains small.
Investigation on characteristic length testing methods for failure prediction of composite multi-bolt joints
Authors: Zhang Jianyu , Liu Fengrui , Zhao Libin , Shan Meijuan
Published: February 2015

Characteristic lengths (CLs) are key factors in the characteristic curve method (CCM), which is widely used in engineering to predict the failure of composite multi-bolt joints. They directly affect the accuracy of predicting the joint failure. To identify suitable CL testing methods, six schemes have been designed and tested, in which two tensile CL specimens (open- and filled-hole laminates) and three compressive CL specimens (semi-circular notch laminates, pin-loaded hole laminates and single-bolt joints) have been compiled. Additionally, 3D FE analyses on the stress concentration have been performed and a discussion of the unit failure index curves of different specimens has been carried out to explore their load-carrying mechanism and determine why they result in different CLs. Failure predictions of composite multi-bolt joints by using the CCM with different CL testing schemes have been compared and evaluated using related static tensile experimental results. Filled-hole laminates for the tensile CL and single-bolt joints for the compressive CL are recommended because they best approximate the actual structure and obtain accurate failure predictions for composite multi-bolt joints.
Carvedilol-Induced Hyperkalemia in a Patient With Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Hahn Lindsay , Hahn Martin
Published: February 2015

A 69-year-old male was admitted to the hospital with a chief complaint of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. He had an extensive past medical history, including diabetes mellitus type 2 and chronic kidney disease stage III. Prior to admission, the patient was taking carvedilol 3.125 mg twice daily with no abnormality in his serum potassium. During hospitalization, his carvedilol was increased to 6.25 mg twice daily. The patient’s serum potassium then rose from 4.8 to 6.7 mEq/L, with no improvement following administration of sodium polystyrene sulfonate. Nephrology concluded the carvedilol could be contributing to the hyperkalemia. The dose was decreased back to 3.125 mg twice daily, leading to the potassium normalizing to 4.4 mEq/L. The reported incidence of beta-blocker–induced hyperkalemia is less than 5%. A literature search revealed several cases of beta-blocker–induced hyperkalemia, but to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case describing carvedilol specifically. Utilization of the Naranjo probability scale indicated a possible probability that the carvediol was the cause.
Nanostructured poly(2,2′-bithiophene-co-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)
Authors: Massoumi Bakhshali , Alipour Nastaran , Fathalipour Soghra , Jaymand Mehdi
Published: February 2015

This article describes the synthesis and characterization of poly(2,2′-bithiophene) (PBT), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), and poly(2,2′-bithiophene- co-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (P(BT- co-EDOT)) copolymers via chemical and electrochemical oxidation polymerization methods. The P(BT- co-EDOT) nanoparticles made of conjugated polymers with different feed ratios of monomers were synthesized by chemical polymerization in the presence of anhydrous ferric chloride and mixtures of acetonitrile (CH3CN) and dichloromethane as a binary organic solvent. The polymers obtained were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and their thermal behaviors were examined by thermogravimetric analysis. The electrical conductivity of the samples was measured using samples in which the conductive materials were sandwiched between two nickel electrodes at room temperature. The surface morphology and crystallinity of the synthesized samples were observed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometer, respectively. In electrochemical method, copolymer thin films were prepared with different feed ratios of monomers by cyclic voltammetry in an CH3CN-tetrabutheylamonium perchlorate solvent–electrolyte couple on the surface of the glassy carbon microelectrode as the working electrode. Deposition conditions and influence of the molar ratios of monomers on the electroactivity were investigated under cyclic voltammetric conditions.
Study of the distribution of Elphidium aff. poeyanum (D’ORBIGNY) and Buccella peruviana (D’ORBIGNY) from the Colorado basin (South America): Holocene paleoenvironmental inferences
Authors: Bernasconi Emiliana , Cusminsky Gabriela
Published: February 2015

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages recovered from T1 core samples of the Colorado basin, in the continental margin of southeastern Argentina, were analyzed to understand their distribution patterns and ecological preferences. The foraminiferal assemblages showed two well-represented species: Elphidium aff. poeyanum (d’Orbigny) and Buccella peruviana (d’Orbigny), among others of very low proportion. Statistical analyses allowed identifying positive correlations between the abundance of E. aff. poeyanum and silt content and between B. peruviana and the sand content, reflecting better conditions for the development of both species. From a paleoenvironmental point of view, the assemblages recorded are characteristic of an inner shelf, showing a passage from typical shallow waters to normal marine conditions; such a passage represents a rise in the sea level during the post-last glacial maximum transgression. The results obtained contribute to the knowledge of South American foraminifers and paleoenvironments during the Holocene.