bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Growth and Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Preterm LBW Infants with Sepsis in India: A Prospective Cohort
Authors: Pawar Sunil J. , Oleti Tejopratap , Bharathi Siluvery , Tipparaju Shyamsunder , Mustafa Ershad
Published: February 2018

Objective. Neonatal sepsis is associated with abnormal neurodevelopmental outcomes but not with poor growth at 9 to 15 months of corrected age in LBW infants. Design, Setting, and Participants. This is a prospective cohort study involving 128 eligible preterm low-birth-weight (LBW) infants admitted during the period of 2013-2014 to the Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital and Research Center. All patients were followed up in the outpatient Department of Pediatrics. They were divided into the sepsis and nonsepsis group. Results. A total of 94 infants were evaluated (40 in sepsis and 54 in nonsepsis group). At the age of 9–15 months, low-birth-weight infants with neonatal sepsis had an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (67.5 versus 20.3%; RR: 3.31 (1.87–5.85)). There is no statistically significant difference in the growth outcomes. Conclusion. Neonatal infections are associated with the abnormal neurodevelopmental outcomes in LBW infants but there was no significant difference at growth outcome at 9 to 15 months of corrected age between both groups.
A Rare Anatomical Variation of the Termination of Right and Left Cephalic Veins
Authors: Maalman Raymond Saa-Eru , Donkor Yaw Otchere , Ayamba Ali M. , Abledu Jubilant Kwame
Published: February 2018

Clinically, the cephalic vein is preferred for haemodialysis in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), to remove waste products from blood. The cut-down of cephalic vein in the deltopectoral groove is preferred when superior vena caval infusion is necessary. However, cephalic veins exhibit a wide array of developmental variations in terms of formation, course, and termination. In this report, we describe a case of an anomalous cephalic vein with a bifid course of terminations on both left and right upper limbs which has not been described by previous literature. During routine gross anatomy dissection of the neck, we observed a rare case of variation of the termination of the cephalic vein in both right and left upper limbs, of a male cadaver. Knowledge of the variations of cephalic vein is important not only for anatomists but also for surgeons and clinicians as the vein is frequently used for different surgical procedures and for obtaining peripheral venous access as well.
A Rare Case of Multifocal Prostatic Blue Nevus
Authors: Farran Elias J. , Kerr Preston S. , Kosarek Christopher D. , Sonstein Joseph , Eyzaguirre Eduardo J.
Published: February 2018

Prostatic blue nevus is a rare benign pathologic diagnosis most commonly diagnosed incidentally on many different types of prostate specimens. Blue nevus is the deposition of stromal melanin characterized by spindle cells within the fibromuscular stroma which stains positive for melanin-specific stains Fontana-Masson and S100 and stains negative for CD68, HMB45, and iron stains. We report the case of a multifocal and bilateral blue nevus in a 52-year-old Hispanic male who presented with an elevated prostate-specific antigen of 4.3 and mild obstructive lower urinary tract symptoms, found by transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate needle biopsy. The biopsy also revealed benign prostatic tissue with postatrophic hyperplasia and chronic inflammation. This is the 35th reported case of prostatic blue nevus and the third to show multifocal blue nevus.
Retrospective Analysis of Intravaginal Brachytherapy in Adjuvant Treatment of Early Endometrial Cancer
Authors: Cisek Paweł , Kieszko Dariusz , Kordzińska-Cisek Izabela , Kutarska Elżbieta , Grzybowska-Szatkowska Ludmiła
Published: February 2018

The aim of this study was to determine the role of adjuvant endovaginal brachytherapy HDR (High Dose Rate) or observation, as well as identification of risk factors of tumor recurrence. The study included 178 women after radical hysterectomy. All patients belonged to the group of low- and medium-risk stage I FIGO. Analysis consisted of 3-, 5-, and 10-year OS, DFS, and LRFS in both groups. Follow-up was more than 6.5 years. The 5-OS, 5-DFS, and 5-LRFS were 93%, 96%, and 98% in the treated group and 95%, 94%, and 96% in the observed group, respectively. These differences were not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant difference in 5-OS in the treated group, between low- and medium-risk subgroups (100% versus 87.55%, p=0.018). There was a better prognosis among the patients with FIGO IA compared to FIGO IB (5-DFS, 97 versus 86%, p=0.047). Among the risk factors, there were only statistically significant differences in the 5-OS, between the ages of ≤ 70 years and >70 years. Use of brachytherapy may affect the reduction in the number of local recurrences at the vaginal stump (6% versus 2%). This is particularly noticeable in the low-risk subgroup (9% versus 0%).
Deregulation of Hexokinase II Is Associated with Glycolysis, Autophagy, and the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma under Hypoxia
Authors: Chen Guanhui , Zhang Yadong , Liang Jianfeng , Li Wenqing , Zhu Yue , Zhang Ming , Wang Cheng , Hou Jinsong
Published: February 2018

The glycolytic enzyme Hexokinase (HKII) participates in tumor glycolysis and the progression of various cancers, but its clinicopathological effect on the progression of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) and its role in glycolysis, autophagy, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of TSCC in a hypoxic microenvironment remain unknown. Our results showed that HKII expression was dramatically increased in TSCC tissues and that its upregulation was significantly associated with the presence of pathological differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and clinical stage. The level of autophagy-specific protein LC3, EMT-related proteins, and the migration and invasion capabilities of TSCC cells all increased under hypoxia. Moreover, hypoxia increased the glucose consumption and lactate production of TSCC cells, and we demonstrated that the expression of the glycolytic key gene HKII was significantly higher than in that of the control group. Notably, the downregulation of HKII resulted in a significant decrease of TSCC cell glucose consumption lactate production and autophagic activity during hypoxia. HKII knockdown blocked the migratory and invasive capacity of TSCC cells and we specifically determined that the EMT ability decreased. Therefore, our findings revealed that the upregulation of HKII enhanced glycolysis and increased autophagy and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of tongue squamous cell carcinoma under hypoxia.
Acute Pericarditis Occurring Three Days after Intravesical Instillation of Mitomycin C after Transurethral Bladder Tumor Resection in a 64-Year-Old Woman
Authors: Meghrajani Vineet , Hashmi Arsalan , Lin Shuo Cheng , Plawes Zvi , Brejt Shelly
Published: February 2018

We present a 64-year-old woman who developed symptoms of acute pericarditis three days after undergoing intravesical instillation of mitomycin C following transurethral bladder tumor resection. Mitomycin C is a chemotherapeutic agent which acts by alkylation of DNA and is known to be cardiotoxic when systemically administered. Despite classic pericarditis symptoms, the patient underwent an urgent coronary angiogram due to elevated cardiac troponin I level, EKG changes, and wall motion abnormalities on her echocardiogram. During her angiogram, it was found that she had multiple stenotic coronary artery lesions, with no acute total coronary occlusions, and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was done with placement of a single drug-eluting stent for a 95% stenotic lesion in the left anterior descending artery. The patient was discharged after an uneventful hospitalization on dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and prasugrel, and colchicine for pericarditis. It is likely that the patient’s presentation was the result of a perimyocardial inflammatory process secondary to intravesically administered mitomycin C, rather than an acute coronary syndrome. While the pathophysiological basis of cardiotoxicity of systemically administered mitomycin C is well documented, more studies are needed to determine whether intravesical MMC may cause cardiotoxicity.
Concentric and Eccentric Target MRI Signs in a Case of HIV-Associated Cerebral Toxoplasmosis
Authors: Roche Adam D. , Rowley Dominic , Brett Francesca M. , Looby Seamus
Published: February 2018

Cerebral toxoplasmosis is one of the most common causes of focal brain lesions in immunocompromised patients, such as those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Differentiating toxoplasmosis from other central nervous system (CNS) lesions provides a significant clinical challenge. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the brain is key to prompt diagnosis and treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis. Several specific signs on MRI of brain have been described in recent literature including the “concentric target sign” and “eccentric target sign.” We report a case of successfully treated HIV-associated cerebral toxoplasmosis in which both MRI signs were present simultaneously.
Interleukin 33 Signaling Restrains Sporadic Colon Cancer in an Interferon-γ–Dependent Manner
Authors: Eissmann Moritz F. , Dijkstra Christine , Wouters Merridee A. , Baloyan David , Mouradov Dmitri , Nguyen Paul M. , Davalos-Salas Mercedes , Putoczki Tracy L. , Sieber Oliver M. , Mariadason John M. , Ernst Matthias , Masson Frederick
Published: February 2018

Interleukin 33 (IL33) is an inflammatory cytokine released during necrotic cell death. The epithelium and stroma of the intestine express large amounts of IL33 and its receptor St2. IL33 is therefore continuously released during homeostatic turnover of the intestinal mucosa. Although IL33 can prevent colon cancer associated with inflammatory colitis, the contribution of IL33 signaling to sporadic colon cancer remains unknown. Here, we utilized a mouse model of sporadic colon cancer to investigate the contribution of IL33 signaling to tumorigenesis in the absence of preexisting inflammation. We demonstrated that genetic ablation of St2 enhanced colon tumor development. Conversely, administration of recombinant IL33 reduced growth of colon cancer cell allografts. In reciprocal bone marrow chimeras, the concurrent loss of IL33 signaling within radioresistant nonhematopoietic, and the radiosensitive hematopoietic, compartments was associated with increased tumor burden. We detected St2 expression within the radioresistant mesenchymal cell compartment of the colon whose stimulation with IL33 induced expression of bona fide NF-κB target genes. Mechanistically, we discovered that St2 deficiency within the nonhematopoietic compartment coincided with increased abundance of regulatory T cells and suppression of an IFNγ gene expression signature, whereas IL33 administration triggered IFNγ expression by tumor allograft-infiltrating T cells. The decrease of this IFNγ gene expression signature was associated with more aggressive disease in human colon cancer patients, suggesting that lack of IL33 signaling impaired the generation of a potent IFNγ-mediated antitumor immune response. Collectively, our data reveal that IL33 functions as a tumor suppressor in sporadic colon cancer. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(4); 409–21. ©2018 AACR.
Moderne Hornhautdiagnostik mithilfe der SD-OCT-Technologie - ein weiterer Meilenstein?
Authors: Linke Stephan Johannes
Published: February 2018

Purpose: To investigate the repeatability and reproducibility of mapping the entire corneal thickness using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods: Thirty normal eyes, 30 post-laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery eyes, and 30 keratoconus eyes were analyzed. A custom-built long scan depth SD-OCT device was used to obtain entire corneal images. Ten-millimeter-diameter corneal thickness maps were generated by an automated segmentation algorithm. Intraclass correlation coefficients of repeatability (ICC1) and reproducibility (ICC2), and coefficients of repeatability (CoR1) and reproducibility (CoR2), were calculated to quantify the precision and accuracy of corneal pachymetry measurements using the Bland-Altman method. Results: For SD-OCT measurements in healthy subjects, CoR1 and CoR2 were less than 5.00 and 5.53 μm. ICC1 and ICC2 were more than 0.997 and 0.996. For SD-OCT measurements in LASIK patients, CoR1 and CoR2 were less than 5.09 and 5.34 μm. ICC1 and ICC2 were more than 0.997 and 0.996. For SD-OCT measurements in keratoconus patients, CoR1 and CoR2 were less than 11.57 and 10.92 μm. ICC1 and ICC2 were more than 0.995 and 0.996. Conclusions: The measurements of corneal pachymetric mapping by long scan depth SD-OCT can be assessed over the entire corneal area with good repeatability and reproducibility.
Successful Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in a Patient with Severe Complicated Clostridium difficile Infection after Liver Transplantation
Authors: Schneider Kai Markus , Wirtz Theresa H. , Kroy Daniela , Albers Stefanie , Neumann Ulf Peter , Strowig Till , Sellge Gernot , Trautwein Christian
Published: February 2018

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) represents one of the most common healthcare-associated infections. Due to increasing numbers of recurrences and therapy failures, CDI has become a major disease burden. Studies have shown that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can both be a safe and highly efficacious therapy for patients with therapy-refractory CDI. However, patients undergoing solid organ transplantation are at high risk for CDI due to long-term immunosuppression, previous antibiotic therapy, and proton pump inhibitor use. Additionally, these patients may be especially prone to adverse events related to FMT. Here, we report a successful FMT in a patient with severe therapy-refractory CDI after liver transplantation.
Risiko der dauerhaften Visusminderung durch Silikonöl-Endotamponaden
Authors: Treder Maximilian
Published: February 2018

Purpose: To evaluate retinal layer thickness with optical coherence tomography (OCT) in eyes with macula-off retinal detachment after silicone oil (SiO) or gas endotamponade. Procedures: Cross-sectional study of 40 eyes with macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment that underwent vitrectomy. 20 eyes received SiO tamponade and 20 matched eyes received gas. 33 healthy fellow eyes served as controls. Macular spectral domain OCT was performed with automated layer detection in the 5 inner subfields of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) map. Results: Comparing the SiO group with the gas group, the ganglion cell layer showed a significant thinning in all fields of the inner ring of the ETDRS map, the inner plexiform layer in the nasal, superior and temporal quadrants, and the outer plexiform layer in the nasal quadrant. Conclusions: Inner retinal layers in the fovea/parafovea were significantly thinner in the SiO group. Prospective studies are warranted to further elucidate possible retinal adverse effects of SiO tamponade.
Airbag-assoziierte schwere stumpfe Augenverletzung verursacht Aderhautruptur und Netzhautblutung: Ein Fallbericht
Authors: Wang Shih Hao , Lim Chen Chee , Teng Yu Ti
Published: February 2018

Wir stellen hier den Fall einer Aderhautruptur vor, die durch ein Airbag-assoziiertes stumpfes Augentrauma verursacht und durch massive subretinale und Glaskörperblutungen kompliziert wurde; die Behandlung mittels intravitrealer Injektion von Expansionsgas und Bevacizumab verlief erfolgreich. Ein 53-jähriger Mann klagte über Sehverlust im rechten Auge, nachdem er bei einem Autounfall ein stumpfes Augentrauma durch einen Sicherheitsairbag erlitt. Bei der initialen Untersuchung hatte der Patient keine Lichtwahrnehmung im rechten Auge. In der dilatierten Ophthalmoskopie zeigten sich massive subretinale Blutungen mit Makulainvasion und schwacher Glaskörperblutung. Wir nahmen 2 intravitreale Injektionen von reinem Schwefelhexafluorid mit dem Ziel der Verdrängung vor, danach verbesserte sich die Sehschärfe auf 0,03. Wegen persistierender subretinaler Blutung und Verdacht auf choroidale Neovaskularisation (CNV) wurde Bevacizumab (1,25 mg/0,05 ml) intravitreal injiziert. Nach 3 Wochen hatte sich die Sehschärfe im rechten Auge des Patienten wieder auf 0,4 verbessert. Bei früher Aderhautruptur-induzierter subretinaler Blutung und Verdacht auf CNV als Komplikation scheint die intravitreale Injektion von Expansionsgas in Verbindung mit der intraokularen Injektion von Angiogenesehemmern ein wirksames therapeutisches Vorgehen zu sein. Übersetzung aus Case Rep Ophthalmol 2017;8:13-20 (DOI:10.1159/000452652)
Pigmentierte Bindehautläsionen: Eine rasche Diagnostik ist entscheidend
Authors: Seibel Ira
Published: February 2018

A 43-year-old woman was referred to an oculoplastic surgeon for the evaluation of 2 small pigmented lesions in the tarsal conjunctiva. She underwent a biopsy of the lesions, both of which were found to be consistent with metastatic melanoma. Follow-up with the patient revealed that she had been hospitalized for balance issues and headaches. An MRI of her brain revealed a hemorrhagic mass and several smaller foci suspicious for metastatic lesions. A thorough workup included an evaluation for bloody vaginal discharge. Biopsy of a pigmented portion of the vaginal mucosa lesion revealed BRAF-positive melanoma. This was determined to be the primary site of her malignant metastatic melanoma, which caused her death within 6 months of presentation.
Sutureless Belt Loops versus Sutured Buckle Technique in Combination with Vitrectomy for Retinal Detachment Repair: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Landa Gennady , Benevento Joseph , Rosen Richard
Published: February 2018

Objective: To compare the anatomic and visual outcomes in primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair involving combined pars plana vitrectomy (PPV)/scleral buckle (SB) using a sutureless belt loops technique versus a conventional sutured buckle technique. Methods: This is a retrospective, consecutive, interventional, comparative case series study using patients treated for primary retinal detachment who underwent the SB procedure in combination with PPV. Details regarding anatomic and visual outcome were analyzed. Results: Thirty-five eyes were included in this study: 18 eyes (18 patients) treated with combined PPV and SB performed using a sutureless belt loops technique (group A) and 17 eyes (17 patients) treated with combined PPV and SB sutured to the sclera (group B). Successful anatomic attachment and appropriate buckle height were achieved in all 35 cases. There was 1 case of redetachment in each group during the follow-up: 1/17 (5.9%) in group A and 1/18 (5.6%) in group B (p = 0.97). No cases of buckle infection, extrusion, or intrusion were noted during the follow-up period. Conclusion: SBs installed using a belt loops sutureless technique appear to be as safe and effective as those applied using conventional suturing for repair of retinal detachment, with similar anatomic and functional outcomes.
Two-Port Fetoscopic Repair of Myelomeningocele in Fetal Lambs
Authors: Guilbaud Lucie , Roux Nathalie , Friszer Stéphanie , Dhombres Ferdinand , Vialle Raphaël , Shah Zoobia , Garabedian Charles , Bessières Bettina , Di Rocco Federico , Zerah Michel , Jouannic Jean-Marie
Published: February 2018

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and the effectiveness of a fetoscopic myelomeningocele (MMC) repair with a running single suture using a 2-port access in the sheep model. Methods: Eighteen fetuses underwent surgical creation of a MMC defect at day 75. Fetuses were then randomized into 3 groups. Four fetuses remained untreated (control group). In the other 14 fetuses, a prenatal repair was performed at day 90: 7 fetuses had an open repair (oMMC), and 7 fetuses had a fetoscopic repair (fMMC) using a single-layer running suture through a 2-port access. Lambs were sacrificed at term, and histological examinations were performed. Results: Hindbrain herniation was observed in all live lambs in the control group. A complete closure of the defect was achieved in all the lambs of the fMMC group. A complete healing of the defect and no hindbrain herniation were observed in all live lambs of the oMMC and fMMC groups. The durations of surgeries were not statistically different between the oMMC and the fMMC groups (60 vs. 53 min, p = 0.40), as was the risk of fetal loss (fMMC: 1/7, oMMC: 3/7, p = 0.56). Discussion: Fetoscopic repair of MMC can be performed using a single-layer running suture through a 2-port access and may be promising to reduce the risk of premature rupture of membranes.
Personality Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder: An Overview
Authors: Newton-Howes Giles , Foulds James
Published: February 2018

Background: Clinically, personality disorder (PD) commonly coexists with alcohol use disorder (AUD), although within mainstream mental health services both of these mental disorders are routinely overlooked. Despite a rich literature examining the interactions between AUD and personality functioning, personality traits, and PD, there remains conflicting evidence as to the degree of association and impact of one on the other. Methods: A narrative review and a synthesis of the literature were done. Results: The lifetime prevalence of AUD approaches 50% in some PD populations. The rates of PD in AUD populations are less clear but likely similar. Personality influences outcomes in AUD regardless of whether a categorical personality diagnosis or dimensional trait domain approach is taken. There are, however, no good data to inform clinicians on the impact of AUD on the outcomes of PD. Understanding the extent of this impact is complicated by the multiple tools used for diagnosis (of both PD and AUD) and the statistical methods used. Overall, caution is required in interpreting the data due to the quality of the current literature; however, comorbidity between the two disorders is likely significant and the impact of PD on AUD outcomes is sufficient to require consideration. Conclusions: From a research perspective, better agreement on both diagnoses and outcomes is urgently needed to improve the overall quality of the evidence. Clinically, despite the limitations in the literature, it is unacceptable for PD services to ignore AUD and for AUD services not to screen for PD. Both are likely to have an impact on health and functioning and should be considered in routine reviews. A better conceptualization of the putative mechanisms of this interaction, as well as an understanding of the neurobiology and reasons for the impact on treatment outcomes, will help to move the field forward.
Primary Myoepithelial Carcinoma of the Conjunctiva
Authors: Mudhar Hardeep Singh , Prydal Jeremy , Rennie Ian G.
Published: February 2018

A 38-year-old female, otherwise fit and well, presented with a mass on her left medial bulbar conjunctiva that had been enlarging for several months. Examinations showed a fixed pinkish tumour, 9 mm in maximum extent, spanning from the plica to the medial limbus. The tumour was removed in toto. Histology revealed it to be a biphasic tumour composed of lobules and infiltrative cords within a sclerotic matrix. The cells were spindle-shaped to epithelioid, with nuclear atypia and occasional mitotic figures. The tumour was positive for smooth muscle actin, beta-catenin, and vimentin. All other markers of myoepithelial differentiation and cytokeratins were negative. Genetic analysis showed no evidence of EWSR1 or PLAG1 rearrangements. The light microscopic features and immunohistochemistry strongly supported a tumour with myoepithelial differentiation. The cellular atypia, mitotic activity, and infiltrative edges all pointed to myoepithelial carcinoma. Body imaging/screening showed no evidence of tumour elsewhere, supporting that the tumour was a primary of the conjunctiva. This is the first report of a myoepithelial tumour of the conjunctiva. The patient remains recurrence-free after 3 years of follow-up.
Opposition-Based Memetic Algorithm and Hybrid Approach for Sorting Permutations by Reversals
Authors: Soncco-Álvarez José Luis , Muñoz Daniel M. , Ayala-Rincón Mauricio
Published: February 2018

Sorting unsigned permutations by reversals is a difficult problem; indeed, it was proved to be [Formula: see text]-hard by Caprara ( 1997 ). Because of its high complexity, many approximation algorithms to compute the minimal reversal distance were proposed until reaching the nowadays best-known theoretical ratio of 1.375. In this article, two memetic algorithms to compute the reversal distance are proposed. The first one uses the technique of opposition-based learning leading to an opposition-based memetic algorithm; the second one improves the previous algorithm by applying the heuristic of two breakpoint elimination leading to a hybrid approach. Several experiments were performed with one-hundred randomly generated permutations, single benchmark permutations, and biological permutations. Results of the experiments showed that the proposed OBMA and Hybrid-OBMA algorithms achieve the best results for practical cases, that is, for permutations of length up to 120. Also, Hybrid-OBMA showed to improve the results of OBMA for permutations greater than or equal to 60. The applicability of our proposed algorithms was checked processing permutations based on biological data, in which case OBMA gave the best average results for all instances.
Meatopida gen. nov., a new genus to accommodate two species originally described in Atopida White, 1846 (Coleoptera: Scirtoidea: Scirtidae)
Authors: KIAŁKA AGATA , RUTA RAFAŁ
Published: February 2018

The New Zealand species of marsh beetles Atopida dorsale Broun, 1893 and Atopida testacea Broun, 1880 share several features that differentiate them from other members of Atopida White. Analysis of morphological characters and the structural anatomy of the genitalia justified the description of a new genus to accommodate these two species. Sensory structures of the apical maxillary palpomere are described for the first time in Scirtidae. The presence of lacinial hooks in Scirtidae is discussed. Morphology of female prehensors is described and observations of male and female genitalia during copulation are discussed. Lectotypes of both species are designated.
A new species of Enchytraeus (Enchytraeidae, Oligochaeta) from the profundal of Lake Van, the world's largest soda Lake (Turkey, East Anatolia)
Authors: ARSLAN NAİME , TIMM TARMO , ROJO VERÓNICA , VIZCAÍNO ANTÓN , SCHMELZ RÜDIGER M.
Published: February 2018

Enchytraeus polatdemiri sp. nov. (Enchytaeidae, Oligochaeta) was discovered in the framework of a sampling campaign of the benthic invertebrate fauna of the hyperalkaline Lake Van in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey, the third-largest closed lake and the largest soda lake on Earth. It was the only oligochaete species found in all samples. DNA sequencing included a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, and a fragment of the nuclear histone 3 (H3) gene. For comparison, specimens from laboratory cultures of E. albidus Henle, 1837, a widespread and morphologically similar species, were sequenced as well. The new species differs from E. albidus in comparatively small body size, 2 or 3 chaetae per bundle, saddle-shaped clitellum, absence of a copulatory field between the male pores and vasa deferentia usually not extending beyond the clitellum. The individual gene trees of COI and H3, as well as the combined phylogenetic analysis of both trees, recovered Enchytraeus polatdemiri sp. nov. as a monophyletic group within the genus Enchytraeus, closely related to E. albidus, but with an average p-distance for COI of 14.5 %. E. polatdemiri sp. nov. may have evolved from a local population of Enchytraeus albidus, a species well-adapted to changing salinity conditions, or from a common ancestor into an extremophile species that dwells and reproduces in the profundal of a strongly alkaline soda lake.
On carrots and mobs
Authors: Nassauer Anne , Vasi Ion Bogdan
Published: February 2018

This study explores the global diffusion of a new ethical consumption tactic named carrotmob. We trace the spread of carrotmobs from the US across six continents and compare cases of successful and unsuccessful national diffusion. We argue that the heterogeneous spread of carrotmobs cannot be explained solely by differences in individual characteristics of consumers, such as post-materialist value orientation or income, or in the economic opportunity structures, such as national affluence or the availability of environmental labeled goods. Results from semi-structured interviews with organizers and activists in 15 countries suggest that activist brokers relied on social media to influence mobilization, and that social movement organizations, mass media, and governmental organizations played an important role for the diffusion of those collective actions. Our results support theories of connective action and political opportunities, but contradict theories of statism.
Refugee Protections from Below: Smuggling in the Eritrea-Ethiopia Context
Authors: Ayalew Mengiste Tekalign
Published: February 2018

This article is an analysis of the role of human smuggling practices and of the transnational social relations of Eritrean refugees exiting and transitioning through Ethiopia. Based on two years of multisited ethnographic fieldwork, I explore how smugglers, aspiring migrants, and former migrants, settled en route and in diasporic spaces, try to minimize the risk of violence through communities of support and knowhow. In so doing, I argue that smuggling is a socially embedded collective practice that strives to facilitate safe exit and transitions of Eritrean refugees despite the criminalization of migration, the militarization of borders, and the potential and existing criminal activity along Eritrean, Sudanese, and Ethiopian migratory corridors. The facilitation of irregular transits by migrants themselves reproduces a collective system of migratory knowledge that aims to bring refugees to safety—a community of knowledge—in which smuggling emerges as a system of refugee protection from below.
The “Good” Smuggler: The Ethics and Morals of Human Smuggling among Syrians
Authors: Achilli Luigi
Published: February 2018

This article challenges the categorization of smugglers as wicked villains by exploring smuggling’s moral economy. I present findings from two years of ethnographic field research on Syrian refugees and smugglers in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Italy, and along the so-called Balkan route (Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia). The relationship between the smugglers and the migrants appeared to be rich in solidarity and reciprocity and grounded in local notions of morality. Far from the dominant official narrative in the West of reckless criminals driven only by profit, smugglers sought and often found moral legitimation by using long-held notions of morality and religious duties when confronting the risky realities of their illicit enterprise.
Crimes of Solidarity in Mobility: Alternative Views on Migrant Smuggling
Authors: Zhang Sheldon X. , Sanchez Gabriella E. , Achilli Luigi
Published: February 2018

In this volume of The ANNALS, we present a collection of empirically based research projects on migrant smuggling, seeking to create a more nuanced understanding of the topic that supersedes perspectives that are often found in mainstream narratives of unscrupulous and ruthless criminal gangs preying on vulnerable and desperate migrants. The contributing authors rely on field data to reveal the complex and often symbiotic relationships between migrants and the people behind their journeys. Often misunderstood in juxtaposition to narratives of security and control, the lived experiences of migrants describe smuggling facilitators as relatives or close friends, acquaintances or distant operators—all members of a social network of varying relational proximity. Vulnerability in migration grows as the travel distance and transit points increase and the density of one’s own community ties decreases. The procurement of smuggling services is always situated within the collective wisdom and lived experiences of the migrants and their communities, and the strategies to increase the odds of success and to reduce the hazards and uncertainty of traversing foreign terrains.
“I Want to Be Trafficked so I Can Migrate!”: Cross-Border Movement of North Koreans into China through Brokerage and Smuggling Networks
Authors: Kook Kyunghee
Published: February 2018

This article draws on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with forty North Korean escapees involved in smuggling and brokerage networks and explores North Korean escapees’ cross-border mobility to China. It addresses the complexities of smuggling, showing how the category spans a continuum of actions that might be described as saving or rescuing at one pole, and the kind of exploitation generally termed trafficking at the other. By focusing on the multiple and varied interests and motivations of different actors who assist with North Korean women’s migration, I argue that differences among trafficking, smuggling, and migration are constructed rather than essential, and reflect a continued tendency among policy-makers to imagine human mobility through the lens of a fictional opposition between actions that are forced and those that are voluntary. The North Korean women’s migratory processes demonstrate the complexities of brokerage and smuggling networks, revealing how they can, but do not necessarily, entail the kind of exploitation generally termed trafficking.
What Makes a Good Human Smuggler? The Differences between Satisfaction with and Recommendation of Coyotes on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Authors: Slack Jeremy , Martínez Daniel E.
Published: February 2018

This article draws on a unique dataset of more than eleven hundred postdeportation surveys to examine migrants’ experiences with coyotes (human smugglers) along the U.S.-Mexico border. Our focus is on migrants’ satisfaction with the services provided by their most recent smuggler and whether they would be willing to put family or friends in contact with that person. We find a distinct difference between people’s expectations for their own migratory experience compared to what they would be willing to subject loved ones to. Expectations of comfort and safety are decidedly low for oneself; but for loved ones, a more expressive, qualitative assessment shapes their willingness to recommend a coyote: qualities such as trustworthiness, honesty, comportment, and treatment come to the fore. News coverage focusing on the deaths of smuggled migrants often portrays coyotes as nefarious and exploitative, but the migrant-smuggler relationship is much more complex than suggested by these media accounts. We provide empirical insight into the factors associated with successful, satisfactory, and safe relationships between migrants and their guides.
Navigating with Coyotes: Pathways of Central American Migrants in Mexico’s Southern Borders
Authors: González Yaatsil Guevara
Published: February 2018

This article presents research from an ethnographic investigation of the role of the men and women who facilitate clandestine border crossings (known colloquially as coyotes) in the Mexico-Guatemala northern borderlands. A significant portion of the fieldwork took place at La 72, a renowned migrant shelter in the Mexican border city of Tenosique, in the state of Tabasco. Findings suggest that the daily exchanges between migrants and their crossing facilitators constitute constant social negotiations through which these actors enrich their agency and profit from each other’s well-being.
Migrant Smuggling: Novel Insights and Implications for Migration Control Policies
Authors: Triandafyllidou Anna
Published: February 2018

This article offers a critical review of how migrant smuggling arises out of restrictive migration policies and how it has become increasingly sophisticated and professionalized. Reflecting on the innovative empirical findings presented in the contributions to this volume of The ANNALS, I highlight how migration control has hardened borders, disrupted cross-border flows of goods and people, and transformed local economies. Understanding better the relationship between migration control policies and migrant smuggling and the social and moral nature of the agent-customer transactions has important implications for the policies adopted to address irregular migration and migrant smuggling on both sides of the Atlantic.
Historicizing Mobility: Coyoterismo in the Indigenous Ecuadorian Migration Industry
Authors: Stone-Cadena Victoria , Álvarez Velasco Soledad
Published: February 2018

Based on ethnographic research in the Ecuadorian Highlands, this article puts the mobility, migration, and smuggling practices of Ecuador’s indigenous people in historical and contemporary context. The people of Ecuador’s Southern Highlands have been on the move for generations, and migration is deeply embedded in the social and cultural landscape. In the rural communities of Cañar, indigenous coyotes are more than facilitators of migration: they are community members operating amid broader structural constraints, which have led to the emergence of specific trends in the facilitation of irregularized migration, yet they are expected to adhere to communal principles of reciprocity and trust. We place indigenous migrant narratives of mobility and identity at the center of our analysis of human smuggling, articulating a counternarrative to that of criminalization prevalent in transnational debates of irregularized migration, national security, and border control.
Social Justice Leadership—Theory and Practice: A Case of Ontario
Authors: Wang Fei
Published: February 2018

Purpose: This study is to investigate how principals promote social justice to redress marginalization, inequity, and divisive action that are prevalent in schools. Research Method: This study employs a qualitative research design with semistructured interviews. Twenty-two elementary and secondary school principals were interviewed in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. Research Findings: Principals who are social justice advocates exercise their influence by focusing on people in an effort to build a socially just community. Their people-centered leadership practice focuses on: putting students at the center, positioning as a social justice leader, developing people for social justice, building school climate through social justice, and fostering positive relationships with families and communities. Social justice leadership is grounded in a very proactive way in bringing about the changes that such a paradigm demands. Implications: This study generates discussions among participants on the dynamics associated with social justice practice and helps practitioners navigate tactically entrenched power structures for the well-being of their students. It also deepens our understanding of social justice leadership by providing empirical evidence how social justice advocates take risks and innovative approaches to social change that embraces the value of democracy, inclusion, representation, and difference.
Measuring the Behavioral Properties of Commitment and Resistance to Organizational Change
Authors: Cinite Inta , Duxbury Linda E.
Published: February 2018

The goal of this study was to develop and validate behavioral measures of employees’ commitment and resistance toward organizational change. The scales were developed using an “imposed etic–emic–derived etic” perspective, the act frequency approach, principal components and confirmatory factor analysis. Five Canadian government departments participated across the three stages of the study. The measures were tested in four departments ( N = 583). Both scales were found to be valid and reliable. This study supports the following conclusions. First, resistance to change may not be as conceptualized in the management literature (i.e., strategies or behaviors used by employees to slow down or avoid the implementation of organisational change). Rather, our findings suggest that employees resist change by “voicing their concerns about change.” Second, only those employees who are committed to the change are likely to make the effort to “voice their concerns” to those above them in the hierarchy.
The Role of Accompaniment Quality in the Evaluation of Solo Instrumental Performance
Authors: Springer D. Gregory , Silvey Brian A.
Published: February 2018

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of accompaniment quality on the evaluation of solo instrumental performance. Undergraduate instrumental music education majors ( N = 71) listened to and evaluated the accuracy and expressivity of six excerpts of Haydn’s Concerto for Trumpet in E-Flat Major, which we created by synchronizing recordings of good and bad performances of a trumpet soloist with good and bad performances of a piano accompaniment (as well as a no-accompaniment condition). Participants also chose one “best aspect of the performance” and one “aspect needing most improvement” for each excerpt. Significant main effects for accompaniment condition (good, bad, or none) and solo condition (good or bad) were found, in addition to interaction effects. Results of a Solo × Accompaniment interaction signified that participants’ ratings were not independent of accompaniment condition, and this effect was moderated by the performance quality of the trumpet soloist. Additionally, participants noted different “best aspects” and “aspects needing most improvement” based on both solo performance quality and accompaniment condition.
An unusual case of sudden cardiac death during sexual intercourse
Authors: Mondello Cristina , Ventura Spagnolo Elvira , Cardia Luigi , Ventura Spagnolo Orazio , Gualniera Patrizia , Argo Antonina
Published: February 2018

The most common cause of sudden death during sexual intercourse in adults is heart disease, and it is usually the male, whereas the death of the woman is unusual. Generally, in these cases, death occurs as a result of cardiovascular disease. The authors report an unusual case of the sudden death of a young woman during sexual intercourse. The post-mortem investigations (autopsy, cardiac nuclear magnetic resonance and cardiac histology) demonstrated a previously undiagnosed arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. The terminal cause of death was a malignant arrhythmia from arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. This is the first report of a case in which sexual activity can be regarded as the triggering factor combined with cardiac disease to the woman’s death.
Providing a ‘‘Leg Up’’: Parental Involvement and Opportunity Hoarding in College
Authors: Hamilton Laura , Roksa Josipa , Nielsen Kelly
Published: February 2018

Although higher education scholars are increasingly exploring disparities within institutions, they have yet to examine how parental involvement contributes to social-class variation in students’ experiences. We ask, what role do parents play in producing divergent college experiences for students from different class backgrounds? Relying on interviews with 41 families, including mothers, fathers, and their daughters, we find that affluent parents serve as a ‘‘college concierge,’’ using class resources to provide youth with academic, social, and career support and access to exclusive university infrastructure. Less affluent parents, instead, describe themselves as ‘‘outsiders’’ who are unable to help their offspring and find the university unresponsive to their needs. Our findings suggest that affluent parents distinguish their children’s college experiences from those of peers, extending ‘‘effectively maintained inequality’’ beyond the K-12 education. Universities may be receptive of these efforts due to funding shifts that make recruiting affluent, out-of-state families desirable.
New Media and the Disillusion of Brazil’s Radical Left
Authors: Morgans Catherine
Published: February 2018

In contrast to recent waves of ad hoc social-media-fueled protest, Brazil’s leftist social movements consider new media unreliable, supplementary, and dominated by hegemonic actors. Owing to a shift in power relations online, these virtual spaces pose an approximation to their capitalist adversaries, a degree of institutionalization, and a breach of traditional trenches of resistance, leading anticapitalist movements to restrict their use of new media. Their wariness counters resurgent cyberoptimism that regards the Internet as a politically neutral or autonomous space favored by marginalized and alternative political actors.

Em contraste com a onda recente de protestos impulsionados pelas redes sociais, os movimentos sociais de esquerda no Brasil consideram a nova mídia inconfiável, subserviente e dominada por atores hegemônicos. Devido a mudanças nas relações de poder na Internet, esses espaços virtuais apresentam-se como forma de aproximação de seus adversários capitalistas, um grau de institucionalização e um rompimento com as trincheiras tradicionais de resistência. Consequetemente, os movimentos anticapitalistas restringem e vigiam o uso da nova midia. Essa percepção oferece um contraponto ao otimismo cibernético ressurgente, o qual enxerga a Internet como espaço autônomo, politicamente neutro e preferido por atores políticos marginalizados e alternativos.
Finite frequency H∞ filtering for uncertain two-dimensional continuous systems
Authors: Wang Lu , Wang Guopeng , Qin Wen
Published: February 2018

This paper investigates the problem of robust finite frequency (FF) [Formula: see text] filtering for two-dimensional (2D) continuous systems described by the Roesser state-space model with norm-bounded uncertainties. A further generalized Kalman–Yakubivich–Popov (KYP) lemma for 2D continuous Roesser systems is presented in a unified form. By the given generalized KYP lemma, the problem of standard [Formula: see text] filtering for uncertain 2D continuous Roesser systems is extended to the FF case. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Investigation on coal seam distribution and gas occurrence law in Guizhou, China
Authors: Li Qingsong , He Xin , Wu Jiahao , Ma Shu
Published: February 2018

In order to enhance the management level of coal mine safety production and promote the “safe, accurate and efficient” preventive treatments for gas in Guizhou of China, the occurrence and other prominent features of coal and gas are investigated. The characteristics and regularities of coal mine accidents in Guizhou during 2001–2015 are summarized to analyze the commonness of gas accidents in general and determine the characteristics of gas preventive treatment. Geological data, gas basic parameters, and physical properties of coal of 386 mines and 761 sets of coal seams in Guizhou are also statistically analyzed. Based on step control theory of gas occurrence structure and the regionally tectonic regularity of coal-bearing stratum distribution, the deformations of coal measures in Guizhou mine area are mainly caused by great variation of stratigraphic occurrence, complicated geological structure, and high crustal stress. The regional occurrence of coal seam is obvious with the highest content of Tongzi–Zunyi–Liuzhi–Xingyi line, which gradually reduces to the both east and west sides. Influence factors and weights of gas occurrence are expounded from geological and coal factor by mathematical statistics, and the main influence factors of gas occurrence are the sedimentary environment, syncline structure, and metamorphic grade in proper sequence. Combined with the risk prediction of coal and gas outburst area, the prediction of gas pressure by gas content is not suitable under the special occurrence conditions. The initial velocity of gas emission, the solidity coefficient, and the damage type in more than 77% of minable seams all exceed the critical value. This work provides guidance in improvement of the governance situation for gas control in Guizhou. The index prediction system which is suitable for mining conditions of special coal mines in Guizhou should be established.