bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology
Authors: Dimond Dennis , Rohr Christiane S. , Smith Robert E. , Dhollander Thijs , Cho Ivy , Lebel Catherine , Dewey Deborah , Connelly Alan , Bray Signe
Published: May 2019

Early childhood is an important period for cognitive and brain development, though white matter changes specific to this period remain understudied. Here we utilize a novel analytic approach to quantify and track developmental changes in white matter micro- and macro-structure, calculated from individually oriented fiber-bundle populations, termed “fixels”. Fixel-based analysis and mixed-effects models were used to assess tract-wise changes in fiber density and bundle morphology in 73 girls scanned at baseline (ages 4.09-7.02, mean=5.47, SD=0.81), 6-month (N=7), and one-year follow-up (N=42). For comparison, we also assessed changes in commonly utilized diffusion tensor metrics: fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean, radial and axial diffusivity (MD, RD, AD). Maturational increases in fixel-metrics were seen in most major white matter tracts, with the most rapid increases in the corticospinal tract and slowest or non-significant increases in the genu of the corpus callosum and uncinate fasciculi. As expected, we observed developmental increases in FA and decreases in MD, RD and AD, though percentage changes were smaller relative to fixel-metrics. The majority of tracts showed more substantial morphological than microstructural changes. These findings highlight early childhood as a period of dynamic white matter maturation, characterized by large increases in macroscopic fiber bundle size, mild changes in axonal density, and parallel, albeit less substantial, changes in diffusion tensor metrics.
Protein structure prediction and design in a biologically-realistic implicit membrane
Authors: Alford Rebecca F. , Fleming Patrick J. , Fleming Karen G. , Gray Jeffrey J.
Published: May 2019

Protein design is a powerful tool for elucidating mechanisms of function and engineering new therapeutics and nanotechnologies. While soluble protein design has advanced, membrane protein design remains challenging due to difficulties in modeling the lipid bilayer. In this work, we developed an implicit approach that captures the anisotropic structure, shape of water-filled pores, and nanoscale dimensions of membranes with different lipid compositions. The model improves performance in computational bench-marks against experimental targets including prediction of protein orientations in the bilayer, ΔΔG calculations, native structure dis-crimination, and native sequence recovery. When applied to de novo protein design, this approach designs sequences with an amino acid distribution near the native amino acid distribution in membrane proteins, overcoming a critical flaw in previous membrane models that were prone to generating leucine-rich designs. Further, the proteins designed in the new membrane model exhibit native-like features including interfacial aromatic side chains, hydrophobic lengths compatible with bilayer thickness, and polar pores. Our method advances high-resolution membrane protein structure prediction and design toward tackling key biological questions and engineering challenges.

Significance Statement

Membrane proteins participate in many life processes including transport, signaling, and catalysis. They constitute over 30% of all proteins and are targets for over 60% of pharmaceuticals. Computational design tools for membrane proteins will transform the interrogation of basic science questions such as membrane protein thermodynamics and the pipeline for engineering new therapeutics and nanotechnologies. Existing tools are either too expensive to compute or rely on manual design strategies. In this work, we developed a fast and accurate method for membrane protein design. The tool is available to the public and will accelerate the experimental design pipeline for membrane proteins.
SISUA: Semi-Supervised Generative Autoencoder for Single Cell Data
Authors: Ngo Trong Trung , Kramer Roger , Mehtonen Juha , González Gerardo , Hautamäki Ville , Heinäniemi Merja
Published: May 2019

Single-cell transcriptomics offers a tool to study the diversity of cell phenotypes through snapshots of the abundance of mRNA in individual cells. Often there is additional information available besides the single cell gene expression counts, such as bulk transcriptome data from the same tissue, or quantification of surface protein levels from the same cells. In this study, we propose models based on the Bayesian generative approach, where protein quantification available as CITE-seq counts from the same cells are used to constrain the learning process, thus forming a semi-supervised model. The generative model is based on the deep variational autoencoder (VAE) neural network architecture.
A comparison of immunoglobulin IGHV, IGHD and IGHJ genes in wild-derived and classical inbred mouse strains
Authors: Watson Corey T. , Kos Justin T. , Gibson William S. , Newman Leah , Deikus Gintaras , Busse Christian E. , Smith Melissa Laird , Jackson Katherine J.L. , Collins Andrew M.
Published: May 2019

The genomes of classical inbred mouse strains include genes derived from all three major subspecies of the house mouse,Mus musculus. We recently posited that genetic diversity in the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) gene loci of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice reflect differences in subspecies origin. To investigate this hypothesis, we conducted high-throughput sequencing of IGH gene rearrangements to document IGH variable (IGHV), joining (IGHJ), and diversity (IGHD) genes in four inbred wild-derived mouse strains (CAST/EiJ, LEWES/EiJ, MSM/MsJ, and PWD/PhJ), and a single disease model strain (NOD/ShiLtJ), collectively representing genetic backgrounds of several major mouse subspecies. A total of 341 germline IGHV sequences were inferred in the wild-derived strains, including 247 not curated in the International Immunogenetics Information System. In contrast, 83/84 inferred NOD IGHV genes had previously been observed in C57BL/6 mice. Variability among the strains examined was observed for only a single IGHJ gene, involving a description of a novel allele. In contrast, unexpected variation was found in the IGHD gene loci, with four previously unreported IGHD gene sequences being documented. Very few IGHV sequences of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were shared with strains representing major subspecies, suggesting that their IGH loci may be complex mosaics of genes of disparate origins. This suggests a similar level of diversity is likely present in the IGH loci of other classical inbred strains. This must now be documented if we are to properly understand inter-strain variation in models of antibody-mediated disease.
Fruit performance of kiwifruit in the loess area of Northwest China
Authors: Guo Kaibin , Guo Zhen , Guo Yun , Qiao Guang
Published: May 2019

Attempts had been made to provide evident insight into the performance of fruit quality and the status of soil property, and explicate the soil property factors that dominantly affect the fruit quality of kiwifruit. Currently, 8-year-old kiwifruit cultivar ‘Hayward’, which was grown in Zhouzhi County (108°37′ E, 33°42′N), Shanxi Province of China, was used as materials. The results of Pearson correlation coefficient illustrated that the soil organic matter (SOM) content was positively related to soil properties except the soil PH. Moreover, based on the canonical correlation analysis (CCA), canonical variables alkaline hydrolyzable-N (AN), available ferrum (AFe), available boron (AB), PH in soil property index and the fresh weight of single fruit (FW), fruit shape index (FI), total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), total soluble sugar (SS) in fruit quality parameter were selected. And the ‘best’ regression equation (model) indicated that the effects of soil property somewhat varied among ‘Hayward’ fruit qualities in the loess area of Northwest China. Specifically, FW and SS could be mainly affected by soil AN, and FI affected by soil AB and PH. Fruit SS mostly depended upon soil AFe, whereas TSS was affected by soil AN, AFe and PH. The effect of soil PH on fruit quality is probably achieved, however, affecting the absorption of soil nutrients.
Solving self-absorption in fluorescence
Authors: Trevorah Ryan M. , Chantler Christopher T. , Schalken Martin J.
Published: May 2019

One of the most common types of experiment in X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measures the secondary inelastically scattered fluorescence photon. This widespread approach has a dominant systematic of self-absorption of the fluorescence photon. The large impact of self-absorption compromises accuracy, analysis and insight. Presented here is a detailed self-consistent method to correct for self-absorption and attenuation in fluorescence X-ray measurements. This method and the resulting software package can be applied to any fluorescence data, for XAS or any other experimental approach detecting fluorescence or inelastically scattered radiation, leading to a general solution applicable to a wide range of experimental investigations. The high intrinsic accuracy of the processed data allows these features to be well modelled and yields deeper potential insight.
Energy efficiency actions at a Brazilian university and their contribution to sustainable development Goal 7
Authors: Rebelatto Bianca Gasparetto , Lange Salvia Amanda , Reginatto Giovana , Daneli Rangel Casanova , Brandli Luciana Londero
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse recent actions of energy efficiency implemented by University of Passo Fundo, a higher education institution located in the south of Brazil, and their contributions to Goal 7.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on collected energy data and information of energy efficiency actions applied at the university.

Findings

The paper shows the progress related to the energy practices and discusses opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of applying energy efficiency at universities and its contributions towards sustainable development goal (SDG) 7.

Practical implications

The findings of this study can inform readers about University of Passo Fundo’s initiatives towards energy efficiency focussed in lightening, photovoltaic solar power generation and free energy market. Readers are able to improve their knowledge with the discussion of internal and external factors related to the initiatives.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper is connected to the idea of sharing the experiences from University of Passo Fundo, connecting energy efficiency practices at universities to SDG 7 and also exploring opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of applying these practices in the context of a higher education institution.
Rivalry, excludability and positive transport externalities – case study of a private university in Poland
Authors: Paradowska Monika
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of rivalry and excludability in transport systems on the positive external effects important for the functioning of a large private university in Wroclaw (Poland). In the context of campus sustainability, policy implications supporting sustainable transport are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

Four research questions were formulated, which were tested by way of questionnaire research among students of the Bachelor and Engineer Programmes in Logistics and taking part in the course Transport Economics at the WSB University in Wroclaw (Poland).

Findings

Car use seems to be the most important for the positive transport externalities enabling the functioning of the university. Levels of rivalry and excludability did not have a significant impact on the levels of external transport benefits or the transport behaviour of students. To sustain/enhance the levels of positive external effects of transport and stimulate sustainable commuting, the university should support the development of alternative modes of transport, by improving transport infrastructure on the campus, and develop cooperation with the Wroclaw municipality to develop synergies between their transport policy goals.

Research limitations/implications

The research should be interpreted with care, as it is a case study of one large private university in Poland. Further research should be conducted among different private and public universities that are characterised by different levels of accessibility (location, development of infrastructure). The case study is based on students' transport behaviour, not considering transport behaviour of academic and non-academic workers, which could function as a role mode.

Practical implications

Policy aiming at banning cars is likely to be unsuccessful and/or could lead to a decrease in positive externalities in a short term. For this reason, more attention should be given to marketing and promotion of more sustainable means of transport, including e.g. better information on the possibilities of reaching the campus by train or urban public transport, facilitations for non-motorised students and improvements in cycling and walking infrastructure. To support campus sustainability in the field of transport, stronger cooperation with local administration is needed to undertake joint, consistent actions aimed at sharing and supporting the idea of sustainable commuting among students.

Originality/value

While many activities for supporting campus sustainability focus on reducing negative environmental externalities, positive externalities are not so often considered. In this context, the levels of rivalry and excludability can become an indicator of the contribution of transport systems to social and economic sustainability.
Course withdrawal: a comparison of business and engineering students in a private university
Authors: Mozahem Najib
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the course withdrawal behavior of business and engineering students in a private university. While previous research has studied such behavior, the literature remains sparse and dated.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a negative binomial model in order to model the total number of course withdrawals for 760 students. The data set includes all courses taken by the students, with a total of 25,160 course outcomes.

Findings

Among the findings of the study are that males withdraw from courses more than females, engineering courses have the highest withdrawal rates, and male engineering students withdraw more than any other group.

Originality/value

While dropping out of college has received cross-national interest, the same cannot be said of course withdrawal. Most research to date has been conducted in a community college setting or has used a subset of the courses taken by students at universities in the USA. Thus, this is one of the first studies to investigate course withdrawal in another country.
A note on liquidity policies and financial networks
Authors: Lopomo Beteto Wegner Danilo
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to provides an example of how government and central bank policies that promote market liquidity (e.g., quantitative easing programs) can change the structure of the banking system.

Design/methodology/approach

The nexus between liquidity policies and financial networks is addressed through an example that captures stylized features of the interbank market. In the example discussed, two scenarios are considered: one with and another without central bank/government liquidity provision, leading to two different network structures that are then used to study the likelihood of contagion.

Findings

The example provided shows that government and central bank policies that promote market liquidity can lead to financial networks that are better capitalized (net worth of the banking system is higher) but, at the same time, more fragile (higher likelihood of bank failures).

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first attempt to model the formation of a financial network with an explicit mechanism accounting for government and central bank policies that affect market liquidity, which, in turn, could be interpreted as a quantitative easing program.
Dealing with brain drain: the contributions of Sri Lanka’s peak business interest associations
Authors: You Kevin
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the way in which Sri Lankan business associations contribute to addressing such issues and the motivation behind their contributions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data, in this study, came from publicly available sources (online news articles, newspaper articles, reports, etc.) and a series of unstructured elite interviews with leaders of Sri Lanka’s most prominent peak business associations.

Findings

Sri Lankan associations contribute to addressing problems associated with human capital flight because doing so, ultimately, benefits their members and secretariat organisations. Peak bodies make their contributions by easing the push factors that catalyse the outflow of skilled migrants from the island nation and helping to replenish skills in the country by engaging in initiatives aimed at training and developing workers, young people and entrepreneurs.

Research limitations/implications

The behaviours of Sri Lanka’s business interest associations and the logics that drive their actions are similar to those of their counterparts in other countries (as per academic literature in the area), where association membership is not state-mandated. Rational actions of business associations have the potential to produce socially beneficial positive externalities (as in the present case issues around the brain drain).

Social implications

Findings from this research can assist government bodies, non-government organisations and other civil society organisations develop a better collaborative relationship with the private sector in developing nations to tackle problems associated with human capital flight.

Originality/value

While there has been a lively debate, among philosophers and scholars of public policy, on how governments should help address issues associated with this phenomenon, very little attention has been given to the real and potential contributions of non-governmental, non-charity-based civil society groups such as unions and business chambers. This paper seeks to address this gap.
Control practices in a traditional industry in Sri Lanka: an institutional logics perspective
Authors: Wimalasinghe Rochelle , Gooneratne Tharusha N.
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the co-existence of multiple logics, resulting complexities and their implications on control practices within a traditional industry (southern cinnamon) in Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is premised upon the qualitative methodology and case study approach, while the theoretical backing is provided by the institutional logics perspective.

Findings

The findings reveal that controls are exercised in the southern cinnamon industry to manage competing facets stemming from the co-existence of multiple logics, such as family logic, commercial logic and state logic. Amid the recurring complexity caused by competing logics, the industry remains in a state of control through mediators, such as the exporter trade union (the Spice Council), which although predominantly guided by commercial logic, acts in easing-off tensions between competing logics, while serving the interest of multiple actors. Controls in southern cinnamon nevertheless take a peculiar form, giving way to the continuation of traditional rudimentary practices, which essentially represent the interests of ground level actors.

Originality/value

Moving beyond corporate settings, which are the typical focus of mainstream studies, this paper adds to the existing body of knowledge on control practices in traditional industries, where informal and localized controls prevail. Theoretically, it expands the use of the institutional logics perspective, recognizing multiple logics, tensions and complexities in management control research. In doing so, the authors probe into informal control mechanisms in traditional industries to understand the controls and complexities in practice. Practically, the paper portrays beliefs, issues and incidents in the field (of the southern cinnamon industry in Sri Lanka), which explains why the field operates as it does, thereby offering insights to actors in the field, ranging from practitioners to policymakers.
A method for optimizing stencil cleaning time in solder paste printing process
Authors: Yu JiangYou , Cao Le , Fu Hao , Guo Jun
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Stencil cleaning is an important operation in solder paste printing process. Frequent cleaning may interrupt printing process and increase idle time, as well as loss for performing cleaning. This paper aims to propose a method to optimize the stencil cleaning time and reduce unnecessary cleaning operations and losses.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a discrete-time, discrete-state homogeneous Markov chain to model the stencil printing performance degradation process, and the quality loss during the stencil printing process is estimated based on this degradation model. A stencil cleaning decision model based on renewal reward theorem is established, and the optimal cleaning time is obtained through a balance between quality loss and the loss on idle time.

Findings

A stencil cleaning decision model for solder paste printing is established, and numerical simulation results show that there exists an optimal stencil cleaning time which minimizes the long-term loss.

Originality/value

Stencil cleaning control is very important for solder paste printing. However, there are very few studies focusing on stencil cleaning control. This research contributes to developing a model to optimize the stencil cleaning time in solder paste printing process.
Exploring Eleanor Roosevelt’s labor advocacy using primary and secondary sources
Authors: Bickford John H. , O’Farrell Brigid
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Education initiatives have increased expectations of students’ non-fiction reading and text-based writing within history, social studies and other curricula. Teachers must locate age-appropriate curricular materials and implement discipline-specific pedagogy to guide students’ history literacy, historical thinking and historical argumentation. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Students are guided on an inquiry into an underemphasized element of a historically significant figure’s life. Eleanor Roosevelt’s labor and poverty advocacies generate comparably less attention by historians and trade book authors than her work with civil rights, human rights and international diplomacy.

Findings

Students are positioned to scrutinize primary and secondary sources using differentiated optics relevant to each source type. History literacy and historical thinking strategies ground students’ analyses. After extracting meaningful content from diverse sources, students are prompted to engage in text-based writing to articulate their newly developed understandings. Diverse elements of revision bolster students’ historical argumentation.

Practical implications

Close reading, critical thinking and text-based writing are joined throughout the guided inquiry.

Originality/value

The previously unused texts and original tasks are intended for middle school classrooms. These sources and strategies integrate different elements of history literacy, historical thinking and historical argumentation throughout the inquiry.
Walking the creek: reconnecting place through light projection
Authors: Edensor Tim , Andrews Julie
Published: May 2019

In this paper, we explore how a light projection sought to convey a range of qualities: conviviality, a sense of place, playfulness, defamiliarisation, and the affective and sensory capacities that were experienced through walking in the distinctive, liminal realm of Bendigo Creek in Victoria, Australia. The projection aspired to solicit a sensory and affective empathy that chimed with the experiences of an earlier event in which dozens of pedestrians were filmed walking in the creek. The projection contributed to a local campaign to reappraise the much‐maligned creek as a local public amenity. We discuss the productive potential of solitary and collective walking and, subsequently, the attributes of the projection in its static and mobile manifestation. In so doing, we suggest that publicly engaged, inclusive, creative practice can offer potent place‐making possibilities.
Behavioral response of Riptortus pedestris (Hemiptera: Alydidae) 2nd instar nymphs to their gut symbiont, Burkholderia sp., in laboratory conditions
Authors: Kim Soowan , Lee Doo‐Hyung
Published: May 2019

Many arthropods including insects have symbiotic relationships with diverse microorganisms that can confer fitness benefits to their hosts. Riptortus pedestris is a serious pest on leguminous crops in East Asia including South Korea and Japan. Recently, has been reported that R. pedestris form symbiosis with Gram‐negative bacteria in the genus Burkholderia where they acquire symbionts from soil environments without vertical transmission from each generation. In order to address how R. pedestris acquire their symbiont from environment, we hypothesized that R. pedestris would detect and exhibit preference toward the Burkholderia symbionts. In this study, we conducted a series of dual‐choice experiments and Y‐tube olfactometer experiments to monitor and evaluate behavioral responses by 2nd instar R. pedestris toward the Burkholderia treatment and untreated control under various experimental settings in the laboratory. In dual‐choice experiments, there was no significant preference by R. pedestris to the Burkholderia treatment compared with untreated control. Also, no significant difference was detected in the first choice frequency, visiting frequency, and residence time of the insects between the two treatments. Likewise, there was no detectable preference by R. pedestris to microbial odors from the symbionts in Y‐tube experiments. Therefore, our results indicate that there was no evidence supporting that 2nd instar R. pedestris exhibit preference to the Burkholderia symbiont in the laboratory conditions of this study. Further studies are required to evaluate behavioral responses of later immature stages (i.e., 3rd and 4th instar) to the symbionts and provide choice settings at larger semi‐field arenas.
Influence of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms in the IFNG towards susceptibility to tuberculosis in a Pakistani population
Authors: Naz AsmaGul , Ali Muhammad , Aslam Muhammad Assad , Khan Abrar Ul Haq , Manzoor Hamid , Iqbal Rehana , Shehzad Muhammad Ahmed , Ahmad Shahbaz , Shaheen Zubair , Rasul Sumaira
Published: May 2019

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global issue as one‐third of the population worldwide is considered to be infected. TB has become a critical public health problem as a result of increasing drug resistance, which poses a challenge to current control strategies. Similar to environmental factors, genetic makeup of the host equally contributes to disease onset. We performed genotypic analysis to examine the relationship between IFNG and TB onset and drug resistance in a Pakistani population comprising 689 subjects. Notable differences were observed in the IFNG polymorphism (+874T/A) between the case and control groups. The frequency of the wild‐type genotype (TT) in the controls (43.2%) was significantly higher than in the cases (25.3%) (odds ratio [OR] = 0.77, p < 0.0001), while the mutant genotype frequency (AA) (38.57%) in the cases was significantly higher than in the controls (22.6%) (OR = 1.46, p < 0.0001). The heterozygous genotype frequency (TA) did not significantly differ between the control and case groups. Compared with the controls, the variant allele (A) was approximately twice as frequent in the cases. Females and older people have a higher chance of disease development. Finally, the IFNG (+874T/A) polymorphism was not associated with drug sensitivity or resistance. However, a genotypic polymorphism of IFNG (+874T/A) was significantly associated with susceptibility to TB, and the T allele conferred protection against TB. Additional studies involving larger cohorts are needed to further explore this relationship between genetics and disease vulnerability.
Development and evaluation of an organisational culture change intervention in residential aged care facilities
Authors: Venturato Lorraine , Horner Barbara , Etherton‐Beer Christopher
Published: May 2019

Objective

To develop and evaluate an organisational culture change intervention for residential aged care settings.

Methods

This study was undertaken in five residential aged care facilities (RACFs). All staff working within participating RACFs were invited to take part. Participatory action research was used to develop a structured approach, supporting small workgroups of staff in each facility to undertake change cycles, focusing on improved leadership, teamwork and communication. Qualitative data were gathered from reflection and evaluation sessions with facility work team focus groups, interviews with managers and other staff who were not engaged in the work team, field journals and reflective discussion with research team members.

Results

Staff and management both positively evaluated the intervention and process, and there were perceived cultural shifts in communication, teamwork and staff empowerment.

Conclusion

An organisational culture change intervention that engages work teams through brief change cycles appears to be feasible for use in RACF.
Psychological distress among prostate cancer survivors in South Korea: A nationwide population‐based, longitudinal study
Authors: Heo Jaesung , Noh O Kyu , Chun Mison , Oh Young‐Taek , Kim Logyoung
Published: May 2019

Aim

This time‐dependent study aimed to analyze the prevalence of psychological distress in prostate cancer survivors by using claims data in South Korea.

Methods

In a nationwide cohort, 32 005 patients were identified who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between January 2010 and December 2014. We referred the diagnostic codes of mental disorders as psychological distress. We categorized the prevalence of psychological distress based on age and specific times before and after the cancer diagnosis.

Results

The median age at diagnosis of prostate cancer was 70 years. Among 32 005 patients, 3074 (9.6%) were diagnosed at least once with a mental disorder between 1 year before the cancer diagnosis and the last follow‐up. Among the first diagnoses of each patient, the common mental disorders were anxiety (39.1%) and depression (33.0%). In the total cohort, there were 54 666 claims for mental disorders and over 48.0% (26 256) were for depression. The frequency of psychological distress peaked just before cancer diagnosis. Anxiety was frequent before diagnosis of prostate cancer, whereas depression was frequent after diagnosis. Although stress reaction/adjustment disorders were relatively high in the younger group, depression was relatively high in the elderly group.

Conclusion

Psychological distress in prostate cancer survivors showed different patterns of prevalence between before and after cancer diagnosis, as well as between age groups. Timely diagnosis and intervention for mental health could promote quality of life for prostate cancer survivors.
Painted by Default: Public Shaming and Graffiti on the Homefront
Authors: Ellison Susan H.
Published: May 2019

Across El Alto, Bolivia, a particular kind of graffiti stands out on the walls of household compounds: startling letters proclaiming deudor moroso (defaulting debtor). These public accusations of insolvency join other expressions of households in crisis, disrupting any imagined public/private boundary between city streets and homes that are charged moral, material, and social configurations. As I show, defaulting debtor graffiti spatializes loan recovery efforts by implicating a broader constellation of relationships connected through the physical structure of the home and, in that implication, often fractures bonds of relatedness in the process. Yet the graffiti's ambiguous authorship enables those branded to challenge any singular reading of its scrawl. As deudor moroso graffiti enters into the struggle over urban space's inscriptions, it illuminates the ways home space is entangled with public space as a battleground over economic ruin and its meanings. [urban anthropology, graffiti, kinship, debt, microfinance, Bolivia]
Outcomes of hip and knee replacement surgery in private and public hospitals in Australia
Authors: Harris Ian , Cuthbert Alana , Lorimer Michelle , de Steiger Richard , Lewis Peter , Graves Stephen E.
Published: May 2019

Background

This study determined the contributing factors of hospital sector (private versus public) variation in revision rates after elective total hip replacement (THR) for hip fracture, and elective total knee replacement (TKR).

Methods

Using data from a large national arthroplasty registry, funnel plots for hospitals were generated, displaying the proportion of revised primary procedures. The proportion of outliers for each distribution was defined as the proportion outside the upper 99.7% confidence limit. Survival analyses determined differences between hospital sector revision rates separately for implants with the lowest revision rate, and for all other implants. Multivariate Cox regression determined the role of hospital sector in revision, adjusting for possible confounders.

Results

For THR performed for osteoarthritis, 17.4% of private and 4.4% of public hospitals were outliers. For TKR performed for osteoarthritis, 19.6% of private and 10.0% of public hospitals were outliers. For THR for fractured neck of femur, 8.1% of private and 0.0% of public hospitals were outliers. Adjusted and unadjusted Kaplan–Meier analyses showed higher THR revision rates in private hospitals for osteoarthritis and fractured neck of femur, but no difference when restricted to the 10 prostheses with the lowest revision rate. The Kaplan–Meier analysis of TKR showed higher revision rates for private hospitals, with the association reversing when restricted to prostheses with the lowest revision rate.

Conclusions

Considerable variation was seen in the revision rate after THR and TKR between hospital sectors in Australia. The variation was largely due to differences in prosthesis selection.
How I treat children with haemophilia and inhibitors
Authors: Young Guy
Published: May 2019

Haemophilia is a serious inherited bleeding disorder resulting from a deficiency of coagulation factor VIII (haemophilia A) or coagulation factor IX (haemophilia B). While effective therapies have been developed to replace the missing factor and restore normal coagulation, they can lead to the development of neutralizing anti‐drug antibodies, termed inhibitors, which significantly worsen morbidity and quality of life. While advancements have been made to improve the management of patients, and particularly for this review, children with inhibitors, there remain significant unmet needs including inhibitor prevention, inhibitor eradication and, when those fail, more effective bleed prevention and a reduction in the treatment burden. This review will discuss current treatment options including the recently licensed bispecific antibody, emicizumab, and provide insights into how I treat children with inhibitors.
CADM1 associates with Hippo pathway core kinases; membranous co–expression of CADM1 and LATS2 in lung tumors predicts good prognosis
Authors: Ito Takeshi , Nakamura Atsuko , Tanaka Ichidai , Tsuboi Yumi , Morikawa Teppei , Nakajima Jun , Takai Daiya , Fukayama Masashi , Sekido Yoshitaka , Niki Toshiro , Matsubara Daisuke , Murakami Yoshinori
Published: May 2019

Cell adhesion molecule‐1 (CADM1) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily that functions as a tumor suppressor of lung tumors. We herein demonstrated that CADM1 interacts with Hippo pathway core kinases and enhances the phosphorylation of YAP1, and also that the membranous co–expression of CADM1 and LATS2 predicts a favorable prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma. CADM1 significantly repressed the saturation density elevated by YAP1 overexpression in NIH3T3 cells. CADM1 significantly promoted YAP1 phosphorylation on Ser 127 and downregulated YAP1 target gene expression at confluency in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Moreover, CADM1 was co–precipitated with multiple Hippo pathway components, including the core kinases MST1/2 and LATS1/2, suggesting the involvement of CADM1 in the regulation of the Hippo pathway through cell‐cell contact. An immunohistochemical analysis of primary lung adenocarcinomas (n = 145) revealed that the histologically low‐grade subtype frequently showed the membranous co–expression of CADM1 (20/22, 91% of low‐grade; 61/91, 67% of intermediate grade; and 13/32, 41% of high‐grade subtypes; P < 0.0001) and LATS2 (22/22, 100% of low‐grade; 44/91, 48% of intermediate‐grade; and 1/32, 3% of high‐grade subtypes; P < 0.0001). A subset analysis of disease‐free survival revealed that the membranous co–expression of CADM1 and LATS2 was a favorable prognosis factor (5‐year disease‐free survival rate: 83.8%), even with nuclear YAP1‐positive expression (5‐year disease‐free survival rate: 83.7%), whereas nuclear YAP1‐positive cases with the negative expression of CADM1 and LATS2 had a poorer prognosis (5‐year disease‐free survival rate: 33.3%). These results indicate that the relationship between CADM1 and Hippo pathway core kinases at the cell membrane is important for suppressing the oncogenic role of YAP1.
Use of an aromatase inhibitor in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Impact of anastrozole on bone mineral density and visceral adipose tissue
Authors: Halper Alyssa , Sanchez Belen , Hodges James S. , Dengel Donald R. , Petryk Anna , Sarafoglou Kyriakie
Published: May 2019

Objective

Anastrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, has been used off‐label in males with short stature to delay bone maturation. No studies have examined anastrozole's effect on bone mineral density (BMD) or body composition in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21‐hydroxylase deficiency. Our objective was to evaluate anastrozole's effect on BMD and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in children with CAH.

Design

Total body BMD (TBMD) and L2‐L4 BMD Z‐scores were adjusted for height‐for‐age Z‐scores (TBMDHAZ and L2‐L4HAZ). Hydrocortisone doses (mg/m2/d) were averaged over the previous year. Comparison of treated vs not treated with anastrozole used linear regression adjusting for age, pubertal status, sex, CAH type, years on hydrocortisone, BMI Z‐scores and bone age Z‐scores.

Patients

We compared 25 children with CAH treated with anastrozole (mean age 11.3 [SD 3.0] years, 56% males) vs 31 children with CAH not treated with anastrozole (13.5 [SD 4.6], 29%). Participants underwent a pubertal exam, bone age X‐ray and dual X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan.

Results

Average bone age Z‐score of 4.3 SDs on beginning anastrozole decreased to 1.9 SDs at time of DXA exam (P = 0.0004) 5.2 (SD 2.2) years later. TBMD Z‐scores (P = 0.51), L2‐L4 BMD Z‐scores (P = 0.66), VAT (P = 0.38), TBMDHAZ Z‐scores (P = 0.66) and L2‐L4HAZ Z‐scores (P = 0.41) did not differ between children treated vs not treated with anastrozole.

Conclusion

Anastrozole significantly reduced bone age advancement in children with CAH and advanced bone age (>2SDs) without adverse effects on BMD or VAT. Longitudinal studies of anastrozole in children with CAH are needed to validate these findings.
Overlooked biodiversity loss in tropical smallholder agriculture
Authors: Socolar Jacob B. , Valderrama Sandoval Elvis H. , Wilcove David S.
Published: May 2019

Smallholder agriculture is the main driver of deforestation in the western Amazon, where terrestrial biodiversity reaches its global maximum. Understanding the biodiversity value of the resulting mosaics of cultivated and secondary forest is therefore crucial for conservation planning. However, Amazonian communities are organized across multiple forest types that support distinct species assemblages, and little is known about smallholder impacts across the range of forest types that are essential for sustaining biodiversity. We addressed this issue with a large‐scale field inventory of birds (point counts) and trees (transects) in primary forest and smallholder agriculture in northern Peru across 3 forest types that are key for Amazonian biodiversity. For birds smallholder agriculture supported species richness comparable to primary forest within each forest type, but biotic homogenization across forest types resulted in substantial losses of biodiversity overall. These overall losses are invisible to studies that focus solely on upland (terra firma) forest. For trees biodiversity losses in upland forests dominated the signal across all habitats combined and homogenization across habitats did not exacerbate biodiversity loss. Proximity to forest strongly predicted the persistence of forest‐associated bird and tree species in the smallholder mosaic, and because intact forest is ubiquitous in our study area, our results probably represent a best‐case scenario for biodiversity in Amazonian agriculture. Land‐use planning inside and outside protected areas should recognize that tropical smallholder agriculture has pervasive biodiversity impacts that are not apparent in typical studies that cover a single forest type. The full range of forest types must be surveyed to accurately assess biodiversity losses, and primary forests must be protected to prevent landscape‐scale biodiversity loss.
What have we learned from coagulation laboratory participation in external quality programs?
Authors: Smock Kristi J. , Moser Karen A.
Published: May 2019

Coagulation laboratory external quality assurance (EQA) programs provide information that satisfies regulatory requirements and improves laboratory quality, patient care, and safety. In addition to the value to individual laboratories, data from EQA programs benefits the laboratory community in multiple ways by providing a snapshot of laboratory practice and summarizing the performance of various methods in identifying normal and abnormal specimens and the effects of therapies or interfering substances. This review article aims to summarize and provide examples of some of the important lessons learned from coagulation EQA data, including issues related to non‐standardization, imprecision, and the effects of interfering substances.
The utility of flow cytometry for the diagnosis of primary immunodeficiencies
Authors: Knight Vijaya
Published: May 2019

Primary immunodeficiencies (PID) or inborn errors of immunity affect phenotype and/or function of one or more components of the immune system. The exponential growth of genetic analysis has enabled identification of known and novel mutations. However, genetic analysis continues to be expensive and is not easily accessible. Flow cytometry, on the other hand, has been well established for many years in clinical laboratories and its use for the analysis of immunodeficiencies is expanding. Surface, intracellular, and intranuclear proteins can easily be evaluated by flow cytometry, enabling both phenotypic and functional identification of specific cell populations and therefore facilitating the identification of a variety of PIDs. While genetic analysis provides a definitive diagnosis for PIDs, flow cytometry is necessary to confirm or establish the immune phenotype of a gene mutation. Furthermore, flow cytometry provides a rapid means to identify an immunological defect at a relatively low cost.
BCR‐ABL1‐like B‐lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma: Review of the entity and detection methodologies
Authors: Conant Joanna L. , Czuchlewski David R.
Published: May 2019

BCR‐ABL1‐like B‐lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (BCR‐ABL1‐like ALL or Ph‐like ALL) is a neoplastic proliferation of lymphoblasts that has a gene expression profile similar to that of B‐ALL with t(9;22)(q34.1;q11.2) BCR‐ABL1, but lacks that gene fusion. It is associated with poor prognosis and is seen in 10%‐20% of pediatric cases and 20%‐30% of adult cases of ALL. It is included as a provisional entity in the revised 4th edition of the WHO Classification. A variety of different genetic abnormalities are identified in this entity, but they all converge on pathways that are potentially responsive to the addition of targeted therapy to conventional chemotherapy. Thus, it is important to screen for BCR‐ABL1‐like ALL, particularly in adults and pediatric patients with high‐risk clinical features. Here, we provide a brief overview of the genetic profile and clinical features of BCR‐ABL1‐like ALL and review laboratory methodologies for routine identification of this genetically heterogeneous entity.
Decreasing daily blood work in hospitals: What works and what doesn't
Authors: Jalbert Rochelle , Gob Alan , Chin‐Yee Ian
Published: May 2019

Recurrent, inappropriate laboratory testing is a costly and wasteful use of healthcare resources. Recognizing this problem, the American Board of Internal Medicine, Canadian Society of Internal Medicine, and the Canadian Association of Pathologist all supported the Choosing Wisely campaign to reduce laboratory investigations in patients who demonstrate clinical and laboratory stability. In this narrative, we review studies looking at a variety of approaches to reduce excessive testing including education, audit and feedback, computerized physician order entry system changes, and forcing functions. Each type of intervention has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, varying in complexity, disruptiveness, effectiveness, and sustainability. Before implementing any quality improvement project, it is important to analyze the local context to identify the root causes for the practice behavior and aim to use the minimal amount of intervention to achieve the desired result. Change is often incremental and will seldom occur with a single intervention or Plan‐Do‐Study‐Act cycle. Garnering the support of opinion leaders and a quality improvement team will help make the process and intervention a success.
Sickle cell disease: Reducing the global disease burden
Authors: Mburu Joy , Odame Isaac
Published: May 2019

Sickle cell disease has been largely an invisible global health issue, especially in regions of high incidence mainly due to lack of awareness among both the local health policy makers and the public. Public health interventions, such as screening of newborns, provision of prophylaxis against bacterial infections, and immunizations against pneumococcal infections can have the greatest impact. Family education on assessment of spleen size and subsequent detection of splenic sequestration and promptness to seek medical attention for a febrile child is also important in the control of the morbidity and mortality of children with SCD living in resource‐poor countries. In addition to these affordable interventions, hydroxyurea therapy is necessary to decrease both the acute and chronic complications of sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell disease has been recognized to have global health significance by key institutions including the World Health Organization in 2006 and the United Nation is 2008. In 2010, the WHO released national health care management goals and set targets to be achieved by the countries in sub‐Saharan Africa for the control and management of SCD. These are yet to be translated into action. To do, this would require active and sustainable public‐private partnerships for sustainable program development in these regions. Effective interventions should be integrated into existing health systems, the best examples linking primary healthcare facilities to specialized sickle cell disease centers in regional and tertiary healthcare institutions.