bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Renal Denervation Effects on Myocardial Fibrosis and Ventricular Arrhythmias in Rats with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Zhang Bin , Li Xiaorong , Chen Chu , Jiang Wanying , Lu Dasheng , Liu Qian , Wang Kai , Yan Yuhao , Jiang Zhixin , Geng Jie , Xu Hai , Shan Qijun
Published: May 2018

Background/Aims: To investigate the impact of renal denervation (RDN) on myocardial fibrosis and ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) in rats with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Methods: An ischemic cardiomyopathy model was reproduced with myocardial infarction (MI) in adult Sprague–Dawley male rats. The RDN/Sham-RDN procedure was performed at 2 weeks after MI. Sham-MI and sham-RDN rats served as the control group. At 4 weeks after RDN, programmed electrical stimulation (PES) was used to induce VAs, including ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, in all 3 groups (MI+RDN, MI, and control groups). At the end of PES, heart and kidney samples were harvested. Immunofluorescence labeling was used to investigate the distribution of connexin 43 (Cx43) in the infarcted border zone. Masson’s trichrome stain was adopted to determine the degree of cardiac fibrosis. Western blotting was performed to identify the expression of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and Cx43. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the amino-terminal pro-peptides of type I and III collagen (PINP and PIIINP, respectively) and the expression level of renal norepinephrine. Results: Compared with the MI group, RDN significantly decreased the inducibility of VAs (MI+RDN 3/8 rats vs. MI 8/9 rats, P < 0.05; control 1/8 rats) with PES, reduced myocardial fibrosis estimated by collagen volume fraction (MI+RDN 31.10 ± 3.97% vs. MI 54.80 ± 16.39%, P < 0.001; control 4.41 ± 0.92% ), suppressed TGF-β1 (P < 0.01) and α-SMA (P < 0.001) levels, and attenuated both PINP (MI+RDN 41.44 ± 10.10 ng/mL vs. MI 95.49 ± 24.83 ng/mL, P < 0.001; control 11.90 ± 4.96 ng/mL) and PIIINP (MI+RDN 82.12 ± 30.79 ng/mL vs. MI 124.60 ± 26.64 ng/mL, P < 0.05; control 64.69 ± 23.84 ng/mL) levels. Moreover, RDN reversed the abnormal myocardial distribution of Cx43 and its reduction by MI damage (P < 0.01). Conclusions: RDN reduced myocardial fibrosis and suppressed VAs in a rat model of ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Cyanidin Curtails Renal Cell Carcinoma Tumorigenesis
Authors: Liu Xiaobing , Zhang Dangling , Hao Yaxing , Liu Qian , Wu Yuqi , Liu Xin , Luo Jing , Zhou Tao , Sun Bishao , Luo Xing , Xu Jie , Wang Qingqing , Yang Zhenxing , Li Longkun
Published: May 2018

Background/Aims: Cyanidin is an anthocyanin found in many foods. Although its variable antioxidant levels are well-documented, little is known about its effects on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumorigenesis. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of cyanidin on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of renal cell carcinoma lines and demonstrated, for the first time, significant inhibitory effects of cyanidin on RCC tumorigenesis. Methods: RCC cells were treated with different doses of cyanidin and the effects were tested by Cell Counting Kit-8 reagent, clone formation assay, transwell assay, and flow cytometry. Moreover, the cyanidin-mediated mechanism that curtailed tumorigenesis was analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used to compare the expression of both early growth response protein 1 (EGR1) and selenoprotein W (SEPW1) in RCC and tumor-free adjacent normal tissue samples. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and/or western blot were used to assess the expression of E-cadherin, cleaved-caspase3, Bcl2, p62, and ATG4. Results: We found significantly greater induction of cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, and suppression of RCC cell invasion and migration at concentrations of 25 µM and 100 µM than at a concentration of 50 µM. It was also discovered, first through RNA-seq then confirmed by RT-PCR, that cyanidin (100 µM) inhibited RCC carcinogenesis through EGR1 and SEPW1. TCGA data indicated that the expression level of EGR1 was lower and that of SEPW1 was higher in RCC tumor tissue than in normal tissues. Moreover, western blot and/or RT-PCR indicated that cleaved-caspase3 was enhanced and E-cadherin was inhibited by cyanidin treatment. Furthermore, western blot and RT-PCR also showed regulation of p62 and ATG4, which are associated with autophagy. Cyanidin in vivo significantly inhibited the growth of xenografts in nude mice. Conclusions: The results of this study showed the therapeutic potential of cyanidin for the treatment of RCC and the prevention of recurrence and metastasis.
Screening of Differentiation-Specific Molecular Biomarkers for Colon Cancer
Authors: Qi Lu , Ding Yanqing
Published: May 2018

Background/Aims: Owing to the lack of effective molecular markers to evaluate colon cancer differentiation grade, screening of effective molecular markers for the diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer is of great significance. This study is a screening study for molecular markers related to the differentiation of colon using the tissue-specific genes of colon. Methods: This study compared the expression profiles of colon cancer at various differentiation grades and screened the down-regulated genes associated with decreased differentiation. IL22RA1 gene was derived from the intersection of obtained gene and colon tissue-specific genes. We used DriverDB and The Human Protein Atlas to analyze the expression level of IL22RA1 in various tissue cells, also used Kaplan-Meier method to analyze the correlation between IL22RA1 and the survival of colon cancer patients, and then used the ROC curve to analyze the specificity and sensitivity of IL22RA1 diagnosis of differentiated colon cancer. Results: We found that IL22RA1 gene expression was progressively down-regulated in high-differentiated, moderate-differentiated, low-differentiated, and undifferentiated colon cancer tissues. Both RNA and protein levels of IL22RA1 were higher in colon tissues and colon cancer tissues than in other normal and cancer tissues. Comparison of IL22RA1 expression in different cancer cells found that IL22RA1 expression was significantly higher in CACO-2 colon cancer cells than in other cancer cells. Survival analysis showed that IL22RA1 gene expression was positively correlated with the overall survival rate of colon cancer patients (P=0.0224). ROC curve analysis revealed that IL22RA1 expression had good specificity and sensitivity to stage II colon cancer. Conclusion: These findings suggest that IL22RA1 serves as a specific molecular marker for the differentiation of colon cancer.
Clonal fish are more aggressive to distant relatives in a low resource environment
Authors: Makowicz Amber M. , Moore Tana , Schlupp Ingo
Published: May 2018

Kin selection explains conditions under which closely related individuals should be less antagonistic towards one another. One benefit of kin selection is a reduction in aggression towards kin in various social contexts, such as foraging. In the gynogenetic Amazon molly, females have been shown to differentiate between clone types, preferring to associate with clonal sisters to non-sisters, regulating their aggressive behaviours accordingly. We ask if Amazon mollies in resource-limited environments retain the ability to regulate aggressive behaviours according to relatedness. We found that focal females regulated their aggressive behaviours depending on partner type. Females spent more time behaving aggressively towards the heterospecific females than either of the clonal lineages, and towards non-sister clones compared to clonal sisters. We are able to confirm that kin discrimination is maintained, resulting in females showing more aggression towards heterospecific females and non-sister clones in a food-limited environment, and that this aggression scales with relatedness.
The function of play bows in Canis lupus and its variants: a comparison of dingo (Canis lupus dingo), dog (Canis lupus familiaris) and wolf puppies (Canis lupus)
Authors: Byosiere Sarah-Elizabeth , Espinosa Julia , Smith Bradley P.
Published: May 2018

Play bows represent a common, highly stereotyped behaviour across the genusCanis. However, much of what we know is limited to the wolf and its domestic derivative, the domestic dog. Here we continue to look at the function of play bows among subspecies/variants ofCanis lupusby including the dingo. Comparing dingoes to wolves and dogs may provide further insight into the impact of domestication on play behaviour. We analysed play bows in three-to-six month old dingo puppies and compared the results to previous studies of wolves and dogs. The function of play bows in dingoes appears consistent with those observed in dogs and wolf puppies. However, subtle intraspecific differences (such as the frequency and duration of play bows, and vocalizations during play) were apparent, and warrant further investigation in the genusCanis, as well as the Family Canidae more broadly.
Trotsky or Wallerstein?
Authors: Medved Mladen
Published: May 2018

This article examines the potentials of world-systems analysis (WSA) and uneven and combined development (UCD) for the history of nineteenth-century Habsburg Monarchy by critically engaging with Andrea Komlosy’s account of the Monarchy, written from the perspective ofWSA. It argues that Komlosy does not provide a consistentWSAinterpretation of the Monarchy’s history by trying to analyze the Monarchy as a world-economy in its own right, thus excluding geopolitical dynamics and the world-economy. Furthermore, core-periphery relations within the Monarchy are dealt with in a contradictory fashion. Crucially, the quite anomalous state formation is not accounted for. The problematic account of state formation, it is argued, is due to the limitations ofWSA. By taking a closer look at the genesis of the Austro–Hungarian Compromise, the article claims thatUCDis better suited for explaining state formation in the Monarchy.
The Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism: Structure, mission, and politics
Authors: Al-Ghafli Ali
Published: May 2018

This paper is a preliminary examination of the newly established Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT). IMAFT's membership includes Arab and Muslim states in the continents of Asia and Africa, and encompasses considerable military capabilities. The paper assumes that the advent of the Islamic Military Alliance is a significant event for both academic and empirical reasons, and employs insights gleaned from the International Relations literature on military alliances to analyse its structure, mission and politics. The discussion maintains that IMAFT sufficiently reflects the main conceptual aspects of military alliances, aims at performing vital collective security functions, and involves some of the immediate and potential issues typically associated with alliance politics. While the emerging alliance is yet to evolve towards institutionalised norms and procedures, the analysis shows that IMAFT is relevant for regional security politics and potentially conducive to addressing the growing global threat of terrorism.
(In)effective planning capacity of CSDP missions: Comparative analysis of EULEX Kosovo and EUFOR Althea
Authors: Boštjancic-Pulko Ivana
Published: May 2018

This paper evaluates the planning capacity of two Common Security and Defence (CSDP) missions (EULEX Kosovo and EUFOR Althea) in order to assess the effectiveness of CSDP planning process. Both missions suffer due to partial interests within the EU and low positioning of CSDP on political agendas of the member states. Compared to NATO, EU missions' political control is more much detailed once the mission is deployed. CSDP planning architecture has been considerably reformed since the inception of the first missions in 2003, however the supervision by the member states is still present in all phases of restructuring and implementation. EULEX planning process includes a well elaborated lessons learnt process, however the implementation of the findings on the operational level is rather weak whereas EUFOR Althea profited mostly from the access to NATO planning assets. CSDP missions are political missions and their effectiveness seems to be of secondary importance to the EU member states.
CSDP and the open method of coordination: Developing the EU's comprehensive approach to security
Authors: Sweeney Simon , Winn Neil
Published: May 2018

How can we best describe the operation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), and how can we improve policy-making in CSDP? The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) is predicated on the conviction that there are clear limits to the extent that European Union (EU) foreign and security policy can be strengthened through the restricting tendencies of intergovernmental cooperation between EU member states. Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) - agreed by the European Council and 25 EU member states in 2017 - offers practical instruments towards delivering value-added capacity to the process of crisis management beyond intergovernmentalism. As a process, PESCO is analogous to the logic of OMC, including more appropriate levels of coordination at the national organisational level in order to effectively facilitate the EU's comprehensive approach to conflict prevention and crisis management. The requirement for new and 'open' types of EU foreign and security policy coordination is underlined by the immense differences between EU member states in external policy, both concerning national crisis management structures and the resulting inefficient segmentation of policy at the EU level. .
Cymbopleura laszlorum spec. nov. (Cymbellaceae, Bacillariophyceae), a glacial relic from a calcium-rich floodplain fen in southwestern Montana, USA
Authors: BAHLS LOREN , LUNA TARA
Published: May 2018

Cymbopleura laszlorum is described using LM and SEM microscopy from a recently rehabilitated floodplain fen in southwestern Montana, USA. The new species is most similar to C. mongolica and C. stauroneiformis and shares features with several other northern/alpine species. Cymbopleura laszlorum lives in cold, calcareous, spring-fed pools where it is associated with Mastogloia lacustris, Cymbopleura florentina and Epithemia argus. The fen also supports three rare vascular plants that have northern/alpine affinities. These diatom and vascular plant associates and the close morphological resemblance of C. laszlorum to C. mongolica and C. stauroneiformis suggest that the new species is a glacial relic and survives at the type locality because it has retained the muskeg-like conditions that were more widespread during the last glacial period. Wetland habitats that support rare species of vascular plants are also likely to support new and rare species of diatoms.
Taxonomy and nomenclature of Salix baileyi, S. rehderiana, and S. disperma
Authors: HE LI
Published: May 2018

Researchers have frequently misapplied the name Salix leveilleana C.K. Schneider to S. baileyi C.K. Schneider. After detailed study of the types, relevant specimens and literature, S. leveilleana is synonymized with S. disperma Roxb. ex D. Don. Salix dolia C.K. Schneider and S. rehderiana C.K. Schneider represent the same taxon; in this study, the later one is chosen. Furthermore, the author perfected the descriptions of S. baileyi, and amend its distribution area to include Hunan and Zhejiang, China.
PyTroll: An Open-Source, Community-Driven Python Framework to Process Earth Observation Satellite Data
Authors: Raspaud Martin , Hoese David , Dybbroe Adam , Lahtinen Panu , Devasthale Abhay , Itkin Mikhail , Hamann Ulrich , Rasmussen Lars Ørum , Nielsen Esben Stigård , Leppelt Thomas , Maul Alexander , Kliche Christian , Thorsteinsson Hrobjartur
Published: May 2018

PyTroll (http://pytroll.org) is a suite of open-source easy-to-use Python packages to facilitate processing and efficient sharing of Earth Observation (EO) satellite data. The PyTroll software is intended for both 24/7 real-time operations as well as research and development. PyTroll grew out of the need to provide a resilient and agile platform that can respond quickly to new user needs and new data sources. PyTroll, being open source, stimulates international collaboration, which is vital with the rapid increase of satellite information availability. The PyTroll software development is strongly user driven and has grown over the past eight years from a collaborative effort between the Danish and Swedish national meteorological services to encompass a worldwide community with active contributors. PyTroll is being used at least operationally in the national meteorological services of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Estonia, and Latvia. However, given its simplicity, minimal demand on user resources, and community-driven approach, it also encourages and facilitates usage of EO data for individual applications. While PyTroll was originally developed to cater to the needs of the atmospheric remote sensing community, it could be equally useful for land and ocean applications and within hydrology. This article provides an overview of PyTroll, with examples showing the capability of some of the core packages.
Cross-Shelf Circulation Induced by the Kuroshio Shear Stress in the East China Sea
Authors: Wei Yanzhou
Published: May 2018

This study solves two-dimensional (cross-shelf and depth directions) steady-state nonlinear primitive equations to infer the cross-shelf circulation induced by the Kuroshio shear stress in the East China Sea (ECS). The Kuroshio velocity data are estimated from hydrographic observations at the PN section in the ECS. Nonlinear momentum equations are solved using an iterative approach in a terrain-following coordinate system, which helps to adequately take into account the boundary conditions over complex topography. The vertical shear stress of the Kuroshio is shown to induce two offshore transport pathways over the continental shelf, which are related to the structure of the interior geostrophic current and bottom Ekman transport, respectively. As a result of the vertical shear stress, an upwelling is induced above the bottom Ekman layer on the continental slope. The horizontal shear stress of the Kuroshio has the effect of inducing onshore transport at the flow core. The advection terms in the primitive equations are found to amplify the cross-shelf velocity solved from the linear equations. This study reveals that the Kuroshio has a substantial effect on the cross-shelf circulation and that it might drive multiple transport pathways.
Total Hip Replacement Provokes Endothelial Dysfunction
Authors: Poredos Peter , Mavric Ana , Leben Lara , Poredos Pavel , Jezovnik Mateja Kaja
Published: May 2018

Surgery represents an increased risk of different perioperative complications. Endothelial function (EF) is a key mechanism responsible for cardiovascular homeostasis and is involved in thromboembolic complications. We aimed to follow changes of EF in an early postoperative period in patients undergoing total hip replacement (THR). Endothelial function was assessed noninvasively in 70 consecutive patients who underwent an elective THR under spinal anesthesia. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and low flow-mediated constriction capability of the brachial artery, which are indicators of EF were measured before the operation (baseline), 24 hours after the operative procedure, and 5 to 7 days postoperatively. Baseline FMD was 12.3% and decreased a day after surgery to 7.3% ( P < .001). After 5 to 7 days, it gradually increased to 9.2%. However, on average, it was lower than before surgery ( P < .001). The median duration of THR was 85.0 (65.0-100.0) minutes, the average hospital length of stay was 7 days. Total hip replacement is associated with an immediate decrease in FMD which remains significantly decreased 5 to 7 days after the surgery compared with the preoperative value. These results indicate that surgery provokes endothelial dysfunction and deteriorates cardiovascular homeostasis. This effect could be involved in cardiovascular complications in the postoperative period.
Gist-based design of graphics to reduce caffeine consumption among adolescents
Authors: Cho Young Hoan , You Myoungsoon , Choi Hyoseon
Published: May 2018

Background:

Health message design plays an important role in knowledge acquisition and changes in attitudes towards a nutrient or substance, such as caffeine. To foster the effectiveness of health education, greater attention should be paid to the gist-based design of health messages that include visual representations. Fuzzy-trace theory indicates that gist knowledge can be influential in decision-making about health and medical problems.

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of different graphic types (i.e. gist, verbatim and decoration) on knowledge of gist and verbatim messages, which may in turn influence attitudes and intentions towards caffeine control.

Method:

Middle school students ( n = 315) in South Korea individually studied reading materials on caffeine under three research conditions with respect to graphic types.

Results:

This study found an interaction effect between sex and graphic types when it came to student perceptions of gist representation and the visual design of graphics. Graphic types also significantly influenced gist knowledge but not verbatim knowledge. Gist and verbatim graphics were more effective in acquiring gist knowledge about caffeine control than decorative graphics. In addition, gist knowledge significantly influenced attitudes and intentions towards caffeine control.

Conclusion:

The main finding of this study is the importance of acquiring gist knowledge from health messages, which can be enhanced through the effective use of visual representations.
Near Misses in Financial Trading: Skills for Capturing and Averting Error
Authors: Leaver Meghan , Griffiths Alex , Reader Tom
Published: May 2018

Objective:

The aims of this study were (a) to determine whether near-miss incidents in financial trading contain information on the operator skills and systems that detect and prevent near misses and the patterns and trends revealed by these data and (b) to explore if particular operator skills and systems are found as important for avoiding particular types of error on the trading floor.

Background:

In this study, we examine a cohort of near-miss incidents collected from a financial trading organization using the Financial Incident Analysis System and report on the nontechnical skills and systems that are used to detect and prevent error in this domain.

Method:

One thousand near-miss incidents are analyzed using distribution, mean, chi-square, and associative analysis to describe the data; reliability is provided.

Results:

Slips/lapses (52%) and human–computer interface problems (21%) often occur alone and are the main contributors to error causation, whereas the prevention of error is largely a result of teamwork (65%) and situation awareness (46%) skills. No matter the cause of error, situation awareness and teamwork skills are used most often to detect and prevent the error.

Conclusion:

Situation awareness and teamwork skills appear universally important as a “last line” of defense for capturing error, and data from incident-monitoring systems can be analyzed in a fashion more consistent with a “Safety-II” approach.

Application:

This research provides data for ameliorating risk within financial trading organizations, with implications for future risk management programs and regulation.
Is There a War Party? Party Change, the Left–Right Divide, and International Conflict
Authors: Bertoli Andrew , Dafoe Allan , Trager Robert F.
Published: May 2018

Are leaders from certain parties particularly likely to engage in military conflict? This question is difficult to answer because of selection bias. For example, countries may be more likely to elect right-wing leaders if their publics are more hawkish or if the international system is particularly dangerous. Put simply, who comes to power is not random, which makes causal inference difficult. We overcome this problem by using a regression discontinuity design. Specifically, we look at close presidential elections that were essentially “tossups” between two candidates. We find that electing right-wing candidates increases state aggression. We also find that electing candidates from challenger parties makes countries much more likely to initiate military disputes, particularly in the first year of the new leader’s term. This result is consistent with other studies that find that the likelihood of state aggression increases following major leadership transitions.
“My Progress Comes From the Kids”: Portraits of Four Teachers in an Urban Turnaround School
Authors: Peck Craig M. , Reitzug Ulrich C.
Published: May 2018

This article uses elements of narrative and portraiture to acknowledge the voices of four teachers who participated in a 3-year effort to turn around an urban elementary school. Turnaround is a sanctioned reform effort intended to produce rapid, dramatic improvement in student academic achievement in a low-performing school. We present the teacher portraits as descriptive testimony to the individuals’ work under turnaround conditions. We conclude by offering some educational improvement solutions tailored to address specific issues reflected in our participants’ portraits.
Language capacity is not enough: Be intentional about growing culture and worldview understanding
Authors: Dicks Ian D.
Published: May 2018

Understanding a community’s culture and worldview and having capacity in their first language are considered essential elements for engaging in contextual cross-cultural ministry. Many sending organizations provide training, time, resources and programs to help cross-cultural workers grow their language capacity. The same provisions, however, are not often made for gaining culture and worldview understanding. The reasons for this are varied, but include: a tacit belief that adequate culture and worldview understanding occurs naturally with the gaining of language capacity; a belief that workers come equipped for gaining culture and worldview understanding; a lack of suitable culture and worldview inquiry programs, as well as a lack of trained personnel to facilitate them. An Australian cross-cultural ministry sending organization is seeking to address this imbalance structurally in their organization by developing and providing cross-cultural workers with a culture and worldview inquiry program, the facilitation of each cross-cultural worker’s culture and language program, and by training cross-cultural workers in culture and worldview inquiry methods. The results of this are that individuals and teams are growing their language capacities and their understanding of their host communities’ cultures and worldviews, and are applying this knowledge to their engagement with the communities with whom they work.
Dissipativity-based resilient asynchronous control for Markov jump systems with sector-bounded nonlinearities
Authors: Zhang Yujie , Liu Xiujuan , Jiang Junxia , Xiao Yongshan
Published: May 2018

The resilient asynchronous dissipative control problem for Markov jump systems with sector-bounded nonlinearities in the discrete-time domain are examined in this study. The jumps between the system modes and controller modes are considered to be nonsynchronous. The mode transition of the controllers is governed by a nonstationary Markov chain, which can model the asynchronous jumps to different degrees that are also mode-dependent. The nonlinear functions are assumed to belong to sector sets with arbitrary boundaries. The sector boundaries can have positive and/or negative slopes, and therefore, we cover the most general case in our approach. Using the special structure of the system and by constructing a new multiple Lyapunov function, sufficient conditions regarding the existence of desired resilient asynchronous dissipative controllers are obtained in terms of linear matrix inequalities, which ensure the closed-loop system is stochastically stable and strictly dissipative. The designed controller can tolerate additive uncertainties in the controller gain matrix, which results from controller implementations. A numerical example is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical results.
An upper bound of mean-square error in state estimation with quantized measurements
Authors: Hu Bin , Shen Zhiping , Su Weizhou
Published: May 2018

In this paper, we study the state estimation for a linear time-invariant (LTI) discrete-time system with quantized measurements. The quantization law under consideration has a time-varying data rate. To cope with nonlinearities in quantization laws and to analyse stability in the state estimation problem, a Kalman-filter-based sub-optimal state estimator is developed and an upper bound of its estimation error covariance is minimized. It turns out that, to guarantee the convergence of the upper bound, the averaged data rate of the quantization law must be greater than a minimum rate. This minimum data rate for the quantization law is presented in terms of the poles of the system and design parameters in the state estimator. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the results in this work.
The Mixed Outcomes of Taking Ownership for Implicit Racial Biases
Authors: Cooley Erin , Lei Ryan F. , Ellerkamp Taylor
Published: May 2018

One potential strategy for prejudice reduction is encouraging people to acknowledge, and take ownership for, their implicit biases. Across two studies, we explore how taking ownership for implicit racial bias affects the subsequent expression of overt bias. Participants first completed an implicit measure of their attitudes toward Black people. Then we either led participants to think of their implicit bias as their own or as stemming from external factors. Results revealed that taking ownership for high implicit racial bias had diverging effects on subsequent warmth toward Black people (Study 1) and donations to a Black nonprofit (Study 2) based on people’s internal motivations to respond without prejudice (Internal Motivation Scale [IMS]). Critically, among those low in IMS, owning high implicit bias backfired, leading to greater overt prejudice and smaller donations. We conclude that taking ownership of implicit bias has mixed outcomes—at times amplifying the expression of explicit prejudice.
The Ego-Defensive Role of Legitimacy: How Threat-Based Justifications Protect the Self-Esteem of Discriminators
Authors: Pereira Cicero Roberto , Álvaro José Luis , Vala Jorge
Published: May 2018

This article analyzes the ego-defensive role played by legitimation, by examining the hypothesis that threat-based justifications attenuate the negative effect on an individual’s self-esteem caused by his or her becoming aware of his or her own discriminatory behavior. Across three studies (including a pilot experiment), participants who were led to believe that they had acted in a discriminatory way experienced a decrease in their self-esteem. In Study 1 ( N = 116), this effect was nullified when discrimination was justified by either symbolic or realistic threat perceptions. Study 2 ( N = 250) replicated this pattern of results and went further by showing that discrimination affects self-esteem only in more egalitarian individuals, whereas for those less egalitarian, it affects their social image. According to the ego-defensive role of legitimation, a meta-analytical integration of the results confirmed that the influence of discrimination in depressing self-esteem is moderated by threat-based justifications.
Radiotherapeutic implications of the updated ICRP thresholds for tissue reactions related to cataracts and circulatory diseases
Authors: Dauer L.T. , Yorke E. , Williamson M. , Gao Y. , Dauer Z.L. , Miller D.L. , Vañó E.
Published: May 2018

Radiation therapy of cancer patients involves a trade-off between a sufficient tumour dose for a high probability of local control and dose to organs at risk that is low enough to lead to a clinically acceptable probability of toxicity. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reviewed epidemiological evidence and provided updated estimates of ‘practical’ threshold doses for tissue injury, as defined at the level of 1% incidence, in ICRP Publication 118. Particular attention was paid to cataracts and circulatory diseases. ICRP recommended nominal absorbed dose threshold for these outcomes as low as 0.5 Gy. Threshold doses for tissue reactions can be reached in some patients during radiation therapy. Modern treatment planning systems do not account for such low doses accurately, and doses to therapy patients from associated imaging procedures are not generally accounted for. While local control is paramount, the observations of ICRP Publication 118 suggest that radiation therapy plans and processes should be examined with particular care. The research needs are discussed in this paper.
Informal production of the city: Momos, migrants, and an urban village in Delhi
Authors: Palat Narayanan Nipesh , Véron René
Published: May 2018

This paper attempts to understand the production of the city through informality. In particular, informal practices related to the momo (dumpling) industry, concentrated in the “urban village” of Chirag Dilli, are analysed in their dialectic relationship with formal planning and legislation in Delhi. We use a Lefebvrian framework that views city-making as an interaction of formal representations in the form of master plans, etc., informal and formal spatial practices (including momo production and living patterns) and representational (imagined) spaces related to neighbourhoods and the city. Drawing on primary qualitative data, we examine how informality informed the formal planning. The uneven application of state legislation, in turn, fostered particular informal practices (such as momo manufacturing) and the emergence of a distinct urban morphology and of new cohabitation practices. The informal momo industry also altered the representational associations made with both the Chirag Dilli neighbourhood and the city of Delhi. The paper shows how informal practices constantly interact with formal frameworks to co-produce urban space and consequently the city. We argue that informal practices are not necessarily in conflict with formal planning or subverting it, but that they play a central role in their own right for the production of space.
Rethinking metropolitan production from its underside: A view from the alleyways of Hồ Chí Minh City
Authors: Gibert Marie
Published: May 2018

The ubiquity, peculiar historical growth and specific spatiality of alleyway neighbourhoods make them one of Hồ Chí Minh City’s most defining features. At a time of great pressure to “modernise” the metropolis, efforts are being made to upgrade the alleyways by systematically widening them and regulating the uses to which they are put. Studying this urban renewal project provides a better appreciation of the metropolisation process in the Global South from its “underside”; that is to say, from its most “ordinary” components. By addressing the question of which Hồ Chí Minh City alleyways have been upgraded, which have not, and why, this article makes clear that metropolisation is a highly situated process. Most importantly, it addresses the different forces – global and local, morphological and social, economic and political – that shape contemporary urban renewal in Vietnam today. To this end, urban spaces are conceptualised as “fields of forces”, embodying the contradictory global and local forces at work in the process of metropolisation. I identify the ways in which these forces are combined in each neighbourhood, leading to different outcomes. The article draws on the findings of an extensive ethnographic study conducted over five years (2010–2014) in six alleyway neighbourhoods in pericentral districts of Hồ Chí Minh City chosen for their diversity. Such a comparative analysis allows us to go beyond the simplistic vision of metropolisation as a standardising process, instead emphasising the reality of hybrid urbanism.
How market standards affect building design: The case of low energy design in commercial offices
Authors: Faulconbridge James , Cass Noel , Connaughton John
Published: May 2018

This paper develops existing work on building design through a focus on one important yet understudied form of regulation: market standards. Market standards are agreed upon definitions of ‘necessary’ provision in buildings and are fundamental in ‘formatting’ markets and determining the value of a building in the market. The paper presents a case study of the design of 10 commercial offices in London, UK, the effects of market standards on the designs and on the potential for the development of lower energy buildings. Theoretically, the paper integrates literatures on standards, institutions and markets to argue that market standards do important ‘work’ in design processes that require closer scrutiny. In particular, we show that market standards are an important form of normative and cultural regulation in the field of commercial office design; format and act as calculative devices in property markets and result in forms of knowledge diminution that break the relationship between building design and occupiers’ practices. Together, these effects result in particular designs being legitimised and valued, and lower energy designs being delegitimised, devalued and pushed to the periphery of the attention of commercial office designers.
Test Performance and Test-Retest Reliability of the Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening and King-Devick Test in Adolescent Athletes During a Competitive Sport Season
Authors: Worts Phillip R. , Schatz Philip , Burkhart Scott O.
Published: May 2018

Background:

The Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS) and King-Devick (K-D) test are tools designed to assess ocular or vestibular function after a sport-related concussion.

Purpose:

To determine the test-retest reliability and rate of false-positive results of the VOMS and K-D test in a healthy athlete sample.

Study Design:

Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

Forty-five healthy high school student-athletes (mean age, 16.11 ± 1.43 years) completed self-reported demographics and medical history and were administered the VOMS and K-D test during rest on day 1 (baseline). The VOMS and K-D test were administered again once during rest (prepractice) and once within 5 minutes of removal from sport practice on day 2 (removal). The Borg rating of perceived exertion scale was administered at removal. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to determine test-retest reliability on the K-D test and the average near point of convergence (NPC) distance on the VOMS. Level of agreement was used to examine VOMS symptom provocation over the 3 administration times. Multivariate base rates were used to determine the rate of false-positive results when simultaneously considering multiple clinical cutoffs.

Results:

Test-retest reliability of total time on the K-D test (0.91 [95% CI, 0.86-0.95]) and NPC distance (0.91 [95% CI, 0.85-0.95]) was high across the 3 administration times. Level of agreement ranged from 48.9% to 88.9% across all 3 times for the VOMS items. Using established clinical cutoffs, false-positive results occurred in 2% of the sample using the VOMS at removal and 36% using the K-D test.

Conclusion:

The VOMS displayed a false-positive rate of 2% in this high school student-athlete cohort. The K-D test’s false-positive rate was 36% while maintaining a high level of test-retest reliability (0.91). Results from this study support future investigation of VOMS administration in an acutely injured high school athletic sample. Going forward, the VOMS may be more stable than other neurological and symptom report screening measures and less vulnerable to false-positive results than the K-D test.
How Variable Are Achilles Allografts Used for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction? A Biomechanical Study
Authors: Weber Alexander E. , Mayer Erik N. , Nathani Amit , Chen Dan X. , Kelly Anne M. , Rodeo Scott A. , Bedi Asheesh
Published: May 2018

Background:

Allograft tendon used in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) requires sterilization before implantation. Low-dose gamma irradiation is a means of sterilization that may minimize tissue damage.

Purpose:

To quantify the variability in mechanical properties between low-dose irradiated Achilles tendon allografts used for ACLR.

Study Design:

Descriptive laboratory study.

Methods:

A total of 15 intact outer-third Achilles tendon allograft specimens were collected from the remains of full Achilles allografts used for intraoperative ACLR at a single hospital. All grafts were obtained from a single tissue bank and underwent proprietary disinfection and low-dose gamma irradiation (1.5-2.5 Mrad). Biomechanical testing was carried out to measure tendon elongation, failure location during tensile testing, maximum stress, maximum strain, and modulus of elasticity. The mean and standard deviation were calculated for each outcome measure, and the variability between specimens was calculated by the coefficient of variation (CV). The effect of donor age on graft material properties was examined by use of linear regression. One-way analysis of variance was performed to compare differences in the mechanical properties across failure locations.

Results:

During cyclic testing, tendon elongation averaged 1.4% ± 1.6% with a CV of 118%. During failure testing, the maximum stress averaged 12.2 ± 4.1 MPa, maximum strain averaged 21.0% ± 6.3%, and modulus of elasticity averaged 95.5 ± 30.8 MPa. The CVs for maximum stress, maximum strain, and modulus of elasticity were 34%, 30%, and 32%, respectively. Ten tendons failed in the midsubstance and 5 failed at the tendon-bone enthesis. No differences were noted in mechanical properties between grafts that failed in the midsubstance versus those that failed at the enthesis. Donor age did not correlate with allograft elongation during cyclic load or any of the material property measures during failure testing.

Conclusion:

The variabilities in the material properties and graft elongation during cyclic loading of Achilles tendon allografts used in ACLR fall within the range of properties reported in the literature for other ACLR allografts. Material properties do not differ by donor age or graft failure location observed during failure testing.

Clinical Relevance:

Surgeons should be aware that there exists considerable variation in the mechanical properties of Achilles allograft tendons used for ACLR. This variability is difficult to detect by tissue bank screening or the treating surgeon’s inspection and may contribute to the heterogeneity in outcomes of allograft ACLR.
The Role of Women in Cancer Control and Cancer Care in the Early 20th Century
Authors: Lundquist Melissa
Published: May 2018

In the early 20th century, thousands of women in the United States were involved in the cancer control movement as volunteers in the Women’s Field Army and as professional social workers caring for patients living with the disease. Yet their stories are largely untold in the social welfare literature. Using primary archival data and published writings from the era, this article examines the parallel and complementary work of these women and describes how these early efforts shaped the way we approach cancer care today.
How Has the Presence of Zimbabwe’s Victim-Friendly Court and Relevant Child Protection Policy and Legal Frameworks Affected the Management of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse in Zimbabwe? The Case of Marondera District
Authors: Musiwa Anthony Shuko
Published: May 2018

The study intended to assess, based on the perceptions of Victim-Friendly Court (VFC) professionals in Marondera District in Zimbabwe, how the presence of the VFC and relevant child protection policy and legal frameworks has affected the management of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA) in Zimbabwe. Sem-istructured questionnaires were administered to 25 professionals from 13 VFC agencies in Marondera, while one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 key informants who included five ICSA survivors and their respective five caregivers as well as five key community child protection committee members. All 40 participants were selected using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed manually using thematic analysis, descriptive analysis, and document analysis. The study showed that the VFC manages ICSA through prevention, protection, treatment, and support interventions, and that its mandate is guided by key child protection policy and legal frameworks, particularly the National Action Plan for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children and the Children’s Act (Chapter 5:06). The presence of these mechanisms is perceived to have resulted in increased awareness of ICSA, realization of effective results, increased reporting of ICSA, and enhanced coordination among VFC agencies. However, the same frameworks are perceived to be fraught with gaps and inconsistencies, too prescriptive, incoherent with some key aspects of the National Constitution and international child rights standards, and poorly resourced for effective implementation. All this has negatively affected the management of ICSA. Therefore, the Government of Zimbabwe should consistently review these systems to make them responsive to the ever-evolving factors associated with ICSA. Also, alignment with the National Constitution, full domestication of global child rights instruments, and routine collection of better statistics for evidence-based policy- and decision-making, and for better monitoring of progress and evaluation of outcomes, are necessary for positive results. Non-governmental stakeholders too should chip in with human, technical, and financial resources to enhance effective management of the social problem.
Of Mice, Men, and Trolleys: Hypothetical Judgment Versus Real-Life Behavior in Trolley-Style Moral Dilemmas
Authors: Bostyn Dries H. , Sevenhant Sybren , Roets Arne
Published: May 2018

Scholars have been using hypothetical dilemmas to investigate moral decision making for decades. However, whether people’s responses to these dilemmas truly reflect the decisions they would make in real life is unclear. In the current study, participants had to make the real-life decision to administer an electroshock (that they did not know was bogus) to a single mouse or allow five other mice to receive the shock. Our results indicate that responses to hypothetical dilemmas are not predictive of real-life dilemma behavior, but they are predictive of affective and cognitive aspects of the real-life decision. Furthermore, participants were twice as likely to refrain from shocking the single mouse when confronted with a hypothetical versus the real version of the dilemma. We argue that hypothetical-dilemma research, while valuable for understanding moral cognition, has little predictive value for actual behavior and that future studies should investigate actual moral behavior along with the hypothetical scenarios dominating the field.