bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cap‐aspiration lumpectomy for small submucosal tumors originating from the muscularis propria of the gastric fundus: a preliminary study (with videos)
Authors: Qiao Wei Guang , Ren Yu Tang , Gong Wei , Jiang Bo , Liu Si De , Zhou Dan , Li Jing , Xing Tong Yin , Bai Yang , Zhi Fa Chao
Published: October 2015

Objective

Small fundal submucosal tumors (SMTs) originated from the muscularis propria pose great difficulties to conventional therapies. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of endoscopic cap‐aspiration lumpectomy (CASL) as a new and simple full‐thickness resection for the treatment of small fundal SMTs.

Methods

From July 2013 to February 2014, patients with small fundal SMTs of ≤10 mm in diameter that were originated from muscularis propria were included in the study. CASL was performed by suctioning SMTs into a transparent cap, ligating with a metal snare and resecting the tumors. The wall deficit was closed by using endoclips.

Results

Altogether 28 patients were included in the study. CASL achieved an en bloc resection rate of 100%, with a mean total procedure time of 23.9 min. Active perforation was found in 20 (71.4%) patients, and endoclips closed the wall defect in all 20 cases. One patient developed pneumoperitoneum and self‐limited peritonitis was found in two patients, all of whom were managed successfully. Pathological examination showed that 71.4% (20/28) of the tumors were gastrointestinal stromal tumors. No tumor recurrence was observed during the follow‐up.

ConclusionS

CASL may be a feasible and safe full‐thickness resection modality for the treatment of small fundal SMTs arising from the muscularis propria. Further randomized studies are needed to confirm the results.
Reliable Supply Chain Network Design
Authors: Yildiz Hakan , Yoon Jiho , Talluri Srinivas , Ho William
Published: October 2015

Risk management in supply chains has been receiving increased attention in the past few years. In this article, we present formulations for the strategic supply chain network design problem with dual objectives, which usually conflict with each other: minimizing cost and maximizing reliability. Quantifying the total reliability of a network design is not as straightforward as total cost calculation. We use reliability indices and develop analytical formulations that model the impact of upstream supply chain on individual entities’ reliability to quantify the total reliability of a network. The resulting multiobjective nonlinear model is solved using a novel hybrid algorithm that utilizes a genetic algorithm for network design and linear programming for network flow optimization. We demonstrate the application of our approach through illustrative examples in establishing tradeoffs between cost and reliability in network design and present managerial implications.
The Attractiveness of Ports in West Africa: Some Lessons from Shipping Lines' Port Selection
Authors: Gohomene Dago Alain , Yang Zaili l. , Bonsal Stephen , Maistralis Eleftherios , Wang Jin , Li Kevin X.
Published: October 2015

This paper investigates the attractiveness of ports in West Africa through the development of a container shipping lines' port choice methodology. Although many multi‐criteria decision‐making methods have been developed and applied to facilitate a rational port choice process, few have investigated the criteria used by shipping lines when selecting ports in West Africa. With the rapid economic development of West Africa, the task of establishing a rational model to guide shipping lines to choose their favourite ports in the region becomes urgent. In this work, 16 criteria are identified to assist shipping lines in port choice from four perspectives including adequate infrastructure, port location, port charge, and port administration/port efficiency. In order to quantitatively evaluate these criteria, an analytical hierarchy process approach is used to make use of subjective judgements to compensate the incompleteness of objective data. One of the important findings from this study is that port infrastructure is the most crucial criterion in terms of the port attractiveness in West Africa. It is followed by port draught, political stability, market size/cargo volume, and international networks. The research outcomes also indicate that the port of Abidjan is the most attractive container port in West Africa, followed by Dakar when all the identified important criteria are taken into account.
4. NEOLIBERALISM THROUGH FOUCAULT'S EYES
Authors: AUDIER SERGE
Published: October 2015

Michael Foucault's 1979 lectures at the Collège de France on the birth of biopolitics are increasingly read as the most lucid introduction to neoliberal policies. This article invites us to be cautious about such claims by exploring one rather obvious point: these lectures also—and perhaps most important—reflect Foucault's very distinctive and contemporary preoccupations. In 1978, Foucault wrote and thought about three topics that were, in his view, crucial: the idea of “critique” and the influence of Kant; Foucault's project for an “analytical philosophy of politics”; and the crisis of disciplinary society, notably as it related to sexuality. This paper shows that these preoccupations had a profound impact on Foucault's interest in neoliberalism. As a result, the interpretation of the neoliberal revolution proposed in these brilliant lectures is, if not idiosyncratic, at the very least highly partial.
TO CATCH THE ECHO: RETHINKING ACTS OF WITNESSING TO THE SHOAH
Authors: Schwarcz Vera
Published: October 2015

In light of recent revelations about global ignorance and disbelief regarding the Holocaust, first‐hand testimonies acquire fresh significance. Two disparate books frame this discussion of how writings by survivors serve to deepen our understanding of the Shoah. Otto Dov Kulka's memoir, Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death, is a carefully crafted account by a professional historian who survived as a child in Auschwitz. Thomas Trezise's work, Witnessing Witnessing, is an analytical inquiry into the literary and epistemic issues that frame different genres of testimony ranging from video to poetry.

Kulka's slender account is situated in the context of other works by survivors, including Saul Friedländer's When Memory Comes, Charlotte Delbo's Auschwitz and After, and a more recent work by Joseph Polak, After the Holocaust the Bells Still Ring. The emphasis in this discussion is upon the challenges that survivors face in articulating horror, especially to readers in the twenty‐first century. Trezise's more voluminous work is based upon the literary and philosophical theories of Adorno, Levinas, and Freud, among others. The question raised in this essay focuses upon which of these narrative strategies might work better to convey the complex meanings of the Shoah after the generation of survivors has departed from the historical scene.

In the end, the halting words of those who went through the death camps is all we have to counter the ignorance and disbelief spreading around the world. Kulka's book, combining memories, dreams, and art works, fosters an imaginative encounter with inconceivable historical realities. Trezise's theoretical engagement with indexicality and with the phatic function of language helps us to understand the impact of testimonies within the scholarly literature. It does not, however, point a clear path toward conveying the importance of the Holocaust to the public at large. For this purpose, we need books such as Kulka's that enable the generation after the Holocaust to listen to silences embedded in survivor narratives. These silences must be carried forward in time, along with the ethical mandate not to forget the atrocities of the Shoah. If we can embrace this mission, we may be able to diminish the reign of hate running amuck today.
NOT QUITE AN UROBOROS: THEORY, POWER, AND POPULAR CULTURE IN EARLY MODERN JAPAN
Authors: Johnston William
Published: October 2015

Katsuya Hirano's The Politics of Dialogic Imagination: Power and Popular Culture in Early Modern Japan offers an Althusser‐inflected analysis of the relationship between power structures and the economy of cultural production, with a focus on late eighteenth‐ and nineteenth‐century Edo. Hirano spells out his cultural assumptions, and then examines the cultures of parody, comic realism, the grotesque, and the changing relationship between the Meiji state and the body. This theoretical tour de force, however, raises many questions regarding its assumptions about the structure of the early modern Japanese polity, elided evidence, and interpretation. As such, it will stimulate ongoing discussion regarding the place of theory, and in particular of neo‐Marxism, in contemporary historiography.
TWO BIOGRAPHIES OF NAPOLEON
Authors: Jordan David P.
Published: October 2015

The central argument of this review essay is that the British and French traditions of biography, and specifically Napoleonic biography, are quite different. The two works under consideration are outstanding examples of the differences. Boswell's Life of Johnson is the cornerstone of modern British biography, and Andrew Roberts follows this example. Although Johnson was not a political or military figure but a man of letters, Roberts's biography of Napoleon adheres to the close focus on a single man, with only limited excursions beyond his hero's life and deeds. In addition, Roberts's work is essentially a military biography, and his considerable strengths lie here. The French, without a Boswell, have relegated biography to a lesser role, until recently. Patrice Gueniffey, in what will be a multi‐volume work—this first volume goes only to 1802—is more interested in Napoleon's place in the history of Europe, and especially Revolutionary France. Napoleon is often confined to the wings while Gueniffey sets the stage.

Roberts's judgments and assessments, while shrewd and informed, are often more conventional than those of Gueniffey, who sees the Egyptian campaign as one of the important keys to understanding the young Bonaparte and his subsequent career. He is also deeply interested in fixing Bonaparte's place in the French Revolution. Because Gueniffey ends his first volume with the Consulate, a more detailed comparison of the two works is not possible.
Teatime Threats. Choking Incidents at the Evening Meal
Authors: Guthrie Susan , Stansfield Jois
Published: October 2015

Purpose

To explore caregiver perceptions of the socio‐environmental issues around evening meal (‘teatime’) which influence choking.

Mealtime difficulties for people with intellectual disabilities and/or mental illness may be underdiagnosed. Difficulties affect quality of life with social aspects impacting on service‐users and caregivers. Reporting of choking incidents has increased locally following widespread training. Analysis of reports showed most incidents were occurring around evening meal.

Methodology

A qualitative study of caregivers witnessing a choking incident was undertaken. Semi‐structured interviews explored perceptions of the causes. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Thematic analysis elicited individual service user characteristics, and social and contextual factors implicated in choking. The findings will facilitate risk assessment for service‐users and inform mealtime practice. Staff familiarity is a key factor. Further research involving service‐users is indicated to complement these findings.

This study widens the focus of recent studies which have considered physical more than socio‐environmental aspects of mealtime difficulties.
Reflectance confocal microscopy features of acral lentiginous melanoma: a comparative study with acral nevi
Authors: Cinotti E. , Debarbieux S. , Perrot J.L. , Labeille B. , Long‐Mira E. , Habougit C. , Douchet C. , Depaepe L. , Hammami‐Ghorbel H. , Lacour J.P. , Thomas L. , Cambazard F. , Bahadoran P. ,   the Groupe Imagerie Cutanée Non Invasive de la Société Française de Dermatologie
Published: October 2015

Background

Acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) can be difficult to differentiate from acral nevus. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is widely used for the diagnosis of melanocytic tumours, but the RCM features of ALM and acral nevus have not been described yet.

Objective

To determine the RCM features of ALM and acral nevus, and their correlation with clinical and histological characteristics.

Methods

Retrospective study of 17 cases of ALM and 26 acral nevi.

Results

Pagetoid cells were present in all ALMs with a visible epidermis and in three nevi. A proliferation of atypical melanocytes at the dermal–epidermal junction (DEJ) and/or in the dermis was visible in nine ALMs but not in nevi. The histopathological examination of initial skin biopsies was unable to diagnose ALM in four cases, differing from RCM that could identify malignant tumour cells by exploring the whole lesions.

Conclusion

Reflectance confocal microscopy can help in the differentiation of ALM and acral nevus, and to guide the biopsy.
Stakeholder Inclusion and Accounting for Stakeholders
Authors: Mitchell Ronald K. , Van Buren Harry J. , Greenwood Michelle , Freeman R. Edward
Published: October 2015

Stakeholder inclusion in organizational decision‐making, and the resulting issue of value creation, is one of the thorny problems that stakeholder theory has sought to address. Yet progress has been slow, we suggest, because present accounting theory and practice does not address the decision‐making needs of all stakeholders who are at risk due to the activities of organizations. In this paper we develop a transdisciplinary theory of value‐creation stakeholder accounting (VCSA) based on stakeholder risk‐sharing as a superior rationale for stakeholder inclusion. We introduce value‐creation stakeholder partnerships (VCSPs) as a promising mechanism for the implementation of VCSA. VCSA is derived from a fusion of accounting, value‐creation/entrepreneurship, and stakeholder theory, and the VCSP mechanism emerges from distinguishing proprietary‐convention (partnership) from entity‐convention (corporate) accounting. Using this framing we summarize and situate the articles in this Special Issue on Stakeholder Accounting.
ASCIA guidelines for prevention of anaphylaxis in schools, pre‐schools and childcare: 2015 update
Authors: Vale Sandra , Smith Jill , Said Maria , Mullins Raymond James , Loh Richard
Published: October 2015

The aim of these guidelines is to assist staff in school and childcare settings to plan and implement appropriate risk minimisation strategies, taking into consideration the needs of the allergic child, the likely effectiveness of measures and the practicality of implementation. Although these guidelines include risk minimisation strategies for allergic reactions to insect stings or bites, latex and medication, the major focus relates to food allergy. This is due to the higher relative prevalence of food allergy in childhood (compared with other allergic triggers) and the higher likelihood of accidental exposure in these settings. Care of the allergic child in the school, pre‐school or childcare settings requires accurate information obtained from parents and carers, staff training in the recognition and management of acute allergic reactions, planning for unexpected reactions (including in those not previously identified as being at risk), age appropriate education of children with severe allergies and their peers, and implementation of practical strategies to reduce the risk of accidental exposure to known allergic triggers. Strategy development also needs to take into account local or regional established legislative or procedural guidelines and the possibility that the first episode of anaphylaxis may occur outside the home. Food bans are not recommended as the primary risk minimisation strategy due to difficulties in implementation and lack of proven effectiveness.
Redrawing the Boundaries on Theory, Research, and Practice Concerning Language Teachers’ Philosophies and Language Teacher Cognition: Toward a Critical Perspective
Authors: CROOKES GRAHAM V.
Published: October 2015

Two areas of investigation and professional practice—language teachers’ philosophies and language teacher cognition—can be considered as related, perhaps overlapping, insofar as they are both the result of thought. The concept of a philosophy of teaching may hold together sets of language teacher cognitions, or guide specific investigations of such sets, and thus might contribute to redrawing the investigative boundaries of this area. Theoretical discussion in this article explores this matter, and supports the general idea of expanding the boundaries of language teacher cognition in ways that might facilitate inquiry into philosophies of teaching. Guided by critical perspectives on second language teaching, this exploration narrows down to focus on one category of language teachers’ philosophies—critical ones—and considers what some of their content might be, what cognitions or areas of cognitive activity might be involved, and further considers problems of conceptual and theoretical congruence. In concluding, practical implications in terms of content for language teacher education and associated research are briefly considered.
Language Teacher Cognition in Applied Linguistics Research: Revisiting the Territory, Redrawing the Boundaries, Reclaiming the Relevance
Authors: KUBANYIOVA MAGDALENA , FERYOK ANNE
Published: October 2015

Understanding language teachers’mental lives(Walberg, 1972), and how these shape and are shaped by the activity of language teaching in diverse sociocultural contexts, has been at the forefront of the sub discipline of applied linguistics that has become known aslanguage teacher cognition. Although the collective research efforts within this domain have contributed critical insights into what language teachers know, believe, and think in relation to their work (cf. Borg, 2006), limited progress has been achieved in addressing some of the most pertinent questions asked by applied linguists, policy makers, and the general public alike: How do language teachers create meaningful learning environments for their students? How can teacher education and continuing professional development facilitate such learning in language teachers? By revisiting the domain's epistemological, conceptual, and ethical foundations, this special issue sets an agenda for reinvigorated inquiry into language teacher cognition that aims to redraw its current boundaries and thus reclaim its relevance to the wider domain of applied linguistics and to the real‐world concerns of language teachers, language teacher educators, and language learners around the world.
Adopting a Cultural Portfolio Project in Teaching German as a Foreign Language: Language Teacher Cognition as a Dynamic System
Authors: FERYOK ANNE , ORANJE JO
Published: October 2015

Intercultural language teaching and learning has increasingly been adopted in state school systems, yet studies have shown that language teachers struggle to include it in their practice. The aim of this study is to use dynamic systems theory to examine how a German as a foreign language teacher in a New Zealand secondary school adopted a project designed to promote intercultural communicative language teaching. It does this with data from a microgenetic analysis of a session in which the teacher was introduced to the project and a qualitatively analyzed interview in which the teacher reported her beliefs and practices for teaching culture. The findings show that the teacher adopted the project by conceptualizing it through the practical challenges involved in using it as a formal assessment. In an interview, she expressed her beliefs about culture in language teaching, and there was some evidence that they reflected the process of adopting the project to be an assessment. The implications focus on the project as a basis for further development of intercultural teaching.
Theorizing and Studying the Language‐Teaching Mind: Mapping Research on Language Teacher Cognition
Authors: BURNS ANNE , FREEMAN DONALD , EDWARDS EMILY
Published: October 2015

The overarching project of the conceptual and empirical contributions in this special issue is to redraw boundaries for language teacher cognition research. Our aim in this final article is to complement the foregoing collection of articles by conceptualizing ontologically and methodologically past and current trajectories in language teacher cognition research and synthesizing various themes that arise across this body of work. To that end, we begin by first making the case for the construct under examination and posing some key questions: What is the nature of the mind that we are examining in language teacher cognition research? How have conceptualizations of that mind changed over the period that language teacher cognition research has emerged as a field of empirical study? We then consider how the mind in language teacher cognition research has been studied ontologically, and the conceptual advances that have characterized such research. We conclude by examining how studies in this collection reflect our account of these changes over time.
Reduction in incidence of invasive fungal infection in patients receiving allogeneic stem cell transplantation using combined diagnostic‐driven approach and itraconazole oral solution
Authors: Tzadok Roie , Shapira Michael Y. , Moses Allon E. , Or Reuven , Block Colin , Strahilevitz Jacob
Published: October 2015

Invasive fungal infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We evaluated, in our allogeneic stem cell transplant patients, the effect on the incidence of invasive fungal infection during neutropenia of a strategy combining a diagnostic‐driven approach with chemoprophylaxis during higher risk periods of graft vs. host disease and prolonged neutropenia, using itraconazole oral solution with parenteral voriconazole bridging. One hundred and thirty patients admitted for allogeneic stem cell transplantation within two predefined 20 month periods were included in the study. Data for all patients were collected prospectively. Implementation of the protocol resulted in the administration of more prophylactic antifungals to more patients. Following implementation, there was a non‐significant decrease in the overall number of invasive fungal infections (IFI) [11 of 65 patients (17.2%) vs. 4 of 65 patients (6.2%, P = 0.051)], as well as in the occurrence of invasive mould infections [8 of 65 patients (12.5%) vs. 2 of 65 patients (3.1%, P = 0.054)]. Survival rates at three and 6 months were not significantly affected. A combined diagnostic‐driven approach and antifungal prophylaxis with oral itraconazole and an intravenous voriconazole bridging protocol, was associated with a reduced, albeit non‐statistically significant, number of IFI in our medical centre.
Novel JAZ co‐operativity and unexpected JA dynamics underpin Arabidopsis defence responses to Pseudomonas syringae infection
Authors: de Torres Zabala Marta , Zhai Bing , Jayaraman Siddharth , Eleftheriadou Garoufalia , Winsbury Rebecca , Yang Ron , Truman William , Tang Saijung , Smirnoff Nicholas , Grant Murray
Published: October 2015

Pathogens target phytohormone signalling pathways to promote disease. Plants deploy salicylic acid (SA)‐mediated defences against biotrophs. Pathogens antagonize SA immunity by activating jasmonate signalling, for example Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 produces coronatine (COR), a jasmonic acid (JA) mimic. This study found unexpected dynamics between SA, JA and COR and co‐operation between JAZ jasmonate repressor proteins during DC3000 infection.

We used a systems‐based approach involving targeted hormone profiling, high‐temporal‐resolution micro‐array analysis, reverse genetics and mRNA‐seq.

Unexpectedly, foliar JA did not accumulate until late in the infection process and was higher in leaves challenged with COR‐deficient P. syringae or in the more resistant JA receptor mutant coi1. JAZ regulation was complex and COR alone was insufficient to sustainably induce JAZs.

JAZs contribute to early basal and subsequent secondary plant defence responses. We showed that JAZ5 and JAZ10 specifically co‐operate to restrict COR cytotoxicity and pathogen growth through a complex transcriptional reprogramming that does not involve the basic helix‐loop‐helix transcription factors MYC2 and related MYC3 and MYC4 previously shown to restrict pathogen growth. mRNA‐seq predicts compromised SA signalling in a jaz5/10 mutant and rapid suppression of JA‐related components on bacterial infection.
Creation of the first ultra‐low gluten barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) for coeliac and gluten‐intolerant populations
Authors: Tanner Gregory J. , Blundell Malcolm J. , Colgrave Michelle L. , Howitt Crispin A.
Published: October 2015

Coeliac disease is a well‐defined condition that is estimated to affect approximately 1% of the population worldwide. Noncoeliac gluten sensitivity is a condition that is less well defined, but is estimated to affect up to 10% of the population, and is often self‐diagnosed. At present, the only remedy for both conditions is a lifelong gluten‐free diet. A gluten‐free diet is often expensive, high in fat and low in fibre, which in themselves can lead to adverse health outcomes. Thus, there is an opportunity to use novel plant breeding strategies to develop alternative gluten‐free grains. In this work, we describe the breeding and characterization of a novel ultra‐low gluten (ULG) barley variety in which the hordein (gluten) content was reduced to below 5 ppm. This was achieved using traditional breeding strategies to combine three recessive alleles, which act independently of each other to lower the hordein content in the parental varieties. The grain of the initial variety was shrunken compared to wild‐type barleys. We implemented a breeding strategy to improve the grain size to near wild‐type levels and demonstrated that the grains can be malted and brewed successfully. The ULG barley has the potential to provide novel healthy foods and beverages for those who require a gluten‐free diet.
Do Policy Makers Use Academic Research? Reexamining the “Two Communities” Theory of Research Utilization
Authors: Newman Joshua , Cherney Adrian , Head Brian W.
Published: October 2015

Academics and policy makers in many Western countries are perceived as occupying separate communities, with distinct languages, values, and reward systems. However, data from a survey of more than 2,000 policy officials and 126 in‐depth interviews with public servants in Australia suggest that the “two communities” conceptualization may be misleading and flawed. More realistically, there is a range of interaction between policy and academia, with some individuals valuing and using academic research more than others. Furthermore, this relationship is complicated by the internal division between the political and administrative components of the public policy process.
Acts of Social Perspective Taking: A Functional Construct and the Validation of a Performance Measure for Early Adolescents
Authors: Diazgranados Silvia , Selman Robert L. , Dionne Michelle
Published: October 2015

To understand and assess how early adolescents use their social perspective taking (SPT) skills in their consideration of social problems, we conducted two studies. In study 1, we administered a hypothetical SPT scenario to 359 fourth to eighth graders. Modeled on the linguistic pragmatics of speech acts, we used grounded theory to develop a functional approach that identified three types of SPT acts: (1) the acknowledgment of different actors, (2) the articulation of their thoughts and feelings, and (3) the positioning of the roles, experiences, or circumstances that influence how they resolve problems. Study 2 tested the validity of an expanded instrument, the Social Perspective Taking Acts Measure, with 459 fourth to eighth graders. We confirmed the structure of the construct with a fully saturated confirmatory factor analysis, with factor loadings in the range of .62 and .71, and a factor determinacy of .90. We obtained evidence of criterion‐related validity by successfully predicting that girls and older participants would exhibit better performance than boys and younger students, and that SPT would exhibit a negative association with aggressive interpersonal strategies, a positive but moderate association with writing, and non‐significant associations with academic language, complex reasoning, and reading skills.
Assessing the Ability of an Online Environment to Facilitate the Critical Features of Teacher Professional Development
Authors: Surrette Timothy N. , Johnson Carla C.
Published: October 2015

Providing teachers effective professional development (PD) is an ongoing challenge in the field of education. Emergence of technological innovations in the form of computer‐based asynchronous and synchronous communication has provided new opportunities to improve and expand teacher PD opportunities beyond the physical walls of a school. The purpose of this meta‐analysis is to examine the ability of online learning environments to facilitate the critical features of teacher PD identified in Desimone (2009) as content focus, active learning, coherence, duration, and collective participation. Analysis of the 20 empirical studies sought to reveal the purpose of the study, methodologies utilized, and major findings. Multiple studies indicated the ability of an online environment to engage teachers in active learning, collective participation, and content‐focused learning activities. Additionally, the results of this meta‐analysis revealed a lack of empirical studies that have examined the ability of online teacher PD to support the critical features of coherence and duration. Findings of this research have implications for a future research agenda and policy considerations related to online teacher PD initiatives.
Urban Elementary STEM Initiative
Authors: Parker Carolyn , Abel Yolanda , Denisova Ekaterina
Published: October 2015

The new standards for K–12 science education suggest that student learning should be more integrated and should focus on crosscutting concepts and core ideas from the areas of physical science, life science, Earth/space science, and engineering/technology. This paper describes large‐scale, urban elementary‐focused science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) collaboration between a large urban school district, various STEM‐focused community stakeholders, and a research‐focused private university. The collaboration includes the development of an integrated STEM curriculum for grade K–5 with accompanying teacher professional development. This mixed‐methodology study describes findings from focus group interviews and a survey of teachers from Title I elementary schools. Findings suggest the importance of the following critical features of professional development: (a) coherence, (b) content focus, (c) active learning, (d) collective participation, and (e) duration to the success of large‐scale STEM urban elementary school reform
Genetic upregulation of BK channel activity normalizes multiple synaptic and circuit defects in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome
Authors: Deng Pan‐Yue , Klyachko Vitaly A.
Published: October 2015

Key points

Single‐channel recordings in CA3 pyramidal neurons revealed that large‐conductance calcium‐activated K+ (BK) channel open probability was reduced by loss of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) and that FMRP acts on BK channels by modulating the channel's gating kinetics.

Fmr1/BKβ4 double knockout mice were generated to genetically upregulate BK channel activity in the absence of FMRP.

Deletion of the BKβ4 subunit alleviated reduced BK channel open probability via increasing BK channel open frequency, but not through prolonging its open duration.

Genetic upregulation of BK channel activity via deletion of BKβ4 normalized action potential duration, excessive glutamate release and short‐term synaptic plasticity during naturalistic stimulus trains in excitatory hippocampal neurons in the absence of FMRP.

Genetic upregulation of BK channel activity via deletion of BKβ4 was sufficient to normalize excessive epileptiform activity in an in vitro model of seizure activity in the hippocampal circuit in the absence of FMRP.

Loss of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) causes fragile X syndrome (FXS), yet the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of FXS are incompletely understood. Recent studies identified important new functions of FMRP in regulating neural excitability and synaptic transmission via both translation‐dependent mechanisms and direct interactions of FMRP with a number of ion channels in the axons and presynaptic terminals. Among these presynaptic FMRP functions, FMRP interaction with large‐conductance calcium‐activated K+ (BK) channels, specifically their auxiliary β4 subunit, regulates action potential waveform and glutamate release in hippocampal and cortical pyramidal neurons. Given the multitude of ion channels and mechanisms that mediate presynaptic FMRP actions, it remains unclear, however, to what extent FMRP–BK channel interactions contribute to synaptic and circuit defects in FXS. To examine this question, we generated Fmr1/β4 double knockout (dKO) mice to genetically upregulate BK channel activity in the absence of FMRP and determine its ability to normalize multilevel defects caused by FMRP loss. Single‐channel analyses revealed that FMRP loss reduced BK channel open probability, and this defect was compensated in dKO mice. Furthermore, dKO mice exhibited normalized action potential duration, glutamate release and short‐term dynamics during naturalistic stimulus trains in hippocampal pyramidal neurons. BK channel upregulation was also sufficient to correct excessive seizure susceptibility in an in vitro model of seizure activity in hippocampal slices. Our studies thus suggest that upregulation of BK channel activity normalizes multi‐level deficits caused by FMRP loss.
Influence of developmental nicotine exposure on the ventilatory and metabolic response to hyperthermia
Authors: Ferng Jonathan , Fregosi Ralph F.
Published: October 2015

Key points

Both developmental nicotine exposure and hyperthermia are associated with breathing abnormalities in neonates.

Whether or not gestational nicotine exposure interacts with heat stress to alter the normal ventilatory response to hyperthermia is unclear.

With moderate thermal stress, nicotine‐exposed rat pups breathed less and had longer apnoeas than control pups, although this was true at both normal and high temperatures, suggesting an effect of gestational nicotine exposure that is independent of body temperature.

With severe thermal stress, nicotine‐exposed pups failed to increase pulmonary ventilation, and had a delayed recovery from hyperthermia‐induced gasping

The results show that gestational nicotine exposure has subtle but physiologically significant effects on the ventilatory response to severe hyperthermia, which could impact upon both gas exchange and temperature regulation in infants with fever, excessive swaddling or exposure to hot environmental temperatures.

To determine whether developmental nicotine exposure (DNE) alters the ventilatory and metabolic response to hyperthermia in neonatal rats (postnatal age 2–4 days), pregnant dams were exposed to nicotine (6 mg kg−1 of nicotine tartrate daily) or saline with an osmotic mini‐pump implanted subdermally on day 5 of gestation. Rat pups (a total of 72 controls and 72 DNE pups) were studied under thermoneutral conditions (chamber temperature 33°C) and during moderate thermal stress (37.5°C). In all pups, core temperature was similar to chamber temperature, with no treatment effects. The rates of pulmonary ventilation (), O2 consumption () and CO2 production () did not change with hyperthermia in either control or DNE pups. However, was lower in DNE pups at both chamber temperatures, whereas the duration of spontaneous apnoeas was longer in DNE pups than in controls at 33°C. The /ratio increased at 37.5°C in control pups, although it did not change in DNE pups. To simulate severe thermal stress, additional pups were studied at 33°C and 43°C. increased with heating in control pups but not in DNE pups. As heat stress continued, gasping was evoked in both groups, with no effect of DNE on the gasping pattern. Over a 20 min recovery period at 33°C, returned to baseline in control pups but remained depressed in DNE pups. In addition to altering baseline and apnoea duration, DNE is associated with subtle but significant alterations in the ventilatory response to hyperthermia in neonatal rats.
Characterization of extended channel bioreactors for continuous-flow protein production
Authors: Timm Andrea C. , Shankles Peter G. , Foster Carmen M. , Doktycz Mitchel J. , Retterer Scott T.
Published: October 2015

Protein based therapeutics are an important class of drugs, used to treat a variety of medical conditions including cancer and autoimmune diseases. Requiring continuous cold storage, and having a limited shelf life, the ability to produce such therapeutics at the point-of-care would open up new opportunities in distributing medicines and treating patients in more remote locations. Here, the authors describe the first steps in the development of a microfluidic platform that can be used for point-of-care protein synthesis. While biologic medicines, including therapeutic proteins, are commonly produced using recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology in large batch cell cultures, the system developed here utilizes cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) technology. CFPS is a scalable technology that uses cell extracts containing the biological machinery required for transcription and translation and combines those extracts with DNA, encoding a specific gene, and the additional metabolites required to produce proteins in vitro. While CFPS reactions are typically performed in batch or fed-batch reactions, a well-engineered reaction scheme may improve both the rate of protein production and the economic efficiency of protein synthesis reactions, as well as enable a more streamlined method for subsequent purification of the protein product—all necessary requirements for point-of-care protein synthesis. In this work, the authors describe a new bioreactor design capable of continuous production of protein using cell-free protein synthesis. The bioreactors were designed with three inlets to separate reactive components prior to on-chip mixing, which lead into a long, narrow, serpentine channel. These multiscale, serpentine channel bioreactors were designed to take advantage of microscale diffusion distances across narrow channels in reactors containing enough volume to produce a therapeutic dose of protein, and open the possibility of performing these reactions continuously and in line with downstream purification modules. Here, the authors demonstrate the capability to produce protein over time with continuous-flow reactions and examine basic design features and operation specifications fundamental to continuous microfluidic protein synthesis.
Development of nitric oxide catalytic coatings by conjugating 3,3-disulfodipropionic acid and 3,3-diselenodipropionic acid for improving hemocompatibility
Authors: Yang Ying , Li Yalong , Li Xiangyang , Qi Pengkai , Tu Qiufen , Yang Zhilu , Huang Nan
Published: October 2015

Nitric oxide (NO), discovered as an endothelium-derived relaxing factor, has been found to have multiple intracellular effects in vascular diseases including vasorelaxation regulation, endothelial regeneration, inhibition of leukocyte chemotaxis, and platelet activation. In the work described here, the authors have developed a NO-catalytic bioactive coating for improving hemocompatibility. The authors first prepared a dopamine and hexamethylendiamine (PDAM/HD) amine-rich adherent copolymer coating to introduce amine groups onto 316L stainless steel, followed by covalently conjugating 3,3-disulfodipropionic acid (S-S) and 3,3-diselenodipropionic acid (Se-Se), which mimic glutathione peroxidase-like catalytic production of NO. S-S and Se-Se were immobilized on the PDAM/HD surface via carbodiimide coupling chemistry. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed clear S2p and Se3d signals, confirming the immobilization of S-S and Se-Se on the PDAM/HD surface. The NO release behavior of different samples was investigated. In detail, two species of thionitrites (RSNO), S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO, endogenous NO donors) and S-nitrosoacetylpenicillamine (SNAP) were chosen as NO donors to investigate the NO catalytic properties of S-S and Se-Se modified PDAM/HD surfaces. Not only Se-Se@PDAM/HD but also S-S@PDAM/HD coatings showed the ability to continuously catalyze RSNO to generate NO in the presence of proper thiol reducing agent. For the Se-Se@PDAM/HD coating, the NO release amount and rate were greater than S-S@PDAM/HD in both GSNO and SNAP conditions. The results showed that organosulfide species possesses NO catalytic ability as well as organoselenium species. The authors demonstrated that both S-S@PDAM/HD and Se-Se@PDAM/HD coatings exhibited outstanding inhibition effect on platelet adhesion, aggregation and activation via the cyclic guanylate monophosphate signal pathway. Thus these results suggested that NO catalytic coatings based on organoselenium and organosulfide species immobilization can help to improve hemocompatibility. NO-catalytic strategies possess huge potential applications in blood-contacting devices.
Retroviruses use CD169-mediated trans-infection of permissive lymphocytes to establish infection
Authors: Sewald Xaver , Ladinsky Mark S. , Uchil Pradeep D. , Beloor Jagadish , Pi Ruoxi , Herrmann Christin , Motamedi Nasim , Murooka Thomas T. , Brehm Michael A. , Greiner Dale L. , Shultz Leonard D. , Mempel Thorsten R. , Bjorkman Pamela J. , Kumar Priti , Mothes Walther
Published: October 2015

A close up view of retrovirus spreading

Viral infections typically begin with a small number of viral particles gaining access to the host at a specific tissue site. But how do viruses that cause systemic infections, such as HIV, spread more widely? Sewald
et al.
visualized how the retroviruses murine leukemia virus (MLV) and HIV spread within lymph nodes in mice (see the Perspective by Hope). Specific macrophages that line the lymph-draining sinuses in lymph nodes first captured the virus using the carbohydrate-binding protein CD169. These macrophages subsequently transferred virus to the B1 subclass of B lymphocytes, which migrated further into the lymph node, disseminating the virus more widely.

Science
, this issue p.
563
; see also p.
511
A brain circuit that synchronizes growth and maturation revealed through Dilp8 binding to Lgr3
Authors: Vallejo Diana M. , Juarez-Carreño Sergio , Bolivar Jorge , Morante Javier , Dominguez Maria
Published: October 2015

Brain keeps body size and shape in check

Animal systems show amazing left-right symmetry—think of how our legs or arms, or the legs or wings of an insect, are matched in size and shape. Environmental insults and growth defects can challenge these developmental programs. In order to limit the resultant variation, juvenile organisms buffer variability through homeostatic mechanisms, so that the correct final size is attained. Vallejo
et al.
report that the
Drosophila
brain mediates such homeostatic control via an insulin-like peptide Dilp8 binding to the relaxin hormone receptor Lgr3. Lgr3 neurons distribute this information to other neuronal populations to adjust the hormones ecdysone, insulin, and juvenile hormone in a manner that stabilizes body and organ size.

Science
, this issue p.
10.1126/science.aac6767
Direct sampling of electric-field vacuum fluctuations
Authors: Riek C. , Seletskiy D. V. , Moskalenko A. S. , Schmidt J. F. , Krauspe P. , Eckart S. , Eggert S. , Burkard G. , Leitenstorfer A.
Published: October 2015

Probing the fluctuating vacuum

According to quantum mechanics, a vacuum is not empty space. A consequence of the uncertainly principle is that particles or energy can come into existence for a fleeting moment. Such vacuum or quantum fluctuations are known to exist, but evidence for them has been indirect. Riek
et al.
present an ultrafast optical based technique that probes the vacuum fluctuation of electromagnetic radiation directly.

Science
, this issue p.
420
Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus licheniformis S127, Isolated from a Sheep Udder Clinical Infection
Authors: Ostrov Ievgenia , Sela Noa , Freed Mor , Khateb Nihaya , Kott-Gutkowski Miriam , Inbar Dana , Shemesh Moshe
Published: October 2015

Bacillus licheniformis
is a Gram-positive biofilm- and endospore-forming bacterium, which contaminates dairy products and can be pathogenic to humans. The draft genome sequencing for
B. licheniformis
strain S127 is reported here, providing genetic data relevant to the ability of this strain to sustain its survival in the dairy industry.
Mining Genomes of Three Marine Sponge-Associated Actinobacterial Isolates for Secondary Metabolism
Authors: Horn Hannes , Hentschel Ute , Abdelmohsen Usama Ramadan
Published: October 2015

Here, we report the draft genome sequences of three actinobacterial isolates,
Micromonospora
sp. RV43,
Rubrobacter
sp. RV113, and
Nocardiopsis
sp. RV163 that had previously been isolated from Mediterranean sponges. The draft genomes were analyzed for the presence of gene clusters indicative of secondary metabolism using antiSMASH 3.0 and NapDos pipelines. Our findings demonstrated the chemical richness of sponge-associated actinomycetes and the efficacy of genome mining in exploring the genomic potential of sponge-derived actinomycetes.
Complete Genome Sequence of a Cyanotroph, Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 11764, Employing Single-Molecule Real-Time Technology
Authors: Jones Lauren B. , Kunz Daniel A.
Published: October 2015

We report here the application of single-molecule real-time sequencing for determining the entire genome structure of the cyanotroph
Pseudomonas fluorescens
NCIMB 11764.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Strict Anaerobe Clostridium homopropionicum LuHBu1 (DSM 5847)
Authors: Beck Matthias H. , Poehlein Anja , Bengelsdorf Frank R. , Schiel-Bengelsdorf Bettina , Daniel Rolf , Dürre Peter
Published: October 2015

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of
Clostridium homopropionicum
LuHBu1 (DSM 5847
T
), a strictly anaerobic bacterium, which performs propionate fermentation and is capable of growing with 2-, 3-, or 4-hydroxybutyrate as its sole substrate. The genome consists of a single chromosome of 3.65 Mb.
Genome Sequence of Stachybotrys chartarum Strain 51-11
Authors: Betancourt Doris A. , Dean Timothy R. , Kim Jean , Levy Josh
Published: October 2015

The
Stachybotrys chartarum
strain 51-11 genome was sequenced by shotgun sequencing utilizing Illumina HiSeq 2000 and PacBio technologies. Since
S. chartarum
has been implicated as having health impacts within water-damaged buildings, any information extracted from the genomic sequence data relating to toxins or the metabolism of the fungus might be useful.
Complete Genome Sequence of Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis 417, a Copper-Resistant Strain Isolated from Juglans regia L
Authors: Pereira Ulisses P. , Gouran Hossein , Nascimento Rafael , Adaskaveg James E. , Goulart Luiz Ricardo , Dandekar Abhaya M.
Published: October 2015

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of
Xanthomonas arboricola
pv. juglandis 417, a copper-resistant strain isolated from a blighted walnut fruit (
Juglans regia
L. cv. Chandler). The genome consists of a single chromosome (5,218 kb).
Complete Genome Sequence of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Myophage Murica
Authors: Wilder Joseph N. , Lancaster Jacob C. , Cahill Jesse L. , Rasche Eric S. , Kuty Everett Gabriel F.
Published: October 2015

Murica is an rv5-like myophage that infects enterotoxigenic
Escherichia coli
. Pathogenic
E. coli
strains are responsible for many intestinal diseases, and phages that infect these bacteria may prove useful in preventing severe health issues. The following is a report of the complete genome sequence of Murica and its important features.