bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship Between Peak Troponin Values and Long‐Term Ischemic Events Among Medically Managed Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes
Authors: Goldstein Sarah A. , Newby L. Kristin , Cyr Derek D. , Neely Megan , Lüscher Thomas F. , Brown Eileen B. , White Harvey D. , Ohman E. Magnus , Roe Matthew T. , Hamm Christian W.
Published: April 2017

Background

The relationship between troponin level and outcomes among patients with non‐
ST
‐segment elevation ACS is established, but the relationship of troponin level with long‐term outcomes among medically managed non‐ST‐segment elevation ACS patients receiving contemporary antiplatelet therapy is inadequately defined.

Methods and Results

In 6763 medically managed non‐ST‐segment elevation ACS patients randomized in
TRILOGY ACS
(Targeted Platelet Inhibition to Clarify the Optimal Strategy to Medically Manage Acute Coronary Syndromes) (prasugrel versus clopidogrel), we examined relationships between categories of peak troponin/upper limit of normal (
ULN
) ratio within 48 hours of the index
ACS
event (≈4.5 days before randomization) and 30‐month outcomes (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke; cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction; and all‐cause death). Patients with peak troponin levels <1×
ULN
were younger, were more often women, and had lower
GRACE
risk scores than those in other troponin groups. Those with ratios ≥5×
ULN
were more frequently smokers but less often had prior myocardial infarction or percutaneous coronary intervention. Diabetes mellitus prevalence, body mass index, serum creatinine, and hemoglobin were similar across groups. For all end points, statistically significant differences in 30‐month event rates were observed between peak troponin categories. The relationship was linear for 30‐month mortality (<1×
ULN
, n=1849 [6.2%]; 1 to <3×
ULN
, n=1203 [9.6%]; 3 to <5×
ULN
, n=581 [10.8%]; and ≥5×
ULN
, n=3405 [12.8%]) but plateaued for composite end points beyond peak troponin values ≥3×
ULN
. There was no statistically significant heterogeneity in treatment effect by peak troponin ratio for any end point.

Conclusions

Among medically managed non‐ST‐segment elevation ACS patients selected for medical management, there was a graded relationship between increasing peak troponin and long‐term ischemic events but no heterogeneity of treatment effect for prasugrel versus clopidogrel according to peak troponin.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier:
NCT
00699998.
In Utero Particulate Matter Exposure Produces Heart Failure, Electrical Remodeling, and Epigenetic Changes at Adulthood
Authors: Tanwar Vineeta , Gorr Matthew W. , Velten Markus , Eichenseer Clayton M. , Long Victor P. , Bonilla Ingrid M. , Shettigar Vikram , Ziolo Mark T. , Davis Jonathan P. , Baine Stephen H. , Carnes Cynthia A. , Wold Loren E.
Published: April 2017

Background

Particulate matter (PM;
PM
2.5
[PM with diameters of <2.5 μm]) exposure during development is strongly associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes at adulthood. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that in utero
PM
2.5
exposure alone could alter cardiac structure and function at adulthood.

Methods and Results

Female
FVB
mice were exposed either to filtered air or
PM
2.5
at an average concentration of 73.61 μg/m
3
for 6 h/day, 7 days/week throughout pregnancy. After birth, animals were analyzed at 12 weeks of age. Echocardiographic (n=9–10 mice/group) and pressure‐volume loop analyses (n=5 mice/group) revealed reduced fractional shortening, increased left ventricular end‐systolic and ‐diastolic diameters, reduced left ventricular posterior wall thickness, end‐systolic elastance, contractile reserve (
dP
/dt
max
/end‐systolic volume), frequency‐dependent acceleration of relaxation), and blunted contractile response to β‐adrenergic stimulation in
PM
2.5
‐exposed mice. Isolated cardiomyocyte (n=4–5 mice/group) function illustrated reduced peak shortening, ±
dL
/
dT
, and prolonged action potential duration at 90% repolarization. Histological left ventricular analyses (n=3 mice/group) showed increased collagen deposition in in utero
PM
2.5
‐exposed mice at adulthood. Cardiac interleukin (
IL)
‐6,
IL
‐1ß, collagen‐1, matrix metalloproteinase (
MMP
) 9, and
MMP
13 gene expressions were increased at birth in in utero
PM
2.5
‐exposed mice (n=4 mice/group). In adult hearts (n=5 mice/group), gene expressions of sirtuin (Sirt) 1 and Sirt2 were decreased, DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt) 1, Dnmt3a, and Dnmt3b were increased, and protein expression (n=6 mice/group) of Ca
2+
‐ATPase, phosphorylated phospholamban, and Na
+
/Ca
2+
exchanger were decreased.

Conclusions

In utero
PM
2.5
exposure triggers an acute inflammatory response, chronic matrix remodeling, and alterations in Ca
2+
handling proteins, resulting in global adult cardiac dysfunction. These results also highlight the potential involvement of epigenetics in priming of adult cardiac disease.
Predictors of Dysphagia in Acute Pontine Infarction
Authors: Lapa Sriramya , Luger Sebastian , Pfeilschifter Waltraud , Henke Christian , Wagner Marlies , Foerch Christian
Published: April 2017

Background and Purpose—

Little is known about the frequency and the clinical characteristics of neurogenic dysphagia in pontine strokes. In this study, we sought to identify predictors for dysphagia in a cohort of patients with isolated pontine infarctions.

Methods—

We included all patients admitted to our department between 2008 and 2014 having an acute (<48 hours after symptom onset) ischemic stroke in the pons, as documented by means of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Precise infarct localization was stratified according to established vascular territories. The presence of dysphagia was the primary end point of the study and was assessed by a Speech-Language Pathologist according to defined criteria.

Results—

The study recruited 59 patients, 14 with and 45 without dysphagia. Median (interquartile range) stroke severity (in terms of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale values) was higher in the dysphagic group as compared with patients without dysphagia (8.5 [6–12] versus 2 [1–5];
P
<0.001). Infarct localization in the upper part of the pons (78.6% versus 33.3%;
P
=0.004) and in the anterolateral vascular territory (78.6% versus 31.1%;
P
=0.002) occurred more often in the dysphagic group. In a multivariate model, age, infarct volume, and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale value were independent predictors of dysphagia.

Conclusions—

Dysphagia occurs frequently in patients with isolated pontine infarctions. Clinical and imaging predictors of dysphagia may help to provide optimal screening, to prevent complications and to improve long-term prognosis.
Any Enlightened Government
Authors: Linton Matthew D.
Published: April 2017

Mortimer Graves, as the executive secretary of the American Council of Learned Societies, championed a National Center for Far Eastern Studies in the mid-1930s to address the shortfall of American East Asia experts. Graves reached for a national solution because of a progressive worldview that valued centralization and looked to European institutions as models. A National Center would incorporate Far Eastern Studies into the New Deal state and provide a u.s. response to French, German, and English orientalism centers. World War ii changed Graves’ view, however. Valued as u.s. national security assets, Asia specialists found employment in the upper echelons of military and civilian intelligence agencies as educators and analysts. No longer an insecure field, Graves saw the value in institutional diversity, becoming a champion of a university-based model of Far Eastern area studies after 1943. Centralization and respect for government lay dormant within the field, blooming atavistically as East Asia specialists became crucial knowledge producers for the u.s. government during the Cold War.
Altitudinal distribution and advertisement call of Colostethus latinasus (Amphibia: Dendrobatidae), endemic species from eastern Panama and type species of Colostethus , with a molecular assessment of similar sympatric species
Authors: IBÁÑEZ ROBERTO D. , GRIFFITH EDGARDO J. , LIPS KAREN R. , CRAWFORD ANDREW J.
Published: April 2017

We conducted a molecular assessment of Colostethus-like frogs along an elevational gradient in the Serranía de Pirre, above Santa Cruz de Cana, eastern Panama, aiming to establish their species identity and to determine the altitudinal distribution of C. latinasus. Our findings confirm the view of C. latinasus as an endemic species restricted to the highlands of this mountain range, i.e., 1350–1475 m.a.s.l., considered to be type locality of this species. We described the advertisement call of C. latinasus that consists of a series of 4–18 single, short and relatively loud “peep”-like notes given in rapid succession, and its spectral and temporal features were compared with calls of congeneric species. For the first time, DNA sequences from C. latinasus were obtained, since previously reported sequences were based on misidentified specimens. This is particularly important because C. latinasus is the type species of Colostethus, a genus considered paraphyletic according to recent phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data.
A new groundwater-dwelling species of Euryrhynchina from Cameroon (Malacostraca, Decapoda, Euryrhynchidae)
Authors: GRAVE SAMMY DE , PISCART CHRISTOPHE , KAYO RAOUL P. TUEKAM , ANKER ARTHUR
Published: April 2017

A new species of the euryrhynchid shrimp genus Euryrhynchina Powell, 1976, E. puteola sp. nov., is described from Cameroon. The new species can be easily distinguished from the only other species in the genus, E. edingtonae Powell, 1976, by the absence of a setiferous lobe on the eye peduncle, the absence of a meral spine on the ambulatory pereiopods, the shape of the scaphocerite tooth, a single spine on the uropodal diaeresis (vs. 2–3), the absence of a podobranch on the second maxilliped, and the absence of appendices internae on the male pleopods 2-5. Although the species was discovered in a phreatic well, it remains unclear if it is a true stygobiont.
Two new species of Trichuris (Nematoda: Trichuridae) collected from endemic murines of Indonesia
Authors: HASEGAWA HIDEO , DEWI KARTIKA
Published: April 2017

Two new species of the genus Trichuris (Nematoda: Trichuridae) parasitic in the old endemic murids of Indonesia are described: T. musseri sp. nov. from Echiothrix centrosa (Murinae: Rattini) in Sulawesi and T. mallomyos sp. nov. from Mallomys rothschildi (Murinae: Hydromyini) in Papua Indonesia. Both species are characterized by having a gradually tapered and sharply pointed distal end of the spicule, being readily distinguished from most of the congeners known from murid rodents. Trichuris musseri is readily distinguished from T. mallomyos by having a much smaller body and large number of nuclei per subdivision of stichosome. The resemblance in spicule morphology between the two new species is of special interest because both hosts belong to different tribes and have different habitats and habits. It remains to be elucidated whether the resemblance is merely homoplasy or actually reflects close phylogenetic relationship of the parasites.
What is Pseudopotamilla reniformis (Sabellidae)? Comparisons of populations from Britain, Iceland and Canada with comments on Eudistylia and Schizobranchia
Authors: KNIGHT-JONES PHYLLIS , DARBYSHIRE TERESA , PETERSEN MARY E. , TOVAR-HERNÁNDEZ MARÍA ANA
Published: April 2017

A neotype of Amphitrite Müller (1771) is established and re-described, using material collected in 2001 from near the type locality on the southwest coast of Iceland. We examined material from Iceland, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, identified as Pseudopotamilla reniformis, showing scissiparity and commonly found in aggregations within kelp holdfasts or amongst encrusting fauna. By contrast, scissiparity has not been seen in a population recorded as P. reniformis from Wales (broadcast spawning is presumed, Chughtai & Knight-Jones 1988), which bores into limestone and that the present analysis shows to belong to a different species from P. reniformis. Sabella oculata Krøyer (1856, Norway) is a junior synonym of P. reniformis. Sabella aspersa Krøyer (1856, Greenland) and Sabella saxicava (Quatrefages, 1866, France) are re-instated and re-described in Pseudopotamilla. Pseudopotamilla saxicava (= Potamilla ehlersi Gravier, 1906) has a widespread distribution from Britain to the Arabian Gulf, Pseudopotamilla aspersa is found in Greenland and the distribution of P. reniformis is reduced to Iceland, northern Norway, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The genera Eudistylia Bush and Schizobranchia Bush are discussed in relation to Pseudopotamilla.
A new species of the genus Microhyla (Anura: Microhylidae) from Eastern Nepal
Authors: KHATIWADA JANAK RAJ , SHU GUO CHENG , WANG SHOU HONG , THAPA ARJUN , WANG BIN , JIANG JIANPING
Published: April 2017

A new species of the genus Microhyla is described from Jamun Khadi, Jhapa district of eastern Nepal, based on molecular and morphological comparisons. This species is the sister taxon of Microhyla ornata and can be distinguished by a unique vocalization, morphology and molecular phylogeny. The uncorrected genetic divergences based on rRNA gene between the new species and its closest congeners, M. nilphamariensis, M. ornata and M. rubra were 5.34%, 6.67%, and 8.31%, respectively. The new species, Microhyla taraiensis sp. nov., is distinguished from each other of Microhyla by a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) relatively larger body size (SVL ranges 19.9–20.3 mm, n = 4 in the males and 22.1–24.9 mm, n = 3 in the females); (2) dorsal surface of head and body with light red dots; (3) toes webbing poorly developed or absent; (4) a large round inner metacarpal tubercle; and an (5) elongated outer metacarpal tubercle. In addition, our study also provides a new record of Microhyla nilphamariensis from Nepal.
Sternaspis chilensis n. sp., a new species from austral Chilean channels and fjords (Annelida, Sternaspidae)
Authors: DÍAZ-DÍAZ OSCAR , ROZBACZYLO NICOLÁS
Published: April 2017

Sternaspis chilensis n. sp. is described based on specimens collected in channels and fjords of southern Chile and previously identified as Sternaspis scutata (Ranzani, 1817), originally described from the Meditarrean Sea. Sternaspis chilensis n. sp. is described based on the features of the shield with anterior margins rounded and anterior depression shallow; marginal shield chaetal fascicles arranged with an inverted C-shaped pattern; and distribution of the integument papillae. Sternaspis chilensis is widely distributed in the Magellan Province from Estero Reloncaví (41°32’54”S, 72°19’48”W) to Strait of Magellan (53°34’S, 70°04’W), between 50 and 515 m depth.
Camptopoeum (Camptopoeum) baldocki spec. nov., a new panurgine bee species from Portugal and a description of the male of Flavipanurgus fuzetus Patiny (Andrenidae: Panurginae)
Authors: WOOD THOMAS. J. , CROSS IAN
Published: April 2017

Camptopoeum (Camptopoeum) baldocki spec. nov., a new European panurgine bee species is described and diagnosed. It is currently known only from saltmarshes along the southern coast of the central and eastern Algarve, Portugal. Observations and analysis of scopal pollen loads suggest narrow oligolecty on the similarly halophilous Frankenia laevis (Frankeniaceae). In addition, the allotype male of the Portuguese endemic Flavipanurgus fuzetus Patiny is described and the pollen preferences of Flavipanurgus are reviewed with the addition of new data from Portugal. As a genus, Flavipanurgus species appear to be narrowly oligolectic on a range of flowers from the botanical families Caryophyllaceae, Cistaceae and Crassulaceae.
The Role of Ice Microphysics Parametrizations in Determining the Prevalence of Supercooled Liquid Water in High-Resolution Simulations of a Southern Ocean Midlatitude Cyclone
Authors: Furtado Kalli , Field Paul
Published: April 2017

High-resolution simulations of a Southern Ocean cyclone are compared to satellite-derived observations of liquid water path, cloud-top properties, and top-of-atmosphere radiative fluxes. The focus is on the cold-air-outflow region, where there are contributions to the hydrological budget from the microphysical growth of ice particles by riming and vapor deposition and transport by turbulent mixing. The sensitivity of the simulation to the parameterization of these processes is tested and the relative importance of ice-nucleation temperature is identified. It is shown that ice-phase microphysics is a key factor determining the phase composition of Southern Ocean clouds and physically reasonable parameterization changes are identified that affect the liquid water content of these clouds. The information gained from the sensitivity tests is applied to global model development, where it is shown that a modification to the riming parameterization improves climate mean-state biases in the Southern Ocean region.
Pairwise-Rotated EOFs of Global SST
Authors: Chen Xianyao , Wallace John M. , Tung Ka-Kit
Published: April 2017

Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of global sea surface temperature yields modes in which interannual variability associated with ENSO and the lower-frequency variability associated with the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) are confounded with one another and with the signature of global warming. The confounded EOFs exhibit overlapping centers of action with polarities of the perturbations juxtaposed such that the respective modes are mutually orthogonal in the global domain. When physical modes with different time scales appear in the same pair of EOFs, the principal component (PC) time series tend to be positively correlated in one frequency band and negatively correlated in another. Mode mixing may be a reflection of sampling variability or it may reflect the lack of spatial orthogonality of the physical modes themselves. Using sequences of pairwise orthogonal rotations of selected PCs, it is possible, without recourse to filtering, to recover a global warming mode with a bland spatial pattern and a nearly linear upward trend, along with dynamical modes, each with its own characteristic time scale, that resemble ENSO, the PDO, and the AMO. Novel elements of this analysis include a rationale for choosing the optimal angle for pairwise rotation and a simple algorithm for eliminating mode mixing between the dynamical modes and the global warming mode by transferring the linear trends from the former to the latter.
Intergenerational transfer of a sports-related lifestyle within the family
Authors: Hayoz Christelle , Klostermann Claudia , Schmid Jürg , Schlesinger Torsten , Nagel Siegfried
Published: April 2017

The intergenerational transfer of a sports-related lifestyle within the family is a potential way to explain the social differences in sports participation that are displayed by young people. In this article, the importance of a sports-related lifestyle within the family, as well as parents’ educational background and sports participation in childhood, in the sports participation of adolescents and young adults is examined from the perspective of socialisation theory. Structural equation modelling was used to demonstrate that all of the examined predictors have significant positive effects on the current sports participation of individuals between the ages of 15 and 30 years ( N = 4028; M = 21.48; SD = 4.64). The most pronounced effect on sports participation was observed for a sports-related lifestyle in the family.
Angina and Its Management
Authors: Kloner Robert A. , Chaitman Bernard
Published: April 2017

Angina pectoris is defined as substernal chest pain, pressure, or discomfort that is typically exacerbated by exertion and/or emotional stress, lasts greater than 30 to 60 seconds, and is relieved by rest and nitroglycerin. There are approximately 10 million people in the United States who have angina, and there are over 500 000 cases diagnosed per year. Several studies now show that angina itself is a predictor of major adverse cardiac events. In addition, angina is a serious morbidity that impedes quality of life and should be treated. In the United States, pharmacologic therapy for angina includes β-blockers, nitrates, calcium channel blockers, and the late sodium current blocker ranolazine. In other countries, additional pharmacologic agents include trimetazidine, ivabradine, nicorandil, fasudil, and others. Revascularization is indicated in certain high-risk individuals and also has been shown to improve angina. However, even after revascularization, a substantial percentage of patients return with recurrent or continued angina, requiring newer and better therapies. Treatment for refractory angina not amenable to usual pharmacologic therapies or revascularization procedures, includes enhanced external counterpulsation, transmyocardial revascularization, and stem cell therapy. Angina continues to be a significant cause of morbidity. Therapy should be geared not only to treating the risk factors for atherosclerotic disease and improving survival but should also be aimed at eliminating or reducing the occurrence of angina and improving the ability of patients to be active.
A mixture copula Bayesian network model for multimodal genomic data
Authors: Zhang Qingyang , Shi Xuan
Published: April 2017

Gaussian Bayesian networks have become a widely used framework to estimate directed associations between joint Gaussian variables, where the network structure encodes the decomposition of multivariate normal density into local terms. However, the resulting estimates can be inaccurate when the normality assumption is moderately or severely violated, making it unsuitable for dealing with recent genomic data such as the Cancer Genome Atlas data. In the present paper, we propose a mixture copula Bayesian network model which provides great flexibility in modeling non-Gaussian and multimodal data for causal inference. The parameters in mixture copula functions can be efficiently estimated by a routine expectation–maximization algorithm. A heuristic search algorithm based on Bayesian information criterion is developed to estimate the network structure, and prediction can be further improved by the best-scoring network out of multiple predictions from random initial values. Our method outperforms Gaussian Bayesian networks and regular copula Bayesian networks in terms of modeling flexibility and prediction accuracy, as demonstrated using a cell signaling data set. We apply the proposed methods to the Cancer Genome Atlas data to study the genetic and epigenetic pathways that underlie serous ovarian cancer.
Analysing the continuity of teaching and learning in classroom actions: When the joint action framework in didactics meets the pragmatist approach to classroom discourses
Authors: Ligozat Florence , Lundqvist Eva , Amade-Escot Chantal
Published: April 2017

One strand of comparative didactics aims at discussing the relationships between the theoretical constructions developed within subject didactics and how these can contribute to research about teaching and learning. This article explores the relationships between categories for analysing joint actions of teacher and students (didactic contract, milieu, mesogenesis, topogenesis, chronogenesis) and categories used in the pragmatist approach of classroom discourse analysis (practical epistemology and epistemological moves). We combine both frameworks to feature different types of breaches in the didactic contract and the building of continuity in teaching and learning actions for dealing with these breaches. Analyses are carried out through examples of classroom events in science education and physical education. We argue that these frameworks, when elaborated on and compared, enable us to characterise both generic and specific dimensions of teaching and learning in different subjects.
Prohibitin – At the crossroads of obesity-linked diabetes and cancer
Authors: Mishra Suresh , Nyomba BL Grégoire
Published: April 2017

The promoter of a gene that is selectively expressed in just a few cell types provides unique opportunities to study: (1) the pleiotropic function of a protein in two different cell types including the cell compartment specific function, and (2) the crosstalk between two cell/tissue types at the systemic level. This is not possible with a ubiquitous or a highly specific gene promoter. The adipocyte protein-2 ( aP2) is one such gene. It is primarily expressed in adipocytes, but also selectively in monocytic macrophages and dendritic cells, among various immune cell types. Thus, the adipocyte protein-2 gene promoter provides an opportunity to simultaneously manipulate adipose and immune functions in a transgenic animal. Prohibitin (PHB) is a pleiotropic protein that has roles in both adipocytes and immune cells. Adipocyte specific functions of prohibitin are mediated through its mitochondrial function, whereas its immune functions are mediated in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. We capitalized on this attribute of prohibitin to explore the crosstalk between adipose and immune functions, and to discern mitochondrial and plasma membrane-associated cell signaling functions of prohibitin, by expressing wild type prohibitin (Mito-Ob) and a phospho-mutant form of prohibitin (m-Mito-Ob) from the protein-2 gene promoter, individually. Both transgenic mice develop obesity in a sex-neutral manner, but develop obesity-related metabolic dysregulation in a male sex-specific manner. Subsequently, the male Mito-Ob mice spontaneously developed type 2 diabetes and liver cancer, whereas the male m-Mito-Ob mice developed lymph node tumors or autoimmune diabetes in a context-dependent manner. This review provides a point of view on the role of prohibitin in mediating sex differences in adipose and immune functions at the systemic level. We discuss the unique attributes of prohibitin and provide a new paradigm in adipose-immune crosstalk mediated through a pleiotropic protein.

Impact statement

Prohibitin (PHB) is ubiquitously expressed and plays a role in adipocyte-immune cell cross-talk. Both male and female transgenic mice expressing wild-type PHB in adipose tissue and in macrophages are obese, but only males develop diabetes and liver cancer. When the mice express PHB mutated on tyrosine-114 in adipocytes and macrophages, both males and females are still obese, but none develops liver cancer; instead, males develop lymph node tumors. Adipocyte specific functions of PHB are mediated through its mitochondrial function, whereas its immune functions are mediated in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Thus, PHB appears to be an important molecule linking obesity, diabetes, and cancer. In addition, this link appears to be affected by sex steroids. Therefore, targeting PHB may lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of obesity, diabetes and cancer.
Conducting Action Research in a Rural High School Setting Using Peers as Corrective Reading Instructors for Students with Disabilities
Authors: Marchand-Martella Nancy , Martella Ronald C. , Orlob Matthew , Ebey Tara
Published: April 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of a peer-delivered Corrective Reading Program (CRP) (Engelmann, Hanner, & Johnson, 1989) with repeated reading in a rural high school setting. Students receiving peer-delivered instruction were pre- and posttested on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests. Within program data were also taken. In addition, data were gathered on the performance of the peer instructors as well. The results of this study showed that, overall, students receiving the intervention over 1 academic year showed stable grade level performance in vocabulary and an increase of one and a half grade levels in comprehension on the Gates-MacGinitie. Students in level B1 of the CRP showed the opposite effect (increase of over 1 grade level in vocabulary and relatively stable performance in comprehension). Stable performance on both subtests was noted for the peer instructors. Other positive changes were noted in the within program data collected. Interobserver agreement data indicated the peer instructors collected data with a high degree of accuracy. The results are discussed in terms of the efficacy of using peers as instructors for students with disabilities in rural settings.
Teaming with Technology: Utilizing Interactive Technology to Conduct Distance Assessments in a Frontier State
Authors: Thompson Christy L. , Buchanan Michelle L. , Heinlein Kenneth B. , Westlake Laura L.
Published: April 2017

This article describes a project that is using interactive technology to conduct arena assessments at a distance. Team building, technology requirements, past technology experimentation, current technology used, and future directions are discussed. We are now able to perform distance assessments through the use of network systems. Appropriate teaming procedures and positive assessment results have been obtained. In the near future, improved access to network systems will be available. The team looks forward to continued success and consistent improvement in assessment procedures.
Single‐cell sequencing and tumorigenesis: improved understanding of tumor evolution and metastasis
Authors: Ellsworth Darrell L. , Blackburn Heather L. , Shriver Craig D. , Rabizadeh Shahrooz , Soon‐Shiong Patrick , Ellsworth Rachel E.
Published: April 2017

Extensive genomic and transcriptomic heterogeneity in human cancer often negatively impacts treatment efficacy and survival, thus posing a significant ongoing challenge for modern treatment regimens. State‐of‐the‐art DNA‐ and RNA‐sequencing methods now provide high‐resolution genomic and gene expression portraits of individual cells, facilitating the study of complex molecular heterogeneity in cancer. Important developments in single‐cell sequencing (SCS) technologies over the past 5 years provide numerous advantages over traditional sequencing methods for understanding the complexity of carcinogenesis, but significant hurdles must be overcome before SCS can be clinically useful. In this review, we: (1) highlight current methodologies and recent technological advances for isolating single cells, single‐cell whole‐genome and whole‐transcriptome amplification using minute amounts of nucleic acids, and SCS, (2) summarize research investigating molecular heterogeneity at the genomic and transcriptomic levels and how this heterogeneity affects clonal evolution and metastasis, and (3) discuss the promise for integrating SCS in the clinical care arena for improved patient care.
CD56bright NK IL-7Rα expression negatively associates with HCV level, and IL-7-induced NK function is impaired during HCV and HIV infections
Authors: Judge Chelsey J , Kostadinova Lenche , Sherman Kenneth E , Butt Adeel A , Falck-Ytter Yngve , Funderburg Nicholas T , Landay Alan L , Lederman Michael M , Sieg Scott F , Sandberg Johan K , Anthony Donald D
Published: April 2017

Several lines of evidence support the concept that NK cells play an important role in control of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection via cytokine secretion and cytotoxicity. IL-7 is a homeostatic cytokine with a role in T cell development, activation, proliferation, and cytokine secretion. The IL-7Rα chain [cluster of differentiation (CD)127] is expressed on NK cells, with greatest abundance on the CD56brightCD16dim/− (CD56bright) subset. Here, we measured CD127 expression on CD56bright, CD56dimCD16+ (CD56dim), or CD56negCD16+ (CD56neg) NK cell subsets of 25 uninfected donors (UD); 34 chronic HCV-infected, treatment-naiüve; 25 HIV-infected, virally suppressed on antiretroviral therapy (ART); and 42 HCV–HIV-coinfected subjects on ART. Interestingly, CD127 expression on CD56bright NK cells negatively correlated with HCV plasma levels in HCV monoinfection and HCV–HIV coinfection. IL-7 induced CD69 expression, as well as IFN-γ production, in CD56bright NK cells and also enhanced the IFN-α-induced CD69 expression on these cells. The latter was impaired in HIV infection. Furthermore, IL-7 induced B cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) expression and cell cycling of CD56bright NK cells, and this effect was impaired in HCV- and HIV-infected subjects. Whereas IL-7-stimulated CD56bright NK cell degranulation appeared intact in all cohorts, we observed impaired IL-7-activated NK cell cytolytic function in HCV- and HIV-infected subjects. Finally, IL-7-induced phosphorylation of STAT-5 (pSTAT-5) signaling was impaired in NK cells of subjects with chronic viral infection, and this was reversible upon 6 mo of viral suppression with IFN-free HCV therapy. These results implicate that IL-7-dependent NK cell activation and effector function may be other host immune surveillance mechanisms that are impaired in viral infections.
Comes a Letter in the Mail: Ellipses of Reading
Authors: Kamuf Peggy
Published: April 2017

The bad object of this essay is reading. It assembles fragments of an abandoned project that would have posed the delirious thesis of universal reading disorder. There are four fragments, which analyze scenes of the other reading from Augustine, Rousseau, Flaubert, and Blanchot. They argue against at least two fundamental assumptions in the reading sciences: that anyone ever knows how to read and that the other’s reading can be seen other than in fiction.
The Decay of Sighing: Cesare Pavese’sLavorare Stanca
Authors: McGlazer Ramsey
Published: April 2017

This essay locates a poetics of fatigue in Lavorare stanca, the first collection of verse published by Cesare Pavese. This poetics entails several related shifts: from emotion to affect, from effusiveness to reserve, and from expansiveness to a limitation that is at once literary and geographic. Critics have long emphasized Pavese’s cosmopolitan literary borrowings and noted in particular his engagements with the literature of the United States, engagements that are often seen to have enabled a break with previous Italian poetic forms. Without denying these engagements, “The Decay of Sighing” argues that Lavorare stanca continues the Italian lyric tradition that it also alters from within. The essay thus redefines Pavese’s procedure as a matter of staying in stagnation, of accepting rather than denying or taking willful distance from lyric’s exhaustion and the nation’s.
Learning Nothing:Bad Education
Authors: Edelman Lee
Published: April 2017

Taking queerness as one of the figural names for ontological exclusion (that is, for whatever a particular regime of social being forecloses), this essay focuses on how such a queerness effects an impossible pedagogy that aspires to teach us nothing. Rather than a site of emptiness, however, that nothing comprises the pulsion of jouissance, the insistence of the drive, and the uncognizable pressure of what conduces to no meaning. After exploring this nothing through Paul de Man’s engagement with Blaise Pascal’s account of the zero, this essay reads Pedro Almodóvar’s Bad Education (2004) as a work that explores the consequences of a Schillerian aesthetic education. It does so through an encounter with the radical unreadability that, as Bad Education suggests, spurs interpretive endeavors. In its effort to make visible nothing as such, to depict what can only be understood as a rupture in the logic of being, Bad Education returns us to reading’s position between allegory and irony and opens a vista on education as the persistent negation of queerness.
Serviço Público como expectativa profissional dos graduandos em administração
Authors: Sales Mariane Lima de , Xavier Filho José Lindenberg Julião , Damascena Elielson Oliveira
Published: April 2017

Nos últimos anos observa-se a procura crescente dos recém-formados do ensino superior pelo serviço público, dentre eles os egressos em Administração. Devido à relevância deste profissional para as organizações e para a sociedade, cabe a preocupação em conhecer quais áreas de atuação profissional estão sendo escolhidas pelos estudantes. Tendo por objetivo explorar as expectativas profissionais dos discentes de administração a partir da abordagem das âncoras de carreira, este estudo classifica-se por descritivo-explicativo e, quanto aos procedimentos técnicos, um levantamento que contou com 108 respondentes. A hipótese de trabalho é que os discentes têm o serviço público como expectativa profissional ao concluírem a graduação em administração. Os resultados são emblemáticos, já que a hipótese foi confirmada e evidências indicam que os graduandos em administração apresentam como últimas âncoras a “Aptidão Gerência Geral” e “Criatividade empreendedora”, mais ligadas ao trabalho da gestão.
Percepção da influência das políticas e práticas de recursos humanos na satisfação com o trabalho
Authors: Paiva Luis Eduardo Brandão , Lima Tereza Cristina Batista de , Oliveira Thiago Sousa de , Pitombeira Suzete Suzana Rocha
Published: April 2017

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a influência das políticas e práticas de recursos humanos sobre a satisfação no trabalho, utilizando o mercado de trabalho no Ceará. O tema tem relevância devido à identificação da satisfação no trabalho como fator que causa mudanças nas atitudes e saúde dos funcionários afetando, portanto, a sua produtividade. Para tanto, foram traçados os seguintes objetivos específicos: identificar as dimensões com maior e menor relevância entre as políticas e práticas de RH; identificar quais dimensões apresentam maior e menor relevância na satisfação no trabalho; e analisar a relação entre satisfação no trabalho e a percepção das políticas e práticas de RH. Em relação aos procedimentos metodológicos, esta pesquisa é de natureza quantitativa, descritiva, com o método de coleta de dados survey, junto aos funcionários de empresas de grande porte que têm sede no Estado do Ceará. Os resultados obtidos apontam que os funcionários estão indiferentes em relação a sua satisfação com o trabalho, como também se sentem indiferentes quanto às políticas e práticas de recursos humanos. Já a correlação dos dados indicou que existe uma correlação moderada entre o fator remuneração e recompensas e a dimensão satisfação com o salário. Palavras-chave: Percepção. Políticas e Práticas de Recursos Humanos. Satisfação no Trabalho.
Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center Optimizes Operating Room Block Schedule for New Hospital
Authors: Benchoff Brittney , Yano Candace Arai , Newman Alexandra
Published: April 2017

In July 2014, Kaiser Permanente, a major integrated healthcare delivery consortium, opened a new hospital, replacing an existing hospital, adjacent to its headquarters in Oakland, California. Hospital staff needed to devise a new operating room schedule. In developing the schedule, the key decisions the staff would have to make were the type of block (i.e., a combination of surgery types that can be performed in the same operating room on the same day) to assign to each operating room on each day of the planning horizon. We report on the development and implementation of an integer programming model to generate a near-optimal block schedule. The approach differs from many in the literature because it considers both direct nursing costs and patient-related costs, and can accommodate a variety of practical constraints.

Kaiser Permanente Oakland implemented the proposed schedule and continues to use it with minor modifications in response to subsequent growth and changes in patient demand patterns. Three major benefits of the schedule are that it: (1) satisfies almost all of the monthly block requirements in only four weeks, thereby releasing capacity to reduce the surgical backlog; (2) eliminates days with excess admissions, which would have required additional nursing staff; and (3) reduces the number of surgeries canceled due to an insufficient number of available beds.
Survey on Revenue Management in Media and Broadcasting
Authors: Pandey Shinjini , Dutta Goutam , Joshi Harit
Published: April 2017

Advertisements are a key source of revenue for companies in the broadcasting and web industries. However, because of increasing competition, advertisers and web publishers have been forced to find innovative ways to increase their profits and gain competitive advantages. Revenue management is a useful operations research and management science tool that may be used to do so. In this paper, we provide an updated review of revenue-management research conducted in the broadcasting and online advertisement industries, highlighting the strategies and techniques adopted to maximize advertising revenue. We also identify mobile advertising as an emerging revenue-management application and review current research on it. We conclude by identifying potential gaps that future research might address.
Does Social Interaction Improve Learning Outcomes? Evidence from Field Experiments on Massive Open Online Courses
Authors: Zhang Dennis J. , Allon Gad , Van Mieghem Jan A.
Published: April 2017

This paper studies how service providers can design social interaction among participants and quantify the causal impact of that interaction on service quality. We focus on education and analyze whether encouraging social interaction among students improves learning outcomes in massive open online courses (MOOCs), which are a new service delivery channel with universal access at reduced, if not zero, cost.

We analyze three randomized experiments in a MOOC with more than 30,317 students from 183 countries. Two experiments study large-group interaction by encouraging a random subset of students to visit the course discussion board. The majority of students treated in these experiments had higher social engagement, higher quiz completion rates, and higher course grades. Using these treatments as instrumental variables, we estimate that one additional board visit causally increases the probability that a student finishes the quiz in the subsequent week by up to 4.3%. The third experiment studies small-group interaction by encouraging a random subset of students to conduct one-on-one synchronous discussions. Students who followed through and actually conducted pairwise discussions increased their quiz completion rates and quiz scores by 10% in the subsequent week. Combining results from these three experiments, we provide recommendations for designing social interaction mechanisms to improve service quality.
Regeneration X: The payer perspective on gene therapy
Authors: Spoors John , Croft Eleanor , Walker Andrew
Published: April 2017

Regenerative medicine is an emerging and pressing topic which represents an enigma for healthcare decision-makers around the globe. The ‘once and done’ concept is attractive not only to patients and clinicians, but also to payers in areas where the therapeutic costs are high. However, regenerative medicine has had many safety challenges. Payers are therefore not only sceptical about the claimed length of benefit of treatment, but also about the various potential safety risks associated with such procedures. To payers, the reality is that gene therapy is another healthcare intervention with a different—albeit innovative—mechanism of action. Experience with early gene therapies is likely to shape the pricing and reimbursement structure for future gene therapies; and amendments may need to be made to traditional pricing and reimbursement methodology. The upfront payment model is unlikely to be affordable for most healthcare systems and therefore manufacturers should put forward innovative pricing models. Gene therapy offers the potential for a ‘tectonic shift’ in clinical care, but the widespread adoption is not without friction.
Expatriate health professionals in the Saudi Arabia private sector
Authors: Yasin Yasin M , Al-Hamad Areej , Bélanger Charles H , Boucher Annie , AbuRubeiha Mohammad A
Published: April 2017

This study aimed to identify the differences in job satisfaction levels among expatriate health professionals (EHPs) working in the Saudi Arabian private sector, the stressors affecting their job satisfaction, and the influence of those stressors on their turnover intention. A cross-sectional design was guided by Herzberg's Theory. A convenience sample of 204 expatriate doctors, nurses, and pharmacists in Saudi Arabia were recruited from the private sector. Data were collected from four urban hospitals in regions having 74% of the bed capacity in the private sector. A four-part instrument measured dissatisfiers, job satisfaction, turnover intention, and cultural unrest. The results showed that EHPs have moderate job satisfaction. There was a difference in job satisfaction levels in terms of profession and nationality. Stressors influencing job satisfaction support Herzberg's theory. There was a significant positive correlation between dissatisfiers and job satisfaction. Cultural unrest had a very weak positive correlation with job satisfaction. Working conditions, salary, supervision, interpersonal relationships, hospital policy and administration, and job security were significant predictors of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction and turnover intention have insignificant relationship. The private health organisations can use the findings of this study to promote job satisfaction, decrease turnover intention, and improve cultural acclimatisation
Continence in care homes: the last taboo?
Authors: Nazarko Linda
Published: April 2017

Urinary incontinence affects a significant amount of people over the age of 65 years, yet it remains a difficult topic of discussion for people living in care. In this article, Linda Nazarko outlines the causes and treatment options that are available
Auto-enrolment and the new pension landscape
Authors: Long Nathan
Published: April 2017

Workplace pensions have changed radically over the last few years, and will continue to do so until at least February 2018. In this article, Nathan Long explains the obligations that employers are under, and how these are likely to change over the next few years
Challenging business rates as a small, independent care home
Authors: New Richard
Published: April 2017

The changes to how business rates are challenged can be difficult to understand. In this article, Richard New outlines the new appeal process, and what this means for care homes that may be worried about their rising tax bills
Understanding the Nursing and Midwifery Council's code
Authors: Ashurst Adrian
Published: April 2017

The Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) code of conduct is something that all nurses in the UK must adhere to in order to practise. In this article, Adrian Ashurst offers his personal view of the importance of the NMC Code in the care home environment
Alttestamentliche Prophetie als Thema religiöser und interreligiöser Bildung
Authors: Schlag Thomas
Published: April 2017

Compared to the other theological disciplines, the most intense and most innovative attempts at combining Old Testament tradition with a theological transfer to modernity are found in the area of religious pedagogy. Especially the treatment of prophetic literature in religious education has had a colorful past, which sharpens the eye for an up-to-date and appropriate presentation. The special challenge is to connect the traditional prophetic speech of God’s determining reality to the politically relevant power of orientation for the students’ lives in a theologically correct manner so that the truth claim of the biblical tradition can come to light freely.