bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A pilot study and novel angiographic classification for superior sagittal sinus stenting in patients with non-thrombotic intracranial venous occlusive disease
Authors: Raper Daniel M S , Buell Thomas J , Ding Dale , Pomeraniec I Jonathan , Crowley R Webster , Liu Kenneth C
Published: January 2017

Objective

Safety and efficacy of superior sagittal sinus (SSS) stenting for non-thrombotic intracranial venous occlusive disease (VOD) is unknown. The aim of this retrospective cohort study is to evaluate outcomes after SSS stenting.

Methods

We evaluated an institutional database to identify patients who underwent SSS stenting. Radiographic and clinical outcomes were analyzed and a novel angiographic classification of the SSS was proposed.

Results

We identified 19 patients; 42% developed SSS stenosis after transverse sinus stenting. Pre-stent maximum mean venous pressure (MVP) in the SSS of 16.2 mm Hg decreased to 13.1 mm Hg after stenting (p=0.037). Preoperative trans-stenosis pressure gradient of 4.2 mm Hg decreased to 1.5 mm Hg after stenting (p<0.001). No intraprocedural complication or junctional SSS stenosis distal to the stent construct was noted. Improvement in headache, tinnitus, and visual obscurations was reported by 66.7%, 63.6%, and 50% of affected patients, respectively, at mean follow-up of 5.2 months. We divided the SSS into four anatomically equal segments, numbered S1–S4, from the torcula to frontal pole. SSS stenosis typically occurs in the S1 segment, and the anterior extent of SSS stents was deployed at the S1–S2 junction in all but one case.

Conclusions

SSS stenting is reasonably safe, may improve clinical symptoms, and significantly reduces maximum MVP and trans-stenosis pressure gradients in patients with VOD with SSS stenosis. The S1 segment is most commonly stenotic, and minimum pressure gradients for symptomatic SSS stenosis may be lower than for transverse or sigmoid stenosis. Additional studies and follow-up are necessary to better elucidate appropriate clinical indications and long-term efficacy of SSS stenting.
Punicalagin Pretreatment Attenuates Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury via Activation of AMPK
Authors: Ding Mingge , Wang Yin , Sun Di , Liu Zhenhua , Wang Jie , Li Xing , Huo Cong , Jia Xin , Chen Wei , Fu Feng , Wang Xiaoming
Published: January 2017

Punicalagin (PUN), a major bioactive component in pomegranate juice, has been proven to exert neuroprotective effects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) insult via anti-oxidant properties. This study aims to investigate whether PUN provides cardioprotection against myocardial I/R (MI/R) injury and the underlying mechanisms. PUN (30[Formula: see text]mg/kg/d) or vehicle was intragastrically administered to Sprague-Dawley rats for one week before the operation. MI/R was induced by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery for 30[Formula: see text]min and subsequent reperfusion for 3[Formula: see text]h. PUN pretreatment conferred cardioprotective effects against MI/R injury by improving cardiac function, limiting infarct size, reducing serum creatine kinase-MB and lactate dehydrogenase activities, and suppressing cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Moreover, PUN pretreatment inhibited I/R-induced myocardial oxidative stress as evidenced by decreased generation of superoxide content and malonaldialdehyde formation and increased antioxidant capability. Furthermore, PUN pretreatment increased adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) phosphorylation in I/R hearts. AMPK inhibitor compound c inhibited PUN-enhanced AMPK phosphorylation, and blunted PUN-mediated anti-oxidative effects and cardioprotection. These results indicate for the first time that PUN pretreatment protect against I/R-induced oxidative stress and myocardial injury via activation of AMPK.
Fruiting Bodies ofAntrodia cinnamomeaand Its Active Triterpenoid, Antcin K, Ameliorates N-Nitrosodiethylamine-Induced Hepatic Inflammation, Fibrosis and Carcinogenesis in Rats
Authors: Tien An-Jan , Chien Chen-Yen , Chen Yueh-Hsi , Lin Lung-Chin , Chien Chiang-Ting
Published: January 2017

Antrodia cinnamomea (A. cinnamomea), a popular medicinal mushroom in Taiwan, is widely used to prevent or treat liver diseases. Systematic studies on the anti-inflammatory effect of A. cinnamomea and its molecular mechanisms have not yet been fully investigated. HPLC fingerprint analysis identified seven ergostane-type triterpenoids from A. cinnamomea water extract (ACW), including high amounts of Antcin K (AC), Antcin C, Antcin H, Dehydrosulphurenic acid, Antcin B, Antcin A and Dehydroeburicoic acid. Here, we explored the effects and mechanisms of ACW and the highest content AC on N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) induced liver inflammation, fibrosis and carcinogenesis in rats. In the in vitro study, we measured how ACW and AC dose-dependently scavenged O[Formula: see text], H2O2and HOCl by a chemiluminescence analyzer. In the in vivo experiment, oral intake ACW and AC significantly inhibited DEN-enhanced hepatocellular inflammation, fibrosis and carcinoma by pathologic observation, the elevated bile and liver reactive oxygen species (ROS) amounts, plasma [Formula: see text]-glutamyl transpeptidase, and oxidative stress including 3-nitrotyrosine, 4-hydroxynonenal and Kuppfer cell infiltration (ED-1 stains) in the inflammatory livers. DEN enhanced nuclear factor-[Formula: see text]B (NF-[Formula: see text]B) translocation, whereas ACW and AC suppressed DEN-enhanced NF-[Formula: see text]B translocation through the inhibition of its upstream signaling of p85/phosphoinositide-3-kinase, mitogen activated protein kinase and CYP2E1 expression. In conclusion, DEN can induce hepatocellular inflammation, fibrosis and carcinoma by increasing NF-[Formula: see text]B translocation to the nucleus, and oxidative injury. ACW and its active component, Antcin K, counteract DEN-induced hepatic injury and inflammation by the protective and therapeutic mechanisms of a direct scavenging ROS activity and an upregulation of anti-oxidant defense mechanisms.
Characteristic properties of two different viscous cosmology models for the future universe
Authors: Normann Ben David , Brevik Iver
Published: January 2017

We analyze characteristic properties of two different cosmological models: (i) a one-component dark energy model where the bulk viscosity [Formula: see text] is associated with the fluid as a whole, and (ii) a two-component model where [Formula: see text] is associated with a dark matter component [Formula: see text] only, the dark energy component considered inviscid. Shear viscosity is omitted. We assume throughout the simple equation-of-state [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] a constant. In the one-component model, we consider two possibilities, either to take [Formula: see text] proportional to the scalar expansion (equivalent to the Hubble parameter), in which case the evolution becomes critically dependent on the value of the small constant [Formula: see text] and the magnitude of [Formula: see text], or we consider the case [Formula: see text], where a de Sitter final stage is reached in the future. In the two-component model, we consider only the case where the dark matter viscosity [Formula: see text] is proportional to the square of [Formula: see text], where again a de Sitter form is found in the future. In this latter case, the formalism is supplemented by a phase space analysis. As a general result of our considerations, we suggest that a value [Formula: see text] for the present viscosity is reasonable, and that the two-component model seems to be favored.
Atheroprotective vaccination with MHC-II-restricted ApoB peptides induces peritoneal IL-10-producing CD4 T cells
Authors: Kimura Takayuki , Tse Kevin , McArdle Sara , Gerhardt Teresa , Miller Jacqueline , Mikulski Zbigniew , Sidney John , Sette Alessandro , Wolf Dennis , Ley Klaus
Published: January 2017

Although immunization with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-restricted apolipoprotein B (ApoB) peptides has been shown to be atheroprotective, the mechanism is unclear. Here, we investigated CD4+ T cell populations in immunized atherosclerotic mice. Peptides (16-mers) from mouse ApoB, the core protein of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), were screened for binding to I-Ab by computer prediction and confirmed by radiolabeled peptide competition. Three new peptides, P101 (FGKQGFFPDSVNKALY, 5.5 nM IC50), P102 (TLYALSHAVNSYFDVD, 6.8 nM), and P103 (LYYKEDKTSLSASAAS, 95 nM), were tested in an atherosclerosis model ( Apoe−/− mice on Western diet). Immunization with each of the three peptides (1 time in complete Freund’s adjuvant subcuntaneously and 4 time in incomplete Freund’s adjuvant intraperitoneally) but not with adjuvant alone showed significantly reduced atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic root by serial sections and in the whole aorta by en face staining. There were no differences in body weight, LDL cholesterol, or triglycerides. Peritoneal leukocytes from ApoB peptide-immunized mice, but not control mice, secreted significant amounts of IL-10 (150 pg/ml). Flow cytometry showed that peptide immunization induced IL-10 in 10% of peritoneal CD4+ T cells, some of which also expressed chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5 (CCR5). Vaccination with ApoB peptides expanded peritoneal FoxP3+ regulatory CD4+ T cells and more than tripled the number of CCR5+FoxP3+ cells. Similar trends were also seen in the draining mediastinal lymph nodes but not in the nondraining inguinal lymph nodes. We conclude that vaccination with MHC class II-restricted autologous ApoB peptides induces regulatory T cells (Tregs) and IL-10, suggesting a plausible mechanism for atheroprotection.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Vaccination against apolipoprotein B (ApoB), the protein of LDL, attracts attention as a novel approach to prevent atherosclerosis. We discovered major histocompatibility complex class II-restricted ApoB peptides, which reduce atherosclerosis and induce IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells and chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5 expression on regulatory T cells, suggesting that immunization with ApoB peptides inhibits atherosclerosis by inducing anti-inflammatory cytokines.
Sleep during an Antarctic summer expedition: new light on “polar insomnia”
Authors: Pattyn Nathalie , Mairesse Olivier , Cortoos Aisha , Marcoen Nele , Neyt Xavier , Meeusen Romain
Published: January 2017

Sleep complaints are consistently cited as the most prominent health and well-being problem in Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, without clear evidence to identify the causal mechanisms. The present investigation aimed at studying sleep and determining circadian regulation and mood during a 4-mo Antarctic summer expedition. All data collection was performed during the continuous illumination of the Antarctic summer. After an habituation night and acclimatization to the environment (3 wk), ambulatory polysomnography (PSG) was performed in 21 healthy male subjects, free of medication. An 18-h profile (saliva sampling every 2 h) of cortisol and melatonin was assessed. Mood, sleepiness, and subjective sleep quality were assessed, and the psychomotor vigilance task was administered. PSG showed, in addition to high sleep fragmentation, a major decrease in slow-wave sleep (SWS) and an increase in stage R sleep. Furthermore, the ultradian rhythmicity of sleep was altered, with SWS occurring mainly at the end of the night and stage R sleep at the beginning. Cortisol secretion profiles were normal; melatonin secretion, however, showed a severe phase delay. There were no mood alterations according to the Profile of Mood States scores, but the psychomotor vigilance test showed an impaired vigilance performance. These results confirm previous reports on “polar insomnia”, the decrease in SWS, and present novel insight, the disturbed ultradian sleep structure. A hypothesis is formulated linking the prolonged SWS latency to the phase delay in melatonin.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY The present paper presents a rare body of work on sleep and sleep wake regulation in the extreme environment of an Antarctic expedition, documenting the effects of constant illumination on sleep, mood, and chronobiology. For applied research, these results suggest the potential efficiency of melatonin supplementation in similar deployments. For fundamental research, these results warrant further investigation of the potential link between melatonin secretion and the onset of slow-wave sleep.
Adenosine receptor-dependent signaling is not obligatory for normobaric and hypobaric hypoxia-induced cerebral vasodilation in humans
Authors: Hoiland Ryan L. , Bain Anthony R. , Tymko Michael M. , Rieger Mathew G. , Howe Connor A. , Willie Christopher K. , Hansen Alex B. , Flück Daniela , Wildfong Kevin W. , Stembridge Mike , Subedi Prajan , Anholm James , Ainslie Philip N.
Published: January 2017

Hypoxia increases cerebral blood flow (CBF) with the underlying signaling processes potentially including adenosine. A randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled design, was implemented to determine if adenosine receptor antagonism (theophylline, 3.75 mg/Kg) would reduce the CBF response to normobaric and hypobaric hypoxia. In 12 participants the partial pressures of end-tidal oxygen ([Formula: see text]) and carbon dioxide ([Formula: see text]), ventilation (pneumotachography), blood pressure (finger photoplethysmography), heart rate (electrocardiogram), CBF (duplex ultrasound), and intracranial blood velocities (transcranial Doppler ultrasound) were measured during 5-min stages of isocapnic hypoxia at sea level (98, 90, 80, and 70% [Formula: see text]). Ventilation, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], blood pressure, heart rate, and CBF were also measured upon exposure (128 ± 31 min following arrival) to high altitude (3,800 m) and 6 h following theophylline administration. At sea level, although the CBF response to hypoxia was unaltered pre- and postplacebo, it was reduced following theophylline ( P < 0.01), a finding explained by a lower [Formula: see text] ( P < 0.01). Upon mathematical correction for [Formula: see text], the CBF response to hypoxia was unaltered following theophylline. Cerebrovascular reactivity to hypoxia (i.e., response slope) was not different between trials, irrespective of [Formula: see text]. At high altitude, theophylline ( n = 6) had no effect on CBF compared with placebo ( n = 6) when end-tidal gases were comparable ( P > 0.05). We conclude that adenosine receptor-dependent signaling is not obligatory for cerebral hypoxic vasodilation in humans.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY The signaling pathways that regulate human cerebral blood flow in hypoxia remain poorly understood. Using a randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled study design, we determined that adenosine receptor-dependent signaling is not obligatory for the regulation of human cerebral blood flow at sea level; these findings also extend to high altitude.
Contribution of rostral fluid shift to intrathoracic airway narrowing in asthma
Authors: Bhatawadekar Swati A. , Inman Mark D. , Fredberg Jeffrey J. , Tarlo Susan M. , Lyons Owen D. , Keller Gabriel , Yadollahi Azadeh
Published: January 2017

In asthma, supine posture and sleep increase intrathoracic airway narrowing. When humans are supine, because of gravity fluid moves out of the legs and accumulates in the thorax. We hypothesized that fluid shifting out of the legs into the thorax contributes to the intrathoracic airway narrowing in asthma. Healthy and asthmatic subjects sat for 30 min and then lay supine for 30 min. To simulate overnight fluid shift, supine subjects were randomized to receive increased fluid shift out of the legs with lower body positive pressure (LBPP, 10-30 min) or none (control) and crossed over. With forced oscillation at 5 Hz, respiratory resistance (R5) and reactance (X5, reflecting respiratory stiffness) and with bioelectrical impedance, leg and thoracic fluid volumes (LFV, TFV) were measured while subjects were seated and supine (0 min, 30 min). In 17 healthy subjects (age: 51.8 ± 10.9 yr, FEV1/FVC z score: −0.4 ± 1.1), changes in R5 and X5 were similar in both study arms ( P > 0.05). In 15 asthmatic subjects (58.5 ± 9.8 yr, −2.1 ± 1.3), R5 and X5 increased in both arms (ΔR5: 0.6 ± 0.9 vs. 1.4 ± 0.8 cmH2O·l−1·s−1, ΔX5: 0.3 ± 0.7 vs. 1.1 ± 0.9 cmH2O·l−1·s−1). The increases in R5 and X5 were 2.3 and 3.7 times larger with LBPP than control, however ( P = 0.008, P = 0.006). The main predictor of increases in R5 with LBPP was increases in TFV (r = 0.73, P = 0.002). In asthmatic subjects, the magnitude of increases in X5 with LBPP was comparable to that with posture change from sitting to supine (1.1 ± 0.9 vs. 1.4 ± 0.9 cmH2O·l−1·s−1, P = 0.32). We conclude that in asthmatic subjects fluid shifting from the legs to the thorax while supine contributed to increases in the respiratory resistance and stiffness.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY In supine asthmatic subjects, application of positive pressure to the lower body caused appreciable increases in respiratory system resistance and stiffness. Moreover, these changes in respiratory mechanics correlated positively with increase in thoracic fluid volume. These findings suggest that fluid shifts from the lower body to the thorax may contribute to overnight intrathoracic airway narrowing and worsening of asthma symptoms.
Small versus Large Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysm: Concerns with the Site of Aneurysm
Authors: Kim Bum Joon , Kang Hyun Goo , Kwun Byeong-Duk , Ahn Jae-sung , Lee Jisung , Lee Sung Ho , Kang Dong-Wha , Kim Jong S. , Kwon Sun U.
Published: January 2017

Background: Although size is one of the strongest predictors, small aneurysms often rupture. We compared the characteristics of small and large ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RIAs) according to their location to find the factors associated with small RIAs in each location. Methods: Patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage due to saccular RIAs were consecutively enrolled. The sizes were dichotomized as small (<5 mm) or large, and the location was classified as paraclinoid-distal internal carotid artery, sidewalls of anterior or middle cerebral artery (MCA; sidewall), MCA-bifurcation, anterior or posterior communicating artery (Acom or Pcom, respectively), and posterior circulation RIAs. Independent factors associated with small RIAs compared to large RIAs were investigated in each location. Results: Small RIAs were observed in 384 of 791 patients (48.5%), and were most commonly located at Acom (17.1%) followed by Pcom (9.0%) and sidewalls (7.2%). Female sex (OR 3.038; 95% CI 2.099-4.395), young age (OR 0.971; 95% CI 0.958-0.985), hypertension (OR 1.412; 95% CI 1.033-1.930) and multiple aneurysms (OR 1.942; 95% CI 1.335-2.824) were associated with small RIAs. By location, sidewall aneurysms (OR 2.183; 95% CI 1.049-4.542) were associated with small RIAs, whereas MCA-bifurcation (OR 0.318; 95% CI 0.168-0.599) and Pcom aneurysms (OR 0.511; 95% CI 0.277-0.944) were associated with large RIAs. The presence of multiple aneurysms (OR 4.69; 95% CI 1.45-21.19) was associated with small RIAs at sidewalls, and young age, female sex, hypertension and the presence of bilateral A1 (OR 1.85; 95% CI 1.09-3.13) were associated with small RIAs at Acom. Acom RIAs with bilateral A1 was smaller than those with unilateral A1 (4.7 ± 2.1 vs. 5.8 ± 2.6 mm; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Intracranial aneurysms which rupture below 5 mm are not uncommon, and the factors associated with small-sized RIAs differ according to location. Sidewall aneurysms, with multiple aneurysms and Acom aneurysms with bilateral A1 may rupture even at small size.
Interplay between Cortical Spreading Depolarization and Seizures
Authors: Kramer Daniel R. , Fujii Tatsuhiro , Ohiorhenuan Ifije , Liu Charles Y.
Published: January 2017

Cortical spreading depolarization (CSD) is an electrophysiologic phenomenon found mostly in the setting of neurologic injury resulting in the disturbance of ion homeostasis and leading to changes in the local vascular response. The bioelectric etiology of CSD shares similarities to those in epileptic disorders, yet the relationship between seizures and CSD is unclear, with several studies observing cortical depression before, during, and after seizure activity, thus obscuring our understanding of whether CSD activity potentiates or limits seizures and vice versa. Cortical sampling has exhibited how the redistribution of ion concentrations in the intra- and extracellular environments interplay between the excitation of seizures and the electrical depression of CSD. Modeling of both environments has suggested that CSD synchronizes the affected tissue, creating a favorable environment for seizure activity; however, other studies have demonstrated the opposite: epileptiform activity initiating waves of CSD. Further studies have underscored the role of the vascular response and subsequent ischemia in CSD that contributes to epileptogenesis. Investigations in migraine, traumatic brain injury, and other neurologic injuries suggest that several drugs may target CSD. Manipulations in the occurrence and nature of CSD can potentially alter the threshold for seizure activity, and perhaps minimize immediate and long-term sequelae associated with epilepsy.
The Intracranial-B2LEED3S Score and the Risk of Intracranial Hemorrhage in Ischemic Stroke Patients Under Antiplatelet Treatment
Authors: Amarenco Pierre , Sissani Leila , Labreuche Julien , Vicaut Eric , Bousser Marie Germaine , Chamorro Angel , Fisher Marc , Ford Ian , Fox Kim M. , Hennerici Michael G. , Mattle Heinrich , Rothwell Peter M. , Steg Philippe Gabriel , Diener Hans-Christoph , Sacco Ralph L. , Greving Jacoba P. , Algra Ale ,   PERFORM and PRoFESS Committees and Investigators
Published: January 2017

Background: Chronic antiplatelet therapy in the post-acute phase of non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke is limited by the risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) complications. Methods: We developed an ICH risk score based on the PERFORM trial cohort (n = 19,100), which included patients with a non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, and externally validated this score in one contemporary trial of very similar size and inclusion criteria, the PRoFESS trial (n = 20,332 patients). Outcome was ICH over 2 years. A Cox proportional-hazard regression analysis identified risk factors. Discrimination was quantified with c-statistics and calibration was assessed by comparing predicted and observed ICH risk in PERFORM and PRoFESS. Results: ICH occurred within 2 years in 263 (1.4%) patients in PERFORM trial and in 246 (1.2%) patients in PRoFESS trial. A 13-point score based on 9 items (Intracranial-B2LEED3S score - low body mass index, blood pressure, lacune, elderly, Asian ethnicity, coronary artery or cerebrovascular disease history, dual antithrombotic agent or oral anticoagulant, gender) was derived from the PERFORM trial. In PERFORM, the observed 2-year ICH risk varied from 0.75% in low-risk (score ≤2) to 2.44% in high-risk patients (score ≥5) with an acceptable calibration but a low discrimination both in PERFORM (c-statistic 0.64, 95% CI 0.61-0.68) and on external validation in PRoFESS (0.58, 95% CI 0.55-0.62). Conclusion: The Intracranial-B2LEED3S score helps identify patients who are at a high risk of bleeding. However, other variables need to be identified to improve the score (e.g., microbleeds) (Clinical Trial Registration Information ISRCTN66157730). URL: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN66157730?totalResults=5&pageSize=10&page=1&searchType=basic-search&offset=3&q=&filters=conditionCategory%3ACirculatory+System%2CrecruitmentCountry%3ATaiwan%2CrecruitmentCountry%3AAustria&sort=.
Consuming Anxieties
Authors: Terem Etty
Published: January 2017

This article examines a fatwa written in the late nineteenth century by Jaʿfar b. Idrīs al-Kattānī, a distinguished Moroccan legal scholar. The issue that gave rise to the fatwa was the subject of heated debates among Moroccan Muslims at the time: the legality of using goods manufactured by non-Muslims. New historical conditions brought by Moroccan modernity eroded religious and communal boundaries between Muslims and non-Muslims and accentuated concerns about the integrity of Islam. Suspicion and anxiety of the population found expression in widespread rumors about impurities in products manufactured by non-Muslims. By analyzing al-Kattānī’s fatwa, this article aims to offer insights into the relationships between theʿulamāʾ, Islamic tradition, and modernity.
The Persisting Spectre of Cultural Decline
Authors: Warscheid Ismail
Published: January 2017

This article examines how historiography has interpreted the development of Muslim scholarship in early modern North Africa. It focuses on the continuing influence of what I call the “decline narrative” on both national historiographies and Western specialist studies. Elaborated in the context of French colonialism and consecrated by nationalist-cum-reformist discourses, the denunciation of the centuries preceding colonial conquest as an epoch of decadence has hardly been challenged. Beginning with the French historian and sociologist Jacques Berque (1910-95), however, there was a vivid interest amongst social scientists in early modern Islamic culture. The main part of the paper will be dedicated to a methodological analysis of some of these works, and, in the concluding section, I will discuss the degree to which the study of the diffusion of Islamic literacy in rural areas may serve as a starting point for a renewed approach to Islamic literature and its social foundations.1
Diet composition of small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) varies seasonally in its native range
Authors: Mahmood Tariq , Adil Ayesha
Published: January 2017

Feeding habits of mammals are very important to investigate in any ecosystem and are a central topic in ecology and population biology. The current study aimed at investigating diet composition of the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) in an agro-ecosystem of Sialkot District using a faecal analysis method. Results revealed a diverse diet of the species, comprising both animal and plant matter. Animals were consumed more heavily (58%) than plants (8%). The predominant prey species were insects, while rodents, birds, seeds and plant leaves comprised a smaller portion of the diet. The insects prey species belonged to five different orders: Odonata (dragonflies), Orthoptera (grasshoppers and mole crickets), Coleoptra (ground beetles), Dermoptera (earwigs) and Hymenoptera (family Formicidae; ants). The consumption of insects was higher during the summer season. Mammalian prey included five different rodent species:Bendicota bengalensis(lesser bandicoot rat),Nesokia indica(short-tailed mole rat),Suncus murinus(Asian musk shrew),Tatera indica(Indian gerbil) andMus musculus(house mouse). Prey species richness was higher in the summer as was the diversity index, while the evenness index showed slightly higher values in spring and autumn compared to summer and winter. We conclude that small mammals are important prey species of the mongoose while insects are eaten regularly and in reasonably large numbers in its native range.
Legitimacy of Private Police in Developed, Emerging, and Transitional Economies
Authors: Nalla Mahesh K. , Maxwell Sheila R. , Mamayek Chae M.
Published: January 2017

Research suggests that states that fail to provide political goods, such as security, have low citizens’ confidence in state apparatuses, resulting in greater demand for services by non-state actors like private security. The present study seeks to compare citizen trust and confidence in private security guards, in 6 developed, emerging, and transitional economies in the Americas (the United States), Asia (India, Singapore, South Korea), and Europe (The Netherlands, Slovenia). This study seeks to assess whether democracy levels across the countries and/or contextual factors such as contact, perceived professionalism, nature of work, and civility of security guards affect citizens’ trust across various levels of democracy. The findings show that citizens in countries with full-democracy rankings have less trust in private police compared to citizens in lower democracy levels. Findings also suggest that across all democracies, perceived civility and professionalism of private security officers significantly influence citizens’ trust of private police.
The Role of nato Enlargement in the Ukraine Crisis
Authors: Donaldson Robert H.
Published: January 2017

The Ukraine crisis has spawned an East–west confrontation that was generated by misperceptions on both sides: (1) by Russian perceptions of security challenges resulting from nato’s enlargement, as Moscow reacted (and over-reacted) to the threat that Ukraine would become a member and, as such, would pose a danger to Russia; and (2) by Western blindness to (or lack of concern for) the genuine worries that the prospect of Ukrainian membership stirred in Russian minds. This article briefly examines the gradual strengthening of these mutual misperceptions as nato engaged in its process of enlargement. It argues that the prospect of Ukraine’s imminent membership brought to a boil the long-brewing clash of assumptions about requirements for Europe’s security.
Minimizing Loss: Explaining Russian Policy Choices during the Ukrainian Crisis
Authors: Aleprete Michael E.
Published: January 2017

Realist and liberal scholars of international relations offer very different interpretations of Russia’s decision to militarily intervene in Ukraine. While liberals describe the Russian actions as part of a new, more aggressive foreign policy resulting from increasing authoritarianism within Russia itself, realists view these actions as largely defensive; a reaction to persistent Western efforts to peel Ukraine from the Russian sphere of influence. Applying insights from the foreign policy decision making literature to a close examination of events from late 2013 through the Russian military interventions in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine reveals weaknesses in both these explanations. Consistent with the realist view, Russian behavior does appear to have been motivated more by geopolitical interests than by the domestic politics considerations. However realist accounts underestimate the extent to which prior Russian policy choices, rather than Western efforts, contributed to the undermining of Ukraine’s political stability.
Two new species and additional records of Lesteva Latreille, 1797 from the mountains of South Siberia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae: Anthophagini)
Authors: SHAVRIN ALEXEY V. , SHILENKOV VIKTOR G. , Anistschenko Alexander V.
Published: January 2017

Two new species of Lesteva Latreille, 1797 are described from South Siberia: L. dabanensis Shavrin, Shilenkov & Anistschenko, sp. n. from the Khamar-Daban and L. barguzinica Shavrin, Shilenkov & Anistschenko, sp. n. from the Barguzin mountain ranges. Habitus, mouthparts and genitalia are illustrated. New collecting records are provided for L. brathinoides Zerche, 2000 and L. sajanensis Zerche, 2000. A key to Lesteva species known from South Siberia is provided.
Phylogenetic analysis of the Neotropical social wasps of the genus Angiopolybia Araujo, 1946 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini)
Authors: ANDENA SERGIO R. , NOLL FERNANDO B. , CARPENTER JAMES M.
Published: January 2017

A morphological cladistic analysis of the Neotropical swarm-founding genus Angiopolybia Araujo is presented. A single cladogram resulted from the analysis, with the following ingroup topology: (A. pallens + A. zischkai) + (A. paraensis + A. obidensis). The monophyly of the genus is supported by four synapomorphies. A new identification key is presented for the genus.
The ant genus Pseudaphomomyrmex Wheeler, 1920 a junior synonym of Tapinoma Foerster, 1850
Authors: FISHER BRIAN L. , BOLTEN BARRY
Published: January 2017

Ashmead (1905) described a solitary alate queen ant, collected in the Philippines, as Aphomyrmex emeryi. The generic combination, obviously a misspelling of Aphomomyrmex Emery, 1899 (see Bolton, 1995) placed the name in the subfamily Formicinae. Wheeler (1920) disagreed with the generic combination and removed emeryi to its own monotypic genus, Pseudaphomomyrmex. He did not characterise the genus at that time but later (Wheeler, 1922: 695) included it in a key to Formicinae, thereby indicating which characters he considered diagnostic and apparently confirming its position in that subfamily. A short time later Emery (1925: 44) dismissed Pseudaphomomyrmex as a junior synonym of Aphomomyrmex but the name was later revived from synonymy, probably accidentally, by Chapman & Capco (1951: 214). From its description to the present Pseudaphomomyrmex has been placed in a number of different tribes, summarised in Bolton (2003), but always retained in subfamily Formicinae.
Description of seven new species in the genus Diptacus Keifer (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Diptilomiopidae: Diptilomiopinae) from northwestern China
Authors: SONG ZI-WEI , XUE XIAO-FENG , HONG XIAO-YUE
Published: January 2017

Seven new species of the genus Diptacus Keifer from northwestern China are described: Diptacus abelis sp. nov. on Abelia biflora Turcz. (Caprifoliaceae); Diptacus zhouzhisis sp. nov. on Carpinus sp. L. (Betulaceae); Diptacus maddenis sp. nov. on Maddenia hypoleuca Koehne (Rosaceae); Diptacus wenisis sp. nov. on Viburnum sp. L. (Caprifoliaceae); Diptacus serrulatis sp. nov. on Photinia serrulata Lindl. (Rosaceae); Diptacus mercuriasis sp. nov. on Mercurialis leiocarpa Sieb. et Zucc. (Euphorbiaceae) and Diptacus sorbusis sp. nov. on Sorbus sp. L. (Rosaceae). All species described here are vagrant on the undersurface of host leaves.
Leaning Out: How Negative Recruitment Experiences Shape Women’s Decisions to Compete for Executive Roles
Authors: Brands Raina A. , Fernandez-Mateo Isabel
Published: January 2017

This paper proposes that gender differences in responses to recruitment rejections contribute to women’s underrepresentation in top management. We theorize and show that women are less likely than men to consider another job with a prospective employer that has rejected them in the past. Because of women’s status as a negatively stereotyped minority in senior roles, recruitment rejection triggers uncertainty about their general belonging in the executive domain, which in turn leads women to place greater weight than men on fair treatment and negatively affects their perceptions of the fairness of the treatment they receive. This dual process makes women less inclined than men to apply again to a firm that has rejected them. We test our theory with three studies: a field study using longitudinal archival data from an executive search firm, a survey of executives, and an experiment using executive respondents testing the effects of rejection on willingness to apply to a firm for another position. The results have implications for theory and practice regarding gender inequality at the labor market’s upper echelons, highlighting that women’s supply-side decisions to “lean out” of competition for senior roles must be understood in light of their previous experiences with employers’ demand-side practices. Given the sequential nature of executive selection processes, rejection-driven differences in the willingness to compete in a given round would affect the proportion of available women in subsequent selection rounds, contributing to a cumulative gender disadvantage and thus possibly increasing gender inequality over time.
On the Efficacy of Psychoanalysis
Authors: Bachrach Henry M. , Galatzer-Levy Robert , Skolnikoff Alan , Waldron Sherwood
Published: January 2017

In this study we critically review the formal research literature pertinent to the outcomes of psychoanalysis and the factors influencing these outcomes. Our inquiry was conducted from a psychoanalytic perspective. We found the research yield consistent with the accumulated body of clinically derived psychoanalytic knowledge, e.g., patients suitable for psychoanalysis derive substantial therapeutic benefit; analyzability and therapeutic benefit are relatively separate dimensions and their extent is relatively unpredictable from the perspective of initial evaluation among seemingly suitable cases. The studies all contain clinical and methodological limitations which are no more substantial than in other forms of psychotherapy research, but they have not substantially advanced psychoanalytic knowledge. This raises challenges for the further development of formal research strategies native to psychoanalysis.
The Appeal Cycle in Early Mother-Child Interaction: Nature and Implications of a Finding from Developmental Research
Authors: Settlage Calvin F. , Bemesderfer Sandra , Rosenthal Judith , Afterman Joseph , Spielman Philip M.
Published: January 2017

The appeal cycle was observed and delineated through research on mother-child interaction during the second year of life. As a repeated, circumscribed unit of developmental interaction, it is conceived to be an agent of developmental process and psychic structure formation. The appeal cycle has four phases: the adaptational phase, the distress phase, the appeal phase, and the interactional phase. The progression from the adaptational into the distress and appeal phases evidences the child's separation anxiety and failure of self-regulation in response to the experimentally induced attenuation of the mother-child relationship. A successful interactional phase reestablishes the relationship, regulates and restores the child's emotional equilibrium, and enables a return to self-regulation and adaptation. Because the interaction reinforces the functions and structures being developed through identification with the mother, the interactional phase is conceived to be an instrumental event in the mediation of psychic structure formation. The appeal cycle is discussed in comparison with similar phenomena in earlier phases of development and with other studies addressing development during the first two years of life. Directions for future research are noted.
The New York Psychoanalytic Civil War
Authors: Frosch John
Published: January 2017

The goal of this contribution is to give an overall survey of the analytic schisms in the New York area from 1934 on. The general background, laying the groundwork for potential schisms, is described. There were several major schisms in the New York area. The first related to Horney's departure from the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. There were multiple splits in this group which eventuated in a psychoanalytic facility at the New York Medical College, as well as the establishment of the William Alanson White Institute. Then there was the establishment of a psychoanalytic training facility at Columbia University, one at the Downstate Medical Center, and another at the New York University School of Medicine. The various factors that played a role in the splits are discussed. Finally, there is a discussion of why psychoanalytic schisms take place.
On Trauma, Perversion, and “Multiple Personality”
Authors: Brenner Ira
Published: January 2017

The role of perverse sexuality as an organizing influence in “multiple personality” is explored in this paper. Following a brief review of psychoanalytic thinking on sexual trauma and perversion, the author discusses his own views on dissociation and “multiple personality.” A clinical case is then presented in which transsexualism, homosexuality, and sadomasochistic heterosexual practices were manifested during altered ego states. Analysis of the transference revealed the centrality of sadomasochism in this patient. It is hypothesized that various perverse structures may be formed within these seemingly autonomous, amnestic states, in order to contain anxiety and encapsulate the aggression which resulted from early psychic trauma. Issues relating to diagnosis, counter-transference, reconstruction, and psychoanalytic technique are discussed also.

If each, I told myself, could but be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable …

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Salivary Concentration of Epidermal Growth Factor in Adults with Reflux Laryngitis before and after Treatment
Authors: Eckley Claudia A. , Sardinha Luis Roberto , Rizzo Luiz Vicente
Published: January 2017

Objectives:

The diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is controversial. There is no correlation between the number of reflux episodes and the severity of the inflammatory response at the esophagus or the laryngopharyngeal segment. Some authors have suggested that decreased salivary epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentrations in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease and LPR point to a breakdown in the local defenses. Our objective was to establish whether treatment of the disease influences low salivary EGF concentrations.

Methods:

The spontaneous whole saliva of 20 adults with LPR was sampled at a tertiary teaching hospital before and after a 16-week course of full-dose proton pump inhibitor and compared to that of 12 healthy controls. Salivary EGF concentrations were established with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit.

Results:

Although the mean salivary EGF concentrations were higher before treatment than after treatment and control of the disease (25,083 versus 19,359 pg/mL), this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.065). The mean salivary EGF concentration of healthy control subjects was significantly higher (54,509 pg/mL; p < 0.0001).

Conclusions:

Both before and after treatment, patients with reflux laryngitis present lower salivary EGF concentrations than healthy control subjects, suggesting a primary deficit in their protective mechanisms.
Etanercept Prevents Decrease of Cochlear Blood Flow Dose-Dependently Caused by Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha
Authors: Ihler Friedrich , Sharaf Kariem , Bertlich Mattis , Strieth Sebastian , Reichel Christoph A. , Berghaus Alexander , Canis Martin
Published: January 2017

Objectives:

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is a mediator of inflammation and microcirculation in the cochlea. This study aimed to quantify the effect of a local increase of TNF-alpha and study the effect of its interaction with etanercept on cochlear microcirculation.

Methods:

Cochlear lateral wall vessels were exposed surgically and assessed by intravital microscopy in guinea pigs in vivo. First, 24 animals were randomly distributed into 4 groups of 6 each. Exposed vessels were superfused repeatedly either with 1 of 3 different concentrations of TNF-alpha (5.0, 0.5, and 0.05 ng/mL) or with placebo (0.9% saline solution). Second, 12 animals were randomly distributed into 2 groups of 6 each. Vessels were pretreated with etanercept (1.0 μg/mL) or placebo (0.9% saline solution), and then treated by repeated superfusion with TNF-alpha (5.0 ng/mL).

Results:

TNF-alpha was shown to be effective in decreasing cochlear blood flow at a dose of 5.0 ng/mL (p < 0.01, analysis of variance on ranks). Lower concentrations or placebo treatment did not lead to significant changes. After pretreatment with etanercept, TNF-alpha at a dose of 5.0 ng/mL no longer led to a change in cochlear blood flow.

Conclusions:

The decreasing effect that TNF-alpha has on cochlear blood flow is dose-dependent. Etanercept abrogates this effect.
Otolaryngic Health Service Support in the Airland Battle
Authors: Zajtchuk Joan T.
Published: January 2017

The Blast Injuries of the Ear Seminar was conducted to better define the state of knowledge about the medical care and consequences of blast injuries of the ear in battle. The immediate concern of this discussion was the relative importance of the finding of widespread eardrum ruptures in penetrating attacks by shaped charge munitions against the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. In order to focus on the care of the soldier with such injuries, a brief description of the current medical care and evacuation chain of the US Army, as well as the proposed future evacuation chain in the Airland Battle scenario, will be discussed. Detailed treatment of patients will be discussed in the descriptions from the Quad Service Clinical Data Base regarding wounds of the tympanic membrane. Most blast injuries of the ear would not be considered as incapacitating casualties by the Army Medical Department, except in severe circumstances.
Blast Injury of the Ear: Historical Perspective
Authors: Chait Robert H. , Casler John , Zajtchuk Joan T.
Published: January 2017

Blast injury of the ear is rarely encountered by the practicing otolaryngologist. The recent world literature on this entity is reviewed. Symptoms, patterns of injury, and clinical course are highlighted and should form the basis of management under acute and chronic circumstances.
Treatment of Blast Injury to the Ear
Authors: Casler John D. , Chait Robert H. , Zajtchuk Joan T.
Published: January 2017

Blast injury to the ear has long been acknowledged as potentially incapacitating. This paper discusses the scope of these injuries in terms of the anatomic and physiologic consequences. Management of both acute and chronic injuries is discussed, with specific regard to the deficits in a patient's functional ability once blast injury has occurred.
Use of Modeling in Predicting Tympanic Membrane Rupture
Authors: Stuhmiller James H.
Published: January 2017

A bioengineering model of the response of the tympanic membrane to air blast loading is proposed as a means of developing Damage Risk Criteria for human exposure to impulsive noise. The model incorporates known physical properties of the tympanic membrane and predicts the magnitude of tissue stresses that occur under various blast conditions. Observed eardrum rupture in cadavers agrees well with the prediction of critical stresses within the tissue.
Who joins new religious movements and why: Twenty years of research and what have we learned?
Authors: Dawson Lorne L.
Published: January 2017

Surprisingly, perhaps, controversy about the nature and dangers of cults or new religious movements remains a topic of considerable public concern and significant misunderstanding. Scholarship in the study of new religious movements, however, has reached a certain obvious maturity. This article summarizes and integrates the empirical data available in dispersed sources to provide a sociological profile of what reliably can be said about how people become interested in new religions, who tends to become interested in new religions, and some insights into why people join such religions.
The linguistic subject and the conscious subject in mysticism studies
Authors: McLaughlin Michael C.
Published: January 2017

The current discussion in philosophy of mysticism is heading down two divergent lines. Contextualist studies (notably Steven Katz) employ a linguistic model of the epistemic subject. Critics of contextualism (notably Robert Forman) have offered what this study calls a cognitionalist approach which draws attention to the performance of the conscious subject. The two approaches are combined by some members of the contextualist camp. This study argues that there is an as yet unrecognized complementarity between linguistic and cognitional approaches to mystical philosophy.
Samādhi and Peter Wimsey: Mysticism, reading and Bruce Janz
Authors: Forman Robert K.C.
Published: January 2017

Professor Janz (SR, 24, 1 [1995]: 77) proposes an explanation of mystical experience based on an analogy with the hermeneutical process of reading a book. While this model has its advantages, it represents an attempt to analyze non-intentional mysticism on the basis of intentional experiences. Such mysticism, an experience of our own consciousness, is very different from thinking and sensing; it involves dropping the intentional processes that are involved with both. This non-intentional approach represents what the texts and descriptions of mystical experiences themselves frequently say.