bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Everyday sovereignty: International experts, brokers and local ownership in peacebuilding Liberia
Authors: de Carvalho Benjamin , Schia Niels Nagelhus , Guillaume Xavier
Published: March 2018

The present article investigates how sovereignty is performed, enacted and constructed in an everyday setting. Based on fieldwork and interviews with international embedded experts about the elusive meaning of ‘local ownership’, we argue that while sovereignty may, indeed, be a model according to which the international community ‘constructs’ rogue or failed polities in ‘faraway’ places, this view overlooks that these places are still spaces in which contestations over spheres of authority take place every day, and thus also spaces in which sovereignty is constructed and reconstructed on a daily basis. Local ownership, then, becomes our starting point for tracing the processes of the everyday enactment of sovereignty. We make the case that sovereignty should not be reified, but instead be studied in its quotidian and dynamic production, involving the multiplicity of actors reflecting the active production of the state beyond its presumptive existence as a homogeneously organized, institutionalized and largely centralized bureaucracy.
The effect of attentional bias modification training on food intake in overweight and obese women
Authors: Smith Evelyn , Treffiletti Agatha , Bailey Phoebe E , Moustafa Ahmed A
Published: March 2018

This study modified food attentional biases via computerized attentional bias modification training and examined the effects on food intake. Overweight women were randomly allocated to (1) direct attention away from food (“attentional-training”), (2) direct attention at random to food or neutral (“placebo”), or (3) no training (“control”). Individuals then completed a taste test. Those in the attentional-training consumed on average 600 kJ less of total food compared to the placebo. Those in the attentional-training had a reduction in food attentional bias compared to the placebo group, when controlling for executive function. Attentional-training seems to reduce high-calorie intake in overweight women.
Physiologic correlates of culture-bound dissociation: A comparative study of Brazilian spiritist mediums and controls
Authors: Bastos Marco Aurélio Vinhosa , Bastos Paulo Roberto Haidamus de Oliveira , Osório Igraíne Helena Scholz , Pinheiro Sérgio Augusto Monteiro , Iandoli Décio , Lucchetti Giancarlo
Published: March 2018

Mediumship and spirit possession are cultural phenomena found in many societies worldwide. In Brazil, Spiritism (a tradition in which mediumship is emphasized) is the third largest religious denomination. The present study aimed to investigate physiologic correlates of nonpathological dissociative experiences by comparing 20 female spiritist mediums with several years of socially sanctioned practice to 20 female nonmedium control subjects from the same religious context. We measured plasma levels of hormones and neuroactive substances, as well as vital signs and heart rate variability (HRV) parameters, before and immediately after spirit communication. Although no between-group differences were noted in basal physiological parameters, in response to the possession experiences the groups differed in heart rate and in plasma concentrations of noradrenaline, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), prolactin, and creatine phosphokinase (CPK). The changes in parameters indicated an arousal response in mediums and a relaxation response in control participants, and the same pattern of changes was observed in HRV parameters from each group during the possession experiences. However, the changes in physiologic parameters for mediums were mild and of short duration: 1 hour after the possession experiences, no difference in cardiac autonomic regulation was noted. No significant group effect was noted for melatonin. Cognitive control processes may explain the arousal associated with the dissociative state. Findings from this study suggest that pathological and nonpathological dissociation may have different physiological correlates.
Flood disasters in the United Kingdom and India: A critical discourse analysis of media reporting
Authors: Solman Paul , Henderson Lesley
Published: March 2018

Reports of flooding are becoming more frequent in the UK media, and evidence from the UK Environment Agency indicates that ‘living with flooding’ will become commonplace rather than exceptional. This study is the first to adopt a critical discourse analysis approach to compare UK newspaper reporting of floods in the developed and developing world. We present our analysis of major flood incidents in Northern England and Chennai, India, in 2015. Our findings identify that UK newspapers not only give greater prominence to flooding events that are local but also frame differently those affected. Reports of floods in Northern England reinforced similarities and shared values between victims and assumed readers by drawing upon personal stories, emotions and suffering. By contrast, reports about floods in Chennai portrayed victims as anonymous ‘distant Others’, emphasising the drama of the incident rather than the plight of individuals. We argue that the newspapers’ approach to covering flooding reveals how the Western-dominated global media continue to emphasise difference rather than similarity between people in the developed and developing world, presenting flooding in the United Kingdom as exceptional and flooding in India as normalised. We believe these findings have important implications in the context of globalisation and increasing migration.
High burden of Aspergillus fumigatus infection among chronic respiratory diseases
Authors: Fukuda Yosuke , Homma Tetsuya , Suzuki Shintaro , Takuma Takahiro , Tanaka Akihiko , Yokoe Takuya , Ohnishi Tsukasa , Niki Yoshihito , Sagara Hironori
Published: March 2018

Aspergillus fumigatus (AF) is a ubiquitous fungus in our environment and causes severe airway disorders. Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are a series of chronic airway and lung diseases. Although both are chronic disorders, however, the relationships between AF and CRDs are still unclear. Therefore, we examined 104 Aspergillus species (spp.) isolated samples in our hospital during three consecutive years to further elucidate the relationships between Aspergillus spp. and CRDs. Based on sample isolates, we then grouped these into two groups, AF and non-AF, to retrospectively analyse the clinical features and to clarify the relationships between AF and CRDs. Importantly, the manifestation of CRD was more frequent in the AF group than in the non-AF group ( p = 0.035). Among CRDs, lung fibrosis was more evident in the AF group ( p = 0.025). Moreover, diabetes mellitus was tended to be evident in AF group than non-AF group ( p = 0.035). In conclusion, CRDs, especially lung fibrosis, were highly prevalent in AF group than non-AF group.
Carotid Pseudoaneurysm After Eversion Endarterectomy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Varetto Gianfranco , Trevisan Alessandra , Barile Giovanni , Gibello Lorenzo , Spalla Flavia , Frola Edoardo , Pennica Daniele , Rispoli Pietro
Published: March 2018

Background:

Pseudoaneurysm (PA) after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a rare and potentially life-threatening complication, with an incidence lower than 1%. Most of the cases described report PAs after carotid patch angioplasty and are associated with infection, often caused by Staphylococci. The management of PAs can be surgical, endovascular, or hybrid.

Methods:

We herein present the case of an infected carotid PA 27 days after an eversion CEA. We performed a common to internal carotid bypass with the interposition of great saphenous vein (GSV) associated with specific polyantibiotic therapy for 4 weeks. We searched the PubMed database for reviews and cases reports for patients who developed carotid PA after primary repair CEA in the period between 1969 and 2017.

Results:

We identified 21 cases of primary closure post-CEA PAs in the literature. In almost 60% of patients, infection was detected. Open surgery was performed in all the cases; in 1 case, an hybrid approach was preferred. In 52% of cases, a vein graft/patch or primary closure was chosen; in 3 cases, ligation was preferred, and in 1 case, a polyester graft was used.

Conclusion:

In our experience and with the evidence observed in the literature, open surgery with GSV interposition is the safest treatment in infected carotid PAs. The endovascular approach must be performed only in proven noninfectious cases. A bridge technique with the insertion of a stent followed by open surgery repair can be an option in emergency cases.
A critical multimodal analysis of the Romanian press coverage of camp evictions and deportations of the Roma migrants from France
Authors: Breazu Petre , Machin David
Published: March 2018

In this article, we carry out a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) of a sample from a larger corpus of Romanian news articles that covered the controversial camp evictions and repatriation of Romanian Roma migrants from France that began in 2010 and continue to the time of writing in 2017. These French government policies have been highly criticized both within France and by international political and aid organizations. However, the analysis shows how these brutal, anti-humanitarian events became recontextualized in the Romanian Press to represent the French government’s actions as peaceful and consensual. In addition, the demonization of the Roma in the press serves as a strategy to continuously disassociate them from their Romanian counterparts. While there is a long history of discrimination against the Roma in Romania, these particular recontextualizations can be understood in the context of the Romanian government’s need to gloss over its failure to comply with the Schengen accession requirements and acquire full European Union (EU) membership.
Tell me your story about the Chilean dictatorship: When doing memory is taking positions
Authors: Cornejo Marcela , Rocha Carolina , Villarroel Nicolás , Cáceres Enzo , Vivanco Anastassia
Published: March 2018

The current memory struggles about the Chilean dictatorship makes it increasingly relevant to hear a diverse range of voices on the subject. One way of addressing this is to study autobiographical narratives, in which people construct a character to present themselves as the protagonists of a story by taking multiple positions regarding what is remembered. This article presents a study that analyzed the life stories of Chilean people (diverse in their generations, cities, experiences of political repression, political orientations and socio-economic levels) and that distinguished between the positions that they take when presenting themselves as the protagonists of an autobiographical story about the Chilean dictatorship. The results point to salient and recurrent positions that allow people to earn the right to be considered part of the social history of the dictatorship, that involve different definitions regarding those responsible and the victims of what happened, and that unveil a strong family and filial logic of remembering.
Mechanosensing Piezo channels in tissue homeostasis including their role in lungs
Authors: Zhong Ming , Komarova Yulia , Rehman Jalees , Malik Asrar B.
Published: March 2018

Piezo channels are deemed to constitute one of the most important family of mechanosensing ion channels since their discovery in 2010. With recent advances in identifying their topological structure and the discovery of the agonist Yoda1 as well as the specific inhibitor GsMTx4, it is now possible to study the mechanisms by which Piezo channels are involved in physiological and pathophysiological processes. During embryonic cardiovascular development, Piezo1 senses shear stress and promotes vasculature growth. In adult mice, Piezo1 mediates the release of nitric oxide and ATP from endothelial cells to regulate blood pressure. Piezo channels also play a crucial role in cell differentiation and tissue homeostasis by exquisite mechanical force sensing.

Piezo channels are also abundantly expressed in lung tissues. As the lung is exposed to complex pulmonary hemodynamics and respiratory mechanics, cells in the lung, such as microvascular endothelial cells, bear mechanical forces from blood flow shear, pulsatile strain, static pressure, and cyclic stretch due to respiratory movement. These mechanical stimuli are involved in a serial of physiological function and pathophysiological processes of the lung, many of which Piezo channels may be the key player. Mutation of genes encoding Piezo channels are also associated with hereditary human diseases, thus highlighting the critical role of Piezo channels in both tissue homeostasis and disease.
Journalists covering the refugee and migration crisis are affected by moral injury not PTSD
Authors: Feinstein Anthony , Pavisian Bennis , Storm Hannah
Published: March 2018

Objective

To explore the emotional health of journalists covering the migrations of refugees across Europe.

Design

Descriptive. A secure website was established and participants were given their unique identifying number and password to access the site.

Setting

Newsrooms and in the field.

Participants

Responses were received from 80 (70.2%) of 114 journalists from nine news organisations.

Main outcome measures

Symptoms of PTSD (Impact of Events Scale-revised), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-Revised) and moral injury (Moral Injury Events Scale-revised).

Results

Symptoms of PTSD were not prominent, but those pertaining to moral injury and guilt were. Moral injury was associated with being a parent ( p = .031), working alone ( p = .02), a recent increase in workload ( p = .017), a belief that organisational support is lacking ( p = .046) and poor control over resources needed to report the story ( p = .027). A significant association was found between guilt and moral injury ( p = .01) with guilt more likely to occur in journalists who reported covering the migrant story close to home ( p = .011) and who divulged stepping outside their role as a journalist to assist migrants ( p = .014). Effect sizes ( d) ranged from .47 to .71.

Conclusions

On one level, the relatively low scores on conventional psychometric measures of PTSD and depression are reassuring. However, our data confirm that moral injury is a different construct from DSM-defined trauma response syndromes, one that potentially comes with its own set of long-term maladaptive behaviours and adjustment problems.
Juvenile hyposomatotropism in a Somali cat presenting with seizures due to intermittent hypoglycaemia
Authors: König Maya Laura , Henke Diana , Adamik Katja , Pérez Vera Cristina
Published: March 2018

Case summary

A 3-month-old intact male Somali cat was evaluated for a history of seizures, hypoglycaemia and mental dullness 4 weeks after being bitten in the head by a dog. The cat’s body size and weight were approximately half that of his littermates and its haircoat was woolly, with fewer guard hairs. Multiple hypoglycaemic episodes were documented over a period of 4 weeks, which resolved rapidly after correction of the hypoglycaemia. Juvenile hyposomatotropism was presumptively diagnosed by demonstrating low circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 and after exclusion of other endocrine and non-endocrine causes of small stature and hypoglycaemia. The cat’s intermittent hypoglycaemia resolved spontaneously within 1 month and the cat never showed any more neurological signs. Nevertheless, the physical retardation and the coat abnormalities remained unchanged. A year later, the cat was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease IRIS stage 2.

Relevance and novel information

Hyposomatotropism is an extremely rare feline endocrinopathy. This is the second case reported in the veterinary literature, and the only one to describe hypoglycaemic events associated with growth hormone deficiency. Although hypoglycaemia is one of the most common disease manifestations in children with pituitary dwarfism, this has not yet been reported in veterinary medicine.
Successful buyer–supplier relationships
Authors: Rogers Helen , Fells Ray
Published: March 2018

This article focuses on the negotiation of buyer–supplier relationships and the associated activities that are required to maintain them. After analysing and distilling contributions from the literature, we developed a 10-item questionnaire that was subsequently used as a guide for interviewing 36 practitioners in the field. These responses provided new insights into the attitudes and actions that contribute to relationship management success from a negotiations perspective. This led to the development of a framework that encapsulates key considerations for negotiation and relationship management specifically from a procurement process perspective.
On the reproduction of gender inequality in the premium effect of the Internet on wage: A case study based on data from the Chinese Women’s Status Survey (third phase)
Authors: Zhuang Jiachi , Liu Aiyu , Sun Chao
Published: March 2018

By using the Propensity Score Matching model, this study proves the existence of an Internet premium effect. After other factors are controlled, it is found that the average wage income of Internet users is 1.38 times that of non-users. At the same time, there are significant gender differences in the premium effect of the Internet on wages: Women’s Internet wage premium is 90.6% that of men. Furthermore, it is found that the Internet premium effect on wages is highly related to users’ online behaviors. Compared with female users, male users are more inclined to use Internet resources to acquire knowledge and human capital; among female users, those with a greater conception of gender equality are more inclined to use the Internet for learning and accumulation of human capital. Using the framework of previous research on gender inequality in cyberspace, this study focuses on how gender perception influences Internet users’ preferences and ways of using the Internet, which is an important cause and mechanism of reproduction of gender inequality in cyberspace.
Initial Validation of the Dutch Translation of the Caregiver Wish List: An Interview-Based Scale for Measuring Parenting Practices
Authors: Thijssen Jill , Broers Nick J. , Muris Peter , de Ruiter Corine
Published: March 2018

Research has demonstrated that adequate parenting is an important determinant of a healthy social-emotional development in children. There is a need for valid assessment tools for measuring parenting quality, particularly in clinical settings. The Caregiver Wish List (CWL) is a new 53-item interview-based scale for assessing parenting practices. We examined the CWL’s factor structure in a sample of 348 parents of children (4-11 years), 220 were drawn from the general population and 128 from a clinical setting. Exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors, which did not fully correspond with the hypothesized, original factor structure. Nonetheless, the extracted factors were meaningful and could be labeled as follows: adequate discipline, controlled responding, focus on positive behavior, consistency, and monitoring. All factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency. The factor structures in community and clinical samples were comparable, supporting the generalizability of the factor structure. Furthermore, the factors differentiated between community and clinical samples, with better parenting skills observed in the community sample. Finally, all factors were significantly and negatively related to child psychopathology, with stronger correlations for externalizing than for internalizing problems. Only 23 of the 53 original CWL items loaded on at least one of the five factors, indicating that the original CWL can probably be reduced in length without losing important content. Future research needs to examine if the extracted CWL factors are sensitive to change. The CWL’s interview format provides opportunities for rapport building between parent and interviewer, and for reflection on parenting skills in terms of strengths and vulnerabilities.
Myocardial Infarction Presenting as Ear Fullness and Pain
Authors: Ugalde Israel , Anjum Ibrar , Lo Presti Saberio , Tolentino Alfonso
Published: March 2018

Acute coronary syndrome usually presents with retrosternal chest pain, nausea, vomiting, sweating, and jaw and arm pain. Some patients only present with neck, epigastric, or ear discomfort. A 47-year-old male with a history of hypertension and coronary artery disease presented to the emergency department complaining of bilateral otalgia. He never felt chest pain, jaw pain, nausea, diaphoresis, or shortness of breath. He had a history of 2 acute coronary events and had a stress test 2 months prior to admission, which was unremarkable. The initial electrocardiography was sinus rhythm with Q-waves in the inferior leads and nonspecific ST changes in the lateral leads. His troponin on admission was normal but subsequently elevated to 20.00 mg/mL after 24 hours. He underwent left heart catheterization, which found significant occlusive disease of the second and fourth obtuse marginal branches and 2 drug-eluting stents were placed. His ear pain resolved soon after cardiac catheterization. The pathophysiology of this referred pain is thought to be related to the neuroanatomy of the nerves innervating the heart and ear. The auricular nerve branch of the vagus nerve supplies the inner portion of the external ear. Only a few cases with the complaint of otalgia have been reported. Patients were older, more frequently women, and with diabetes or heart failure. Clinicians should be aware of the atypical presentation of angina that may be life-threatening cardiac ischemia. Ear pain and fullness could be the sole presenting symptom in a patient with acute coronary syndrome.
Energy Absorption Contribution and Strength in Female Athletes at Return to Sport After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Comparison With Healthy Controls
Authors: Boo Marie E. , Garrison J. Craig , Hannon Joseph P. , Creed Kalyssa M. , Goto Shiho , Grondin Angellyn N. , Bothwell James M.
Published: March 2018

Background:

Female patients are more likely to suffer a second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury after ACL reconstruction (ACLR) and return to sport (RTS) compared with healthy female controls. Few studies have examined the energy absorption contribution (EAC) that could lead to this subsequent injury.

Hypothesis:

The ACLR group would demonstrate an altered EAC between joints (hip, knee, and ankle) but no difference in quadriceps, hip abduction, or hip external rotation (ER) strength at the time of RTS.

Study Design:

Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

A total of 34 female participants (ACLR: n = 17; control: n = 17) were enrolled in the study and matched for age and activity level. Jump landing performance for the initial 50 milliseconds of landing of a lateral-vertical jump was assessed using a 10-camera 3-dimensional motion capture system and 2 force plates. Isokinetic quadriceps strength was measured using a Biodex machine, and hip abduction and ER isometric strength were measured using a handheld dynamometer. All values were normalized to the participant’s height and weight. A 1-way multivariate analysis of variance was used to assess between-group differences in the EAC at the hip, knee, and ankle. Two 1-way analyses of variance were used to independently examine quadriceps, hip abduction, and hip ER strength between the groups.

Results:

Significant differences in the EAC were found between the groups for the involved hip ( P = .002), uninvolved hip ( P = .005), and involved ankle ( P = .023). There were no between-group differences in the EAC for the involved or uninvolved knee or the uninvolved ankle. Patients who underwent ACLR demonstrated significantly decreased quadriceps strength on the involved limb ( P = .02) and decreased hip ER strength on both the involved ( P = .005) and uninvolved limbs ( P = .002). No significant strength differences were found between the groups for the uninvolved quadriceps or for involved or uninvolved hip abduction.

Conclusion:

At RTS, patients who underwent ACLR utilized a greater hip EAC bilaterally and a decreased involved ankle EAC during a lateral-vertical jump. Furthermore, quadriceps strength on the involved limb and hip ER strength of bilateral lower extremities remained decreased. This could place greater stress on the ACL graft and ultimately lead to an increased injury risk.
Do Age and Weightbearing Radiographs Affect Lateral Joint Space and Fibular Height Measurements in Patients With Discoid Lateral Meniscus?
Authors: Milewski Matthew D. , Krochak Ryan , Duarte Andrew J. , Marchese Joseph W. , Kostyun Regina O. , Pace J. Lee , Broom Alexander M. , Solomito Matthew J.
Published: March 2018

Background:

Several radiographic parameters have been associated with a discoid lateral meniscus. However, limited information is available regarding the radiographic findings of a discoid meniscus in the pediatric population.

Purpose:

To determine the effect of age and weightbearing (WB) on radiographic parameters associated with discoid lateral menisci in pediatric patients.

Study Design:

Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

Radiographs of pediatric patients with arthroscopically confirmed lateral discoid menisci were compared with age-, side-, and sex-matched individuals with confirmed normal menisci. Radiographic parameters of lateral joint space width (LJSW) and fibular head height (FHH) were measured by 3 physicians.

Results:

Significant differences were found between the discoid and control groups when LJSW ( P = .002) and FHH ( P < .001) were compared. Interrater reliability was good for LJSW (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC], 0.635) and excellent for FHH (ICC, 0.759). WB radiographs were noted to have better interrater reliability compared with non-WB radiographs for LJSW (ICC, 0.729 vs 0.514, respectively) but had reduced interrater reliability for FHH (ICC, 0.625 vs 0.868, respectively). Subgroup analysis with age stratification indicated that FHH was significantly decreased (indicative of a high fibular head) in the discoid group for all age groups ( P < .001 for <10 years and 10-14 years; P = .030 for >14 years); however, LJSW was significantly different only in patients older than 14 years.

Conclusion:

Increased LJSW and FHH were associated with discoid lateral menisci and showed satisfactory interrater reliability. Radiographic evaluation for potential discoid meniscus in pediatric and adolescent patients may be improved by use of fibular height to indicate the presence of a discoid lateral meniscus across age groups, while lateral joint space may be more reliable for older patients.
Multidimensional Ethno-racial Status in Contexts of Mestizaje: Ethno-racial Stratification in Contemporary Peru
Authors: Paredes Cristian L.
Published: March 2018

In this study, I define ethno-racial status as the combination of socially ranked ethnic and racial characteristics individually embodied by mestizos (Spanish for mixed-race individuals). I argue that these characteristics represent distinct dimensions of ethno-racial status—phenotype, ancestry, and self-identification—and should be considered together when analyzing ethno-racial inequality in contexts of mestizaje. Moreover, I interpret self-identification as exposure to pervasive beliefs that give meaning to local ethno-racial identities rather than explaining it as a central indicator of race. Using nationally representative data of Peru, the mestizaje research setting, I examine whether there are significant differences in educational attainment and household possessions by phenotype, ancestry, and self-identification. I find that indigenous ancestry and darker skin colors are inversely associated with both socioeconomic outcomes. Moreover, white self-identification compared to mestizo is negatively associated with educational attainment but positively associated with household possessions. This approach unveils ethno-racial beliefs as instrumental in gaining socioeconomic advantages.
Therapeutic plasma exchange for the treatment of systemic sclerosis: A comprehensive review and analysis
Authors: Harris Edward S , Meiselman Herbert J , Moriarty Patrick M , Metzger Allan , Malkovsky Miroslav
Published: March 2018

Background:

Therapeutic plasma exchange has been tried as a treatment approach for systemic sclerosis since 1978 based on the rationale that some circulating factor is involved in disease pathogenesis, for example, autoantibodies or immune complexes, and that removing the potential pathogenic factors could lead to symptom improvement. Based on our impression that clinicians and researchers are largely unaware that a large volume of research has been published about the use of therapeutic plasma exchange as a treatment for systemic sclerosis, we conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of all published research on this topic.

Results:

We identified 46 relevant articles that met our search criteria, involving a total of 572 patients. Of these, 19 were case studies; the rest ranged from small observational studies to prospective randomized clinical trials. In all but two studies, most patients receiving therapeutic plasma exchange showed improvements in both clinical symptoms and laboratory markers, including significant improvement in Raynaud’s symptoms and healing of digital ulceration after three to four weekly treatments. The beneficial effects from even a short course of therapeutic plasma exchange treatments were long-lasting, typically 6 months or longer. Therapeutic plasma exchange was very well tolerated. Adverse events were rare and, in almost all cases, mild and transitory.

Conclusion:

These results suggest that long-term therapeutic plasma exchange may offer a low-risk way to control and in some cases reverse systemic sclerosis symptoms. The mechanism for the clinical improvements seen from therapeutic plasma exchange in systemic sclerosis patients is unclear. Therefore, additional studies of therapeutic plasma exchange effects in systemic sclerosis appear to be highly desirable.
Hepcidin agonists as therapeutic tools
Authors: Casu Carla , Nemeth Elizabeta , Rivella Stefano
Published: March 2018

Hepcidin agonists are a new class of compounds that regulate blood iron levels, limit iron absorption, and could improve the treatment of hemochromatosis, β-thalassemia, polycythemia vera, and other disorders in which disrupted iron homeostasis causes or contributes to disease. Hepcidin agonists also have the potential to prevent severe complications of siderophilic infections in patients with iron overload or chronic liver disease. This review highlights the preclinical studies that support the development of hepcidin agonists for the treatment of these disorders.
Structures of human plasma β–factor XIIa cocrystallized with potent inhibitors
Authors: Dementiev Alexey , Silva Abel , Yee Calvin , Li Zhe , Flavin Michael T. , Sham Hing , Partridge James R.
Published: March 2018

Key Points

The first crystal structure of human plasma β-FXIIa in its active state is presented. The conformational lability of FXIIa is discussed. These novel structural data provide molecular insight into β-FXIIa interaction with its substrates and inhibitors.
Genetic regulation ofIL1RL1methylation and IL1RL1-a protein levels in asthma
Authors: Dijk F. Nicole , Xu Chengjian , Melén Erik , Carsin Anne-Elie , Kumar Asish , Nolte Ilja M. , Gruzieva Olena , Pershagen Goran , Grotenboer Neomi S. , Savenije Olga E.M. , Antó Josep Maria , Lavi Iris , Dobaño Carlota , Bousquet Jean , van der Vlies Pieter , van der Valk Ralf J.P. , de Jongste Johan C. , Nawijn Martijn C. , Guerra Stefano , Postma Dirkje S. , Koppelman Gerard H.
Published: March 2018

Interleukin-1 receptor–like 1(IL1RL1) is an important asthma gene. (Epi)genetic regulation ofIL1RL1protein expression has not been established. We assessed the association betweenIL1RL1single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs),IL1RL1methylation and serum IL1RL1-a protein levels, and aimed to identify causal pathways in asthma.

Associations ofIL1RL1SNPs with asthma were determined in the Dutch Asthma Genome-wide Association Study cohort and three European birth cohorts, BAMSE (Children/Barn, Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, an Epidemiological survey), INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) and PIAMA (Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy), participating in the Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy study. We performed blood DNAIL1RL1methylation quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis (n=496) and (epi)genome-wide protein QTL analysis on serum IL1RL1-a levels (n=1462). We investigated the association ofIL1RL1CpG methylation with asthma (n=632) and IL1RL1-a levels (n=548), with subsequent causal inference testing. Finally, we determined the association of IL1RL1-a levels with asthma and its clinical characteristics (n=1101).

IL1RL1asthma-risk SNPs strongly associated withIL1RL1methylation (rs1420101; p=3.7×10−16) and serum IL1RL1-a levels (p=2.8×10−56).IL1RL1methylation was not associated with asthma or IL1RL1-a levels. IL1RL1-a levels negatively correlated with blood eosinophil counts, whereas there was no association between IL1RL1-a levels and asthma.

In conclusion, asthma-associatedIL1RL1SNPs strongly regulateIL1RL1methylation and serum IL1RL1-a levels, yet neither theseIL1RL1-methylation CpG sites nor IL1RL1-a levels are associated with asthma.
Three‐dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept study
Authors: Stanković Kristina , Booth Brian G. , Danckaers Femke , Burg Fien , Vermaelen Philippe , Duerinck Saartje , Sijbers Jan , Huysmans Toon
Published: March 2018

Background

Foot morphology has received increasing attention from both biomechanics researches and footwear manufacturers. Usually, the morphology of the foot is quantified by 2D footprints. However, footprint quantification ignores the foot's vertical dimension and hence, does not allow accurate quantification of complex 3D foot shape.

Methods

The shape variation of healthy 3D feet in a population of 31 adult women and 31 adult men who live in Belgium was studied using geometric morphometric methods. The effect of different factors such as sex, age, shoe size, frequency of sport activity, Body Mass Index (BMI), foot asymmetry, and foot loading on foot shape was investigated. Correlation between these factors and foot shape was examined using multivariate linear regression.

Results

The complex nature of a foot's 3D shape leads to high variability in healthy populations. After normalizing for scale, the major axes of variation in foot morphology are (in order of decreasing variance): arch height, combined ball width and inter‐toe distance, global foot width, hallux bone orientation (valgus‐varus), foot type (e.g. Egyptian, Greek), and midfoot width. These first six modes of variation capture 92.59% of the total shape variation. Higher BMI results in increased ankle width, Achilles tendon width, heel width and a thicker forefoot along the dorsoplantar axis. Age was found to be associated with heel width, Achilles tendon width, toe height and hallux orientation. A bigger shoe size was found to be associated with a narrow Achilles tendon, a hallux varus, a narrow heel, heel expansion along the posterior direction, and a lower arch compared to smaller shoe size. Sex was found to be associated with differences in ankle width, Achilles tendon width, and heel width. Frequency of sport activity was associated with Achilles tendon width and toe height.

Conclusion

A detailed analysis of the 3D foot shape, allowed by geometric morphometrics, provides insights in foot variations in three dimensions that can not be obtained from 2D footprints. These insights could be applied in various scientific disciplines, including orthotics and shoe design.
Dual infections of two carbapenemase-producing Acinetobacter baumannii clinical strains isolated from the same blood culture sample of a patient in Iran
Authors: Hadjadj Linda , Shoja Saeed , Diene Seydina M. , Rolain Jean-Marc
Published: March 2018

In this study, the draft genome sequences of two different carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical strains isolated from the same blood culture sample of an Iranian patient were determined. The strain A. baumannii 554S harbouring blaoxa72 gene belonged to ST 307 whereas A. baumannii 554L carrying blaoxa23 gene belonged to ST 2. We found that this sample contains two different isolates of A. baumannii, each phenotypically and genetically different.
The effect of serum types on Chondrogenic differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells
Authors: Cho Hyeran , Lee Aeri , Kim Kyobum
Published: March 2018

Background

Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is the most essential supplement in culture media for cellular proliferation, metabolism, and differentiation. However, due to a limited supply and subsequently rising prices, a series of studies have investigated a biological feasibility of replaceable serums to substitute FBS. Along with the increasing interests to manufacture stem cell-based cellular products, optimizing the composition of culture media including serums and exogenous growth factors (GFs) is of importance. In this experiment, the effect of bovine serum (BS) and newborn calf serum (NCS) on proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation capacity of human adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) was evaluated, especially in the chondrogenically supplemented culture condition.

Methods

ADSCs were chondrogenically cultured with FBS, BS, and NCS for 14 days. For the acceleration of in vitro chondrogenesis, exogenous insulin-like growth factor and transforming growth factor-β3 were added. Viability and proliferation of ADSCs were evaluated using Live/Dead fluorescence staining and DNA amount, respectively. To investigate a chondrogenic differentiation, a series of assays were performed including a quantification of glycosaminoglycan deposition, alcian blue staining, and RT-PCR analysis for type II collagen, aggrecan and Sox-9 genes.

Results

The results demonstrated that proliferation of ADSCs was facilitated in FBS condition as compared with other serum types. For chondrogenic marker gene expression, serum substitutes enhanced Sox-9 expression level on day 14. The deposition of glycosaminoglycan was more facilitated in BS condition regardless of additional chondrogenic GFs.

Conclusion

It could be presumably speculated that serum types and exogenous supplements of GFs could also be important parameters to optimize culture media composition, especially in order to maintain the enhanced levels of both proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of ADSCs during expansion.
An efficient tomographic inversion method based on the stochastic approximation
Authors: Sun Mengyao , Sacchi Mauricio D. , Zhang Jie
Published: March 2018

Near-surface solutions often play a significant role in imaging subsurface structures for land or shallow marine environments. Unfortunately, the standard approach to first-arrival traveltime tomography may involve the inversion of a large number of traveltime picks and require a considerable computational effort. We have improved the efficiency of traveltime tomography by adopting a method inspired by the field of stochastic optimization. First, we verify that traveltime tomography is solvable by two methods in the field of stochastic optimization: the sample average approximation (SAA) and the stochastic approximation (SA). In SAA, random subsets of the whole data are inverted via nonlinear optimization. The final result is the average of all the inverted models. SA is similar to the SAA method. However, in the SA method, new random data subsets are used in each iteration of the nonlinear iterative inversion. The final result is also the average of multiple inversions. We found that SA performs better than the SAA method for traveltime tomography. However, these two methods do not yield substantial improvements in computational turnaround time in comparison with the classic iterative tomographic inversion that uses all data. Therefore, we adopt one realization of the SA method, and we analyze its feasibility via synthetic tests. We call this technique fast SA tomography (FSAT). We design numerical tests to understand the amount of data reduction that one can tolerate before the solution degrades. We also carry out a detailed statistical analysis to understand the impact of FSAT on the solution of the near-surface imaging problem. We apply FSAT to 2D and 3D field data sets, and the results show that FSAT method only requires a small percentage of the total traveltimes to yield a result nearly identical to the model obtained by using all the picks.
Fast least-squares reverse time migration of VSP free-surface multiples with dynamic phase-encoding schemes
Authors: Liu Xuejian , Liu Yike , Khan Majid
Published: March 2018

For vertical seismic profile (VSP), free-surface multiples can provide much wider subsurface illumination when compared with primaries. However, migration of multiple reflections generates not only the desired image of reflection interfaces but also many crosstalk artifacts. Therefore, the least-squares reverse time migration method is used to image the VSP downgoing free-surface multiples (receiver-side ghosts) and iteratively suppress crosstalks, in which full downgoing data (including direct waves) and downgoing multiples are used as sources and observed data, respectively. To reduce the computational cost, we have developed the simultaneous imaging of different common-receiver gathers that are dynamically blended together with iterations through the altered realizations of the phase-encoding function. Relative to the popular encoding function with a combination of random time delays and polarities, only the random polarities can be applied for further increasing the computational efficiency. Synthetic experiments on Sigsbee2B and Pluto1.5 models indicate that the proposed method can effectively eliminate crosstalk artifacts and improve imaging resolution while calculated even more efficiently than reverse time migration of VSP ghosts.
Source signature encoding of a vertical source array to separate the emitted direct wave from its ghost
Authors: Mueller Moritz B. , Halliday David F. , van Manen Dirk-Jan , Robertsson Johan O. A.
Published: March 2018

Marine air-gun sources can be sequence-encoded by firing their individual elements independently over a short period of time. Using near-orthogonal firing sequences, whose crosscorrelation is minimal, as encoding sequences for multiple sets of air-gun sources, enables us to exploit their orthogonality as a separation feature. We find that, by distributing air guns over depths from 5 to 30 m, firing sequences can be designed whose direct, down-going wavefield is close to orthogonal to its source-ghost wavefield. The fundamentally new aspect of this approach is that the source-ghost signal is no longer just a time-delayed, opposite-polarity version of the down-going wavefield, but due to the different air-gun depths results in a different source sequence. This enables the consideration of the ghost wavefield as a separate source. We generate a set of such firing sequences by minimizing the crosscorrelation of these wavefields and optimizing their respective autocorrelations to achieve sharp peaks. The obtained, optimized firing sequences are then used for marine seismic source encoding. By adapting a multifrequency algorithm originally developed for simultaneous source separation, we determine that the ghost-source wavefield can be separated as a separate source from the direct, down-going wavefield.
“It Used to Be Forbidden”
Authors: Schäfers Marlene
Published: March 2018

Women’s rights and human rights projects in Turkey and elsewhere routinely construe and celebrate subaltern voice as an index of individual and collective empowerment. Through an ethnographic study of Kurdish women singers’ (dengbêjs) efforts to engage in their storytelling art in Turkey, this article questions the equation between “raising one’s voice” and having agency. It investigates two concrete instances in 2012, in Istanbul and Van, where Kurdish women publicly raised their voices. It shows that public audibility does not necessarily translate into agency, because these spaces, like most, discipline voices ideologically and sonically. Audibility is not a neutral achievement but an ideologically structured terrain that shapes voices and regulates whether and how they are heard and recognized. Voices routinely have ambiguous and even contradictory effects once they become audible in public. It is not simply a matter of “having voice” or “being silenced.”
Aspirational Maternalism and the “Reconstitution” of Single Mothers in Morocco
Authors: Newman Jessica Marie
Published: March 2018

This article interrogates how employees at single-mother associations in Morocco construct the mère célibataire (single mother) as an archetypal, aspirational figure. Based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork (2013–15), this article traces how counselors work with single mothers to imagine alternative maternal futures. I argue that by invoking a counternarrative I call “aspirational maternalism,” single-mother advocates disrupt traditional maternalist rhetoric that excludes single women. Aspirational maternalism draws on moral discourses and neoliberal values of independence and responsibility. Through its deployment, counselors create affective space for single mothers to think beyond pathologizing portrayals of single motherhood in Morocco. Counselors also disrupt the neoliberal focus on calculated, self-interested action by centering “the mother-child couple” within aspirational maternalism. The ideal-typical Mère Célibataire is capable of achieving the transformation from victim to self-sovereign mother. And yet, aspirational maternalism elides the significant structural obstacles to independence that single mothers face.
Authoring Autism
Authors: Yergeau Melanie
Published: March 2018

In Authoring Autism Melanie Yergeau defines neurodivergence as an identity—neuroqueerness—rather than an impairment. Using a queer theory framework, Yergeau notes the stereotypes that deny autistic people their humanity and the chance to define themselves while also challenging cognitive studies scholarship and its reification of the neurological passivity of autistics. She also critiques early intensive behavioral interventions—which have much in common with gay conversion therapy—and questions the ableist privileging of intentionality and diplomacy in rhetorical traditions. Using storying as her method, she presents an alternative view of autistic rhetoricity by foregrounding the cunning rhetorical abilities of autistics and by framing autism as a narrative condition wherein autistics are the best-equipped people to define their experience. Contending that autism represents a queer way of being that simultaneously embraces and rejects the rhetorical, Yergeau shows how autistic people queer the lines of rhetoric, humanity, and agency. In so doing, she demonstrates how an autistic rhetoric requires the reconceptualization of rhetoric’s very essence.
Medicine in the Meantime
Authors: McKay Ramah
Published: March 2018

In Mozambique, where more than half of the national health care budget comes from foreign donors, NGOs and global health research projects have facilitated a dramatic expansion of medical services. At once temporary and unfolding over decades, these projects also enact deeply divergent understandings of what care means and who does it. In Medicine in the Meantime, Ramah McKay follows two medical projects in Mozambique through the day-to-day lives of patients and health care providers, showing how transnational medical resources and infrastructures give rise to diverse possibilities for work and care amid constraint. Paying careful attention to the specific postcolonial and postsocialist context of Mozambique, McKay considers how the presence of NGOs and the governing logics of the global health economy have transformed the relations—between and within bodies, medical technologies, friends, kin, and organizations—that care requires and how such transformations pose new challenges for ethnographic analysis and critique.