bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of surface texture on the frictional properties of grease lubricated spherical plain bearings under reciprocating swing conditions
Authors: Tang Zhanqi , Liu Xiaojun , Liu Kun
Published: May 2016

Surface texturing is a widely used method to improve the tribological performance of the mechanical systems. To introduce the surface texture into the mechanical components, this study experimentally examined the frictional behaviors of grease lubricated spherical plain bearings under mixed lubrication conditions on an electro-hydraulic servo tribological test rig. The effects of the surface texture parameters and roughness parameters on the frictional properties of bearings were investigated. The results showed that higher dimple depths and lower dimple densities would result in a distinct improvement on the friction coefficients. A maximum reduction of 55% was gained for the textured sample under running conditions compared with the untextured one. In addition, the surface roughness parameters also influence the frictional behaviors. In the high load conditions, the friction coefficient decreases while the Ssk value gets more negative, even though the Sa value is much higher. On the other hand, in the low load conditions, when the value of Ssk varies between −5 and −1, the influence of the value of Sa on the friction coefficient becomes obvious, a higher Sa value results in a higher friction coefficient.
Creating space for citizenship: The impact of group structure on validating the voices of people with dementia
Authors: Wiersma Elaine C , O’Connor Deborah L , Loiselle Lisa , Hickman Kathy , Heibein Bill , Hounam Brenda , Mann Jim
Published: May 2016

Recently, there has been increasing attention given to finding ways to help people diagnosed with dementia ‘live well’ with their condition. Frequently however, the attention has been placed on the family care partner as the foundation for creating a context that supports the person with dementia to live well. A recent participatory action research (PAR) study highlighted the importance of beginning to challenge some of the assumptions around how best to include family, especially within a context of supporting citizenship. Three advisory groups consisting of 20 people with dementia, 13 care partners, and three service providers, were set up in three locations across Canada to help develop a self-management program for people with dementia. The hubs met monthly for up to two years. One of the topics that emerged as extremely important to consider in the structuring of the program revolved around whether or not these groups should be segregated to include only people with dementia. A thematic analysis of these ongoing discussions coalesced around four inter-related themes: creating safe spaces; maintaining voice and being heard; managing the balancing act; and the importance of solidarity. Underpinning these discussions was the fifth theme, recognition that ‘ one size doesn’t fit all’. Overall an important finding was that the presence of family care-partners could have unintended consequences in relation to creating the space for active citizenship to occur in small groups of people with dementia although it could also offer some opportunities. The involvement of care partners in groups with people with dementia is clearly one that is complex without an obvious answer and dependent on a variety of factors to inform a solution, which can and should be questioned and revisited.
The Effect of Levodopa on Improvements in Protective Stepping in People With Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Peterson Daniel S. , Horak Fay B.
Published: May 2016

Background. The effect of levodopa on postural motor learning in people with Parkinson’s disease is poorly understood. In particular, it is unknown whether levodopa affects improvement in protective postural responses after external perturbations such as a slip or trip, a critical aspect of fall prevention. Objective. Determine the effect of levodopa on postural motor learning in people with Parkinson’s disease. Methods. We assessed improvement in protective postural responses in people with Parkinson’s disease over short-term (1 day) perturbation training on and off levodopa. We also assessed retention and generalization of improvement. Participants were 22 individuals with Parkinson’s disease. The primary outcome was total center of mass (COM) displacement after perturbation. Secondary outcomes assessed first step performance and included margin of stability at first foot contact. Results. People with Parkinson’s disease improved COM displacement ( P = .011) and margin of stability ( P = .016) over training. Improvements in these outcomes were more pronounced after training while on levodopa than off levodopa. Levodopa State × Training interactions were not observed for other step performance variables (eg, step latency, length, total number of steps). Improvements were retained for 24 hours, and for margin of stability, retention was more pronounced while on levodopa than off ( P = .018). Conclusions. Individuals with Parkinson’s disease are able to improve protective postural responses through short-term perturbation training, and improvements were more pronounced when on levodopa for some variables. Perturbation training may be more effective if completed while optimally medicated with levodopa.
‘Walking the line between saint and sinner’
Authors: Gorton Kristyn
Published: May 2016

This article considers how the notion of care, whether as an act of kindness or as a moral ethics, is reflected and worked through in the contemporary American television series, Nurse Jackie (2009–2015). Nurse Jackie, a comedy drama set in a fictional Catholic New York City Hospital, explores the ‘line between saint and sinner’, in the life of an emergency room (ER) nurse. This article considers how Jackie’s character negotiates moral boundaries in a way that allows for a reconsideration of both the complexity of care practices in contemporary society and the gendered nature of these practices.
Pemetrexed for advanced stage nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer: latest evidence about its extended use and outcomes
Authors: Tomasini Pascale , Barlesi Fabrice , Mascaux Celine , Greillier Laurent
Published: May 2016

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still the leading cause of cancer-related death, and the treatment of advanced NSCLC relies on systemic treatments. During the last decade, pemetrexed, an antifolate agent, gradually became a key component of the treatment for patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC. It has indeed been shown to be efficient for first-line, maintenance and second- or third-line treatment in this subgroup of NSCLC. Moreover, it is usually well tolerated, with few grade 3 and 4 toxicities. Several studies have tried to identify predictive biomarkers of pemetrexed efficacy. Due to pemetrexed’s mechanism of action, thymidilate synthase expression predictive value was investigated but could not be demonstrated. Currently, more than 400 trials of pemetrexed for the treatment of nonsquamous NSCLC are ongoing.
Antecedents and Outcomes of Hospitality Loyalty
Authors: Tanford Sarah
Published: May 2016

Customer loyalty is vital for hospitality businesses. A large body of literature has accumulated on the topic, requiring integration to form generalizations and to make it accessible to operators. In this research, I provide a conceptual framework for classifying indirect and direct loyalty antecedents and outcomes, and quantifying its components using meta-analysis. I analyze 102 studies that produce 423 effect sizes, which are distilled into a summary effect size for each relationship. The analysis reveals strong relationships between direct loyalty antecedents (satisfaction, emotional commitment, service quality, trust, and switching costs) and overall loyalty. However, the magnitude of effects declines significantly as the outcome moves from attitudinal loyalty to behavioral intentions to behavior. As most of our knowledge about loyalty is based on intention measures, the findings suggest that effects on actual loyalty may be smaller than the research would suggest. Indirect loyalty antecedents include experiential, monetary, and relational attributes. It appears that each of these categories affect loyalty through somewhat different processes, although they all relate to satisfaction. The meta-analysis approach allows operators to glean key findings relevant to their business from a single source. It enables researchers to answer research questions and to summarize relationships from a body of literature that cannot be tested conclusively with a single study.
Specific dyspeptic symptoms are associated with poor response to therapy in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease
Authors: D’Alessandro A , Zito FP , Pesce M , Andreozzi P , Efficie E , Cargiolli M , Maione F , De Palma GD , Cuomo R , Sarnelli G
Published: May 2016

Introduction

In patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD), co‐existence of functional dyspepsia (FD) is known to be associated with poor response to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), but the contribution of specific dyspepsia symptoms has not yet been systematically investigated.

Objective

We aimed to characterize the impact of dyspepsia symptoms on response to PPIs in patients with GORD.

Methods

The enrolled subjects were consecutive patients with a diagnosis of GORD. All patients underwent a 24 hour pH–impedance test, while on PPI therapy. Patients were divided into two groups, refractory and responders, according to the persistence of GORD symptoms. A standardized questionnaire for FD was also administered to assess presence of dyspepsia symptoms.

Results

In the subgroup of refractory patients FD was more prevalent than in responders, with post‐prandial fullness, nausea, vomiting, early satiation and epigastric pain being significantly prevalent in refractory GORD patients. In the multivariate analysis only early satiation and vomiting were significantly associated with poor response to PPIs.

Conclusion

Co‐existence of FD is associated with refractory GORD. We showed that only early satiation and vomiting are risk factors for poor response to therapy with PPIs. Our findings suggest that symptoms of early satiation and vomiting would help to identify the subset of PPI‐refractory GORD patients.
Prevalence and Correlates of Worry About the Health Harms of Medical Imaging Radiation in the General Population
Authors: Hay Jennifer L. , Gold Geoffrey S. , Baser Raymond E. , Hricak Hedvig , Dauer Lawrence T.
Published: May 2016

Background: In recent years, there have been dramatic increases in medical imaging use and increasing media attention to increased exposure to ionizing radiation in the United States. Patient perspectives on medical imaging radiation (MIR) use is understudied, but could guide primary care discussions. This study examines prevalence of worry about the health harms from MIR in the US general population. Methods: This cross-sectional study used the 2012-2013 Health Information National Trends Survey conducted by the National Cancer Institute. A nationally representative sample (N = 3532) was drawn from the US general population to observe prevalence of worry about MIR as well as potential covariates, including demographic, medical, and psychological factors, health information-seeking, physician trust in providing cancer information, and cancer fatalism. Results: About 65% of the sample population reported experiencing at least some worry about MIR. Univariable and multivariable logistic regressions indicate higher rates of MIR worry among women, racial/ethnic minorities, those with lower educational attainment, foreign-born Americans, those who self-report poorer health, and those with a personal history of cancer. Lower trust in cancer information from physicians and greater attention to cancer information from popular media were each associated with higher rates of worry about health harms of MIR. Conclusions: An accurate assessment of public worry about MIR will aid primary care providers’ efforts to understand patient responses to medical imaging and identify addressable knowledge gaps regarding benefits and risks of medical imaging. These data may improve risk communication regarding medical imaging among referring primary care physicians, radiologists, and patients.
Pulmonary Renal Syndrome After Streptococcal Pharyngitis
Authors: Mara-Koosham Gopi , Stoltze Karl , Aday Jeffrey , Rendon Patrick
Published: May 2016

Pulmonary renal syndrome is a class of small vessel vasculitides that are characterized by the dual presentation of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) and glomerulonephritis. Pulmonary renal syndrome has multiple etiologies, but its development has been rarely reported following infection with group A streptococcus. We present the case of a 36-year-old Native American male who was transferred to our facility due to refractory hypoxic respiratory failure. He had been diagnosed with streptococcal pharyngitis 2 weeks prior to admission. Given the presence of hemoptysis, bronchoscopy was performed and was consistent with DAH. Urinalysis demonstrated hematuria and proteinuria, in the setting of elevated creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. Additionally, antistreptolysin O titer was positive. Given the constellation of laboratory findings and history of streptococcal pharyngitis, the patient was diagnosed with PRS secondary to streptococcal infection. High-dose methylprednisolone was initiated with concomitant plasmapheresis. He was extubated successfully after his respiratory status improved and was eventually discharged home after making a full recovery within 2 weeks after admission. This case illustrates the importance of clinically relevant sequelae of streptococcal infection as well as the appropriate treatment of PRS secondary to streptococcal pharyngitis with plasmapheresis and intravenous corticosteroids.
From IBS to DBS
Authors: Benno Peter , Dahlgren Atti-La , Befrits Ragnar , Norin Elisabeth , Hellström Per M. , Midtvedt Tore
Published: May 2016

Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits in the absence of organic disease. We present 2 cases where diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome occurred in association with earlier intestinal infection or antibiotic treatment. Both were successfully treated with instillation of an anaerobic cultivated human intestinal microbiota. Thereafter, they were symptom free for at least 12 months. We now introduce the term dysbiotic bowel syndrome covering cases where a disturbed intestinal microbiota is assumed to be present. We recommend that restoration of the dysbiotic gut microbiota should be first-line treatment in these conditions.
“This is for the Brown Kids!”
Authors: McDowell Amy D.
Published: May 2016

Recent research shows that non-Muslims “read” Muslim and non-Muslim Others through an Islamophobic lens, whether the victims of Islamophobia are practitioners of Islam or not. Yet how Muslims and non-Muslims band together against anti-Muslim racism in nonreligious ways and venues is less understood. The author draws on a wide range of qualitative data to show how “Taqwacore” punks ( taqwa means “God consciousness” in Arabic and core comes from hardcore punk) create a racial identity as “brown kids” that is panethnic and opposed to the major racial frames used to vilify Muslims and brown-bodied Others. Taqwacore punks do this by (1) using punk rock attitudes to call out whiteness and keep it out of their punk and (2) redefining punk in favor of “brown kids.” These findings expand a new body of scholarship that shows how marginalized youth are using popular culture to create new racial identities against whiteness.
Photovoice as Pedagogy for Authentic Learning
Authors: Massengale Kelley E. C. , Strack Robert W. , Orsini Muhsin Michael , Herget Jennifer
Published: May 2016

Students preparing for helping professions who understand the influences of income on health are better equipped to address health challenges in communities and in their future careers. Universities have a responsibility to bolster and provide a safe environment for students to build and practice their 21st-century skills. When implemented as a pedagogical tool, photovoice projects have the potential to provide authentic learning experiences for students to engage in advocacy and civil discourse. Undergraduate students ( n = 37) learning about the influence of low income on health engaged in a photovoice assignment, demonstrating their own understanding of the course content while effectively advocating for issues related to the health of low-income community members. Community members attending the exhibit ( n = 32) completed surveys designed to capture their reactions to the students’ work. As a result of attending the students’ photovoice exhibit, community members reported increased awareness about issues of concern in the community as well as an affective response to the community concerns documented.
Lateral variations in plagioclase compositions, Main Zone, Bushveld Complex, South Africa: Evidence for slow mixing of magmas in basinal structures
Authors: Cawthorn R. G. , Lundgaard K. L. , Tegner C. , Wilson J. R.
Published: May 2016

Many layered intrusions are considered to have been repeatedly inflated by magma additions, but rates of magma mixing relative to rates of layer accumulation are difficult to model. The nature of magma recharge through the interval including the Pyroxenite Marker (PM), Main Zone, Bushveld Complex, South Africa, is examined with regard to such processes. The plagioclase compositions (An value) in five previously published and three new profiles (presented here and focusing on the core compositions) that are at least 600 m in vertical extent and spread along a strike length of 110 km are evaluated. The compilation of the eight profiles shows the following trends. Upward reversals in compositions show considerable lateral as well as vertical variations. Lateral variations show a range in: (1) the minimum An value reached in each profile prior to the onset of magma recharge (An51 to An59); (2) the depth below the PM at which the minimum value is observed (50 to 575 m); (3) the An value close to the PM (An54 to An75); (4) the maximum value recorded above the PM (An63 to An76); (5) the height above the PM at which this maximum value is reached (0 to 300 m) – in all cases, the highest values of An occur at the northern end of the studied sections; and (6) the vertical extents over which the reversals occur range from 150 to over 600 m indicating very protracted magma additions and/or slow mixing. The PM terminates toward the south, and close to this termination the immediate footwall rocks to the PM change from north to south from gabbronorite to magnetite gabbronorite. A cross-section through these profiles defines two basins, with an intervening structural upwarp. The magma pulses that were added to produce very gradual and protracted reversals in mineral compositions through the PM interval ponded initially at the base of the northern basin, and did not homogenize the entire magma column. These added magmas did not overflow and have an effect on mineral compositions in the southern basin until after considerable replenishment and crystallization (including the PM) had taken place in the northern basin. We emphasize the prolonged period(s) of magma input and slow rate of vertical homogenization of the magma column during the formation of this sequence of as much as 400 m of the Main Zone.
Functional distance between recipient and donor HLA-DPB1 determines nonpermissive mismatches in unrelated HCT
Authors: Crivello Pietro , Heinold Andreas , Rebmann Vera , Ottinger Hellmut D. , Horn Peter A. , Beelen Dietrich W. , Fleischhauer Katharina
Published: May 2016

Key Points

Nonpermissive mismatches associated with survival after HCT reflect FD between recipient-donor HLA-DPB1. FD within HLA-DPB1 is determined by the combined impact of nonconservative peptide-binding AA substitutions.
Persistence of long-lived plasma cells and humoral immunity in individuals responding to CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy
Authors: Bhoj Vijay G. , Arhontoulis Dimitrios , Wertheim Gerald , Capobianchi James , Callahan Colleen A. , Ellebrecht Christoph T. , Obstfeld Amrom E. , Lacey Simon F. , Melenhorst Jan J. , Nazimuddin Farzana , Hwang Wei-Ting , Maude Shannon L. , Wasik Mariusz A. , Bagg Adam , Schuster Stephen , Feldman Michael D. , Porter David L. , Grupp Stephen A. , June Carl H. , Milone Michael C.
Published: May 2016

Key Points

CD19-targeted T-cell immunotherapy reveals that a population of PCs lacking CD19 expression survives long-term, independent of B cells. Preexisting humoral immunity to vaccine-related antigens can persist in patients despite marked B-cell aplasia after CTL019 immunotherapy.
LimiTT: link miRNAs to targets
Authors: Bayer Julia , Kuenne Carsten , Preussner Jens , Looso Mario
Published: May 2016

Background

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) impact various biological processes within animals and plants. They complementarily bind target mRNAs, effecting a post-transcriptional negative regulation on mRNA level. The investigation of miRNA target interactions (MTIs) by high throughput screenings is challenging, as frequently used in silico target prediction tools are prone to emit false positives. This issue is aggravated for niche model organisms, where validated miRNAs and MTIs both have to be transferred from well described model organisms. Even though DBs exist that contain experimentally validated MTIs, they are limited in their search options and they utilize different miRNA and target identifiers.

Results

The implemented pipeline LimiTT integrates four existing DBs containing experimentally validated MTIs. In contrast to other cumulative databases (DBs), LimiTT includes MTI data of 26 species. Additionally, the pipeline enables the identification and enrichment analysis of MTIs with and without species specificity based on dynamic quality criteria. Multiple tabular and graphical outputs are generated to permit the detailed assessment of results.

Conclusion

Our freely available web-based pipeline LimiTT (https://bioinformatics.mpi-bn.mpg.de/) is optimized to determine MTIs with and without species specification. It links miRNAs and/or putative targets with high granularity. The integrated mapping to homologous target identifiers enables the identification of MTIs not only for standard models, but for niche model organisms as well.
Readmissions After Colon Cancer Surgery: Does It Matter Where Patients Are Readmitted?
Authors: Luu Ngoc-Phuong , Hussain Tanvir , Chang Hsien-Yen , Pfoh Elizabeth , Pollack Craig Evan
Published: May 2016

Purpose:

Readmissions to a different hospital may place patients at increased risk for poor outcomes and may increase their overall costs of care. We evaluated whether mortality and costs differ for patients with colon cancer on the basis of whether patients are readmitted to the index hospital or to a different hospital within 30 days of discharge.

Methods:

We conducted a retrospective analysis using SEER-Medicare linked claims data for patients with stage I to III colon cancer diagnosed between 2000 and2009 who were readmitted within 30 days (N = 3,399). Our primary outcome was all-cause mortality, which was modeled by using Cox proportional hazards. Secondary outcomes included colon cancer–specific mortality, 90-day mortality, and costs of care. We used subhazard ratios for colon cancer– specific mortality and generalized linear models for costs. For each model, we used a propensity score–weighted doubly robust approach to adjust for patient, physician, and hospital characteristics.

Results:

Approximately 23% (n = 769) of readmitted patients were readmitted to a different hospital than where they were initially discharged. After adjustment, there was no difference in all-cause mortality, colon cancer–specific mortality, or cost of care for patients readmitted to a different hospital. Patient readmitted to a different hospital did have a higher risk of short-term mortality (90-day all-cause mortality; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.38).

Conclusion:

Readmission to a different hospital after colon cancer surgery is associated with short-term mortality but not with long-term mortality nor with post-discharge costs of care. Additional investigation is needed to determine how to improve short-term mortality among patients readmitted to different hospitals.
Use of Survivorship Care Plans and Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Multinational Patients With Lung Cancer
Authors: Berman Abigail T. , DeCesaris Cristina M. , Simone Charles B. , Vachani Carolyn , DiLullo Gloria , Hampshire Margaret K. , Metz James , Hill-Kayser Christine
Published: May 2016

Purpose:

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and is a significant source of morbidity. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) have been shown to be prognostic for survival. We have analyzed emerging patterns of longitudinal PROs collected in the development of survivorship care plans (SCPs).

Methods:

OncoLife and the LIVESTRONG Care Plans are Internet-based programs designed to generate unique SCPs. We selected SCPs from patients identifying as survivors of primary lung cancer. Patient-reported demographics and treatment and toxicity data were examined. Effects were categorized by the physiologic system that they affected.

Results:

Six hundred eighty-nine plans were created for users self-identifying as survivors of primary lung cancer. Average time from diagnosis to reporting was 1.68 years (range, 0 to 24 years). Most were white (85.9%), well educated (61.1% “some college” or higher), and lived in the United States (90.7%). Patients underwent chemotherapy (75.8%), radiotherapy (54.7%), and surgery (54.4%). Neurocognitive symptoms (eg, fatigue, cognitive changes) were the most common (48.8%), especially among those receiving chemotherapy, followed by musculoskeletal/dermatologic symptoms (14.1%) and thoracic symptoms (13.5%). Only 11.2% were initially offered an SCP. Of those offered SCPs, 54.5% were offered by their health care provider, and most often were at a non–university-based cancer center (66.2%).

Conclusion:

For patients with lung cancer worldwide, it is feasible to obtain PROs and to create SCPs through an Internet-based program. As patients with lung cancer achieve improved survival, further attention should be paid to PROs. Surprisingly, neurocognitive symptoms seem to be the most common issues and therefore the most important to address. Increased effort should be made to provide SCPs, particularly in urban and university cancer center settings.
Assessing Clinical Trial–Associated Workload in Community-Based Research Programs Using the ASCO Clinical Trial Workload Assessment Tool
Authors: Good Marjorie J. , Hurley Patricia , Woo Kaitlin M. , Szczepanek Connie , Stewart Teresa , Robert Nicholas , Lyss Alan , Gönen Mithat , Lilenbaum Rogerio
Published: May 2016

Purpose:

Clinical research program managers are regularly faced with the quandary of determining how much of a workload research staff members can manage while they balance clinical practice and still achieve clinical trial accrual goals, maintain data quality and protocol compliance, and stay within budget. A tool was developed to measure clinical trial–associated workload, to apply objective metrics toward documentation of work, and to provide clearer insight to better meet clinical research program challenges and aid in balancing staff workloads. A project was conducted to assess the feasibility and utility of using this tool in diverse research settings.

Methods:

Community-based research programs were recruited to collect and enter clinical trial–associated monthly workload data into a web-based tool for 6 consecutive months. Descriptive statistics were computed for self-reported program characteristics and workload data, including staff acuity scores and number of patient encounters.

Results:

Fifty-one research programs that represented 30 states participated. Median staff acuity scores were highest for staff with patients enrolled in studies and receiving treatment, relative to staff with patients in follow-up status. Treatment trials typically resulted in higher median staff acuity, relative to cancer control, observational/registry, and prevention trials. Industry trials exhibited higher median staff acuity scores than trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, academic institutions, or others.

Conclusion:

The results from this project demonstrate that trial-specific acuity measurement is a better measure of workload than simply counting the number of patients. The tool was shown to be feasible and useable in diverse community-based research settings.
Presenting Symptoms in the Emergency Department as Predictors of Intensive Care Unit Admissions and Hospital Mortality in a Comprehensive Cancer Center
Authors: Elsayem Ahmed F. , Merriman Kelly W. , Gonzalez Carmen E. , Yeung Sai-Ching J. , Chaftari Patrick S. , Reyes-Gibby Cielito , Todd Knox H.
Published: May 2016

Purpose:

The identification of patients at high risk for poor outcomes may allow for earlier palliative care and prevent futile interventions. We examined the association of presenting symptoms on risk of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and hospital death among patients with cancer admitted through an emergency department (ED).

Methods:

We queried MD Anderson Cancer Center databases for all patients who visited the ED in 2010. Presenting symptoms, ICU admissions, and hospital deaths were reviewed; patient data analyzed; and risk factors for ICU admission and hospital mortality identified.

Results:

The main presenting symptoms were pain, fever, and respiratory distress. Of the patients with cancer who visited the ED, 5,362 (58%) were admitted to the hospital at least once (range, 1 to 13 admissions), 697 (13%) were admitted to the ICU at least once, and 587 (11%) died during hospitalization (31% of 233 patients with hematologic malignancies and 27% of 354 patients with solid tumors died in the ICU; P < .001). In multivariable logistic regression, presenting symptoms of respiratory distress or altered mental status; lung cancer, leukemia, or lymphoma; and nonwhite race were independent predictors of hospital death. Patients who died had a longer median length of hospital stay than patients discharged alive (14 v 6 days for hematologic malignancies and 7 v 5 days for solid tumors; P < .001).

Conclusion:

Patients with cancer admitted through an ED experience high ICU admission and hospital mortality rates. Patients with advanced cancer and respiratory distress or altered mental status may benefit from palliative care that avoids unnecessary interventions.
How Well Do All Patient Refined–Diagnosis-Related Groups Explain Costs of Pediatric Cancer Chemotherapy Admissions in the United States?
Authors: Russell Heidi , Street Andrew , Ho Vivian
Published: May 2016

Purpose:

State-based Medicaid programs have begun using All Patient Refined–Diagnosis-Related Groups (APR-DRGs) to determine hospital reimbursement rates. Medicaid provides coverage for 45% of childhood cancer admissions. This study aimed to examine how well APR-DRGs reflect admission costs for childhood cancer chemotherapy to inform clinicians, hospitals, and policymakers in the wake of policy changes.

Methods:

We identified 25,613 chemotherapy admissions in the 2009 Kids’ Inpatient Database. To determine how well APR-DRGs explain costs, we applied a hierarchic linear regression model of hospital costs, allowing for a variety of patient, hospital, and geographic confounders.

Results:

APR-DRGs proved to be the most important predictors of admission costs (P < .001), with costs increasing by DRG severity code. Diagnosis, age, and hospital characteristics also predicted costs above and beyond those explained by APR-DRGs. Compared with admissions for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, costs of admissions for patients with acute myelomonocytic leukemia were 82% higher; non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 20% higher; Hodgkin lymphoma, 25% lower; and CNS tumors, 27% lower. Admissions for children who were 10 years of age or older cost 26% to 35% more than admissions for infants. Admissions to children’s hospitals cost 46% more than admissions to other hospital types.

Conclusion:

APR-DRGs developed for adults are applicable to childhood cancer chemotherapy but should be refined to account for cancer diagnosis and patient age. Possible policy and clinical management changes merit further study to address factors not captured by APR-DRGs.
Therapeutic Strategies for Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma in Whom First-Line Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor–Directed Therapies Fail
Authors: Malouf Gabriel G. , Flippot Ronan , Khayat David
Published: May 2016

Metastases are present in one third of renal cell carcinomas at diagnosis. The overall survival duration in metastatic renal cell carcinoma is approximately 22 months, which underlines the need for more effective systemic treatments. Therapies on the basis of antiangiogenic agents and inhibitors of the mammalian target of rapamycin have been approved for treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma, but only benefits for progression-free survival were demonstrated in the second-line setting. Fortunately, promising treatments are emerging, from new antiangiogenic agents to immune checkpoint inhibitors. For the first time, both an immune checkpoint inhibitor (nivolumab) and a dual inhibitor of the tyrosine kinases c-Met and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (cabozantinib) have demonstrated improvements in overall survival in the second-line setting. Finding the best sequence for these novel agents will be crucial to improving outcomes in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. This article comprises both a systematic review of the literature and recommendations for second-line therapeutic strategies for patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma in whom inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor have failed.
Sumoylation of eIF4A2 affects stress granule formation
Authors: Jongjitwimol Jirapas , Baldock Robert A. , Morley Simon J. , Watts Felicity Z.
Published: May 2016

Regulation of protein synthesis is crucial for cells to maintain viability and to prevent unscheduled proliferation that could lead to tumorigenesis. Exposure to stress results in stalling of translation, with many translation initiation factors, ribosomal subunits and mRNAs being sequestered into stress granules or P bodies. This allows the re-programming of the translation machinery. Many aspects of translation are regulated by post-translational modification. Several proteomic screens have identified translation initiation factors as targets for sumoylation, although in many cases the role of this modification has not been determined. We show here that eIF4A2 is modified by SUMO, with sumoylation occurring on a single residue (K226). We demonstrate that sumoylation of eIF4A2 is modestly increased in response to arsenite and ionising radiation, but decreases in response to heat shock or hippuristanol. In arsenite-treated cells, but not in hippuristanol-treated cells, eIF4A2 is recruited to stress granules, suggesting sumoylation of eIF4A2 correlates with its recruitment to stress granules. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the inability to sumoylate eIF4A2 results in impaired stress granule formation, indicating a new role for sumoylation in the stress response.
Extraction of Polysaccharides from Japanese Cedar Using Phosphonate-Derived Polar Ionic Liquids Having Functional Groups
Authors: Fukaya Yukinobu , Asai Ryo-ichi , Kadotani Shiho , Nokami Toshiki , Itoh Toshiyuki
Published: May 2016

Extraction of polysaccharides from Japanese cedar using ionic liquids has been demonstrated. To this aim, eleven types of phosphonate ionic liquids have been synthesized, their properties investigated, and applied to biomass processing. All ionic liquids prepared display strong hydrogen-bonding characteristics of Kamlet–Taft parameters (β > 1.1) which enabled the effective extraction of polysaccharides from Japanese cedar. In particular, 15 wt % of polysaccharides was extracted from Japanese cedar powder using 1-(3-methoxypropyl)-3-methylimidazolium ethyl ethylphosphonate. Since the ionic liquid is easily prepared using conventional reagents and might be applicable to large-scale reactions, it is expected that practical polysaccharide extraction using the ionic liquid might be possible from a wide variety of biomass resources.
R&D activity and core business efficiency on the example of technology companies
Authors: Nawrocki Tomasz L.
Published: May 2016

Taking as a basis for discussion the Schumpeter’s innovation theory, this paper analyses the relationship between enterprises activity in the field of research and development, and their efficiency at the core business level. This analysis was performed in two ways – with the assumption shift in time between research and development activities and companies business efficiency, and without it – using the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The sample was accounted for 252 companies from the technology sector, whose shares are traded on NYSE or NASDAQ, and the analysis time period consisted of three years (2011–2013). The results obtained in the course of analysis generally indicate lack of strong relationship between distinguished categories. A noticeable, but only at moderate level, positive correlation was found in both considered approaches only in respect of the relationship between the intensity of expenditures on research and development or y/y change of these expenditures and gross margin on sales. Therefore, it seems to be relevant to extend this research at least in such directions as: identification and characterization of factors determining efficiency of companies research and development activities, as well as examination considered relationship taking into account business diversity within the sector and wider time shift between realized research and development activities and various measures of core business efficiency.
A Game Theoretic Model for the Optimal Location of Integrated Air Defense System Missile Batteries
Authors: Han Chan Y. , Lunday Brian J. , Robbins Matthew J.
Published: May 2016

We examine the optimal location of Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) missile batteries to protect a country’s assets, formulated as a Defender-Attacker-Defender three-stage sequential, perfect information, zero-sum game between two opponents. We formulate a trilevel nonlinear integer program for this Defender-Attacker-Defender model and seek a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium (i.e., a set of attacker and defender strategies from which neither player has an incentive to deviate). Such a trilevel formulation is not solvable via conventional optimization software, and an exhaustive enumeration of the game tree based on the discrete set of strategies is only tractable for small instances. We develop and test a customized heuristic over a set of small instances having deliberate parametric variations in a designed experiment, comparing its performance to an exhaustive enumeration algorithm. Testing results indicate the enumeration approach to be severely limited for realistically sized instances, so we demonstrate the heuristic on a larger instance from the literature for which it maintains computational efficiency.
Crop domestication, global human-mediated migration, and the unresolved role of geography in pest control
Authors: Chen Yolanda H.
Published: May 2016

Ecological pest management seeks to improve pest control through the manipulation of ecological processes that promote natural enemies and suppress pests. These approaches can involve cultural practices such as reduced tillage, increased use of non-crop plants that provide food and shelter for natural enemies, and intercropping to enhance the abundance and diversity of natural enemies. A major assumption of ecological pest management is that these activities can be equally effective for all insect herbivores. Here, I propose that these strategies may only be effective for a subset of pests and geographic regions because most insect pests have complex evolutionary histories that make them difficult to manage. I discuss how crop domestication and human-mediated migration are major evolutionary events that shape the geography of interactions between plants, herbivores, and natural enemies. Insect herbivores can evolve to be pests through three major modes: 1) herbivores associated with the crop wild ancestor may shift onto the domesticated crop, 2) herbivores may host-shift from native host plants onto an introduced crop, or 3) human-mediated migration can introduce insect pests into new cropping regions. The resulting geographic structure can influence the success of pest management by altering ecological factors such as: species distributions, patterns of biodiversity, community structure, and natural enemy attack rates. I discuss how the different modes of insect pest evolution structure a set of relevant questions and approaches for ecological pest management. By acknowledging how agricultural history and geography shape the ecology and evolution of insect pests, we may collectively develop a better capacity to identify where and how ecological pest management approaches can be most broadly effective.
Medical complications of anorexia nervosa
Authors: Shuttleworth E , Sharma S , Lal S , Allan PJ
Published: May 2016

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder with potential life-threatening medical sequelae. This article reviews the principal medical complications associated with anorexia nervosa, highlights associated diagnostic pitfalls and emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to management.
The Philosophical Foundations of Civic Education
Authors: Levine Peter , Higgins-D'Alessandro Ann
Published: May 2016

Those who study and evaluate civic education programs are often reticent about their values or unsure how to defend them. Peter Levine and Ann Higgins-DAlessandro offer a range of philosophical resources for thinking about the values that society should hold and how it should try to transmit these values through civic education to future generations.
‘Punk’s dead, Michael’: Artifice, independence and authenticity in Leigh Bowery’s self-fashioned post-punk performative
Authors: Karantonis Pamela
Published: May 2016

The late London-based Australian nightclub sensation and fashion designer Leigh Bowery deployed a daily ritual of exhibitionist self-fashioning and applied design, which signified a tension between visual orders and performative cultures. In this article, Bowery’s practices are
read as the dissident tactics of a punk-era dandy, by his grotesque self-fashioning parody of the artifice and dehumanizing influence of capitalist culture in the 1980s. From a post-punk perspective, this includes debates around authenticity and artifice that permeate much of our view of pop
culture at that time, in which punk is often emblemized as an unstable signifier of authenticity. For Bowery and his fashionable coterie, punk music and fashion accompanied a ‘look’ – which he dismissed in a piece of archival film footage as being ‘dead’ to choreographer
Michael Clark. However, Bowery’s live art and self-fashioning refused categorization, even in the archive, leading this study to conclude that Bowery enabled continuity between the experimental art movements of the early avant-garde and the infiltration of a punk aesthetic into high-fashion
post-punk commercial codes. Having inspired subsequent generations of artists with a ferocity always compatible with the same ethos of punk independence, it is useful to consider whether, like the historical dandy, he animated only a fixed point in post-punk history or a process that is continually
dialectical.
Boron doses applied to soil during coffee development
Authors: Santinato Felipe , Tavares Tiago De Oliveira , Prado Renato Mello , Caione Gustavo , Silva Vantuir Albuquerque , Santinato Roberto
Published: May 2016

The range between boron deficiency and toxicity in the coffee crop is narrow and the crop toxicity tolerance depends on the soil type, initial soil content and plant age. The objective of this study was to evaluate different levels of boron in the coffee crop during development and grown in a red clayey Oxisol. Treatments consisted of boron applications (zero; 2.48; 4.96; 9.92; 19.8 and 39.68 kg ha-1) in the boric acid form and applied to soil surface in the area of the tree crown projection. The six treatments were outlined in a randomized block design with four replications and ten plants per plot. The cultivar used was Catuaí IAC 144 with sixteen months old, grown in an Oxisol in Campinas, SP, Brazil. Foliar boron content was analyzed as a function of time by regression analysis. The levels in fruit and yield were analyzed by regression according to boron doses. It can be concluded that higher boron doses in the plant can be observed when fruits are at the first development stage. High doses can reduce yield productivity, being each kilogram of applied boron responsible for a reduction of 0.33 coffee bags. ha-1.
Characterization of white-fleshed peach cultivars grown in the ‘Zona da Mata’ area of Minas Gerais State, Brazil
Authors: Silva Danielle Fabíola Pereira da , Matias Rosana Gonçalves Pires , Silva José Osmar Da Costa e , Salazar Alejandro Hurtado , Bruckner Claudio Horst
Published: May 2016

There are few information on the physical and chemical characteristics of peach fruit in subtropical climate regions and the majority of the studies were developed in the southern region of Brazil. In this study, physical and chemical characteristics of 12 white-fleshed peach cultivars (Cristal, Cristal Tacoari, Colibri, Delicioso Precoce, Jóia 1, Jóia 2, Jóia 4, Marli, Okinawa, Pérola de Itaquera, Premier and Tropical) were evaluated. The cultivars were planted in the experimental orchard of the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa – MG, Brazil. The experiment was conducted during the 2011 harvest season, in a completely randomized design with 12 treatments (cultivars), three replications and 10 fruits per plot. The cultivars Delicioso Precoce and Marli showed, in general, higher mass and fruit diameter. Fruits of cultivars Jóia 2 and Tropical presented higher firmness. Cultivar Tropical stood out with better balance between acidity and soluble solids and higher vitamin C and carotenoids contents.
ULTRASONIC SOLDERING OF Cu AND Al2O3 CERAMICS BY USE OF Bi-La AND Bi-Ag-La SOLDERS
Authors: Koleňák Roman , Prach Michal , Kostolný Igor
Published: May 2016

This work deals with the effect of solder alloying with a small amount of lanthanum on joint formation with metallic and ceramic substrate. The Bi-Ag – based solder with 2 wt.% lanthanum addition and Bi solder with 2 wt.% lanthanum addition were studied. Soldering was performed by a
fluxless process on the air, by activation with a power ultrasound. It was found out that, during the process of ultrasonic soldering, lanthanum is distributed on the boundary, both with the copper and the ceramic substrate, which enhances the joint formation. The bond with Al2O3 ceramics is of an adhesive character, without the formation of a new contact interlayer.