bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cultural blindness and ambiguity: Reading (for) and writing about rape
Authors: Johnson Sharon P.
Published: May 2016

In the long nineteenth century, crime reports in popular, sensationalistic broadsheets called canards sanglants contributed to making the crime of rape visible to a broader audience in France. The general public learned about heinous crimes, as vendors in public streets and squares shouted out and sang the papers’ titles and complaintes. Moreover, during the first third of the century, not only did statistical accounts of increasing crime make rape more noticeable, but the visual spectacles of the criminal were replaced by crime reports in the press, such as the Gazette des Tribunaux. After examining why rape sold papers, and explaining my larger corpus of 115 canards sanglants, this essay investigates the murky way in which seven particular crimes of alleged murder were represented in the canards sanglants – two in 1827, the others in 1843, 1852, 1879, 1887 and 1889. These seven crimes share several common features. Ambiguity is manifest in each case, as the crime report declares that only a murder transpired; however, linguistic similarities and parallels with the physical evidence at the crime scenes mirrored the crime of rape. My methodology looks at code words and blind spots that cause the erasure of sexual violence, illuminating what was previously unseen. Bensmaïa’s figurative use of scotoma, as well as the term’s etymology, paradoxically highlight the gaps, shadows or blind spots when legislating, examining or reporting cases of rape or attentat à la pudeur. Both canards sanglants and the legal and medical institutions focused more on brutal acts of sexual violence that occurred to child victims under 13 years of age, rather than to adults. Medical and legal discourses contained significant omissions and blind spots regarding the rape or sodomy of adults.1 Although rape gained greater visibility in the nineteenth century, seven verdicts provide examples of how signs of sexual violence occasionally remained invisible to journalists, judges and forensic doctors.
« Real news from Beirut » : Blog BD et témoignage de guerre
Authors: El Maïzi Myriem
Published: May 2016

Résumé

Les 34 jours de conflit israélo-libanais en juillet–août 2006 donnèrent lieu à une explosion de récits de témoignages prenant la forme de courriels, blogs et vidéos offrant au monde une perspective sur le vécu de cette guerre. L’analyse se penchera sur le blog de Mazen Kerbaj, compositeur et bédéiste libanais qui, du 14 juillet au 27 août 2006, publia quotidiennement des vignettes de bande dessinée représentant son expérience personnelle du conflit, dans les trois langues parlées au Liban (arabe, français et anglais). Ce travail s’attachera ainsi à repenser l’écriture de soi et la question du témoignage de guerre en rapport au double médium du blog BD, réflexion qui se fondera sur le travail récent de Philippe Lejeune en matière d’autobiographie et des nouveaux moyens de communication, ainsi que sur la pensée de Renaud Dulong sur l’importance de la transmission des affects dans le témoignage historique.
Dynamic prediction of recurrent events data by landmarking with application to a follow-up study of patients after kidney transplant
Authors: Musoro JZ , Struijk GH , Geskus RB , ten Berge IJM , Zwinderman AH
Published: May 2016

This paper extends dynamic prediction by landmarking to recurrent event data. The motivating data comprised post-kidney transplantation records of repeated infections and repeated measurements of multiple markers. At each landmark time point ts, a Cox proportional hazards model with a frailty term was fitted using data of individuals who were at risk at landmark s. This model included the time-updated marker values at ts as time-fixed covariates. Based on a stacked data set that merged all landmark data sets, we considered supermodels that allow parameters to depend on the landmarks in a smooth fashion. We described and evaluated four ways to parameterize the supermodels for recurrent event data. With both the study data and simulated data sets, we compared supermodels that were fitted on stacked data sets that consisted of either overlapping or non-overlapping landmark periods. We observed that for recurrent event data, the supermodels may yield biased estimates when overlapping landmark periods are used for stacking. Using the best supermodel amongst the ones considered, we dynamically estimated the probability to remain infection free between ts and a prediction horizon thor, conditional on the information available at ts.
Extended likelihood ratio test-based methods for signal detection in a drug class with application to FDA’s adverse event reporting system database
Authors: Zhao Yueqin , Yi Min , Tiwari Ram C
Published: May 2016

A likelihood ratio test, recently developed for the detection of signals of adverse events for a drug of interest in the FDA Adverse Events Reporting System database, is extended to detect signals of adverse events simultaneously for all the drugs in a drug class. The extended likelihood ratio test methods, based on Poisson model (Ext-LRT) and zero-inflated Poisson model (Ext-ZIP-LRT), are discussed and are analytically shown, like the likelihood ratio test method, to control the type-I error and false discovery rate. Simulation studies are performed to evaluate the performance characteristics of Ext-LRT and Ext-ZIP-LRT. The proposed methods are applied to the Gadolinium drug class in FAERS database. An in-house likelihood ratio test tool, incorporating the Ext-LRT methodology, is being developed in the Food and Drug Administration.
Building Vocabulary of English Learners With Reading Disabilities Through Computer-Assisted Morphology Instruction
Authors: Lo Ya-yu , Anderson Adrienne L. , Bunch-Crump Kimberly
Published: May 2016

Many educators in public schools in the United States experience challenges in meeting the unique needs of the growing population of English learners who must simultaneously attain academic skills while acquiring English language proficiency. Such unique needs intensify for English learners with reading disabilities. Morphological awareness is key to vocabulary knowledge, which is an essential area of literacy instruction. This article provides justification for the use of explicit morphology instruction and offers a structure for developing a computer-assisted morphology instructional program to increase morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge of English learners with reading disabilities.
Evaluating PK–12 Professional Learning Communities
Authors: Woodland Rebecca H.
Published: May 2016

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have emerged as one of the nation’s most widely implemented strategies for improving instruction and PK–12 student learning outcomes. PLCs are predicated on the principles of improvement science, a type of evidenced-based collective inquiry that aims to bridge the research–practice divide and increase organizational capacity to solve pressing problems of practice. In this article, the Teacher Collaboration Assessment Rubric (TCAR) is presented in which the evidenced-based attributes of rigorous PK–12 PLCs are operationalized. The author describes how the TCAR has been used for developmental, formative, and outcome evaluation purposes in PK–12 settings. The value of the TCAR and the evaluation of PLCs in other complex organizational systems such as health care and the sciences are also discussed. PLC evaluation can help teams to focus on improvement and to avoid “collaboration lite” whereby congeniality and imprecise conversation are confused with the disciplined professional inquiry vital to organizational improvement.
The ‘Open Garden of Politics’: The impact of open primaries for candidate selection in the British Conservative Party
Authors: Alexandre-Collier Agnès
Published: May 2016

Since 2003, hundreds of open primaries for the selection of parliamentary candidates have been held by the British Conservative Party as a means of democratising party organisation and enhancing representativeness. In the run-up to the 2015 general election, only 26 primaries could be identified. This article will apply the analytical framework provided by Hazan and Rahat to demonstrate that the relative failure of the experiment in terms of intra-party competition, participation, representation and responsiveness is counterbalanced by the benefits brought by this procedure, both as a tool of party branding at the national level and as a strategy for raising the profiles of candidates at the local level. Therefore, if mainstream parties conceded that the advantages of open primaries need not necessarily be understood in terms of internal democratisation but of party self-promotion, they would realise that open primaries could also serve as a means of preempting populism.
Creating Life
Authors: Webb Sheila M.
Published: May 2016

The beginnings of a new media offer insight into how new forms thrive. Life is called the “biggest mass market hit in the history of publishing.” This study examines the social, technical, and cultural factors behind the first American pictorial and describes the period before Life’s 1936 launch and the decade after, the growth of visuals from 1900 to 1930, and the cultural role visuals played. By Life’s debut, the public was “visually oriented” to visuals with text, prepared to embrace a magazine based on news told via the photo-essay. The study describes how the magazine took shape, the impact of the premier issue, and the development of a visual ideology. This portrait of Life is based on primary materials, archival research, and contemporary accounts. Empirical data ground the analysis of the reasons for the eager adoption of Life and connect this success to the narrative framing in the photo-essays of middle-class and professional achievement.
The Racial Discipline Gap
Authors: DeMatthews David E.
Published: May 2016

Exclusionary discipline and the implementation of zero-tolerance policies are disproportionately used against African American students and other marginalized groups. This case involves an urban school district with historically high rates of suspension, a low-performing middle school, and a new principal seeking to create a more socially just school. The case draws upon critical race theory and social justice leadership to explore issues related to urban education, discipline policy, racism, deficit thinking, and community engagement. The case raises important questions related to educational policy and principal preparation.
More Than Just Test Scores
Authors: Spain Angeline , McMahon Kelly
Published: May 2016

In this case, Sharon Rowley, a veteran principal, volunteers to participate in a new community-driven accountability initiative and encounters dilemmas about what it means to be a “data-driven” instructional leader. This case provides an opportunity for aspiring school leaders to explore and apply data-use theory to the work of leading for instructional improvement, with a specific focus on using new accountability metrics intended to leverage broader conceptions of supporting students’ academic and social well-being. The teaching notes at the end of the case guide readers to consider the leadership demands of responding to the professional and market challenges that emerge from using and communicating about accountability metrics and data-use interventions more generally.
Shock, Chaos, and Change
Authors: Cantú Yvette , Rocha Patricia , Martinez Melissa A.
Published: May 2016

The following case is inspired by real-life events that the authors experienced while working in the K-12 public school system. This case describes the experiences of Mrs. Hodge, a seasoned assistant principal who was unexpectedly assigned to be principal of her elementary school. The case follows Mrs. Hodge through her first 3 years as the principal of Thomas Elementary and describes the challenges she faced as her relationships with teachers changed, the school experienced high teacher turnover, and academic achievement among students declined.
Chronic pancreatitis
Authors: Fiske Joseph
Published: May 2016

Chronic pancreatitis is a challenging condition for a variety of reasons: it is relatively poorly understood, difficult to diagnose, complex to manage, and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this article is to outline the important aspects of this fibro-inflammatory disease, highlighting the difficulties and providing guidance regarding these problems.
The neurobiology of resilience
Authors: Peters David
Published: May 2016

Neuroscience makes possible a new understanding of human nature. The practice of medicine is particularly stressful, and neuroscience helps explain why this is the case. When work is demanding and recovery poor, persistent stress begins to distort our view of ourselves, our patients, and our working world. Empathic doctors are safer, more effective and happier in their work, yet empathy fades as stress levels rise and this fuels the journey into ‘burnout’. If an unrelenting flight-or-fight mode makes us cognitively slower, less able to be empathic and communicative, family medicine turns into an overwhelming uphill struggle. Can this downward spiral be reversed? Resilience varies over time, depending on the balance of positive and negative influences; many of these needs being determined by our evolutionary heritage. A better grasp of current ideas about the interpersonal neurobiology of stress, emotion, social engagement and empathy can help us make sense of our predicament and find ways to embark on personal, organisational and cultural change. In challenging and stressful circumstances, if we can cultivate self-care and self-awareness, core values, and especially the ability to self-soothe, we may give ourselves a better chance to flourish both individually and as a profession.
What is the role of sipuleucel-T in the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer? An update on the evidence
Authors: Hu Rachel , George Daniel J. , Zhang Tian
Published: May 2016

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and the second most deadly. About one-third of patients with prostate cancer will develop metastatic disease. We discuss the six United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatments for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with a strong focus on sipuleucel-T. Sipuleucel-T is the first immunotherapy shown to improve survival in asymptomatic or minimally-symptomatic mCRPC. Herein, we discuss the proposed mechanism of sipuleucel-T and its synthesis. We describe in detail the three randomized controlled trials (RTCs) that led to its approval. We also compiled the newest research regarding use of sipuleucel-T with other agents and in different patient populations. Finally, we discuss the current ongoing trials.
Comparison of wing–propeller interaction in tractor and pusher configuration
Authors: Chinwicharnam Kwanchai , Thipyopas Chinnapat
Published: May 2016

This research compared a tractor and a pusher configuration for a tilt-body vertical take-off and landing micro air vehicle using an experiment in a subsonic wind tunnel. All tests were conducted in the range 6–10 m/s and 6000–8000 RPM of the freestream and the propeller rotation, respectively. The wing model was a rectangular platform with an NACA 0012 airfoil and AR = 1. The incidence angles varied within the range 0°–90° to cover flight configuration from cruise to hover and vice versa. Basically, the downstream of the propeller is stronger than the upstream. Thus the wing submerses in the propeller’s downstream, which is the tractor configuration, and has an advantage over the other configuration by increasing the freestream velocity and decreasing the angle of attack. The results of the experiment found that the wing aerodynamics of the tractor were improved by the prop-wash effect with increases of about 1–1.13 times in the wing lift curve slope and about 0.9–1.12 times in the factor K of the drag polar curve. However, in the case of the pusher, the change was not significant. The stall angle, the maximum lift coefficient, and the drag coefficient at zero angle of the wing all increased in both the tractor and the pusher configurations due to the prop-wash effect. Moreover, after experiencing the prop-wash effect, the aerodynamic center of the tractor wing was almost at the same point.
Fatal cardiovascular instability secondary to hypercalcaemia and intracellular calcium deposition complicating T-cell leukaemia-lymphoma
Authors: Shepherd Stephen J , Wong Davina , Mahadeva Ula , Goldsmith David , Shankar-Hari Manu , Ostermann Marlies
Published: May 2016

Adult T-cell leukaemia-lymphoma is a rare haematological malignancy, which can cause severe hypercalcaemia and metastatic calcification resulting in life-threatening arrhythmias.
Rare times rare: The hyponatremia, rhabdomyolysis, anterior compartment syndrome sequence
Authors: Dubin Ina , Gelber Moshe , Schattner Ami
Published: May 2016

Lesson

Primary polydipsia occurs in up to 25% of patients with chronic psychiatric disorders (especially schizophrenia), related to the disease, its treatment or both. Urine output fails to match intake >10 L/day and water intoxication may develop. Rhabdomyolysis is a rare complication of hyponatremia, and an acute anterior compartment syndrome of the leg, an emergency, may be very rarely associated.
Rare and unusual clinicopathologic presentation of renal AL amyloidosis
Authors: Logan Andrew , Zuppan Craig , Pi Alexander , Zhang Zhiwei , Jaipaul Navin
Published: May 2016

Lesson

Rarely, renal light chain (AL) amyloidosis may present without significant proteinuria owing to glomerular sparing and amyloid deposition confined to the vasculature and tubulointerstitium.
Successful Surgical Excision of a Large Cardiac Fibroma in an Asymptomatic Child
Authors: Borodinova Olga , Ostras Oleksii , Raad Tammo , Yemets Illya
Published: May 2016

Cardiac fibroma is a rare disease, and the management of asymptomatic patients is controversial. We report a case of successful surgical excision of a large cardiac fibroma in an asymptomatic child. Surgery should be considered for such a patient, as sudden cardiac death may occur in the absence of premonitory symptoms.
The Effects of Workplace Physical Activity Programs on Musculoskeletal Pain
Authors: Moreira-Silva Isabel , Teixeira Pedro M. , Santos Rute , Abreu Sandra , Moreira Carla , Mota Jorge
Published: May 2016

This article reviews the effectiveness of physical activity (PA) interventions at the workplace to reduce musculoskeletal pain among employees and assesses the effect size of these programs using meta-analysis. Four databases (i.e., PubMed, EBSCO, Web of Science, and Cochrane) were searched for research trials, which included comparison groups of employees that assessed PA programs, musculoskeletal pain, and health-related behaviors, published between January 1990 and March 2013. The meta-analysis estimates of standardized mean differences (Hedges’ g) present significant evidence of less general pain ( g = −.40 with a 95% confidence interval [CI] = [−0.78, −0.02]) and neck and shoulder pain ( g = −.37 with a 95% CI = [−0.63, −0.12]) in intervention groups. The few studies of low back pain and arm, elbow, wrist, hand, or finger pain did not present sufficient statistically significant evidence. Consistent evidence demonstrates that workplace PA interventions significantly reduce general musculoskeletal pain and neck and shoulder pain. More studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of work-related PA interventions for arm, elbow, wrist, hand or finger, and low back pain.
Worksite Physical Activity Intervention for Ambulatory Clinic Nursing Staff
Authors: Tucker Sharon , Farrington Michele , Lanningham-Foster Lorraine M. , Clark M. Kathleen , Dawson Cindy , Quinn Geralyn J. , Laffoon Trudy , Perkhounkova Yelena
Published: May 2016

Health behaviors, including physical activity (PA), of registered nurses (RNs) and medical assistants (MAs) are suboptimal but may improve with worksite programs. Using a repeated-measures crossover design, the authors explored if integrating a 6-month worksite non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) intervention, with and without personalized health coaching via text messaging into workflow could positively affect sedentary time, PA, and body composition of nursing staff without jeopardizing work productivity. Two ambulatory clinics were randomly assigned to an environmental NEAT intervention plus a mobile text message coaching for either the first 3 months (early texting group, n = 27) or the last 3 months (delayed texting group, n = 13), with baseline 3-month and 6-month measurements. Sedentary and PA levels, fat mass, and weight improved for both groups, significantly only for the early text group. Productivity did not decline for either group. This worksite intervention is feasible and may benefit nursing staff.
Arbeitnehmermitbestimmung und die Europäische Aktiengesellschaft (SE): Eine empirische Analyse auf Länderebene
Authors: Weiß Dominik
Published: May 2016

Dieser Beitrag untersucht, ob die Existenz nationaler gesetzlicher Regelungen zur Mitbestimmung auf Unternehmensebene ein Motiv zur Gründung Europäischer Aktiengesellschaften (Societas Europaea, SE) darstellt. Das Gesellschaftsrecht dieser supranationalen Rechtsform besitzt in weiten Teilen grenzübergreifende Gültigkeit. Hiervon ist auch der Bereich zur unternehmerischen Arbeitnehmermitbestimmung betroffen. Der Umfang von Mitbestimmungsrechten ist für die SE nicht, wie in vielen Mitgliedsstaaten des Europäischen Wirtschaftsraums (EWR), explizit durch den Gesetzgeber vorgegeben, sondern wird zwischen Arbeitgebern und Arbeitnehmern frei ausgehandelt. Durch ein gesetzlich vorgeschriebenes Mindestmaß an Mitbestimmung können die Eigentümer von Unternehmen finanzielle Verluste erleiden. In den betroffenen Ländern sollten die SE und frei ausgehandelte Beteiligungsrechte dementsprechend als attraktiver empfunden werden. Basierend auf einem selbst zusammengestellten Datensatz zeigen die Ergebnisse negativ binomialer Regressionsanalysen, dass die Existenz nationaler gesetzlicher Regelungen zur Arbeitnehmermitbestimmung einen positiven Einfluss auf die Anzahl von SE-Gründungen in einem EWR-Land hat.
TopHat-Recondition: a post-processor for TopHat unmapped reads
Authors: Brueffer Christian , Saal Lao H.
Published: May 2016

Background

TopHat is a popular spliced junction mapper for RNA sequencing data, and writes files in the BAM format – the binary version of the Sequence Alignment/Map (SAM) format. BAM is the standard exchange format for aligned sequencing reads, thus correct format implementation is paramount for software interoperability and correct analysis. However, TopHat writes its unmapped reads in a way that is not compatible with other software that implements the SAM/BAM format.

Results

We have developed TopHat-Recondition, a post-processor for TopHat unmapped reads that restores read information in the proper format. TopHat-Recondition thus enables downstream software to process the plethora of BAM files written by TopHat.

Conclusions

TopHat-Recondition can repair unmapped read files written by TopHat and is freely available under a 2-clause BSD license on GitHub: https://github.com/cbrueffer/tophat-recondition.
Co-culture with neonatal cardiomyocytes enhances the proliferation of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes via FAK/JNK signaling
Authors: Ou Dongbo , Wang Qi , Huang Yanjin , Zeng Di , Wei Ting , Ding Lu , Li Xiaoli , Zheng Qiangsun , Jin Yan
Published: May 2016

Background

We previously reported that the pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into cardiomyocytes (CMs) by co-culture with neonatal CMs (NCMs) in vitro. However, the involving mechanism is not clear.

Methods

Mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were cultured in hanging drops to form embryoid bodies (EBs) and to induce myocardial differentiation. Co-culture of EBs and NCMs was established in a transwell insert system, while EBs grown alone in the wells were used as controls.

Results

Co-culture with NCMs markedly increased the generation of functional CMs from iPSCs. The focal adhesion kinase (FAK) phosphorylation, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation in co-culture were higher than that in EBs grown alone. Treating FAK small interfering RNA (FAK siRNA) or specific inhibitor for JNK (SP600125) to iPSCs significantly reduced the phosphorylation of JNK and the expressions of Mef2c and Bcl-2. The expressions of cTnT and MLC-2V were also decreased. Our results revealed that co-culture with NCMs significantly enhance the differentiation ability of iPSCs by increasing Mef2c and Bcl-2 expressions concomitantly with a marked augment on cell proliferation through JNK signaling pathways.

Conclusions

These findings indicated that co-culture of EBs with NCMs induces genes expressed in a mature pattern and stimulates the proliferation of iPSC-derived CMs (iPS-CMs) by activating FAK/JNK signaling.
The $(\alpha, \beta)$-generalized convex contractive condition with approximate fixed point results and some consequence
Authors: Latif Abdul , Ninsri Aphinat , Sintunavarat Wutiphol
Published: May 2016

The aim of this work is to introduce some new notions of generalized convex contraction mappings and establish some approximate fixed point theorems for such mappings in the setting of complete metric spaces. Examples and application to approximate fixed point results for cyclic mappings are also given in order to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.
The McGill Thyroid Nodule Score's (MTNS+) role in the investigation of thyroid nodules with benign ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsies: A retrospective review
Authors: Khalife Sarah , Bouhabel Sarah , Forest Veronique-Isabelle , Hier Michael P. , Rochon Louise , Tamilia Michael , Payne Richard J.
Published: May 2016

Background

Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (USFNA) biopsies of thyroid nodules sometimes create a decision-making dilemma for surgeons as they may yield falsely benign results. The McGill Thyroid Nodule Score + (MTNS+) was developed to aid in clinical guidance regarding the management of patients with these USFNA results. The aim of this study was to assess the MTNS+ as a clinical tool in patients with benign preoperative thyroid nodule USFNAs and to analyze the relationship between nodule size and malignancy in these patients.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective chart review of 1312 patients who underwent thyroidectomies between 2010 and 2015 at the McGill University Teaching Hospitals. Patients with Bethesda II (benign) USFNA results, calculated MTNS+, and nodule size evaluated on ultrasound were included in the study. The false-negative rate was calculated, and MTNS+ and nodule size were each compared to final pathology results. Binary logistic regression was used for statistical analysis.

Results

Of the 1312 patients, 101 met the inclusion criteria and together had an average MTNS+ score of 6.83, which corresponds to a predicted malignancy rate between 25 and 33 %. Final pathology revealed malignancy in 16 (15.8 %) subjects. The average MTNS+ of patients with malignant nodules on surgical pathology was 8.25, while that of patients with benign nodules was 6.56. Patients with nodule size 1–1.9 cm (a) and 2–2.9 cm (b) each had an equal rate of malignancy of 2.97 % ( n = 3), nodule size 3–3.9 cm (c) had a rate of 1.98 % ( n = 2), and nodule size ≥4 cm (d) a rate of 7.92 % ( n = 8).

Conclusion

The rate of malignancy (15.8 %) is higher than expected when reviewing the risk of malignancy in nodules considered as Bethesda class 2. On the other hand, the rate is lower than the 25–33 % predicted by the MTNS+. We also found a higher malignancy rate for nodules above 4 cm in size, but size was a poor predictor of malignancy when used alone. Therefore, while the MTNS+ may be helpful at helping to identify USFNAs that are incorrectly classified as benign, the percentage risk of malignancy is lower than expected.
The WISHED Trial: Implementation of an Interactive Health Communication Application for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Harvey Andrea , Walsh Michael , Jain Arsh K. , Bosch Eric , Moreau Cathy , Garland Jocelyn , Brimble K. Scott
Published: May 2016

Background:

Despite many advantages over facility-based therapies, less than 25 % of prevalent dialysis patients in Ontario are on a home therapy. Interactive health communication applications, web-based packages for patients, have been shown to have a beneficial effect on knowledge, social support, self-efficacy, and behavioral and clinical outcomes but have not been evaluated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Web-based tools designed for patients with CKD exist but to our knowledge have not been assessed in their ability to influence dialysis modality decision-making.

Objective:

To determine if a web-based tool increases utilization of a home-based therapy in patients with CKD starting dialysis.

Design:

This is a multi-centered randomized controlled study.

Setting:

Participants will be recruited from sites in Canada.

Participants:

Two hundred and sixty-four consenting patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) less than 20 ml/min/1.73 m2 who have received modality education will be enrolled in the study.

Measurements:

The primary outcome will be the proportion of participants who are on dialysis using a home-based therapy within 3 months of dialysis initiation. Secondary outcomes will include the proportion of patients intending to perform a home-based modality and measures of dialysis knowledge, decision conflict, and social support.

Methods:

The between-group differences in frequencies will be expressed as either absolute risk differences and/or by calculating the odds ratio and its associated 95 % confidence interval.

Conclusions:

This study will assess whether access to a website dedicated to supporting and promoting home-based dialysis therapies will increase the proportion of patients with CKD who initiate a home-based dialysis therapy.

Trial registration:

ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT01403454, registration date: July 21, 2011.
The evidence for natural therapeutics as potential anti-scarring agents in burn-related scarring
Authors: Mehta M. , Branford O. A. , Rolfe K. J.
Published: May 2016

Though survival rate following severe thermal injuries has improved, the incidence and treatment of scarring have not improved at the same speed. This review discusses the formation of scars and in particular the formation of hypertrophic scars. Further, though there is as yet no gold standard treatment for the prevention or treatment of scarring, a brief overview is included. A number of natural therapeutics have shown beneficial effects both in vivo and in vitro with the potential of becoming clinical therapeutics in the future. These natural therapeutics include both plant-based products such as resveratrol, quercetin and epigallocatechin gallate as examples and includes the non-plant-based therapeutic honey. The review also includes potential mechanism of action for the therapeutics, any recorded adverse events and current administration of the therapeutics used. This review discusses a number of potential ‘treatments’ that may reduce or even prevent scarring particularly hypertrophic scarring, which is associated with thermal injuries without compromising wound repair.
A hierarchical elastic full-waveform inversion scheme based on wavefield separation and the multistep-length approach
Authors: Ren Zhiming , Liu Yang
Published: May 2016

Elastic full-waveform inversion (FWI) updates model parameters by minimizing the residuals of the P- and S-wavefields, resulting in more local minima and serious nonlinearity. In addition, the coupling of different parameters degrades the inversion results. To address these problems, we have developed a hierarchical elastic FWI scheme based on wavefield separation and a multistep-length gradient approach. First, we have derived the gradients expressed by different wave modes; analyzed the crosstalk between various parameters; and evaluated the sensitivity of separated P-wave, separated S-wave, and P- and S-wave misfit functions. Then, a practical four-stage inversion workflow was developed. In the first stage, conventional FWI is used to achieve rough estimates of the P- and S-wave velocities. In the second stage, we only invert the P-wave velocity applying the separated P-wavefields when strong S-wave energy is involved, or we merely update the S-wave velocity by matching the separated S-wavefields for the weak S-wave case. The PP and PS gradient formulas are used in these two cases, respectively. Therefore, the nonlinearity of inversion and the crosstalk between parameters are greatly reduced. In the third stage, the multistep-length gradient scheme is adopted. The density structure can be improved owing to the use of individual step lengths for different parameters. In the fourth stage, we make minor adjustments to the recovered P- and S-wave velocities and density by implementing conventional FWI again. Synthetic examples have determined that our hierarchical FWI scheme with the aforementioned steps obtains more plausible models than the conventional method. Inversion results of each stage and any three stages reveal that wavefield decomposition and the multistep-length approach are helpful to improve the accuracy of velocities and density, respectively, and all the stages of our hierarchical FWI method are necessary to give a good recovery of P- and S-wave velocities and density.
Neurons and Glial Cells Are Added to the Female Rat Anteroventral Periventricular Nucleus During Puberty
Authors: Mohr Margaret A. , Garcia Francisca L. , DonCarlos Lydia L. , Sisk Cheryl L.
Published: May 2016

The anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) orchestrates the neuroendocrine-positive feedback response that triggers ovulation in female rodents. The AVPV is larger and more cell-dense in females than in males, and during puberty, only females develop the capacity to show a positive feedback response. We previously reported a potential new mechanism to explain this female-specific gain of function during puberty, namely a female-biased sex difference in the pubertal addition of new cells to the rat AVPV. Here we first asked whether this sex difference is due to greater cell proliferation and/or survival in females. Female and male rats received the cell birthdate marker 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU; 200 mg/kg, ip) on postnatal day (P) 30; brains were collected at short and long intervals after BrdU administration to assess cell proliferation and survival, respectively. Overall, females had more BrdU-immunoreactive cells in the AVPV than did males, with no sex differences in the rate of cell attrition over time. Thus, the sex difference in pubertal addition of AVPV cells appears to be due to greater cell proliferation in females. Next, to determine the phenotype of pubertally born AVPV cells, daily BrdU injections were given to female rats on P28–56, and tissue was collected on P77 to assess colocalization of BrdU and markers for mature neurons or glia. Of the pubertally born AVPV cells, approximately 15% differentiated into neurons, approximately 19% into astrocytes, and approximately 23% into microglia. Thus, both neuro- and gliogenesis occur in the pubertal female rat AVPV and potentially contribute to maturation of female reproductive function.
Membrane-Localized Estrogen Receptor 1 Is Required for Normal Male Reproductive Development and Function in Mice
Authors: Nanjappa Manjunatha K. , Hess Rex A. , Medrano Theresa I. , Locker Seth H. , Levin Ellis R. , Cooke Paul S.
Published: May 2016

Estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) mediates major reproductive functions of 17β-estradiol (E2). Male Esr1 knockout (Esr1KO) mice are infertile due to efferent ductule and epididymal abnormalities. The majority of ESR1 is nuclear/cytoplasmic; however, a small fraction is palmitoylated at cysteine 451 in mice and localized to cell membranes, in which it mediates rapid E2 actions. This study used an Esr1 knock-in mouse containing an altered palmitoylation site (C451A) in ESR1 that prevented cell membrane localization, although nuclear ESR1 was expressed. These nuclear-only estrogen receptor 1 (NOER) mice were used to determine the roles of membrane ESR1 in males. Epididymal sperm motility was reduced 85% in 8-month-old NOER mice compared with wild-type controls. The NOER mice had decreased epididymal sperm viability and greater than 95% of sperm had abnormalities, including coiled midpieces and tails, absent heads, and folded tails; this was comparable to 4-month Esr1KO males. At 8 months, daily sperm production in NOER males was reduced 62% compared with controls. The NOER mice had histological changes in the rete testes, efferent ductules, and seminiferous tubules that were comparable with those previously observed in Esr1KO males. Serum T was increased in NOER males, but FSH, LH, and E2 were unchanged. Critically, NOER males were initially subfertile, becoming infertile with advancing age. These findings identify a previously unknown role for membrane ESR1 in the development of normal sperm and providing an adequate environment for spermatogenesis.
11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 Is Expressed in Neutrophils and Restrains an Inflammatory Response in Male Mice
Authors: Coutinho Agnes E. , Kipari Tiina M. J. , Zhang Zhenguang , Esteves Cristina L. , Lucas Christopher D. , Gilmour James S. , Webster Scott P. , Walker Brian R. , Hughes Jeremy , Savill John S. , Seckl Jonathan R. , Rossi Adriano G. , Chapman Karen E.
Published: May 2016

Endogenous glucocorticoid action within cells is enhanced by prereceptor metabolism by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1), which converts intrinsically inert cortisone and 11-dehydrocorticosterone into active cortisol and corticosterone, respectively. 11β-HSD1 is highly expressed in immune cells elicited to the mouse peritoneum during thioglycollate-induced peritonitis and is down-regulated as the inflammation resolves. During inflammation, 11β-HSD1-deficient mice show enhanced recruitment of inflammatory cells and delayed acquisition of macrophage phagocytic capacity. However, the key cells in which 11β-HSD1 exerts these effects remain unknown. Here we have identified neutrophils (CD11b+,Ly6G+,7/4+ cells) as the thioglycollate-recruited cells that most highly express 11β-HSD1 and show dynamic regulation of 11β-HSD1 in these cells during an inflammatory response. Flow cytometry showed high expression of 11β-HSD1 in peritoneal neutrophils early during inflammation, declining at later states. In contrast, expression in blood neutrophils continued to increase during inflammation. Ablation of monocytes/macrophages by treatment of CD11b-diphtheria-toxin receptor transgenic mice with diphtheria toxin prior to thioglycollate injection had no significant effect on 11β-HSD1 activity in peritoneal cells, consistent with neutrophils being the predominant 11β-HSD1 expressing cell type at this time. Similar to genetic deficiency in 11β-HSD1, acute inhibition of 11β-HSD1 activity during thioglycollate-induced peritonitis augmented inflammatory cell recruitment to the peritoneum. These data suggest that neutrophil 11β-HSD1 increases during inflammation to contribute to the restraining effect of glucocorticoids upon neutrophil-mediated inflammation. In human neutrophils, lipopolysaccharide activation increased 11β-HSD1 expression, suggesting the antiinflammatory effects of 11β-HSD1 in neutrophils may be conserved in humans.
Formin 1 Regulates Microtubule and F-Actin Organization to Support Spermatid Transport During Spermatogenesis in the Rat Testis
Authors: Li Nan , Mruk Dolores D. , Tang Elizabeth I. , Lee Will M. , Wong Chris K. C. , Cheng C. Yan
Published: May 2016

Formin 1 confers actin nucleation by generating long stretches of actin microfilaments to support cell movement, cell shape, and intracellular protein trafficking. Formin 1 is likely involved in microtubule (MT) dynamics due to the presence of a MT binding domain near its N terminus. Here, formin 1 was shown to structurally interact with α-tubulin, the building block of MT, and also end-binding protein 1 (a MT plus [+]-end-binding protein that stabilizes MT) in the testis. Knockdown of formin 1 in Sertoli cells with an established tight junction barrier was found to induce down-regulation of detyrosinated MT (a stabilized form of MT), and disorganization of MTs, in which MTs were retracted from the cell cortical zone, mediated through a loss of MT polymerization and down-regulation of Akt1/2 signaling kinase. An efficient knockdown of formin 1 in the testis reduced the number of track-like structures conferred by MTs and F-actin considerably, causing defects in spermatid and phagosome transport across the seminiferous epithelium. In summary, formin1 maintains MT and F-actin track-like structures to support spermatid and phagosome transport across the seminiferous epithelium during spermatogenesis.
Diverse Genotypes and Phenotypes of Three Novel Thyroid Hormone Receptor-α Mutations
Authors: Demir Korcan , van Gucht Anja L. M. , Büyükinan Muammer , Çatlı Gönül , Ayhan Yavuz , Baş Veysel Nijat , Dündar Bumin , Özkan Behzat , Meima Marcel E. , Visser W. Edward , Peeters Robin P. , Visser Theo J.
Published: May 2016

Context:

Recently several patients with resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH)-α due to T3 receptor-α (TRα) mutations were identified. The phenotype of these patients consists of varying degrees of growth impairment, delayed bone, mental and motor development, constipation, macrocephaly, and near-normal thyroid function tests.

Objective:

The objective of the study was to describe the clinical phenotype of three new families with RTHα and thereby gain more detailed knowledge on this novel syndrome.

Design, Setting, and Participants:

RTHα was suspected in three index patients from different families. Detailed clinical and biochemical assessment and imaging and genetic analyses were performed in the patients and their relatives. In addition, functional consequences of TRα mutations were investigated in vitro.

Results:

We studied 22 individuals from three families and identified 10 patients with heterozygous TRα mutations: C380fs387X, R384H, and A263S, respectively. The frame-shift mutation completely inactivated TRα, whereas the missense mutations produced milder defects. These mutations were associated with decreasing severity of the clinical phenotype: the patient in family 1 showed severe defects in growth, mental, and motor development, whereas the seven patients in family 3 had only mild clinical features. The most frequent abnormalities were anemia, constipation, and a delay in at least one of the developmental milestones. Serum free T3 ranged from high-normal to high and serum free T4 and rT3 from normal to low. TSH levels were normal in all patients.

Conclusions:

This large case series underlines the variation in the clinical phenotype of RTHα patients. RTHα should be suspected in subjects when even mild clinical and laboratory features of hypothyroidism are present along with high/high-normal free T3, low/normal free T4, and normal TSH.
Toward a Polylogical Philology of the Literatures of the World
Authors: Ette Ottmar
Published: May 2016

As the world cannot be adequately understood from the vantage point of a single language, the literatures of the world can no longer be trimmed to a single world literature in the Goethean sense. This recognition bodes well for the future of philology and of literary production. Through multiperspectival writing, knowledge of life may be attainable without being reduced to a single political, medial, cartographical, geocultural, or aesthetic logic. As a laboratory for polylogical thinking, literature does not represent reality, as Erich Auerbach put it. Rather, it represents multiple lived, experienced, or relivable realities. Whoever is open to a polylogical reception of the literatures of the world can perceive and experience how life knowledge transforms into lived knowledge and how knowledge for survival turns into knowledge for living together. However, literature can be more than it is only if it stays aware of the void, of lack, of privation, of the interminable: aware of the end that never is an end. Such a planetary concept of the literatures of the world offers valuable opportunities to all those who do not fall into the trap of contenting themselves with a supposed abundance of text.
Opacity of Theater: Reading Racine with and against Louis Marin
Authors: Guyot Sylvaine
Published: May 2016

Emphasizing the crucial role played by the bodily medium in Racinian theater, this essay challenges the long critical tradition that has reduced Jean Racine’s dramaturgy to the poetic effects of its language, and French neoclassical tragedy to a transcoding of royal ceremonies. The omission of Racine’s tragic corpus is a gaping hole in Louis Marin’s discussion of the seventeenth-century theory of representation. Marin sees a perfect correlation between Pierre Corneille’s theater and the theatricality of power, conceived of as a force constructed through a dialectic between the hidden and the shown. Quite the opposite, Racine’s plays dramatize and reflect on two opposing regimes of theatricality. Each in its own way, Bérénice, Mithridate, and Phèdre contrast the political force of the “portrait of the king” and the emotional efficiency of theater as an art of the body. In resonance with the period’s debates in the visual arts, and within the overlapping contexts of the developing culture of galanterie and the quarrel of the ancients and the moderns, Racinian drama calls attention in a striking and unprecedented reflexive manner to the opacity of the theatrical body, whose effects reveal themselves to be both stronger and more unruly than those of monarchical representations.
Sun proteins and Dpy19l2 forming LINC-like links are critical for spermiogenesis
Authors: Ray Pierre F. , Coutton Charles , Arnoult Christophe
Published: May 2016

Summary: In this response to Pasch et al.’s (2015) discovery that Sun4 is essential for sperm head formation, the authors highlight that like Sun4, Dpy19l2 has a likely LINK-like function and that it also plays a crucial role in spermiogenesis and male infertility.
Targeting surface voids to counter membrane disorders in lipointoxication-related diseases
Authors: Ferru-Clément Romain , Spanova Miroslava , Dhayal Shalinee , Morgan Noel G. , Hélye Reynald , Becq Frédéric , Hirose Hisaaki , Antonny Bruno , Vamparys Lydie , Fuchs Patrick F. J. , Ferreira Thierry
Published: May 2016

Saturated fatty acids (SFA), which are abundant in the so-called western diet, have been shown to efficiently incorporate within membrane phospholipids and therefore impact on organelle integrity and function in many cell types. In the present study, we have developed a yeast-based two-step assay and a virtual screening strategy to identify new drugs able to counter SFA-mediated lipointoxication. The compounds identified here were effective in relieving lipointoxication in mammalian β-cells, one of the main targets of SFA toxicity in humans. In vitro reconstitutions and molecular dynamics simulations on bilayers revealed that these molecules, albeit according to different mechanisms, can generate voids at the membrane surface. The resulting surface defects correlate with the recruitment of loose lipid packing or void-sensing proteins required for vesicular budding, a central cellular process that is precluded under SFA accumulation. Taken together, the results presented here point at modulation of surface voids as a central parameter to consider in order to counter the impacts of SFA on cell function.