bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Blacks’ Death Rate Due to Circulatory Diseases Is Positively Related to Whites’ Explicit Racial Bias
Authors: Leitner Jordan B. , Hehman Eric , Ayduk Ozlem , Mendoza-Denton Rodolfo
Published: August 2016

Perceptions of racial bias have been linked to poorer circulatory health among Blacks compared with Whites. However, little is known about whether Whites’ actual racial bias contributes to this racial disparity in health. We compiled racial-bias data from 1,391,632 Whites and examined whether racial bias in a given county predicted Black-White disparities in circulatory-disease risk (access to health care, diagnosis of a circulatory disease; Study 1) and circulatory-disease-related death rate (Study 2) in the same county. Results revealed that in counties where Whites reported greater racial bias, Blacks (but not Whites) reported decreased access to health care (Study 1). Furthermore, in counties where Whites reported greater racial bias, both Blacks and Whites showed increased death rates due to circulatory diseases, but this relationship was stronger for Blacks than for Whites (Study 2). These results indicate that racial disparities in risk of circulatory disease and in circulatory-disease-related death rate are more pronounced in communities where Whites harbor more explicit racial bias.
Information literacy for visually impaired teachers in Pakistan
Authors: Khan Arif , Idrees Haroon , Asghar Ali , Aziz Urrehman
Published: August 2016

There are more than 285 million blind and visually impaired people in the world, 90% of whom live in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study on visually impaired school teachers in Pakistan in order to examine how they identify, explore, select, organize, create, present, assess and apply information (IFLA’s Information Literacy Empowering Eight model) in teaching and everyday life. Interviews were conducted in January 2015 with 55 visually impaired teachers in 10 schools for the blind located in the province of Khyber PukhtunKhwa, Pakistan. The study also explores their ability to find, evaluate, and apply pedagogical information. Collected data revealed information on different aspects of information literacy skills. Although basic skills of the studied population were assessed; the study found that visually impaired teachers are highly skilled in terms of organizing the information and they prefer to take personal responsibility while searching for required information. They were found less skilled in using and apply new tools for information searching and lacking in ability to present the data effectively. This is the first research on the information literacy skills of visually impaired teachers in Pakistan. Results are useful for planners and experts to integrate IFLA’s E8 model of information literacy into several courses taught at the blind schools in order to enable the disadvantaged community to benefit from the information literacy skills.
Academic library website functions in the context of users’ information needs
Authors: Mierzecka Anna , Suminas Andrius
Published: August 2016

The digital revolution has had a particular impact on the functioning of libraries: it has changed both the means of communicating with the users, and the nature of the service itself. In the case of academic libraries, an online presence is crucial due to the increased rate of Internet usage among their stakeholders, academics and students alike. From their perspective, library websites serve as digital gates to library services and resources. However, an academic library website may fulfil a wide array of functions and their importance can be variously prioritized. The purpose of our research was to find out which functions of academic library websites are viewed as the most important by a selected group of users: the students. To answer this question, we identified the main functions of academic library websites on the basis of desk research and designed a survey conducted among students of the University of Warsaw (Poland) and Vilnius University (Lithuania) ( n=680). The picture of users’ information needs with regard to content of the academic library website revealed by our research allows us to draw conclusions about the functions of the academic library website distinctive from those already mentioned in the subject literature. From the perspective of a user-centric approach we distinguished five functions of the academic library website: (1) supporting the usage of the collection (online and traditional); (2) promotion of culture; (3) gateway for locating information on the Web; (4) education; (5) creation of library’s online image.
Linear models of coregionalization for multivariate lattice data: Order-dependent and order-free cMCARs
Authors: MacNab Ying C
Published: August 2016

This paper concerns with multivariate conditional autoregressive models defined by linear combination of independent or correlated underlying spatial processes. Known as linear models of coregionalization, the method offers a systematic and unified approach for formulating multivariate extensions to a broad range of univariate conditional autoregressive models. The resulting multivariate spatial models represent classes of coregionalized multivariate conditional autoregressive models that enable flexible modelling of multivariate spatial interactions, yielding coregionalization models with symmetric or asymmetric cross-covariances of different spatial variation and smoothness. In the context of multivariate disease mapping, for example, they facilitate borrowing strength both over space and cross variables, allowing for more flexible multivariate spatial smoothing. Specifically, we present a broadened coregionalization framework to include order-dependent, order-free, and order-robust multivariate models; a new class of order-free coregionalized multivariate conditional autoregressives is introduced. We tackle computational challenges and present solutions that are integral for Bayesian analysis of these models. We also discuss two ways of computing deviance information criterion for comparison among competing hierarchical models with or without unidentifiable prior parameters. The models and related methodology are developed in the broad context of modelling multivariate data on spatial lattice and illustrated in the context of multivariate disease mapping. The coregionalization framework and related methods also present a general approach for building spatially structured cross-covariance functions for multivariate geostatistics.
A model to estimate the impact of changes in MMR vaccine uptake on inequalities in measles susceptibility in Scotland
Authors: Napier Gary , Lee Duncan , Robertson Chris , Lawson Andrew , Pollock Kevin G
Published: August 2016

An article published in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield in The Lancet (volume 351, pages 637–641) led to concerns surrounding the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, by associating it with an increased risk of autism. The paper was later retracted after multiple epidemiological studies failed to find any association, but a substantial decrease in UK vaccination rates was observed in the years following publication. This paper proposes a novel spatio-temporal Bayesian hierarchical model with accompanying software (the R package CARBayesST) to simultaneously address three key epidemiological questions about vaccination rates: (i) what impact did the controversy have on the overall temporal trend in vaccination rates in Scotland; (ii) did the magnitude of the spatial inequality in measles susceptibility in Scotland increase due to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination scare; and (iii) are there any covariate effects, such as deprivation, that impacted on measles susceptibility in Scotland. The efficacy of the model is tested by simulation, before being applied to measles susceptibility data in Scotland among a series of cohorts of children who were aged 2.5–4.5, in September of the years 1998 to 2014.
Progressive failure prediction of woven fabric composites using a multi-scale approach
Authors: Xu Lei , Huang YuanChen , Zhao Chao , Ha Sung Kyu
Published: August 2016

Finite element representative unit cell models are established for the study of progressive failure of woven fabrics: plain weave, twill weave, and satin weave. A multi-scale approach ranging from the meso-scale to micro-scale regime is used, providing the failure observation inside the constituents. The constituent stresses of the fiber and matrix in the warp and fill tows of the woven fabric unit cell are calculated using micromechanics. Correlations between meso-scale tow stresses and micro-scale constituent stresses are established by using stress amplification factors. After calculating micro-scale stresses, the micromechanics of failure damage model is employed to determine the progressive damage statuses in each constituent of woven fabric composites. For the matrix of tows, a volume-averaging homogenization method is utilized to eliminate damage localization by smearing local damages over the whole matrix region of the unit cell. Subsequently, the ultimate strength is predicted for woven composites with different tow architectures. The prediction results are compared with the experimental values, and good agreement is observed.
Identification and Characterization of Adverse Drug Events in Primary Care
Authors: Trinkley Katy E. , Weed Harrison G. , Beatty Stuart J. , Porter Kyle , Nahata Milap C.
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize adverse drug events (ADEs) in a primary care setting using an electronic health record (EHR). This prospective, observational study enrolled patients with any medication change who were seen at an outpatient internal medicine clinic. Patients were evaluated for ADEs by EHR review and telephone interview. ADEs were independently assessed for causality, severity, preventability, and ameliorability by a physician and a pharmacist using a grading instrument. There were 1368 unique medication changes for 701 individuals who completed the study (1.95 changes per person). Of the 226 suspected ADEs, 68 (58%) were deemed to be “definite” or “probable” following causality assessment; 21% were preventable and 40% ameliorable. Only 2 ADEs were serious or life-threatening. Compared with prior reports, ADEs in primary care have decreased in frequency and severity, yet the occurrence of preventable and ameliorable ADEs has increased.
Dimensionality of Helicopter Parenting and Relations to Emotional, Decision-Making, and Academic Functioning in Emerging Adults
Authors: Luebbe Aaron M. , Mancini Kathryn J. , Kiel Elizabeth J. , Spangler Brooke R. , Semlak Julie L. , Fussner Lauren M.
Published: August 2016

The current study tests the underlying structure of a multidimensional construct of helicopter parenting (HP), assesses reliability of the construct, replicates past relations of HP to poor emotional functioning, and expands the literature to investigate links of HP to emerging adults’ decision-making and academic functioning. A sample of 377 emerging adults (66% female; ages 17-30; 88% European American) were administered several items assessing HP as well as measures of other parenting behaviors, depression, anxiety, decision-making style, grade point average, and academic functioning. Exploratory factor analysis results suggested a four-factor, 23-item measure that encompassed varying levels of parental involvement in the personal and professional lives of their children. A bifactor model was also fit to the data and suggested the presence of a reliable overarching HP factor in addition to three reliable subfactors. The fourth subfactor was not reliable and item variances were subsumed by the general HP factor. HP was found to be distinct from, but correlated in expected ways with, other reports of parenting behavior. HP was also associated with poorer functioning in emotional functioning, decision making, and academic functioning. Parents’ information-seeking behaviors, when done in absences of other HP behaviors, were associated with better decision making and academic functioning.
Men at work: masculinity, work and class in King of the Coral Sea
Authors: Barnett Chelsea
Published: August 2016

In the aftermath of Second World War and in the beginning years of the Cold War, newly elected Prime Minister Robert Menzies reaffirmed the institutional relationship between masculinity and breadwinning that also spoke to a specific national ideal. In accordance with the ‘national narrative of work’, this article looks to historicise the relationship between historically specific understandings of gender and work, and how that relationship was represented in the 1954 Australian film King of the Coral Sea. Based around the pearling industry in the Torres Strait, the film’s narrative shows the introduction of new technology and the management of the workplace; both these representations functioned in accordance with post-war middle-class values. This article argues that King of the Coral Sea’s engagement with gendered ideals of work and class not only carries specific national meanings but also had broader implications for understandings of masculinity in the context of the Australian 1950s.
Proposal of an integrative model of adjustment to chronic conditions: An understanding of the process of psychosocial adjustment to living with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Hammond Lis D , Hirst-Winthrop Sarah
Published: August 2016

Psychosocial adjustment to living with a chronic condition was explored in this grounded theory study, focusing on type 2 diabetes. Despite a range of relevant theories, there is limited understanding of the process of adjustment. The study aimed to address this issue. That was achieved through collecting and analysing personal narratives using individual interviews and focus groups. This allowed for the development of a normative integrative model of adjustment to chronic conditions based on biopsychosocial principles. The integrative model of adjustment to chronic condition has the potential to lead to improved understanding of adjustment processes.
Fathers’ depressive symptoms in the postnatal period: Prevalence and correlates in a population-based Swedish study
Authors: Massoudi Pamela , Hwang C. Philip , Wickberg Birgitta
Published: August 2016

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and correlates of depression in new fathers. Methods: A population-based sample of 885 Swedish fathers and their partners completed a questionnaire, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at three months postpartum. Correlates of depressive symptoms were analysed with univariate and multiple variable regression models. Results: Symptoms of depression were found in 6.3% of the fathers and 12.0% of the mothers, and the point prevalence of major depression in fathers was 1.3%. The strongest correlates of depressive symptoms in fathers were problems in the partner relationship, a low educational level, previous depression, stressful life events and low partner support. The cross-sectional design could affect the magnitude of the results, and causal inferences cannot be made. Conclusions: Although the rate of depressive symptoms is lower in fathers than in mothers at three months postpartum, the associated factors are similar to those found in studies of mothers. The first visits at the child health centre could include a discussion with both parents about normal transition problems; balancing work, personal and family needs; and distress. When signs of distress or partner relationship difficulties are picked up, this should be followed up and support interventions offered.
Making sense of foreign context
Authors: Aten Kathryn , Nardon Luciara , Isabelle Diane
Published: August 2016

This study amplifies understanding of the occupational marginalization of skilled migrants by elaborating the role of cognition in skilled migrants’ perception of contextual barriers and career options. Our qualitative analysis of interviews with 13 Filipino engineers who migrated to Canada revealed that migrants’ perceptions are influenced by their mobility frames. We identified three cognitive mobility frames: migrant, migrant professional, and mobile professional. We found that migrants accessed local interpretations of contextual barriers through interactions in the situational context and that migrants’ mobility frames focused their attention on particular individual resources and characteristics of context, suggesting potential career options.
Travelling through the class ceiling? Social mobility of ‘traditional’ and ‘new’ expatriates
Authors: Goxe François , Paris Marjolaine
Published: August 2016

This study investigates the impact of international assignments on expatriate managers and executives’ social position and status, depending on their country of origin’s economic and societal state of development, and social position before expatriation. Based on qualitative data from a sample of expatriates in Nigeria, we analyse a variety of profiles and trajectories. Expatriation enables expatriates from emerging countries and middle-class managers from developed ones to experience a rapid improvement of their social condition. Those individuals are yet confronted with a ‘class ceiling’ that limits their upward mobility within the firm and the community of expatriates. Expatriation thus extends social hierarchies on a global scale, confirming the dominant status of an elite class. This article contributes to management research as it explores emerging categories of expatriates and sheds light on social differences and power relationships between them. The combination of management and sociological theoretical frameworks provides some original explanations about the emergence of social and professional hierarchies.
Executive search as ethnosociality
Authors: Holgersson Charlotte , Tienari Janne , Meriläinen Susan , Bendl Regine
Published: August 2016

In this article, we explore how executive search consultants in Austria, Finland and Sweden address ethnicity. Our findings suggest that while consultants working in these different sociocultural settings may attribute different meanings to ethnicity, they share a tendency to evade questions of ethnicity with regard to the search process. We specify three discursive practices that serve to eliminate questions of ethnicity from executive search: constructing whiteness as self-evident, constructing varieties of whiteness (articulating deficiency and lack for those not belonging to Us), and distancing responsibility for the current situation to clients and society. In view of these findings, we argue that executive search can be understood as an arena for ethnosociality that stops cultural diversity at the door of management suites and serves to undermine efforts to promote cross-cultural understanding in organizations. Our study indicates that sustaining whiteness as a privileged ethnicity takes multiple forms. While executive search consultants play an important role in these processes, it is suggested that they inherit a more fundamental problem in society and they have few opportunities to change the ethnic status quo at the top.
On the application of discrete-time Volterra series for the damage detection problem in initially nonlinear systems
Authors: Shiki Sidney B , da Silva Samuel , Todd Michael D
Published: August 2016

Nonlinearities in the dynamical behavior of mechanical systems can degrade the performance of damage detection features based on a linearity assumption. In this article, a discrete Volterra model is used to monitor the prediction error of a reference model representing the healthy structure. This kind of model can separate the linear and nonlinear components of the response of a system. This property of the model is used to compare the consequences of assuming a nonlinear model during the nonlinear regime of a magneto-elastic system. Hypothesis tests are then employed to detect variations in the statistical properties of the damage features. After these analyses, conclusions are made about the application of Volterra series in damage detection.
Clinical Significance of Serum HE4, CA125, CA724, and CA19-9 in Patients With Endometrial Cancer
Authors: Bian Jing , Sun Xiaoxu , Li Bo , Ming Liang
Published: August 2016

Purpose:

Serum markers with increased sensitivity and specificity for endometrial cancer are required. To date, no good marker has met this standard. The aims of our study were to evaluate the utility of tumor markers HE4, CA125, CA724, and CA19-9 as potential markers in patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer.

Methods:

Blood samples from 105 patients with endometrial cancer and 87 healthy women were analyzed by Roche electrochemiluminescent immunoassay, and serum values were measured for the following biomarkers: HE4, CA125, CA724, and CA19-9.

Results:

Serum HE4, CA125, CA724, and CA19-9 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with endometrial cancer, compared with controls ( P < .001). In the receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve value for combination of HE4, CA125, CA724, and CA19-9 was 82.1% (95% confidence interval: 75.3%-86.2%), the maximum area of the test groups. For all stages of patients with endometrial cancer, HE4 had higher sensitivity (58%), positive predictive value (60%), and negative predictive value (67%) than any other single tumor marker, and in the combination of HE4, CA125, CA724, and CA19-9, the sensitivity and positive predictive values reached 59.1% and 88%, respectively. Meanwhile, the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve of the combination of the 4 markers was significantly increased than any other group, either in stage I or in stage II to IV cases. HE4 and CA125 both correlate with advanced age; in addition, HE4 was related to pathology subtypes and positive adnexal involvement, CA125 was related to International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, CA19-9 was related to International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, and CA724 was correlated with positive lymph node.

Conclusion:

Combination of HE4, CA125, CA724, and CA19-9 has the highest value in diagnosing endometrial cancer, and they can be a useful tissue immune marker for patients with endometrial cancer.
A study of assorted data on suicide bombings in Pakistan
Authors: Rasheed Sana , Khalid Noman
Published: August 2016

Suicide terrorism is one of the most dreadful challenges for Pakistan as the country has been the primary and most frequent target of suicide terrorism in the world during recent years. Pakistan had two major sources of data on suicide bombings and related terrorism activities, the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies and the Pakistan Body Count; however, these sources lacked comprehensive databases on these incidents and related news. The most reliable sources of information have been international data providers such as the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism, the Global Terrorism Database Portal, and others. Recently, the Pakistan Body Count launched an improved version of its database with several new variables, updated information records, and error corrections. This study analyzes the datasets available from international organizations, the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, and the Pakistan Body Count and the variables recorded in them. It explains the benefits of the Pakistan Body Count data over other similar efforts, elaborates on the data collection methodology, provides a glimpse of possible analytics that can be performed using the updated dataset, and identifies areas of further improvement for this database.
An augmented formulation of distributed compliant mechanism optimization using a level set method
Authors: Li Ruixian , Zhu Benliang
Published: August 2016

Topology optimization has emerged as one of the key approaches to design compliant mechanisms. However, one of the main difficulties is that the resulted compliant mechanisms often have de facto hinges. For this reason, a simple yet efficient formulation for designing hinge-free compliant mechanisms is developed and examined within a level set–based topology optimization framework. First, the conventional objective function is augmented using an output stiffness. Second, the proposed formulation is solved using a level set method for designing some benchmark problems in the literature. It is shown that the proposed augmented objective function can prevent the de facto hinges in the obtained compliant mechanisms. Finally, some concluding remarks and future work are put forward.
A study of cooling system in a grease-lubricated precision spindle
Authors: Wu Li , Tan Qingchang
Published: August 2016

In this article, an integrated thermal model is numerically analyzed to calculate the heat generation of spindle bearings and temperature distribution of the spindle system, with consideration of the operating conditions and lubrication conditions, such as rotation speed, preload, and oil film thickness. Surface roughness is an important parameter of elastohydrodynamic lubrication, which is measured by an optical topographer and characterized by statistical parameters. The experimental measurement system of the precision spindle is composed of a set of laser triangulation sensors and thermal infrared imagers. After the thermal characteristics, mathematical models are experimentally verified, and the effects of cooling oil temperature, cooling oil flow rate, and characteristic dimensions of the cooling channel on keeping the spindle gradient are analyzed in detail. The results indicated that temperature gradient across the spindle system can be significantly controlled by optimizing the technical parameters of the oil-cooling system.
Indigenous African Leadership: Key differences from Anglo-centric thinking and writings
Authors: Eyong Joseph Ebot
Published: August 2016

This article draws on historical explorers’ accounts, ethnography and organisational approaches to examine practices, discourses and perceptions of leadership in 12 prototypical indigenous communities in West and Central Africa. By so doing, it highlights how leadership meanings from this context differ from Anglo-centric thinking and writings. Key to this contribution is an unravelling of ways in which historical cultural hegemonies impose particular discursive formations, constructed practices and mind-programming in a non-Anglo-Saxon socio-cultural context. Dramaturgical power arrangement, lucid role substitution and the notion of leadership as non-human emerge as dominant themes in the analysis. Also, featuring significantly are representations of leadership in symbols, mythology and as transcendental and metaphysical. These conceptualisations are different from predominant Anglo-Saxon writings that frequently present leadership as linear hierarchies, dyadic (leader-follower) relationship, acts and behaviours of heroic figures and as an essentially human action. An Afro-centric indigenous concept of leadership reflecting the context is proposed which challenges heroism, linearity, individualism and objectivism.
Leadership in opera: Romance, betrayal, strife and sacrifice
Authors: Gabriel Yiannis
Published: August 2016

What, if anything, does opera tell us about leadership, leaders and followers, that social research or indeed other art forms do not tell us? This is the question I address here. I argue that opera is a highly political genre, able to depict political events involving leaders and followers in sharply illuminating ways. In particular, through the device of the chorus it is able to represent the political actions and sentiments of large multitudes of people in their complexity and ambiguity. It is also capable of portraying many of the contradictions of leadership in a critical light. In particular, I argue that opera offers powerful insights into the psychology of leaders confronted by crisis and strife. It highlights the sacrifices they make, the distance and isolation that frequently afflicts them, the different ways in which they wield power and handle conflicts and the tensions between their private and public lives. In showing them meting out favours and punishments, opera warns of rulers’ perennial temptation to abuse their power and highlights some of the dark sides of leadership.
Impressions Based on a Portrait Predict, 1-Month Later, Impressions Following a Live Interaction
Authors: Gunaydin Gul , Selcuk Emre , Zayas Vivian
Published: August 2016

When it comes to person perception, does one “judge a book by its cover?” Perceivers made judgments of liking, and of personality, based on a photograph of an unknown other, and at least 1 month later, made judgments following a face-to-face interaction with the same person. Photograph-based liking judgments predicted interaction-based liking judgments, and, to a lesser extent, photograph-based personality judgments predicted interaction-based personality judgments (except for extraversion). Consistency in liking judgments (1) partly reflected behavioral confirmation (i.e., perceivers with favorable photograph-based judgments behaved more warmly toward the target during the live interaction, which elicited greater target warmth); (2) explained, at least in part, consistency in personality judgments (reflecting a halo effect); and (3) remained robust even after controlling for perceiver effects, target effects, and perceived attractiveness. These findings support the view that even after having “read a book,” one still, to some extent, judges it by its “cover.”
Structural sex differences at disease onset in multiple sclerosis patients
Authors: Rojas Juan Ignacio , Sánchez Francisco , Patrucco Liliana , Miguez Jimena , Funes Jorge , Cristiano Edgardo
Published: August 2016

Background

Male sex is associated with worsening disability and a more rapid progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). This study analysed structural sex differences in magnetic resonance images of the brain, comparing women whose disease started before and after the menopause with a control group of men.

Methods

This was a case control study in which female patients whose MS started before (Group 1) and after (Group 2) the menopause were included. The control group was matched by age, disease duration, Expanded Disability Status Scale and disease-modifying treatment. Patients were analysed according to demographic and clinical variables, as well as in terms of radiological measurements at disease onset and during the first 12 months of follow-up. These measurements included normalised total brain volume (NTBV), normalised cortical volume (NCV), normalised white matter volume, left and right hippocampus, the thalamus, brain stem volume, lesion load and percentage brain volume change. A linear regression model was used to analyse the data.

Results

A total of 97 patients were included: 53 in Group 1 (27 females) and 44 in Group 2 (22 females). In Group 1, we observed a reduction in brain volume in males compared with females at disease onset in NTBV ( p = 0.01), NCV ( p = 0.001) and brain stem volume ( p = 0.01). We did not observe differences in Group 2 at disease onset in the brain volumes analysed.

Conclusion

We observed structural sex differences in brain volume at disease onset in the pre-menopausal group. However, no structural differences were observed at disease onset between the sexes after the menopause had started.
Factors impacting heart failure patients’ knowledge of heart disease and self-care management
Authors: Zeng Wenying , Chia Shaw Yang , Chan Yiong Huak , Tan Suan Choo , Low Esther Ju Huey , Fong Meng Kum
Published: August 2016

Background:

Heart failure (HF) contributes significantly to the morbidity and mortality of the ageing population and is one of the leading causes of re-hospitalization in Singapore. Studies have shown that patient education covering HF and self-care management can lead to greater compliance with treatment regimens, resulting in lower re-hospitalization rates. This study aimed to measure HF patients’ knowledge on the disease and self-care management, and to explore factors influencing their knowledge level.

Methods:

A questionnaire adapted from the Dutch Heart Failure Knowledge Scale (DHFKS) was completed by 187 patients who were recruited from a tertiary center’s outpatient HF clinic. Data from the survey were analyzed using SPSS (version 22).

Results:

Knowledge of HF in general had the highest score and that of HF symptoms/recognition of HF symptoms the lowest. The knowledge deficit identified was mainly on therapeutic regimens and HF symptoms/recognition of HF symptoms. The respondents’ knowledge was significantly related to their educational level and whether they had received HF education.

Conclusion:

For HF patient education to be effective, the program has to be customized to cater to different target groups and individuals. There is a need to develop patient teaching materials and a program with consideration to the patients’ educational levels, demographic, and comorbidity backgrounds.
Influence of model based iterative reconstruction algorithm on image quality of multiplanar reformations in reduced dose chest CT
Authors: Barras Heloise , Dunet Vincent , Hachulla Anne-Lise , Grimm Jochen , Beigelman-Aubry Catherine
Published: August 2016

Background

Model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) reduces image noise and improves image quality (IQ) but its influence on post-processing tools including maximal intensity projection (MIP) and minimal intensity projection (mIP) remains unknown.

Purpose

To evaluate the influence on IQ of MBIR on native, mIP, MIP axial and coronal reformats of reduced dose computed tomography (RD-CT) chest acquisition.

Material and Methods

Raw data of 50 patients, who underwent a standard dose CT (SD-CT) and a follow-up RD-CT with a CT dose index (CTDI) of 2–3 mGy, were reconstructed by MBIR and FBP. Native slices, 4-mm-thick MIP, and 3-mm-thick mIP axial and coronal reformats were generated. The relative IQ, subjective IQ, image noise, and number of artifacts were determined in order to compare different reconstructions of RD-CT with reference SD-CT.

Results

The lowest noise was observed with MBIR. RD-CT reconstructed by MBIR exhibited the best relative and subjective IQ on coronal view regardless of the post-processing tool. MBIR generated the lowest rate of artefacts on coronal mIP/MIP reformats and the highest one on axial reformats, mainly represented by distortions and stairsteps artifacts.

Conclusion

The MBIR algorithm reduces image noise but generates more artifacts than FBP on axial mIP and MIP reformats of RD-CT. Conversely, it significantly improves IQ on coronal views, without increasing artifacts, regardless of the post-processing technique.
A Video Report of Brain–Lung–Thyroid Syndrome in a Japanese Female With a Novel Frameshift Mutation of the NKX2-1 Gene
Authors: Tozawa Takenori , Yokochi Kenji , Kono Satoshi , Konishi Takashi , Yamamoto Toshiyuki , Nishimura Akira , Chiyonobu Tomohiro , Morimoto Masafumi , Hosoi Hajime
Published: August 2016

Benign hereditary chorea is a rare autosomal-dominant disorder that is characterized by childhood-onset nonprogressive chorea and normal cognitive function. Defects in NKX2-1 on chromosome 14q13, which encodes thyroid transcription factor 1, produce a concurrent clinical manifestation of chorea, respiratory distress, and hypothyroidism known as “brain–lung–thyroid syndrome.” Here, the authors describe a video report of benign hereditary chorea in a Japanese female with a novel frameshift mutation of NKX2-1 (c.915_916insC) (p.Ala303ArgfsX132) that was initially misdiagnosed as ataxic cerebral palsy. In early infancy, especially before the appearance of chorea, benign hereditary chorea can be misdiagnosed as ataxic and dyskinetic cerebral palsy due to shared clinical features including motor delay, hypotonia, ataxic gait, and dystonia.
High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) and the Clinical Applications for the Female Pelvis
Authors: Darby Beth
Published: August 2016

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a noninvasive, nonionizing means to therapeutically treat various medical conditions. Although HIFU has proven useful in the treatment of a variety of conditions, in recent years, more research has been conducted on how HIFU treatments can be used to treat conditions related to the female pelvis. Some of the medical conditions being researched are uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, cervicitis, and polycystic ovaries. Clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of HIFU in the treatment of these medical conditions unique to the female pelvis. This literature review will be used to introduce the technology of HIFU, present an overall analysis of HIFU, provide a review on the latest clinical research concerning HIFU clinical applications for pathologic conditions of the female pelvis, and identify the impact of HIFU on patients and the ultrasound community.
TGFβ-induced switch from adipogenic to osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells: identification of drug targets for prevention of fat cell differentiation
Authors: van Zoelen Everardus J. , Duarte Isabel , Hendriks José M. , van der Woning Sebastian P.
Published: August 2016

Background

Patients suffering from osteoporosis show an increased number of adipocytes in their bone marrow, concomitant with a reduction in the pool of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) that are able to differentiate into osteoblasts, thus leading to suppressed osteogenesis.

Methods

In order to be able to interfere with this process, we have investigated in-vitro culture conditions whereby adipogenic differentiation of hMSCs is impaired and osteogenic differentiation is promoted. By means of gene expression microarray analysis, we have investigated genes which are potential targets for prevention of fat cell differentiation.

Results

Our data show that BMP2 promotes both adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs, while transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) inhibits differentiation into both lineages. However, when cells are cultured under adipogenic differentiation conditions, which contain cAMP-enhancing agents such as IBMX of PGE2, TGFβ promotes osteogenic differentiation, while at the same time inhibiting adipogenic differentiation. Gene expression and immunoblot analysis indicated that IBMX-induced suppression of HDAC5 levels plays an important role in the inhibitory effect of TGFβ on osteogenic differentiation. By means of gene expression microarray analysis, we have investigated genes which are downregulated by TGFβ under adipogenic differentiation conditions and may therefore be potential targets for prevention of fat cell differentiation. We thus identified nine genes for which FDA-approved drugs are available. Our results show that drugs directed against the nuclear hormone receptor PPARG, the metalloproteinase ADAMTS5, and the aldo-keto reductase AKR1B10 inhibit adipogenic differentiation in a dose-dependent manner, although in contrast to TGFβ they do not appear to promote osteogenic differentiation.

Conclusions

The approach chosen in this study has resulted in the identification of new targets for inhibition of fat cell differentiation, which may not only be relevant for prevention of osteoporosis, but also of obesity.
First high quality draft genome sequence of a plant growth promoting and cold active enzyme producing psychrotrophic Arthrobacter agilis strain L77
Authors: Singh Ram N. , Gaba Sonam , Yadav Ajar N. , Gaur Prakhar , Gulati Sneha , Kaushik Rajeev , Saxena Anil K.
Published: August 2016

Arthrobacter agilis strain L77, is a plant growth promoting and cold active hydrolytic enzymes producing psychrotrophic bacterium, isolated from Pangong Lake, a subglacial lake in north western Himalayas, India. Genome analysis revealed metabolic versatility with genes involved in metabolism and cold shock adaptation, utilization and biosynthesis of diverse structural and storage polysaccharides such as plant based carbon polymers. The genome of Arthrobacter agilis strain L77 consists of 3,608,439 bp (3.60 Mb) of a circular chromosome. The genome comprises of 3316 protein coding genes and 74 RNA genes, 725 hypothetical proteins, 25 pseudo-genes and 1404 unique genes.
Preparation of Underrepresented Males for Scientific Careers: A Study of the Dr. John H. Hopps Jr. Defense Research Scholars Program at Morehouse College
Authors: Thompson Rahmelle C. , Monroe-White Thema , Xavier Jeffrey , Howell Courtney , Moore Myisha Roberson , Haynes J. K.
Published: August 2016

Equal representation within higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and the STEM workforce in the United States across demographically diverse populations is a long-standing challenge. This study uses two-to-one nearest-neighbor matched-comparison group design to examine academic achievement, pursuit of graduate science degree, and classification of graduate institution attended by students participating in the Hopps Scholars Program (Hopps) at Morehouse College. Hopps is a highly structured enrichment program aimed at increasing participation of black males in STEM fields. Morehouse institutional records, Hopps Program records, and National Student Clearinghouse data were used to examine differences between Hopps and non-Hopps STEM graduates of Morehouse. Two-way sample t tests and chi-square tests revealed significant differences in academic achievement, likelihood of STEM degree pursuit, and the classification of graduate institutions attended by Hopps versus non-Hopps students. Hopps Scholars were significantly more likely than non-Hopps STEM graduates both to pursue STEM doctoral degrees and to attend doctoral-granting institutions with higher research activity. The Hopps Program’s approach to training black male students for scientific careers is a model of success for other programs committed to increasing the number of black males pursuing advanced degrees in STEM.
Boccaccio, Christine de Pizan, and Marital Affection: The Case for Common Ground
Authors: Shutters Lynn
Published: August 2016

While there is a long history of viewing Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris (Famous Women) as a misogynist text in response to which Christine de Pizan's Livre de la Cité des Dames (Book of the City of Ladies) constitutes a proto-feminist critique, this essay compares these works for their similarities rather than their differences. Boccaccio and Christine are both profoundly concerned with marital affection, an emotion in a state of flux in late-medieval Europe. Through narrative, both authors attempt to theorize how this emotion should be experienced and performed by the virtuous wife. In De mulieribus and Cité, Boccaccio and Christine struggle to develop narratives of marital affection distinct from courtly love traditions, even as they repeatedly draw on courtly love to establish emotional authenticity. As a result, narrative cruxes and inconsistencies in De mulieribus and Cité point to emotional cruxes and inconsistencies, to aspects of marital affection that were difficult and troubling to late medieval societies.
Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor signaling facilitates liver repair from acute ethanol-induced injury in zebrafish
Authors: Zhang Changwen , Ellis Jillian L. , Yin Chunyue
Published: August 2016

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) results from alcohol overconsumption and is among the leading causes of liver-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Elevated expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors has been observed in ALD, but how it contributes to ALD pathophysiology is unclear. Here, we investigated the impact of VEGF signaling inhibition on an established zebrafish model of acute alcoholic liver injury. Kdrl activity was blocked by chemical inhibitor treatment or by genetic mutation. Exposing 4-day-old zebrafish larvae to 2% ethanol for 24 h induced hepatic steatosis, angiogenesis and fibrogenesis. The liver started self-repair once ethanol was removed. Although inhibiting Kdrl did not block the initial activation of hepatic stellate cells during ethanol treatment, it suppressed their proliferation, extracellular matrix protein deposition and fibrogenic gene expression after ethanol exposure, thus enhancing the liver repair. It also ameliorated hepatic steatosis and attenuated hepatic angiogenesis that accelerated after the ethanol treatment. qPCR showed that hepatic stellate cells are the first liver cell type to increase the expression of VEGF ligand and receptor genes in response to ethanol exposure. Both hepatic stellate cells and endothelial cells, but not hepatic parenchymal cells, expressed kdrl upon ethanol exposure and were likely the direct targets of Kdrl inhibition. Ethanol-induced steatosis and fibrogenesis still occurred in cloche mutants that have hepatic stellate cells but lack hepatic endothelial cells, and Kdrl inhibition suppressed both phenotypes in the mutants. These results suggest that VEGF signaling mediates interactions between activated hepatic stellate cells and hepatocytes that lead to steatosis. Our study demonstrates the involvement of VEGF signaling in regulating sustained liver injuries after acute alcohol exposure. It also provides a proof of principle of using the zebrafish model to identify molecular targets for developing ALD therapies.
Triadin and CLIMP-63 form a link between triads and microtubules in muscle cells
Authors: Osseni Alexis , Sébastien Muriel , Sarrault Oriana , Baudet Mathieu , Couté Yohann , Fauré Julien , Fourest-Lieuvin Anne , Marty Isabelle
Published: August 2016

In skeletal muscle, the triad is a structure comprising a transverse (T)-tubule and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) cisternae. Triads constitute the basis of excitation–contraction coupling as the cradle of the Ca2+ release complex. We have shown previously that triadin, a member of this complex, has shaping properties on reticulum membrane and is indirectly involved in a link between triads and microtubules. We have identified here that CLIMP-63 (also known as CKAP4), as the partner of triadin, is responsible for this association of triads and microtubules. Triadin and CLIMP-63 interact through their respective luminal domains and the shaping properties of triadin depend on the capacity of CLIMP-63 to bind microtubules with its cytosolic portion. In skeletal muscle, CLIMP-63 is localized in the SR, including triads, and is associated with the Ca2+ release complex through its interaction with triadin. Knockout of triadin in muscles results in the delocalization of CLIMP-63 from triads, its dissociation from the Ca2+ release complex and a disorganization of the microtubule network. Our results suggest that the association of triadin and CLIMP-63 could be involved in the shaping of SR terminal cisternae and in the guidance of microtubules close to the triads.
Haspin kinase regulates microtubule-organizing center clustering and stability through Aurora kinase C in mouse oocytes
Authors: Balboula Ahmed Z. , Nguyen Alexandra L. , Gentilello Amanda S. , Quartuccio Suzanne M. , Drutovic David , Solc Petr , Schindler Karen
Published: August 2016

Meiotic oocytes lack classic centrosomes and, therefore, bipolar spindle assembly depends on clustering of acentriolar microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs) into two poles. However, the molecular mechanism regulating MTOC assembly into two poles is not fully understood. The kinase haspin (also known as GSG2) is required to regulate Aurora kinase C (AURKC) localization at chromosomes during meiosis I. Here, we show that inhibition of haspin perturbed MTOC clustering into two poles and the stability of the clustered MTOCs. Furthermore, we show that AURKC localizes to MTOCs in mouse oocytes. Inhibition of haspin perturbed the localization of AURKC at MTOCs, and overexpression of AURKC rescued the MTOC-clustering defects in haspin-inhibited oocytes. Taken together, our data uncover a role for haspin as a regulator of bipolar spindle assembly by regulating AURKC function at acentriolar MTOCs in oocytes.