bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical and Biological Implications of Mutational Spectrum in Acute Myeloid Leukemia of FAB Subtypes M0 and M1
Authors: Cheng Zhiheng , Dai Yifeng , Pang Yifan , Jiao Yang , Zhao Hongmian , Wu Sun , Zhang Lingxiu , Zhang Yuan , Wang Xiufeng , Wang Lihua , Ma Dong , Qin Tong , Hu Ning , Zhang Yijie , Hu Kai , Zhang Qingyi , Shi Jinlong , Fu Lin
Published: June 2018

Background/Aims: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) of French-American-British (FAB) subtypes M0 and M1 are both poorly differentiated AML, but their mutational spectrum and molecular characteristics remain unknown. This study aimed to explore the mutational spectrum and prognostic factors of AML-M0 and M1. Methods: Sixty-five AML patients derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were enrolled in this study. Whole-genome sequencing was performed to depict the mutational spectrum of each patient. Clinical characteristics at diagnosis, including peripheral blood (PB) white blood cell counts (WBC), blast percentages in PB and bone marrow (BM), FAB subtypes and the frequencies of known recurrent genetic mutations were described. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier methods and log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were constructed for event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS), using a limited backward elimination procedure. Results: Forty-six patients had more than five recurrent genetic mutations. FLT3 had the highest mutation frequency (n=20, 31%), followed by NPM1 (n=18, 28%), DNMT3A (n=16, 25%), IDH1 (n=14, 22%), IDH2 (n=12, 18%), RUNX1 (n=11, 17%) and TET2 (n=7, 11%). Univariate analysis showed that age ≥60 years and TP53 mutations had adverse effect on EFS (P=0.015, P=0.036, respectively) and OS (P=0.003, P=0.004, respectively), WBC count ≥50×109/L and FLT3-ITD negatively affected EFS (P=0.003, P=0.034, respectively), whereas NPM1 mutations had favorable effect on OS (P=0.035) and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) on EFS and OS (all P< 0.001). Multivariate analysis suggested that allo-HSCT and NPM1 mutations were independent favorable prognostic factors for EFS and OS (all P< 0.05), WBC count ≥50×109/L was an independent risk factor for EFS (P=0.002) and TP53 mutations for OS (P=0.043). Conclusions: Our study provided new insights into the mutational spectrum and molecular signatures of AML-M0 and M1. We proposed that FLT3-ITD, NPM1 and TP53 be identified as markers for risk stratification of AML-M0 and M1. Patients with AML-M0 and M1 would likely benefit from allo-HSCT.
Maternal High-Fat Diet Promotes the Development and Progression of Prostate Cancer in Transgenic Adenocarcinoma Mouse Prostate Offspring
Authors: Yang Tian , Wu Xiaobo , Hu Jimeng , Hu Mengbo , Xu Hua , Jiang Haowen , Ding Qiang
Published: June 2018

Background/Aims: We aim to investigate the impact of maternal high fat diet (HFD) on the development and progression of prostate cancer (PCa) in transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP) offspring. Methods: The TRAMP model was used, and divided into maternal HFD group and normal diet (ND) group in the present study. Each group contained 36 TRAMP mice. Serum levels of leptin, adiponectin, interleukin (IL) -1α, IL-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 were measured by the 20th, 24th and 28th week old through ProcartaPlex Multiplex Immunoassay. Body fat ratio was measured by MiniQMR. Tumor formation rate was measured through hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, and mortality rate was measured meantime. Western blot was applied to determine the levels of Protein Kinase B (Akt) and Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). Results: The mortality rate of maternal HFD group was significantly higher than that of ND group (P = 0.046). The tumor formation rate was significantly higher in maternal HFD group than in ND group only in 20th week subgroup (P = 0.040). A significant increase of leptin was seen in maternal HFD 20th and 24th week subgroups (P = 0.001 and < 0.001, respectively) and a decrease of adiponectin was seen in maternal HFD 20th and 28th week subgroups (P =0.006 and < 0.001, respectively). Besides, an activated phos-Akt (P-Akt) and deactivated PTEN were observed in maternal HFD group. Conclusions: Maternal HFD could increase the standard serum leptin level, inhibit the expression of PTEN protein, promote P-Akt protein expression, activate the PI3K/Akt pathway, and ultimately promote the development and progression of PCa in TRAMP offspring.
Lógicas dominantes nos repertórios de ação coletiva da cidade da periferia: uma leitura chave do habitat a partir da proposta da Central Nacional Provivienda na Colômbia
Authors: Rodriguez Fonseca Luis Alfredo , Bejarano Vargas Jairo Ernesto
Published: June 2018

Os processos do habitat popular ou periférico representam lutas e repertórios de ação coletiva com uma riqueza de pesquisa acumulada de conhecimento e interpretações de diferentes perspectivas e diversos métodos de apropriação. No entanto, pouco foi dito sobre as suas atuais transformações espaço-temporais, os processos de gentrificação que agora restabelecem as trajetórias do habitat popular e, em particular, as lógicas que operam e foram inerentes ao processo. Estes últimos constituem, ao mesmo tempo, os fatores explicativos da transformação e perda dos tecidos sociais que, no passado, enriqueceram cada uma das etapas do processo de produção social do habitat. Neste artigo, procura-se uma análise, na chave do habitat das transformações do habitat popular à luz das lógicas que operam na definição das trajetórias de bairro únicas, a saber, a necessidade, o Estado e o mercado.
Metodologias participativas na análise de experiências de movimentos sociais nas periferias Latino-Americanas
Authors: Oliveira Dennis , Silva Fabiana Felix Amaral e
Published: June 2018

Este artigo apresenta a proposta de metodologias participativas utilizadas em projetos de pesquisa sobre movimentos sociais nas periferias latino-americanas e reflexões críticas sobre procedimentos metodológicos nos estudos de experiências de movimentos sociais.
Descaso e deterioração do lugar de memória no caso da chacina da Candelária no Rio de Janeiro
Authors: Gumucio Guillermo , Schmidt Cristina
Published: June 2018

O presente estudo de caso visa a explicitar a situação do lugar de memória no caso da Chacina da Candelária, na região central do Rio de Janeiro, com o devido trabalho de campo para registro fotográfico in situ realizado em novembro de 2016. Com fundamentação nos ensinamentos de Nora (1996) e Seixas (2009), é possível constatar como o descaso para com determinados locais da cidade marcados por episódios da mais alta relevância como peças acusatórias do tipo de relação entre a máquina pública e a sua população é prejudicial para a manutenção e propagação da memória social coletiva. Além disso, descrevemos a ocorrência de um processo de suplantação da memória da chacina perpetrada por policiais militares do estado do Rio de Janeiro que vitimou oito pessoas em situação de rua, seis delas menores de idade, com a decisão do Comitê Organizador dos Jogos Olímpicos e Paralímpicos do Rio 2016 de realizar um segundo ato de acender a pira olímpica na Praça Pio X, em frente à Igreja da Candelária, na abertura oficial dos Jogos Olímpicos.
Pesquisa ativista e a comunicação de ONGs de Mulheres Negras Brasileiras
Authors: Santos Céres Marisa Silva dos
Published: June 2018

Neste artigo faço uma breve revisão bibliográfica sobre a aplicação da metodologia pesquisa ativista – observando suas semelhanças e distinções em relação à pesquisa-ação e à pesquisa participante – em uma tese de doutorado que trata da comunicação na vida de mulheres negras brasileiras, a partir do uso e apropriação das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TICs). Para isso, recorro a Hale (2001, 2008) e Vargas (2008), para tratar da pesquisa ativista; Borda (1978), Thiollent (2011), Bringel e Maldonado (2016), Bringel e Varella (2017), Brandão e Borges (2007), e a Peruzzo (2005), que discorrem sobre investigação-ação, pesquisa participante e pesquisa-ação. O estudo aponta as possibilidades de a pesquisa ativista potencializar reflexões e intervenções sobre as lutas das mulheres negras brasileiras por meio da comunicação, de quatro organizações não governamentais (ONGs).
Gray University Degrees: Experimental Evidence from India
Authors: Majilla Tanmoy , Rieger Matthias
Published: June 2018

Scams involving university degrees are flourishing in many emerging markets. Using a resume experiment in India, this paper studies the impact of gray degrees, or potentially bought academic credentials from questionable universities, on callback rates to job applications. The experiment varied the type of degree (no, gray, and authentic) in online applications to entry-level jobs that require no university qualification. We find that gray degrees increase callback rates by 42 percent or 8 percentage points relative to having no degree. However, we also document that gray degrees fare on average worse than authentic degrees. These empirical patterns are consistent with a model where employers have beliefs about the authenticity of degrees and are discounting gray-degree universities probabilistically. We discuss our findings with respect to the Indian context.
REDRUM
Authors: Anidjar Gil
Published: June 2018

This essay is a response to readers and discussants with regard to Blood and to the limits and origins of Christianity. Deploying the Derridean idiom of mark and context, the singularity of blood in Christianity, of Christianity in its relation to blood, is what is here reiterated
Introduction: Gil Anidjar, Blood: A Critique of Christianity
Authors: Landy Francis
Published: June 2018

This is an introduction to the special issue on Gil Anidjar’s book Blood, summarizing the book and the different responses to it.
Food for Thought: The Question of the Animal in Gil Anidjar’s Blood: A Critique of Christianity
Authors: Sabo Peter J.
Published: June 2018

This paper reads Gil Anidjar’sBlood: A Critique of Christianitywith the question of the animal in mind. The first section looks at the blood prohibition of the Hebrew Bible and Anidjar’s reading of the relevant biblical texts; the second section uses Acts 10 as an example of the New Testament’s view of eating and how this applies to the practice of the eucharist; the third, and final, section offers a reading of Freud’sMoses and Monotheism(in light of Anidjar’s reading of it) and returns to the question of the animal in the Hebrew Bible. The purpose throughout each section is to display howBloodopens up fruitful areas of exploration in connection with the question of the animal, eating, and (animal) blood.
The Rohingya Refugee Crisis and Human Rights: What Should ASEAN Do?
Authors: Mutaqin Zezen Zaenal
Published: June 2018

This article will argue that there are three related issues of concern regarding the Rohingya crisis: (1) a singular focus on persecution and nationality in Myanmar; (2) statelessness and displacement in the region; and (3) grave human rights violations amounting to international crimes including genocide and crimes against humanity. This article will discuss active steps that ASEAN should take. To ensure that Myanmar will willingly accept the responsibility to address the source of the problem, the international community, particularly ASEAN, has to stand firm against Myanmar’s gross violation of human rights. At the same time, ASEAN must deal with the refugee crisis by formulating a workable regional framework. This article will deal with the underlying conflict paradigm in all refugee issues: how to reconcile state sovereignty vis-á-vis responsibility and how to ensure protection of both human rights and state security.
A network of legal transfer
Authors: Chen Li
Published: June 2018

Legal transfer is a critical part of China’s intellectual history of legal education. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, waves of young ambitious Chinese students embarked on arduous journeys to the Western countries to obtain modern legal education, particularly in the area of public international law. One such prominent Chinese legal scholar is Zhu Qiwu, who received his public international law education at the Graduate School of National Central University in Chongqing and the Oxford University Faculty of Law in the 1940s. This article seeks to use Zhu as an example of this dynamic legal transfer process, and examines his educational background both in China and in the UK. In the process, this paper will also explore the resulting network of exchange of legal thoughts formed amongst Zhu and his teachers, Wang Tieya, Huang Zhengming and Humphrey Waldock. In particular, it will reveal how an early article of Wang had planted the seed of a research topic pertaining to the relationship between treaty and municipal laws in Zhu’s mind during his days at the National Central University, which Zhu then took to Oxford and painstakingly watered to fruition in the form of his Oxford doctoral dissertation in 1949. Zhu’s doctoral dissertation made significant contribution to the body of Chinese legal scholarship in that era, but it was never published. This paper thus takes this opportunity to bring to light its main structure and contents.
Structural Change in the European Union and Its Periphery: Current Challenges for the Western Balkans
Authors: Damiani Mirella , Uvalic Milica
Published: June 2018

This paper analyses structural change in the European Union (EU) over the past two decades, with the aim of providing some guidelines for the Western Balkan (WB) countries. After recalling the main theories of structural change, the paper illustrates the general trend of decline in the relative shares of manufacturing output and employment in the old and the new EU member states, pointing to distinctive features of the East European countries. It proceeds to show how structural change in the WB countries has had additional characteristics, specific to the region. The WB countries have experienced a process of extreme de-industrialization that has reduced the contribution of manufacturing too quickly, to levels which are not consistent with their relatively low level of economic development. What is necessary is a strategy of re-industrialization of the WB economies that would strengthen their export capacity and facilitate more robust economic growth.
Risky Investments: How Local and Foreign Investors Finesse Corruption-Rife Emerging Markets
Authors: Hoang Kimberly Kay
Published: June 2018

How do investors enter and navigate markets where there is a general lack of access to information and where the law is open to interpretation? Drawing on interview data with 100 research subjects in Vietnam’s real estate market, this article makes contributions to the literatures of economic sociology and development. First, looking at a diverse set of local, regional, and global investors, I theorize how market actors pursue different strategies to manage risky investments based on their proximity to state officials. Investors’ proximity depends on four processes: legal/regulatory, social ties, cultural matching, and stage of investment. Second, I highlight how multiple state–market relations can coexist within the same state. Investors’ varying levels of proximity to government officials shape their relationship with the state as one of patronage (predatory), mutual destruction (mutual hostage), or transparency (developmental). Heterogeneous state–market relations help account for the persistence of foreign direct investment in markets that display both a great deal of corruption and a great deal of legality and transparency.
The Influence of Romantic Relationships on Substance Use in Emerging Adulthood
Authors: Angulski Kate , Armstrong Todd , Bouffard Leana A.
Published: June 2018

The current work built on prior research showing aspects of romantic relationships, including relationship quality and partner substance use, influence individual risk for substance use during emerging adulthood. Analyses were based on a sample of males from the Pathways to Desistance Project (PDP) data. Romantic relationships were quantified with an aggregate measure of relationship quality and specific measures of relationship satisfaction, monitoring, and partner antisocial behavior. With a focus on emerging adulthood, the current work was centered on Waves 8 and 9 of the PDP data. Regression models tested the association between the relationship measures and alcohol intoxication, marijuana use, and hard drug use in the past year. Models considered both contemporaneous and longitudinal effects. Across the aspects of romantic relationships, monitoring and partner antisocial behavior had the most consistent association with substance use. The association between monitoring and substance use was strongest when longitudinal effects were tested among those in a relationship at both Waves 8 and 9. Peer antisocial behavior and prior substance use were also associated with substance use. Results show that romantic relationships have an important influence on substance use within a criminal justice involved sample.
Benevolent Sexism and Mate Preferences: Why Do Women Prefer Benevolent Men Despite Recognizing That They Can Be Undermining?
Authors: Gul Pelin , Kupfer Tom R.
Published: June 2018

Benevolent sexism (BS) has detrimental effects on women, yet women prefer men with BS attitudes over those without. The predominant explanation for this paradox is that women respond to the superficially positive appearance of BS without being aware of its subtly harmful effects. We propose an alternative explanation drawn from evolutionary and sociocultural theories on mate preferences: Women find BS men attractive because BS attitudes and behaviors signal that a man is willing to invest. Five studies showed that women prefer men with BS attitudes (Studies 1a, 1b, and 3) and behaviors (Studies 2a and 2b), especially in mating contexts, because BS mates are perceived as willing to invest (protect, provide, and commit). Women preferred BS men despite also perceiving them as patronizing and undermining. These findings extend understanding of women’s motives for endorsing BS and suggest that women prefer BS men despite having awareness of the harmful consequences.
An Examination of Self-Determination Within Alumni of an Early College Entrance Program
Authors: Mammadov Sakhavat , Hertzog Nancy B. , Mun Rachel U.
Published: June 2018

This article describes outcomes from a subpopulation of a larger study (The Alumni Study) of early college entrance alumni through the lens of self-determination theory. The Alumni Study used mixed methods, was implemented in two sequential phases, and included alumni from two different early college entrance programs (Early Entrance Program and UW Academy). The focus of this article is on the qualitative interviews of 26 UW Academy early entrants who fully matriculated into college as Honors Students after 10th grade. Results indicated that early college entrance (a) provided a more challenging and autonomous environment than high school, (b) provided higher personal control over academic and social choices, and (c) met students’ strong need for relatedness as well as for autonomy and competence. The early entrance to college program gave students a cohort where they could interact with same-age peers who had demonstrated similar academic competence and interests to achieve. However, some participants reported that being younger than their college peers may have inhibited the development of relationships with older college students.
Factors That Enhance the Quality of Relationships Between Mentors and Mentees During Check & Connect
Authors: Kern Lee , Harrison Judith R. , Custer Beth E. , Mehta Paras D.
Published: June 2018

School engagement is an important predictor of graduation. One strategy to enhance student engagement is mentoring. Check & Connect is a structured mentoring program that has resulted in favorable outcomes for many students, including those with emotional and behavioral disorders. Effectiveness, however, depends on the quality of the mentor–mentee relationship. Although research has examined factors that increase relationship effectiveness, findings have been inconsistent. We explored the perceptions and correspondence of 166 high school students (i.e., mentees) with social, emotional, and/or behavioral challenges and their mentors about the mentoring relationship and variables that contribute to relationship quality. Results indicated that mentors and mentees rated the relationship favorably and their ratings correlated moderately. Mentor and mentee variables examined (gender, ethnicity/race, age) were not significant predictors of relationship quality; however, specific topics discussed during mentoring sessions for mentors (family, friends) and mentees (school, future plans) were significantly related to their perceptions of relationship quality.
Consciousness as claiming: Practice and habit in an enigmatic world
Authors: Rose Mitch
Published: June 2018

There has been increasing interest in recent years on the non-cognitive nature of human existence. Self-conscious thought and reflective action are no longer seen to be the defining feature of the human condition nor an anchor for social life. On the contrary, material practice and habitual engagements are the abiding mechanisms by which everyday life is sutured. One of the consequences of this perspective is its abbreviated conception of human consciousness. In the literature on habit and practical engagement, consciousness is conceptualised primarily in terms of self-perception and awareness. The aim of this article is to put forth the thesis that human consciousness is not just an awareness of the self – it is also a ‘claim’. Drawing upon the psycho-analytic work of Jean Laplanche, the paper argues that consciousness emerges as subjects reckon with existential problems that are as imminent to everyday life as the concrete problems and practical tasks. In this framing, consciousness emerges as a desire to claim oneself as a self in the face of problems that exceed our practical capacities. Consciousness is a claim in the sense that it marks a desire to be a self-standing, self-possessed subject, within a precarious and enigmatic world.
Evaluation of Chemical and Rheological Aging Indices to Track Oxidative Aging of Asphalt Mixtures
Authors: Rad Farhad Yousefi , Elwardany Michael D. , Castorena Cassie , Kim Y. Richard
Published: June 2018

Oxidative age hardening in asphalt binder leads to embrittlement. Embrittled asphalt is prone to fatigue and thermal cracking. Therefore, the ability to predict asphalt binder oxidative age hardening within a pavement throughout its service life could inform improved pavement material selection, design, and maintenance practices. Studying the evolution of oxidative aging requires the use of key properties to track oxidation levels, termed aging index properties (AIPs) here. The objective of this study is to identify suitable rheological and chemical AIPs to track oxidation levels in asphalt materials. A wide range of laboratory and field aged materials were evaluated in this study. A range of chemical AIPs determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) absorbance peaks and areas were evaluated based on their correlation with laboratory aging duration. Rheological AIPs were evaluated based on the strength of their relationship to the chemical changes induced by oxidation. The rheological AIPs evaluated included the dynamic shear modulus, zero shear viscosity, Glover-Rowe parameter, and crossover modulus. The chemical AIP evaluation that most strongly correlated with laboratory aging duration is the carbonyl plus the sulfoxide absorbance peaks. The results indicate that both the dynamic shear modulus and Glover-Rowe parameter constitute rheological AIPs that relate directly to the chemical changes induced by oxidation.
Relationality of the Law: On the Legal Collisions in the Finnish Planning and Land Use Practices
Authors: Rannila Päivi
Published: June 2018

Nordic welfare state ideologies inform democratic and transparent land use and building practices. A closer examination reveals how variously these ideals are translated into practice. Finnish law strictly defines how building processes should proceed; however, a number of decisions still ignore the law, which can be seen in the complaints sent to the Administrative Courts. This paper examines the legality of Finnish land use processes through cases and interviews with judges. The findings suggest a need for a more critical spatio-legal analysis of planning that realizes the relationality of the law, and the invisible jurisdictions inherent in local decision making.
Estimating the osteolysis-free life of a total hip prosthesis depending on the linear wear rate and head size
Authors: Elke Reinhard , Rieker Claude B
Published: June 2018

We present a model to estimate the osteolysis-free life of total hip arthroplasty, depending on linear wear rate and femoral head size. An estimate of the radiologic osteolysis threshold was calculated, which was based on volumetric wear. The osteolysis-free life of the cup was estimated from the quotient of the osteolysis threshold and volumetric wear rate, which was calculated from the linear wear rate. The impact of the direction of linear wear was determined by sensitivity analysis. From our review, we calculated a weighted mean polyethylene volume of approximately 670 mm3 as osteolysis threshold. Osteolysis-free life of less than 20 years was estimated for linear wear rates of 50 µm/year for head sizes of 32 mm or more, or for linear wear rates of 100 µm/year for any head size. For head sizes of 36 and 40 mm with a linear wear rate of 50 µm/year, the osteolysis-free period is estimated to be only 14.10 and 11.42 years, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed reasonably robust results. With the aim of osteolysis-free life of more than 20 years, our study presents a viable model to determine maximum possible head size for articulations. Osteolysis-free period for 36 and 40 mm head sizes are far too low for conventional polyethylenes. As the threshold wear volume for highly crosslinked polyethylene is, as of yet, unknown, more research is warranted before our model can be generalized to XLPE.
Experimental study of the effect of n-butanol additive on spray characteristics of biodiesel in a high-pressure common-rail injection system
Authors: Yi Bolun , Fu Wei , Song Lanbo , Li Fengyu , Liu Tao , Lin Qizhao
Published: June 2018

The aim of this study was to investigate the spray characteristics of biodiesel and n-butanol/biodiesel blended fuel. The spray tip penetration and the spray cone angle were tested and analyzed. A constant volume chamber and high-speed camera were used to observe the spray evolution and a common-rail system was employed to change the injection pressure. The results show that the spray tip penetration and the spray cone angle of biodiesel are larger than those of blended fuel in most cases. n-Butanol additive changes the relationship between angle and density ratio to a certain degree. The experimental trend lines support the penetration model proposed by Hiroyasu and Arai in terms of similar proportional relation on time after start of injection, and the empirical equations provide reasonable agreement with the experimental data of the spray tip penetration.
Plasma levels of β2-microglobulin are associated with atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a cross-sectional cohort study
Authors: Leffers H C B , Hermansen M L , Sandholt B , Fuchs A , Sillesen H , Køber L , Kofoed K F , Faurschou M , Jacobsen S
Published: June 2018

Objective

The objective of this paper is to examine the association between plasma levels of β2-microglobulin (β2MG), a protein previously associated with atherosclerosis, and the presence of carotid plaque (CP) or coronary artery calcium (CAC) in a cross-sectional cohort study of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods

Patients with SLE were enrolled between June 2013 and May 2014. The presence of CP and CAC was assessed with ultrasonography and computed tomography scan, respectively. The presence of CP or CAC in the SLE patients was analyzed with respect to plasma levels of β2MG and renal function expressed as the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Results

The study cohort consisted of 147 patients, 89% women and 95% Caucasians. The median age was 46 (range: 21–75) years with a median disease duration of 14 years. CP and CAC was observed in 29 (20%) and 57 (39%) of patients, respectively. CP or CAC was seen in 62 (42%) patients and was associated with the highest quartile of plasma β2MG in patients with eGFR ≥ 90 ml/min/1.73 m2; OR = 18 (95% CI: 1.7–181). β2MG adjusted for eGFR was also associated with presence of CP or CAC in the total cohort. The exclusion of 25 patients with a prior history of cardiovascular disease did not change the observed associations.

Conclusion

In this study, we found significant associations between imaging markers of atherosclerosis and high plasma levels of plasma β2MG. These data suggest that β2MG is a candidate for further study as a biomarker for atherosclerosis in SLE.
The Era of Environmental Sustainability: Ensuring That Sustainability Stands on Human Resource Management
Authors: Iqbal Qaisar
Published: June 2018

Organizations around the world are shifting from processes that exploit the environment towards environmentally friendly processes. Today, there is extreme enthusiasm among practitioners and academic researchers for green management. The fundamental factor of such enthusiasm is that people expect managers to utilize resources wisely and responsibly and make minimum use of air, water, minerals and other materials in the final product. Green management has certain significance on the normative or moral scale. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to collect data. The G* (where* represents general stand-alone nature of this application in statistical tests across social and behavioral research) power programme suggested a minimum of 43 observations assuming a significance level of 5 per cent, the effect size of 0.15 and a statistical power of 80 per cent with five predictors (Faul, Erdfelder, Buchner, & Lang, 2009, Behavioral Research Methods, 41(4), 1149–1160). A convenience purposive sampling technique was employed. The reliability of instrument was checked through values of Cronbach’s Alpha. The normality of data was checked through the Shapiro–Wilk test. The normality plot was used to find the outlier in collected data. Andrew Hayes’s methodology was employed to investigate the moderating role in the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) (Hayes, 2012, PROCESS: A versatile computational tool for observed variable mediation, moderation, and conditional process modeling, Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas). This study confirms the significant moderating role of green human resource management (GHRM) over the scale of the employees’ green behaviours (EGBs) and environmental sustainability. Going forward, researchers recommend more research like this, illuminating the role of GHRM activities in enhancing and perhaps even driving environmental management initiatives.
Collective actions on the margins of the salariat
Authors: Bureau Marie-Christine , Corsani Antonella
Published: June 2018

In light of the renewed expansion of independent work and the blurring of the boundaries between wage labour and independence, the emergence of new collective actors in the space between wage labour and independent work/contracting is of critical significance. In this article we propose to highlight two experiences of collective action, both in France. On the one hand, we examine the Intermittent and Precarious Workers Coordination and, on the other, the project launched by a Coopérative d’Activité et d’Emploi (CAE: employment and activity cooperative or BEC: Business and Employment Cooperative) with the aim of evolving towards a ‘work mutuality’. While quite different with regard to their origins and means of mobilisation, these experiences nevertheless share two common significant traits: they are both what we term ‘instituting factories’ ( fabriques instituantes); and they both experiment with non-hierarchical forms of decision-making, organisation and collaboration. We attempt to shed light on the background of these two experiences of collective action whose origins are rooted in professional situations on the margins of the salariat, as well as upon the innovative displacements they introduce into the working world by re-interrogating forms of workplace democracy.
Smoking Behaviors in Arab Americans: Acculturation and Health Beliefs
Authors: Ghadban Roula , Haddad Linda , Thacker Leroy R. , An Kyungeh , Balster Robert L. , Salyer Jeanne
Published: June 2018

Introduction: Arab Americans are a growing population in the United States. In the 2011 American Community Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau reported there were close to 1.8 million Arab Americans living within the United States, a 47% increase in population size from 2000. According to the Arab American Institute, currently, that estimate has grown to approximately 3.7 million. They have high rates of smoking and low rates of smoking cessation. In this study, the researchers investigated factors influencing desire to quit smoking among Arab Americans, and their association with acculturation and health beliefs. Methodology: Cross-sectional descriptive study investigating smoking behaviors and factors influencing the desire to quit smoking among adult Arab American. Data were collected to measure tobacco use, nicotine dependence, desire to quit smoking, acculturation, and health beliefs. Results: The sample ( N = 96) was 55% female, mean age of 44 years (±14.79). The desire to quit smoking was positively associated with perceived severity (p < .05) and susceptibility to cancer (p < .05), perceived benefits of quitting smoking ( p < .01); and negatively associated with smoking barriers (addiction barriers p < .05, external barriers p = .27, internal barriers p < .05), and nicotine dependence (p < .05). Being female, having a lower level of nicotine dependence, and a higher perception of cancer severity predicted higher desire to quit smoking ( p < .01). Discussion: Smoking cessation intervention studies need to target appropriate health beliefs, especially the high risk of cancer caused by smoking among Arab Americans.
Half-Life Your Message: A Quick, Flexible Tool for Message Discovery
Authors: Aurbach Elyse L. , Prater Katherine E. , Patterson Brandon , Zikmund-Fisher Brian J.
Published: June 2018

Academic writers and presenters need concrete activities to help them learn how to communicate more effectively. We describe such a tool, called “Half-Life Your Message,” which is adapted from a commonly used improvisational theater game and can be applied in three minutes to distill a central thesis for any communication effort. Users can increase the value provided by Half-Life Your Message by scaffolding its application with an introduction and opportunity to self-reflect and debrief. We emphasize the tool’s utility based on our experiences in using it ourselves and in teaching it to undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.
Effects of xylitol and stevioside on the physical and rheological properties of gelatin from cod skin
Authors: Cai Luyun , Nian Linyu , Cao Ailing , Wu Wenjin , Wang Jing , Wang Yanbo , Li Jianrong
Published: June 2018

Jelly and confectionery products are high in sugar and calories. Xylitol and stevioside are natural low-calorie sweeteners and they can be used as an alternative; however, their effects on fish gelatin are unknown. The gelatin was extracted from cod skins and added to xylitol or stevioside (0, 2, 6, 10, 14, and 20% (w/v)) to form gel products. This paper investigated how xylitol and stevioside affected the physical and rheological behaviors of fish gelatin, such as color, gel strength, texture profile analysis, storage modulus (G′), loss modulus (G″), and viscosity. Results showed that the change of color and viscosity in gel products were similar when various concentrations of xylitol or stevioside were added to the fish gelatin. But the effects of xylitol/stevioside on texture profile analysis and G′, G″ were different, which might due to the structure variation in xylitol and stevioside. The linear structure of xylitol resulted in ionic interaction, hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic association between xylitol and fish gelatin. Therefore, xylitol is a promising sweetener substitute, which was probably related to its greater solubility and number of –OH groups.
Dynamic analysis of parametrically excited marine riser under simultaneous stochastic waves and vortex
Authors: Wu Zhiwen , Xie Canrong , Mei Guoxiong , Dong Hongyuan
Published: June 2018

This study investigates the dynamic analysis of parametrically excited marine riser under simultaneous stochastic waves and vortex. A general analysis considers the parametric excitation resulting from platform motion, ocean wave loading directly on the rise, and vortex-shedding excitation due to flow bypassing the risers. Stochastic wave force and vortex excitation acting on the riser in the time domain is formulated by the stochastic phase spectrum method and derived by the linear-wave theory using a Pierson–Moskowitz wave spectrum to simulate real sea conditions. A derived parametrically excited top tensioned riser model subjected to simultaneous stochastic waves and vortex excitations is proposed. The efficacy of the present method is assessed by solutions obtained from other existing methods and experimental data of two test models. The present method is evaluated by solutions computed from existing methods and experimental data of two test models, and a general good agreement of the analyses between the proposed approach and other methods is observed. The availability of resonance, parametric stability, energy distribution and transfer, and the sensitivity of key parameters estimated by single-frequency and multi-frequency excitation are compared and discussed. Comparing with the results obtained from the harmonic excitation method, the present method can be used to make more reasonable and accurate calculations of the dynamic response of risers operating in real sea conditions.
Social security coordination in Association Agreements
Authors: Eisele Katharina
Published: June 2018

In March 2012, the European Commission adopted a Communication on the external dimension of EU social security coordination. On the one hand, the Commission explained that social security coordination between the EU and rest of the world is dealt with at a national level. On the other hand, the Commission argued that a common EU approach to social security coordination with third countries was under development. This common EU approach to social security coordination consists of a number of elements. One element relates to Association Agreements and Stabilisation and Association Agreements. These Agreements and specific Decisions taken by Association Councils (established by such Agreements) stipulate rules, which govern social security coordination for workers and their families, who move between the EU and the associated country. According to the Commission, once the Association Council Decisions are adopted, the common EU approach to social security coordination will be implemented. Six years after the publication of the 2012 European Commission Communication, questions arise as to whether or not the Association Agreements have been implemented, and the reasons for this.

This article seeks to examine and contrast selected Association Agreements and Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs), which provide social security rules for the nationals of the contracting parties. These will include the Ankara Agreement concluded with Turkey, the Euro-Mediterranean Agreements with Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, and the SAAs with the Balkan countries. The aim of this article is to provide an overarching overview of the different legal positions that third-country nationals may rely on, based on their nationality, and to explore whether or not Association Agreements have been implemented in terms of social security coordination rules.
Poland and Bulgaria’s bilateral agreements with Eastern partnership countries in the context of circular migration
Authors: Vankova Zvezda
Published: June 2018

The article aims to examine the existing possibilities for social security coordination with Eastern partnership countries by taking as case studies two new Member States with relatively recent migration policies: Bulgaria and Poland. It first presents social security coordination dynamics at the national level, looking into the bilateral agreements concluded by Bulgaria and Poland and at their personal and material scope. Then it moves to an analysis of their implementation based on empirical data gathered through focus groups with migrant workers coming from Ukraine and Russia, interviews with officials and data obtained from the respective Ministries. The article employs a rights-based framework for analysis consisting of international standards in the field of coordination of social security, against which it assesses the bilateral agreements concluded by Bulgaria and Poland with Eastern Partnership countries.
Sexual health interventions for young people in state care: a systematic review
Authors: Hammarström Sofia , Stenqvist Karin , Lindroth Malin
Published: June 2018

Objectives: To describe evaluated sexual health interventions for young people in state care and provide an assessment of the quality of and evidence for these interventions. Methods: A systematic review of sexual health interventions for young people in state care was conducted. Randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs were eligible, 2051 records were screened, 412 full-text studies retrieved, and 12 publications with low-to-moderate risk of bias included. Results: Due to substantial heterogeneity in study populations, settings, intervention approaches, outcomes and measures, standard summary measures for intervention outcomes was not used. Instead, data were synthesised across studies and presented narratively. Conclusion: Without making recommendations, the result suggests that group-based educational interventions in general increase knowledge, attitudes and behaviour compared with standard care. However, these findings need to be further investigated, with a special emphasis on cultural context and the involvement of young people.
Engaging with literacy provision in the early years: Language use and emergent literacy in child-initiated play
Authors: Neaum Sally
Published: June 2018

Pre-school children’s engagement with activities in child-initiated play is taken to be an important mediating factor in their learning. The adult’s role in supporting and enhancing children’s play is an area of significant study. However, how children play when play is child-initiated, and how this maps to our assumptions and expectations about the potential of opportunities on offer, is less well understood. This study reports findings of detailed observation of young children’s engagement with literacy provision during child-initiated play. The study showed that, despite rich provision, engagement was extremely limited. Equally significant are the findings from a functional analysis of the children’s language use during child-initiated play, which showed that the children made almost no use of Mathetic language – the language Halliday argues is necessary for learning, most notably the linguistic demands of formal schooling. These findings contribute to the nascent understanding of children’s access to playful learning opportunities that are provided for them in pre-school settings. These initial findings are stark and thus warrant further study.
Two Cases and a Review of Graft-Versus-Host Disease and the Role of Hepatitis C Treatment in Liver Transplant Patients
Authors: Advani Sonali D. , Nellore Anoma , Hadjivassiliou Giorgos , Eckhoff Devin E. , Salzman Donna , Lavie Daniel , Pavlidakey Peter , Baddley John W.
Published: June 2018

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a rare but fatal complication after solid organ transplantation arising in 1% to 2% of cases. We report 2 cases of GvHD after orthotopic liver transplantation. Both patients had a history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection prior to transplantation. Both cases presented between 1 and 4 months after transplantation with rash, pancytopenia, and/or diarrhea. Our second case also developed oral and ocular manifestations after liver transplantation, which are more commonly described after stem cell transplantation. Diagnosis in both cases was made by clinical presentation in conjunction with histopathology and flow cytometry. Both patients were treated by increasing immunosuppression with tacrolimus and high-dose steroids. Response to treatment differed based on the degree of pancytopenia. Our case report is distinguished by several factors such as the context of GvHD presentation and the role of HCV treatment. Diagnosis of GvHD is difficult and often delayed due to nonspecific presentation that overlaps with other conditions. Furthermore, the relation between HCV treatment and potential initiation of GvHD in solid organ transplant patients is unclear.
An approach of steel plate hybrid bonding technique to externally bonded fibre-reinforced polymer strengthening system
Authors: Zhang Xue , Wu Zhimin , Cheng Ye
Published: June 2018

The strengthening efficiency of externally bonded fibre-reinforced polymer to concrete structure is usually limited owing to the unexpected debonding of fibre-reinforced polymer laminates. In this study, a new steel plate hybrid bonding technique was developed to supply additional anchorage for traditional externally bonded fibre-reinforced polymer strengthening system. With this approach, the fibre-reinforced polymer debonding can be effectively prevented. Moreover, the stress concentration, which probably results in a premature fracture of fibre-reinforced polymer laminates as that performed for available hybrid bonding anchorage techniques, can be eliminated by introducing a steel plate between the mechanical fasteners and fibre-reinforced polymer strips. To verify the effect of this new method, 21 carbon fibre–reinforced polymer–strengthened beams were studied on the flexural behaviours. Test results showed that, compared to available hybrid bonding anchorage techniques, steel plate hybrid bonding is more capable of making the full use of fibre-reinforced polymer laminates and further enhance the ultimate capacity and ductility of externally bonded fibre-reinforced polymer–strengthened beams. Based on the experimental results, the effect of interfacial treatment, ply of carbon fibre–reinforced polymer and mechanical fastener spacing on the failure mode and ultimate load ratio were discussed. Eventually, a simplified analytical procedure was proposed and verified to estimate the flexural resistance of steel plate hybrid bonding – fibre-reinforced polymer–strengthened beam.